Necromancy is the latest and greatest combat skill for Runescape 3, so no more questions like “When is Necromancy coming to RS3?” This member's skill was released on 7 August 2023 and is the first combat skill allowing players to reach level 120. Necromancy is unrelated to the other combat skills, AKA the combat triangle, but training it will raise your overall combat level. Moreover, training Necromancy will still boost your combat level, increasing the max combat level to 152.
To train Necromancy with combat, you must utilize an off-hand conduit and a main hand siphon, both of which are new weapons to the Necromancy skill. As their names imply, the siphon attacks and drains enemies, while the conduit is used to raise the undead, who will then fight alongside you. New abilities are introduced as you progress, unlocking more aspects of this new skill.
What Is RS3 Necromancy and What Makes It Unique?
As Necromancy is the 29th skill that Jagex introduced to RuneScape 3, they’ve made some great additions to keep things fresh. Necromancy also expands the lore and story of Gielnor, particularly in the underworld.
Incantations
Utilizing Necrotic runes, players can now use special incantation spells, which include attack boosts alongside other great features. These spells are entirely linked to the Necromancy skill, with no magic requirement necessary. From level 24 Necromancy, you can use the first spell, which is a teleport to the City of Um. Incantations also have to be unlocked alongside talents tiers, such as the Invoke Death incantation, which requires level 8 Necromancy and the seventh tier of talents to access.
Talent Tree
The talent tree, or talent system, is used to unlock incantations and allows you to upgrade weapons. To unlock talents, you will need talent points, which are received from training Necromancy via combat. However, to unlock new tiers, you will need to complete rituals and complete Necromancy quests.
Rituals
Rituals are a non-combat method needed to obtain new tiers of talent, as well as upgrade weapons and create necrotic runes. Performing rituals are done by completing a series of glyph, light, and object puzzles on the floor of the ritual site in the City of Um.
Combat
As mentioned, Necromancy has a very unique combat style that fully encompasses all that one envisages with Necromancy. Combat involves draining enemies' power and strength alongside using powerful tools to bring foes back from the dead and fight on your team. This is the main focus of the RS3 Necromancy skill and is sure to revitalize many players' RS3 experience.
City of Um
With the announcement of the necromancy release date, RS3 players have been eager to learn about the new locations the skill will bring. The City of Um is the main city and focus of the Necromancy skill and questline. The city is a major location of Gielnors underworld, with many souls making it their home. You will be training the majority of the Necromancy skill in this city, so it’s a good idea to learn all the different locations and features, such as the docks and citadel. You can reach the city by going to the Underworld portal, located north of the Draynor Village lodestone. You can also go directly to the City of Um with the teleport, unlocked at level 24 Necromancy and with the completion of the Rune Mythos quest.
RuneScape Necromancy Requirements
Aside from the aforementioned “Necromancy!” quest, there are no specific requirements to start training Necromancy. The combat is disconnected from the other combat skills, so you don’t need good strength, attack, or defense levels to begin training.
Combat RS3 Necromancy Training Methods
Training Necromancy with combat involves fighting various undead enemies, utilizing your siphon and conduit weapons. Much like other combat skills, as your progress through the levels, different enemies become more viable training options.
Recommended Setup
The siphon weapon, known as the Death Guard, has different tiers starting with tier 10. You should upgrade it as soon as your Necromancy level allows and keep doing so until you max out the skill. It's a similar story for the off-hand Conduit item, where the Skull lantern should be upgraded as soon as possible.
Other items you should use are ones with a focus on attacking undead enemies. The ghost hunter helm and backup give bonuses when attacking undead, and the Salve amulet (e) also gives similar bonuses, with a boost to accuracy as well. The tier 5 Mahjarrat aura is the recommended aura to use due to its damage bonuses. As for armor, hybrid armor is recommended, but when you reach high levels, it is recommended to switch to power armor, in particular ones of the Necronium type. Lastly, any type of God book is ideal for your pocket slot item, such as Armadyl's Book of Law or Zamorak's Book of Chaos.
Getting Started
To begin training Necromancy and gain access to many of its skills, you will need to complete the “Necromancy!” quest. While the Necromancy skill is a Member skill, this first quest can be completed as a free-to-play user. The quest can be started by visiting the underworld portal just north of Draynor Village.
1-99/120 RS3 Necromancy Combat Guide
Levels 1-5: The Necromancy! Quest
Completing this quest will provide you with the basic information needed to start your RS3 Necromancy journey successfully; not only that, it will provide enough XP to carry you straight to level 5!
This tutorial will introduce the mechanics and some new aspects of the skill, such as Glyphs. These will be used as a ritual component, drawing on "Glyph spots" within the City of Um.
Levels 5-15: Talent Tree Second Tier Unlock Rituals
For your second bout of RS3 Necromancy leveling, you'll want to complete the second Talent Tree tier unlock rituals. To do so, you'll need to acquire 50 souls to complete this, meaning you'll have to carry out roughly 13 rituals to reach your goal.
Levels 15-34: Talent Tree Third Tier Unlock Rituals
Once you're at level 15, continue with rituals, aiming for the third-tier unlock. You'll need to accumulate 400 souls overall for this stretch of the leveling journey, though this does include the previous 50 you acquired. As a whole, you should need to conduct around 90 rituals to reach your goal.
Levels 34-50: Slaying Banshee
You can find banshees in the Slayer Tower or a Personal Slayer Dungeon. We'd recommend in the early stages to aim for the latter, as the Slayer Tower will be overrun with eager players.
There aren't many requirements for this set of leveling, but you'll need either a Slayer Helm on the anachronia stand or earmuffs; failure to do so will drain your stats.
Each Banshee slain will offer you 217.5XP, and as they only have a defense of 27, your accuracy should be 100%, providing you use tier 30 weapons. Additionally, these creatures use attack Melee, so your best bet for success is to counter using AoE. You may also want to consider wearing Salve (e) or some Ghost Hunter Equipment, as both can be effective on these creatures.
Levels 50-60: Slaying Ankou
Once you're at level 50, battling Ankou is your best bet for climbing through the next ten levels of your Necromancy in RuneScape adventure. You can find these creatures in either the Stronghold of Security or a Personal Slayer Dungeon, which upon release once again, the latter may be more suitable due to crowding.
For every Ankou you kill, you'll receive 362.5XP, and with a defense of 44, you can achieve 100% accuracy on attacks when using tier 50 and above weaponry, as well as Salve. Again, just like the Banshee, these creatures attack with Melee, so AoE is an easier route to take, and just like their predecessors, Ghost Hunter Equipment and Salve (e) are sure to be beneficial.
Levels 60-63: Greater Rituals (Talent Tree 4th Tier Unlock)
For this short leveling journey, you'll need to accumulate 2,000 souls, which will require you to conduct around 200 rituals using high-tier bones; this will also be when Glyphs come into play. By using the Speed 1 and Multiply 1 Glyph, you can complete your rituals faster and acquire more souls. Making it possible for you to complete as little as 150 rituals to reach level 63.
However, remember that Glyphs will degrade after use. They can be reconstructed, however, which you can do by repairing them with the same amount of materials used to draw them on the Glyph spots.
Levels 63-66: Slaying Shadow Warriors
You can find these foes in the Legends Guild, but we would again recommend considering a POSD due to the inevitable overcrowding that's sure to occur due to this skill's newness. Like the previous creatures you've taken on while leveling RS3 Necromancy, these guys are susceptible to Salve (e) and Ghost hunter equipment, which is sure to be a pattern continuing through this skilling journey.
Each Shadow Warrior you defeat will grant you 390XP and has a defense of 47, so aim for those tier 60 and above weapons to ensure 100% accuracy. Again, just like previous battles, these warriors attack using Melee, so AOE is an excellent choice.
If you're unable to access a POSD and can't access the Legends Guild, continue to slay Ankou at Stronghold of Security.
Levels 66-70: Greater Rituals (Talent Tree 5th Tier Unlock)
At this point in your RS3 Necromancy leveling journey, you'll be feeling the pressure a little more, as to complete this skilling bout and reach level 70, you're going to have to complete an estimated 810 rituals to accumulate the 8,500 souls needed; this is assuming you're using the high tier bones.
You will have unlocked the Glyph Multiply 2 at this stage, allowing even better output when conducting rituals. If you put them to use, you could be fortunate enough to acquire the needed souls in as little as 600 rituals.
Levels 70: Kiln (optional)
When you've reached this stage in your RuneScape Necromancy journey, you'll be eligible to acquire the Kiln cape, which can be augmented to give you the Necromancy Zuk cape; to do so, ensure you have an Igneous stone.
First, you'll need to ensure you have completed the mini-game and acquired the cape. For this to work and provide the cape you desire, take on the Kiln using predominantly Necromancy while ensuring you hybrid using one of the three other attack styles. Then upon receiving your cape, add the Igneous stone to the Necromancy Kiln cape to create a Zuk cape.
As we stated, predominantly use Necromancy for this stage, while either hybriding, tribriding, or going all out and using a combination of all three attack styles now along with the Necromancy, now called "Quadbriding." You'll also want to include some tier 70+ gear to make the battle easier.
If applicable, using DTD (Deathtouch Darts) when hybriding can be highly beneficial, as this counts as Range, and these items are known to kill almost any RS3 monster in one hit. This will be especially effective on harder-to-kill monsters like Jads or Har-Aken.
Below we have compiled a few of the optimal ways to tackle this segment of our RS3 Necromancy training guide:
Hybrid - 37% HP dealt with Necromancy.
- Necromancy: 1-9,11-15,22-24,31-32
- Secondary Style: 10, 16-21, 25-30, 33,37.
Tribrid - 23% HP dealt with Necromancy.
- Necromancy: 1-5, 8, 11-13, 22-23, 31-32.
- Secondary Style: 6-7, 9-10, 14-21.
- Third Style: 24-30, 33-37.
Quadbrid - 17% HP dealt with Necromancy.
- Necromancy: 1-3, 8, 11-13, 22-23, 31.
- Secondary Style: 28-30, 32-37.
- Third Style: 17-21, 24-27.
- Fourth Style: 4-7, 9-10, 14-16.
Levels 70-90: Slaying Bound Skeletons
You'll want to head to the Fortinthty Crypt or use a POSD to find these foes. Though we'd heavily recommend using POSD as the Crypt only seems to have four skeletons, whereas the dungeon presents five, and they spawn faster, making for quicker leveling bouts.
It's worth noting that at this stage of your RS3 Necromancy skilling journey, you will have some unlocked quests that should be done at this stage; doing so will make your journey a lot smoother; further down in our guide you can find a list of the Necromancy quests that you'll find helpful. You'll also want to upgrade your gear to tier 80+ as you progress through this segment, or you'll face a much more difficult battle.
For each Skeleton you slay, you'll be awarded 600 XP, a steady increase from previous endeavors. The Bound Skeletons also have a defense of 65, meaning with tier 70+ weapons, you'll have very high accuracy, but upgrading to 80+ will provide you that extra edge.
Like their predecessors, these monsters attack using Melee, so again, using AOE will make this bout fairly easy. These guys are also susceptible to Salve (e), but Ghost Hunter gear is far less relevant than those who came before them.
90+ Rituals
For this segment of the RS3 Necromancy guide, depending on your XP goals, you may want to take a different approach. The reason for this is you'll only unlock split souls, meaning you won't receive the combat XP you're looking for; they're only good for bossing in all actuality, but if you want the ability, go for it!
This will regicide you to unlock 35,000 souls, which will be quite the grind—giving another reason for some players to bypass this entirely.
90+ ED3 Bridge Run
The new Trash Run in ED3 is the next method we'll be touching on for the level 90+ stretch of our RS3 Necromancy guide. To benefit from this, you'll want to clear the run to the third checkpoint, kill the Leviathan and make your way past him until you reach the checkpoint Temple entrance and locate the chest. From there, make your way to the middle of the room, searching for any valuables as you do so.
This method will inflict its fair share of damage, but it shouldn't be too worrying due to the amount of AOE used in Necromancy. Consider eating some food if needed.
You will notice when in battle, four Necromancers are in the corners of the room; do not kill them. Doing so will only spawn more skeletons and lessen your chances of success. Once you have slain all the skeletons in the temple, teleport out and re-bank if needed, then re-enter the temple and repeat the process of slaying skeletons using the chest to teleport back in.
90+ Risen Ghosts
Like our level 70-90 segment, you'll find Risen Ghosts in the Fort Forinthry Crypt or a POSD. Taking these guys down offers a hefty 1,500 XP per ghost, a hearty improvement from previous gains. With a defense of 70, you'll want to ensure you've got tier 90 weapons and Salve if you want 100% attack accuracy.
It's at this point in our Necromancy in RS3 guide we see a slight turning point for how we will approach the creatures we're slaying. As with the Risen Ghosts, unlike previous monsters we've taken on in our Necromancy journey, they do not attack using Melee, instead using Magic. Instantly changing our usual dynamic on this questing journey as this means AOE is not as effective.
90+ Armored Phantoms (Hard)
You'll want to use POSD for these enemy fights, though before you decide on this method, take heed of the difficulty of this method. These enemies are harder to kill, but the reward will be well worth it if you are determined to do so.
For each Armored Phantom you destroy, you'll be awarded 2,750 XP toward your RuneScape Necromancy adventure, another excellent influx and upgrade from previous methods. Each Phantom has a defense of 87, but with tier 90 weapons, 99 Prayer, and Elder Overload potions, you can achieve 100% accuracy on attacks.
Despite the difficulty of this method, it does take us back to familiarity, as these monsters attack using Melee, meaning AoE is back on the table; and like many of their predecessors, they are susceptible to Salve (e) and Ghost Hunter gear.
90+ Abyssal Savages
The last Skilling bout suggestion for our RS3 Necromancy guide is slaying Abyssal Savages in the Wilderness. This final method is much easier than some 90+ leveling methods, though you'll likely yield less XP per hour.
Each Savage you take down will grant you 750 XP, halving your potential XP gains from options like Armored Phantoms, though the difficulty levels have also dropped significantly. As they are heavily populated in the north of the Wilderness, you also have the potential to take down several at once. This factor alone could see you upping the XP gains once more. With a defense of 75, you'll need tier 90 weapons for 100% accuracy, and since they attack using Melee, AoE is once again a go-to method.
The major difference with this technique is these creatures are susceptible to Demon Slayer and the Wildy DMG buff on puzzle boxes. The unfortunate aspect of this method is that the likelihood of getting a spot where you can gain steady XP is low, as with the hype for this new skill, there's no doubt it's going to get overcrowded very quickly
RS3 Necromancy Tips & Tricks
We recommend taking note of the following tips as they can significantly boost your Necromancy progression and even fill your pockets.
Make Sure Not to Skip Content
RuneScape Necromancy presents players with a series of quests, and by far, the best way to go about them is to follow along and complete them as they pop up. This ensures a smooth progression since players will be able to upgrade gear right before any major developments that require certain gear levels. Additionally, the new talent tree offers amazing upgrades, and it is best to focus on one skill rather than trying to level both at once.
Area tasks are a great way to gain more insight and tips for progressing further; these can be the turning point between staying on track and feeling lost, and the best part is they award buffs to both combat and rituals, so make sure not to skim through them. Moreover, ritual site chests offer decent storage, which can be utilized for more storage.
Gear Presets and Action Bar Binding
To be as efficient with your training as possible, we recommend new players create gear presets to quickly jump in and out of gear depending on their goal; combat or skilling. Furthermore, new players can toggle ‘Action Bar Binding’ in Settings to automatically switch controls based on the equipped gear, in this case, RS3 Necromancy training gear. To effectively use this feature, it is important to customize keybinds beforehand by right-clicking them and choosing binds of preference.
Make Use of XP Boosts
On the other hand, seasoned players will appreciate this next tip which revolves around boosting their leveling capabilities. The best way is to use overload or other stat-boosting potions and equip jewelry or capes offering various combat buffs that ensure faster progression. Furthermore, slaying swarms of monsters with big health bars, like skeletons in the lobby or troll cave spectral trolls, is recommended, as they can quickly fill your experience bars.
Another useful experience tip would be equipping the Wise perk on gear or off-hand, as it grants 1-4% extra XP for every 50k XP. Alternatively, Inspire Awe relic is as well a decent XP booster, granting a 2% XP buff for all Combat skills, Necromancy included. Torstol incense sticks are a good substitute for this as well.
Money Making
Everyone knows Runecrafting is a very lucrative money making skill but a highly tedious one too. With the integration of Necromancy into RuneScape, players will want runes to progress quickly, so a good strategy for racking up some serious coin is to focus on the rituals for essence and then crafting runes to sell to other players. The best part is that the demand for runes will always be present, making this effort a means of investing in the future.
RS3 Necromancy Cape
Once players attain 99 in Necromancy, much like with other skills, they will get the opportunity to purchase the Necromancy cape. This cape and the Necromancy hood can be purchased for 99k GP from the Necromancy master. The cape can be bought for a reduced price of 92k coins with an imbued or regular ring of chaos. While the cape offers an Alternation glyph buff and can temporarily increase the player’s Necromancy level from 99 to 100, the hood does not offer any benefits.
RS3 Necromancy FAQ
What Are the Requirements for Necromancy?
Necromancy in RuneScape has no requirements apart from The First Necromancer quest series, which serves as an introduction to the skill. However, we have some recommendations that can help in your journey. It is essential to upgrade weapons often, meaning when tier upgrades get unlocked, they will require five levels lower Smithing than the tier. So, make sure to have Smithing 15 or higher. Armor upgrades have the exact requirements, so level Crafting to 15 or above. Additionally, having runes helps with training efficiency, so have Runecrafting leveled to craft Spirit, Bone, and Flesh runes. Moreover, having 10+ in Prayer helps with combat and survival, while 11+ in Herblore is very useful for Necromancy and boosting potions’ potency.
Is Necromancy in RS3 a 120 Skill?
Necromancy is the first Combat skill that can be leveled all the way to 120, raising the player’s Combat cap to level 152. Apart from Necromancy, RuneScape so far featured only six skills on which players were able to achieve a skill mastery so high; Archeology, Invention, Herblore, Dungeoneering, Farming, and Slayer, requiring a total of 104,273,167 XP each and 80,618,854 XP for Invention. For reference, level 99 skills require 13,034,431 XP each, while Invention requires 36,073,511 XP to reach skill mastery.
Is RS3 Necromancy an Elite Skill?
Although Necromancy can be leveled to 120, it is not an elite skill, so it has no skill requirements to train it. It also does not have a different experience-to-level ratio, nor does it award the true skill mastery cape on level 120. Only one elite skill in RuneScape exists, Invention, which requires level 80 in Divination, Smithing, and Crafting to start leveling it.
Wrapping Up Our 1-99/120 RS3 Necromancy Guide
Thank you for being part of another Chicks Gold blog installment, this time featuring the 1-99/120 RS3 Necromancy training guide. We hope you found our comprehensive guide helpful and that you will become a Necromancy master in no time, fit to reach levels 99 or 120 with ease! We strongly encourage you to check our other blogs as we feature many as useful if not more! Alternatively, you can check our power leveling services; our professional trainers are ready to help you with your RS3 skills!
