Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred: Necromancer Changes and Updates
Global Changes to Diablo 4
Before jumping into the Necromancer-specific changes, it's essential to understand some of the significant adjustments coming to Diablo 4 as a whole:
1. Max Level Reduction: The max character level has been reduced from 100 to 60. After hitting level 60, players will begin earning Paragon Points, which are now shared across all characters on your account. This means you can continue to progress with Paragon Points on your Necromancer while playing your Druid, for example.
2. Stat Adjustments: Core stats like armor, health, and damage have been reduced. Don’t worry—this isn’t a nerf to your character’s effectiveness. It’s more of a backend change to simplify the game's calculations and make it easier for players to understand how their stats impact gameplay.
3. New Difficulty System: Diablo 4’s difficulty system has been overhauled, introducing new torment levels, which are unlocked through an endgame activity called the Pit of Artificers. Similar to Diablo 1's randomized rifts, this should offer more variety in how you approach endgame difficulty.
Necromancer: New Skills and Passives
New Ultimate Skill: Soul Rift
· Soul Rift is a Darkness-based AoE ultimate that deals 65% weapon damage per second to all nearby enemies, while absorbing their souls to increase your damage and apply Vulnerable to enemies. This is a huge addition to Darkness builds, as it frees up the need for a legendary aspect to convert skills like Bone Storm or Blood Wave into Darkness abilities. This skill also provides a consistent way to apply Vulnerable, making it a valuable tool for any Necromancer build.
New Key Passive: Affliction
· Affliction enhances your Shadow damage builds by increasing damage dealt to enemies afflicted with Vulnerable, Crowd Control, or Shadow Damage Over Time. This makes it a great addition for Shadow Necromancers, especially those utilizing minions, as it boosts both your damage and the effectiveness of curse skills.
Four New Passives
1. Necrotic Fortitude: Provides tankiness for Necromancers, improving survivability for any build, even those that don’t lean into Shadow damage.
2. Finality: A solid choice for most Necromancer builds, this passive brings additional utility.
3. Titan's Fall: A must-have for most builds, particularly for those looking to enhance their DPS.
4. Precision Decay: Improves your Lucky Hit chance, boosting critical hits and damage consistency across various builds.
These new passives offer flexibility, allowing you to tweak your build depending on your focus—whether it's more defensive, offensive, or reliant on Shadow damage.
Necromancer: Skill Changes
Blizzard has also revisited and enhanced several key Necromancer abilities in this patch:
· Blight: The radius of Blight pools has been increased, while Paranormal Blight now chills enemies instead of immobilizing them. This is a buff that aligns with Shadow-based builds and complements new Uniques like Bloodless Scream.
· Blood Lance: Blood Lance now always pierces enemies, making it more effective in multi-target situations. With upgrades like Enhanced Blood Lance and Supernatural Blood Lance, you'll also have increased crit damage and Overpower effects.
· Blood Wave: This skill now provides 20% damage reduction for 10 seconds and spawns six Blood Orbs, doubling its previous effectiveness. Blood Wave has become a more reliable choice for both defense and offense.
Paragon Board and Glyph Updates
In Vessel of Hatred, Necromancers receive a new Paragon board called Frailty. The unique node on this board increases the damage taken by cursed enemies by up to 40%. Shadow damage and Shadow damage-over-time effects are key themes on this board, making it ideal for Shadow Necromancer builds.
Additionally, players now have access to five Paragon boards, and the maximum Paragon points have been increased to 300, offering significant build flexibility and power scaling for endgame play.
Glyph Changes
Glyphs no longer level up through experience but instead by completing levels in the Pit of Artificers. They can now reach level 100, and the higher the glyph level, the more difficult it becomes to level them without engaging in higher-level dungeons.
Itemization Updates
New Legendary Aspects
1. Reaping Lotus’s Aspect: A massive buff for Sever Necromancers, making the skill much more viable for Shadow builds.
2. Phasing Poltergeist Aspect: Another option for Bone Spirit builds, providing more flexibility.
3. Aspect of Fel Gluttony: This aspect turns your Golem into a powerhouse damage dealer, creating a niche build centered around maximizing your Golem’s potential.
New Unique: The Unmaker
· The Unmaker is specifically designed to enhance the new Soul Rift ultimate skill, making it essential for any Shadow Necromancer focusing on that playstyle. With this unique, you’ll have the opportunity to free up a legendary aspect slot, giving your build even more flexibility.
Conclusion: What This Means for Necromancers
The Vessel of Hatred expansion brings substantial buffs to Shadow and Minion Necromancers, while Blood Necromancers also receive much-needed improvements. These changes are designed to bring all Necromancer builds more in line with the powerful abilities of the Bone Necromancer, providing a more balanced and diverse range of viable options. Finally, as you fine-tune your build and prepare for the challenges ahead, don't forget to check out MMOexp for all your in-game resource needs. They offer cheap Diablo 4 materials, making it easier for you to enhance gear, craft powerful items, and push your build to its limits. With MMOexp's affordable pricing and fast delivery, you can gather the essential crafting materials you need without the grind, allowing you to focus on what matters most—conquering the demons of Sanctuary! With the expansion's release, I can't wait to try out these new changes and builds. Whether you stick with Shadow, Blood, or Minion, these updates will breathe new life into the Necromancer class.