When Season 9 launched, Sorcerer and Spiritborn were the undisputed dominant classes. However, after adjustments in Patch 2.3.1, the class experience in Diablo 4 has become more balanced.
So, if you’re looking to play a new character now, other classes are also good choices. Of course, you still need to choose and craft the right build to maximize the power of each class.
Based on this, if you’re creating a Necromancer character, facing a wide variety of Necromancer builds, Blood Surge is actually a more reliable option in Season 9, especially if you combine it with Drain Vitality passive ability.
Below, we’ll first explain why Drain Vitality is so important and how it fits into Blood Surge Necromancer Build.
What Is Drain Vitality?
As one of Diablo 4 Necromancer’s passive skills, Drain Vitality primarily grants you a lucky hit, granting you a chance to gain additional Fortify upon hitting an enemy.
However, to trigger Drain Vitality, you must ensure you hit an enemy with your active blood skills. Drain Vitality then grants you a Fortify effect of 2.5% to 7.5% of your health, reducing the damage you take.
If you ultimately have an amount of Fortify equal to your health, your total damage taken can be reduced by up to 15%.
However, this skill is located on the fifth tier of Necromancer skill tree, meaning you’ll need to consume a considerable amount of skill points to gradually unlock additional skills until you “reach” Drain Vitality.
Luckily, earning skill points isn’t difficult. You typically earn them when you are farming Diablo 4 gold and character XP at the same time, or by completing quests issued by the reputation system.
What Is Blood Surge Necromancer Build?
While Drain Vitality is helpful in boosting this build’s effectiveness, its core skill is undoubtedly Blood Surge. Combined with other skills and gear, this build is highly effective in clearing groups of enemies or single-target attacks.
As for defensive mechanics, this build can boost health while stealing enemy health and heal itself with Blood Orbs. Additionally, you can curse enemies with Decrepify and Cursed Aura Aspect, reducing their damage.
Although Blood Surge Necromancer build’s overall effectiveness has decreased in Season 9 due to a significant damage reduction to Overpower, it’s still a good choice for clearing dungeons. Of course, it’s best to upgrade to a better build once you reach the endgame.
How Does Drain Vitality Improve This Build?
While Drain Vitality isn’t a panacea, it does provide a solid boost to Blood Surge build. When using Blood Attacks with this build and pairing it with the unique gloves Cruor’s Embrace, you can deal bonus damage from Coalesced Blood while also gaining a shield bonus.
In contrast, Blood Wave Build doesn’t rely on Drain Vitality to increase damage. Instead, you must continuously enhance this skill until you obtain Mutilator Plate to truly enhance the entire build.
It’s important to note that when unlocking the prerequisite skills for Drain Vitality, it’s best to prioritize skills that complement it, such as Coalesced Blood, which allows you to deal more damage while you’re healthy.
To maintain your health, you need to maintain 80% or more of your remaining health. If you already have a wealth of enhancements, Coalesced Blood may not be very useful, but if you’re in urgent need of additional boosts, it can be very helpful.
How To Further Craft This Build?
In addition to Drain Vitality and other related skills, crafting a Blood Surge Necromancer Build also requires other class mechanics and appropriate gear. We’ll explain each of these.
Exclusive Mechanic Book Of The Dead
Book of the Dead, a Necromancer-exclusive mechanic, unlocks at level 5 and allows you to customize your available minions and how they’re deployed.
Since the primary purpose of Blood Surge build is to ensure you can sustain continuous enemy attacks, and Blood Surge itself causes enemies to scatter, using minions in this build is essentially a waste.
Therefore, it’s recommended to sacrifice them directly:
- Melee Skeletons: Skirmisher [Sacrifice] - Increased Critical Strike Chance.
- Mage Skeletons: Bone [Sacrifice] - Increased Overpower Damage.
- Golem: Iron [Sacrifice] - Increased Critical Strike Damage.
Available Legendary Aspects
In addition to Cursed Aura Aspect, there are other aspects of the game that can benefit this build. As for how to obtain them in Season 9, it’s recommended to farm Helltides or gamble with Obols.
- Aspect of the Embalmer
- Aspect of Hardened Bones
- Cruor’s Embrace
- Blood Moon Breeches
- Cadaverous Aspect
- Blood-bathed Aspect
- Cursed Aura Aspect
- Aspect of the Great Feast
- Sacrificial Aspect
- Aspect of Rathma’s Chosen
Best Gear Affixes
After acquiring reliable gear, besides improving your character, Diablo 4 allows you to enhance it by acquiring additional affixes, making it even more beneficial in combat.
Note that different gear slots are suited for different affix types. Here are some recommendations:
- Helm: Maximum Life, Essence per second, Intelligence
- Chest: Maximum Life, Essence per second, All Resist
- Gloves - Cruor’s Embrace Cruor’s Embrace: Blood Surge Drains, X Times from Elites
- Pants - Blood Moon Breeches: Critical Strike Chance
- Boots: Armor, Essence per second, Movement Speed
- Amulet: Ranks to Tides of Blood, Intelligence, Attack Speed
- Rings (2x): Attack Speed, Maximum Life, Overpower Damage
- 1H-Weapon (Mace): Maximum Life, Intelligence, Lucky Hit
- Off-hand (Focus): Maximum Life, Critical Strike Chance, Intelligence
If you find the above information useful, try combining all the gear and skills, including Drain Vitality, to craft and enhance a Blood Surge Necromancer build! I wish you success!
