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The Necromancer isn’t exactly the first class that players think about when Thorns damage is mentioned, but these masters of life and death have some surprising synergy with damage reflection. This may not be as strong as some otherDiablo 4Necromancer setups, but the fact that it works is enough to warrant making a build out of it.
The following is a variant ofthe Shadow Summoner buildthat makes heavy use of gained from items and skills. It still revolves around dealing Shadow damage and overall, it still plays similarly to every other minion build inDiablo 4. Here’s a rundown of all the parts that makes this build work.
Updated July 12, 2025 by Marc Santos:Minion builds for the Necromancer have seen drastic changes throughout Diablo 4’s seasons. In Season of the Construct, they received buffs to their damage and health values, further increasing their lethality and survivability in prolonged fights. Some key Necromancer passives like Death’s Defense and the Cult Leader Paragon node also got reworked. Despite this, the build remains the same as before in terms of the skills it uses and its overall playstyle. This guide has been updated to include notes that highlight these changes.
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7
Prime Bone Storm
2
Reap is here to increase the Necromancer’s own damage reduction for when enemies end up targeting them. This won’t happen often thanks to all the minions on the field, but it’s nice to have. This can be replaced withAcolyte’s Decomposeif players want something more tangible, especially since it now inflictsVulnerablefollowing Season of the Construct.
Blightbuffs the damage dealt by minions while also impairing the movement of enemies standing on top of it. This andIron Maidenare the build’s main damage dealers alongside the Thorns and the minions themselves. Curse an area with Iron Maiden and watch the numbers fly.
Bone Stormis mostlyhere as a defensive tool. It generates a Barrier over the Necromancer with the Aspect of Shielding Storm while also providing more damage reduction. Use it before starting a fight against a big pack, a group of elites, or a boss.
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Book of the Dead
Bone Golem
Upgrade 2
Season of the Construct brought sweeping buffs to the health and damage values of all Necromancer minions inDiablo 4. While this doesn’t necessarily affect the playstyle of this build, it definitely helps with the overall DPS and survivability of minions, making this Thorns setup more viable in difficult content.
The passives for this build feature bonuses to Shadow damage, minion effectiveness, player tankiness, and more Thorns from Spiked Armor. Skeletal Defenders and Bone Golem willinherit 50% of the player’s Thornsthanks to theBook of the Dead upgradeswhile Shadow Mages will trigger Shadowblight and all the bonuses related to it.
Start fights using Iron Maiden and taunt targets with Bone Golem. Spread Blight around to increase the damage enemies take, then stand in the middle of the room with Bone Storm active. Keep the minions alive by spamming Raise Skeleton. Stand near your Shadow Mages for the sake of theHellbent Commanderpassive — these guys are the ones who will be dealing the most damage out of all minions (outside of dealing Thorns damage).
As of Patch 1.3.0, the original effect of the Death’s Defense passive (Skeletons will never take more than 30% of their max health as damage from a single attack) is now an inherent attribute for all summoned minions. Death’s Defense now grants minions additional armor and elemental resistances.
Shielding Storm (Amulet)
Blighted
Razorplategreatly increases the wearer’s Thorns damage at the cost of not being a very good defensive item. Since players will be sitting at the back of their minions, this Unique’s lack of defenses shouldn’t matter much in most content. This item isn’t a complete necessity, and players can replace it with any chest piece that has a Thorns affix.
DecayandBlightedsignificantly increase the damage of Blight and Shadowblight procs. It also buffsBone StormsinceUltimate Shadowturns it into a Darkness ability.Frenzied Deadwill help Shadow Mages trigger Shadowblight more often whileHardened Boneskeeps all minions alive for longer.
As for gear, get as much Thorns on the chest piece, pants, and amulet. Also, helmets and rings respectively have affixes that increase the amount of Thorns that Skeletal Warriors and Golems inherit from the player, so stack these up as well. InsertEmeraldsonto armor pieces andSkullson jewelry for more Thorns and Armor. Due to the change to the Cult Leader Paragon node (as explained below), players should also stack Minion Attack Speed on their gear when possible.
Paragon Boards
The Cult Leader Legendary Node got reworked in Patch 1.3.0. Instead of making minions deal more damage based on how many minion types are active, it now increases minion damage based on how much bonus attack speed they have, incentivizing playerrs to stack Minion Attack Speed.
First, take damage-related nodes in the starting board and insertWarriorinto the Glyph Socket. This will give Skeletal Warriors more armor, letting them tank more damage before needing to get healed or revived.
Afterward,take theCult Leaderboardand purchase the Legendary Node, the Glyph Socket, and all minion-related bonuses close to them. InsertAbyssalfor increased Shadow damage for the Necromancer and Shadow Mages.
From here, players can choose between Wither and Flesh-eater. Both can accommodate the Revenge Glyph, which increases the damage enemies take after getting hit by Thorns damage. The former focuses on increasing Shadow DoTs while the latter increases all damage after consuming five Corpses.
