Whatever you think about the patch that ignited Season of the Malignant of Diablo 4, one thing is for certain: the Necromancer remains a powerhouse, and in fact, the best and strongest build for the class remains minion-free. If you’re looking at blowing through Malignant Monsters with ease in Diablo 4, this Bone Spear Necromancer build will make sure of that.
As I’m sure you’re aware, you can choose to “sacrifice” the ability to summon the three minion types — Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages, and the Golem — within the Necromancer’s Book of the Dead. This affords you powerful passive buffs that, when used correctly with other active skills, make the core Bone Spear skill a terrible force to be reckoned with.
The Best Way to Build for a Minion-Free Necromancer in Diablo 4
Once upon a time, Corpse Explosion and shadow damage focus offered the most viable minion-free build. However, now a better option relies heavily on Bone Splinters and Vulnerable damage to wreak havoc on Sanctuary’s myriad monsters. First of all, you’ll want to sacrifice the following minions within the Book of the Dead:
- Sacrifice Skirmishers: Your Critical Strike Chance is increased by 5%, but you can no longer summon Skeletal Warriors.
- Sacrifice Cold Mages: You deal 15% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies, but you can no longer summon Cold mages.
- Sacrifice Bone Golem: You gain 10% Increased Attack Speed but no longer can summon a Golem.
These passive bonuses will help a lot as you spam Bone Spear to eliminate Lilith’s hordes.
You should invest in the following active skills, which make up the rest of the build: Reap, Bone Spear, Bone Prison, Corpse Tendrils, Corpse Explosion, and Blood Mist. The cycle here is to use Acolyte’s Reap to spawn a corpse, then Corpse Tendrils to draw in enemies. Cast Bone Prison around said enemies to make them Vulnerable (and to gain essence). Then spam Bone Spear, which will shred them to pieces. Repeat, using Corpse Explosion to generate essence and Blood Mist to get out of trouble.
Check out a full skill tree list with passives included in the link by clicking the “Skill Tree” tab.
Aspects & Malignant Hearts
Check out our in-depth explanation of what Aspects are if necessary. However, the short of it is they’re powerful abilities found either on Legendary items or that can be slotted into gear of any level. For this Bone Spear build, two Aspects are of utmost importance: Aspect of Grasping Veins, which give you increased Critical Strike Chance after casting Corpse Tendrils, and Splintering Aspect, which allows Bone Spear to make more enemies Vulnerable and deal massive bonus damage to them. We recommend slotting the latter onto a two-handed Scythe for 100% bonus damage. Otherwise, you’ll want defensive Aspects that generate Barrier to keep you alive.
Malignant Hearts were added in the Season of the Malignant, and they work somewhat like gems. You’ll really want to find The Malignant Pact, which cycles through 20% Attack Speed, a 15% chance to fully restore your essence, and a Barrier that absorbs damage every 20 kills. The Necromancer-specific Malignant Hearts do not mesh with this build well; however, there are plenty of utility Hearts for all classes that will work – good luck finding some matching ones!
For gear, Critical Strike Chance, Vulnerable Damage, and Bone Spear ranks are paramount. Otherwise, that is everything you need to know about how to create the best minion-free Necromancer, from Season 1 onward. Happy Malignant Heart hunting.
Related: Where to Find Idol of the Faithful in Diablo 4 on Gamer Journalist
