The Necromancer class is an iconic part of the famed franchise. First appearing in Diablo 2 they have been in every entry since (thanks to the “Rise of the Necromancer DLC” for Diablo 3). They are known as Priests of Rathma and wander sanctuary to uphold the balance between life and death. Necromancers are masters of the occult who can send out blood tendrils, summon skeletal warriors, and even rip the bones straight out of their foes.
#5: Blood Surge Necro(Starter Build):
Necromancer standing with blood mages behind him
The Blood Surge Necro is an early-level map-clearing god. This build as with all perfect starter builds allows you to quickly mow through herds of enemies to gain the quickest amount of XP for your time.
The build itself as stated above is very Blood Surge-centric. The wide area of effect all around you allows for a smooth leveling experience. The build is exceptionally strong without aspects but only gains in strength as you unlock and find new legendaries. The Blood-Bathed aspect specifically will bolster your damage immediately allowing it to hit twice off a single use.
In my honest opinion, this is one of the best places to start building out your class as it introduces you to most of the Necros kit without being cumbersome. You use corpse tendrils to pull enemies in, and then explode your blood surge to wipe the slate clean.
Where it excels:
- Area of effect all around you
- Adapting to a new endgame build
- Minions help protect you
Try this build if:
- You enjoy slightly closer quarter combat
- You need to clear quickly early on
- You want multiple resources for damage
Build Details:
Skills:
- Reap
- Blood Surge
- Raise Skeleton
- Bone Spirit
- Corpse Tendril
- Corpse Explode
Gear:
- Disobedience
- Grasping Vine aspect
- Slaughter
- Blood Bathed
- Potent Blood
- Shattered Spirits
Build Guide: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/upheaval-barbarian-leveling-guide
#4: Bone Spear(Speedfarm Build):
Necromancer with a skeletal army
The Bone Spear build is a personal favorite of mine. When the build you tried making on your own doesn’t quite work, this is the build you switch to. You can never go wrong with shooting spine lances through targets on mass.
Users of this build will be seen running around packs of mobs and shooting bone spears through enemies, quickly activating blood mist if things get a bit more hairy for their liking. They (like many necroes build) may also be mistaken for a corpse explode build because they use their corpses as a secondary method of attack should they run out of essence.
I myself spent the entirety of season 2 playing a bone spear necro as soon as my crackpot build melted into a useless puddle of ideas. It truly is a very fun build and is easily amped up by the Splintering aspect.
Where it excels:
- Damage over time
- Area of effect damage
- Room clearing
Try this build if:
- You enjoy shooting bones through your foes
- You want piercing damage
- You want a hit-and-run playstyle
Build Details:
Skills:
- Bone Storm
- Bone Spear
- Corpse Explode
- Blood Mist
- Decrepify
- Corpse Tendril
Gear:
- Splintering
- Wind Striker
- Might
- Exposed Flesh
- Shielding Storm
- Conceited
- Lidless Wall
- Deathless Visage
Build Guide: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/bone-spear-necromancer-guide
#3: Infinimist (Endgame Build):
Necromancer in skeletal armor
One of the more unique build names but it lives up to the title. Infinimist is, as it sounds, a build revolving around Blood Mist with a near-infinite uptime.
This build playstyle is a more passive one as you will typically be in blood mist sliding through packs of mobs while bone storm spirals around you. Blight and Decrepify are also used to curse your targets and or let off a couple of blasts while Blood Mist is on cooldown (however little time that is based on your gear).
I have never run this build personally but it seems like a very fun playstyle. Entering bloodmist while a vortex of bone and debris spirals around you decimating all that stands in your way has to be the coolest concept the community has stumbled upon yet. Will likely run this build on an Alt very soon.
Where it excels:
- Endgame clearing
- Area of Effect damage
- Lower resource costs
Try this build if:
- You want a unique playstyle not revolving around an unordinary skill
- You are looking for a good all-around endgame build
- You want to play a fast past passive build
Build Details:
Skills:
- Blight
- Decrepify
- Blood Mist
- Bone Storm
- Corpse Tendrils
- Corpse Explode
Gear:
- Blighted
- Grasping Vines
- Ghostwalker
- Disobedience
- Explosive Mist
- Ultimate Shadow
- Blood-soaked
- Ring of the Sacrilegious Soul
Build Guide: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/infinimist-necromancer-guide
#2: Sever Necro (Helltide Build):
Necromancer commanding his army of the dead
The Sever necro build is another build that relies on the same 5 skills just with Sever swapped in. The sever skill is similar to reap but trust me it is far more powerful.
This playstyle is rather basic as all of these builds like I just mentioned use the same core 5 skills. The difference however is that sever removes a portion of the passivity and makes you choose where to cast the strategically.
This is another build I have not touched but with a simple item swap, I could be mowing through helltides in no time at all. It is a very effective build for that cinder grind and will get you one step closer to those Duriel runs.
Where it excels:
- Cinder farming
- Single target damage and Area of effect with some aspects
- Versatile resource spending
Try this build if:
- You are looking for a good helltide build
- You plan to fight the boss in the helltide for maximum cinders
- You want to play the blood mist build but with a little more strategy involved.
Build Details:
Skills:
- Sever
- Decrepify
- Blood Mist
- Bone Storm
- Corpse Tendrils
- Corpse Explode
Gear:
- Blighted
- Grasping Vines
- Umbral
- Disobedience
- Explosive Mist
- Ghostwalker
- Empowering Reaper
- Grieves of the Empty Tomb
Build Guide: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/double-swing-barbarian-guide
#1:Shadow Summoner (Gauntlet build):
Necro standing with cultist gear
The Shadow summoner is an odd pick for a number one but it is my pick for number one. It combines the benefits of a corpse exploder with the fun of commanding your army of the dead.
The build will focus on your ability to command your summons and get the most out of their potential. We will be using all three of the available summons without choosing to sacrifice any of them. No generator for this one as your corpses don't require essence, and the rest of the skills are cooldown-based. This means you will beat full essence the whole time, so feel free to get some bonuses on gear for having near full essence.
So like I said, you’re probably questioning why I gave the number one spot to Shadow Summoner. Because it's good ol’ Diablo fun. Everyone who has ever played a necro has enjoyed their time as a skeletal army general, but for some reason, we all drift off into the generic builds. Every build as mentioned previously uses the same 5 skills with the sixth being a toss-up. This allows for some slight deviation and allows you to have a unique playstyle. That is why it gets number one, it doesn't feel the same. It is just pure fun.
Where it excels:
- Technically area of effect because your minions will roam the area around you
- No resource cost other than the corpses you make
- Quick map clears
- Fun( can I list fun? We’re listing fun)
Try this build if:
- You want a unique playstyle not revolving around the same 5 skills
- You need a good build for quick gauntlet clears
- You want to command a skeletal (and one golem) army
Build Details:
Skills:
- Raise Skeleton
- Decrepify
- Golem
- Bone Storm
- Corpse Tendril
- Corpse Explode
Gear:
- Ring of Mendelin
- Ring of the Sacrilegious
- Occult Dominion
- Shielding Storm
- Decay
- Disobedience
- Blood Getters
- Ultimate Shadow
- Grasping Vines
- Blighted
Build Guide: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/shadow-summoner-necromancer-guide
