Jagex Reveals First Look at Runescape 3’s Upcoming New Skill: Necromancy

Jagex has finally given us a close look at Runescape 3's 29th skill, Necromancy. 

We first caught wind of a Necromancy skill in January 2021, but Jagex is finally starting up the hype train for Runescape 3's 29th skill with a First Look video at Necromancy. It will be the first new skill in nearly four years.

First New Combat Skill In Decades

Along with being the 29th skill in Runescape 3, Necromancy will also be the fourth combat skill. Players will be able to progress up to level 120 (Or 20 if you are F2P), and after many years of 138 being the combat level cap, that cap will increase to level 152. 

However, Jagex has no intention of making the combat triangle into a combat square. Necromancy will be a neutral skill that falls outside the combat triangle and will have no advantages or disadvantages against Melee, Ranged, or Melee. 

The City of Um & the First Necromancer

To begin their Necromancy journey, players must traverse the depths of the City of Um, where they will encounter ghastly foes and ghostly allies. The few remaining creatures still alive in the City of Um are under siege by a man known only as the First Necromancer. 

The First Necromancer intends to break the cycle of life and death. Doing so would eliminate all life in the process. Achieving this goal requires the First Necromancer to control every soul in the City of Um. It is up to you to stop him. 

Necromancy's Standard Equipment: Death Guard & Spirit Lantern

Before you can do that, you must master your Necromancer abilities. The Necromancy update will add plenty of new weapons and equipment. Your primary equipment will be the Death Guard, Necromancy's main-hand weapon required to use most of your Necromancy abilities, and the offhand Spirit Lantern, which you can use to conjure up Undead allies like skeletons and zombies. 

As your Necromancy abilities grow, your conjured creatures will be able to fight alongside you for longer periods of time and become more powerful allies. 

And no need to worry about doing specific activities or killing certain creatures for hours on end trying to acquire the next tier of Necromancy weapons and equipment. Your base Necromancy weapons and armor fully embrace Runescape 3's Tier system, and players will be able to upgrade their standard equipment to Tier 90 as they progress through the skill. 

Rituals

As Runescape 3's fourth combat skill, combat will naturally be the go-to way of leveling up Necromancy. But it won't be the only way. 

Rituals will be a skilling activity that allows players to train Necromancy outside combat. Not only is this convenient when players want to change up the pace and take it easy, but also required for progression, as Rituals are how players will unlock the various Necromancy Talents. 

Using Necromancy in combat will earn you Talent Points, which you can use via Rituals to unlock new Talents. Necromancy will have 8 Talent Tiers, each providing various beneficial effects. At this time, it isn't possible for players to reassign Talent Points, so choose wisely. 

Incantations

I hope you haven't slacked on your Runecrafting training, but that skill will have an important companion role to play in Necromancy through Incantations. 

Incantations will require a new kind of rune: Necrotic Runes. These come in four varieties: Bone, Flesh, Spirit, and Miasma. To craft these Necrotic Runes, you must first convert Rune Essence into Impure Essence through Incantations. Then, you can travel to the underworld to craft the various Necrotic Runes and use them how you see fit. 

Incantations will have various potent abilities, like Bone Shield, which will enable the use of Defensive Abilities without needing a shield. 

Showdown with the First Necromancer

As you increase your Necromancy level, you will unlock more locations and quests in the Necromancy storyline. Two quests in this storyline feature a boss fight with a foe named the Spirit of War and a final battle with the First Necromancer himself.

While players can unlock tier 90 Necromancy equipment for free, the Necromancer and Spirit of War will have tier 95 Necromancy equipment drops. Defeating them will be necessary to achieve a true endgame Necromancy build. And remember: you can only use Necromancy against them. 

Stock Up Now

Jagex has released a list of items currently in the game that will be useful in various Necromancy endeavors. As such, it would be a good idea to stock up on the following items:

• Pure Essence
• Overload Potions 
• Bones
• Big Bones
• Baby Dragon Bones
• Wyvern Bones
• Dragon Bones
• Dagannoth bones
• Airut bones
• Ourg Bones
• Hardened Dragon Bones
• Dragonkin Bones
• Dinosaur Bones
• Frost Dragon Bones
• Reinforced Dragon Bones
• Subjugation Chest/Head/Legs
• Spectral Spirit Shield
• Dragonic Visage
• Spider Silk Chest/Head/Legs
• Blue Mystic Chest/Head/Legs 
• Algarum Thread

The most important item on this list is Overloads since you cannot trade for them and must make them yourself at level 96 Herblore. They're already immensely useful but will be even stronger after the Necromancy update. Necromancy buffs will be included in Overloads after the Necromancy update goes live, and any pre-made Overloads will automatically receive that bonus. Overloads made after the update goes live will require Extreme Necromancy Potions. 

Coming this year

Jagex has stated that they will be releasing Necromancy sometime later this year. There will be an EXP embargo for six months after Necromancy's release to prevent cheesing your way to 120 Necromancy through lamps and stars. Details on a grace period for things like the Completionist Cape are still forthcoming. 

Jagex is working with esteemed members of the RS3 community on the game's 29th skill to ensure it's a worthy inclusion in Runescape 3 and shapes up to be a fantastic new way of playing the game. Phil Mansell, CEO of Jagex, tweeted out his belief that Necromancy's quality and scope surpass Archeology and its impact on the game will surpass Invention. Considering how busted Invention is, that is a bold statement.

Stay tuned for more updates on Necromancy. In the meantime, you can check out Jagex's Expanded First Look here.