Need help to pick a build

Necromancer
1

Hello there,

Next season I would like to play necromancer for once.
However, I am a barb main and I find that Necro often lacks survivability and/or single target damage.

So, taking the seasonal buffs into account, what build do you think would fit the following description :
Not squishy
Average/good single target damage
Capable of clearing 130+ GR

Note: I know practically nothing about Necro. I have just played a few hours last season with an offmeta Corpse explosion build without land of the dead. And it was a blast :rofl:

Thank you very much in advance

2

Masquerade Bone Spear, but you need the Amulet which can be annoying if it doesn’t drop for you. Trag’Oul Nova is pretty tanky and has lots of damage, but single target can lack sometimes.

3

  1. Bone spear - this is your starter set, so you will most likely end up playing it. Great speedfarming build, quiet tanky and most importantly ranged one. Only problem is that it is unplayable without Haunted Visions amulet. I am not sure if this build will be able to speedfarm GR130 even fully augmented. It’s single damage is not good.

  2. Rathma AotD - very powerful build with great (or the best) single target damage in game. You run with a lot of pets (which does absolutely nothing apart from reducing cd from AotD). Quiet squishy and very cooldown dependant. Not the best speedfarming build but generaly I am 100% sure it will clear even above GR130 with ease. Very unpleasant to play imho. I don’t recommend it.

  3. Blood Nova (either Trag’Oul or LoD) - probably, for me at least, the best Necro build for the upcoming season. No cooldown nor resource issues here. The Trag’Oul version is ultimately tanky. I never had problems staying alive. Very pleasant to play and relatively easy to learn (no complicated mechanics). It will literally obliterate all the trash you will find. The only problem is the single target damage (RG fight). But this season will provide a lot of dmg buffs (as well as elite dmg buff) so it may be compensated. Generally I highly recommed playing this build. It is fun, easy to learn and powerful.

  4. LoD Skeletal Mage (Rat) - it is a honorable mention here. It’s a rather speedfarming build for lower level content and it is quiet complicated to play as well as cooldown dependant. And absolutely glass cannon. I found it very rewarding and pleasant to play and this season may be the best time to give it a try. More dmg buffs and on top of that a lot of survivability boots (and resource on crit) will extremely benefit this particular build. I will definitely give it a try, will see how good it will end up.

  5. LoD Corpse Explosion - it used to be the only push build until Rathma’s revork (and Trag’Oul follow up). Very cooldown dependand, absolutely unpleasant to play and generally avoid it - there is no reason to play it anymore unless you really want. I put it here only because you mentioned that you played it. Just don’t.

3 Likes
4

Alright thank you very much guys! It is really helpful to have an overview of what builds are capable of. :purple_heart:

I am going to use the starter set and then aim for Targoul in hopes the season buffs will help on RG. It’s always nice to get input from experienced players.

As for corpse explosion, last season was an exception I guess since you didn’t have to rely on land of the dead. The gameplay was pretty enjoyable. But I totally understand your point outside season 27.