The Necromancer has always been one of the strongest and most balanced of Diablo 4’s classes and remains that way for Season 1.

Necromancers are highly versatile, allowing you to deal huge amounts of damage up close and at range. They suit a variety of playstyles.

It can always be a bit daunting when starting a brand new class at Level 1, as there are a myriad of different ways to build and spec out your character.

Thankfully, we go over the most effective and best Necromancer leveling build to help you reach World Tier 3 and 4 in Season 1 with ease.

Necromancer Diablo 4 Season 1 Leveling Build Guide

The Bone Spear build is the best leveling build for the Necromancer in Diablo 4 Season 1.

Here’s a breakdown of the skills required to make the best use of the build (numbers indicate how many skill points are allocated):

The final version of the Bone Spear Necromancer build requires players to reach Level 50 and earn 8 skill points from Renown in Diablo 4. This will total up to 58 skill points.

As you progress through the game, you should obtain the skills in the order they are presented above, but make sure to prioritize maxing out your Bone Spear skill as early as you can. However, feel free to experiment with your own variations, especially in the game’s early stages.

Book of the Dead

The Necromancer’s unique class mechanics give you access to the Book of the Dead. This gives your Necromancer the ability to summon Skeletal minions and Golems to fight for you, or the opportunity to for powerful passive bonuses if you choose to ‘sacrifice’ your ability to do so.

To make the best use of the Bone Spear build, you’ll need to sacrifice all three available minions as you unlock them. Here are the minions you’ll need to sacrifice:

• Skeletal Warriors (Unlocked at Level 8) – Skirmishers
  • Sacrificing Skirmishers increases your Critical Strike Chance by 5%
• Skeletal Mages (Unlocked at Level 18) – Cold Mages
  • Sacrificing Cold Mages increases your damage against Vulnerable enemies by 15%
• Golems (Unlocked at Level 32) – Iron Golem
  • Sacrificing your Iron Golem increases your Critical Strike Chance by 30%

Be sure to check out our guide on how to unlock the Book of the Dead for the Necromancer in Diablo 4.

How to Use Bone Spear Necromancer Build in Diablo 4 Season 1

The Bone Spear Necromancer build is built entirely around making the Bone Spear Core Skill as strong as possible. It relies on having high Crit Damage and Crit Chance, as well as increased damage to Vulnerable targets.

When built correctly, it is one of the most powerful Necromancer builds for leveling, and can also carry you through to the endgame.

The general idea is to begin every combat encounter by activating the Bone Spear Skill, dealing massive damage to single targets to take them down easily.

This will leave Corpses on the field for you to activate using your Corspe Explosion and Corpse Tendrils Skills. Corpse Tendrils will pull in all enemies within a certain radius, allowing you to spam Bone Spear and take out a high density of clumped-up enemies.

When you need to recharge some of your Essence, the Darkness damage over time from Blighted Corpse Explosion is an effective way of finishing off any remaining stragglers.

Best Malignant Hearts for Necromancer Leveling Build Diablo 4 Season 1

Malignant Hearts are a new feature added to Diablo 4 Season 1. They are items with powerful passive effects that be slotted into your Jewelry.

You’ll want to keep your eye out for a select few that are particularly powerful for Necromancers running the Bone Spear build. Here they are with their corresponding effects (for a level 20 character):

• Caged Heart of the Sacrilegious (Vicious)
  • Walking near a Corpse automatically activates an equipped Corpse Skill every second, dealing 40-30% reduced damage.
• Caged Heart of the Decrepit Aura (Brutal)
  • When at least 5 enemies are near you, gain an aura that automatically curses surrounding enemies with Decrepify for 5-15 seconds.
• Caged Heart of the Barber (Wrathful)
  • Critical Strikes and all subsequent damage within 2.0-4.0 seconds is absorbed by your target. Then, the absorbed damage erupts onto surrounding enemies. Stored damage is increased by 10% per second.
• Caged Heart of the Malignant Pact (Wrathful)
  • Cycle through a Malignant bonus every 20 kills:
    Vicious: Gain 20% Attack Speed.
    Devious: Core and Basic Skills have a 15% chance to fully restore your Primary Resource.
    Brutal: Every 21 seconds, gain a Barrier absorbing 85-102 damage.
• Caged Heart of Revenge (Brutal)
  • 10-20% of incoming damage is instead suppressed. When you use a Defensive, Subterfuge or a Macabre skill, all suppressed damage is amplified by 250% and explodes, dealing up to 1360-2040 Fire damage to Nearby enemies.

There are a total of 32 Malignant Hearts in Diablo 4 Season 1. Check out our detailed guide on all Malignant Hearts and their effects here.

Best Legendary Aspects for Necromancer Leveling Build Diablo 4 Season 1

The best Legendary Aspects for the Necromancer leveling build in Diablo 4 Season 1 should include buffs to your damage against Vulnerable targets, Critical Strike, Essence Regeneration, and general buffs to your Bone and Corpse Skills.

Here are some of the most effective Legendary Aspects for leveling your Necromancer in Season 1 of Diablo 4:

• Splintering Offensive Aspect
  • Bone Spear’s primary attack makes enemies hit beyond the first Vulnerable for [1.5-2.5] seconds. Bone Shards from Bone Spear deal [30-60]% damage to Vulnerable enemies and pierce them.
• Aspect of Grasping Veins
  • Gain [10-20]% increased Critical Strike Chance for 6 seconds when you cast Corpse Tendrils. You deal [20-40]%[x] bonus Critical Strike Damage to enemies damaged by Corpse Tendrils.
• Aspect of the Umbral
  • Restore [1–4] of your Primary Resource when you Crowd Control an enemy.
• Aspect of Torment
  • Critical Strikes with Bone Skills increases your Essence Regeneration by [90-170]% for 4 seconds.

Necromancer Leveling Tips to Reach World Tier 3

Before you set out to complete your Necromancer leveling build, you need to understand how to most effectively level up to get Skill Points for your build.

Here are some tips to help you reach Level 50 and World Tier 3 in Diablo 4 Season 1:

• If you’re a Solo player, start in World Tier 1 to level up more efficiently
  • World Tier 2 gives players 20% more XP, but it can take longer to level up
  • When you reach Level 50, unlock World Tier 3 with the Capstone Dungeon at the Cathedral of Light in Kyovashad
• Start in World Tier 2 if you play with a group
  • This will give you 20% more XP due to the World Tier and an extra 10% XP when you are within one screen of any party member. If you use an Elixir, this will boost you an extra 5%.
  • Players can boost their XP by up to 35% if they utilize all of these bonuses
• If this is not your first character, skip the campaign to access the Whispering Tree and carry over your map progress.
  • This will also allow players to participate in the seasonal events immediately in Season 1
• Some items will give your skills an added rank without having to spend a Skill Point
  • Try to find items that will boost the skills of your current build