Best Diablo 4 Necromancer builds: Skill trees, upgrades & Aspects

In Diablo 4 Season 1, the presence of Malignant Hearts in the game has posed a challenge in devising an optimal Necromancer build. To aid you in your quest to conquer these formidable monsters, we present the most potent Necromancer builds in Diablo 4 Season 1, complete with comprehensive skill sets, upgrades, and Aspects.

With the Season 1 update, Diablo 4 underwent numerous changes, featuring the addition of fresh Unique and Ancestral items. Thankfully, the Necromancer class has been the least impacted by the overall modifications brought about by the recent updates.

You can prioritize obtaining the top Necromancer builds in Diablo 4, as it is regarded as one of the strongest classes in the current meta. These builds enhance the three fundamental skills that form the core of its gameplay.

With that being said, it’s time to delve into the top three Necromancer builds in Diablo 4, focusing on powerful skills like the Bone Spear, Blight, and Corpse Explosion.

  • The top Necromancer build in Diablo 4
  • The skill tree provided is specifically designed for the Bone Spear Necromancer build in Diablo 4’s Book of the Dead. It offers guidance on how to effectively utilize the Legendary Aspect, as well as recommendations for the most optimal Paragon Boards and Glyphs to enhance your character’s performance. Additionally, it suggests utilizing the Best Malignant Hearts for maximum efficiency.
  • This is the skill tree for the Army of the Dead Necromancer build in Diablo 4 Book of the Dead. Learn how to effectively play with the Legendary Aspect and maximize the use of Malignant Hearts.
  • The Blight Corpse Explosion Necromancer build in Diablo 4 Book of the Dead possesses a skill tree that focuses on devastating corpse explosions. To play this build successfully, it is crucial to master the Legendary Aspect of the Best Malignant Hearts.
  • Top qualities for the Necromancer character in Diablo 4
  • Top Gem Choices for the Necromancer in Diablo 4
Blizzard

Necromancer is one of the five starter classes in Diablo 4.

Best Necromancer build in Diablo 4

The Bone Spear Necromancer stands out as the top-notch build in Diablo 4, offering exceptional performance. Here, you’ll discover all the pertinent information regarding this build.

Skill tree for the Bone Spear Necromancer build in Diablo 4

In this article, we will provide an extensive analysis of the Bone Spear Necromancer build in Diablo 4. We will guide you on how to effectively allocate all your skill points, starting from level 1 and reaching level 50. Additionally, we will also discuss the distribution of the ten extra skill points obtained through Renown.

Level Necromancer skill Skill type
1 Bone Splinters Basic skill
2 Enhanced Bone Splinters Basic skill
3 Bone Spear Core Skill
4 Enhanced Bone Spear Core Skill
5 Supernatural Bone Spear Core Skill
6 Bone Spear Core Skill
7 Blood Mist Corpse & Macabre Skill
8 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
9 Enhanced Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
10 Blighted Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
11 Bone Spear Core Skill
12 Bone Spear Core Skill
13 Bone Spear Core Skill
14 Grim Harvest Corpse & Macabre Skill
15 Grim Harvest Corpse & Macabre Skill
16 Grim Harvest Corpse & Macabre Skill
17 Hewed Flesh Core Skill
18 Corpse Tendrils Corpse & Macabre Skill
19 Enhanced Corpse Tendrils Corpse & Macabre Skill
20 Plagued Corpse Tendrils Corpse & Macabre Skill
21 Serration Corpse & Macabre Skill
22 Serration Corpse & Macabre Skill
23 Serration Corpse & Macabre Skill
24 Compound Fracture Corpse & Macabre Skill
25 Compound Fracture Corpse & Macabre Skill
26 Compound Fracture Corpse & Macabre Skill
27 Evulsion Corpse & Macabre Skill
28 Evulsion Corpse & Macabre Skill
29 Evulsion Corpse & Macabre Skill
30 Stand Alone Ultimate Skill
31 Memento Mori Ultimate Skill
32 Memento Mori Ultimate Skill
33 Memento Mori Ultimate Skill
34 Ossified Essence Key Passive
35 Bone Storm Ultimate Skill
36 Prime Bone Storm Ultimate Skill
37 Supreme Bone Storm Ultimate Skill
38 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
39 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
40 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
41 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
42 Unliving Energy Core Skill
43 Unliving Energy Core Skill
44 Unliving Energy Core Skill
45 Unliving Energy Core Skill
46 Hewed Flesh Core Skill
47 Hewed Flesh Core Skill
48 Stand Alone Ultimate Skill
49 Stand Alone Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 1 Fueled by Death Corpse & Macabre Skill
Renown skill point – 2 Fueled by Death Corpse & Macabre Skill
Renown skill point – 3 Unliving Energy Core Skill
Renown skill point – 4 Unliving Energy Core Skill
Renown skill point – 5 Acolyte’s Bone Splinters Basic Skill
Renown skill point – 6 Death’s Reach Curse Skill
Renown skill point – 7 Death’s Reach Curse Skill
Renown skill point – 8 Death’s Reach Curse Skill

Book of the Dead

To maximize the Diablo 4 Bone Spear Necromancer build mentioned above, incorporate the following buffs obtained from the Book of the Dead:

  • Once you achieve Level 8, enhance your Critical Chance by 5% by sacrificing your Skeletal Warriors (Skirmishers).
  • At Level 18, enhance your damage against vulnerable enemies by sacrificing your Skeletal Mages (Cold), granting a 15% damage boost.
  • Once you acquire the power of summoning Golems, utilize the Bone Golem until reaching Level 32.
  • When you reach Level 32, you can enhance your Critical Strike damage by sacrificing your Iron Golem.

How to play

The Bone Spear Necromancer build in Diablo 4 is relatively easy to play. Simply spam Bone Spear whenever you have enough energy and make sure to frequently use Corpse Explosion to replenish your Essence. Blood Mist and Corpse Tendrils are also useful skills for keeping enemies at bay and controlling them, respectively.

The skill Corpse Tendrils enables you to control the crowd, while passives such as Memento Mori will grant you rewards for sacrificing minions. The Bone Spear Necromancer build centers around sacrificing all minions to enhance the likelihood of a Critical Strike. This, in turn, results in greater damage output after sacrificing the Iron Golem.

Legendary Aspects

To construct your Bone Spear Necromancer, it is advisable to opt for the subsequent Aspects:

Aspect Location Type
Aspect of the Umbral Champion’s Demise Resource
Aspect of Potent Blood Betrayer’s Row Resource
Aspect of Torment Black Asylum Resource
Splintering Aspect Guulrahn Slums Offensive
‍Aspect of Grasping Veins Corrupted Grotto Offensive

To maintain powerful combos, Essence generation is crucial, and Resource Aspects can assist with that. The Umbral Aspect will amplify every Crowd Control effect, the Potent Blood Aspect will provide 10 Essence and heal you for 15% of your Maximum Life when collecting Blood Orbs, and the Torment Aspect will boost Essence regeneration by 20% following a Critical Strike with Bone Skills.

The Bone Spear Necromancer can utilize Offensive Aspects to enhance their damage output. For instance, the Aspect of Grasping Veins empowers the Necromancer to inflict 30% additional Critical Strike Damage on enemies that have been harmed by Corpse Tendrils. Furthermore, it boosts the Critical Strike Chance for a duration of 6 seconds following the casting of Corpse Tendrils.

The latest patches have successfully resolved the issue with the Splintering Aspect. However, it continues to synergize effectively with the Bone Spear Necromancer build, amplifying damage upon striking Vulnerable adversaries.

Best Paragon Boards and Glyphs

In order to create the most powerful Bone Spear Necromancer character in Diablo 4, consider investing in these Paragon Boards and Glyphs.

  • Starting Board and Exploit
  • Bone Graft and Essence
  • The Fragrance of Demise and Devotee
  • Flesh-Eater and Sacrificial

Best Malignant Hearts

Here are some Malignant Hearts that can enhance your Bone Spear Necromancer build in Diablo 4 Season 1:

  • The Brutal Caged Heart of the Prudent Heart provides immunity when you suffer a single hit that causes a loss of over 20% HP. It greatly enhances the defense of your Necromancer, particularly against formidable foes such as Elites and bosses.
  • The Caged Heart of the Tempting Fate (Vicious) significantly amplifies Critical Strike Damage while simultaneously diminishing Non-Critical Strikes by a range of 15% to 20%.
  • Caged Heart of Vengeance (Brutal) – Decrease the impact of damage received by 10-20%. Furthermore, upon utilizing a skill, the absorbed damage that the heart has endured on behalf of your character is released in an explosive manner, magnified by an immense 250% factor.
  • The Vicious Caged Heart of the Sacrilegious causes an equipped Corpse Skill to be automatically activated every second when walking near a Corpse. However, this activation results in a 40-30% reduction in damage dealt.

Although the Bone Spear Necromancer holds the title for the strongest build in Diablo 4, it’s important to note that there are a few alternative options that deserve your attention.

Skill tree for the Army of the Dead Necromancer build in Diablo 4

In this Diablo 4 guide, we will provide a comprehensive explanation of the Summoner/Army of the Dead Necromancer build. We will discuss how to effectively allocate all your skill points from levels 1-50, along with the ten extra skill points earned through Renown.

Level Necromancer skill Skill type
1 Bone Splinters (to respec to Reap after Level 23) Basic skill
2 Enhanced Bone Splinters (to respec to Enhanced Reap after Level 23) Basic skill
3 Sever Core Skill
4 Enhanced Sever Core Skill
5 Supernatural Sever Core Skill
6 Initiate’s Bone Splinters (to be respec to Acolyte’s Reap after Level 23) Basic skill
7 Sever Core Skill
8 Sever Core Skill
9 Sever Core Skill
10 Sever Core Skill
11 Skeletal Warrior Mastery Corpse & Macabre Skill
12 Skeletal Warrior Mastery Corpse & Macabre Skill
13 Skeletal Warrior Mastery Corpse & Macabre Skill
14 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
15 Enhanced Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
16 Blighted Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
17 Corpse Tendrils Curse Skill
18 Enhanced Corpse Tendrils Curse Skill
19 Plagued Corpse Tendrils Curse Skill
20 Unliving Energy Core Skill
21 Imperfectly Balanced Core Skill
22 Imperfectly Balanced Core Skill
23 Imperfectly Balanced Core Skill
24 Grim Harvest Corpse & Macabre Skill
25 Fueled by Death Corpse & Macabre Skill
26 Reaper’s Pursuit Corpse & Macabre Skill
27 Gloom Corpse & Macabre Skill
28 Gloom Corpse & Macabre Skill
29 Gloom Corpse & Macabre Skill
30 Terror Corpse & Macabre Skill
31 Terror Corpse & Macabre Skill
32 Terror Corpse & Macabre Skill
33 Crippling Darkness Corpse & Macabre Skill
34 Shadowblight Key Passive
35 Golem Mastery Ultimate Skill
36 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
37 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
38 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
39 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
40 Hewed Flesh Core Skill
41 Hewed Flesh Core Skill
42 Hewed Flesh Core Skill
43 Grim Harvest Corpse & Macabre Skill
44 Grim Harvest Corpse & Macabre Skill
45 Fueled by Death Corpse & Macabre Skill
46 Fueled by Death Corpse & Macabre Skill
47 Inspiring Leader Ultimate Skill
48 Skeletal Mage Mastery Curse Skill
49 Death’s Defense Initiate’s Bone Splinters (to respec to Acolyte’s Reap after Level 23)
Renown skill point – 1 Death’s Defense Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 2 Death’s Defense Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 3 Hellbent Commander Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 4 Hellbent Commander Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 5 Hellbent Commander Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 6 Golem Mastery Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 7 Golem Mastery Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 8 Skeletal Mage Mastery Curse Skill
Renown skill point – 9 Skeletal Mage Mastery Curse Skill
Renown skill point – 10 Skeletal Mage Mastery Curse Skill

Book of the Dead

To maximize the potential of your Army of the Death Necromancer build, it is crucial to utilize the buffs provided by the Book of the Dead. These buffs are indispensable for summoning minions and crafting the ideal combo that will faithfully accompany you throughout your gameplay. Here, we present the recommended buffs that will greatly enhance your Necromancer’s performance.

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  • Summon Skeletal Warriors (Skirmishers)
  • Summon Skeletal Mages (Shadow)
  • Once you reach Level 18, you can summon Cold Skeletal Mages.
  • At Level 25, you can summon Bone Golems.
  • At Level 28, you can summon Blood Golems.

How to play Army of the Death Necromancer build

The playstyle of the Summoner Necromancer build in Diablo 4 is fairly simple. Your main objective is to constantly summon minions, as most of your skills will be centered around enhancing their ability to survive and deal damage.

To maintain the integrity of your army, employ the Raise Skeleton skill, while relying on Sever as the primary means of dealing damage beyond the skeletons. The potency of this ability will increase in proportion to the number of minions under the control of the Necromancer.

It is important to note that initially, it is advisable to begin with Bone Splinters as it plays a crucial role in generating Essence. However, as you progress and level up, it will be necessary to reallocate Skill Points from Bone Splinters and Enhanced Bone Splinters towards the Reap skill in order to enhance its utility.

Legendary Aspects

While constructing your Army of the Death Necromancer, it is essential to prioritize obtaining the following Legendary Aspects.

Aspect Location Type
Aspect of Hardened Bones Random location Offensive
Aspect of Frenzied dead Random location Offensive
Aspect of Reanimation Aldurwood Dungeon Offensive

The crucial elements for effectively operating a Necromancer build centered around the Army of the Dead in Diablo 4 are traits such as Hardened Bones and Frenzied Dead. These traits significantly enhance the durability and offensive capabilities of your minions.

The Aspect of Reanimation is a crucial component in the Army of the Death build, as it greatly enhances the Necromancer’s minions. With this Aspect, your Skeletons will experience heightened damage while they are alive, and even gain up to a 20% damage boost after 10 seconds.

Best Malignant Hearts

These Malignant Hearts in Diablo 4 will aid in boosting both the offense and defense of your Summoner Necromancer.

  • The Wrathful Caged Heart of the Malignant Pact is widely considered to be the top choice among Malignant Hearts in Diablo 4 Season 1. This powerful artifact enhances your attack speed, resource generation, and provides a protective barrier. It combines the beneficial effects of all three heart types and your buff is altered every 20 kills.
  • When enemies surround you, the Caged Heart of the Decrepit Aura (Brutal) automatically inflicts the Decrepify effect for a duration of 5 to 15 seconds.
  • The Caged Heart of the Sacrilegious (Vicious) will activate Corpse skills with diminished damage when in close proximity to a Corpse.
  • Devious Heart of Determination (Caged) – Minimizes resource depletion effects and slightly enhances resource production.
Blizzard

Necromancers in Diablo 4 can control corpses through regeneration.

Skill tree for Blight Corpse Explosion Necromancer build in Diablo 4

In this breakdown, we will delve into the Blight Corpse Explosion build for Diablo 4. It will offer you a comprehensive guide on efficiently allocating your skill points from levels 1 to 50, along with the ten extra skill points earned through Renown.

Level Necromancer skill Skill type
1 Bone Splinters (to respec after Level 19 to Reap) Basic skill
2 Enhanced Bone Splinters (to respec after Level 19 to Enhanced Reap) Basic skill
3 Blight Core Skill
4 Enhanced Blight Core Skill
5 Supernatural Blight Core Skill
6 Initiate’s Bone Splinters (to respec after Level 19 to Acolyte’s Reap) Basic skill
7 Blight Core Skill
8 Blight Core Skill
9 Blight Core Skill
10 Blight Core Skill
11 Skeleton Warrior Mastery Corpse & Macabre Skill
12 Skeleton Warrior Mastery Corpse & Macabre Skill
13 Skeleton Warrior Mastery Corpse & Macabre Skill
14 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
15 Enhanced Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
16 Plagued Corpse Explosion (respec to Blighted Corpse Explosion after Level 34) Corpse & Macabre Skill
17 Corpse Tendrils Corpse & Macabre Skill
18 Enhanced Corpse Tendrils Corpse & Macabre Skill
19 Plagued Corpse Tendrils Corpse & Macabre Skill
20 Unliving Energy Core Skill
21 Army of the Dead Ultimate Skill
22 Prime Army of the Dead Ultimate Skill
23 Supreme Army of the Dead Ultimate Skill
24 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
25 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
26 Corpse Explosion Corpse & Macabre Skill
27 Corpse Explosion Ultimate Skill
28 Grim Harvest Core Skills
29 Fueled by Death Corpse & Macabre Skill
30 Hewed Flesh Core Skills
31 Shadowblight Key Passive
32 Grim Harvest Corpse & Macabre Skill
33 Grim Harvest Corpse & Macabre Skill
34 Hewed Flesh Core Skills
35 Hewed Flesh Core Skills
36 Fueled by Death Corpse & Macabre Skill
37 Fueled by Death Corpse & Macabre Skill
38 Reaper’s Pursuit Corpse & Macabre Skill
39 Gloom Corpse & Macabre Skill
40 Gloom Corpse & Macabre Skill
41 Gloom Corpse & Macabre Skill
42 Terror Corpse & Macabre Skill
43 Terror Corpse & Macabre Skill
44 Terror Corpse & Macabre Skill
45 Skeletal Mage Mastery Curse Skill
46 Skeletal Mage Mastery Curse Skill
47 Skeletal Mage Mastery Curse Skill
48 Necrotic Carapace Corpse & Macabre Skill
49 Necrotic Carapace Corpse & Macabre Skill
Renown skill point – 1 Necrotic Carapace Corpse & Macabre Skill
Renown skill point – 2 Inspiring Leader Core Skill
Renown skill point – 3 Hewed Flesh Core Skill
Renown skill point – 4 Inspiring Leader Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 5 Hewed Flesh Core Skill
Renown skill point – 6 Imperfectly Balanced Core Skill
Renown skill point – 7 Inspiring Leader Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 8 Death’s Defense Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 9 Death’s Defense Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 10 Death’s Defense Ultimate Skill

Book of the Dead

To optimize the Diablo 4 Blight Corpse Explosion Necromancer build mentioned earlier, incorporate the buffs provided in the Book of the Dead, as listed below.

  • Use Skeletal Warriors (Skirmishers).
  • When you reach Level 15, opt for Skeletal Mages (Shadow) as your preferred choice.
  • At Level 25, perform the act of sacrificing Golems made of Bone.

How to play

The Blight Necromancer build heavily relies on shadow damage as its main source of power in many Diablo 4 builds. To effectively maximize the potential of this build, it is advised to follow a recommended rotation that focuses on utilizing the primary skills.

  • The recommended sequence of abilities is as follows: Start with Blight, then follow up with Corpse Tendrils, proceed to Corpse Explosion, return to Blight, and finally conclude with Raise Skeletons.

Always keep corpses nearby with abilities like Hewed Flesh, Acolyte’s Reap, and Prime Army of the Dead. If your army falls, trust in the Supreme Army of the Dead to swiftly rejoin the battle.

Legendary Aspects

Aspect Location Type
Unyielding Commander Aspect Faceless Shrine Offensive
Blighted Aspect Akkhan’s Grasp Offensive
Aspect of Torment Black Asylum Resource
Aspect of Grasping Veins Corrupted Grotto Offensive

The Offensive aspect of the Unyielding Commander greatly boosts the attack speed of your army and significantly decreases the damage they receive, making it an exceptional choice for the mentioned Necromancer build. Meanwhile, the Grasping Veins aspect will enhance your Critical Strike Chance for a duration of 6 seconds following each Corpse Tendrils cast.

After dealing damage to enemies 10 times, the Shadowblight Key Passive will activate the Blighted Aspect, granting you a 50% damage increase for a duration of 6 seconds. Additionally, the Aspect of Torment will significantly aid your Essence Regeneration during the early stages of the game. With this Aspect, your Bone Skills’ Critical Strikes will restore 20% of your Essence for a period of 4 seconds.

Best Malignant Hearts

For an enhanced Blight Corpse Explosion Necromancer build in Diablo 4 Season 1, we suggest incorporating these Malignant Hearts.

  • When enemies surround you, the Caged Heart of the Decrepit Aura (Brutal) automatically inflicts the Decrepify effect.
  • This build heavily relies on the Caged Heart of Creeping Death (Wrathful) to significantly amplify your damage over time.
  • The Malignant Heart, known as the Caged Heart of Determination (Devious), provides a solution for players grappling with resource management challenges.
  • The Caged Heart of the Sacrilegious (Vicious) is an item that activates Corpse skills with diminished power when in proximity to a Corpse. Given the constant presence of corpses in this particular build, incorporating this heart is an obvious choice.
Blizzard

Necromancer in Diablo 4 can be played with the skeleton army or solo.

Best attributes for the Necromancer in Diablo 4

In Diablo 4, the Necromancer relies heavily on Intelligence and Willpower as their primary attributes. Intelligence significantly enhances skill damage, while Willpower plays a crucial role in energy regeneration, enabling frequent casting of Blight spells.

Best Gems for the Necromancer in Diablo 4

To create the ultimate Necromancer in Diablo 4, utilize the following gems:

  • By incorporating Amethysts into your weapons, you can enhance your damage gradually. This tactic proves beneficial when utilizing various abilities such as Blight, Decompose, and Corpse Explosion.
  • To enhance your character’s survivability, insert Rubies into the armor. This gem is particularly helpful for Necromancers who are typically frail, as it grants them a slight boost in tankiness.
  • To enhance the durability of your Necromancer, you can insert Diamonds or Skulls into Jewelry slots. This will boost your resistance against both elemental and physical harm, extending the lifespan of your character.

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