Diablo 4 leans heavily into MMO elements with its always-online requirement and option for co-op play, making it a solid game to dive into with friends. However, even when playing solo, Diablo 4 players benefit from having allies by their side, especially when undertaking some of Season 9's new activities like Horadric Strongrooms and Escalating Nightmares. Luckily, many of the best builds during the Sins of the Horadrim season center on summoning minions to support the player, giving them strength in numbers without having to team up with other players.
Although the AI can often be clunky, minion builds are great for new Diablo 4 players since they can attract the attention of enemies and take some of the pressure off the player. What's even better is that Season 9 elevates many of these builds into top contenders, meaning veterans can take advantage of them late into Diablo 4's endgame. While the core of each of these builds revolves around using minions to do the players' dirty work, they each have their own distinct flavor of playstyle that players will need to take into consideration before committing to a build.
Diablo 4 Still Hasn't Played the Ace Up Its Sleeve After 3 Seasons
Diablo 4 still has some unsolved mysteries in Season 9, and one lingering for the past three seasons may be closer to a resolution than ever.
Diablo 4 Season 9 is the Season of Minion Builds
Diablo 4 Necromancers Can Make Great Use of Minions in Season 9
Necromancers are the Diablo 4 class most often associated with minions, as the archetype depends on creating an army of the undead Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages, and Golems to use in battle. Season 9 gives the Minion Necromancer a solid new tool to work with in the form of The Hand of Naz Unique gloves. Using this Unique puts special attention on the Necromancer's Skeletal Mages, allowing them to summon more than usual with buffed damage when sacrificing the other two summon types.
Minion Necromancers should also focus on casting skills that support the work of their minions, such as:
- Blight
- Corpse Tendrils
- Bone Prison
- Soulrift
Bone Prison and Corpse Tendrils are great for Crowd Controlling Diablo 4 enemies, grouping them together for the Necromancer's minions to make short work of. Blight can also speed up the process by draining the health of enemies caught in its pools of Corruption Damage. Soulrift rounds out this build as a great source of Essence regenerations while still dealing damage to enemies.
Druids Have a High-Tier Minion Build in Diablo 4 Season 9
Like the Necromancer, Diablo 4 Druids have a couple of options for minions they can summon. These summons are crucial to the Companion Druid build in Diablo 4 Season 9, which includes both Ravens and Wolves that the Druid can command. Unlike the Necromancer, Druids can control their companions more directly, instructing them to target specific areas or enemies for attacks. While this Druid build doesn't utilize the new Rotting Lightbringer Unique, players can drastically buff their companions with the Shepard's Legendary Aspect, which multiplies the damage of Companion Skills by the number of companions they have summoned.
Since minions inherit the stats of the player in Diablo 4, Companion Druids should use skills to buff themselves and their minions, such as:
- Blood Howl
- Cyclone Armor
- Grizzly Rage
Blood Howl is great for healing both the Druid and their minions, keeping them alive without needing to be resummoned for longer, while Cyclone Armor grants damage reduction to achieve the same goal. Grizzly Rage increases damage output and also grants Unstoppable, making it a great skill to complement both the Druid and their companions.
During Season 9, Companion Druid players should also use the Reverie Horn Horadric Jewel since it empowers their summons to deal 50%[x] more damage after killing an enemy.
The Sorcerer's Best Diablo 4 Season 9 Build Relies Heavily on Summons
One of the most popular builds for Diablo 4 Season 9 utilizes the Sorcerer's most notable summon in the form of the Hydra. The new Ophidian Iris Unique Amulet has granted Hydra Sorcerers a massive buff this season, which limits the number of heads the summoned Hydra can have, but increases their overall damage per additional head that would have been by 50%-100%[x]. While Sorcerers can only have two Hydras summoned at a time, and the Hydras themselves can't move once summoned, the damage they do thanks to the Ophidian Iris still makes this build a fantastic option for players looking to get support from minions.
Diablo 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
