At PAX East, I got to get my hands on the new Diablo III Reaper Of Souls Rise Of The Necromancer. The Necromancer is a class that uses ranged magic and pets to deal insane damage to her enemies.
Blizzard showed off a few of the Necromancer’s’ new skills, weapons and how much blood could possibly spill out of a woman’s frame. Senior Game Designer Matthew Berger, showed us a necromancer build different than the one at Blizzcon, one that uses the power of corpses to fuel her damage and ferocity.
Here were the Necromancer skills showed off at the demo:
Grim Scythe- A spectral scythe swings in an arc in front of you, dealing damage to anyone caught and restoring essence for each enemy hit.
Blood Nova- Blood erupts from your Necromancer, damaging all enemies around you. This spell costs essence and health.
Devour- Consume corpses lying on the ground to restore health and essence.
Leech- Curse enemies so attacking them causes their life forces to transfer to you and your allies.
Golem- Summon a towering mountain of Blood Golem flesh to attack your enemies.
Blood Rush- Teleport to wherever your cursor is located.
I also got a few more tidbits of information about the patch.
The Necromancer patch will not only add a new class, but a new cosmetic wing, new items, two new dungeons, player portraits, two new character slots, a banner, a banner sigil, two stash tabs and a pet.
Scythes and phylacteries are the Necromancer’s weapons of choice.
Necromancers are not just about death, they also focus on rebirth and light. That ideology will play an important part in the Necromancer’s kit, though how is yet to be seen.
Curses help the Necromancer augment their abilities, like Leech.
Witch Doctor and Necromancer might deal with corpses, but they play completely differently. The Diablo III development team wanted to make sure the Witch Doctor still had its own identity, so no other class can use poison or summon a giant toad.
The Necromancer is all about “blood, bone, life and death” according to Berger and will have a “‘70s rockstar vibe.”
If you want to play through the game’s campaign with the Necromancer, you will hear newly recorded lines for the class. Blizzard went back and recorded new dialogue so you can play through Acts I through V without missing any of the experience.
The Diablo III necromancer update will be released in the second quarter of 2017.
Are you excited for the Necromancer in Diablo III? Tell us in the comments.
