Blood Lancer Necro Build for Diablo IV S2 [Top Overpower Synergy]

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)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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)

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Reap – Sweep an ethereal scythe in front of you, dealing 13% (X-?) damage. Hitting an enemy with Reap increases your damage Reduction by 15% for 2 seconds.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 17% | Generates: 4 Essence per enemy hit
    Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Basic, Darkness
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Reap If an enemy hit by Reap dies within 2 seconds, you gain 30% attack speed for 3 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)Acolyte’s Reap Reap forms a Corpse under the first enemy hit. Can only occur every 4 seconds.

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

  • (active) Blood Lance Throw a blood lance that lingers in an enemy for 3 seconds, dealing 80% (X-?) damage to the enemy and all other lanced enemies.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 33%
    Essence Cost: 15
    Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core, Blood
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Lance Blood Lance Pierces through enemies who are currently lanced, dealing 10% reduced damage to subsequent enemies after the first.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supernatural Blood Lance After casting Blood Lance 6 times, your next cast of Blood Lance is guaranteed to Overpower and spawns a Blood Orb under the first enemy hit.
  • (passive) Hewed Flesh Lucky Hit: Your damage has up to a 4%/8%/12% chance to create a corpse at the target’s location.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Unliving Energy – Your maximum Essence is increased by 3/6/9.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here unless you wear Blood Moon Breeches, then take the 1 point from Decrepify and put it here to get rank 3) Imperfectly Balanced – Your Core Skills cost 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) more Essence, but deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Macabre Skills (Required Points: 6 )

  • (active) Corpse Explosion Detonate a Corpse, dealing 50% (X-XX) damage to nearby enemies.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 40%
    Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse – Corpse Explosion’s radius is increased by 15%.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Plagued Corpse Explosion Corpse Explosion deals 8% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Slowed, Stunned or Vulnerable. These damage bonuses can stack.
  • (active) Blood Mist Disperse into a bloody mist, becoming Immune for 3 seconds. Your Movement Speed is reduced by 20% and you periodically deal 2% (X-?) damage to enemies, healing for 0.5% of your Maximum Life.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 9% | Cooldown: 24 Seconds.
    Damage: Physical ; Tags: Macabre, Blood
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Mist Casting a Skill that Overpowers reduces the cooldown of Blood Mist by 2 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Ghastly Blood Mist Blood Mist leaves behind a Corpse every 1 second.
  • (passive) Grim Harvest Consuming a Corpse generates 2/4/6 Essence.
    • (upgrade) Fueled by Death You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage for 4 seconds after consuming a Corpse.
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Macabre passives to save points

Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here, remove it when/if you equip Blood Moon Breeches) Decrepify – Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Decrepify are Slowed by 40% and deal 20% less damage for 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical ; Tags: Curse, Corruption
    • (1st upgrade) did not take an upgrade
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) did not take an upgrade
  • (passive) Death’s Reach You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Distant enemies.
  • (passive) Amplify Damage – You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Cursed enemies.
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Corruption passives to save points

Summoning Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Corpse Tendrils – Veins burst out of a Corpse, pulling in enemies, Stunning them for 3 seconds, and dealing 20% (X-?) damage to them.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 20% | Cooldown: 11.0 Seconds.
    Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
    • (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) Blighted Corpse Tendrils – Corpse Tendrils has a 35% chance when damaging enemies to drop a Blood Orb.
  • (passive – only put 1 point into this) Gruesome Mending While below 50% Life, you receive +10%/+20%/+30% more Healing from all sources.
    • (upgrade) Coalesced Blood While Healthy your Blood Skills deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage. Note: Need to invest into this node to unlock BOTH Tides of Blood & Drain Vitality
    • (upgrade) Transfusion – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
    • (upgrade) Drain Vitality Lucky Hit: Hitting enemies with Blood Skills has up to 30% chance to Fortify you for 2%/5%/8% Base Life.
    • (upgrade) Tides of Blood Your Blood Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Overpower damage. This bonus is doubled while you are Healthy.
  • (passive) Necrotic Carapace – When a Corpse is formed from your Skills or your Minions, Fortify for 2%/4%/6% Base Life.
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Summoning passives to save points

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

  • (active)
    • (1st upgrade)
    • (2nd upgrade)
  • (passive) Stand Alone Increases Damage Reduction by 6%/12%/18%,, reduced by 2% for each active Minion.
    • (upgrade) Memento Mori Sacrificing both Skeletal Warriors and Skeletal Mages increases their Sacrifice bonuses by 20%/40%/60%.
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in any other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Rathma’s Vigor After being Healthy for 12 seconds, your next Blood Skill Overpowers. This timer is reduced by 2 seconds each time Blood Orbs Heal or Overheal you for an amount greater than or equal to your Base Life.

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.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+15%/+5%/+8% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+12%/+250/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+24%/+4.0%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Topaz (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Basic Skill Damage
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Control Impaired
• Jewelry: N% Lightning Resistance

+20%/10%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+12%/3%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

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.

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:

Higher Priority
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
Lower Priority

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

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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

Dark Lord 2.0 Diablo IV Necromancer Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Dark Lord 2.0 Necromancer BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(the Dark Lord emerge from the shadows to curse his foes & engulf the battlefield in darkness)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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 Launch is getting closer and it’s time to make some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Necromancer Class called Dark Lord 2.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those 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 build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more 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 + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Dark Lord 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

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

  • (active) Reap – Sweep an ethereal scythe in front of you, dealing 12% (X-?) damage. Hitting an enemy with Reap increases your damage Reduction by 15% for 2 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 17% Generates: 4 Essence per enemy hit Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Basic, Darkness
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Reap If an enemy hit by Reap dies within 2 seconds, you gain 30% attack speed for 3 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – don’t need any of the 2 but temporary you can use ) Acolyte’s Reap Reap forms a Corpse under the first enemy hit. Can only occur every 5 seconds.

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

  • (active) Blight Unleash concentrated blight that deals 30% (X-?) damage and leaves behind a defiled area, dealing 80% (X) damage over 6 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Essence Cost: 25 Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Core, Darkness
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blight Blight Slows enemies by 25%
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Paranormal Blight Blight has a 30% (multiplicative) chance to Immobilize for 1.5 seconds on impact.
  • (passive) Hewed Flesh Lucky Hit: Your damage has up to a 4%/8%/12% chance to create a corpse at the target’s location.
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Core passives to save points

Macabre Skills (Required Points: 6 )

  • (active) Corpse Explosion Detonate a Corpse, dealing 75% (X-XX) damage to nearby enemies. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse – Corpse Explosion’s radius is increased by 15%.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Blighted Corpse Explosion Corpse Explosion becomes a Darkness Skill and, instead of exploding, releases a vile miasma dealing 110% (X-?) Shadow Damage over 6 seconds.
  • (passive) Grim Harvest – Consuming a Corpse generates 3/6/9 Essence.
    • (upgrade) Fueled by Death – You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage for 4 seconds after consuming a Corpse.
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Macabre passives to save points

Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 )

  • (active) Decrepify Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Decrepify are Slowed by 40% and deal 20% less damage for 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical ; Tags: Curse, Corruption
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Decrepify Lucky Hit: Enemies hit while afflicted with Decrepify have up to a 10% chance to Stunned them for 2 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Abhorent Decrepify Lucky Hit: Enemies hit while afflicted with Decrepify have up to a 15% chance to reduce your Active Cooldowns by 1.0 seconds.
  • (active – ONLY investing 1 point here and ONLY in the skill, NOT the upgrades) Iron Maiden Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Iron Maiden take 10% (X-?) damage each time they deal direct damage. Lasts 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical ; Tags: Curse, Corruption
    • (1st upgrade) did not take
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) did not take
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in any 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% (X-?) damage to them. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Cooldown: 11.0 Seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
    • (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) Plagued Corpse Tendrils Enemies damaged by Corpse Tendrils are made Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point into this) Reaper’s Pursuit Damaging enemies with Darkness Skills increases your Movement Speed by +5%/+10%/+15% for 3 seconds.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points into this) Crippling Darkness Lucky Hit: Darkness Skills have up to a 15% chance to Stun for 1/2/3 seconds.
    • (upgrade) Gloom When you damage enemies with Darkness Skills, they take 2%/4%/6% (multiplicative) increased Shadow Damage from you and your Minions for 2 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
    • (upgrade) Terror Darkness Skills deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) bonus damage to enemies who are Slowed, and 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) bonus damage to enemies who are Stunned or Immobilized. These bonuses stack and apply to Shadow Damage dealt by your Minions.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point into this) Serration Your Bone Skills have a +0.5%/+1%/+1.5% increased Critical Strike Chance for each 10 Essence you have upon cast
    • (upgrade) Rapid Ossification – DID NOT Take this
    • (upgrade) Compound Fracture After Critically Striking 10 times with Bone Skills, your Bone Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage for 5 seconds.
    • (upgrade) Evulsion – DID NOT Take this
  • (passive) Necrotic Carapace – When a Corpse is formed from your Skills or your Minions, Fortify for 2%/4%/6% Base Life.
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Summoning passives to save points

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Bone Storm A swirling storm of bones surrounds you and your Golem, dealing 180% (X-?) to surrounding enemies over 10 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Cooldown: 60 Seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Ultimate, Bone
    • (1st upgrade) Prime Bone Storm Your Damage Reduction is increased by 15% while Bone Storm is active.
    • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Bone Storm Your Critical Strike Chance is increased by +20% while Bone Storm is active.
  • (passive) Stand Alone Increases Damage Reduction by 6%/12%/18%,, reduced by 2% for each active Minion.
    • (upgrade) Memento Mori Sacrificing both Skeletal Warriors and Skeletal Mages increases their Sacrifice bonuses by 20%/40%/60%.
  • (passive) DID NOT INVEST in any other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Shadowblight Darkness Skills infect enemies with Shadowblight for 2 seconds. You and your Minions deal 10% (multiplicative) bonus damage to enemies affected by Shadowblight.

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 Blood Mist. For that we don’t need minions as much. However, there’s no room for a basics kill on the skillbar so we’ll use Cold Mages to generate essence in case there are no corpses nearby to consume for essence.

I’d advise taking Zero Minions for this build & Sacrifice the Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages, & Golem. The types sacrifices are:

  • 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.
  • Cold Mages: Sacrifice is amazing to get extra DMG to Vulnerable enemies
    • Description: You deal 15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Mages.
  • 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 Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) 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 Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Black River (Scythe)

[0.06] Life On Kill

Corpse Explosion consumes up to 4 additional Corpses around the initial Corpse, dealing x[N] increased damage and with a +[X%] larger radius per additional Corpse.

[49 – 63] Intelligence
+[21 – 35]% Damage to Healthy Enemies
+1 Ranks of the Fueled by Death Passive
+[2 – 4] Ranks of Corpse Explosion

“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

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: Amethyst, Diamond, Saphire, Skull, Ruby, or Emerald.
Armor: Ruby, Skull, or Saphire.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Amethyst (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Damage Over Time
• Armor: N% Damage Taken Over Time Reduction
• Jewelry: N% Shadow Resistance

+5%/+8.2%/+14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage
• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

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 RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Dark Lord 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Exploiter’s Aspect
  • Amulet: Blighted Aspect or Aspect of Grasping Veins (whichever you want to get the 50% boost, the other one goes in the 2nd Ring Slot)
  • Chest: Aspect of the Embalmer
  • Pants: Aspect of Shielding Storm
  • Gloves: Aspect of Ultimate Shadow
  • Boots: Aspect of The Void
  • Ring 1: Aspect of Decay
  • Ring 2: Blighted Aspect or Aspect of Grasping Veins (whichever of the two you did not put in the Amulet goes here)
  • 1H Weapon: *Smiting Aspect Until The Unique goes here (see notes below)
  • Off-hand: Aspect of The Damned
  • 2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): *Smiting Aspect Until The Unique goes in he 1h slot (see notes below)
NOTE: Smiting Aspect goes in the 1H Weapon slot ONLY until you get the Black River Unique Scythe.
There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet) & Harlequin Crest (Helm)

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet): Smiting Aspect gets removed from the 1H Weapon slot and Blighted Aspect or Aspect of Grasping Veins (whichever you put in the Amulet) goes in the now empty 1H Weapon slot to make room for the Unique to go in the Amulet slot
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Smiting Aspect gets removed from the 1H Weapon slot. Aspect of Ultimate Shadow goes in the now empty 1H Weapon slot. Then Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the now empty Gloves slot to make room for the Unique to go in the Helmet slot.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 93 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in complete order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 46 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

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance / Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Darkness/Shadow/Corpse/Bone/Physical Skills
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Core/Macabre/Corpse/Ultimate Skills
Damage with Core/Macabre/Corpse/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
Damage with Core/Macabre/Corpse/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage
Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Close Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Overpower Chance
Overpower Damage with Blight/Corpse Explosion/Bone Storm
Overpower Damage with Core/Macabre/Ultimate/Darkness/Corpse/Bone Skills
Damage to Slowed/Stunned/Immobilized Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Slowed/Stunned/Immobilized Enemies
Higher Priority
+ All Stats
Damage while Healthy
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Close Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Essence Generation
Essence Regeneration
Essence On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Intelligence
Resource Cost Reduction
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

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

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

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Dark Lord 2.0 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)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Dark Lord Diablo IV Necromancer Build

The Dark Lord and his Mages emerge from the shadows to engulf the battlefield in darkness

Dark Lord Necromancer BUILD for Diablo IV

(the Dark Lord and his Mages emerge from the shadows to engulf the battlefield in darkness)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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 Dark Lord.

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 (Reaping Army) 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) Reap Sweep an ethereal scythe in front of you, dealing 12.00% (X-?) damage. Hitting an enemy with Reap increases your damage Reduction by 15% for 2 seconds. Generates: 4 Essence per enemy hit Damage: Shadow
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Reap If an enemy hit by Reap dies within 2 seconds, you gain 30% attack speed for 3 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Initiate’s Reap Reap instantly executes non-Bosses below 5% Life.

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

  • (active) Blight Unleash concentrated blight that deals 30.00% (X-?) damage and leaves behind a defiled area, dealing 80% (X) damage over 6 seconds. Essence Cost: 25 Damage: Shadow
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blight Blight Slows enemies by 25%
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Paranormal Blight Blight has a 10% (multiplicative) chance to Stun for 2 seconds each time it deals damage.
  • (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 )

  • (active) Corpse Explosion – Release a vile miasma from a Corpse, dealing 75.00% (X-?) Shadow Damage over X seconds. Detonate a Corpse, dealing X damage to nearby enemies. Cooldown: ? Seconds.
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse – Explosion Corpse Explosion’s radius is increased by 15%.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Horrid Corpse Explosion – Corpse Explosion deals 15% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Slowed, Stunned or Vulnerable.
  • (passive) did not invest into the Macabre passives yet to save points

Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 ) here we’re taking both Curses

  • (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.
  • (active) Decrepify – Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Decrepify are Slowed by 50% and deal 25% less damage for 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Decrepify – Enemies hit while afflicted with Decrepify have up to a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Abhorent Decrepify Enemies hit while afflicted with Decrepify have up to a 15% chance to reduce your active cooldowns by 1.0 seconds.
  • (passive) Skeletal Mage Mastery – Increase the damage and Health of your Skeletal Mages by 15%.
  • (passive) did not invest into other Corruption passives to save points

Summoning Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active DID NOT TAKE IT BUT YOU CAN REMOVE A CURSE FOR IT) 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) Horrid Corpse Tendrils – Enemies Stunned by Corpse Tendrils take 40% (multiplicative) more damage from Corpse Explosion.
  • (passive) Reaper’s Pursuit – Damaging enemies with Darkness Skills increases your Movement Speed by 5% for 3 seconds.
    • (upgrade) Crippling Darkness – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
    • (upgrade) Gloom – When you damage enemies with Darkness Skills, they take 2% (multiplicative) increased Shadow Damage for 2 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
    • (upgrade) Terror – Darkness Skills deal 5% increased damage against Immobilized, Slowed, or Stunned enemies. This also applies to Shadow Damage dealt by your Minions.

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) Hellbent Commander – Your Minions deal 10% (multiplicative) increased damage while you are near them.
    • (upgrade) Inspiring Command – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
  • (passive) Bonded in Essence – Your Minions gain 15% of your Resistances.
    • (upgrade) Death’s Defense – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Shadowblight – Darkness Skills infect enemies with Shadowblight for 2 seconds. Every 10th time an enemy receives Shadow Damage from you or your Minions while they are affected by Shadowblight, they burst for 20.00% (X-XX) Shadow 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 + Upgrade 2 is a good build synergy
    • Description: Shadow Mages fire an additional shadow bolt every 6th attack.
  • Bone 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 (Dark Lord) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of The Umbral
  • Amulet: Blighted Aspect
  • Chest: Sacrificial Aspect
  • Pants: Aspect of Disobedience
  • Gloves: Aspect of Shared Misery
  • Boots: Aspect of The Void
  • Ring 1: Aspect of Pummeling
  • Ring 2: Aspect of Retribution
  • 1H Weapon: Aspect of The Damned
  • Off-hand: Aspect of The Expectant
  • 2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Aspect of The Damned

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

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Dark Lord 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)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Reaping Army Diablo IV Necromancer Build

Control an Army of Undead and get bonuses based on the number of summoned Minions

Reaping Army Necromancer BUILD for Diablo IV

(Control an Army of Undead and get bonuses based on the number of summoned Minions)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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 Reaping Army.

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 (Reaping Army) 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) DecomposeTear the flesh from the enemy, dealing 30.00% (X) damage per second and forming a usable corpse with the flesh every 2.5 seconds. Generates: 7 Essence per second
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Decompose – If an enemy dies while being Decomposed, you gain 10 Essence.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Acolyte’s Decompose – You and your Minions deal 10% (multiplicative) increased non-Physical damage to enemies who are being Decomposed.

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

  • (active) Sever – A spectre of you charges forward and attacks with its scythe for 42% (X) damage then returns to you and attacks again for ? damage.
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Sever -Sever damages enemies along its path for X% of its damage.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supernatural Sever – Sever deals X% increased damage for each Minion you have upon cast.
  • (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 )

  • (active) Corpse Explosion – Release a vile miasma from a Corpse, dealing 75.00% (X-?) Shadow Damage over X seconds. Detonate a Corpse, dealing X damage to nearby enemies. Cooldown: ? Seconds.
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse – Explosion Corpse Explosion’s radius is increased by 15%.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Horrid Corpse Explosion – Corpse Explosion deals 15% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Slowed, Stunned or Vulnerable.
  • (passive) Skeletal Warrior Mastery – Increase the damage and Life of your Skeletal Warriors by 15% .

Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 )

  • (active) Decrepify – Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Decrepify are Slowed by 50% and deal 25% less damage for 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Decrepify – Enemies hit while afflicted with Decrepify have up to a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Horrid Decrepify – When you or your Minions hit an enemy afflicted with Decrepify below 10% Life, they are instantly killed. Does not work on Bosses.
  • (passive) Skeletal Mage Mastery – Increase the damage and Health of your Skeletal Mages by 15%.

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) Horrid Corpse Tendrils – Enemies Stunned by Corpse Tendrils take 40% (multiplicative) more damage from Corpse Explosion.
  • (passive) Reaper’s Pursuit – Damaging enemies with Darkness Skills increases your Movement Speed by 5% for 3 seconds.
    • (upgrade) Crippling Darkness – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
    • (upgrade) Gloom – When you damage enemies with Darkness Skills, they take 2% (multiplicative) increased Shadow Damage for 2 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
    • (upgrade) Terror – Darkness Skills deal 5% increased damage against Immobilized, Slowed, or Stunned enemies. This also applies to Shadow Damage dealt by your Minions.

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Army of the Dead – Call forth the deep buried dead. Volatile undead emerge over the next 7 seconds that explode near enemies, dealing 30.00% (X-?) damage. Cooldown: 90.0 Seconds. Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Army of the Dead – When Army of the Dead’s Skeletons explode, they have 15% chance to leave behind a Corpse.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Army of the Dead – Army of the Dead also raises your Skeletal Warriors and Skeletal Mages.
  • (passive) Hellbent Commander – Your Minions deal 10% (multiplicative) increased damage while you are near them.
    • (upgrade) Inspiring Command – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
  • (passive) Bonded in Essence – Your Minions gain 15% of your Resistances.
    • (upgrade) Death’s Defense – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Strength in Numbers – While you have at least 7 Minions, they gain  20% Attack Speed.

Book of the Dead (Class Mechanic):

This build is all about taking as many summons as possible without sacrificing any of them for passive bonuses. As for the types I picked: Skeletal Reapers + Shadow Mages + Bone (or Blood) Golem. One can only pick 1 of the upgrades I’d recommend as follows:

  • Skeletal Reapers + Upgrade 1 is a good build synergy but Upgrade 2 seems fun too so test what you like more
    • Description: Reaper attacks against enemies who are Immobilized, Slowed, Stunned or Vulnerable reduce the cooldown of their powerful wind-up attack by 2 seconds.
  • Shadow Mages + Upgrade 1 is a good build synergy
    • Description: Shadow Mage attacks have a 10% chance to stun for 2.13 seconds. This cannot happen on the same enemy more than once every 5 seconds.
  • Bone Golem + Upgrade 1 is good build synergy (if you go Bone Golem for taunts) OR Upgrade 1 for Blood Golem will be very good as well
    • Description: Each time your Golem takes up to 20% of its maximum Life as damage, it sheds a corpse.

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 (Reaping Army) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of The Umbral
  • Amulet: Aspect of Shared Misery
  • Chest: Aspect of Grasping Veins
  • Pants: Aspect of Might
  • Gloves: Fastblood Aspect
  • Boots: Wind Striker Aspect
  • Ring 1: Unyielding Commander’s Aspect
  • Ring 2: Aspect of Reanimation
  • 1H Weapon: Edgemaster’s Aspect
  • Off-hand: Aspect of Retribution
  • 2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Edgemaster’s Aspect

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

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Reaping Army 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)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website