Blood Lancer Necro BUILD for Diablo IV [Top Overpower Synergy]

(use your foes’ Blood to conjure up deadly Lances and impale the enemies with them)

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Diablo IV Season 2 (Season of the Blood) started on October 17th, 2023 for Players on PC (Battle.Net & Steam), XBOX, & PlayStation). After extensive testing, I bring you a Necromancer with a TOP Overpower Synergy for the Archetype. The build’s easy to gear up & get things going but requires 1 non-codex aspect. 3 out of 4 Uniques are relatively easy to get from Uber Bosses too. As usual, I’ll evolve & keep my builds updated. This is one such build for the Necromancer Class called Blood Lancer.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for my builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added a link to a new build calculator/planner (MOBALYTICS) that I’ll be using from now on as well which seems amazing.

This build will be updated when needed.

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 + alternative skill options, you can check my Latest & older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Blood Lancer) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0)

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

Macabre Skills (Required Points: 6 )

Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 )

Summoning Skills (Required Points: 16 )

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 ) (NOT using an Ultimate skill)

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

Seasonal Mechanic (Vampiric Powers):

In Season 2 (Season of Blood), the seasonal Mechanics involves slotting in up to 5 (out of 22) Vampiric Powers at once. Each power requires a certain number of pacts to be applied to your armor. There are 3 types of Pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, Eternity. Pacts can be applied to Armor as follows: Helmet & Boots up can have to 3, Pants up to 4, while Chest Armor and Gloves can have up to 5 pacts applied to them. That Makes a Total of 20 and is enough for any possible combination of 5 powers. Below you can find Information of the total pacts this build needs + the 5 powers we’ve used.

VAMPIRIC POWERS:
Vampiric Powers Total Pacts Required: ferocity 4, divinity 3, eternity 12

Powers Used:
Metamorphosis = ferocity 2 + divinity 2 + eternity 2
Blood Boil = eternity 6
Prey on the Weak = ferocity 2
Hemomancy = eternity 3
Sanguine Brace = divinity 1, eternity 1

Book of the Dead (Class Mechanic):

This build is all about creating as many corpses as possible and consuming them with Corpse Explosion directly or with the auto-cast via Ring of the Sacrilegious Soul. For that we don’t need minions. There’s room for a basic skill on the skillbar and many may not want it and might rather prefer to use something else there (like maybe Bone Storm for DMG reduction) there so it’s up to you to decide on this one. I love using Reap at the beginning of a fight as it’s a guaranteed corpse every (5 seconds) that can be used to start the fight off with a Decrepify, followed by a Corpse Tendrils for the pull + spawning Blood Orbs.

I’d advise taking ZERO Minions for this build. So you’ll & Sacrifice the Skeletal Warriors & Mages + the Golem:

• Skeletal Skirmishers: Sacrifice so that we get extra Crit Chance
  • Description: Your critical strike chance is increased by 5%, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors.
• Bone Mages: Sacrifice is amazing to get our Overpower damage multiplied by x40%. This is a HUGE boost as the majority of the Overpower for this build is additive.
  • Description: Your Overpower damage is increased by 40% (multiplicative)
• Iron Golem: Sacrifice so that we get extra Crit Damage
  • Description: You deal 30% (multiplicative) increased critical strike damage, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.

Unique Items

In Diablo IV we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following:

Top Pick Uniques for the Build

Black River (Scythe)

[0.06] Life On Kill

Corpse Explosion consumes up to 4 additional Corpses around the initial Corpse, dealing x[122-130%] increased damage and with a +[21-25%] larger radius per additional Corpse.

+[38 – 52] Intelligence
+[1 – 2] Ranks of the Hewed Flesh Passive (goes to 2-3 when fully upgraded)
+[1 – 2] Ranks of All Corpse Skills (goes to 2-3 when fully upgraded)
+1 Ranks of the Fueled by Death Passive (goes to 2 when fully upgraded)

“The scrolls describe a river of tar that separated the living from the land of the dead. Any unfortunate soul who tried to cross would be dragged down into oblivion.” – Notes of Scholar Kamien

Godslayer Crown (Helm)

When you Stun, Freeze, or Immobilize an Elite enemy, or damage a Boss, it pulls in nearby enemies. You deal x[30-60]% increased damage to them for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 12 seconds.

+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction
+[X – Y] Maximum Life
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage
+[5 – 12]% Crowd Control Duration

“The Sahptev faithful believe in a thousand and one gods. If it takes me as many lifetimes, I will find and kill them all.” – Gaspar Stilbian, Veradani Outcast

Alternative Helm Choice: Harlequin Crest (Helm) Right now this seems like a very good option for any build and if you’re lucky enough to get I Strongly advise trying it.

Gain [5-8%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[4] Ranks to All Skills.

[N] Maximum Life
X% Cooldown Reduction
+12% Resource Generation
+[28] All Stats

“This headdress was once worn by an assassin disguised as a court mage. Her treachery was unveiled, but not before she used its magic to curse the king’s entire lineage.” – The Fall of House Aston

Ring of the Sacrilegious Soul (Ring)

+X% Resistance to All Elements
+Y% Poison Resistance

You automatically activate the following equipped Skills on Corpses around you:
Raise Skeleton every [2 – 1] seconds.
Corpse Explosion every [2 – 1] seconds.
Corpse Tendrils every [16 – 8] seconds.

+[X – Y] Maximum Life
+[1 – 2] Ranks of All Corpse Skills (goes to 2-3 when fully upgraded)
+[4.8 – 9]% Lucky Hit Chance
+[3 – 9] Maximum Essence

The mere proximity of a practitioner of such dark arts can rouse the dead and disturb those souls who have earned their rest.

Blood Moon Breeches (Pants)
While Injured, Your Potion Also Grants 30% Movement Speed for 2 Seconds

Your Minions have a 3-7% chance to curse enemies. Enemies affected by at least 1 of your curses take x[70]% (multiplicative) increased Overpower damage from you.

+[4.4 – 8.6]% Damage Reduction from Enemies Affected by Curse Skills
+[X – Y] Maximum Life
+1 Ranks of the Amplify Damage Passive (goes to +2 when fully upgraded)
+[1 – 2] Ranks of All Curse Skills (goes to 2-3 when fully upgraded)

A naturally occurring curiosity, the blood moon persists as a sign of woe for the most superstitious Zakarum faithful. Children born under it are often considered cursed and cast out, lest it spread.

Alternative Legs Armor Choice: Tibault’s Will (Pants) (this one’s very good to use if you don’t have Blood Moon Breeches as well as to swap to for boss fights)

While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores 20% Resource You deal x[20-40]% increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource.

+[2 – 3] Potion Capacity
+[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage
+[5 – 13] Maximum Resource

“The younger apprentices think wearing heavy plate in the swamps is foolish. They fail to understand that our armor is our legacy, and without it we are nothing.” – Crusader Pembroke

Banished Lord’s Talisman (Amulet)

+[X]% Resistance to All Elements

After you spend 300 of your Primary Resource, your next Core Skill is guaranteed to Overpower. Your Critical Strikes that Overpower deal x[80-120]% increased damage.

+[5 – 12]% Resource Generation
+[21 – 42] Overpower Damage
+[1.8 – 5]% Critical Strike Chance
+1 Ranks of All Core Skills (note: this goes to +2 when fully upgrade to 5/5)

“His name has been lost to history, but to have been exiled from a land as cursed as Hawezar, his deeds must have been truly depraved.” – Scholar’s Notes

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Ruby.
Armor: Ruby or Sapphire/Topaz (dmg reduction can help you if needed in higher tier NM dungeons).
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

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 Latest & Older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Blood Lancer) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

• Helm: Aspect of The Protector / Godslayer Crown OR the Alternative Helm Pick (see notes in the Unique Items section)
• Amulet: Aspect of Disobedience / Banished Lord’s Talisman
• Chest: Aspect of the Embalmer
• Pants: Aspect of Might / Blood Moon Breeches OR the Alternative Pants Pick (see notes in the Unique Items section)
• Gloves: Aspect of Gore Quills
• Boots: Ghostwalker Aspect
• Ring 1: Cadaverous Aspect
• Ring 2: Aspect of Untimely Death / Ring of the Sacrilegious Soul
• Main Hand Weapon: Aspect of Hungry Blood / Black River
• Off-hand Weapon: Sacrificial Aspect
  (I recommend using an orb/focus off-hand instead of shield AFTER you get a Black River, before that you could use a shield for Survivability and just use Sacrificial Aspect on the weapon)
• 2-H Weapon: Aspect of Untimely Death / Sacrificial Aspect
  (I recommend using a Aspect of Untimely Death if you decide to use a 2H weapon before a Black River drops. You will need to move Sacrificial Aspect on another slot then)

Paragon Boards:

Use the link below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. On the link you’ll see what the boards will look like at lvl 100 with ALL paragon points spent and fully min-maxed to get the most out of every board BUT it’s base on my gear’s attributes bonuses (INT, DEX, WIL) so you may need to reorder some of the floating nodes to make sure you get the double bonus requirements of all rare nodes. Leveling in Season 2 is fast so I no longer will provide a version with less points spent.

• MAX LEVEL & MAX Paragon points spent : Click THIS LINK

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted various different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority. NOTE: I’ve added a new “Top Priority per Slot” list but left the old unsorted list below it.

This is the Sorted by Slot list of Top Priority Affixes/Rolls:

• Helm:
  • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction
  • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Total Armor
  • Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), +N% X Resistance(es), Basic Skill Attack Speed
  • Priority 4: Maximum Essence
• Chest:
  • Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified
  • Priority 2: Maximum Life, +N% X Resistance (es), Damage Reduction
  • Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Total Armor
  • Priority 4: Blood Skill Damage, +X% Damage, Physical Damage
• Gloves:
  • Priority 1: + X ranks of Blood Lance, Overpower Damage, Critical Strike Chance
  • Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Attack Speed
  • Priority 3: +N% X Resistance (es), Critical Strike Damage to Injured, Critical Strike Chance Against Injured
  • Priority 4: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats)
• Pants:
  • Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Injured, Damage Reduction while Fortified
  • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction
  • Priority 3: +N% X Resistance (es), Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats)
  • Priority 4: Total Armor
• Boots:
  • Priority 1: Movement Speed, Damage Reduction while Injured
  • Priority 2: +N% X Resistance(es) (ideally get 2x resistance types rolls on the boots)
  • Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats)
  • Priority 4: Essence Cost Reduction
• Amulet:
  • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Movement Speed
  • Priority 2: Total Armor, Damage Reduction while Fortified, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies,
  • Priority 3: Blood Skill Damage, +X ranks to all Corpse/Curse Skills, +X Ranks of a Passive you like, Damage Reduction While Injured, Damage Reduction
  • Priority 4: Essence Cost Reduction
• Rings:
  • Priority 1: Overpower Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Critical Strike Chance
  • Priority 2: Maximum Life
  • Priority 3: Vulnerable Damage, Core Skill Damage, Damage to Injured/Close/Distant
  • Priority 4: Physical Damage, Damage for 4 seconds after picking up a Blood Orb
• Main Hand Weapon: Until the Black River Unique 1H Scythe drops. I recommend using a 2H greatsword, BUT if you want to go 1H+off-hand: Same priorities as the 2h Weapon, also ideally you’ll get a good high roll of +ALL Stats on the Wep and maybe try to also roll it on the off-hand.
• Off-hand Focus:
  • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Critical Strike Chance, Damage Reduction while Fortified
  • Priority 2: (All Stats or INT)
  • Priority 3: Essence Cost Reduction
  • Priority 4: Fortify Generation
• Off-hand Shield:
  • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Critical Strike Chance, Damage Reduction while Fortified
  • Priority 2: (All Stats or INT), Maximum Life
  • Priority 3: Damage Reduction, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies
  • Priority 4: Essence Cost Reduction
• 2-H Weapon (Greatsword is preferred):
  • Priority 1: Overpower Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Core Skill Damage
  • Priority 2: (All Stats or INT), Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Close/Distant Enemies,
  • Priority 3: Damage to Injured Enemies
  • Priority 4: Damage to Stunned/Crowd Controlled

This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:

Overpower Damage

Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus

Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Corpse/Blood Skills

Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core Skills

Damage with Core/Corpse/Blood Skills

Damage Against Close Enemies

+ X Ranks to Core/Corpse/Curse Skills

+ X Ranks to Blood Lance

Cooldown Reduction

+ Maximum Life

+ All Stats

+ Intelligence, + Willpower, + Dexterity

Vulnerable Damage / Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies

Resource/Essence Cost Reduction

Movement Speed

Damage Reduction while from Close Enemies

Damage Reduction from Distant Enemies

Damage Reduction while Injured

Attack Speed

Resistance to All Elements / to XYZ type

Total Armor

+ X% Damage

Damage vs Injured Enemies

Damage vs Healthy Enemies

Damage while Healthy

Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies

Physical/Corpse/Blood Skill Damage Bonus

Energy Generation / Regeneration / On Kill

Lucky Hit Chance

Damage to Crowd Controlled enemies

Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Corpse/Blood Skill Damage

Barrier Generation

Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource

Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)

Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life

Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Latest Season 2 & Older (Post-Launch, RDY-4-Launch) Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

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This concludes the Blood Lancer 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, Steam)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website