In both the beta period and the early access window,Diablo 4’s Necromancer has proven to be one of the most popular classes among players. Making their return as a starting class for the first time sinceDiablo 2, the Necromancer has long been associated with being able to command a virtually endless supply of skeletal minions to do their bidding while fighting safely from the edges of the screen. But since playing in early access, many have noticed that the Necromancer’s minions' rebalancing after the open beta and server slam has resulted in significantly weaker skeletons. Essentially,Diablo 4is requiring players to invest in minions or abandon them entirely.
The apparent weakness of the Necromancer’s minions is primarily felt during the game’s boss encounters thanks to the potential for every minion to get wiped with a single attack and no additional enemies available to generate replacements. As a result, fans choosing to play as the Necromancer are forced into one of two options when it comes to how to spec their characters. Players can either invest heavily into their minions and become entirely reliant on them, or neglect them entirely in favor of abuild based around Corpse Explosionor another offensive Necromancer skill.
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The Necromancer Class Doesn’t Need a Buff, But Its Minions Do
As it stands right now during the initial days of the game’s release, the Necromancer’s Golem is really the only viable minion option for successfully tackling boss encounters unless players focus all of their character’s skill points into minion-specific trees. Despite the fact thatDiablo 4’s Necromancer is able to summon more skeletonsthan previous games' versions of the class, the skeletons themselves have been made weaker betweenDiablo 4’s beta and the full release. In the days following the game’s early release Blizzard has been steadily pushing out patches, and a buff to the Necromancer’s minions should be included in the next.
This comes in stark contrast to the Necromancer builds that focus on blood or shadow-centric skill allotments, as many are finding the class to be extremely overpowered in the early game using those particular progression paths. Builds that focus on the Necromancer’s defining characteristic, controlling an army of the risen dead, are much slower-going and difficult to make viable in the early game by comparison. AsBlizzard continues to patchDiablo 4, Necromancer skills related to the minions and the minions themselves need buffs. Specifically, the skeletal skirmishers need a more substantial health pool.
Diablo 4’s Roadmap Is Sure to Include Plenty of Rebalancing
For right now at least, playing as the Necromancer requires players to make a difficult choice in how they choose to spec their character. Thankfully, the ability torespec a character inDiablo 4is available at any time and only requires a small amount of gold, meaning any choices made in the skill tree can be reset. Additionally, it’s important to remember that the game hasn’t officially launched yet and is currently in early release. Over the coming weeks, Blizzard is sure to continue issuing regular patches that change how every class performs in an attempt to nail downDiablo 4’s balancing.
While theNecromancer class inDiablo 3amounted to what many considered to be “autopilot”, successful use of the class' minions inDiablo 4requires more forethought and planning. Players who invest heavily in their minions and minion-related buffs such as Skeleton Priest can successfully manage their army of the undead and prevent a minion-focused Necromancer build from feeling weak. On the other hand, players who choose to use one of the Necromancer’s other skill paths are currently better off foregoing minions entirely and letting them be cannon fodder. Blizzard can hopefully establish a middle ground for the class in a future update.
Diablo 4is available now in early access with its full launch coming June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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