What are the Diablo 4 Necromancer skills? It wouldn’t be Diablo without the Necromancer, and we’re delighted to see this enduring fan favorite and their many undead friends join the campfire. However, the Necromancer skills have received some tweaks for the latest entry to the series, so let us walk you through it.
Quite unlike any other Diablo 4 classes, the Diablo 4 Necromancer is primarily a summoner specializing in raising a skeletal militia and hulking golems to overpower every enemy. Blizzard has confirmed that this iteration of the class is the most customizable in the series, and we can attest to it. Here’s our compilation of all the Necromancer skills, and you can check our other guide to the best Diablo 4 Necromancer builds, so you can get the most out of this ghoulish spellcaster.
All Diablo 4 Necromancer skills
Here’s a list of all the Diablo 4 Necromancer skills, separated by skill type:
Bone
Bone Spirit: Consumes all Essence to conjure a spirit of bone that seeks out the nearest enemy, exploding on contact and dealing area-of-effect (AoE) damage. This damage increases depending on the amount of Essence spent, so maximizing the amount you have before casting Bone Spirit is a must.
Bone Prison: Slam your weapon into the ground and call forth a wall of Bone to surround a target enemy or area. As the name suggests, enemies cannot break through the Bone Prison while it’s active, making it a great tool for trapping big groups of enemies or blocking off corridors.
Bone Spear: While this iconic Necromancer skill hasn’t been officially revealed quite yet, gameplay footage from the Xbox and Bethesda conference included a Necromancer casting a projectile that bears a close resemblance to this spell in previous games. This projectile deals damage as it passes through enemies; upon bouncing off a wall, it splits into three smaller projectiles that deal additional damage.
Darkness
Decompose: Channels dark magic onto enemies, dealing damage and generating Essence simultaneously. Decompose also periodically spawns corpses, allowing you to summon a wave of skeletons and turn the tide of battle at short notice.
Blight: Casts a ball of energy in any direction that explodes upon impact (or when it expires), dealing immediate AoE damage and then further damage over time to any enemy that stands in that area for a short period. This skill pairs well with Bone Prison or any crowd control effect that keeps enemies contained long enough to maximize the damage you can inflict upon them with this skill.
Blood
Blood Surge: A close-range AoE attack that draws blood from surrounding enemies to create a blood nova. The damage dealt by this attack is wholly dependent upon how much blood is drawn by the Necromancer, so be sure to position yourself in the middle of a group to make the most out of it.
Blood Mist: If you’re becoming overwhelmed, this defensive skill grants temporary immunity from damage by transforming the Necromancer into a mist of blood. As a bonus, it also drains Life from any enemy you pass through, making it indispensable for clutch moments.
Diablo 4 Necromancer weapons
No weapon is more fitting for a Necromancer than the reaper’s scythe, and the Diablo 4 Necromancer is the only class in the game that can use them. That said, you’re by no means forced to keep hold of it for your entire playthrough, and there are plenty of alternatives to equip if you’re not feeling the reaping.
Here are all the weapons and gear the Diablo 4 Necromancer can use:
- Scythes
- Swords
- Daggers
- Wands
- Focuses
- Shields
Diablo 4 Necromancer Book of the Dead
Spell-slinging is all well and good, but the true power of a Necromancer lies in their unique power to raise an army of the dead to do their bidding. The Diablo 4 Necromancer has access to the Book of the Dead, a menu that allows for more customization and control over your undead troops than ever before.
There are three minion types to summon and upgrade. You also have an additional ability to sacrifice your summons to make your Necromancer stronger. Sacrificing allows for more class flexibility, so if you haven’t enjoyed the Necromancer’s overreliance on summons in the past, the Diablo 4 Necromancer provides an opportunity for a more independent playstyle.
Here’s a look at all the summonable minions available via the Book of the Dead and the bonuses you can gain from upgrading and sacrificing them:
Skeletal Warriors
There are three types of Skeletal Warriors the Diablo 4 Necromancer can summon: Skirmishers, Defenders, and Reapers.
Skirmishers
A standard warrior with increased damage but reduced life.
Defenders
Durable shield-bearers with 15% increased life.
- Upgrade 1: Every ten seconds, your Skeletal Defenders negate the next instance of Direct Damage they would take.
- Upgrade 2: Increase the amount of Thorns that Defender Warriors inherit from you from 30% to 50%.
- Sacrifice: You gain 15% non-Physical Resistance, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors.
Reapers
Equipped with a scythe, it deals AoE damage in front of them and has a powerful wind-up attack, Reapers trade their high damage potential for low attack speed.
Skeletal Mages
The Diablo 4 Necromancer can summon three types of Skeletal Mages: Shadow, Cold, and Bone.
Shadow
Shadow Mages wield power from the beyond to deal moderate damage.
- Upgrade 1: Shadow Mage attacks have a 10% chance to Stun for 2.2 seconds. This cannot happen on the same enemy more than once every five seconds.
- Upgrade 2: Shadow Mages fire an additional shadow bolt every sixth attack.
- Upgrade 3: Your maximum Essence is increased by 15, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Mages
Cold
Chills and Freezes enemies.
- Upgrade 1: Each time your Cold Mages damage enemies with their primary attack, you gain two Essence.
- Upgrade 2: Enemies who are Frozen by or damaged while Frozen by your Cold Mages’ primary attack are Vulnerable for three seconds.
- Sacrifice: You deal 15% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Mages
Bone
It uses its bones as projectiles, dealing heavy damage for a Life cost.
- Upgrade 1: Reduce the Life cost of your Bone Mages’ attacks from 15% to 10%. After being alive for 5 seconds, Bone Mages deal 40% increased damage.
- Upgrade 2: Each time a Bone Mage dies from its own attack, they leave behind a Corpse and Fortify you for 2,188 armor.
- Sacrifice: Your Overpower damage is increased by 30%, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Mages.
Golems
Here are the three types of Golems that the Diablo 4 Necromancer can summon: Bone, Blood, and Iron
Bone
Taunts enemies in a wide area.
- Upgrade 1: Each time your Bone Golem takes up to 20% of its maximum life as damage, it sheds a corpse.
- Upgrade 2: Your Bone Golem gains 10% maximum life, and the amount of Thorns they inherit from you is increased from 30% to 50%.
- Sacrifice: You gain a 10% increased Attack Speed, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.
Blood:
Drains Life from nearby enemies.
- Upgrade 1: Your Blood Golem absorbs 15% of the damage you would take.
- Upgrade 2: While healthy, your Blood Golem gains 25% Damage Reduction and 25% increased damage.
- Sacrifice: Your maximum Life is increased by 10%, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.
Iron
Slams the ground and Stuns enemies.
- Upgrade 1: Every 5th Iron Golem attack causes a shockwave, dealing 16.00% (3,288-4,019) damage to the primary enemy and to enemies behind them.
- Upgrade 2: Your Iron Golem’s slam attack also makes enemies Vulnerable for three seconds.
- Sacrifice: You deal 30% increased Critical Strike Damage, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.
Diablo 4 Necromancer resources
Diablo 4 Necromancers consume two types of resources:
- Essence is a Necromancer’s primary resource. While it will slowly restore itself over time, using Basic Skills can generate Essence at a much faster rate, allowing you to cast more often.
- Corpses of your fallen foes can summon minions and trigger other skills, including one of the Diablo Necromancer’s most iconic abilities: Corpse Explosion. Additional skills, such as Decompose, allow you to generate additional corpses as needed, so you’ll never be short of a body to raise.
Diablo 4 Necromancer curses
Curses are an essential part of any Necromancer’s arsenal, and they’re making a welcome return in Diablo 4. While we can’t yet confirm whether the curses revealed so far will function the same as they did in previous games, we can give a quick explanation of what we expect from these powerful debuffs:
- Decrepify: Reduces the enemy’s movement speed and damage dealt.
- Iron Maiden: Causes melee damage to instead is reflected at the attacker.
That’s everything you need to know about the Diablo 4 Necromancer’s skills. We’ve also got a rundown of the 150 handcrafted and procedurally generated Diablo 4 dungeons, as well as expert Diablo 4 best settings and Diablo 4 weapons guides.