5 best Necromancer builds to try in Diablo 4 Season 9

Diablo 4 Season 9’s Necromancer is kind of a shambles right now, but there are still builds to use. However, if you’ve chosen to play a Necromancer right now, I have to ask: Why not play a class that’s actually good? I mean, I’m still going to play Necro, because I wasn’t raised to be a quitter. Between the Overpower nerfs (and then the second round of Overpower nerfs) and the nerfs to Soul Rift and Blood Wave, I don’t think it’s going to be a great season for us.

That said, there’s still hope, and some builds, despite their nerfs (looking at you, Blood Wave), will still be solid. We’re looking ahead into the near future for this, but I have some high hopes for these Diablo 4 Season 9 Necromancer builds.

Note: This article contains the personal and subjective opinions of the writer. The listing is not in any order.

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Which Necromancer builds are best to try in Diablo 4 Season 9?

• Summon Minions (Hand of Naz)
• Blood Wave
• Blood Spear
• Shadow/Frost DoT
• Reap/Propulsion (Rob2628's build)

This list of Diablo 4 Season 9 Necromancer builds is based on my personal thoughts after the PTR and some research into what other players think will be popular. I will not promise you that these will top the charts when it comes to The Pit grinding, but I think they will all be solid and fun. The Horadric Spells will probably be doing some decent lifting this time around.

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1) Summon Minions (Hand of Naz build)

I can't wait to have a swarm of Skeleton Mages (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

The new Necromancer Unique for Diablo 4 Season 9, The Hand of Naz, sounds incredibly promising. It requires you to sacrifice both Skeletal Warriors and Golems to get more Skeletal Mages that can become Skeletal Arch-Mages. This, combined with Ring of Mendeln and Blood Moon Breeches, is a very powerful combo.

However, I think this build is going to need some Mythic Uniques too because you will need to be slightly tanky. I think that can be made up for with Horadric Spell combos like Smoldering Ember, Bloody Charm, Fractured Core, Invigorating Helix, and Cosmic Anomaly+Corpse Explosion. You’ll have so many minions that foes will just melt.

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2) Blood Wave

No matter what Blizzard does, it still sounds like this build thrives (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

That’s right, even with the Blood Wave nerfs, I think this build is still going to be one of the absolute best builds. If you want something safe for Diablo 4 Season 9 Necromancer builds, Blood Wave is probably going to be the play. It also uses the same Horadric Spells seen above, too. It’s a powerful combo for the masters of undeath.

The main difference is that we’ll be pairing Cosmic Anomaly with Blood Wave. Combining the constant implosion of your anomalies with the Blood Wave is going to do some serious damage. It does still require Kessime’s Legacy, though, and will probably also require some Mythic Uniques to perform at peak safety and efficiency.

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3) Blood Spear

Trap them in the bone jail, and shred them with more blood... bones (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Thanks to Uniques like Indira’s Memory, Path of Trag’Oul, and Deathless Visage, this build can crank out some pain. It’s yet another that will want Mythic Uniques to really be successful, in particular, Doombringer, Shroud of False Death, and Ring of Starless Skies. Pairing Disintegrate with Bone Spear/Blood Spear promises to be a hoot, too.

You’ll also use Smoldering Ember, Fractured Core, Bloody Charm, and Tranquil Stone for your Horadric Spell. This is going to be a Bone Prison + Bone Spear build to shred anything caught in it into tiny pieces, and pairing that with the Disintegration beam is going to be, well, a blast in Diablo 4 Season 9 for Necromancers.

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4) Shadow/Frost DoT

How would you like your enemies to take damage forever? (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

This, in some ways, feels like an old-school build for me. It uses Corpse Explosion, which becomes a darkness skill, along with Decompose and Blight, to spread tons of DoTs and shadow damage. Then you run Tyrant Bane (Horadric Jewel) to do more DoT damage that doesn’t wear off until they die. This feels like a build you can kite enemies with, just building up a trail of enemies that are slowly withering away.

It uses the same Horadric Spell components as the previous entry did. Corpse Explosion plus Disintegrate ought to be a pleasant surprise. I have a really good feeling about this build, and while I definitely prefer minions, I like the idea of a permanent DoT build.

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5) Reap/Propulsion (Rob2628 build)

Ebonpiercer remains one of my all-time favorite D4 Uniques (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Sadly, the combo for this that made it so plausible was nerfed, but I think it will still be a solid idea to at least try it. On the PTR, a few players found a combo that gave you infinite teleport, and allowed you to deal tons of damage and clear maps with ease. It was a brainless build, and wildly powerful. We’re still using the tools from that (Propulsion, Floaty Bubble, and Bloody Charm) alongside Gleaming Conduit and Corrosive Vapor.

The idea behind this was to keep resetting and executing pretty much infinitely. However, between the cooldown reduction it uses, Lidless Wall+Bonestorm, and a wealth of elemental damage, I think this is still a build that has some potential in Diablo 4 Season 9, for Necromancers. We’ll just have to see if it’s still viable, but it’s a shame that the exploit was already fixed.

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Check out our other Diablo 4 guides and features

• Diablo 4 Season 9 release date, and everything you need to know
• 7 best builds to try in Diablo 4 Season 9
• Diablo 4 to become free on PlayStation Plus with July 9 launch
• Diablo 4 Season 9 Endgame tier list: Best builds for Pit push and bossing