Bone Spear, a hallmark of the Necromancer class, is back in full force in Diablo 4. This skill excels in dealing high damage both to single targets and across multiple enemies. However, to harness its full potential, players must invest significantly in their build.
If you seek a quick and dependable Core Skill with some of the most impressive damage output available, you’re in for an exciting journey with the Bone Spear build. Below is a guide on optimizing a Bone Spear Necromancer to effectively navigate all challenges in Diablo 4’s endgame.
Updated on January 30, 2025, by Marc Santos: The introduction of Season of Witchcraft in Diablo 4 not only adds exciting content but also brings substantial adjustments to many active and passive skills across all classes. These changes have notably transformed various builds, with some becoming significantly more effective. Consequently, we have revised the Bone Spear Necromancer build to incorporate one of the new Unique items introduced in Season 7, along with Blizzard’s notable modifications to the Reaper’s Pursuit skill.
Diablo 4 Endgame Bone Spear Necromancer Build
|
Skill |
Upgrade |
|
Reap (5/5) |
Acolyte’s Reap |
|
Bone Spear (5/5) |
Paranormal Bone Spear |
|
Blight (1/5) |
Supernatural Blight |
|
Bone Prison (5/5) |
Ghastly Bone Prison |
|
Corpse Tendrils (1/5) |
Plagued Corpse Tendrils |
|
Soulrift |
Prime Soulrift |
|
Book of the Dead |
Upgrades |
|
Skirmishers |
Sacrificed |
|
Cold Mages |
Sacrificed |
|
Iron Golem |
Sacrificed |
When constructing a Bone Spear build, players should prioritize Critical Strike Chance to maximize crit damage, as Bone skills heavily depend on it. A lack of crit chance may suffice in the early stages, but players will find themselves underwhelmed in more challenging scenarios.
Furthermore, focusing on Vulnerable damage is an effective strategy in Diablo 4, allowing players to boost their damage output without initially relying on crits. This maneuver can be enhanced using Plagued Corpse Tendrils.
This build incorporates three Shadow skills (Reap, Blight, and Soulrift), whose synergy has been improved in Season 7; this now grants both Movement Speed and Damage for each Shadow skill in your selection.
The execution of this build is straightforward: strike an enemy with Reap to generate a Corpse, utilize Corpse Tendrils to cluster enemies, and then confine them with Bone Prison. Following this, hurl a Blight blob into the grouped foes, and detonate them using Bone Spear. This combination becomes exceptionally powerful with the new Indira’s Memory Unique Pants, which transform Bone Spear into a Blood skill and trigger an additional Bone Spear from a nearby Corpse.
Prior to engaging large elite packs or formidable bosses, unleash Soulrift to maximize its effectiveness through cooldown reduction strategies.
Passive Skills
- Hewed Flesh
- Imperfectly Balanced
- Titan’s Fall (1/3)
- Coalesced Blood
- Tides of Blood
- Drain Vitality
- Reaper’s Pursuit
- Serration
- Compound Fracture
- Evulsion
- Finality
- Memento Mori
- Stand Alone
- Inspiring Leader
- Ossified Essence
Players should maximize all listed passives, except for Titan’s Fall. This passive is often seen as a staple for the Diablo 4 Necromancer, particularly when employing Corpse skills. It significantly enhances AOE damage and keeps Corpse Tendrils consistently effective during boss encounters.
All passive skills mentioned contribute to enhanced damage and survivability. Notably, although this is a Bone Spear setup, the inclusion of three Blood skill passives is crucial for the synergy with Indira’s Memory and the Bone Duster Aspect, which guarantees Overpower when Bone Spear strikes targets contained within Bone Cage.
Acquire the Blood passives only after obtaining Indira’s Memory, as they become ineffective otherwise, with Bone Spear not considered a Blood skill in its absence.
Diablo 4 Season 7 – Witchcraft Powers
During Season 7 of Diablo 4, players can choose from 25 distinct Witchcraft powers that significantly impact the efficacy of their builds. For the Bone Spear Necromancer, we suggest the following powers:
| Power | Effect |
|---|---|
| Soul Harvest | Enhances your Core Stats based on the number of nearby enemies when using a cooldown. |
| Force of Will | Significantly boosts Overpower damage. |
| Aura of Lament | Grants a continuous flow of Essence when an enemy is affected. |
| Aura of Siphoning | Poisons all nearby enemies, providing healing whenever they take damage. |
| Vengeful Spirit | A spirit appears periodically to absorb damage on your behalf. |
Occult Gems
Occult Gems offer powerful bonuses based on your equipped Witchcraft Powers, and can be crafted by Gelena, the witch located near the Tree of Whispers.
- Dust Stone – Increases damage dealt to enemies based on the number of Hexes and Auras affecting them.
- Phantom String – Enhances Overpower damage against Hexed enemies.
Gear and Aspects
| Bone Spear Necromancer Gear | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Gear Piece |
Aspect/Effect |
Recommended Stats |
|
Helmet |
– |
|
|
Chest |
|
|
|
Gloves |
Bone Duster’s Aspect |
|
|
Pants |
Indira’s Memory |
– |
|
Boots |
|
|
|
Amulet |
|
|
|
Ring 1 |
|
|
|
Ring 2 |
|
|
|
2H Weapon |
|
|
For optimal performance, using the Igni/Ohm Runeword is highly recommended, as this empowers your damage by casting Bone Spear to invoke the Barbarian’s War Cry skill.
The combination of Serration and Grasping Veins ensures that this build retains stability and effectiveness. Grasping Veins provides significant Critical Strike Chance, while also bolstering Critical Strike Damage. Additionally, Serration’s critical strike bonus operates as a distinct multiplier, resulting in a notable overall increase in damage.
Once sufficiently powerful, it is advised to pursue Indira’s Memory, as it facilitates the synergy among Bone Spear, Blood passives, and the Bone Duster Aspect. If you don’t possess it yet, any pair of pants with a Defensive Aspect will suffice.
It’s crucial to stack as much Critical Hit statistics on your gear as possible.Two-Handed Swords are preferred in this build due to their inherent Critical Strike Damage multipliers. Subsequently, focus on stacking Vulnerable damage, Core Skill damage, Cooldown Reduction, and Essence Cost Reduction.
Paragon Board
| Paragon Board | Glyph | Nodes |
|---|---|---|
|
Starter |
Sacrificial |
Resilience, Knowledge |
|
Bone Graft |
Corporeal |
Bone Graft, Shaper of Bone, Splinter |
|
Scent of Death |
Gravekeeper |
Scent of Death, Suffused Resilience, Deathmarked |
|
Bloodbath |
Essence |
Bloodbath, Hardened, Powerhouse |
Strategic planning is essential when building your Paragon Boards in Diablo 4. The Bone Graft board is specifically designed for Bone skills, featuring nodes that simplify Essence generation and providing a socket for Intelligence Glyphs—ideal for early access to the Sacrificial Glyph.
Scent of Death is versatile and beneficial for almost any Necromancer setup, offering enhancements based on the quantity of Corpses surrounding the player. This board also contains a socket ideal for Intelligence Glyphs, making it an excellent choice for the Sacrificial Glyph, which amplifies the Necromancer’s damage when no active minions are present.
Upon acquiring Indira’s Memory, consider substituting the Scent of Death board with Bloodbath to amplify Blood Skill and Overpower damage.
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