The Necromancer continues to dominate the meta in Season 5 of Diablo 4, particularly with the powerful Blood Lance build. This setup, which does not rely on minions, allows the class to deal significant damage to enemies from a safe distance.
The Blood Lance Necro build relies on the Necromancer using the gruesome Blood Lance as their main offensive move, while also incorporating other abilities and equipment to enhance its effectiveness. This build is highly regarded in the current endgame meta, earning an A-tier ranking and making it an ideal choice for fans of the Priests of Rathma. It is particularly suitable for those seeking a potent Necromancer build that does not rely on summoning.
In the following section, we will discuss the most effective ways to optimize your build for both leveling and endgame. This includes the recommended skills, items, Aspects, and Glyphs to focus on during your journey. Additionally, for those interested in PvP, we will provide our thoughts on the viability of the Bone Spear Necro in the current season.
The Necromancer uses Blood Magic to fight the forces of Hell.
Best Blood Lance Build for Leveling in Diablo 4 Season 5
As you progress in either the campaign or the new Season 5 content, it is important to carefully choose your skills in the following order to level up effectively:
| Level | Skill |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reap |
| 2 | Decompose |
| 3 | Bone Lance |
| 4 | Bone Lance |
| 5 | Enhanced Bone Lance |
| 6 | Supernatural Bone Lance |
| 7 | Bone Lance |
| 8 | Bone Lance |
| 9 | Bone Lance |
| 10 | Blood Mist |
| 11 | Unliving Energy |
| 12 | Imperfectly Balanced |
| 13 | Imperfectly Balanced |
| 14 | Imperfectly Balanced |
| 15 | Hewed Flesh |
| 16 | Hewed Flesh |
| 17 | Hewed Flesh |
| 18 | Corpse Explosion |
| 19 | Fueled by Death |
| 20 | Fueled by Death |
| 21 | Fueled by Death |
| 22 | Grim Harvest |
| 23 | Decreptify |
| 24 | Enhanced Decreptify |
| 25 | Abhorrent Decreptify |
| 26 | Decreptify |
| 27 | Decreptify |
| 28 | Decreptify |
| 29 | Decreptify |
| 30 | Death’s Approach |
| 31 | Death’s Approach |
| 32 | Death’s Approach |
| 33 | Corpse Tendrils |
| 34 | Enhanced Corpse Tendrils |
| 35 | Plagued Corpse Tendrils |
| 36 | Cruel Mending |
| 37 | Coalesced Blood |
| 38 | Coalesced Blood |
| 39 | Coalesced Blood |
| 40 | Tides of Blood |
| 41 | Tides of Blood |
| 42 | Tides of Blood |
| 43 | Rathma’s Vigor |
| 44 | Rapid Ossification |
| 45 | Rapid Ossification |
| 46 | Rapid Ossification |
| 47 | Bone Storm |
| 48 | Enhanced Bone Storm |
| 49 | Supreme Bone Storm |
| Renown 1 | Serration |
| Renown 2 | Stand Alone |
| Renown 3 | Stand Alone |
| Renown 4 | Stand Alone |
| Renown 5 | Mememto Mori |
| Renown 6 | Mememto Mori |
| Renown 7 | Mememto Mori |
| Renown 8 | Serration |
| Renown 9 | Serration |
| Renown 10 | Gruesome Mending |
Mastering these abilities will assist you in creating the perfect Blood Lance setup. However, make sure to have acquired enough Renown points to unlock the additional ten beforehand. Once you have done so, prioritize incorporating the solo Necro passives mentioned above to strengthen your character for the final stages of the game.
If you want to utilize minions, simply replace the Memento Mori and Stand Alone passive abilities with Hellbent Commander and Inspiring Leader.
Best Book of the Dead Setup for Leveling
In order to effectively utilize the Necromancer’s exclusive Book of the Dead abilities for a Blood Lance build, we suggest opting for the following options:
- Skeletal Warriors – Sacrifice
- Skeletal Mages – Sacrifice
- Golems – Sacrifice
As you can see, we will not be utilizing minions in combat for this strategy and will instead be sacrificing them to enhance the strength of our Necromancer. However, you have the option to incorporate them into your build, although it may not have the same level of individual potency.
Tips for an Effective Leveling Rotation
The most effective sequence of attacks to use when approaching groups of enemies is outlined below:
- Decreptify
- Corpse Tendrils
- Blood Mist
- Bone Storm
- Blood Lance – Main Skill
- Corpse Explosion
When engaging a mob, use Decreptify to catch them off guard. Afterwards, utilize Corpse Tendrils to disable foes and improve the chances of generating additional corpses.
After this, unleash your main attacks and utilize Blood Mist to inflict significant damage from a distance while your minions engage the enemy. Then, employ your two strongest abilities, Bone Storm, and start launching Blood Lance into the midst of battle.
Now that Corpse Tendrils has worn off, use it again to generate more corpses, stun the survivors, and increase their poison levels. Continue to cast Corpse Explosion as the bodies pile up to eliminate any remaining enemies.
Best Legendary Aspects
Although Legendary Aspects will be more beneficial in the final stages of the Blood Lance build, there are still opportunities to obtain them while reaching level 50 or completing the story. The following list shows where you can acquire them:
| Aspect | Power | Dungeon | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacrificial | Boosts Sacrifice Minion buffs | Ruins of Eridu | Hawezar |
| Grasping Veins | Increased critical strike chance for Corpse Tendrils | Corrupted Grotto | I develop |
| Blood Seeker’s | Boosts Blood Lance damage | Mercy’s Reach | Fractured Peaks |
Blood Lance is a Primary Skill.
Best Blood Lance Endgame Build for Diablo 4 Season 5
Upon completing the story, reaching level 50, and unlocking the Paragon Board in Season 5, players can respec to the advanced form of the Blood Lance Necro build, marking the beginning of their endgame journey.
The great news is that you won’t need to make any changes to your set-up for this endgame build. You can keep the exact same set-up you had while leveling. So, there’s no requirement to respec, unless you choose to include or exclude minions.
| Active Skill | Upgrades | Points allocated |
|---|---|---|
| Reap | – | 1 |
| Decompose | – | 1 |
| Blood Lance | Enhanced, Supernatural | 5 |
| Blood Mist | – | 1 |
| Decrepify | Enhanced, Abhorent | 5 |
| Corpse Explosion | – | 1 |
| Corpse Tendrils | Enhanced, Plagued | 1 |
| Bone Storm | Enhanced, Supreme | 1 |
Here are the recommended Passive Skills for you to choose:
| Passive Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Unliving Energy | 1 |
| Hewed Flesh | 3 |
| Grim Harvest | 1 |
| Fueled by Death | 3 |
| Imperfectly Balanced | 3 |
| Amplify Damage | 3 |
| Death’s Approach | 3 |
| Memento Mori | 3 |
| Serration | 3 |
| Coalesced Blood | 3 |
| Cruel Mending | 2 |
| Tides of Blood | 3 |
| Stand Alone | 3 |
| Rapid Ossification | 3 |
| Rathma’s Vigor | 1 |
Best Endgame Setup for The Book of the Dead
We once again suggest sacrificing your minions.
- Skeletal Warriors – Sacrifice
- Skeletal Mages – Sacrifice
- Golems – Sacrifice
Although using minions is an option, be aware that it may result in reduced individual power as a Necromancer.
Best Endgame Rotation
When facing mobs in battle during endgame, utilize the skill rotation outlined below.
- Decreptify
- Corpse Tendrils
- Blood Mist
- Bone Storm
- Blood Lance – Main Skill
- Corpse Explosion
The rotation for endgame remains unchanged from that used for leveling. For a thorough explanation, please refer to the section above.
Best Legendary Aspects
Now that you have reached the endgame, you will have access to a wider range of Legendary Aspects that can enhance your build and provide unique abilities to strengthen your primary skills. While some may be familiar from your leveling build, there are now even more options available. Here is a guide on where and how you can obtain these Legendary Aspects.
| Aspect | Power | Dungeon | Region | Gamble Obols |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grasping Veins | Increased critical strike chance for Corpse Tendrils | Corrupted Grotto | I develop | – |
| Blood Seekers | Boosts Blood Lance damage | Mercy’s Reach | Fractured Peaks | – |
| Sacrificial | Boosts Sacrifice minion buffs | Ruins of Eridu | Hawezar | – |
| Great Feast | Increased minion damage | – | – | Focus |
| Gore Quills | Blood Lance has a chance to spawn Blood Orbs | – | – | Focus |
| Shielding Storm | Bone Storm generates Barrier | – | – | Pants |
| Hardened Bones | You and your minions get damage reduction | – | – | Pants |
| Metamorphosis | Evade triggers Unstoppable for 2.5 seconds | – | – | Boots |
Keep in mind that you have the option to remove these Aspects from their original object and transfer them onto another item that you prefer.
The Blood Lance build is different from Blood Surge, but just as deadly.
Paragon Board
Once you hit level 50, you will no longer gain skill points and will instead earn Paragon points. This leveling system operates in a unique manner, requiring you to choose upgrades from a variety of themed boards with different enhancements.
Each path may vary, however, the positive aspect is that by focusing on specific Glyphs as you navigate the Paragon Board, you will enhance your Bone Spear Necro in the most significant ways for the build.
Refer to the list below to determine which Glyphs you should prioritize.
Best Glyphs
Fifteen levels
- Corporeal
- Exploit
- Dominate
- Essence
- Sacrificial
- Amplify
The level is 21.
- Essence
- Dominate
- Exploit
- Corporeal
- Amplify
- Sacrificial
Once you have achieved Paragon Level 15, focus on obtaining the Glyphs mentioned above. As you continue to earn points on the Paragon Board, you will also gain access to additional Glyphs. However, following this specific order will ensure that you stay on the most effective path for the Blood Lance build.
Best Blood Lance Endgame Item Build
| Item | Socket | Item type | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Sin | Ruby for extra life | Helm | – |
| Runic Mail of Disobedience | 2x Ruby for extra life | Chest Armor | Bone Storm has the chance to trigger Barrier |
| Shadow Guardian | – | Gloves | – |
| Heroic Rival | 2x Ruby for extra life | Pants | – |
| Corpse Revenge | – | Boots | Increased Skeleton Priest damage |
| Imp End | Ruby for overpower damage | Main Hand | – |
| Wraith Voup | 1x Ruby for overpower damage | Offhand | – |
| Blood Seeker’s Choker | Skull to boost armor | Amulet | Boosts Blood Lance damage |
| Ring of Potent Blood | Skull to boost armor | Ring 1 | Boosts Blood Orbs |
| Sacrificial Ring | Skull to boost armor | Ring 2 | Boosts Sacrifice damage |
Finding this specific set may require some time, but once you obtain it, it will become your ultimate endgame gear. Of course, the choice of gear you equip is entirely up to you and you may prefer to mix and match, but this configuration will undoubtedly provide you with a significant advantage.
Alternative to Necromancer Blood Lance build for PvP
The positive aspect of using the Necromancer Blood Lance build for PvP is that it aligns with the build we previously described in our endgame section. This season, the build has been classified as A-tier for PvP, making it a formidable choice for defeating opponents, although it may not be the highest ranked option available.
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