IMPORTANT!!! Click here for the full skill tree, items, etc. The below is more of a writeup that complements this build link.
At the heart of this playstyle is the synergy between improved minion survivability, scaling multipliers, and the incredible value of the Ultimate Soulrift, which stabilizes your resource economy, applies Vulnerable automatically, and shields you behind a reliable damage multiplier. This build is designed to feel smooth, safe, and devastating—whether you’re pushing endgame content or mowing down overworld bosses.
Core Skills & Why They Matter
To progress the skill tree, the Necromancer must select two basic skills, but the specific picks have major impact on your minion performance throughout the game.
Reap
Your primary Basic Skill and an essential ignition tool. With its enhanced upgrade, every kill made while you cast Reap grants attack speed to both you and your minions, accelerating your early corpse generation and smoothing out combat flow.
Blight
Though rarely used for clearing trash mobs, Blight plays a crucial role against Elites and Bosses. It provides a 10% damage multiplier, and when woven into your rotation correctly, it boosts minion output without disrupting the flow of your summons.
Raise Skeleton
This skill sits at the center of your entire power loop. By consuming a corpse, Raise Skeleton maintains your full army while activating Flesh-eater, granting your minions a massive 30% damage buff for 8 seconds and instantly healing them for 40% of their maximum life. It also fuels Fueled by Death and provides essential corpse-consuming triggers to keep multipliers stacked high.
Decrepify
Crowd control is crucial in Season 11, and Decrepify offers heavy CC, damage reduction, stuns, and—most importantly—Lucky Hit cooldown reduction that your minions can trigger for you. In the endgame, Blood Moon Breeches automates your curse application, freeing up your rotation so you can focus solely on damage and positioning.
Corpse Tendrils
This skill binds the build together with its incredible AoE pull, boss stagger, and Blood Orb generation. Because it doesn’t consume corpses, you can always fire it before you use Raise Skeleton. It creates a tightly packed kill zone where your mages deliver overwhelming bursts of damage.
Soulrift
The newest and most game-changing Ultimate for Necromancers. Soulrift provides a damage multiplier, solves all Essence issues, automatically applies Vulnerable, and wraps you in protective Barrier uptime. Thanks to cooldown reductions from Decrepify, this skill is nearly permanent and becomes the engine of the entire build.
How to Play the Build – Rotation & Combat Flow
Despite being a minion build, your actions dramatically influence how smoothly your undead army performs. Most fights begin before you even lift a finger—your minions charge ahead and grab aggro instantly, shielding you from incoming threats. While their enthusiasm can sometimes pull enemies you weren’t expecting, your CC and range keep the situation well under control.
1. Open with Blight
When combat begins, drop Blight to activate the 20% multiplier and start the corpse-forming process. You don’t need to spam this—just apply it when a priority target appears.
2. Use Corpse Tendrils Immediately
The moment a corpse drops, cast Corpse Tendrils. This:
- Pulls mobs into a tight cluster for devastating AoE
- Adds stagger to bosses
- Generates Blood Orbs for healing during dense encounters
- Helps maintain battlefield control
Using this ability often keeps you safe and ensures minions always attack into compact targets.
3. Maintain the Priest Buff with Raise Skeleton
Use Raise Skeleton often—this maintains the 30% Priest multiplier, fuels Flesh-eater and Fueled by Death, and keeps your army at maximum strength. This skill alone triggers enormous layers of multipliers that push your overall DPS to top-tier levels.
4. Cast Soulrift Continuously
Whether you need Vulnerable, Barrier, Essence, or raw damage, Soulrift is always the answer. With Decrepify reducing cooldowns, you can maintain nearly permanent uptime, ensuring constant safety and superior damage cycling.
Book of the Dead – Only One Minion Matters
The build uses only Skeletal Mages – Shadow, who ascend into deadly Arch-Mages once summoned. Their scaling is enormous, and because minions inherit 100% of your stats, buffs, and Minion modifiers, any power you gain instantly doubles through them.
Warriors and Golems are fully sacrificed for additional damage multipliers—your Arch-Mages do all the heavy lifting now.
Runewords for Season 11
Season 11 introduces expanded Runeword synergy that dramatically boosts Necromancer minion potential. You can equip two Runewords total, each consisting of:
- 1 Ritual Rune
- 1 Invocation Rune
Best Runeword Options
| Ritual + Invocation | Effect |
|---|---|
| Igni + Thul | Excellent damage multiplier, applies Vulnerable, and Freezes targets—boosting boss stagger. |
| Ahu + Qax | Once targets fall below 80% health, Qax enjoys extremely high uptime, massively boosting damage. |
Use these in two-handed weapons for maximum effectiveness, or slot them into armor if necessary.
Recommended Aspects
Pair your runewords with the following Aspects to complete your Season 11 gear setup:
- Cursed Aura
- Blood Getter’s
- Damned – found in Uldur’s Cave (Kehjistan)
- Grasping Veins – Corrupted Grotto (Kehjistan)
- Hardened Bones
- Occult Dominion
- Frenzied Dead
- Great Feast
- Reanimation – Aldurwood (Scosglen)
These Aspects amplify minion damage, increase attack speed, strengthen CC windows, and add essential survivability.
Gearing Tips for Season 11
As you acquire better gear, Masterworking tiers, and additional Paragon power, you can begin swapping defenses for offensive rolls such as Minion Attack Speed, Shadow Damage, and Vulnerable multipliers.
Key Reminders:
- Do NOT spam Blight—it’s purely a multiplier application.
- Raise Skeleton grants a 30% buff on its own and an extra 22.5% through Blood Getter’s, plus Essence via Grim Harvest.
- Soulrift offers Essence sustain, Vulnerable, Barrier, and damage amplification all at once.
- If Essence feels unstable, remove Great Feast, shift Grasping Veins to a ring, and run Inner Calm on gloves.
| Stat / Goal | Target Value |
|---|---|
| Attack Speed | 100% |
| Critical Strike Damage | 1200%+ |
| Intelligence | 2000+ |
| Critical Strike Chance | 100% |
| Armor | As much as possible |
| Resistances | As much as possible |
| Life | 7,000+ |
| Movement Speed | 160%+ |
| Soulrift Uptime | 100% |
Final Thoughts – Season 11’s Simplest and Most Satisfying Summoner
The Season 11 Minion Necromancer is one of the smoothest, safest, and most automated builds Diablo 4 has ever offered. With your army initiating fights, Soulrift stabilizing every part of your kit, and runewords amplifying burst potential, this build handles everything from leveling to deep Pit progression with confidence.
Whether you’re a summoner loyalist or a player who enjoys powerful, low-effort builds that excel in all content, this version of the Necromancer delivers an exceptional Season 11 experience.
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