Hemomancer Necromancer BUILD for Diablo IV
Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).
Diablo IV’s Open Beta Tests are almost here and I felt motivated to make some Pre-Launch theorycrafted semi-builds that should be good for ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters when the game launches. I also plan to evolve them into FULL builds when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Necromancer Class called Hemomancer. (you can call it Mrs. or Ms. bones if suits you better
The Beta tests will only let us reach lvl 25 and only let us play in the first Act/Zone (Fractured Peaks) so those builds will be more useful for the actual game launch and ideally for characters around lvl 50+ or 60+. I’ve used 50+ and 60+ skill points when making the builds instead of the full 100 so that they can be used to jumpstart a player’s post-story endgame grind.
I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect that work well with the build so one can spend the extra skill points on the way to lvl 100 into those other skills.
This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have actual in-game information as reference.
Video Version:
Skill Trees
Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken on the way to lvl 100 + alternative skill options, you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Hemomancer) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
The images you see are PLACEHOLDERS due to lack of any real skill icons leaks for the Necromancer class. I will replace them once the Beta starts and I can screenshot the actual icons.
Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )
- (active) Hemorrhage – Burst an enemy’s blood, dealing 25.00% (X-XX) damage. Hemorrhage has 20% chance to form a Blood Orb. Blood Orbs heal you for 15% of your maximum Life when picked up. Generates: 7 Essence Damage: Physical
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hemorrhage – After picking up a Blood Orb, your next Hemorrhage also hits nearby enemies and grants 2 additional essence per enemy hit
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Initiate’s Hemorrhage – Hemorrhage grants X Fortify each time it hits and enemy, and had a 1.5% chance per enemy hit to Fortify you.
Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )
- (active) Blood Surge – Draw blood from enemies, dealing 20.00% (X-?) damage, and expel a blood nova, dealing 50.00% (X-?) damage. Blood Surge’s nova damage is increased by 10% (multiplicative) per enemy drained, up to 50% (multiplicative). Essence Cost: 30 Damage: Physical
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Surge – Blood Surge heals you for 1% of your maximum Life per each enemy drained, up to 5%.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supernatural Blood Surge – Each time an enemy is hit by Blood Surge’s nova, you are Fortified for X.
- (passive) Unliving Energy – Your maximum Essence is increased by 3.
- (1st upgrade) did not pick to save points
- (passive) Reconstitution – Your damage has up to a 4% chance to create a corpse at the target’s location.
Macabre Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took two Macabre active skills
- (active) Blood Mist – Disperse into a bloody mist, becoming Immune for 3 seconds. Your Movement Speed is reduced by 50.00% and you periodically deal 1.75 (X-X) damage to enemies, healing for 100% of the damage dealt. Cooldown: 19 Seconds.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Mist – Blood Mist’s Movement Speed penalty is reduced to 20%.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Ghastly Blood Mist – Blood Mist leaves behind a Corpse every 1 second.
- (passive – only put 1 point here to unlock the upgrade) Grim Harvest – Consuming a Corpse generates 3 Essence.
- (upgrade) Fueled by Death – You deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage for 4 seconds after consuming a Corpse.
- (passive – only put 1 point here & it’s optional) Necrotic Carapace – When a Corpse is formed from your Skills or your Minions, Fortify for X.
- (active) Bone Prison – Unearth a prison of bone with X Life that surrounds the target area for 6 seconds. Cooldown: 20 Seconds.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Bone Prison – Gain 3 Essence each time an enemy hits your Bone Prison.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Dreadful Bone Prison – Fortify for X for each enemy trapped by Bone Prison.
Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 ) DID NOT pick a Corruption skill but you can remove Bone Prison and pick Iron Maiden
- (active 1) Iron Maiden – Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Iron Maiden take 10.00% (X-XX) damage each time they deal direct damage. Lasts 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden no longer costs Essence. Instead, gain 5 Essence for each enemy Cursed. Does not work with enemies already cursed with Iron Maiden.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Abhorrent Iron Maiden – Heal for 5% of your maximum Life when an enemy dies while afflicted with Iron Maiden.
- (passive) did not invest into Corruption passives to save points
Summoning Skills (Required Points: 16 )
- (active) Corpse Tendrils – Veins burst out of a Corpse, pulling in enemies, Stunning them for 3 seconds, and dealing 20.00% (X-?) damage to them. Cooldown: 11.0 Seconds. Damage: Physical
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse Tendrils – Enemies who are in range of Corpse Tendrils are Slowed by 50% before being pulled.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Abhorrent Corpse Tendrils – Enemies slain while Stunned by Corpse Tendrils have a 25% chance to drop a Blood Orb.
- (passive) Blood Begets Blood – While below 50% Life, you receive 10% more healing from all sources.
- (upgrade 1 DID NOT INVEST in this to save points) Tides of Blood – Your Blood Skills deal 5% increased (multiplicative) Overpower damage. This bonus is doubled while you are Healthy.
- (upgrade 2) Coalesced Blood – Blood Orbs heal you for 15% more.
- (upgrade 3 DID NOT INVEST in this to save points) Drain Vitality – Hitting enemies with Blood Skills has up to 25% chance to Fortify you for X.
- (upgrade 4) Transfusion – Blood Orbs also heal your Minions for 15% of the amount.
- (passive) did not invest into Summoning passives to save points
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )
- (active) Blood Wave – Conjure a tidal wave of blood that deals 90.00% (X-XX) damage and knocks enemies back. Cooldown: 50.0 Seconds. Damage: Physical
- (1st upgrade) Prime Blood Wave – Blood Wave Slows enemies by 50% for 4 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade) Supreme Blood Wave – Blood Wave leaves behind 3 Blood Orbs as it travels.
- (passive- ONLY PUT 1 LEVEL here to save points & to unlock the upgrade) Stand Alone – Increases Damage Reduction by 6%, reduced by 2% for each active Minion.
- (upgrade) Memento Mori – Sacrificing both Skeletal Warriors and Skeletal Mages increases their Sacrifice bonuses by 20%.
- (passive) Golem Mastery – Increase the damage and Life of your Golem by 15%
- (passive) did not invest into Ultimate passives to save points but there are some nice options
Specializations (Required Points: 33 )
- (passive) Rathma’s Vigor – Increase your maximum Life by 10%. While Healtthy, you deal 25% (multiplicative) increased damage
Book of the Dead (Class Mechanic):
This build is all about doing as much shadow dmg hits as possible and focuses on ranged DPS. Sacrificing our melee minions might make it hard by not having a “tank” but it also boosts our dps in a lovely way. As for the types I picked, I’d recommend as follows:
- Skeletal Reapers + Sacrifice is what we take for the bonus dps
- Description: Your critical strike chance is increased by 5%, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors.
- Shadow Mages + Sacrifice is a lovely build synergy
- Description: Your maximum essence is increased by 15, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Mages.
- Iron Golem + Sacrifice is what we take for the bonus dps
- Description: You deal 30% (multiplicative) increased critical strike damage, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.
Legendary Aspects / Powers
I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Hemomancer) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
- Helm: Aspect of Potent Blood
- Amulet: Aspect of Shared Misery
- Chest: Fastblood Aspect
- Pants: Aspect of Might
- Gloves: Aspect of Pummeling
- Boots: Aspect of Grasping Veins
- Ring 1: Aspect of The Umbral
- Ring 2: Aspect of Bursting Bones
- 1H Weapon: Aspect of Retribution
- Off-hand: Blood-bathed Aspect
- 2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Aspect of Retribution
Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):
For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet
For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet
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This concludes the Hemomancer Necromancer Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):
PC (Battle.Net)