Since its introduction in Diablo 2, the Necromancer class has been a longtime fan-favorite of players who enjoy dealing heavy damage while controlling a nigh-unstoppable army of the undead. The Necromancer makes a return as a launch class in Diablo 4 after being relegated to DLC in Diablo 3, and the ability to command a platoon of skeletons to swarm enemies is one of the better tactics for dealing with Diablo 4's mobs both in dungeons and in the sprawling open world. The Blight Commander build takes advantage of the Necromancer's penchant for getting the dead to do their dirty work while staying out of harm's way.
The Blight Commander build is all about allowing players using the Necromancer class to become heavy AoE damage dealers while also slowing and draining enemy health pools. The general strategy involves activating the Blight skill and then swarming enemies with skeletons, dealing DoT in a decently-sized area of effect, and also having a 15% buff to damage dealt by the Necromancer's minions. Once the Necromancer's essence pool has been drained, the Corpse Explosion skill can be triggered to affect more DoT to enemies in a large AoE, making it one of the best Diablo 4 Necromancer builds for wiping large mobs of enemies.
Skills to Prioritize for the Blight Commander Build
Players using the Blight Commander build will begin each encounter by activating Blight to deal DoT while also slowing enemies. Blight also has the added bonus of increasing the damage dealt by the Necromancer's skeleton army, making it the most essential skill for the build. After spamming the Blight skill and swarming enemy mobs with skeletons, the Corpse Explosion and Corpse Tendril skills complete the encounter strategy and deliver massive AoE damage to enemies while keeping them grouped in tight clusters for maximum effect. Outside these skills, players will also want to invest points into Raise Skeleton and, later on, Skeletal Mage Mastery.
Blight - Blight is the core skill for the Blight Commander build and allows players to deal both direct damage and indirect DoT through a decently-sized AoE shadow pool. The effect will damage any enemy standing in the shadow pool and can be stacked for maximum impact. Once players have leveled up in Diablo 4, investing points into Enhanced and Supernatural Blight will further slow and damage enemies for added build utility.
Corpse Explosion - Once enemies have been slowed and are receiving DoT via Blight, players can activate the Corpse Explosion skill to really emphasize the value of the Blight Commander build. The skeleton minions that the Necromancer class commands will take damage as they dish it out to enemies, and triggering Corpse Explosion allows players to swap out minions with low health while dealing a powerful AoE attack. By investing points later on into the Blighted Corpse Explosion passive ability, this skill becomes the critical second half of the general strategy for the Blight Commander build.
Corpse Tendril - Corpse Tendril is another skill that adds value to the Blight Commander build through the simple virtue of only requiring 1 skill point to invest in and grouping enemies together to get maximum efficiency from Corpse Explosion. The skill has the added bonus of stunning enemies, allowing any of the stacked DoT effects associated with the build to continually melt mobs while the player keeps a safe distance and avoids receiving incoming damage. Detecting the player's position in large groups of enemies in Diablo 4 can be confusing, and Corpse Tendril helps to clear up the player's field of view by clustering enemies together.
Raise Skeleton - Raise Skeleton is the prerequisite skill for the Blight Commander build as players will want to be able to summon an army of the dead to swarm enemies and bosses. While it is suggested to start in the early-to-mid game with Skirmishers, eventually players will want to switch to cold Skeletal Mages to be able to stack more DoT effects and get the most out of the build. Being able to raise a phalanx of minions to handle encounters is one of the Necromancer's playstyles in Diablo 4 and is essential for this build.
How to Use the Blight Commander Build Against Diablo 4's Enemies and Bosses
Whether tackling large groups of enemies or a seemingly insurmountable boss encounter, the Blight Commander build utilizes the same basic strategy with just one or two small exceptions. Boss encounters can be made more manageable by using the Necromancer's Golem skill to raise a corpse minion that acts as a tank and is capable of withstanding large amounts of damage while also drawing aggro. The Golem can also spawn corpses once it has taken enough damage, allowing players to spam more uses of Corpse Explosion.
Once players have access to the Grim Harvest skill they can forego the need to ever use the base Bone Splinters attack ever again, constantly replenishing essence with each cast and switching to full reliance on the Necromancer's corpse army. The Blight Commander build is one that is designed with synergy in mind, making the best of the stacking DoT effect of many of the Necromancer's abilities while also impacting enemies over a large AoE for best results. Whether playing alone or as a member of a party, the Blight Commander is a great showcase for the effectiveness of Diablo 4's Necromancer.
Diablo 4 will be available June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.