1) Who does the animate dead spell work on?
It only works on humanoids. Trying to use it on demons, undead, dragons etc. will have no effect (though raising an undead dragon thrall would be awesome).
2) I tried casting the animate dead spell with humanoid corpses and the ground and it didn't work. Why?
a) Do you have enough mana to sustain the spell? It has an upkeep of 80 mana.
Do you or any of your party members have Death Syphon or Death Magic on? Something I've noticed about these spells is that they sometimes tag corpses they drain energy from long before the animation for
draining the corpse and resulting health/mana increase occurs. There were several times where I thought I
turned off DS/DM as a humanoid neared death/just after it died only to see it not work. The only way
to be 100% sure the spell will tag targets properly is if you begin the battle without those abilities on.
Sometimes it may still work, but it won't be as reliable.
3) What abilities to the animated skeletons have?
This, imo, is the coolest part about this ability. The skeletons you animate are not random, nor are they of any one particular type. Rather, the type of skeleton you raise is based on the class of the humanoid you killed. If you cast it near the corpse of a mage, for example, you will raise a skeleton with some mage abilities. If you cast it on the body of a shield-spec warrior, you will raise a skeleton tank (that can tank decently at high levels I might add). A rogue skeleton can pick locks to an extent as well, if you ever have one of those moments where you find a chest and done have Leliana in your party (confirmed below). I haven't been able to pin down whether all the abilities from the mobs you raise them from are copied, or only a specific few are copied. I am currently trying this spell out in my hard difficulty campaign to see if they gain increased resistances that the buffed monsters at this difficulty get. If anyone can clarify this, awesome.
4) Can I raise more than one skeleton?
Nope. Each character with the spell can only raise one.
5) My skeleton disappeared! Wtf?!?!
For some reason the game engine does not sustain summons when you transfer zones. Perhaps this will be fixed in a patch. Until then, when you transfer areas, don't expect your skeleton to stick around.
6) Can I control my skeleton?
I'm not sure about the console version (someone clarifty this) but you can in the PC version. Just click the skeleton's portrait and you can command it to attack enemies, use abilities, etc. On it's own, it will attack things once attacked, but it won't use any abilities unless you command it to (at least that's been my experience)
7) Do the skeletons get more powerful as you gain levels?
In my experience, yes. However, I am unable to tell whether the increased power is due to the increased power of the CASTER or the increased power of the ENEMY KILLED. Most of the skeletons I raised at level 15+ were able to hold their for a long while against 1-2 enemies. At low levels, they got pwned pretty easily but managed to stall for time. Even if it lasts a short while, there's something to be said for having a warrior pet next to your mage that can shield bash an enemy coming too close.
8) Can the skeleton's be buffed/healed/blood sacrificed?
Someone confirmed that skeletons can be buffed/healed and blood sacrificed (odd..despite them being undead and having no blood). Also, if you cast "Spell Might" before raising the skeleton, the skeleton will have increased health/stats and you'll get a codex entry for the spell combo. In addition, skeletons raised using this combo have better gear and increased abilities.
9) What are the best ways to make use of this spell?
It requires some strategy and planning ahead of time. First, don't try to use it in a fight with multiple mages. In that situation, your mana is better spent disabling/killing the mages rather than sustaining a skeleton. Second, at the beginning of a battle, make sure you turn Death Syphon/Death Magic off if you want to use one. Next, pick the monster you think might be helpful. Are you fighting a warrior and several rogues? Kill the warrior, raise his corpse and use him to guard your back/stun rogues that get to close to your mage. Are you fighting a mage and several melee? Send your mage to the enemy mage, kill him, raise his corpse, and use that skeleton's aoe spells coupled with your own to decimate enemy ranks. In any event, go near the body of the monster you want to kill, cast the spell and voila!
10) This spell sucks and there are better ways to kill enemies. Why get it?
People play games with different approaches at different difficulties. Some people like to blanket and area with 3 kinds of aoe spells (forming storm of the century spell combo) and kill all the enemies before getting attacked. That's all well and good but that's not my play style; I find this tactic some cheezy and repetetive. I think that this spell is much more versatile because it allows for more creativity. Some may dismiss it as a gimmick, but it's been a very powerful and useful spell in my game.
Thanks to all who posted below for their corrections/added information
Modifié par Jasons073, 04 décembre 2009 - 07:29 .
Retour en haut
At least they would have if you didn't have a meat shield to draw spells away from the main party 
