Diablo III – Blizzard on Bringing Back the Necromancer

A couple of Blizzard employees have spoken to IGN about the process of bringing Diablo II’s iconic Necromancer class to Diablo III. The visual design and the class abilities are the main topics there. The original article contains some mild story spoilers, so here’s a spoiler-free excerpt:

In designing Diablo 3’s seventh class, Love said in an interview that much of the inspiration for the incarnation comes from modernizing Diablo 2’s Necromancer, but in a very specific way: “We really wanted to explore the feeling that you got in Diablo 2 of being a commander of the dead and leading an army. That influenced some of the outfits that they wear.” So it’s safe to assume that we can expect some military-style gear, which we get a hint of in the coat worn in the intro cinematic sketches[…]

The Diablo 3 Necromancer will also be heavily focused on blood, Love says. Not only will it gush around as creatures are torn into, but Necromancers will be able to use skills like Blood Rush to effectively teleport by dissolving into blood and then reforming at their destination. They’ll also be able to use their own blood – or health, specifically – to boost their damage.

Like the Crusader in Reaper of Souls, Blizzard is working to insert the Necromancer into Diablo 3’s story as if it’d been there from the beginning. That’s a huge endeavor, according to Love, but the team is excited, he said in an interview. “We think it’s going to be a terrific way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Diablo,” he said.

Valerie Watrous, Rise of the Necromancer’s lead writer for lore, says you’ll experience a new perspective on the events of the story because of the Necromancer’s detachment from the emotion involved in death. As a Priest of Rathma, your Necromancer views death as just another part of life for them. “They’re much more philosophical and thoughtful than some of our other classes, who are impulsive and rush in,” she said. “If a death disturbs the balance of life and death, it’s more of an academic problem for them than an emotional one,” she said.