Necromancer
The Necromancer commands the dead — or discards them entirely. It is the one class that can be played as a full summoner army or as a lone caster with no minions at all, and both are first-class builds rather than novelties.
Resource: Essence
Essence regenerates on its own, unlike most resources, and is spent on Core Skills. Corpses are the second currency: nearly every strong Necromancer build is really a loop of make corpses, spend corpses.
Class mechanic: the Book of the Dead
Three minion types — Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages and the Golem — each come in three variants with their own upgrade. Any of them can instead be sacrificed, permanently removing that minion type in exchange for a standing bonus to your own power. That single choice is what lets the class swing between commander and solo caster.
Skill families
- Bone — Bone Spear, Bone Spirit, Bone Splinters; precise, critical-driven damage.
- Blood — Blood Surge, Blood Lance; overpowering hits with heavy self-sustain.
- Darkness — Sever, Blight, Decompose; shadow damage over time.
- Curses — Decrepify and Iron Maiden, softening everything in range.
- Corpse & Macabre — Corpse Explosion, Corpse Tendrils, Bone Prison.
Common archetypes
- Bone Spear — the long-standing single-target and Pit build.
- Blood Surge — a close-range nova that heals as it kills.
- Minion army — full Book of the Dead, few skills of your own.
- Shadow / Sever — damage over time and crowd control.
- Corpse Explosion — clear-speed farming.
Forgiving to level, deep to optimise, and the safest of the melee-range casters.