Diablo 4 is coming out pretty soon, so I’ve been working on the build I plan to use. Since I quite like using minions, so this will be a minion focused Necromancer. I’m not sure how good the build will be later in the game, especially in World Tier 3 and World Tier 4, but it wasn’t too bad in World Tier 2 during the Server Slam. Anyway, you can try the build yourself or maybe it will give you some ideas for your own build!
1-50 Skill Tree Progression
Here’s the full skill tree at level 50 with extra Renown skills, and I’ll go over the level 1 to 50 progression. You also need to note that this process will involve skill upgrades, so you must prepare enough Diablo 4 Gold.
To start, put 1 point in Hemorrhage, Enhanced Hemorrhage and Initiate’s Hemorrhage. I like Hemorrhage as the basic skill because it’s an instant hit, lets me stay mobile, and gives me Fortify and Blood Orbs for healing.
Next is 1 point in Blight, Enhanced Blight and Supernatural Blight. This is the main self-cast damage spell that also slows enemies and buff minion damage.
After that, put 3 points in Skeletal Warrior Mastery and 2 points in Blight to unlock the 4th cluster. Here, put 3 points in Skeletal Mage Mastery, and 1 point in Decrepify, Enhanced Decrepify and Horrid Decrepify. This curse slows enemies, reduces their damage and gives your minions an instant kill when enemies are at 10% life.
The 5th cluster will help with minion survivability. Put 1 point in Gruesome Mending, and 3 points in Transfusion. This will give healing from Blood Orbs to your minions.
Then, go back to the 2nd cluster and add 3 points to Hewed Flesh. This will help with corpse generation in boss fights in case you need to resummon minions or use the Skeleton Priest for minion healing.
The Ultimate cluster should now be unlocked. Put 3 points in each of the small minion passives: Inspiring Leader, Hellbent Commander and Bonded in Essence. This will then unlock the Key Passive cluster to get Kalan’s Edict. Then go back to the Ultimate cluster to put 3 points in Death’s Defence and Golem Mastery.
And as you level up, finish Blight, take Grim Harvest, Necrotic Carapace, Spiked Armor, finish Hemorrhage and finally take Army of the Dead, Prime Army of the Dead, and Supreme Army of the Dead. I’m leaving the Army of the Dead ultimate skill to the end because I don’t think it’s very strong for minions.
Re-specing isn’t too expensive, so it might also be a good idea to change the progression.
Book of The Dead
Here are my ideas for the Book of the Dead.
For the warriors, I think Reapers will do nicely because they can make Corpses. This helps a lot in boss fights for resummoning and healing minions, and combines with Necrotic Carapace and Sapphire jewels for extra tankiness.
For the mages, I like the Cold Mages for Chill and Vulnerability for extra damage. And I like the Bone Golem for taunt, and extra Thorns.
Aspects And Gear
Here are the Aspects for the build. It’s mostly just taking all the minion aspects and putting them in the best places.
It will probably be hard to get all of them quickly, so focus on the most important ones: damage reduction, extra minions and minion attack speed.
I like to put the extra skeleton warrior in the amulet to get the 50% bonus. Also, I’m not quite sure if it’s better to play with a 2-hander or 1-hander with shield. So, I’ve just put the bubble aspect in the offhand slot as an option.
For the gear, the usual balance of stats and resistances is useful. I also think it would be good to look for Minion Life and Thorns. And try to get extra Evade Charges on your boots because the Necromancer doesn’t have any mobility skill.
For the jewels, I put Sapphire in the armor because the build has a lot of Fortify generation, and Skulls in the jewelry for extra Armor. I think Topaz in the weapon should be ok, but not sure if minions get the benefit.
Paragon
I’m not too sure about the Paragon Board because it’s only the start of the game. But I’m thinking it’s best to start with Cult Leader, build into Hulking Monstrosity, then finish with Blood Begets Blood.
I think it will be hard to get the right glyphs, so it’s better to build towards the Rare, Magic and Legendary nodes first. Then add in glyphs and the extra nodes around them when they have enough levels.
I’m really not sure about the 3rd board. I think Blood Begets Blood could be really strong if the boosted Blood Orb healing works with Transfusion passive skill.
Getting the rare and magic nodes gives 25% healing from Blood Orbs, so your minions can get 11% healing, which will help a lot with minion survivability.
So, that’s my pre-release Minion Army Necromancer. I’ll play it during the Early Access, and post updates about how I’m progressing!
