The Ultimate Guide to Dominate Early Game with Necromancer Builds in Diablo 4

Summoners and practitioners of dark magic, Necromancers remain one of the five playable classes in Diablo 4. While their essence remains the same, even veteran players may find it challenging to create a successful build. The game's early stages pose little difficulty, but as players approach Level 35, Necromancers may struggle to survive and inflict damage. To help alleviate these issues, we present three builds that make the most of the limited resources available at this point in the game.

Minion Master Necromancer Build

Minions have undergone multiple adjustments in terms of nerfs and buffs throughout the development of Diablo 4. However, Skeletons have fortunately found their place in the launch build of the game, providing players with a reliable strategy to achieve early game success.

All of the listed skills enhance the performance of Minions in various ways, but those that deal Shadow damage are particularly crucial in this build. This is because they have a significant impact on the damage output of Skeletons and Golems through the Shadowblight Key Passive. Additionally, the build perpetually applies Vulnerable with Paranormal Sever, which further amplifies the damage dealt by Reapers by lowering the cooldown of their wind-up attack and adding a 20% damage bonus against Vulnerable targets.

Overpowering Blood Surge Build

Utilizing the Overpower passives in the Blood skills of the Necromancer, this build annihilates entire rooms of monsters with just a few Skill casts. The key element of this build is Blood Surge, and every aspect of the following setups is optimized to ensure its dependability in any given scenario.

Paranormal Blood Surge significantly enhances the frequency of Overpower procs for the ability, particularly when coupled with Rathma's Vigor Key Passive. Nonetheless, this setup consumes a substantial amount of Essence, necessitating players to be more mindful of their cooldowns and Skill usage than usual.

Upgraded Corpse Explosion, Iron Maiden, and Bone Prison can all function as resource generators. However, it's crucial to frequently use Hemorrhage to create Blood Orbs that Fortify the Necromancer. Maintaining Fortify is essential to ensure that Overpowered Blood Surge inflicts the maximum amount of damage. Additionally, the Blood Golem is a valuable asset for drawing enemy aggro and keeping the player's health above 80%, which prevents bonuses from Coalesced Blood and Tides of Blood from disappearing. Its active feature also deals AOE damage to enemies, making it an effective tool for clearing out groups when Essence is low. Players can also Sacrifice the Blood Golem for more max health and replace it with Blood Mist.

Use equipment that has the Blood-bathed and Sacrificial Aspects for optimal performance. The Blood-bathed Aspect will cause Blood Surge to detonate twice, while the Sacrificial Aspect will amplify the effects of Sacrifice bonuses. Players can also benefit from Potent Blood to increase resource generation, provided they maintain a Healthy status. Stack Paranormal Blood Surge quickly by equipping a one-handed weapon with a matching shield or focus off-hand.

Blood Lance Hybrid Summoner Build

This setup merges elements from both of the previously mentioned builds, resulting in a highly aggressive Minion Master configuration with exceptional burst damage capabilities. By utilizing Overpower bonuses, Blood Lance is supercharged and able to eliminate Level 30+ elite enemies in a single shot even on World Tier 1.

Players should stick to the Blood Surge playstyle for this build as well. The main objective is to cast Blood Lance repeatedly until it triggers an Overpower proc on the next hit, which requires a significant amount of Essence. To aid in this process, the build includes Bone Prison and Corpse Explosion, along with the Grim Harvest passive.

To compensate for the lack of associated mastery nodes, Transfusion is recommended to keep Minions alive. Additionally, utilizing Blood Orbs is crucial for the Necromancer's survival and increasing damage output through fortification.

To amplify the damage output of Blood Lance, players can utilize the Inner Calm and Bloodseeker Aspects. It is advisable to constantly shoot lances at multiple enemies to fully optimize its potential, except in cases where targets are conveniently aligned with each other. Diablo 4 is currently accessible on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.