With complete mastery over Bone, Blood and Shadow skills, Necromancers in Diablo 4 use their essence to summon an army of undead to aid them in their battles against the minions of Lilith. Necromancer class is ideal for players who like ranged but powerful characters. With the proper selections in the skill tree, the Necromancer class can be turned into one of the deadliest in Diablo 4.
Necromancers have long been one of the highly coveted classes in Diablo franchise thanks to their ability to raise the dead and spam the battlefield with numerous minions. Necromancers in Diablo 4 are no different and once you have an understanding of their skill trees, you too can summon your own hordes of skeletons and creatures to fight your enemies.
Below are all the skill trees that the Necromancer class has at its disposal in Diablo 4 so you can make the right choice when deciding which skills to assign for your builds.
- Basic Skill Tree
- Core Skill Tree
- Corpse & Macabre Skill Tree
- Curse Skill Tree
- Ultimate Skill Tree
- Key Passives
Diablo 4 Necromancer Basic Skill Tree
Like all the other classes, the basic skill tree of the Necromancer class in Diablo IV are the barebones abilities that you will be using in the bulk of combat. Basic skills don’t require any resources and are used to generate Essence for other Necromancer abilities.
Bone Splinters
This ability allows the Necromancer to shoot multiple bone splinters, each causing minimal physical damage. Each hit after the first one grants you 1 essence but only during the same cast. Bone Splinters is a physical damage skill and it belongs to Bone category.
- Enhanced Bone Splinters: Grants the ability to shoot 2 additional bone splinters. The players must have 50 essence or more to use this enhancement.
- Acolyte’s Bone Splinters: Grants an additional 8% chance for a critical strike if the same enemy gets hit by 3 or more bone splinters (from the same cast).
- Initiate’s Bone Splinters: This enhancement provides a 20% chance per hit to make enemies vulnerable for 2 seconds.
Hemorrhage
This ability allows Necromancer to deal 25% physical damage to enemies by bursting their blood. The burst blood has a 20% chance to become a blood orb. Hemorrhage is a physical damage skill and it belongs to the Blood category.
- Enhanced Hemorrhage: Hemorrhage deals additional damage to the enemies around the main target and grants the players 2 essence per hit. This enhancement only activates after picking up a blood orb.
- Acolyte’s Hemorrhage: Grants 20% more attack speed if the players use Hemorrhage while being healthy.
- Initiate’s Hemorrhage: A 1.5% chance to Fortify the players with 100% of their base life with each enemy attack. It also grants 1.6% of base life as fortify every time the players hit an enemy with hemorrhage.
Decompose
This ability deals moderate damage to enemies by tearing their flesh off. This flesh can be used to form an ally corpse after a few seconds of continuous attacks on the enemy. Decompose is a Shadow Damage skill and it belongs to Darkness category.
- Enhanced Decompose: Grants 10 essence if an enemy dies by decompose attack.
- Acolyte’s Decompose: Allows the players and minions to inflict 10% more damage to the decomposing enemies.
- Initiate’s Decompose: 30% reduction in enemy speed.
Reap
This ability hits the enemies with a scythe to deal minimal shadow damage. However, hitting an enemy with Reap increases the players damage reduction by a moderate amount for a couple of seconds. Reap is a shadow damage ability and it belongs to the Darkness category.
- Enhanced Reap: Grants 30% additional attack power for next 3 seconds. It only triggers when the enemy hit with Reap dies within 2 seconds.
- Acolyte’s Reap: Creates an ally corpse beneath the enemy that is first struck by Reap.
- Initiate’s Reap: Kills non-boss and non-player enemies with one hit if their health is below 5%.
Necromancer Core skill tree
Core skills are your major damage dealers that will synergize with most of your other abilities in the game. Investing in the Core skill tree of Necromancers in Diablo IV will allow you to perform deadly attacks by using up Essence.
Blight
Deals moderate shadow damage and creates a defiled area that inflicts minimal damage over a few seconds. Blight is a shadow damage skill and it belongs to the Darkness category.
- Enhanced Blight: Slows down enemies by 25% that are hit by blight.
- Paranormal Blight: A 30% chance to immobilize blight hit enemies for 1 second.
- Supernatural Blight: Player and their minions deals 15% more damage to the blight infested enemies.
Sever
This ability creates a specter of players that deal massive shadow damage to the enemies before returning to the player. It delivers an additional strike for moderate damage before departing. Sever is a shadow damage skill and it belongs to the Darkness category.
- Enhanced Sever: Inflicts an additional 25% of the base damage.
- Paranormal Sever: Makes enemies vulnerable for 2 seconds. This only happens on the 4th cast of Sever.
- Supernatural Sever: Deals 2% more damage for each minion the players have.
Blood Surge
This ability draws blood from the enemies causing minimal damage, and uses it to create a blood nova that inflicts moderate damage to enemies. Damage output increases by 10% for each enemy drained but only up to 50% (5x). Blood Surge is a physical damage ability and it belongs to the Blood category.
- Enhanced Blood Surge: Grants 2.5% of maximum life back for draining each enemy. An additional 2.5% for draining 4 or more enemies within same cast.
- Paranormal Blood Surge: Allows the players to gain 1 stack of Overwhelming Blood by hitting the enemies with Blood Nova. The players must be in healthy state for this enhancement to activate. With 5 stacks of Overwhelming Blood, next Blood Surge results in overpowering.
- Supernatural Blood Surge: Fortifies the players with 1% of their base life on hitting each enemy. If the fortify is already above or reaches 50% of base life, Blood surge inflicts 20% more damage per hit to the enemies.
Blood Lance
This skill allows the Necromancer to throw a lance towards enemies that stay in them for multiple seconds. Dealing massive physical damage. Blood Lance is a physical damage skill and it belongs to the blood category.
- Enhanced Blood Lance: Allows to hit the already lanced enemies with an additional lance. It passes through them and deals damage reduced by 15% to the enemies behind the first one.
- Paranormal Blood Lance: Grants an additional 15% attack speed with lance cost reduced by 3 essences. However, at least 2 enemies or a boss must be lanced for this enhancement to activate.
- Supernatural Blood Lance: Allows the players to spawn a blood orb beneath the first enemy and overpower the blood lance attack. It only becomes possible on the 9th cast automatically.
Bone Spear
This skill allows the Necromancer to summon a bone spear that deals massive physical and piercing damage to the enemies. Bone Spear is a physical damage skill and it belongs to the Bone category.
- Enhanced Bone Spear: bone spear divides into 3 upon destruction, each piece causing 25% of the base damage to the enemies.
- Paranormal Bone Spear: An additional 5% critical strike chance. Upon critical strike, bone spear splits into two which deals additional damage to the enemies.
- Supernatural Bone Spear: This enhancement makes the first enemy vulnerable for 3 seconds upon being hit by bone spear.
Diablo 4 Necromancer Corpse & Macabre skill tree
Corpse and Macabre skill tree is what makes a necromancer, well a necromancer. These skills allow manipulation of the dead causing explosions and other AoE attacks. The corpse & macabre skill tree is actually divided into two parts, separated by the Curse skill tree.
Corpse Explosion
This skill makes a corpse explode, inflicting moderate damage to surrounding enemies. Corpse explosion is a physical damage skill and it belongs to Corruption category.
- Enhanced Corpse Explosion: A 15% increase in explosion radius.
- Blighted Corpse Explosion: Corpse release corruption which inflicts 18% shadow damage for 6 seconds instead of exploding.
- Plagued Corpse Explosion: An additional 8% physical damage to slowed, stunned and vulnerable enemies by the explosion.
Blood Mist
Allows the necromancer to become immune by turning into mist. Players deal minimal damage to enemies in this state and heal themselves. However, this comes at a cost of reduced speed. Blood Mist is a physical damage skill and it belongs to the Blood category.
- Enhanced Blood Mist: Grants an additional 2 seconds cooldown for using the Overpower skills.
- Ghastly Blood Mist: Creates one corpse every 1 second.
- Dreadful Blood Mist: Grants fortification for 0.5% of base life for every hit that lands on an enemy. It stacks.
Bone Prison
Summons a prison of bone with a certain amount of health around the enemies for a few seconds. Bone prison skill belongs to the Bone category.
- Enhanced Bone Prison: Grants 15 essence for the first enemy trapped. Additional 5 for every next enemy inside the bone prison.
- Ghastly Bone Prison: Makes the prisoner enemies vulnerable.
- Dreadful Bone Prison: Grants fortification for 5% of base life for each enemy trapped.
Corpse Tendrils
This skill pulls the enemies closer with the help of tendrils protruding from a corpse. Enemies receive minimal physical damage and gets stunned for a few seconds. Corpse Tendrils is a physical damage skill and it belongs to the Corruption category.
- Enhanced Corpse Tendrils: Slows down the enemies by 50% before pulling them in.
- Blighted Corpse Tendrils: A 30% chance to drop a blood orb by hitting the enemies.
- Plagued Corpse Tendrils: Damaged enemies become vulnerable for 3 seconds.
Bone Spirit
Summons a spirit that explodes near enemies. It costs all the essence and deals massive physical damage to the enemies. This damage is increased by 3% for each essence spent to conjure the sprit. Bone Spirit is a physical damage skill and it belongs to the Bone category.
- Enhanced Bone Spirit: Upon critical strike, bone sprit cooldown time is reduced by 6 seconds.
- Ghastly Bone Spirit: An additional 10% chance for a critical strike.
- Dreadful Bone Spirit: Generates 30 essence for 4 seconds after hitting an enemy.
Necromancer Curse skill tree
As the name suggests, the Necromancer Curse skill tree in Diablo 4 is all about putting status effects and damage over time effects on your enemies.
Iron Maiden
Cast a curse on a specific area for a few seconds. Enemies afflicted by curse receive some damage for trying to hit the players. Iron Maiden is a physical damage skill that belongs to the Corruption category.
- Enhanced Iron Maiden: Generates 5 essence from each new enemy cursed instead of using players essence.
- Horrid Iron Maiden: Damage output increases by 15% once 3 or more enemies are afflicted with the curse.
- Abhorrent Iron Maiden: For every enemy killed with curse, the players receive 5% of their maximum life back.
Decrepify
Puts a curse over a small area for a few seconds. Enemies affected by this curse are slowed down and deal less damage to the players. Decrepify is a physical damage skill and it belongs to the Corruption category.
- Enhanced Decrepify: A 10% chance to stun enemies for 2 seconds. This is a Lucky Hit.
- Horrid Decrepify: Instantly kill non-boss enemies with a single hit once their life is below 10%.
- Abhorrent Decrepify: A 15% chance to reduce the cooldown of skills by 1 second by hitting the afflicted enemies. This is a Lucky Hit.
Diablo 4 Necromancer Ultimate skill tree
The ultimate abilities of a Necromancer allow you to basically become the grim reaper as you wave your scythe around and summon bone storms of numerous skeletons.
Army of the Dead
Summon skeletons for 7 seconds that explode on contact with the enemies dealing moderate physical damage.
- Prime Army of the Dead: A 15% chance to leave behind an ally corpse upon exploding.
- Supreme Army of the Dead: Help raise skeletal warriors and mages to fight alongside the players.
Blood Wave
Summons a wave of blood that deals massive physical damage in addition to Knock Back enemies. Blood Wave is a physical damage skill and it belongs to the Blood category.
- Prime Blood Wave: This enhancement slows down the enemies by 50% over 4 seconds.
- Supreme Blood Wave: Leaves 3 blood orbs in its wake.
Bone Storm
Summons a storm of bones around the players which deals massive physical damage to the close enemies for a few seconds. Bone storm is a physical damage skill and it belongs to Bone category.
- Prime Bone Storm: Reduces amount of damage taken by 15%.
- Supreme Bone Storm: An additional 20% chance to deliver a critical strike.
Necromancer Key Passives
Key Passive abilities differ from other skills as they only activate when a skill belonging to a certain category is used. Here is a complete list of all Key Passives that belong to Necromancer Class.
Ossified Essence
Each bone skill delivers 1% more damage for each essence the players have above 50. This skill doesn’t activate when the players essence is below 50.
Rathma’s Vigor
Overpowers all the Blood skills if the players remain healthy for 15 seconds. It also increases the maximum life of players by 10%.
Shadowblight
Every shadow skill activates this passive ability for 2 seconds. Enemies afflicted with Shadowblight takes 10% more damage from the players and their minions. On every 10th strike to an enemy, they receive an additional 20% shadow damage.
Kalan’s Edict
Minions get an additional 15% attack speed if the players remain untouched for 3 seconds. 30% attack power for the minions if they are 7 or higher in number.
