Man, I remember when Diablo 4 dropped. Fired it up, picked the Necro ’cause skellies looked rad, but man… starting out was rough. Didn’t really know what clicked. Felt squishy, felt slow. Then I stumbled onto this idea for a super simple leveling build aimed at fresh faces. Figured it was worth a shot since I struggled too.
Starting Out Skeleton Heavy
First things first, you gotta get your skellies online. The game basically throws this at you early on. So I grabbed those:
- Skeletal Warriors: Made ’em the regular Warriors, not the fancy mage types. Put a point into their basic upgrade. More meat shields up front? Yes, please.
- Skeletal Mages: Grabbed the Bone Mages specifically. They hurt more, even if they drain themselves. Point one into their upgrade too.
- Golem: Didn’t hesitate. Slapped that Iron Golem down as soon as it unlocked. Big guy soaking hits? Perfect.
This core felt solid right away. My guys just took the heat while I kinda hung back. Way safer.
Picking Stuff to Actually Hit With
Okay, had my minions tanking. Now I needed something I could do. Tried a few basic attacks. Honestly:
- Bone Splinters: Meh. Felt weak.
- Reap: Okay… kinda close range though.
Then I tried Decompose. Yeah, this felt better! Just holding it down while my minions did work was smooth. Needed an essence generator anyway. Easy choice. Then paired it with something simple to spend the essence:
- Bone Spear: Absolute monster early on. Seriously, it just chunks enemies. Slapped points into Bone Spear and its upgrades whenever I could. Became my “delete that guy” button.
So basic flow: Minions engage, I hold Decompose on something to build Essence, then BLAM! Bone Spear anything that looks scary.
Grabbing the Essential Perks
Just having skills ain’t enough. Needed to pick the passive stuff that makes this whole mess actually tick:
- Hewed Flesh: Super important! Bone Spear crits? Chance for Corpses to pop up. Corpses = fuel!
- Serration: Makes Bone Spear hit harder based on your crit chance. Duh.
- Imperfectly Balanced: Yeah, it ups essence costs… but man, the damage boost on Bone Spear? Worth it.
- Death’s Embrace & Death’s Reach: Near enemies hurt less? Enemies far away hurt more? Perfect for hiding behind minions and sniping. Took ’em both.
- Skeletal Warrior/Mastery & Golem Passives: Obvious. Made my meat shields tankier.
Finding Stuff to Wear
Leveling gear is whatever drops, honestly. But I looked for anything boosting these:
- Critical Strike Chance: Makes Bone Spear bonkers and procs Hewed Flesh like crazy.
- Vulnerability Damage: Bone Spear makes things Vulnerable? Find gear that makes Vulnerable hurt extra.
- Intelligence: Basic damage stat. Helps everything.
- + Levels to Bone Spear/Skelly Mastery: Always an upgrade if I saw it on a ring or amulet.
Aspects? Kept it stupid simple:
- Splintering Aspect: Bone Spear shatters. Hits more stuff. Easy find, huge boost. Slapped it on a 2H weapon for the big bonus.
- Aspect of the Umbral: Gain essence when Crowd Controlling mobs? Bone Spear often Stuns/Vulns. Helps with essence.
How it Actually Played
Started a new Necro, followed this exact path. Walked through the opening hours:
- Raised skellies and golem ASAP.
- Equipped Decompose -> Bone Spear when available.
- Pumped points into Bone Spear, the minion health passives, and the key damage/corpse ones.
And honestly? It cruised.
Minions held the line. I hid behind ’em, held Decompose on an Elite or boss to get essence up, then just spammed Bone Spear. Things exploded. Corpses popped thanks to Hewed Flesh, giving me essence back sometimes, or targets for Corpse Explosion later if I felt like it (though wasn’t needed). Felt powerful without being fiddly. Perfect for learning the game and smashing through the story.
Leveled this way straight into World Tier 3 with zero major hiccups. Anyone new struggling with Necro early? This setup just works. Simple, strong, lets you see how the class flows. Good stuff.