5 best Necromancer AoE abilities in Diablo 4

One thing the Necromancer excels at in Diablo 4 is AoE abilities. They have a huge assortment of area attacks that deal large amounts of damage, no matter what build you’re choosing to go with. Whether you want blood, bone, or shadow, the Necro has a powerful ability to use in your loadout. These attacks aren’t useful in every situation, but more often than not, they can devastate groups of enemies without too much trouble.

Necromancer’s AoE effects in Diablo 4 are nonetheless powerful and satisfying to use. From squelching, gross explosions to puddles of corrupting blight, this class brings all the power of undeath to the battlefield.

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Most powerful Necromancer AoE abilities in Diablo 4

1) Blood Wave

One of the later abilities for Necromancers, Blood Wave is an ability you’ll see earlier in the game. An early boss will strike players with waves of blood. One of the Ultimate abilities for this class, it splashes down and damages Diablo 4 enemies with a tidal wave of blood. It also knocks them back, giving you some breathing room in dangerous situations.

While it is an Ultimate ability, it has a long cooldown - 50 seconds baseline. It also has a Lucky Hit chance of 20%, which is incredibly high. Additionally, you can enhance it with Prime Blood Wave (Slow) and Supreme Blood Wave (Leaves behind 3 Blood Orbs), which is incredible for getting life back.

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2) Bone Storm

Bone Storm was perhaps first seen in a Blizzard property, thanks to World of Warcraft’s Icecrown Citadel. The first boss’ primary attack is a devastating whirlwind of bones - Bone Storm! It comes to Diablo 4 in a similar fashion. You and your Golem both receive a swirling mass of bones for a limited time after activating it.

Necromancers often use this in their PVE builds to keep themselves safe while also dealing much damage. It’s simple and easy to understand. Combine that with Supreme Bone Storm to give yourself a 20% Critical Strike while this AoE ability is active for incredible defense and offensive capabilities.

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3) Blood Surge

Blood Wave isn’t the only powerful Blood ability for Necromancers in Diablo 4. Blood Surge is an amazing early-game power that many players pick while surrounded by enemies. This ability draws blood from nearby enemies and detonates it in a Blood Nova. The more enemies drained, the more extra damage this deals (up to 50%).

You can pair this with Paranormal Blood Surge to reward you for being Healthy. If you’re Healthy while this ability triggers, you gain a stack of Overwhelming Blood. When you receive 5, the next Blood Surge will Overpower, hitting even harder.

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4) Blight

Arguably the best darkness ability in Diablo 4, this AoE ability splatters a pool of darkness on the floor. Another ability that has roots in World of Warcraft, the Lich King used this in the final major battle of IceCrown Citadel. Anyone caught in the defilement of Blight takes damage and then extra DOT damage over 6 seconds.

Both of the final upgrades for Blight are amazing in Diablo 4 as well. This AoE attack can also Immobilize (Paranormal), but perhaps the more satisfying result is making you and your minions deal an extra 15% damage while in the Blight (Supernatural).

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5) Corpse Explosion

Corpse Explosion is so good you can add Blight to it! Perhaps the most iconic ability for Necromancers, besides summoning skeletons, is Diablo 4’s Corpse Explosion. If there’s a corpse on the ground, you can detonate it to deal AoE damage to any nearby foe.

It damages a significant area, which you can increase through upgrades. While dealing increased damage to CCed enemies via Plagued Corpse Explosion is nice, I’d rather make Corpse Explosion into a Darkness Skill, creating pools of Blight miasma on the ground. It’s just satisfying to rapid-fire detonate corpses and pile on the damage.

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This isn’t all of the AoE offerings for Necromancers in Diablo 4, but they are among the most powerful options, no matter what part of the game you’re in.