Diablo 4: Shadowblight Necromancer build guide (Season 9)

Normally, Diablo 4’s Shadowblight Necromancer isn’t really for me, but Season 9 and the various Horadric Spell combos make it safer than it probably ever has been. There are a few things that make this build ideal for the endgame of Season 9. One of those is that it really doesn’t require any Uniques. There are a few Mythic Uniques, and a Unique or two that do help, but there are no hard requirements.

I do think Ebonpiercer is incredibly important to the build since it helps get tons of Blight on the field. When you combine it with Corpse Explosion (Blighted), the ground is covered in constant damage, and that’s what we want.

Here’s how you can build a Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4 Season 9.

How does the Shadowblight Necromancer work in Diablo 4 Season 9?

Shadowblight Necromancers in Diablo 4 Season 9 predictably rely on the Shadowblight Key Passive. This makes Shadow Damage inflict enemies with Shadowblight for two seconds. Every eighth time an enemy receives Shadow Damage from you while afflicted with Shadowblight, they take 200% damage.

In addition, Shadowblight’s damage is increased by 70%[x] of your Corrupting Damage and Shadow Damage bonuses, up to 450% [x]. This means you need to get as many instances of Shadow Damage constantly flowing on the battlefield. We do this in a few ways:

Blight (Ebonpiercer helps)
Corpse Explosion (Blighted)
Soulrift (Corrupting damage bonuses)
Nebulous Extract + Astral Pillar connected to Corpse Explosion

We’re going to smear the ground in shadows and deal more damage than any foe can endure. There are Uniques and Legendary Aspects that help as well. It’s a fun, satisfying build, that’s for sure.

What is the likely rotation for a Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4 Season 9?

Unfortunately, I'm still grinding for Fractured Core (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Use Reap to generate a corpse (and damage reduction is important).
Drop Corpse Tendrils for CC.
Bone Prison enemies to trap them in place and also increase your DPS.
Cast Blight several times into the group, but weave in Corpse Explosion casts too.
When you have enough bodies on the ground, spam Corpse Explosion.
Resume weaving Blight/Corpse Explosion if necessary.

If you don’t have Cursed Aura, I recommend using Decrepify before Reap to get some more crowd control in play. This Diablo 4 Season 9 Shadowblight build is pretty easy to pilot. It’s just getting that Corpse Tendrils/Bone Prison down pat that might take the most practice.

If you’re dealing with a huge group, feel free to Soulrift. The more enemies it has to draw on, the better. Also, take the time to pick up Blood Orbs because this will trigger some of your Paragon Board picks, if you’ve gotten far enough in your build to do so.

Talents and Book of the Dead picks for Diablo 4 Season 9’s Shadowblight Necromancer

The Shadowblight Necromancer build in Diablo 4 Season 9 uses a pretty standard set of Necromancer talents. The only class ability that you’re going to put more than one point into will be Soulrift to make sure you get the bonuses from it. The majority of our other points are going to be slotted into incredibly powerful passives.

Skills to pick

Reap (Enhanced, Acolytes)

Blight (Enhanced, Supernatural)

Hewed Flesh

Corpse Explosion (Enhanced, Blighted)

Bone Prison (Enhanced)

Necrotic Fortitude

Titan's Fall

Fueled by Death

Spiked Armor

Decrepify (Enhanced, Abhorrent)

Death's Embrace

Amplify Damage

Precision Decay

Corpse Tendrils (Enhanced, Blighted)

Coalesced Blood

Reaper's Pursuit

Terror

Gloom

Necrotic Carapace

Soulrift (Prime, Supreme)

Finality

Memento Mori

Stand Alone

Shadowblight

Here’s the part that normally gets me not to run this type of build: You’re going to sacrifice your pets. Sacrifice Reaper Skeletons for more Shadow Damage, Cold Mages for more damage to Vulnerable targets, and Iron Golem to increase your Critical Strike Damage. Thankfully, the Horadric Spells will help fix my issues here.

Horadric Spells and ideal Horadric Jewels to pick

Ideal Horadric Spell combo:

Catalyst: Astral Pillar
Infusion: Nebulous Extract
Arcana: Bloody Charm, Tranquil Stone, Fractured Core

This is our replacement for an army (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Astral Pillar + Nebulous Extract is the Horadric Spell combo that helps make up for the lack of minions. Astral Pillar creates a pillar that taunts and deals damage constantly, which is now Shadow Damage, thanks to Nebulous Extract. It also applies Vulnerable, which is nice.

Then, we pair that with the execution of Bloody Charm, Unstoppable from Tranquil Stone, and Fractured Core to stop Damage Resistance Auras (that’s going to be so important in the late game). Partner this with Corpse Explosion for maximum results.

If you can manage to farm some of the Horadric Jewels, I recommend at least Scornful Light to increase your Shadow Damage, or Elemental Brand to deal more instances of Shadow damage.

What is the best Mercenary for Diablo 4 Season 9’s Shadowblight Necromancer?

Naturally, if you’re going for a build without allies, Raheir is the best primary Mercenary for Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4 Season 9. I pair it with Aldkin (Flame Surge + Blight) for maximum efficiency. You’ll want to use the following predictable skills for Raheir:

Ground Slam
Raheir’s Aegis
Bastion
Inspiration

Ideal gear, masterworking picks, and Rune Combos for Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4

One of the hardest things in Diablo 4 Season 9, like any other season, is gearing up. You want to have the right stats, equipment, Masterworks, and Tempering picks across your gear. In general, the goal is a 100% chance of having Blight projectiles cast twice.

Around 50% Corpse Tendrils Size and 30% Soulrift Duration would also be great. Below, there are specifics for your gear in terms of ideal stats, most important Masterwork Crit, and Legendary Aspects.

Gear Slot	Tempering	Most Important Masterworks	Ideal Stats
Head (Heir of Perdition)		Lucky Hit Chance	Critical Strike Chance, Lucky Hit Chance, Movement Speed, Ranks to Rank Ckills, Unique Effect
Chest (Shroud of False Death)		All Stats	All Stats, Damage on Next Attack after entering Stealth, Maximum Life, Resource Generation, Unique Effect
Gloves	Corpse Tendrils Size, Shadow Damage	Intelligence	Intelligence, Maximum Life, Attack Speed, Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike Chance, Chance to make enemies Vulnerable
Pants (Blood Moon Breeches)			Critical Strike Chance, Ranks to Hellbent Commander, Ranks to Golem Mastery, Ranks to Curse Skills, Unique Effect
Boots	Evade Cooldown Reduction, Soulrift Duration	Intelligence	Armor, Intelligence, Maximum Life, Ranks to Corpse Skills, Essence per second, Resistance to All Elements
Amulet (Ebonpiercer)		Ranks of Reaper's Pursuit	Ranks to Reaper's Pursuit, Ranks to Blight, Chance for Blight Projectiles to cast Twice, Ranks to Gloom, Unique Effect
Ring #1	Shadow Damage, Ultimate CDR	Attack Speed	Intelligence, Attack Speed, Maximum Life, Chance to make Enemies Vulnerable, Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike Chance
Ring #2	Shadow Damage, Ultimate CDR	Attack Speed	Intelligence, Attack Speed, Maximum Life, Chance to make Enemies Vulnerable, Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike Chance
Weapon	Chance for Blight Projectiles to cast Twice, Shadow Damage	Blight Projectiles to cast Twice	Intelligence, Maximum Life, 15% Chance to Restore Primary Resource, Damage, Vulnerable Damage

Legendary Aspects

Blighted (Akkan’s Grasp, Hawezar)
Grasping Veins (Corrupted Grotto, Kehjistan)
Cursed Aura (Break down gear)
Decay (Break down gear)
Sacrificial (Ruins of Eridu, Hawezar)

When it comes to Runes, we have a few solid picks. I recommend Ahu+Qax for plenty of extra damage and Igni+Thul for Vulnerable, Frozen, and more damage. In a pinch, Cir+Lum will also do.

What do our Paragon Boards look like for Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4?

This is what your Paragon Board will likely look like (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

This Paragon Board is set for when you start grinding level 46 glyphs and will be shown accordingly. There’s still room for growth and improvement in this Paragon Board because I know everyone doesn’t aim to have Rank 100 Glyphs, and I don’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to do that kind of grind.

Board Route

Starting Board (Abyssal Glyph)
North to Flesh-eater (Sacrificial Glyph) (No Rotations)
West to Scent of Death (Amplify Glyph) (No Rotations)
South to Blood Begets Blood (Essence Glyph) (No Rotations)
South to Frailty (Exploit Glyph) (No Rotations)

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About the author

Jason is an Esports and Gaming journalist at Sportskeeda holding an amazing 11 years of experience under his belt. Having put out 4000-plus articles and amassing over 12 million reads for Sportskeeda, he is among the company’s most experienced writers. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in English from UNC Pembroke and was inspired to become a gaming journalist very early on in life after reading Nintendo Power.

Jason is a jack of all trades when it comes to gaming journalism. He’s a key writer in Sportskeeda's MMO department, but he also likes to help out in other categories, like streamers, RPG, card games, and whatever else is needed. A solo gamer at heart, Jason's favorite titles include Earthbound and Dragon Warrior.

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Edited by Jason Parker