The recent Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase was a big day for games, with long-awaited looks at upcoming titles like Starfield and Redfall, as well as some unexpected announcements like the weird and wonderful FPS High On Life. Sandwiched in between these exciting reveals and deep dives was Diablo 4, the upcoming dungeon-crawler from Blizzard Entertainment. First announced at BlizzCon 2019, Diablo 4 is the latest installment in the popular Diablo series and will be looking to elevate the established elements of the franchise while adding some new features of its own.
Players have been given some glimpses of the game already, including a good look at the four starting classes that have been announced, from the elemental Sorceress to the agile Rogue. Fans knew there was one more class yet to be revealed, and maybe some were hoping that the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase would provide the final piece of the class puzzle. Luckily for fans, Blizzard did in fact use the event to reveal that the final class would be the Necromancer. Even though this character has already been featured in Diablo 2 and Diablo 3, it seems like the newest version has a few variations.
The New Diablo 4 Necromancer
The Necromancer is the fifth and final class to be revealed for Diablo 4, and before it was announced, there was a healthy amount of speculation about what the last class would be. In order to ensure balance between all five classes, players speculated that it might be a more fighting-focused character. The group of classes that had already been announced was full of returning figures, from the Rogue not seen since the first game to the Druid returning from Diablo 2. Some players might have been hoping for a brand-new class, but Diablo 4's Necromancer does look like a formidable choice.
The cinematic trailer for Diablo 4's Necromancer class was suitably dark and atmospheric, matching the tone for the newest game that is looking to combine Diablo 2's moodier aesthetics and macabre design with Diablo 3's more painterly medieval look. The decidedly creepy trailer showed off the Necromancer's skills with a chilling forest ritual as well as their fate as a social outcast thanks to their pursuit of arcane knowledge. When encountering a group of enemies, the Necromancer summoned a varied cohort of undead companions to do their bidding, showing their dark magic abilities for summoning and attacks.
Comparing It To Older Diablo Necromancers
Despite the recent controversy surrounding Diablo Immortal and its inclusion of microtransactions, Blizzard looks like it's trying hard to cover new ground with Diablo 4 and make some smart decisions regarding gameplay changes. Diablo 4 will feature a vast open world for players to explore, with a detailed character creator so gamers can craft their own unique characters. The developers have been transparent about the game's refocus towards the darker and more gruesome tone of the earlier games, as well as rehashing older elements that fans will find familiar while still giving them a modern twist to make them feel fresh.
Classes are one of the elements that Blizzard has focused on to try and elevate the Diablo experience. By introducing class-specific quests, the developer is really shaking up the format and offering players a lot more choices when it comes to classes than ever before. Not only will this help shape the gameplay, but it also expands the game and lets players get more involved with the role-playing aspects. The Necromancer will also feature a unique class feature called the Book of the Dead which lets them fully customize the creatures they summon, from how they look to how they behave in battle, or even if they want summoned minions at all.
In previous versions, control over summoned creatures was much more straightforward and didn't provide players with quite so many options. Players can completely customize their minion army and assign each summoned creature a role, from defensive to offensive, to resource gathering. The Necromancer of previous installments was also a master of dark magic who was able to amass a minion army as well as use bone and blood spells. While Diablo 4's Necromancer's abilities haven't been fully explored just yet, it seems as if there are similarities in terms of powers shown in the trailer with previous iterations.
Diablo 4 will no doubt continue to put its own spin on the established archetype of the Necromancer, and it will be interesting to see what their specific abilities turn out to be, and all the ways that players will be able to customize the character.
Diablo 4 releases for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles in 2023.