Builds for leveling up low level
I went full power and used axe/focus and D/D. For utilities I mainly relied on consume conditions for healing and well of suffering which at lower lvls especially kills pretty much anything. Later on add some crit and then finally decide what your end build will be and start playing that towards the end (60 – 80 or so.)
Low lvl playstyle with axe/focus is pretty much just stack vuln and then use axe 2 for single targets and the well for aoe.
That being said, the necro is pretty diverse so try out everything and see what you like.
I used minions with berserker gear leveling up then hit 80 and switched to hybrid with rampagers gear.
I had a pretty easy time using a dagger dagger vampiric build. I used AoE weakness from DS Dagger 5 and corrosive poison cloud. Well of Suffering is awesome too.
the weakness offsets incoming damage allowing the vampiric traits to really shine.
Not as effective PvP because people are either high precision nullifying weakness, or condition heavy, weakness is ignored. Dagger 4 clears up the condition issue easy enough. Kind of amusing sending large stacks of confusion or bleeds back to giver.
Doesn’t matter that much to be honest. I leveled with a less than optimal build, with green gear several levels behind my own (notoriously didn’t get a new staff from lvl 40 to 80). Leveling PvE is easy.
That said, the best to level would probably be a berserkers (or closest you can get for you level – power/prec/crit dmg) set with dagger/axe and staff and wells/life syphon build for survival and mass tagging.