Minion builds for the Necromancer in Diablo 4 can be surprisingly strong in the late game, though finding such success often needs a lot of preparation and a smidge of luck. It's not impossible to make a good summoner build, but they are typically not as fast at clearing things compared to other meta setups.
This build attempts to recapture the magic of Singularity mages from the previous game within the new environment Diablo 4 has. It won't be as absurdly strong, but it's good enough to carry Necromancers through level 50 and onwards without too much of a hassle. Here's how to set it up.
Blizzard has implemented patch 1.0.3. Into Diablo 4 on June 27, 2023, fixing some bugs and other issues. However, even with the slight changes that come with the update, our Endgame Bone Mage Summoner Necromancer Build guide still stands and is accurate.
Diablo 4: Bone Mage Necromancer Build
|
Skills |
Total Points |
|
Acolyte's Hemorrhage |
3 |
|
Supernatural Blight |
7 |
|
Plagued Corpse Tendrils |
3 |
|
Supreme Blood Wave |
3 |
|
Book of the Dead |
Upgrade |
|
Reapers |
2 |
|
Bone Mages |
1 |
|
Bone Golem |
1 |
This is a variation of the Shadow Summoner build that focuses on keeping minions alive while also increasing the damage they deal.
Hemorrhage is the preferred Basic Skill here for its ability to create Blood Orbs—this will play an important part later in the passive skills section. Meanwhile, Blight increases the damage of all skeletons and golems to any enemy that's standing on the Shadow pools.
The build foregoes Corpse Explosion in favor of Corpse Tendrils and Blood Wave. The former inflicts Vulnerable, while the latter spawns more Blood Orbs.
As for minions, take Reapers and Bone Golem for their ability to create more Corpses. Players are going to need a ton of these to sustain their Bone Mages.
Passive Skills
|
Skills |
Points |
|
Hewed Flesh |
3 |
|
Skeletal Warrior Mastery |
3 |
|
Grim Harvest |
3 |
|
Death's Embrace |
3 |
|
Skeletal Mage Mastery |
3 |
|
Gruesome Mending |
1 |
|
Transfusion |
3 |
|
Reaper's Pursuit |
1 |
|
Gloom |
3 |
|
Terror |
3 |
|
Golem Mastery |
3 |
|
Inspiring Leader |
3 |
|
Bonded in Essence |
3 |
|
Death's Defense |
3 |
|
Hellbent Commander |
3 |
|
Shadowblight |
3 |
Since Bone Mages use HP whenever they attack, players will need to take Transfusion to keep the mages healthy. It allows Blood Orbs to heal all minions for a percentage of the Necromancer's max health. Pair this with the Bonded in Essence passive to maximize minion healing.
The rest of the passives are self-explanatory damage, survivability, and quality-of-life improvements. Make sure to spam Blight and Raise Skeleton so the Bone Mages can do the most damage possible.
Gear and Aspects
|
Offense |
Defense |
Utility |
|
Blighted (Two-Handed Weapon) |
Disobedience (Helm) |
Blood Getter (Gloves) |
|
Ultimate Shadow (Ring) |
Might (Pants) |
Fastblood (Ring) |
|
Reanimation (Amulet) |
Hardened Bones (Chest) |
Viscous (Boots) |
There's plenty of room for improvement with this Aspect setup, but the gist of it is all about buffing minion damage and survivability via Hardened Bones and Reanimation. The other Aspects improve the Necromancer's survivability and Shadow damage output.
Ultimate Shadow is needed to turn Blood Wave into a Darkness skill. It will make proccing Shadowblight easier, and it will also spawn extra Blood Orbs for more healing. In a setup with a one-handed weapon and focus, players can add Aspect of the Embalmer into the mix for even more Blood Orbs.
Paragon Boards
Just like in the Shadow Summoner build, Cult Leader is the best Paragon Board for this setup due to its minion bonuses. Likewise, any Glyph that boosts minion stats makes for great additions to the build.
The Blood Begets Blood board will improve the effectiveness of Blood Orbs while also increasing the Necromancer's damage output. It'll help keep mages alive and make both Blight and Blood Wave hit significantly harder.
Diablo 4 is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5.