Enjoy the horror of death with Diablo 4's ultimate Necromancer

The Necromancer has long been a staple of the Diablo games, and if you want death and decay as your chosen elements to wield in Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatethis building guide will help you whether you’re starting out or getting ready to tackle the endgame.

The Necromancer is a hero who enjoys death because it is the source of their power. Raise skeletal minions to fight for you, craft weapons from bone and blood, and embrace the macabre to destroy the demonic forces against you.

Beginner Level Build – Necromancer

As with the other classes, there are numerous options for the Necromancer to level up. I usually go for ‘minion’ builds, but their power seems a bit underbaked in Diablo IV, so I went back to my Diablo II standard: Bone Spear. Always a classic, sacrificing your minions to increase your solo damage capabilities, I’ve listed it below as the ‘Endgame’ build because it’s very similar to what you’ll be using once you start Torment difficulties.

As for the minion build, a good starting point is this beginner build here. Keep in mind that you’ll need to be careful when engaging bosses, make sure you keep raising new minions (they’ll often die even if buffed), and heal yourself.

Basic skills

Core skills

Corpse and Macabre skills

Corpse Explosion 5/5 – Plagued
Grim harvest 3/3
Fueled by Death 3/3
Mastery of Skeleton Warriors 3/3
Blood Mist 1/5 – Improved

Cursing skills

No
Iron Maiden (optional)

Corpse and Macabre Skills (2nd)

Serration 3/3
Compound fraction 3/3
Evulsion 3/3

Ultimate skills

Key Passive

Book of the Dead

Endgame for Beginners – Necromancer

The endgame build is very similar to the leveling build I ended up using, so this is definitely another option for you if you want to avoid having to deal with how subpar minion builds are in Diablo IV right now.

Otherwise, use this as a starting point for your endgame activities, as it scales very well with better gear. The basic idea is to use Corpse Tendrils to gather enemies, then cast Iron Maiden on them and spend your Essence on Bone Spear. Use Bone Splinters to regain Essence, use Soulrift if you get overwhelmed (or are facing Elites) and repeat if necessary.