The Necromancer is now available for play in Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls. With this, an entirely new way to play is available that has a long list of skills and runes that are unfamiliar to even the most veteran players.
We’ve leveled Necromancer to 70 and have spent a great deal of time playing around with specs in Beta and live. Below are the skills you should consider equipping along with their best runes:
Primary
- Bone Spikes (Sudden Impact) – This is by far the most commonly used option thanks to its ability to deal spread damage to enemies clumped up around your skeletons, and reliable stun to reduce damage taken over time.
Secondary
- Skeleton Mage (Singularity) – If you’re going with a pet oriented build, this is your best bet. It effectively operates as an incredibly high damage, slow moving turret that punishes opponents from afar. Due to its ranged capabilities, it won’t cause additional traffic in melee.
- Bone Spear (Crystallization or Blighted Marrow) – This is a solid option if you’d prefer not to play with a pet oriented build. Crystallization is great if you’re filling a support role at high Torment difficulties, while Blighted Marrow is better for solo or when you’re simply trying to clear areas as quickly as possible.
Blood & Bone
- Blood Rush (Potency) – This is an outstanding skill for improving your mobility and getting out of harm’s way. Potency will help you in cases where you aren’t able to distance yourself from a fast-moving foe.
- Bone Spirit (Unfinished Business) – If you’re more concerned about dealing maximum damage, this is a great option that will provide powerful AoE capability.
Reanimation
- Command Skeletons (Frenzy) – This is the bread and butter of the Necromancer. It should be utilized in most builds unless you’re bored and/or want to experiment with other options.
- Command Golem (Ice Golem) – Pet oriented builds can benefit from running with both Command Skeletons and Command Golem. The Golem is a powerful unit that has moderate support options, especially in the case of Ice Golem.
Curses
- Decrepify (Wither or Enfeeblement) – This is an incredibly useful AoE that helps you lock down groups of enemies while your skeletons pound on them. Wither is the better option in higher Torment difficulties due to its damage reduction, but Enfeeblement is great for slowing down lesser dangerous foes in some situations.
Corpses
- Corpse Explosion (Dead Cold or Close Quarters) – Corpse Explosion is a bit difficult to use unless yo urun with Close Quarers, in which case it becomes more of a melee range ability. Dead Cold is a solid option if you can learn to pinpoint corpses, as it will help you lock down enemies.
- Devour (Cannibalize) – This, along with Blood Rush, can keep you alive even in the most challenging of situations. It will keep your Essence gauge replenished, and health pool filled as long as you don’t get one shotted.
Good luck with your Necromancer.
