With the absence of any Diablo 4 news killing the hype for yours truly, Blizzard took a lesson from the dark arts and managed to resurrect my interest with the announcement of the Necromancer class coming to Diablo 3. While the details were scarce as to what to expect with this paid DLC, I had a chance to sit down with the master of the macabre and see if he's still got it.
He's still got it.
Thrown into a dreary woods with nothing but a pile of bones and a dream, I took my newly acquired skeletal henchmen out for a stroll in search of blood. I had to keep my cackling in check as I giddily laid waste to the scores of demons running amok. As the corpses piled up, so did my power. A single swipe of my bony wand turned the pile of corpses into an explosion of guts and glee.
Along with my corpse-recycling prowess, I was able to stem the waves of oncoming occulted horrors with exceptional command of my bony minions. Summoning skeletons is done passively, but a quick press of a button commands them to attack a single target in addition to boosting their attack power temporarily. Decimating larger enemies was a cakewalk for my undead soldiers of doom (even though they themselves could not enjoy the cake I was dishing). With great power comes great resurrection ability, however, as the Necromancer’s Essence is a limited pool that drains fast (especially if you’re fond of throwing bone spears like I was).
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As my essence ran low, I used the power of blood to siphon essence from enemies. Their blood drained with a satisfying slurp, and once again a nearby crew member had to remind me to refrain from cackling.
My brief playtime culminated with a Rift Guardian who was little match for my bony bravado. My skeleton squad diced and chopped the slithering Guardian faster than an infomercial blender. No hints of loot, no taste of additional Necromancer abilities, my experience with the Necromancer left me with more questions. How much it will cost? Is this an expansion, or just a piecemeal experience? Where is Diablo 4? All of these questions unanswered, except one. When will the Necromancer come back from the dead? Next year.
