Reaping Army 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 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) Decompose – Tear 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
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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)