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A First Look at Necromancers in Diablo IV
Diablo IV
Publié
il y a 12 jours
par
Tharid
At first sight, Blizzard tries to double down on nostalgia when it comes to the core features of Diablo IV's iteration of the Necromancer class, but what are the similarities and differences compared to other Diablo titles? We take a look at Diablo II, Diablo III, and Diablo Immortal to find out what the Necromancer of Diablo IV could and should eventually become.
Diablo IV Necromancer Class Reveal Diablo IV Necromancer Gameplay Showcase
What We Know So Far
In the most recent
Diablo IV Quarterly Update
, the development team shared their philosophy when it comes to creating the Necromancer for Diablo IV:
We know that the Necromancer has a storied history in our franchise, and we are taking a lot of care to give players an experience that lives up to the hype. We have also spent a considerable amount of time making sure that fans of the Diablo II, Diablo III, and Diablo Immortal versions of the Necromancer see something familiar with what we have to offer while at the same time creating something unique for Diablo IV.
Paired with several
Diablo IV Necromancer gameplay showcases
, the community got a first glimpse at what the class could be in its current pre-launch state: A summon-heavy class with a gory theme that relies on both close-combat and ranged spells. But where exactly does the newest iteration of the Diablo Necromancer really take its inspiration from and how does it compare to the previous versions we know and love?
Necromancers in Diablo II
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Necromancer class of Diablo II has defined a whole archetype in modern-day dark-fantasy RPGs, and rightfully so: Blizzard's hack'n'slay classic came out in 2000, a time when the Necromancer toolkit looked even more impressive than today.
Up to this day, Necromancers are able to summon an army of the dead full of skeletons, skeletal mages, various golems, and even revived fallen enemies. Necromancers also use Poison and Bone magic to decimate their foes in a more dynamic fashion, using abilities like Corpse Explosion, Poison Nova, or Bone Spear. The highlights of their toolkit, however, are the so-called Curses - area-of-effect debuffs that added a whole new gameplay layer to solo and group play, for example by confusing enemies or removing resistance immunities.
The main reason for every Necromancer's bad reputation in Diablo II back in the day: minion-induced lag.
Despite the incredible variety of its toolkit, the Necromancer of Diablo II is widely known for one thing and one thing only: its army. Loved by the mages of death and hated by basically everybody else in the game, the summoned minions could still pack quite a punch back in the day, but also cause a great deal of in-game lag. Thankfully, this problem didn't make it into Diablo II: Resurrected. One issue that remains unsolved, however, is the lack of proper minion AI that causes Necromancer summons across the board to deny their master's wishes more often than not.
Necromancers in Diablo III
When Diablo III first launched back in 2012, the Necromancer wasn't part of the original class lineup. In fact, it took over five years before that changed with the release of the Necromancer DLC. It's safe to say that Blizzard's newly introduced Necromancer experience was vastly different compared to the Diablo II original though. The change in class design mostly stemmed from the fact that Diablo III featured a much more active and visceral combat style, unfit for the stationary and passive minion-based playstyle of Diablo II Necromancers.
At first, the decision to display a more ghastly and bloody rendition of Necromancers didn't resonate well with some members of the Diablo community. Reducing the number of minions and true support options didn't help either, but thanks to the fluid gameplay, Necromancers became and continue to be a popular class choice in Diablo III to this day.
Necromancers in Diablo Immortal
Similar to its Diablo III predecessor, the Necromancer in Diablo Immortal has been designed to fit into its surroundings - in this case, the mobile rendition of Sanctuary. The overall Necromancer experience in Blizzard's newest ARPG title doesn't reinvent the wheel, but successfully iterates on earlier versions of the class. In terms of minion count, Immortal's Necromancer is similarly restricted to its Diablo III counterpart, though part of that is likely due to the closer view point intended for mobile devices.
However, Team 3's decision to turn minion-based abilities into powerful cooldowns makes sense: Time-limited minion abilities such as or deal heavy damage while summons low-damage permanent skeletons to keep the enemy busy. Altogether, Immortal's Necromancer toolkit showcases the current generation of a modern minion-based ARPG archetype that uses fewer, but more dynamic temporary summons. Though does it still represent the original core fantasy of a Necromancer in the Diablo universe?
Necromancers in Diablo IV - A Wishlist
Back to the present and future of Necromancer in Diablo: As already mentioned, the Diablo IV version of the class wants to be more than the sum of its earlier design iterations - as it should be. Current gameplay shows the return of iconic Diablo II abilities and a lot of spells that look similar to a Diablo III necromancer in combat, along with new features like the ability to sacrifice your army of summons in order to become a stronger individual character, but how should a modern-day Necromancer look like in this next generation ARPG? Here's our Diablo IV Necromancer wish list:
The Book of the Dead is the Necromancer's exclusive class system
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