Generator Necromancer Skills and Runes

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Quick Reference
    • 2.1. Skill Setup
  • 3. Builds
    • 3.1. Gear Setup
    • 3.2. Legendary Gems
    • 3.3. Kanai's Cube
  • 4. Role in the Current Meta
  • 5. Reading Further
  • 6. ChangeLog
• ×Skills and Runes
  • 1. Rotation
  • 2. Skills, Runes and Passives
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Gems, and Paragon Points
  • 1. Best in Slot Gear and Alternatives
  • 2. Paragon Points
  • 3. Gems
  • 4. Kanai's Cube
  • 5. Follower
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Speed Farming Variation
  • 1. Normal Rift Speed Farming Variation
  • 2. Adapting Skills
  • 3. Adapting Gear
  • 4. Adapting Gemming
  • 5. Adapting Kanai's Cube
  • 6. ChangeLog

General Information

Below, we explain how to choose and use your skills when playing Generator Necromancer in Diablo 3. Updated for patch 2.6.1 and Season 14.

The other pages of our Generator Necromancer guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

Active Skills
Grim Scythe Cursed Scythe Blood Rush Potency 1 Skeletal Mage Singularity 2 Death Nova Blight 3 Command Skeletons Kill Command 4 Bone Armor Dislocation
Passive Skills
Stand Alone Spreading Malediction Swift Harvesting Final Service

1. Rotation

Similarly to all Inarius builds, the Grim Scythe Generator spec begins runs with an activation of Bone Armor, trying to catch as many monsters in the initial radius as possible to maximize your damage reduction stacks from the set 4-piece bonus. You will then begin hacking away at enemies with Grim Scythe, your main damage dealer, and offloading Essence at any given chance — either with Command Skeletons Kill Command for small amounts and poison stack maintenance, or with Skeletal Mage Singularity for a full reserve dump. The poison stacks in question come from the cubed Nayr's Black Death, and you will have to maintain your 4-stack maximum at all times by additionally applying Bone Armor Dislocation and Death Nova Blight at any opportune moment. Last but not least, Blood Rush will be used for mobility, both in and out of fights.

2. Skills, Runes and Passives

The primary damage dealer and main focus of the build is Grim Scythe — the close range Essence generator of Necromancers, whose melee mechanics fall in exact line with the proximity-based damage enhancement of the Inarius set. Its damage will be further enhanced with the dedicated Leger's Disdain phylactery, which introduces the unique dynamic of the playstyle — striving to remain as low on Essence as possible at all times, as your damage is amplified by the amount of resource Grim Scythe is actively restoring. Rune-wise, you are locked by the Cursed Scythe rune due to its dedicated weaponry, Trag'Oul's Corroded Fang, because of the poisonous synergy with the cubed Nayr's Black Death, and finally due to the the huge curse value of the rune itself.

Unlike its popular Rathma set counterparts, the Inarius Generator build incorporates Skeletal Mage Singularity strictly as an Essence dump. You will not be trying to ramp up the damage of your summon in any way, but the full reserve depletion with each use offers too much utility to pass up in a build that thrives with an empty Essence pool.

Similarly to all respectable endgame builds, you will do well to include a mobility skill — be it to skip a bad fight, or find the next favorable engagement. The only such skill at the Necromancer's disposal is Blood Rush, and you will be taking it with the protective Potency rune during Greater Rift progression.

Since your major damage amplifier will be the cubed Nayr's Black Death, you will be trying to include as many synergistic poisonous abilities as possible (on top of the Cursed Scythe) with the remainder of your skillset:

• Bone Armor is the basis of Inarius set builds, tying into the damage reduction mechanic of the set and producing the swirling bone tornado effect of the 6-piece. The preferred rune is Dislocation, whose two-second stun will provide a moment of respite in the thick of battle, as well as an additional source of Nayr's Black Death and Krysbin's Sentence procs.
• Command Skeletons are a seemingly odd choice in a build with no focus on pet damage, but taken with the poisonous Kill Command rune they become closer to an Essence spender than a summoner skill. As previously mentioned, you will be trying to rid yourself of your resources asap, and the lack of casting animation on the active of Command Skeletons make them a perfect candidate for spamming an extra Nayr's Black Death proc.
• A final, convenient Essence spender can be found in Death Nova — taken with the damage-reducing (and poisonous) Blight rune.

This concludes the overview of the Active Skills. Now let us look through the Passives.

Swift Harvesting is the most logical addition to a primary attack-focused build, increasing the Attack Speed of Grim Scythe with an impressive 15% bonus.

Stand Alone is a staple passive of non- or low-summoner builds. This Inarius Necro variant will take near full advantage with the low (and constantly spent) number minions at its side, enjoying close to the 100% armor bonus at all times.

Synergizing with the Cursed Scythe mass application of debuffs, Spreading Malediction offers an additive damage bonus against enemies affected by a curse — a boon that scales excellently with density.

Final Service is the Necromancer's approach to cheat death passives — a chance to evade a lethal outcome once every 60 seconds, along with a 10% healing proc per minion consumed in the process, nicely rounding out your passive selection.

About the Author

This build is presented to you by Deadset, one of the very few professional Diablo 3 players. Deadset regularly publishes video guides on Youtube and streams on Twitch, where you can see how this and other builds play out in practice.

3. ChangeLog

• 27 Mar. 2018: Added the guide.