In Diablo 4, the Necromancer class commands the power of death to summon and control an army of undead minions. Among these minions, the best necromancer minion build is one that focuses on maximizing the damage output and survivability of Skeleton Warriors. This build allows players to overwhelm enemies with a horde of relentless skeletal warriors, dealing massive melee damage while being highly durable.
One of the key aspects of this build is the use of the Bone Spear skill. Bone Spear is a ranged attack that deals significant damage to a single target. By combining Bone Spear with the “Commander of the Dead” passive, which increases the damage of minions by 15% for each active minion, Necromancers can significantly enhance the damage output of their Skeleton Warriors. Additionally, the “Grasp of the Dead” skill provides a damage reduction buff to nearby minions, making the Skeleton Warriors more resilient in combat.
Furthermore, the Necromancer’s “Revive” skill can be used to resurrect slain minions, providing a steady stream of undead warriors to bolster the ranks of the Skeleton Warriors. By combining these skills and runes, players can create an army of highly damaging, durable, and regenerating Skeleton Warriors that can overwhelm even the toughest enemies in Diablo 4.
The Unstoppable Bone Construct
The Bone Construct is a formidable minion that can serve as a bulwark against enemy hordes. With its immense strength and resilience, it can soak up countless blows, allowing necromancers to focus on conjuring more minions and unleashing devastating spells. Its unwavering loyalty and ability to regenerate makes it an invaluable asset in any necromancer’s arsenal.
Bone Construct’s Abilities
Bone Shield: The Bone Construct projects a protective shield of bone around itself, reducing incoming damage by a significant percentage.
Bone Plating: Its skeletal structure is reinforced with thick bone plates, bestowing additional resistance to physical and magical attacks.
Bone Spike: The Bone Construct can unleash a barrage of sharp bone spikes at nearby enemies, dealing damage and knocking them back.
Creating a Bone Construct
| Reagent | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Bone Dust | 50 |
| Essence of Shadow | 10 |
Ritual: Perform the “Rite of Convocation” ritual to summon the Bone Construct. This ritual requires a secluded location and a clear line of sight to the target area.
The Shadowborne Reaver’s Might
The Shadowborne Reaver is a powerful melee minion that can deal significant damage to enemies. It has a variety of attacks, including a powerful charge attack and a devastating slam attack. The Reaver is also very durable, making it a great choice for tanking enemies while your other minions deal damage.
Unleashing the Reaver’s Might
The Shadowborne Reaver is particularly effective when used in conjunction with other minions that can support its abilities. For instance, the Bone Golem can provide a protective barrier, while the Blood Golem can deal additional damage to enemies. Additionally, the Reaver can be enhanced with various skills and runes, such as “Reaver’s Charge,” which increases its speed and damage, and “Frenzied Reaver,” which grants it a chance to deal critical strikes.
To maximize the Reaver’s potential, consider the following strategies:
| Strategy | Description |
|---|---|
| Summoning Multiple Reavers | Overwhelm enemies with a horde of Reavers, each dealing substantial damage and soaking up damage. |
| Positioning Advantage | Utilize the Reaver’s charge attack to quickly engage distant targets or reposition for optimal damage output. |
| Skill Synergy | Combine the Reaver with supportive minions and skills, such as the Bone Golem’s protective barrier, to enhance its effectiveness. |
The Ritual of the Blood Golem
The Ritual of the Blood Golem is a powerful necromancy skill that allows you to summon a massive, hulking golem made of blood and bone. This fearsome creature is a formidable fighter, and it can be a valuable asset in any necromancer’s arsenal.
Materials Required
To perform the Ritual of the Blood Golem, you will need the following materials:
- A fresh corpse
- A pint of fresh blood
- A handful of grave dirt
- A pinch of brimstone
Steps
To perform the ritual, follow these steps:
- Lay the corpse on the ground and pour the blood over it.
- Sprinkle the grave dirt over the corpse.
- Touch two fingers to the corpse and whisper the words of power:"Arise, blood golem, and serve me."
As you speak the words, the corpse will begin to stir. Bones will knit together, and flesh will form. Within moments, the blood golem will stand before you, ready to do your bidding.
Commanding the Undead Hordes
The necromancer possesses the formidable power to command an army of undead minions, each with unique abilities that can devastate the battlefield. These minions can range from simple skeletons to powerful demons, and the necromancer can summon and control them at will.
Summoning and Controlling Minions
The necromancer’s ability to summon minions is central to their combat strategies. They can choose from a variety of undead creatures, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Skeletons are fast and numerous, while zombies are more durable and can inflict poison damage. Revenants are powerful melee combatants, and mages can cast spells from afar.
Enhancing Minions
Once summoned, the necromancer can enhance their minions’ abilities through various means. They can use spells to increase their damage, defense, or speed. They can also equip minions with weapons and armor to bolster their effectiveness.
Minions in Combat
In combat, the necromancer’s minions serve as extensions of their own power. They can be used to overwhelm enemies with numbers, tank damage, or deal significant damage from afar. The necromancer can also use their minions to distract enemies and create openings for attack.
| Minion Type | Abilities |
|---|---|
| Skeletons | Fast, numerous |
| Zombies | Durable, inflict poison damage |
| Revenants | Powerful melee combatants |
| Mages | Cast spells from afar |
The Scythe’s Edge: Wraiths and Banshees
The Scythe’s Edge skill in Diablo 4 allows the Necromancer to summon ethereal Wraiths and Banshees to their aid. These undead minions are essential for any Necromancer build, providing a variety of offensive and defensive capabilities.
Wraiths
Wraiths are summoned in groups of up to four and deal physical damage. They are primarily used as cannon fodder to absorb enemy attacks and create chaos on the battlefield. Wraiths grant the Necromancer a 5% chance to avoid being interrupted when casting spells, making them a valuable asset for both offensive and defensive strategies.
Banshees
Banshees are more powerful than Wraiths and deal elemental damage. They can attack from a distance and have increased health and damage compared to Wraiths. Banshees also grant the Necromancer a 10% bonus to damage against enemies that are below 50% health, making them extremely effective against weaker foes.
Synergy between Wraiths and Banshees
Wraiths and Banshees complement each other perfectly, providing both offensive and defensive support to the Necromancer. The combination of their physical and elemental damage makes them effective against a wide range of enemies. Additionally, their ability to absorb attacks and grant bonuses to the Necromancer makes them highly versatile minions that can be adapted to any situation.
Build Customization
The Scythe’s Edge skill can be customized to enhance the performance of Wraiths and Banshees in various ways. Certain runes can increase their damage, health, or mobility, while others can grant them additional abilities, such as the ability to slow enemies or explode on death.
Usage in Combat
In combat, Wraiths and Banshees should be summoned strategically to maximize their effectiveness. Wraiths are best used to soak up damage and create a distraction, while Banshees should be positioned to deal damage from a distance. By combining the abilities of these minions, the Necromancer can overwhelm enemies and control the battlefield.
| Minion | Damage Type | Health | Bonuses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wraiths | Physical | Low | Avoidance, Cannon Fodder |
| Banshees | Elemental | High | Damage against Low Health, Ranged |
Soul Drain: Siphoning Lifeforce
The Soul Drain ability allows the Necromancer to siphon lifeforce from enemies, healing the caster and their minions. This ability is essential for maintaining the vitality of the Necromancer’s minions and ensuring their survival in extended battles.
Soul Drain and Minion Health
Each cast of Soul Drain heals the Necromancer’s minions for a percentage of their maximum health. The healing effect is amplified based on the number of targets hit by the ability. When facing large groups of enemies, Soul Drain becomes an efficient tool for keeping the entire minion army healthy.
Siphoning and Buffing Minions
In addition to healing, Soul Drain also provides a temporary buff to the Necromancer’s minions. This buff increases their damage output and survivability, making them more effective in combat. The buff duration is relatively short, but the consistent healing provided by Soul Drain allows the Necromancer to maintain the buff’s uptime effectively.
Health Cost and Regeneration
Casting Soul Drain does not cost the Necromancer any resources, but it requires an initial health sacrifice. The health cost of the ability is based on the number of targets hit, so larger groups of enemies result in a higher health expenditure. However, the healing effects of Soul Drain often outweigh the initial health loss, making it a sustainable ability over time.
Range and Targeting
Soul Drain has a moderate range, allowing the Necromancer to siphon lifeforce from enemies at a comfortable distance. The ability targets multiple enemies within its area of effect, making it ideal for clearing large packs of weaker foes.
Synergy with Other Abilities
Soul Drain synergizes well with other Necromancer abilities that enhance minion health and survivability. For example, the “Life from Death” passive skill grants the Necromancer temporary life regeneration whenever their minions kill enemies, further amplifying the healing effects of Soul Drain.
Strategic Considerations
When using Soul Drain, the Necromancer should consider the following strategic factors:
- Prioritize healing minions that are actively engaged in combat.
- Use Soul Drain against large groups of enemies to maximize healing and buff effectiveness.
- Manage health costs carefully to avoid depleting the Necromancer’s own stamina.
Infernal Consumption: Demonic Minions
Essence Siphon
This ability allows the necromancer to drain the life force of their enemies, converting it into essence. This essence can be used to power other abilities, such as summoning minions or casting spells.
Command Skeletons
This ability allows the necromancer to summon a group of skeletons to fight for them. These skeletons are relatively weak, but they can be buffed with other abilities to become more powerful.
Raise Skeleton Mage
This ability allows the necromancer to summon a single skeleton mage. This mage is more powerful than a regular skeleton, and it can cast spells to support its allies.
Summon Golem
This ability allows the necromancer to summon a golem to fight for them. Golems are powerful melee units that can deal significant damage to enemies.
Bone Spirit
This ability allows the necromancer to summon a spirit that homes in on an enemy and explodes, dealing damage to all nearby enemies.
Corpse Explosion
This ability allows the necromancer to detonate the corpse of a slain enemy, dealing damage to all nearby enemies.
Blood Nova
This ability allows the necromancer to unleash a wave of blood that damages all nearby enemies. This ability is especially effective against large groups of enemies.
Curse of Weakness
This ability allows the necromancer to apply a curse to an enemy, reducing their damage output. This curse is especially effective against bosses and other powerful enemies.
Corpse Explosion: Devastating AoE Damage
Corpse Explosion unleashes a cataclysmic burst of energy that incinerates corpses within a large area, dealing significant physical damage to all nearby enemies. This skill excels in clearing large groups of mobs and boasts impressive damage potential when combined with a high number of corpses in the vicinity.
Synergies:
Corpse Explosion synergizes well with skills that generate corpses, such as Summon Skeleton, Raise Skeleton, and Blood Golem. It also benefits from abilities that increase corpse explosion, such as Necrotic Essence and Corpse Defiler.
Damage Scaling:
Corpse Explosion’s damage scales with the number of corpses consumed. The more corpses are available, the more devastating the explosion.
Rune Options:
Corpse Explosion offers several runes that enhance its functionality:
| Rune | Effect |
|---|---|
| Volatile Corpse | Increases critical strike chance and damage against enemies near corpses. |
| Blight Bomb | Adds poison damage to the explosion and applies a poison damage over time to enemies within the blast radius. |
| Singularity | Reduces the area of effect but significantly increases the explosion’s damage. |
| Flesh Golem | Summons a Flesh Golem that explodes, damaging all nearby enemies when killed. |
Applications:
Corpse Explosion is a versatile skill that can be utilized in various situations:
1. Clearing Trash Mobs: Efficiently eliminating large groups of weak enemies quickly.
2. Boss Fights: Damaging bosses and generating corpses to fuel subsequent explosions.
3. Crowd Control: Stunning and clearing hordes of enemies with a single powerful blast.
Unholy Essence: Enhancing Minion Abilities
Unholy Essence is a central aspect of necromancer minion builds in Diablo 4. It grants your minions various enhancements, significantly boosting their potency in combat.
Unholy Essence Abilities:
- Increased Damage: Empowers minions with increased damage output.
- Increased Health: Bolsters minions’ survivability by enhancing their health.
- Reduced Cooldown: Shortens the cooldown period of minion abilities.
- Increased Movement Speed: Accelerates minions’ movements, allowing them to quickly reach targets.
- Increased Attack Speed: Speeds up minions’ attacks, increasing their damage output.
- Increased Range: Extends minions’ range of attacks and abilities.
- Improved AoE: Enhances the area-of-effect (AoE) size of minions’ abilities.
- Increased Critical Hit Chance: Increases the likelihood of minions dealing critical hits.
- Increased Critical Hit Damage: Amplifies the damage dealt by minions’ critical hits.
- Increased Resistance: Augments minions’ resistance to various damage types.
| Essence Level | Bonus Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5% |
| 2 | 10% |
| 3 | 15% |
| … | … |
| 10 | 50% |
As you level up Unholy Essence, the bonus percentage for each enhancement increases significantly. At Essence Level 10, your minions will receive a substantial 50% boost to their abilities, making them a formidable force on the battlefield.
Best Necromancer Minion Build for Diablo IV
The Necromancer, a master of summoning and bone magic, is one of the most captivating classes in Diablo IV. Among their diverse abilities, the Necromancer excels at using their minions to overwhelm and subdue their foes. This guide will delve into the intricacies of building the most effective Necromancer minion build for maximum carnage in Diablo IV.
To begin, players should focus on attributes that enhance their minions’ performance. Intelligence and Bone Golem Mastery are crucial, as they increase both the damage and survivability of your skeletal warriors and golems. Additionally, some points should be invested in Dark Pact, as it boosts the health and damage of all minions. Dexterity and Energy can be considered later.
For skills, the choice is clear. Blight summons an army of locusts that swarm and damage enemies. Skeletal Mages provide ranged support, while Skeleton Warriors and Bone Golems act as melee tanks. Moreover, Corpse Explosion should be maximized, as it allows you to detonate corpses for massive damage, clearing clusters of enemies effectively.
On the defensive side, Blood Golem should be used to draw aggro and absorb damage. Simulacrum, which creates a decoy, is also valuable for staying alive. For healing, Bone Armor provides a shield that absorbs damage and repairs itself over time.
