Necromancers are Coming Back From the Dead in Diablo III

A new class is coming soon to the Reaper of Souls expansion for Diablo III. In an update called “Rise of the Necromancer”, Blizzard is introducing more playable heroes that are — you guessed it — Necromancers. 

Long-time fans of this hack-and-slash RPG series will recognize the Necromancer class from Diablo II. Originally, this class didn’t see a reprise in Diablo III, and instead was mostly replaced by the Witch Doctor. But now, Necromancers are back in all their bloody glory — and reimagined to take full advantage of Diablo III’s mechanics. 

As a ranged mage class, Necromancers will wield powerful dark magic and draw Essence from their enemies to sustain themselves on the battlefield. These grim summoners can also curse their enemies to heal themselves, explode corpses to consume all their blood power, or even reanimate carcasses and directly control them on the battlefield.

Because they’re guardians of the balance between life and death, the Necromancer class will rely heavily on blood and bone. Although this may sound a bit similar to the Witch Doctor, it’s important to note that Necromancers will not use poison in any way — and Blizzard has taken careful steps to make sure this new class is different enough to create a fresh gameplay experience. 

The skillset for the Necromancer will include:

• Grim Scythe: Swing a huge scythe in a wide arc, dealing damage and restoring Essence. 
• Blood Nova: Unleash a powerful nova dealing massive damage to surrounding enemies. 
• Devour: Consume corpses to instantly restore Essence
• Golem: Summon a Blood Goldem that can drain blood from your enemies, dealing damage and restoring health. 
• Blood Rush: Shed your mortal flesh and pass through solid objects to swiftly reach a new location.
• Leech: Curse enemies so that attacking them transfers their life energy to you and your allies. 

As far as weapons go, the Necromancer will be able to use a one-handed scythe and phylactery combo, or some two-handed weapons as well. It’s a bit of a melee-mancer, if you will. 

There’s no word yet on when the Necromancer class is going to be released as part of the “Rise of the Necromancer” pack. Whenever it does launch, the pack will include the character, an in-game pet, cosmetic wings, two additional character slots, two stash tabs, a portrait frame, a pennant, a banner, and a banner sigil. 

Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to release!