Now that Season 5 has launched, it’s crucial to identify the best Necromancer builds in Diablo 4 for leveling, endgame, and PvP gameplay.
A beloved character class, the Necromancer returns in Diablo 4 to command an army of undead minions in their battle against the forces of Hell.
The true appeal of the Necromancer lies in their ability to summon a legion of skeletons and other creatures to assist in battle, allowing you to safely cast buffs and curse your enemies using bone and blood magic.
Some builds eschew minions entirely in Diablo 4, opting instead to transform the Priests of Rathma into a solitary death dealer with formidable power.
The Necromancer is a master of death and entropy.
Is the Necromancer Good in Season 5?
Yes, the Necromancer is rated as an S class for both leveling and endgame performance in Season 5 of Diablo 4, making it one of the top choices for this season in PvE play.
However, their effectiveness in PvP is more average, primarily because Minion builds tend to be defeated easily by other players while still being deadly against the forces of Hell.
This season, their Minion, Bone Spirit, Bone Spear, and Blood Surge builds are notably powerful, each with unique strengths and weaknesses for leveling, endgame, and PvP encounters.
Best Necromancer Leveling Builds
| Tier | Build |
| S | Minion Necro, Blood Surge Necro |
| A | Bone Spear Necro |
| B | Sever Necro |
| C | Blight Necro, Blood Lance Necro |
Best Leveling Build – Minion Necro
Similar to Season 4, the Minion Necromancer remains a top choice in Season 5 alongside the Blood Surge Necro.
We recommend the Minion Necro for leveling due to its impressive potency and engaging gameplay throughout the campaign.
As seen in Diablo 2 and 3, having an army of minions while progressing through the story is incredibly powerful, providing significant support as you level up to the endgame.
Alternatively, Blood Surge can be appealing if you prefer a more active combat style rather than solely relying on your minions. Just be cautious—Blood Surge diminishes in effectiveness during the late game, requiring a shift in playstyle to stay competitive in endgame encounters.
Best Necromancer PvP Builds
| Tier | PvP Build |
| S | Bone Spirit Necro |
| A | Blood Lance Necro, Bone Spear Necro |
| B | Blood Surge Necro, Minion Necro |
| C | Blight Necro, Sever Necro |
Best PvP Build – Bone Spirit Necro
For PvP this season, the Bone Spirit Necro is the go-to choice, given that this season’s tier lists show minimal distinction among Necromancer builds. The Minion Necro build is notably less effective in PvP compared to all forms of PvE.
This establishes the Bone Spirit Necro as the clear leader in the tier rankings. The Bone Spirit has remarkable accuracy in targeting PvP opponents and is challenging to evade. Once it strikes, the damage it inflicts can be devastating, especially when paired with curses and additional spells/attacks.
Blood Lance also merits attention. It features a significant advantage over Blood Surge with a shorter cooldown and burst damage levels that rival Bone Spirit in PvP scenarios. However, utilizing Blood Lance requires aiming, whereas Bone Spirit automatically hones in on enemies.
Employing Blood Lance takes more skill, but the payoff can be rewarding if executed accurately.
Best Necromancer Endgame Builds
| Tier | Endgame Build |
| S | Bone Spirit Necro |
| A | Minion Necro, Blood Lance Necro, Bone Spear Necro |
| B | Blood Surge Necro |
| C | Blight Necro, Sever Necro |
Best Endgame Build – Bone Spirit Necro
Following its dominance in Season 4, the Bone Spirit Necro has ascended to the top of the endgame tier list, taking the crown from the Minion Necro build.
This is hardly surprising, as Bone Spirit has stood out as one of the most effective endgame Necromancer builds since the game’s launch, attributed to its remarkable power and versatility.
While the Minion Necro remains a strong contender in the meta, it’s an excellent choice if you enjoy commanding your undead forces. This build shines for players who like to farm while allowing their summons to handle combat, making it a perfectly valid approach to engage with the game.
However, to truly optimize your capabilities for endgame content, transitioning to the Bone Spirit Necro build is advisable to maximize your class potential.
The Necromancer can command a legion of minions to fight for them.
Our Tiers Explained
- S: The apex of builds
- A: Highly effective in the current meta
- B: May perform well in specific situations
- C: Unless you’re dedicated to this class, better options exist
While Diablo 4’s meta evolves each season, the changes are typically not drastic, with many tried and tested builds remaining dominant.
However, as Blizzard makes adjustments to the game, unexpected changes can occur. For instance, the Minion Necro was perceived as weak in Seasons 2-3 but saw a resurgence in power in Season 4—and continues to shine in Season 5.
All Necromancer Builds in Diablo 4 Season 5 Explained
Minion Necro
In Season 5, the Minion Necro build remains highly effective for both leveling and endgame, though it struggles in PvP, where your minions can easily fall victim to enemy players.
The classic Minion Necro build, beloved since Diablo 2, allows you to summon and buff as many Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Mages as possible. Additionally, it enables the summoning of a powerful Golem for added support.
This build focuses on distance support, utilizing your minions as primary offensive tools while you cast spells and only engage directly when it’s safe. It’s ideal for players who prefer a strategic approach rather than engaging in direct combat.
The Minion Necro commands a throng of minions to overwhelm foes.
Bone Spear Necro
While not as potent this Season compared to the Bone Spirit Necro build, the Bone Spear Necro is centered around the rapid Bone Spear skill, which boasts a shorter cooldown, making it a great leveling build, though less effective in endgame and PvP.
If you focus on Bone Magic this season, we recommend leveling up to endgame with this build before switching to the Bone Spirit build once you reach level 50, complete the story, and unlock the Paragon board.
Bone Spirit Necro
The Bone Spirit Necro build revolves around using the Bone Spirit skill as your primary attack, equipping skills and gear that enhance damage output, casting speed, and cooldown time. This allows Bone Spirit to inflict significant damage on mob and elite enemies every few seconds.
This build may not excel in leveling, as it takes time to upgrade and strengthen the skill significantly, but it is the top choice this season for Endgame and PvP, making it one of the best builds in the current meta.
The Bone Spirit skill tracks its target.
Blood Surge Necro
Blood Magic is a core component of the Necromancer’s abilities, alongside Bone Magic, Minions, and Shadow skills. Embracing too many skills may dilute effectiveness.
The Blood Surge build prioritizes this skill for attack while leveling your Necromancer with passive Blood skills that enhance this attack and Blood Magic in general. Though it allows for supporting skills, the core focus is on Blood.
In Season 5, the Blood Surge Necro build is very strong for leveling but falls to a more average strength in Endgame and PvP settings. Still, if Blood Magic resonates with your playstyle, there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had—along with ample demons to bleed out.
Blood Lance Necro
The Blood Lance Necro is another effective Blood Magic build, incorporating similar principles as the Blood Surge build. Nevertheless, Blood Lance offers quicker skills with shorter cooldowns than Blood Surge.
As a result, the build excels in PvP and endgame situations more than Blood Surge. Thus, if you utilize Blood Surge for leveling, transitioning to Blood Lance once you reach level 50 and finish the story is advisable.
Blight Necro
The Blight Necro build represents the most effective Shadow damage setup in Season 5 of Diablo 4. This build prioritizes casting Blight and other Shadow abilities as your main offensive strategy. You’ll also enhance your Shadow skills with passive abilities to create a powerful Shadow Necromancer.
Though the Blight skill and Shadow damage aren’t considered top-tier in any category this season, the Blight Necro is the best shadow-focused build currently available for the Necromancer.
Moreover, this build can be paired with minions while using summoning skills as secondary tools.
The Blight skill effectively deals AOE shadow damage.
Sever Necro
Much of the information presented for the Blight Necro build applies to the Sever Necro as well, but the crucial distinction is that Sever is a more melee-oriented Shadow build. While it can benefit from minion support, enhancing your Necromancer into a Grim Reaper figure in Diablo 4 can be more effective by forgoing minions.
Although Shadow damage lacks high ranking in Season 5’s meta, Sever represents the best melee-oriented build you can create with these Necromancer abilities. It’s most effective when leveling but loses some potency in Endgame and PvP.
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