Necro/Thermal

[Agorazium]

Hello! I was hoping the MM experts could take a look at this build. I haven't played Necro since live. I saw that someone (sorry I can't remember the name - strikerfox maybe?) recommends 6-slotting both Enchant Undead and Dark Empowerment but I'm curious if that's worthwhile as a Thermal that already has resist buffs and strong heals. I also feel like my Melt Armor slotting isn't great though I'm not sure what else to do with it.

 

I value Res over Def on MMs so having low-ish ranged defense isn't a huge concern although I'm sure my build could be optimized better. I'm considering dropping Kick/Tough so I can grab Rune of Protection or possibly Hasten. I would like to keep Soul Mastery for theme and S/L resist.

 

Thanks!

 

Villain Mastermind
Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.7.5 rev. 21
──────────────────────────────

• Primary powerset: Necromancy
• Secondary powerset: Thermal Radiation
• Pool powerset (#1): Sorcery
• Pool powerset (#2): Leadership
• Pool powerset (#3): Fighting
• Pool powerset (#4): Flight
• Ancillary powerset: Soul Mastery
  

──────────────────────────────

Powers taken:

Level 1: Zombie Horde

• A: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Endurance/Pet +Resist +Regen
• 3: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• 3: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Damage
• 5: Overwhelming Force: Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown
• 5: Blood Mandate: Accuracy/Endurance
• 11: Blood Mandate: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
  

Level 1: Warmth

• A: Preventive Medicine: Heal
• 7: Preventive Medicine: Heal/Endurance
• 7: Preventive Medicine: Endurance/RechargeTime
• 9: Preventive Medicine: Heal/RechargeTime
• 9: Preventive Medicine: Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance
• 11: Preventive Medicine: Chance for +Absorb
  

Level 2: Gloom

• A: Thunderstrike: Accuracy/Damage
• 15: Thunderstrike: Damage/Endurance
• 15: Thunderstrike: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• 17: Thunderstrike: Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• 17: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
  

Level 4: Fire Shield

• A: Aegis: Resistance
• 19: Aegis: Psionic/Status Resistance
• 37: Aegis: Resistance/Endurance
• 37: Aegis: Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 6: Enchant Undead

• A: Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+Def 3%
  

Level 8: Life Drain

• A: Thunderstrike: Accuracy/Damage
• 21: Thunderstrike: Damage/Endurance
• 23: Thunderstrike: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• 23: Thunderstrike: Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• 25: Apocalypse: Chance of Damage(Negative)
• 25: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
  

Level 10: Plasma Shield

• A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
• 21: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
  

Level 12: Grave Knight

• A: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Damage
• 27: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Damage/Endurance
• 27: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Endurance
• 29: Achilles' Heel: Chance for Res Debuff
• 29: Blood Mandate: Accuracy/Damage
• 31: Blood Mandate: Accuracy/Endurance
  

Level 14: Mystic Flight

• A: Blessing of the Zephyr: Knockback Reduction (4 points)
• 46: Blessing of the Zephyr: Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
  

Level 16: Cauterize

• A: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance
• 19: Numina's Convalesence: Endurance/Recharge
• 31: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Recharge
• 31: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• 33: Numina's Convalesence: Heal
• 33: Numina's Convalesence: +Regeneration/+Recovery
  

Level 18: Soul Extraction

• A: Edict of the Master: Defense Bonus
• 40: Sovereign Right: Resistance Bonus
• 48: Call to Arms: Defense Bonus Aura for Pets
• 48: Expedient Reinforcement: Resist Bonus Aura for Pets
• 50: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Recharge
• 50: Expedient Reinforcement: Endurance/Damage/Recharge
  

Level 20: Maneuvers

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• 33: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Endurance
• 42: Shield Wall: +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
  

Level 22: Lich

• A: Superior Command of the Mastermind: Accuracy/Damage
• 34: Superior Command of the Mastermind: Damage/Endurance
• 34: Superior Command of the Mastermind: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• 36: Superior Command of the Mastermind: Recharge/Pet +AoE Defense Aura
• 36: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
• 36: Soulbound Allegiance: Chance for Build Up
  

Level 24: Forge

• A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
  

Level 26: Dark Empowerment

• A: Invention: Endurance Reduction
  

Level 28: Heat Exhaustion

• A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
• 37: Invention: Accuracy
  

Level 30: Melt Armor

• A: Achilles' Heel: Chance for Res Debuff
• 39: Shield Breaker: Accuracy/Recharge
• 39: Shield Breaker: Defense Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• 39: Shield Breaker: Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 32: Tactics

• A: Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: To Hit Buff
• 34: Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: To Hit Buff/Endurance
  

Level 35: Kick

• (Empty)
  

Level 38: Dark Embrace

• A: Gladiator's Armor: TP Protection +3% Def (All)
• 40: Gladiator's Armor: End/Resist
• 40: Gladiator's Armor: Resistance
  

Level 41: Soul Tentacles

• A: Bombardment: Damage
• 42: Bombardment: Accuracy/Recharge/Endurance
• 42: Bombardment: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• 43: Bombardment: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge/Endurance
• 43: Bombardment: Chance for Fire Damage
• 43: Positron's Blast: Chance of Damage(Energy)
  

Level 44: Soul Storm

• A: Thunderstrike: Accuracy/Damage
• 45: Thunderstrike: Damage/Endurance
• 45: Thunderstrike: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• 45: Thunderstrike: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• 46: Ghost Widow's Embrace: Chance of Damage(Psionic)
• 46: Unbreakable Constraint: Chance for Smashing Damage
  

Level 47: Tough

• A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
• 48: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
  

Level 49: Assault

• A: Invention: Endurance Reduction
  

──────────────────────────────

Inherents:

Level 1: Supremacy

Level 1: Brawl

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Sprint

• (Empty)
  

Level 2: Rest

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Swift

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Hurdle

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Health

• A: Miracle: +Recovery
• 13: Panacea: +Hit Points/Endurance
  

Level 1: Stamina

• A: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
• 13: Performance Shifter: EndMod
  

Level 14: Translocation

 

[tjknight]

Doesn't look bad really. This is my current Necro/Thermal that I've had for a while. You can take a look and see if you find any of it useful. I will say that with BG-mode and the  high resistance numbers Necro can get from Thermal, it's a very tanky combo. 

 

 

Mastermind (Necromancy - Thermal Radiation).mbd

[kelika2]

dont know why you skipped one main set attack

leadership defense is not that great, i know i have it but thats mostly for assault+forge and later on i had room to frankenslot in the defense auras

soul extraction got buffed on homecoming and its good to have all the rech you can in it.  i know it used to be an IO mule.

procs in pets sounds great but not really, achilles is way overhyped.  if anything the chance for buildup in knights is amazing since its always procing thanks to their damage aura

+healing enhancements in the second upgrade increases their health

nec.therm.txt

[tidge]

 

I have no real comments on Necro/Thermal, except that I took a Thugs/Thermal past 50 and I didn't like what Thermal was bringing.

 

On 4/30/2025 at 8:48 PM, kelika2 said:

procs in pets sounds great but not really, achilles is way overhyped. 

 

This echoes my feels about %damage in pets, particularly the Achilles' Heel piece. I get serious Jim Cramer "Mad Money" vibes whenever I see it being recommended across the board.

 

I *do* add procs to henchmen/pets, but I've kinda landed on the following circumstances for MM, *if* there are spots to spare, and things like ToHit chances and Endurance sustain are ok:

• I like %Buildup (Very Rare) in the T1s, as each of them will be benefiting from it, often with multiple instances
• I like %knockdown for a soft form of control, since it triggers on all damage
• I'll add %damage on T1 henches, if most of their attacks can trigger it

If a henchmen or pet won't be triggering a %damage piece from most of its attacks, I end to not use a slot for %damage. %-Resistance in (most) pets and (pretty much all) henchmen is pretty marginal when compared to other options... mostly because of the relatively short time to try to have a favorable sequence of events to leverage the period of %-Resistance. I prefer to add %-Resistance to MM AoE attacks instead, if that debuffing strategy is desired.

 

For pets (not henchmen), I give those a slightly more detailed look at %damage... usually because they are available for AT that don't otherwise do a lot of damage (without %damage). Again, it depends on how many of their attacks/controls can trigger a possible proc. For example, Dark Servant leverages the Cloud Senses piece best IMO.

[Nostromo21]

On 5/1/2025 at 10:08 AM, tjknight said:

Doesn't look bad really. This is my current Necro/Thermal that I've had for a while. You can take a look and see if you find any of it useful. I will say that with BG-mode and the  high resistance numbers Necro can get from Thermal, it's a very tanky combo. 

 

 

Mastermind (Necromancy - Thermal Radiation).mbd 41.22 kB · 5 downloads

 

Wow, you managed to pick up pretty much all the powers, especially thermal! I assume all of the healing/rez team powers work on your pets then, or did you take some of them more for team play? I mostly solo, so would be good to know which ones I can skip. Playing a demons/thermal MM right now, more for thematic reasons, eh.

Edited May 6 by Nostromo21

[tjknight]

59 minutes ago, Nostromo21 said:

 

Wow, you managed to pick up pretty much all the powers, especially thermal! I assume all of the healing/rez team powers work on your pets then, or did you take some of them more for team play? I mostly solo, so would be good to know which ones I can skip. Playing a demons/thermal MM right now, more for thematic reasons, eh.

No you can't rez pets.. but honestly they hardly die unless I'm doing something insanely hard. I always take full team support powers on my MM.. because I find myself regretting it the times I have not done so. Thermal is good enough to keep an entire team + your pets going.  Forge is great on the Knights!!! btw . The thermal shields, Franken Slotting, plus Necro pets natural resistances is a powerful combo. I took Cardiac I for extra resistance.  I'm not the best builder by far, but I just build what's fun for me. YMMV.