Patch 1.3.3 Necromancer Class Updates - Enhancements to Minions, Core Skills, and Introduction of a New Passive Ability

Introduction

Blizzard's highly anticipated Patch 1.3.3 for Diablo 4 is set to bring a plethora of changes to the Necromancer class. With buffs to minions, core skills, and movement speed options, players can expect new and improved gameplay experiences. In this post, we'll delve into the details of the upcoming changes and how they will impact the Necromancer class.

Necromancer Minion Buffs

• Book of the Dead

• Skeleton Warrior: Damage increased by 30%, life increased by 10%.
• Skeleton Reaper: Damage increased by 20%, life increased by 10%.
• Skeleton Frost Mage: Damage increased by 20%, life increased by 10%.
• Skeleton Shadow Mage: Damage increased by 20%, life increased by 10%.
• Skeleton Sacrifice Mage: Damage increased by 20%, life increased by 10%.

• Golem

• Basic Attack: Damage increased by 30%, life increased by 20%.

Core Skill Buffs

• Blizzard

• Damage bonus per enemy drained reduced from x10% to x5%.
• Nova damage increased by 40%.
• Developer's Note: The goals of this change are to reduce the opportunity cost of using Blizzard against fewer numbers of enemies and to increase its overall power, even when hitting multiple enemies.

• Necromancer's "Spells"

• Skeleton Reaper
• Damage bonus increased from 20% to 30%.
• Outgoing damage increased by 6.5%.
• Returning damage increased by 20%.
• Damage increased from 40% to 75% of Skeleton Reaper's initial damage.
• Vulnerable duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
• Skeleton Frost Mage
• Impact damage increased by 33.3%.
• Damage over time increased by 10.5%.
• Immobilize duration increased from 1.5 to 2.5 seconds.
• Skeleton Shadow Mage
• Damage bonus increased from 15% to 20%.
• Damage increased by 21.5%.
• Skeleton Sacrifice Mage
• Damage bonus increased from 8% to 10%.
• Previous: Enemies inside Skeleton Sacrifice Mage were vulnerable.
• New: Enemies inside Skeleton Sacrifice Mage when cast are made vulnerable for 8 seconds.

Passives and Paragon Changes

• Passives

• Death's Approach (name changed from Death's Reach)
• Previous: You deal 4% increased damage to Distance enemies.
• New: Gain 4/8/12% Movement Speed.
• Spiked Armor
• Previous: Gain 0.1/0.2/0.3 Thorns.
• New: Gain 0.1/0.2/0.3 Thorns and 5/10/15% additional Armor.
• Death's Embrace
• Damage Reduction from Close enemies increased from 3/6/9% to 4/8/12%.
• Hellbent Commander
• Damage bonus increased from x10/20/30% to x15/30/45%.
• Crippling Darkness
• Previous: Lucky Hit: Darkness Skills have up to a 15% chance to Stun for 1 Second.
• New: Lucky Hit: Darkness Skills have up to a 15% chance to Stun enemies for 1/2/3 seconds and deal .2 Shadow damage to them.

• Paragon Changes

• Legendary Node
• Bonus Minion damage per 20% Attack Speed increased from 10% to 15%.
• Glyph
• Previous Additional Bonus: You and your minions deal 10% increased Physical damage.
• New: You and your Minions deal 10% increased Physical damage and you gain 1% Movement Speed for each active Minion.
• Legendary Aspects
• Damage reduction now applies to the player in addition to their Minions.
• Damage of echoes changed from 60-50% less damage to 10-30% less damage.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the Necromancer's Skeleton Reapers' chance to create a corpse was based on Lucky Hit instead of a flat percentage.
• Fixed an issue where cast from the didn't receive the Vulnerable effect granted by .
• Fixed an issue where Thorns was not consistent when applying Lucky Hit. (Ex: Thorns could trigger but not .)
• Fixed an issue where the Legendary Paragon Node didn't properly give bonus damage based on bonus minion Attack Speed.
• Fixed an issue where the wouldn't spawn additional corpses.

Conclusion

The upcoming Patch 1.3.3 for Diablo 4 brings exciting changes to the Necromancer class, with significant buffs to minions, core skills, and passives. These changes not only enhance the Necromancer's overall power but also provide new options for players to explore various playstyles. With improved minion damage, movement speed bonuses, and bug fixes, Diablo 4 players can look forward to a more balanced and engaging gameplay experience as they dive into the dark and fascinating world of the Necromancer.