The necromancer class in the hugely popular video game Diablo 4 seems to have fallen short of the mark. Indeed, its core functionality – the ability to command an army of skilful skeletons – is markedly poor. To put this into perspective, these undead minions are notably inferior to the complimentary spider pet that players receive when they kick-start their adventure in Season 3. So much so, you can actually wield more damage by purposely ignoring the option to summon them.
However, don’t raise the white flag just yet. Blizzard, the game’s developer, is proposing a revamp with the forthcoming mid-season patch. Slated for release the following Tuesday, the necromancer’s boney minions are due for a significant upgrade – damage and health will both be amplified. Furthermore, additional skills such as Corpse Explosion will also be improved. Blizzard announced these changes during a live stream, hinting that this will merely be the first stride toward major alterations for minion functions in Season 4.
It comes after Season 3 highlighted numerous complications when contrasting necromancers to the game’s four other classes. The necromancers’ minions were lacklustre and their inability to heighten their movement speed made efficient dungeon clearance impossible, unless aided by gear. However, this is on the cusp of a revamp: the necromancers’ passive skill, renamed as Death’s Approach, will be adjusted to potentially provide an additional 12% movement speed prior to any gear enhancements.
The patch notes include an array of buffs that may take players several days to wrap their heads around. The most striking transformations, in my opinion, can be summarised as follows: minions will finally pack a punch and last longer in the heat of battle; the added damage from Corpse Explosion will seamlessly fall into place in a plethora of builds; an armour bonus will be present with the new Spiked Armour, meaning more offensive gear can be used; passive buffs are inclined towards survival, which diminishes the relevance of defensive skills; plus, Bone Spear’s hold on middle- to long-range builds is eased by the enhancements to Blight and Sever.
Without delving into the underlying mathematics of the upgrades, an array of necromancer builds should experience heightened damage output and smoother performance with the newly implemented skills. Even if barbarians and rogues continue to dominate the field in terms of speed, necromancers may no longer be far off the podium.
As the saying goes – the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The Gauntlet will undoubtedly be the litmus test of these updates. It releases on patch day and will offer endgame players a set weekly dungeon with a point-based system and leaderboards. While it is designed to accommodate casual gamers, performing within the weekly set times will yield rewarding Legendary item stashes, irrelevant of leaderboard ranking. Aspiring for the necromancers to top the charts is wishful thinking. Still, with the impending patch, the discrepancy between necromancers and other classes may not be as vast as previously perceived.
Vocabulary List:
- Necromancer (noun): A sorcerer who practices necromancyor the communication with the deadoften portrayed as raising the dead.
- Skilful (adjective): Having or showing skill or skillful expertise.
- Undead (adjective): Dead but animated and still movingas legendary beings like zombies or ghosts.
- Minions (noun): Smallloyal followers or servantsoften used in reference to subordinate creatures or characters.
- Revamp (verb): To renovatereviseor reconstruct somethingtypically to improve its performance or efficiency.
- Enhancements (noun): Changes or improvements made to enhance the quality or features of something.
