Diablo 4 Necromancer Build - Defiler
Jun. 3, 2023Diablo 4 Necromancer Build – Defiler
Diablo 4 Necromancer Build – Defiler: In this Diablo 4 EndgameNecromancerBuild Guide, I’ll show you how to play an evolved version of the Corpse Explosion Build, specifically the Defiler Necromancer. The Defiler Necromancer is a burst DPS Diablo 4 Build that focuses on dealing high damage and landing one crit after the next. If you’ve been looking for a Diablo 4 Endgame Necromancer Build that is aimed at World Tier 3, and one that heavily makes use of Corpses and bones to obliterate enemies efficiently, then this guide is for you!
The way thisDiablo IV Endgame Buildworks is you’re going to initiate combat usingBone Spear, especially against Elites. Doing so will make themVulnerableright from the very start so it’ll be easier to slaughter them. Next, you’ll be blasting Corpses withCorpse Explosionto deal insane damage. Alternating between Bone Spear and Corpse Explosion will still make you destroy enemies quickly even in World Tier 3.
Not only will you restore Essence regularly upon detonating Corpses, but you’ll also be able to heal your Minions with theRaise Skeleton Skill. The cycle will then be repeated where you consume Corpses to maintain high resources at all times, followed by hitting hard due to the Critical Strike Damage you deal. Furthermore, because of theOssified Essence Key Passive, you gain 1% bonus damage when using your Bone Skills for every Essence you have above 50, making you lethal on the battlefield. Because of your 180+ Essence, the increased damage you inflict will be more than 100%!
ForElitesandBosses, you’ll also be making use ofBone Stormfor the amplified Damage over Time you and your Golem deal, together with the improvedCritical Strike Chance.
Each Diablo 4 Necromancer Build comprises the 6 Active Skills they have equipped and changing theseSkillscan drastically alter the way the Necromancer Class in Diablo IV plays. In this section, we’ll take a look at what Skills you should slot for the Defiler Necromancer Diablo 4 Endgame Build. By the time you reach Level 50+, you’ll approximately have 58 points, assuming that you’ve accumulated enough Renown from different regions. So your Skill distribution should look something like this:
The above list gives you the general order to invest in Skills, but keep in mind that you should prioritize picking up new Active Skills over investing in passives, so pick up passives later if you can get new Active Skills when you level up.
In this section, I’ll discuss the key similarities and differences in Skills between the previous Corpse Explosion Beginner Build and the current Defiler Endgame Build for the Necromancer Class. The strategies will change depending on the type of foe you’re facing whether they’re comprised of a large group of enemies or Elites and Bosses.
Bone Spear is still going to be one of your major sources of damage, and it’s made all the better thanks to the passives and aspect of this Diablo IV Defiler Necromancer Build. Similar to the Corpse Explosion Beginner Necromancer Build, you’ll be maxing this Core Skill and unlockingEnhanced Bone SpearwithSupernatural Bone Spearfor the extra damage.
Speaking of passives, you’ll heavily invest inUnliving Energyto raise your Essence cap andImperfectly Balancedto deal greater damage with Bone Spear even if you’re going to spend more resources. And then later on, you’ll be allocating 3 points intoDeath’s Reachto further increase your damage against targets who are far away from you.
You’ll then want to obtain theSplintering Aspect, which performs best when imprinted on a Two-Handed Weapon. This allows you to apply Vulnerable to several enemies, not just the first enemy you hit. As such, you can clear groups much faster than before. The Splintering Aspect can be acquired by completing the Guulrahn Slums Dungeon inDry Steppes.
Next is Corpse Explosion, which not only deals more damage against Vulnerable enemies but also generates a lot of Essence. As such, you’ll want to invest all 5 points into this Corpse Skill and then gain access toEnhanced Corpse ExplosionandPlagued Corpse Explosion. The passives you’ll also need to max out to make this more effective areHewed Flesh,Grim Harvest, andFueled by Death. With these, you’re able to spawn more Corpses, restore Essence faster, and deal greater damage every time Corpse Explosion is triggered.
Next, you’ll want to obtain theCadaverous Aspect. This increases the damage of your next cast of Bone Spear when you use Corpse Explosion. So as you’re detonating Corpses here and there, you’re also preparing to unleash the true power of this Core Skill by a certain %. And it can even be stacked up to 5x! The Cadaverous Aspect can be obtained from Legendary Itemsthat have it.
When it comes to theBook of the Dead, you’ll make use of all of your Minions. For the Skeletal Warriors, you’ll be selecting the 1st node of the Skirmisher instead of the 2nd node of the Reaper, unlike in the Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Beginner Necromancer Build. Since you’ll be able to generate sufficient Corpses, you’re better off adding another Warrior to aid you in combat. This works well with theBlood Getter’s Aspect, allowing you to raise a total of 8 Skeletal Warriors when imprinted on the Amulet! The Blood Getter’s Aspect can only be retrieved fromLegendary Items that have it.
In total, you’ll be able to command 12 Minions. From here, you’re better off slotting theRequiem Aspecton a Ring to raise your Maximum Essence based on the summons that is currently alive. And because the Ossified Essence Key Passive scales with your current Essence, you’ll end up dealing more than 50% increased damage! You can obtain this aspect inScosglen.
For the Skeletal Mages, you’ll be selecting the 1st node of the Cold version instead of the 2nd node. Since you already apply Vulnerable to enemies with Bone Spear, you’re far better off generating additional Essence to constantly keep this resource up, hence the change in selection. For the Golem, you’ll retain the same setup as before where you’ll still go for the 1st node of the Bone form. Doing so will allow him to spawn a Corpse.
In terms of the Minion Passives, remember to max outSkeletal Warrior Mastery,Skeletal Mage Mastery, andGolem Masteryin order to significantly boost their damage and Life.
The Defiler Diablo IV Endgame Necromancer Build becomes more interesting at higher levels because of the additional Bone Skills you get to unlock. You have Bone Storm as the Ultimate Skill where before there was none, several bone passives,Bone Splinters, and Ossified Essence. I’ve already explained what Bone Storm and Ossified Essence do so I’ll move on to the other abilities.
For the bone passives, you haveSerration,Compound Fracture, andEvulsion. They not only increase your Critical Strike Chance and Critical Strike Damage with Bone Skills but also boost your damage against Vulnerable enemies. Meanwhile, you’re going to swapDecomposefor Bone Splinters to be able to generate Essence better. When you unlockAcolyte’s Bone Splinters, it grants a Critical Strike Chance bonus upon attacking the same enemy for 3x.
At World Tier 3, you’ll gain access to a lot of items together with their bonuses. It can be difficult to determine the right ones to keep for your Diablo IV Necromancer Endgame Build without the proper direction. So in this section, I’ll discuss the best gear bonuses you should chase after together with theGemsand aspects to place in them. Remember that you can replace unwanted affixes atThe Occultistand that you should upgrade your gear atThe Blacksmithfor the best results.
For theWeapon, I highly recommend equipping a Two-Handed Weapon simply because the aspect’s power you’ll end up using here will be boosted by 100% so it’s going to be a game-changer. The bonuses you’ll want include the following:
For the gem, you should pick theEmeraldto further boost your Critical Strike Damage against Vulnerable targets.
ForArmor, you have theHelm,Chest Armor,Gloves,Pants, andBoots. The major bonuses you’ll want here include the following:
Additionally, you’ll still want to slot theRubyto raise your Maximum Life.
The Legendary Aspects you’ll need for your Armor are theProtecting Aspect,Aspect of the Protector, and Cadaverous Aspect. I’ve already talked about the Cadaverous Aspect so I’ll focus on the other two. The Protecting Aspect, which can only be obtained from Legendary Items, creates a magical aura that grants Immunity if you’re hit while below 80% Health. Comparatively, the Aspect of the Protector conjures aBarrierfor 10 seconds once you attack an Elite or Boss. Aspect of the Protector can be obtained by finishing the Lost Archives Dungeon inFractured Peaks.
For Jewelry, you have theAmuletand 2Rings. The gear bonuses you’ll need include the following:
You should then slot any of the gems like Diamonds that will grant additional Elemental Resistances based on what you currently lack.
At Level 50, you unlock the basicParagon Board, which lets you gainStatincreasesand specific bonuses to further enhance your Diablo 4 Defiler Endgame Necromancer Build. What you’ll want to focus on while you’re leveling from Level 50 to 70 is the Willpower Attribute to acquire the 40% damage boost from the Prime and Knowledge Rare Nodes.
In terms of ParagonGlyphs, the best one is the Corporeal Glyph for the increased Armor, Damage Reduction, and Physical Damage. Physical Damage is especially important since you have Minions who will help you attack enemies. Remember to invest in +40 Intelligence Nodes to access the additional Physical Damage bonus.
When you get to higher levels, you’ll eventually choose the specializedNecromancer Paragon Boardfor your Diablo IV Endgame Necromancer Build. Here, you’ll select the Flesh-Eaterfor the considerable increase in damage every time you use Corpse Explosion. Alternatively, you can go for Bone Graft so that when you activate your Bone Skills, you not only increase your damage but also your Maximum Essence as well.
There are a couple of things you can do to further amplify the overall damage of your Diablo 4 Defiler Necromancer Build, especially at higher levels. You have the option of imprinting your other Ring with theAspect of Inner Calmor theEdgemaster’s Aspectbased on the playstyle you’d like to adopt. Both of these can be acquired in Scosglen.
The Aspect of Inner Calm builds up your damage the longer you stand still. And because of the total number of Minions you have, you should remain safe. On the other hand, Edgemaster’s Aspect is better suited if you want to pilot a more mobile character. Here, the damage you deal will be based on the Essence you currently have so if it’s full then you’re more likely to inflict greater damage. You can even make use of the Elixir of Resourcefulnessto raise your resources further, and therefore your damage as well.
Another way to maximize the effectiveness of Bone Spear is by equipping theDeathless Visage Sacred Unique Helm, which is a random drop. For every Bone Spear you cast, you leave behind “echoes” to deal additional damage so this is going to be very useful against large mobs or tough enemies.
Lastly, since you summon Cold Skeletal Mages, it would be best to imprint theColdbringer’s Aspecton your Armor Coldbringer’s Aspect is great to have because it allows your Skeletal Mages to cast theBlizzard Spellevery now and then to Chill and eventually Freeze enemies. Once Frozen, they’ll be much easier to get rid of, plus, you’ll end up taking less damage. Like the Deathless Visage, the Coldbringer’s Aspect is a random drop.
Be sure to check out ourDiablo 4 Wikifor any other questions you have about the game and theBuildspage if you are looking for moreDiablo IV Builds, as well as ourDiablo 4 Review,Getting Started GuideandBest Class to Playif you are looking for more Diablo 4 content!
Reiku
Writer at Fextralife. I enjoy playing RPGs, narrative-driven games, and platformers. Outside of gaming, I like watching meaningful movies and reading sci-fi and dystopian books.
do you have the paragon board for this build? I’m currently playing it
can you show path for the pargon boards. thanks
what should i done on the first pargon board?
Love this build. Is there a timeline for the video for this build, or even better the endgame version of it? Or should I look into shifting to one of the other end game Necro builds?
