By Jason Parker
Normally, Diablo 4’s Shadowblight Necromancer isn’t really for me, but Season 9, and the various Horadric Spell combos make it safer than it probably ever has been. There are a few things that make this build ideal to get started with in the endgame of Season 9, and one of those is that it really doesn’t require any Uniques. There are a few Mythic Uniques, and a Unique or two that do help, and we will recommend, but there are no hard requirements.I do think Ebonpiercer is incredibly important to the build, since it helps get tons of Blight of the field, and when you combine it with Corpse Explosion (Blighted), the ground is covered in constant damage; and that’s what we want. Here’s how you can build a Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4 Season 9.How does the Shadowblight Necromancer work in Diablo 4 Season 9?Shadowblight Necromancers in Diablo 4 Season 9 rely predictably on the Shadowblight Key Passive. This makes Shadow Damage inflict enemies with Shadowblight for 2s, and then every 8th time an enemy receives Shadow damage from you while inflicted with Shadowblight, they take 200% damage.In addition, Shadowblight’s damage is increased by 70%[x] of your Corrupting Damage and Shadow Damage bonuses, up to 450% [x]. This means you need to get as many instances of Shadow damage constantly flowing on the battlefield. We do this in a few ways:Blight (Ebonpiercer helps)Corpse Explosion (Blighted)Soulrift (Corrupting damage bonuses)Nebulous Extract + Astral Pillar connected to Corpse ExplosionWe’re going to smear the ground in shadows, and deal more damage than any foe can endure. There are Uniques and Legendary Aspects that help, as well. It’s a fun, satisfying build, that’s for sure.What is the likely rotation for a Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4 Season 9?Unfortunately, I’m still grinding for Fractured Core (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)Use Reap to generate a corpse (and damage reduction is important)Drop Corpse Tendrils for CCBone Prison the enemies to trap them in place, and also increase your DPS.Cast Blight several times into the group, but weave in Corpse Explosion casts tooWhen you have enough bodies on the ground, spam Corpse ExplosionResume weaving Blight/Corpse Explosion if necessaryIf you don’t have Cursed Aura, I recommend also using Decrepify before Reap, to get some more crowd control in play. This Diablo 4 Season 9 Shadowblight build is pretty easy to pilot. It’s just getting that Corpse Tendrils/Bone Prison down pat, that might take the most practice.If you’re dealing with a huge group, feel free to Soulrift. The more enemies it has to draw on, the better. Also take the time to pick up Blood Orbs, because this will trigger some of your Paragon Board picks, if you’ve gotten far enough in your build to do so.Talents and Book of the Dead picks for Diablo 4 Season 9’s Shadowblight NecromancerThe Shadowblight Necromancer build in Diablo 4 Season 9 uses a pretty standard set of Necromancer talents, to be honest. The only class ability that you’re going to put more than one point into will be Soulrift, to make sure you get the bonuses from it. The majority of our other points are going to be slotted into incredibly powerful passives.Skills to pickReap (Enhanced, Acolytes)Blight (Enhanced, Supernatural)Hewed FleshHewed FleshHewed FleshCorpse Explosion (Enhanced, Blighted)Bone Prison (Enhanced)Necrotic FortitudeNecrotic FortitudeNecrotic FortitudeTitan’s FallTitan’s FallTitan’s FallFueled by DeathFueled by DeathFueled by DeathSpiked ArmorSpiked ArmorSpiked ArmorDecrepify (Enhanced, Abhorrent)Death’s EmbraceDeath’s EmbraceDeath’s EmbraceAmplify DamageAmplify DamageAmplify DamagePrecision DecayPrecision DecayPrecision DecayCorpse Tendrils (Enhanced, Blighted)Coalesced BloodCoalesced BloodCoalesced BloodReaper’s PursuitReaper’s PursuitReaper’s PursuitTerrorTerrorTerrorGloomGloomGloomNecrotic CarapaceSoulrift (Prime, Supreme)Soulrift (Prime, Supreme)Soulrift (Prime, Supreme)Soulrift (Prime, Supreme)Soulrift (Prime, Supreme)FinalityFinalityFinalityMemento MoriMemento MoriMemento MoriStand AloneStand AloneStand AloneShadowblightHere’s the part that normally gets me not to run this type of build: You’re going to sacrifice your pets. Sacrifice Reaper Skeletons for more Shadow Damage, Cold Mages for more damage to Vulnerable targets, and Iron Golem to increase your Critical Strike Damage. Thankfully, the Horadric Spells will help fix my issues here.Horadric Spells and ideal Horadric Jewels to pickIdeal Horadric Spell combo:Catalyst: Astral PillarInfusion: Nebulous ExtractArcana: Bloody Charm, Tranquil Stone, Fractured CoreThis is our replacement for an army (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)Astral Pillar + Nebulous Extract is the Horadric Spell combo that helps make up for the lack of minions. Astral Pillar creates a pillar that taunts and deals damage constantly, which is now Shadow Damage, thanks to Nebulous Extract. It also applies Vulnerable, which is nice.Then we pair that with the execution of Bloody Charm, Unstoppable from Tranquil Stone, and Fractured Core to stop Damage Resistance Auras (that’s going to be so important in the late game). Partner this with Corpse Explosion for maximum results.If you can manage to farm some of the Horadric Jewels, I recommend at least Scornful Light to increase your Shadow Damage, or Elemental Brand to deal more instances of Shadow damage.What is the best Mercenary for Diablo 4 Season 9’s Shadowblight Necromancer?Naturally, if you’re going for a build without allies, Raheir is the best primary Mercenary to go with in Diablo 4 Season 9 for Shadowblight Necromancer. I pair it with Aldkin (Flame Surge + Blight) for maximum efficiency. You’ll want to use the following predictable skills for Raheir:Ground SlamRaheir’s AegisBastionInspirationIdeal gear and masterworking picks for Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4One of the hardest things in Diablo 4 Season 9, like any other season, is gearing up. You want to have the right stats, equipment, Masterworks, and Tempering picks across your gear. In general, the goal is to have a 100% chance to have Blight projectiles cast twice.Around 50% Corpse Tendrils Size and 30% Soulrift Duration would also be great. Below, there are specifics for your gear, in terms of ideal stats, most important Masterwork Crit, and Legendary Aspects.Gear SlotTemperingMost Important MasterworksIdeal StatsHead (Heir of Perdition)Lucky Hit ChanceCritical Strike Chance, Lucky Hit Chance, Movement Speed, Ranks to Rank Ckills, Unique EffectChest (Shroud of False Death)All StatsAll Stats, Damage on Next Attack after entering Stealth, Maximum Life, Resource Generation, Unique EffectGlovesCorpse Tendrils Size, Shadow DamageIntelligenceIntelligence, Maximum Life, Attack Speed, Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike Chance, Chance to make enemies VulnerablePants (Blood Moon Breeches)Critical Strike Chance, Ranks to Hellbent Commander, Ranks to Golem Mastery, Ranks to Curse Skills, Unique EffectBootsEvade Cooldown Reduction, Soulrift DurationIntelligenceArmor, Intelligence, Maximum Life, Ranks to Corpse Skills, Essence per second, Resistance to All ElementsAmulet (Ebonpiercer)Ranks of Reaper’s PursuitRanks to Reaper’s Pursuit, Ranks to Blight, Chance for Blight Projectiles to cast Twice, Ranks to Gloom, Unique EffectRing #1Shadow Damage, Ultimate CDRAttack SpeedIntelligence, Attack Speed, Maximum Life, Chance to make Enemies Vulnerable, Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike ChanceRing #2Shadow Damage, Ultimate CDRAttack SpeedIntelligence, Attack Speed, Maximum Life, Chance to make Enemies Vulnerable, Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike ChanceWeaponChance for Blight Projectiles to cast Twice, Shadow DamageBlight Projectiles to cast TwiceIntelligence, Maximum Life, 15% Chance to Restore Primary Resource, Damage, Vulnerable DamageLegendary AspectsBlighted (Akkan’s Grasp, Hawezar)Grasping Veins (Corrupted Grotto, Kehjistan)Cursed Aura (Break down gear)Decay (Break down gear)Sacrificial (Ruins of Eridu, Hawezar)What do our Paragon Boards look like for Shadowblight Necromancer in Diablo 4?This is what your Paragon Board will likely look like (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)This Paragon Board is set for when you start grinding level 46 glyphs, and will be shown accordingly. There’s still room for growth and improvement in this Paragon Board, because I know everyone doesn’t aim to have Rank 100 Glyphs, and I don’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to do that kind of grind.Board RouteStarting Board (Abyssal Glyph)North to Flesh-eater (Sacrificial Glyph) (No Rotations)West to Scent of Death (Amplify Glyph) (No Rotations)South to Blood Begets Blood (Essence Glyph) (No Rotations)South to Frailty (Exploit Glyph) (No Rotations)Check out our other Diablo 4 guides and featuresDiablo 4 Season 9: All changes since the 2.3.0 PTRDiablo 4 Season 9: Escalating Nightmares mechanic, explainedDiablo 4 Season 9 Endgame tier list: Best builds for Pit push and bossingDiablo 4 Season 9: All Horadric Jewels (known so far)