Diablo 3's Necromancer class is now available via invite-only Closed Beta, Blizzard announced today. The long-awaited Necromancer class has finally made the jump from Diablo 2.

Despite being teased in several short quests in Diablo 3's base game, Blizzard instead released the Cruasder class with the Reaper of Souls expansion. Now, the studio is finally delivering, and while full launch is still a ways away there's plenty of new Necromancer details to be excited about.

Corpses, Curses, Reanimation, Blood  & Bone are the four subsections of the Necromancer's abilities, on top of its primary, secondary, and passive abilities. That's everything a Diablo 2 Necromancer fan could want, besides of course those poison abilities that Blizzard decided fell a bit too close to the Witch Doctor's skill-set. Old favorites like Decrepify, Corpse Explosion, and Skeleton Mage return as well, along with several other classic abilities, like nova and golems, that have been changed to better fit Diablo 3's style.

What's best about the Necromancer returning, however, is just how authentic the new character class looks compared to its predecessor. That doesn't mean the look is completely devoid of originality - there is a female option this time around - but key details like black armor adorned with bones, scythes, and long white hair have all returned. Diablo 3 fans have to be drooling waiting for Blizzard to finally reveal the Necromancer's armor sets, which remain a secret.

Diablo 3 Necromancer Closed Beta Begins - Dagger

The latest Closed Beta patch didn't solely include the Necromancer, however. At least one other major feature addition is included with patch 2.6.0, as well as a few smaller but still significant pieces of content. The big addition is Challenge Rifts, which Blizzard describes as a "weekly static dungeon" for players to test out "new builds created by other players." Essentially, the feature lets players try other builds without any of the grind required to set up that build.

Two new zones have also been added with patch 2.6.0, The Moors and The Temple of the Firstborn. They'll be accessible through a new waypoint in Act 2.

Speaking of new waypoints, four have been added in Act 4, each with new bounties to complete. Blizzard calls them "Realms of Fate," unintended consequences of the "battle between the nephalem and Diablo." Finally the Set Dungeon user interface has been cleaned up make more sense.

Diablo 3 and its lone expansion, Reaper of Souls, are available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The Necromancer DLC pack has no announced release date, but it should be soon if the Closed Beta runs smoothly.