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Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build and best skillsLearn how to make the best Corpse Explosion Necromancer build in Diablo 4
Learn how to make the best Corpse Explosion Necromancer build in Diablo 4
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Blizzard Entertainment
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Blizzard Entertainment
Want the best Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build?Patch 1.1.0 is now live inDiablo 4, ushering us intoSeason 1and introducing the newMalignant Heartsmechanic. Malignant Hearts are incredibly powerful, and the Corpse Explosion Necromancer specifically gets some incredibly strong options that are sure to make this build even stronger in the coming months.
If you’ve been eager to try out the Corpse Explosion Necromancer, Season 1 really is the perfect time. In this guide, we’ll break down how to make the best Corpse Explosion Necromancer build, covering the Skills, Paragon Boards and Glyphs, Minions, Aspects, Stats, Gems, and Malignant Hearts that you’ll need.
We’ve refreshed this build for the launch of Season 1, meaning it is current as of Patch 1.1.0. If future updates make any changes that impact this build, we’ll be sure to let you know.
If you’re after some differentNecromancer builds, check out ourDiablo 4 Bone Necromancer buildandBlood Necromancer build!
Diablo 4 - Which Class Is Best?What is the best class in Diablo 4? Watch this video to find out.Watch on YouTube
Diablo 4 - Which Class Is Best?
Best Corpse Explosion Necromancer build in Diablo 4
OurDiablo 4Necromancer build is all about summoning minions to cut through baddies while you explode corpses for massive damage. No surprise there, really, as it’s all in the name, but we’ve got a bunch of skills here that should both litter the battlefield with juicy corpses, and help you get the most damage out of each and every explosion.
Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build skills
Below, you’ll find a full list of the skills that you should acquire for our Diablo 4 Necromancer build, in order:
Decompose
Decomposemakes a corpse every 2.5 seconds and generates Essence, making it an important builder for the Necromancer.
Blight
Blightfires out a blast of Shadow magic that deals damage to enemies on impact and leaves behind an AoE in which enemies will take massive damage over the following six seconds.
Corpse Explosion
Corpse Tendrils
Army of the Dead
Army of the Deadis a handy way of overwhelming tougher enemies. When triggered, it makes explosive skeletons burst out of the ground and charge at enemies, and with the Prime Army of the Dead upgrade, they also have a 15% chance to leave behind a corpse. More corpses means more Corpse Explosions!
If you’re not sure how to use these skills effectively, follow the attack pattern below:
Image credit:Blizzard
Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build: Best Paragon Boards and Glyphs
As promised, we’ve got a full breakdown here of how to spend all 225 Paragon Points that you can get from reaching level 100, earning all of your Renown rewards across theDiablo 4 map, and finding allAltars of Lilith.Diablo 4’s Paragon systemis where builds get a huge power boost, so that they can tackle high-tier Nightmare Dungeons, the tough Fallen Temple Capstone Dungeon, and even the level 100 boss.
Below, we’ll cover which Paragon Boards you should take, which Glyphs you should insert, and how to move through each board efficiently for our Diablo 4 Necromancer build. You can also head tothis Lothrik pagethat we’ve saved, showing the exact path that we took through each Paragon Board.
Starting Board
On theStarting Board, take the right path up to get the Rare Prime node, and then continue to the Glyph socket. Here, use theExploit Glyph, and then grab any Dexterity nodes within range of the Glyph. Once done, take the left path up through the Rare Knowledge node to reach the Board Attachment Gate.
In total, the Starting Board should use 28 Paragon Points.
Wither
Witheris the most important Paragon Board for this Necromancer build. The Legendary node offers a 5% chance to deal 50% bonus damage each time your Shadow damage over time effects deal damage.
After grabbing Malediction, go right from the Glyph socket to grab the RareGnawing Darkness nodeand any surrounding Magic nodes. Then, from the Glyph socket once again, path up and do the same with the RareLingering Shadows node. After getting Lingering Shadows, you can continue across to the right to reach the Board Attachment Gate, using a few Points to go up and reach Wither.
In total, the Wither board should use 66 Paragon Points.
Flesh-Eater
WithFlesh-Eater, the Legendary node grants 40% increased damage for 6 seconds when you consume 5 corpses, which is trivial for this build.
When you add Flesh-Eater, rotate it so that the Glyph and Legendary node are both central. You’ll be starting on the left side, so move across until you reach a fork in the path. From here, you’ll want to spend a few points heading down to reach the Legendary node. Then, head back to the fork and follow it up and over to the Glyph socket, grabbing the RareTargeted nodeon the way for a huge damage boost to Elites.
In total, the Flesh-Eater board should use 36 Paragon Points.
Scent of Death
When you add Scent of Death, you want to rotate it until the Glyph socket and Legendary node are both central, with the Glyph higher up. Then, starting on the left, make your way across and down towards the Scent of Death Legendary node.
After reaching the Legendary node, make your way up towards the Glyph socket and use theScourge Glyph. This gives you +3% increased Shadow damage over time for every 5 Willpower purchased within range, so swoop up any Willpower near the Glyph. We also got the RareDeathmarked nodeand all surrounding Magic nodes, before pathing up to the Board Attachment Gate at the top.
In total, the Scent of Death board should use 43 Paragon Points.
Cult Leader
For our final Paragon Board, we opted forCult Leaderto give our Minions +15% increased damage for each Minion type you have active.
When you add the Cult Leader board, rotate it so that the Legendary node is on the lower-left corner and the Glyph socket is in the upper-right corner. Then, starting at the bottom, make your way left and up to grab the Cult Leader Legendary node, before starting again from the bottom and making your way right and up to the RareInfused Warrior node. Grab all surrounding Magic nodes here too.
Then, get the RareOverlordandCustody nodes, grabbing and Magic Nodes that offer extra Minion damage and damage reduction. Make sure to also put points into Intelligence here, so that you can activate the Glyph’s additional bonus.
In total, the Cult Leader board should use 52 Paragon Points.
Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build: Best Minions
The Necromancer class also has access to a uniqueBook of the Deadsystem, which allows you to raise minions to form a powerful little army. The Book of the Dead screen is split into three parts: Warriors, Mages, and Golems. In this build, we use Skeletal Warriors and Mages, but we’ve opted to sacrifice the ability to summon Golems for a passive boost instead.
To get Warriors and Mages, you must use the Raise Skeleton skill. This will take up a slot on your skill bar, which is why we have only opted for five other active skills in the section above.
In the Skeletal Warriors tab, we’ve opted for theReaper variant. We’ve selected their second node, which gives Reapers a 15% chance to form a corpse with each attack.
In the Skeletal Mages tab, we’ve opted for theShadow variant. We’ve selected their second node, which lets them fire a second Shadow bolt every fifth attack.
We aren’t using a Golem in this build, as Summon Golem takes a separate skill slot that we didn’t want to lose. With that in mind, we’ve opted to select theSacrifice node on the Bone Golem variant. This takes away the ability to use Summon Golem, but provides a 10% boost to attack speed for all of your attacks. Of course, if you do want to try out Summon Golem, the option to Sacrifice this ability isn’t permanent and can be switched out whenever!
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Blizzard Entertainment
Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build: Best Aspects
Completing Side Dungeons in Diablo 4 will grantLegendary Aspectsas a reward. These are modifiers or improvements to your skills and abilities that will make this build far stronger. Below, we’ll list the best Aspects for the Corpse Explosion Necromancer build, alongside the Dungeons you must complete to get them:
You must equip an Aspect to Legendary Gear to gain its effect, but you may also find Legendary Gear as random loot drops that spawn with Aspects already equipped. If you find a Legendary item with one of the above Aspects while exploring, make sure to equip it straight away!
Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build: Best Stats
As you farm Legendary Gear for the above Aspects, you’ll also notice that it spawns with randomly rolled stats, called Affixes. These are also crucial to the build, so you’ll want to hunt for gear with the following Affixes:
Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build: Best Gems
Many Gear items in Diablo 4 will come with Gem Sockets, into which you can insertGemsfor more passive bonuses. Gems will have different effects depending on whether they are inserted into Weapons, Armor, or Jewelery.
For your Weapons, we’d recommend usingAmethyststo boost your damage over time. Decompose, Blight, and Corpse Explosion all deal damage over time in this build, and using Amethysts in Weapon Gem Sockets could offer up to an 8% increase to that damage.
For your Jewelery, check the Malignant Hearts section below to see how you should utilise Infested Sockets.
Diablo 4 Corpse Explosion Necromancer build: Best Malignant Hearts
Season 1 introduces Malignant Hearts, a new type of item that act similarly to Gems. They can be placed into Infested Sockets to provide powerful bonuses similar to those that you get from Legendary Aspects.
Below, you’ll find the best Malignant Hearts for the Corpse Explosion Necromancer:
That wraps up our Diablo 4 Necromancer build guide. If you’re eager to try out other classes, take a look at ourDiablo 4 Barbarian builds,Rogue builds,Sorcerer builds, andDruid builds.
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