Melee Necro Build: Hexblades or Scythes?

[Zodnuck]

Curious what successful fellow Necromancers out there go for. I tried a scythe on my melee necro (reset skills at lvl115 from xbow to melee) and threw on some generic tier 4 unique armor at 10k health to find myself getting obliterated in Act 5.
Do people find the high block chance of a shield with hexblade worth it or does melee necro take some exceptionally serious gear to be endgame worthy?

[ChuckNoRis]

yes , the block is good to have around in many crowded spots . the damage output you deal from 1h+shield is not far from the 2h options . it's more of a choice based on personal preferences , as both options are valid .

[duysir0]

any thought on this child? Seem cool enough

Shadowfang

Shadowfang
Bastard Sword (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (164 - 207) to (272 - 341)
Two-Hand Damage: (232 - 285) to (337 - 416)
(Necromancer Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 535
Item Level: 120
Strength Damage Bonus: (0.16 per Strength)%
Area Effect Attack
20% Chance to cast level 40 Veil King Plague Grasp on Melee Attack
Adds (50 to 75)-(150 to 200) Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
+(160 to 200)% Enhanced Damage
+60 to Stormlord
Slow Target 25%
5% Reanimate as: Veil Terror
Socketed (4)

[kolyeah8]

i use

Tzeentch

Tzeentch
Necromancer Scythes
'TahaTahaQor'
Runeword Level: 100
4% Chance to cast level 27 Punisher Barrage on Kill
20% Chance to cast level 40 Punisher Bolt on Striking
Adds 63-125 Damage
(17 to 21)% Mana stolen per Hit
-(10 to 15)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(126 to 154)% Enhanced Damage
5% Deadly Strike
Hit Causes Monster to Flee +5%

in a scythe.

With mediocre gear you already get over 100% lifeleech.
Dont put more than one point in deathlord, Smax parasite and the defensive uber skill. Get some physical resist.

Candlewake

Candlewake
Splint Mail (Sacred)
Defense: (8032 - 9339) to (11077 - 12593)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 600
Item Level: 105
-2% Base Block Chance
Additional Strength Damage Bonus: 0.0390625%
-(11 to 15)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(150 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
+(1500 to 3500) Defense
(10 to 25)% to Strength
(50 to 100)% Bonus to Defense
Cannot Be Frozen (1/2 chance to appear)
Socketed (6)

Idol of Rygnar

Idol of Rygnar
Mask (Sacred)
Defense: (2068 - 2350) to (2208 - 2510)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 600
Item Level: 120
+2 to Necromancer Skill Levels
25% Life stolen per Hit
Weapon Physical Damage +(60 to 90)%
Hit Causes Monster to Flee +1%
+(120 to 150)% Enhanced Defense
+(40 to 50) to Strength
+(40 to 50) to Dexterity
Target Takes Additional Damage of 500
25% Gold Find
+5 to Light Radius
Socketed (4)

Blind Anger

Blind Anger
Light Gauntlets (Sacred)
Defense: (1179 - 1447) to (1342 - 1647)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 600
Item Level: 105
8% Chance to cast level 13 Crucify on Melee Attack
+(0 to 1) to All Skills
(1 to 5)% Chance of Crushing Blow
Blinds Attacker +3
+(120 to 170)% Enhanced Defense
(11 to 15)% to All Attributes
Socketed (4)

Giant's Knuckle

Giant's Knuckle
Ring
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
20% Attack Speed
Adds 10-15 Damage
(5 to 10)% Life stolen per Hit
5% Deadly Strike
+25 Life Regenerated per Second
Physical Resist 5%

these are all cheap

Black Void

Black Void
Heavy Belt (Sacred)
Defense: (3060 - 3442) to (3304 - 3717)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 625
Item Level: 120
20% Attack Speed
Adds 10-15 Damage
(10 to 15)% Life stolen per Hit
Slow Target 10%
+(140 to 170)% Enhanced Defense
10% to Strength
10% to Dexterity
Target Takes Additional Damage of (25 to 50)
30% Magic Find
Socketed (2)

Akarat's Trek

Akarat's Trek
Light Plated Boots (Sacred)
Defense: (1960 - 2352) to (2170 - 2604)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 625
Item Level: 120
2% Chance to cast level 30 Hammertime on Melee Attack
2% Chance to cast level 30 Thunder Wave on Melee Attack
2% Chance to cast level 30 Thunder Hammer Nova on Melee Attack
(10 to 40)% Movement Speed
+(15 to 20) to Charged Strike
Weapon Physical Damage +(60 to 90)%
+(150 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
10% to All Attributes
+10 to Light Radius
Socketed (4)

Adrenaline Rush

Adrenaline Rush
Ring
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
+1 to All Skills
40% Combat Speeds
40% Movement Speed
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%

not so much, but prices are low now.

fhr breakpoint is essential

[Scalewinged]

any thought on this child? Seem cool enough

Shadowfang

Shadowfang
Bastard Sword (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (164 - 207) to (272 - 341)
Two-Hand Damage: (232 - 285) to (337 - 416)
(Necromancer Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 535
Item Level: 120
Strength Damage Bonus: (0.16 per Strength)%
Area Effect Attack
20% Chance to cast level 40 Veil King Plague Grasp on Melee Attack
Adds (50 to 75)-(150 to 200) Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
+(160 to 200)% Enhanced Damage
+60 to Stormlord
Slow Target 25%
5% Reanimate as: Veil Terror
Socketed (4)

If not using Deathlord - maybe. Othervise it's like demonic speed skill which reducing your flat DR/MDR to -512 and making you getting almost instantly rekt from almost any source of damage in game (imagine firewall from fallen shamans that dealing more than 500 damage per frame: 7500 damage per second... and same thing happening with any kind of single hit).

[duysir0]

@scalewinged I thought it'd be sth like -25% physical reduction, not that horrible. Might aswell fix the description: ..S̶i̶g̶n̶i̶f̶i̶c̶a̶n̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶v̶u̶l̶n̶e̶r̶a̶b̶l̶e̶... => Death wish if using Deathlord . is more like it.
What a shame, such cool sword go down the shitter

[ChuckNoRis]

it goes decent without deathlord , but you need to stack more %tcd and get 50%DR to compensate for the lower defense .

[tempmail]

Anybody know what Veil King Plague Grasp does? I have the sword and tested it but I still don't know what it does.

[Crash]

Anybody know what Veil King Plague Grasp does? I have the sword and tested it but I still don't know what it does.

pretty sure its the veil king's ability for fatal damage charge thing? whatever his 5% chance to cast is on the skill icon. I could be wrong.

[tempmail]

Anybody know what Veil King Plague Grasp does? I have the sword and tested it but I still don't know what it does.

pretty sure its the veil king's ability for fatal damage charge thing? whatever his 5% chance to cast is on the skill icon. I could be wrong.

What exactly does fatal attack mean? Veil king has 5% Chance to Cast a Lethal Poison Attack. Does that mean he has 5% chance to one shot regular mobs(since he obviously can't one shot bosses)? Or is it just an attack with a little bit of extra poison damage?