necromancer skill help please.

I’m new to this game only been playing about 2 days now and recently I’ve become very confused about something I’m lvl 12 atmo and i been using the necromancer skill Animate Bone Horror for ages without any problem but just recently I’ve been finding it does not work some time and instead I get a smoky green skull appear over the corpse (I don’t have a clue what this mean?)

At first i though it maybe because the corpse I’m using the skill on are not flesh take the gargoyle in prattler some time it work and other time it does not? I just get this green skull appear over the corpse then it disappears?

It also happens with Charr with is really odd as it never done that before

This has become a problem as I’m just wasting the corpse so i have no army to fight for me please help me some one.

I'd guess that the corpse is being exploited by Soul Feast or something else that uses it before you can create the minions, and corpses only have one use to them.

i think thats right. im preety sure that soul feast has a skull shape when th corpse "exsplodes"

thats probably whats going on.

Discover which enemies and or friends are exploiting corpses before you do.
Some areas its best to kill these enemies first.

If using henchmen or heroes don't take one that also uses corpses

There is one skill that creates Minions without corpses. I find that the key to sucessful minion mastery.

Maximise the speed at which you can cast the summon skills though it is hard to beat computer AI at this.

If you are in Ascolon, which based on you post it seems you are, the plague devourer is a necro and uses putrid explosion, the casting time is much faster then any of the animate cast time so it will usually beat you out. Kill them first or hope you get lucky

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Bloodstained_Insignia

Unless you're in pre-searing

You really don't want to be a minion master if their isn't exploitable corpses and using a minion skill that dosent use a corpse really isn't needed more so you need a good skill for keeping your minions alive like blood of the master or ventars sacrifice.

Verata's Sacrifice doesn't justify itself after it got nerfed. Blood of the Master is a much better choice if you want a minion heal.

Ran a MM for a heck of a long time before giving this boring job to a hero, when I realised they could do it very well.

There are a lot of areas that don't have exploitable corpses Aura of the Lich is perfect for such areas.
if you want a little extra backup in hard mode where minions die really fast again Aura is the answer.

Then again sometimes I want to finish off my army get through a particular encounter or area and then recreate the army later on.

Aura of the Lich is a staple for me sure I like Jagged bones and if there are plenty of bodies I will use it.
Other wise a Necro Mesmer with Aura of the Lich and arcane echo can build up minions fast enough for my needs.

Want to run a solo MM works for that too

Except of course Aura of the Lich isn't available until the end of the game - the last mission to be exact. So advising that someone new to the game uses it is fairly useless. Still good advice and something to tuck away for later though. My favorite hero build is MM with Aura of the Lich and Ele 2nd, Earth, with Eruption and Churning Earth. I'll give Oli Blood Ritual if I think the team will benefit from it (usually does), even if there are only a few points in Blood.

If you want to run as MM that early, get a bloodstained insignia and a superior death rune. Yes, I know the health cost, but the sooner you get your Death to 16 the better. More minions that will last longer and draw more of the damage away from you makes it worth it. Take a direct damage spell(s) as well for when you run out of corpses.

OOPS ! my mistake
Good point about Aura of the Lich you tend to forget when and where you gained skills, I grabbed all the necro skills years ago.