I play Necromancer a lot and I write this as a practical, experience-based setup for Challenge Rifts in Diablo Immortal. I’ve pushed high tiers and I’ll tell you what works, why it works, and where most players trip up. Be warned: some advice here is controversial (and intentional).
Challenge Rifts are timed and they scale indefinitely. Enemies get more health and hit harder as tier increases. You need steady sustained damage, good resource control, and the ability to handle big mob packs plus elites under a clock. That’s a simple fact; it explains every build choice below.
💀 Core Skill Choices
Bone Spear is your main damage tool. It pierces and scales well with items that buff skill damage. In my experience, nothing clears clustered trash as reliably. Command Skeletons buy you time and act as shields while you line up spears. Use Bone Prison to isolate dangerous targets. Dark Curse amplifies damage on groups. Wraith Form is your escape — use it without shame.
Why these? Because Bone Spear converts gear and Intelligence into repeatable, ranged power. Skeletons let you be aggressive without dying. That’s the why, not just the what.
Controversial note:
Some players swear by stacking summon power over Bone Spear. I disagree for rifts — pure summon spam often won’t finish rift guardians fast enough unless your gems are absurdly high. There, I said it.
⚔️ Gear & Legendary Gems (practical picks)
Focus weapon and armor rolls on Bone Spear damage, Intelligence, crit stats, and one defensive roll. Chest pieces that buff Command Skeletons are useful because they reduce micro-errors (and we all make them). Helm/legs that improve Bone Prison or Dark Curse are icing on the cake.
| Slot | Main Choice | Alt | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berserker’s Eye | Bloody Reach | Big raw DPS (but riskier) |
| 2 | Lightning Core | Ca’arsen’s Invigoration | AoE clear & sustain |
| 3 | Everlasting Torment | Chip of Stoned Flesh | DoT scaling / survivability |
| 4 | Power & Command | Follower’s Burden | Summon strength |
| 5 | Bottled Hope | Chained Death | Flat damage boost |
| 6 | Seeping Bile | Freedom & Devotion | Extra poison/utility |
Watch this: Berserker’s Eye gives big damage but increases taken damage. If you don’t have good positioning, it’ll cost you more runs than it gains. It’s powerful — and risky. Use it only if you’re consistent.
📊 Stats & Paragon
Intelligence is king. It scales your spells and raises your essence pool. After that, balance crit chance and crit damage (roughly 1:10 ratio). Don’t push crit chance past ~60% — diminishing returns are real and painful. Life (health pool) beats armor in many rifts because some modifiers ignore armor. Movement speed matters for positioning; too slow and you die, too fast and you overshoot your aim (oddly enough).
Paragon priority (simple):
- Damage-heavy nodes first
- Then Life and sustain
- Fortitude next
- Vanquisher/crit last
Tip: around Paragon 200+ shift more into damage if you can handle the positioning demands. That tradeoff shortens clear times.
🎯 Skill Rotation & Combat Flow
Open with Command Skeletons, then cast Dark Curse on the densest group, position at max Bone Spear range, and spam Bone Spear. Use Bone Prison when things get messy. Wraith Form is for emergencies only. Why this order? Skeletons hold aggro, Dark Curse boosts damage windows, and Bone Spear converts that into kills.
Rotation (short):
1. Command Skeletons
2. Dark Curse on big pack
3. Bone Spear spam
4. Bone Prison for control
5. Wraith Form if you're about to die“Keep skeletons up. They do more work than you think.” — practical advice
Rhetorical question: why risk dying to a rift guardian when a reposition will cut your time by 20%? Exactly.
🏆 Progression & Tier Strategy
Tier 1–30: learn the rotation, get comfortable. Focus upgrades on your primary gems to rank 3–5. Don’t rush.
Tier 31–70: this is where people stall. Upgrade the gems that affect Bone Spear and survivability first. Farm material from quick, 2–3 minute rifts rather than failing long ones — you’ll get more upgrades per hour that way (I’ve noticed this across multiple seasons).
Tier 71+: you need near-perfect gear and timing. Perfect stat balance, max gems, and tight execution. At this point, small mistakes are fatal. Specialize on certain rift tiles and routes; mastery of a few efficient maps beats being mediocre on all maps.
Checklist (quick)
- Bone Spear-focused weapon
- Command Skeletons reliable (active)
- Gems at target ranks for your tier
- Paragon levels matching tier goals
Expert tip: farm easy rifts fast. Farming efficiently accelerates all upgrades. That’s practical and simple.
Extra Notes, Caveats, and Odd Bits
Depends on your niche and playstyle. This strategy favors ranged, precise play; there are exceptions if you prefer summon-only builds. (I still test summon-heavy setups, and they surprise me sometimes.)
Counterintuitive insight: reducing your essence cost (through weapon affixes or items) often improves overall DPS more than a flat percent damage increase, because you cast more spears per minute. Think of it like lowering the time between breaths — you can do it more often and it stacks.
Analogy: running a high-tier rift is like conducting an orchestra — mess up one instrument and the whole piece sounds off. Another: Bone Spear is your bow; skeletons are the shield-bearers at the front. Simple image, but it helps when you play fast.
One more controversial thing: many players chase Bottled Hope blindly. It’s strong, but sometimes a defensive gem gives way more rift completions. Prioritize runs over pretty numbers.
Small stumble: you’ll learn by doing, by failing, and then by fixing the mistakes you see— and then you’ll forget one tiny thing and die. It happens.
As of November 25, 2025, the core mechanics for Necromancer scaling (Intelligence, Bone Spear interactions, skeleton aggro behavior) remain as described here; balance tweaks happen, but these principles hold. Check patch notes for exact numerical changes when a major update drops.
Final, short advice: play steady, upgrade gems smartly, and practice target priority. You’ll get better each run, and the rift tiers will fall. Good luck — and may your Bone Spears land true! 💀
