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==Background information==
{{Secondary skills}}
 
{{Secondary skill
Necromancy is one of many [[Secondary Skills]]. Unlike the other secondary skills, Necromancy is not learned. That is to say that only the [[Necropolis]] heroes [[Necromancers]] and [[Death Knights]] can normally have this skill, and each of them already starts with it. [[Witches]] were sometimes able to learn Necromancy when leveling, but this was changed in later versions. Non-necropolis heroes can learn Necromancy from [[Witch Hut]]s or [[Scholar (Adventure Map)|Scholar]]s if the mapmakers allow it.
| B_effect = 10% of enemy creatures killed are [[Animate Dead|resurrected]] (5% in [[HotA]]){{-wh}}.
 
| A_effect = 20% of enemy creatures killed are [[Animate Dead|resurrected]] (10% in [[HotA]]){{-wh}}.
'''Recommended for:''' N/A. Necropolis heroes already start with Necromancy.
| E_effect = 30% of enemy creatures killed are [[Animate Dead|resurrected]] (15% in [[HotA]]){{-wh}}.
 
}} '''Necromancy''' is a [[secondary skill]] that enables the hero to raise killed enemy creatures as [[Skeleton and Skeleton Warrior|Skeletons (or Skeleton Warriors)]]. All [[Death Knight]]s and [[Necromancer]]s start with basic Necromancy skill, except [[Isra]] the [[Death Knight]] and [[Vidomina]] the [[Necromancer]], who both start with advanced Necromancy. Other hero classes cannot learn Necromancy, but they can acquire it from [[Scholar (Adventure Map)|Scholar]]s, [[Pandora's Box]]es, [[Event]]s or [[Witch Hut]]s (unavailable by default).
==Description==
 
When a hero wins a battle, a portion of the opposition killed is resurrected as skeletons and added to the hero's army.
 
*Basic effect: 10% of enemy battlefield dead are resurrected as [[Skeleton]]s.
*Advanced effect: 20% of enemy battlefield dead are resurrected as [[Skeleton]]s.
*Expert effect: 30% of enemy battlefield dead are resurrected as [[Skeleton]]s.
 
 
==Heroes with a specialty in this skill==
*[[Isra]] the [[Death Knight]]
*[[Vidomina]] the [[Necromancer]]
 
==Artifacts affecting this skill==
*[[Amulet of the Undertaker]]
*[[Vampire's Cowl]]
*[[Dead Man's Boots]]
*[[Cloak of the Undead King]] {{insod}}
 
==Buildings affecting this skill==
*[[Necromancy Amplifier]]
*[[Soul prison]]
 
==Additional information==
If you don't have [[Skeleton]]s or an empty army slot, but do have [[Skeleton warrior]]s, you will get [[skeleton warrior]]s, but only 2/3 of normal numbers.
 
==In-depth==
 
This is copied from http://www.heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?FID=6&TID=11784,
and originally written by angelito.  Edited for clarity.
 
Many times I thought about the necromancy skill and how it works exactly. When I read my "Heroes-updater-list", where there is described what was changed with which patch, there was a point about the "reworking" of that skill coming with the 1.3 patch.
So I think since this version, that skill works fine and could be explained very easy (with one exception....but read that later...).
 
===Basic===
Some question had to be figured out:


;Which necromancy skill counts, the one you have before you go into a fight, or the one which you have after the fight?  Normally the level-up happens first, and then the result of the risen [[skeleton]]s is shown. : After some testing, it's clear. The skill you have before you get into a fight is counted.
In {{hota}}, the skill percentages are decreased to 5%, 10% and 15%.{{-wh}}


'''Bug:''' AI heroes always raise exactly 1 Skeleton (or Lich), even if it should've raise 100% of the creatures slain. In {{hota}}{{-wh}} this bug was fixed but another bug appeared: AI somehow raises more Skeletons than it should be.


;How do the necromancy bonuses count? Are they cumulative, or are they all based on your necromancy skill? : I also did some testing here. They are all cumulative.
'''Heroes with Necromancy as a starting skill:'''
* All [[Death Knight]]s.
* All [[Necromancer]]s.


'''Heroes with a specialty in Necromancy and starting at Advanced level:'''
* {{H2|Isra|Death Knight}}
* {{H2|Vidomina|Necromancer}}


That means that if you have expert necromancy, have built the [[Necromancy amplifier]], and have the [[Vampire's Cowl]], then your effective necromancy skill is 50%.
'''Skill affecting factors:'''
* {{an|Amulet of the Undertaker}} – artifact increases Necromancy skill +5 %. (2,5 % in [[HotA]]){{-wh}}
* {{an|Vampire's Cowl}} – artifact increases Necromancy skill +10 %. (5 % in [[HotA]]){{-wh}}
* {{an|Dead Man's Boots}} – artifact increases Necromancy skill +15 %. (7,5 % in [[HotA]]){{-wh}}
* [[Necromancy Amplifier]] – structure increases Necromancy skill +10 %.  (bonus stacks if you have multiple towns with this building) (5 % in [[HotA]]){{-wh}}
* [[Soul prison]] – [[Necropolis]] [[grail]] structure, which increases Necromancy skill +20 % (bonus stacks if you have multiple towns with this building via [[Map Editor]])


;One exception : The skill specialty "Necromancy", like [[Isra]] has, is always based on the "natural" necromancy skill the hero has. That means, if [[Isra]] is level 20, his necromancy skill does NOT rise to 100%, but up to 80% (30% expert necromancy, 30% specialty (20*5% of 30), 10% amplifier, 10% [[Vampire's Cowl]]).
Additionally, with [[Cloak of the Undead King]] it is possible to raise other undead creatures instead of Skeletons. However, the cloak does not affect the skill percentages.


== How it works ==
All killed '''enemy''' creatures can be raised as skeletons. This includes [[sacrifice]]d creatures, [[clone]]d creatures, summoned [[elemental]]s and even [[war machines]]. If the victorious hero's army has no empty slots available and no [[Skeleton]]s, but includes [[Skeleton Warrior]]s, the killed enemy creatures will be raised as Skeleton Warriors, but only 66.6% compared to Skeletons. If there are no available slots and no skeletons (either kind) in the army, none of the killed enemy creatures are raised.


;When I have expert necromancy (30%) and fight against a stack of 100 creatures, how come there are not exactly 30 [[skeleton]]s raised after the fight? :This is the most misunderstood fact of this skill, and I think that is what is meant with the "reworking of that skill". The number of raised skeletons is ''not'' based on the number of creatures you are fighting, but rather on the total of their [[health|hit points]]! <nowiki>*</nowiki><br>
The number of skeletons brought back at the end of the combat depends on three main factors:
<nowiki>*</nowiki>This is not entirely true. Both Health and numbers are calculated, and the smaller of those are used. This means that numbers are the limiting factor in almost all cases.
# Number of creatures in killed stacks
# Amount of health of killed stacks
# Level of Necromancy skill


===Examples===
First, the total number of raised Skeletons can never exceed the number of creatures slain in combat. Second, the total health of raised Skeletons can never exceed the total health of killed creatures. Third, the level of Necromancy skill used in calculations can never be more than 100%, although it is technically possible for a hero to have Necromancy skill above 100%. These rules in {{sod}} are applied to every killed stack individually (in {{hota}}{{-wh}} the amount of creatures raised is calculated by the overall number of killed creatures), and always rounded towards 1.
====Example 1====


You fight against 1000 [[Gremlin]]s and have expert necromancy.
The health of the enemy creature killed affects the efficiency that it is revived as per table:
How many [[Skeleton]]s will be raised?


*Total [[health|hit points]] of the gremlins were 1000*4 = 4000
1 hp = 16.6% efficiency<br>
*Expert necromancy means 30% of "hit points" will raise = 1200
2 hp = 33.3%<br>
*How many skeletons will you "get" for 1200 hit points?
3 hp = 50% efficiency<br>
Right...exactly 200.
4 hp = 66.6% efficiency<br>
5 hp = 83.3% efficiency<br>
6 hp or higher = 100% efficiency<br>


====Example 2====
So a hero with 50% necromancy, who killed 100 creatures with 6 hp or higher, will obtain 50 skeletons, whereas if he were to kill 100 peasants (who have only 1 hp), only 8 skeletons would be obtained. This can be also interpreted as the hero being able to revive only 50 HP total (8 skeletons have 48 HP).


You fight against 30 [[Gremlin]]s and have basic necromancy.
Additionally, with [[Cloak of the Undead King]] the same rules apply to [[Walking Dead]], [[Wight]]s and [[Lich]]es. As they have more health, less is raised. And if a hero only has upgraded versions in the army and no free slots, the "two thirds rule" is applied (the health difference between basic and upgraded creatures does not play any role in this case).
How many [[Skeleton]]s will be raised?


*Total [[health|hit points]] of the gremlins were 30*4 = 120
== Chance to get ==
*Basic necromancy means 10% of "hit points" will raise = 12
{{Secondary skill chance explanation}}
*How many skeletons will you "get" for 12 hit points?
{{ZET SEC SKILL CHANCE TABLE| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0|10|10| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0}}
Exactly 2.


====Example 3====
{{user commentary|
Necromancy is the basis of [[Necropolis]] faction. By default there cannot be a Necropolis hero without this skill, so if a very important basic skill like [[Wisdom]] or [[Earth Magic]] is offered together with improving Necromancy, ignore Necromancy. You will get it sooner or later, while an ability to learn [[Animate Dead]] and cast it properly won't appear for every level. However, if your hero wears [[Cloak of the Undead King]], expert Necromancy is exactly what you need, as rising [[Lich and Power Lich|Liches]], the only Necropolis shooters with good stats, will make you almost invincible. In that case you might want to avoid battles prior to getting expert Necromancy, as 2-3 level Necropolis troops are significantly weaker than many other units of those levels.


You fight against 500 [[Gremlin]]s and have expert necromancy, a [[Necromancy amplifier]], the [[Amulet of the Undertaker]], and [[Isra]] Level 10.
For heroes from other towns, the Necromancy skill is undesirable as Skeletons are weak, slow and will spoil [[morale]], and getting somewhat 5 Skeletons after a minor battle will be a total nonsense. Thus, if Necromancy came to a non-Necropolis hero, a better decision is to reload the game and avoid the source of it, unless your game is dedicated to Necropolis - if so, you may hire a supplying hero regardless of the class, who will increase the number of Skeletons.
How many [[Skeleton]]s will be raised?


*Total [[health|hit points]] of the gremlins were 500*4 = 2000
Necropolis and Necromancy are often considered to be overpowered, and therefore frequently banned in multiplayer games (and tournaments).
*Expert necromancy (30%), [[Isra]] Level 10 (10*5% of 30% = 15%), amplifier (10%), amulet (5%); that makes 60%
}}{{end of user commentary}}
*60% of 2000 hit points = 1200 hit points.
*How many skeletons will you "get" for 1200 hit points?
Exactly 200.


====Summary====
{{secondary skill 'see also'|top=* [http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?FID=6&TID=11784 ''How does the necromancy skill work exactly?''] Heroes Community thread started by angelito.}}
So there are some points to notice:
 
*You can't raise more [[skeleton]]s than the number of creatures you are fighting against.
*Your necromancy skill can't rise above 100%.
 
This fact is especially relevant when you play with [[Isra]] or [[Vidomina]], who have necromancy as their specialty.
 
'''Take a look at this situation:'''<br>
You are an expert necromancer, have all 3 necromancy artifacts ([[Amulet of the Undertaker]], [[Vampire's Cowl]], and [[Dead Man's Boots]], but not as a [[combination artifact]]) and 2 towns where the [[Necromancy amplifier]] is built. That will give a total of 80% necromancy skill. When your hero now is Level 20, normally this number will rise to 110% (Level 20= 20*5% of 30 = 30%).
<br>But that is not possible.
 
If you fight against 1000 [[gremlin]]s with 100% necromancy skill, you will raise 666 [[skeleton]]s (1000*4=4000, 4000/6=666).
There is nothing you can do to raise this number of skeletons after that fight. (I made [[Isra]] a level 50 hero and she raised exactly 666 skeletons).
 
===The 3 stack thing===
But now I will mention the one exception I could not figure out.
 
When I did those test fights, the [[gremlin]]s were split into 1 or 2 [[stack]]s (I fought with 100 [[Titan]]s) and the calculations were all great, in theory and in practice.
But sometimes, the gremlins were split into 3 stacks, and then the calculation did not work exactly: the number of risen skeletons was smaller than calculated.
 
So I tried to figure out when 1 or 2 stacks would appear and when there were more stacks of gremlins.
 
I tried it with nearly every number between 10 and 100.
Only when there were 40 gremlins were they separated into 3 stacks. I tried 80, 120, 160... every time there were 2 stacks.  I tried 400, 4000... every time 2 stacks (I changed the number of my [[titan]]s, I changed the spreading... always the same).
The next number I could figure out where the gremlins were split into 3 stacks was 2000 (I chose some random numbers and was lucky).
 
 
Here are the test results against a neutral stack of 40 gremlins (which were split in 3 stacks: 14, 13, and 13):
 
With basic necromancy, only 1 skeleton was raised after the fight (normally it would be at least 2: 40*4=160, 10% of 160=16; this makes 2 skeletons with 4 hit points left).
 
With expert necromancy, only 6 skeletons were raised after the fight
(normally it would be exactly 8: 30% of 160 = 48; this makes exactly 8 skeletons).
 
 
Then I did the same fight against a hero with 40 gremlins:
 
Against 1 stack.............. 8 skeletons raised
Against 2 stacks (20, 20).... 8 skeletons raised
Against 3 stacks (14, 13, 13) 6 skeletons raised???
 
I tried it with more than 3 stacks (500 gremlins in 5 stacks to 100), and it works fine, exactly as calculated.
 
Tried it with different numbers per stack (4 times 100, 1 time 101), works fine also.
 
So there has to be a (for me) "unknown" factor when fighting against a stack of creatures which were split into 3 stacks... does anybody know this? ''Or it's just a bug. --[[User:Terra|Terra]]''
 
 
I'm not quite sure, but I think the program may calculate each stack separately.
 
For example, let's look at the above 3-stack case.
With expert necromacy, the stack of 14 skeleton gives you only 2 as:
14*4=56 hit points, 30% of 56 = 16.8; this makes 2 skeletons with 4.8 hit points left(or wasted..).
Similarly, two stacks of 13 also give you only 2 each.
 
I'm not sure whether the program uses round-up or round-down, but
This explains your question.
 
This seems a little bit ridiculous to you. However, in my opinion,
this is something should be. For instance, you may fight with a force which consists of 40 gremlins
(assuming one stack) and 1 titan. Then you will get 9 skeleton:
8 from one stack of 40 gremlins and 1 from one stack of one titan.
So actually this is natural and `should be' to me.  -- a Guest
 
===Afterword===
Please remember, that this calculation works only since version 1.3!
Hope I helped some guys to figure out how they can raise 3000 skeletons on week 6...
 
Though I know necro is banned in the zone mostly, this could be interesting stuff for some of you.
 
So it is safe to conclude that Necromancy re-raises Skeletons equal to damage you caused required to fill up one Skeleton. As above, If you fight 1000 Gremlins with 4HP and your Necromancy is capped at 100%, you will re-raise 666 (Gremlin's 4HP X 1000 = 4000 / Skeleton's 6HP = 666 re-raised).
 
{{Secondary skills}}


[[Category: Secondary Skills]]
[[Category: Secondary skills]]
__NOTOC__

Latest revision as of 18:26, 19 October 2024

Secondary skills
 Air Magic
 Archery
 Armorer
 Artillery
 Ballistics
 Diplomacy
 Eagle Eye
 Earth Magic
 Estates
 Fire Magic
 First Aid
 Intelligence
 Interference Horn of the Abyss
 Leadership
 Learning
 Logistics
 Luck
 Mysticism
 Navigation
 Necromancy
 Offense
 Pathfinding
 Resistance
 Scholar
 Scouting
 Sorcery
 Tactics
 Water Magic
 Wisdom
Necromancy
Basic Necromancy: 10% of enemy creatures killed are resurrected (5% in HotA) Horn of the Abyss.
Advanced Necromancy: 20% of enemy creatures killed are resurrected (10% in HotA) Horn of the Abyss.
Expert Necromancy: 30% of enemy creatures killed are resurrected (15% in HotA) Horn of the Abyss.

Necromancy is a secondary skill that enables the hero to raise killed enemy creatures as Skeletons (or Skeleton Warriors). All Death Knights and Necromancers start with basic Necromancy skill, except Isra the Death Knight and Vidomina the Necromancer, who both start with advanced Necromancy. Other hero classes cannot learn Necromancy, but they can acquire it from Scholars, Pandora's Boxes, Events or Witch Huts (unavailable by default).

In Horn of the Abyss, the skill percentages are decreased to 5%, 10% and 15%. Horn of the Abyss

Bug: AI heroes always raise exactly 1 Skeleton (or Lich), even if it should've raise 100% of the creatures slain. In Horn of the Abyss Horn of the Abyss this bug was fixed but another bug appeared: AI somehow raises more Skeletons than it should be.

Heroes with Necromancy as a starting skill:

Heroes with a specialty in Necromancy and starting at Advanced level:

Skill affecting factors:

Additionally, with Cloak of the Undead King it is possible to raise other undead creatures instead of Skeletons. However, the cloak does not affect the skill percentages.

How it works[edit | hide | hide all]

All killed enemy creatures can be raised as skeletons. This includes sacrificed creatures, cloned creatures, summoned elementals and even war machines. If the victorious hero's army has no empty slots available and no Skeletons, but includes Skeleton Warriors, the killed enemy creatures will be raised as Skeleton Warriors, but only 66.6% compared to Skeletons. If there are no available slots and no skeletons (either kind) in the army, none of the killed enemy creatures are raised.

The number of skeletons brought back at the end of the combat depends on three main factors:

  1. Number of creatures in killed stacks
  2. Amount of health of killed stacks
  3. Level of Necromancy skill

First, the total number of raised Skeletons can never exceed the number of creatures slain in combat. Second, the total health of raised Skeletons can never exceed the total health of killed creatures. Third, the level of Necromancy skill used in calculations can never be more than 100%, although it is technically possible for a hero to have Necromancy skill above 100%. These rules in Shadow of Death are applied to every killed stack individually (in Horn of the Abyss Horn of the Abyss the amount of creatures raised is calculated by the overall number of killed creatures), and always rounded towards 1.

The health of the enemy creature killed affects the efficiency that it is revived as per table:

1 hp = 16.6% efficiency
2 hp = 33.3%
3 hp = 50% efficiency
4 hp = 66.6% efficiency
5 hp = 83.3% efficiency
6 hp or higher = 100% efficiency

So a hero with 50% necromancy, who killed 100 creatures with 6 hp or higher, will obtain 50 skeletons, whereas if he were to kill 100 peasants (who have only 1 hp), only 8 skeletons would be obtained. This can be also interpreted as the hero being able to revive only 50 HP total (8 skeletons have 48 HP).

Additionally, with Cloak of the Undead King the same rules apply to Walking Dead, Wights and Liches. As they have more health, less is raised. And if a hero only has upgraded versions in the army and no free slots, the "two thirds rule" is applied (the health difference between basic and upgraded creatures does not play any role in this case).

Chance to get[edit | hide]

Out of total 112 for Shadow of Death, and of (112 + Interference chance) for Horn of the Abyss Horn of the Abyss.
Banned skills change the probability.

Town Class Chance to learn
Castle  Knight   0
Castle  Cleric   0
Rampart  Ranger   0
Rampart  Druid   0
Tower  Alchemist   0
Tower  Wizard   0
Inferno  Demoniac   0
Inferno  Heretic   0
Necropolis  Death Knight  10
Necropolis  Necromancer  10
Dungeon  Overlord   0
Dungeon  Warlock   0
Stronghold  Barbarian   0
Stronghold  Battle Mage   0
Fortress  Beastmaster   0
Fortress  Witch   0
Conflux  Planeswalker   0
Conflux  Elementalist   0
Cove Horn of the Abyss     Captain   0
Cove Horn of the Abyss     Navigator   0
Factory Horn of the Abyss     Mercenary   0
Factory Horn of the Abyss     Artificer   0


User commentary

[Show user commentary]
[Hide user commentary]
Some may find the information in this section subjective or irrelevant.

Necromancy is the basis of Necropolis faction. By default there cannot be a Necropolis hero without this skill, so if a very important basic skill like Wisdom or Earth Magic is offered together with improving Necromancy, ignore Necromancy. You will get it sooner or later, while an ability to learn Animate Dead and cast it properly won't appear for every level. However, if your hero wears Cloak of the Undead King, expert Necromancy is exactly what you need, as rising Liches, the only Necropolis shooters with good stats, will make you almost invincible. In that case you might want to avoid battles prior to getting expert Necromancy, as 2-3 level Necropolis troops are significantly weaker than many other units of those levels.

For heroes from other towns, the Necromancy skill is undesirable as Skeletons are weak, slow and will spoil morale, and getting somewhat 5 Skeletons after a minor battle will be a total nonsense. Thus, if Necromancy came to a non-Necropolis hero, a better decision is to reload the game and avoid the source of it, unless your game is dedicated to Necropolis - if so, you may hire a supplying hero regardless of the class, who will increase the number of Skeletons.

Necropolis and Necromancy are often considered to be overpowered, and therefore frequently banned in multiplayer games (and tournaments).

See also:

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