The Necromancer remains a highly sought-after class for Season 5 of Diablo 4, with the Blight build taking the lead in the meta. Learn how to put together this build and its effectiveness in Leveling, Endgame, and PvP gameplay.
The Blight Necro build utilizes the Necromancer’s ability to control corpses and wield them as a powerful tool against the demonic forces. With the Necromancer being one of the strongest classes this season, understanding how to create the most effective builds is crucial. Despite being ranked as C-Tier in Season 5, the Blight Necro remains a popular choice among players due to its inclusion in the meta. Therefore, it is still worth considering and trying out.
In the following section, we will outline the steps for optimizing your build for leveling, endgame, and PvP. This will include the recommended skills, items, Aspects, and Glyphs to focus on during your journey this season, ensuring the best possible outcome.
The Necromancer is a master of death and uses corpses as weapons.
Best Blight Necromancer Leveling Build for Diablo 4 Season 5
As you progress through the campaign or Season 5 content, it is important to choose your skills in the following order to match your level.
| Level | Skill |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reap |
| 2 | Enhanced Reap |
| 3 | Blight |
| 4 | Enhanced Blight |
| 5 | Supernatural Blight |
| 6 | Blight |
| 7 | Blight |
| 8 | Blight |
| 9 | Blight |
| 10 | Unliving Energy |
| 11 | Imperfectly Balanced |
| 12 | Imperfectly Balanced |
| 13 | Imperfectly Balanced |
| 14 | Hewed Flesh |
| 15 | Hewed Flesh |
| 16 | Hewed Flesh |
| 17 | Corpse Explosion |
| 18 | Enhanced Corpse Explosion |
| 19 | Blighted Corpse Explosion |
| 20 | Corpse Explosion |
| 21 | Corpse Explosion |
| 22 | Corpse Explosion |
| 23 | Corpse Explosion |
| 24 | Skeletal Warrior Mastery |
| 25 | Skeletal Warrior Mastery |
| 26 | Skeletal Warrior Mastery |
| 27 | Grim Harvest |
| 28 | Grim Harvest |
| 29 | Grim Harvest |
| 30 | Fueled By Death |
| 31 | Fueled By Death |
| 32 | Fueled By Death |
| 33 | Iron Maiden |
| 34 | Enhanced Iron Maiden |
| 35 | Death’s Embrace |
| 36 | Death’s Embrace |
| 37 | Death’s Embrace |
| 38 | Amplify Damage |
| 39 | Amplify Damage |
| 40 | Amplify Damage |
| 41 | Skeletal Mage Mastery |
| 42 | Corpse Tendrils |
| 43 | Enhanced Corpse Tendrils |
| 44 | Plagued Corpse Tendrils |
| 45 | Shadowblight |
| 46 | Golem Mastery |
| 47 | Golem Mastery |
| 48 | Golem Mastery |
| 49 | Crippling Darkness |
| Renown 1 | Reaper’s Pursuit |
| Renown 2 | Reaper’s Pursuit |
| Renown 3 | Reaper’s Pursuit |
| Renown 4 | Gloom |
| Renown 5 | Gloom |
| Renown 6 | Gloom |
| Renown 7 | Terror |
| Renown 8 | Terror |
| Renown 9 | Terror |
| Renown 10 | Skeletal Mage Mastery |
With these skills, you can create the perfect Blight Necro build for leveling. However, it is important to have unlocked the Renown points in order to utilize the additional ten points.
Numerous passive skills mentioned earlier will enhance your use of Corpse and Shadow abilities (such as Blight) and maximize their effectiveness. Since all builds require active skills, we have included a range of options that synergize with the Blight build during battles.
Since there is a strong connection between Corpse skills and Minion skills, our focus has been on enhancing your passive Minion skills while disregarding Bone and Blood skills.
Recommended Book of the Dead Setup for Leveling
We suggest choosing the following skills from the Necromancer’s unique Book of the Dead when using them.
- Skeletal Warriors – Reapers
- Skeletal Mages – Cold
- Golems – Blood
This setup using the Book of the Dead is ideal for this build, as it allows your Reaper Skeletal Warriors to primarily engage in melee combat while you and your Mages provide support from afar with Cold Magic. This strategy effectively hinders the movement of enemies, leaving them open to attacks from your Skeletons, Golem, and yourself.
The Book of the Dead setup will enable enemies to be slowed and ensnared in Blight, increasing their vulnerability to damage and status ailments. The Blood Golem has been chosen for this purpose, as it can boost your damage and provide healing in times of peril.
Optimal leveling rotation
- Summon Minions
- Iron Maiden
- Corpse Tendrils
- Blight
- Corpse Explosion
- Reap (in close combat)
Next, use Plagued Corpse Tendrils to stun enemies and increase the chances of generating additional corpses to replenish your minion army. Then, launch your main attack and utilize Blight to inflict damage from a distance while your minions engage the enemy.
The combination of Blight, Plauged Corpse Tendrils, and Iron Maiden is highly effective, as it creates a deadly kill box that becomes even more lethal when Corpse Explosion is cast. This ensures that any remaining enemies are quickly eliminated.
If an enemy approaches too closely, use Reap to slice them, or target the bubbling mess caused by Blight to attack and defeat any enemies that may be caught in it.
Regardless of which rotation you prefer, the method described above has been proven to effectively combine skills into a formidable set of attacks.
The Blight skill does AEO shadow damage.
Top Legendary Aspects
Although Legendary Aspects are most valuable in the endgame iteration of the Blight Necro build, there are still some that can be acquired while leveling up to 50 or during the main story. The locations of these Legendary Aspects are listed below:
| Aspect | Power | Dungeon | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blighted | Increased Shadow Blight damage | Akkhan’s Grasp (complete A Debt Repaid quest) | Hawezar |
| Threshold | Restores Primary Resource when you crowd-control an enemy | Champion’s Demise | Dry Steppes |
| Damned | Increased Shadow Damage | Uldur’s Cave | I develop |
Best Blight Necromancer Build for Diablo 4 Season 5
Once you have completed the story, achieved level 50, and unlocked the Paragon Board in Season 5, you will be able to reset your character to the endgame version of the Blight Necro build.
Despite being the same set-up as the leveling build, the point allocation has simply been modified for this particular occasion.
| Active Skill | Upgrades | Points allocated |
|---|---|---|
| Reap | Enhanced | 1 |
| Blight | Enhanced, Supernatural | 5 |
| Corpse Explosion | Enhanced, Blighted | 2 |
| Iron Maiden | Enhanced | 2 |
| Corpse Tendrils | Enhanced, Plagued | 2 |
These are the passive skills required for the endgame build:
| Passive Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Unliving Energy | 1 |
| Hewed Flesh | 3 |
| Imperfectly Balanced | 3 |
| Grim Harvest | 1 |
| Fueled by Death | 3 |
| Amplify Damage | 3 |
| Death’s Embrace | 3 |
| Reaper’s Pursuit | 3 |
| Crippling Darkness | 1 |
| Gloom | 3 |
| Necrotic Carapace | 1 |
| Terror | 3 |
| Hellbent Commander | 3 |
| Inspiring Leader | 3 |
| Shadowblight | 1 |
This build continues to prioritize utilizing Corpse skills as the main source of offense, while also incorporating Minions as a secondary set of abilities, similar to the leveling build.
Best Endgame Setup for Book of the Dead
The set-up we utilized for leveling will also be utilized for our endgame version of this build.
- Skeletal Warriors – Reapers
- Skeletal Mages – Cold
- Golems – Blood
Best endgame rotation
When engaging mobs in battle during endgame, apply the following skill rotation.
- Summon Minions
- Iron Maiden
- Corpse Tendrils
- Blight
- Corpse Explosion
- Reap (in close combat)
The objective remains the same: to enclose enemies in a box and let Blight, Iron Maiden, and Corpse Tendrils carry out their malicious deeds. Additionally, your Skeletal Mage’s cold damage will slow down enemies, leaving them even more susceptible.
Best Legendary Aspects for Your Character Build
As you progress to endgame, you will gain access to a wider array of Legendary Aspects that can enhance your build and grant unique abilities to strengthen your primary skills. While some may be familiar from your leveling build, there are also new ones to discover. Below, you can learn about where and how to obtain these Legendary Aspects.
| Aspect | Power | Dungeon | Region | Gamble Obols |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blighted | Increased Shadowblight damage damage | Akkan’s Grasp | Hawezar | – |
| Damned | Increased Shadow damage | Uldur’s Cave | I develop | – |
| Threshold | Boosts resource regeneration | Champion’s Demise | Dry Steppes | – |
| Ghostwalker | Become unstoppable when movement speed is boosted | Broken Bulwark | Scosglen | – |
| Disobedience | Boosts defense based on your damage output | Halls of the Damned | I develop | – |
| Shared Misery | Boosts crowd control damage | Oblivion | Hawezar | – |
| Sacrificial | Boosts Sacrifice bonuses | Ruins of Eridu | Hawezar | – |
| Hulking | Boosts Golem cooldown | Sepulcher of the Forsword | I develop | |
| Void | Blight pulls in enemies | – | – | Pants |
| Hardened Bones | You and your minions get damage reduction | – | – | Pants |
| Shielding Storm | Bone Storm can lead to casting Barrier | – | – | Pants |
| Slaughter | Boosts movements speed by 20% | – | – | Boots |
Keep in mind that you also have the option to remove these Aspects from their initial item and transfer them to a different item of your preference.
Paragon Board
The Paragon Board replaces skills at level 50.
Upon reaching level 50, you will no longer receive skill points. Instead, you will earn Paragon points. This unique leveling system requires you to choose updates from a variety of boards, each with its own theme and buffs.
The great thing about each path is that it offers a unique experience. By strategically selecting different Glyphs as you progress through the Paragon Board, you will effectively enhance your Blight Necro in the most crucial aspects of the build.
Look below to determine which Glyphs you should prioritize targeting.
Best Glyphs
Fifteenth level
- Darkness
- Control
- Scourge
- Sacrificial
- Abyssal
- Exploit
- Amplify
- Grave keeper
Level twenty-one
- Control
- Scourge
- Exploit
- Sacrificial
- Amplify
- Abyssal
- Grave keeper
Once you have achieved Paragon Level 15, focus on obtaining the mentioned Glyphs. As you continue to earn points, you will unlock additional Glyphs on the Paragon Board. However, following this specific sequence will ensure that you stay on the optimal path for the Blight Necro build.
Best Blight Necro Endgame Item Build
| Item | Socket | Item type | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hulking Runic Skullcap | Ruby for extra life | Helm | Boosts Minion damage |
| Runic Mail of Disobedience | Ruby for extra life | Chest Armor | Increased Armor |
| Runic Gloves of Innder Calm | Ruby for extra life | Gloves | Increased damage |
| Runic Leggings of Shared Misery | Ruby for extra life | Pants | Increased crowd control damage |
| Ghostwalker Runic Cleats | Ruby for extra life | Boots | Increased Unstoppable chance |
| Parashu of the Damned | 2x Amethysts for increased damage | Main Hand | Increased Shadow damage |
| – | – | Offhand | – |
| Blighted Chain | Diamond for extra attack power | Amulet | Increased Shadowblight damage |
| Band of the Umbral | Diamond for extra attack power | Ring 1 | Increased crowd control damage |
| Band of Voracious Rage | Diamond for extra attack power | Ring 2 | Increased core skill damage |
Blight Necromancer Build for PvP
While the Blight Necro is great for PvE, it is not suitable for PvP. Instead, we suggest using the Bone Spirit or Bone Spear build, which involves sacrificing minions and transforming your Necromancer into a formidable solo fighter.
If you are determined to use this build in combat against other players, we recommend sticking to our endgame version for optimal outcomes.
Your minions will be vulnerable to other players, but you can strategically tap your PvP opponents in your kill box (see rotation) before taking them down with Reap. Consider reallocating some points from your minions to upgrade Reap if you plan on using this build for PvP.
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