Raise Skeleton

 is a Skill in Diablo II which is part of the Necromancer's Summoning Spells skill tree. It creates a skeleton that fights for the Necromancer.

Lore
''Early on, Necromancers learn to control the skeletal remains of deceased creatures. Invoking this skill causes a nightmarish jumble of animated bones to rise from a fresh corpse. Animated partially through their own will and partially through the summoned spirits of ancient warriors, Necromancers often maintain a small host of these reanimated soldiers to do their bidding. ''

Synergies
Raise Skeleton summons a skeleton warrior that fights the Necromancer's enemies to the death. The skill is targeted on a monster corpse, from which the Skeleton rises. Skeletons follow their master and engage his enemies in melee combat, providing both defense through distraction and offense through damage. When further strengthened with Skeleton Mastery, Skeletons can become quite powerful. However, without particular skill point focus, Skeletons usually do not perform well past Act II. Nevertheless, a Necromancer that specializes in Skeletons (by maxing Raise Skeleton and other associated skills) can create Skeletons strong enough to face all monsters throughout Normal difficulty, and with particular focus even Nightmare and Hell difficulties too.
 * Gives synergy to: None
 * Receives synergy from:
 * Skeleton Mastery
 * Summon Resist

As more points are placed into Raise Skeleton, more Skeletons can be summoned at a time and each grows more powerful. Skeletons provide excellent crowd control and deal impressive physical damage, especially when aided by Amplify Damage or Decrepify. Skeletons work best in open spaces, where they can all fight at the same time, and possibly surround small groups of monsters. They also heal over time and can take substantial punishment before perishing, especially at higher skill levels. Further, skillful application of Curses and Auras to aid a troop of Skeletons can greatly increase their effectiveness and power on the battlefield.

However, Skeletons have some drawbacks. Significant skill investment is required to make them worthwhile, and even the strongest Skeletons may struggle to damage to monsters found late in Hell difficulty. They are also vulnerable to attacks that deal damage over an area, such as those used by some Act bosses. Skeletons cannot damage monsters who are Immune to Physical (though Amplify Damage and Decrepify can sometimes bypass this immunity). Finally, a large troop of Skeletons can be awkward to maneuver, especially in closed spaces (such as the Maggot Lair) and versus hostile players. This last point can be remedied by using the Teleport skill to position the Necromancer's minions, though teleporting requires an item with this capability.

Skeleton Mastery increases the life and damage of Skeletons and changes their appearance. Points added to Raise Skeleton do not change their appearance, including the weapons they wield. Skeletons have a 5% chance to receive a shield when raised, which gives them a 3% block rate.

Development
In earlier versions of the game, each point invested into Raise Skeleton allowed the summoning of a new (albeit somewhat weak) Skeleton, potentially granting the necromancer the ability to control 20+ Skeletons at a time.