Your Zombie and You

In this subject, ZOMBIES! Constructs, too.

There are currently two types of commandable minions for Necromancers.

1) Constructs or "mudmen" are created by using the Perform Cut ritual, foraged dirt and the Quicken the Earth (QE) spell. They are dumb, mindlessly aggressive creatures whose potency is directly drawn from your TM ability. They cannot be armed and they don't always do exactly what you want. You can direct them to attack another Player by facing said Player while the construct is in the room. If you are faced, it will try to attack your facer automatically with the caveat that it will go after similar creatures first, regardless of your engagement situation. Another Necro's zombie, an Empath's GS, a Ranger's Spawn in the room? It'll attack them instantly.

Constructs are not particularly strong, but they do bring a useful mudslinging attack that can stun your opponent, opening up opportunities for you.


2) If constructs might be a bit weak, zombies are not. Zombies can be extremely powerful. They are equippable with any type of weapon and armor, their prowess with them a reflection of your TM ability.

They can be stanced Offensively or Defensively, shifting their abilities in either direction. For PVP, I typically advocate Offensive Stance on them. This will mean they will jump immediately to melee on your opponents. You can direct them to do this at will as well with the Command Zombie Special command. They can be a great distraction, or you can let them do your fighting for you if they are capable of just beasting your opponent purely on their offensive ability, which is often the case.

You can also set their behavior. Aggressive Behavior is typically more for fighting mobs. They'll clear the room out. I advocate Defensive Behavior in most PVP cases, as they will engage anything that faces them or anything that faces you. Additionally, they can be commanded to attack a specific target. PROTIP: Command Zombie Attack Stop after your zombie kills someone at your direct command in most cases, as they will immediately resume attempting to kill that person should they be alive again in the same room. People often don't take kindly to being immediately smoked upon resurrection or return from depart.

The limitations are that zombies are a bit slow between attacks, and they have fairly poor perception. People will run away from them, hide from them, etc., and there is little defense aside from just letting your zombie go through the process of engaging again. When choosing gear, I'd recommend either going with a sort of Tank set (big hitting weapon, heavy armor, shield) or with a ranged weapon with good ammo (also big hitting). These guys are instant offense, but if you give them a cudgel, they might not do so great for you.

After you've made, healed (with NR) and equipped your zombie, it's typically best to COMMAND ZOMBIE LEAVE. This will place it off the grid, but available to you wherever you go. Bring it to you with COMMAND ZOMBIE COME.

I will go into more detail on their usage in PVP later.