Diablo 3 Rise of the Necromancer Guide: Pack Contents, Class and Leveling

This guide covers Rise of the Necromancer, the class pack for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. It explains what is in the pack, how the Necromancer plays, and an easy way to level one through the five campaign acts.

Part of our walkthrough: Diablo 3 walkthrough from Act 1

What is Rise of the Necromancer?

Rise of the Necromancer is a paid content pack that adds a seventh class to Diablo 3: the Necromancer, a priest of Rathma who uses bone, blood and corpses. It came out on June 27, 2017 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It does not add new acts or zones. You play the same campaign with a new class.

What's in the pack

• The Necromancer class, with its own skills, runes, passives and class sets.
• Two extra character slots.
• Two extra stash tabs on PC. The stash tabs are not part of the console version.
• A pet: the Half-Formed Golem, a cosmetic companion.
• Wings of the Crypt Guardian, cosmetic wings for all your characters.
• Necromancer-themed banner pieces and a portrait frame.

Price and how to get it

• On PC, you buy the pack from the Battle.net shop. You need Reaper of Souls. The launch price was $14.99 USD, and regional prices vary.
• On console, it needs the Ultimate Evil Edition, or you get it as part of the Eternal Collection, which bundles the base game, Reaper of Souls and the Necromancer.
• If your console copy says Eternal Collection, you already own the Necromancer.

Necromancer overview

The Necromancer uses Essence as its resource. Basic attacks like Bone Spikes and Grim Scythe build Essence, and bigger skills like Bone Spear and Skeletal Mage spend it.

The class has one trick no other class has: corpses. Dead monsters leave bodies behind, and several skills use them:

• Corpse Explosion blows up nearby bodies for area damage.
• Corpse Lance turns a corpse into a single-target attack.
• Devour eats corpses to refill Essence.
• Revive brings monsters back to fight for you.

There are three common play styles: a minion army of skeletons, mages and a golem; a bone and corpse caster; and a blood style that spends health on power. All three can finish the campaign.

Leveling through the campaign

Monsters in Diablo 3 scale to your level, so there is no wrong level for an act. What matters is having the right skills as they unlock. Here is the order the main ones open:

Act 1: build the army

1. Use Bone Spikes to build Essence and Bone Spear to spend it.
2. Add Corpse Explosion at level 4. Act 1 is full of zombies and Fallen, so bodies pile up fast.
3. Take Skeletal Mage at 5 and Command Skeletons at 9. Your minions now soak hits for you, which makes the Skeleton King and the Butcher much easier.
4. At level 6 your first rune opens. Runes change how a skill works, so check them each time you level.

Act 2: keep Essence flowing

1. Add Command Golem at 13. It is another strong meat shield.
2. Slot Devour at 16. Eating corpses refills your Essence, so you can spam Skeletal Mage or Bone Spear more often.
3. Against Belial, keep moving and let your minions hold his attention.

Acts 3 to 5: defence and mobility

1. Take Bone Armor at 19 for damage reduction.
2. At 22, try Army of the Dead for big burst damage on bosses like Azmodan.
3. Blood Rush opens at 30. It is your short-range teleport and your best way out of trouble.
4. The level cap is 70. Once you reach it, gear and difficulty matter more than new skills.

Tips for the Necromancer

• Turn on Elective Mode. In the gameplay options, Elective Mode lets you put any skill on any button. It makes a Necromancer setup much easier.
• Fight where the corpses are. Stay near dead monsters so Devour and Corpse Explosion always have fuel.
• Raise the difficulty. Minion builds are very safe. If Normal feels slow, move up to Hard or Expert for more gold and experience.
• Use class items. Scythes and the Phylactery off-hand are Necromancer-only item types. Keep an eye out for them in drops and at the blacksmith.

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Diablo III plays great with a pad. A comfortable wireless controller is worth it for couch co-op.

My take

The Necromancer is the class I level when I just want to relax. The skeleton army does most of the work, and Corpse Explosion going off on a whole pack never gets old. It is a small pack, but for a fan of the Diablo 2 Necro it is worth it. Are you building an army, or going full bone caster?

FAQ

Is Rise of the Necromancer still worth buying?

If you enjoy Diablo 3, yes. It adds a full class that plays very differently from the others, plus character slots and cosmetics. If you play on console with the Eternal Collection, you already have it.

Does Rise of the Necromancer add new story content?

No. There are no new acts or quests. The Necromancer plays through the same five-act campaign as every other class.

What is the best Necromancer leveling build?

For a first run, a minion setup with Skeletal Mage, Command Skeletons and Command Golem is the safest. It is forgiving and does well against every boss in the campaign.

When does the Necromancer get a movement skill?

Blood Rush unlocks at level 30. Before that, use your minions and Bone Armor to stay alive instead of running.

Part of our walkthrough: Diablo 3 walkthrough from Act 1