Grim Dawn Grim Misadventures #114: Necromancer Mastery

After a bout of teasing, Crate Entertainment has pulled back the curtain on the second mastery we'll be getting in their expansion for Grim Dawn, and it's none other than the Necromancer. Grim Misadventures #114 covers some background information about the new mastery before diving into the skills it'll make available, so you should have enough to start comparing it against Blizzard's take on necromancy in Diablo III:
A few months back, we had a pretty big announcement for you as we revealed the first of the upcoming expansion’s two new masteries. Since that time, we have alluded to the second mastery, but what it was remained a mystery…until now.

This mastery comes from not only our desire to bring an awesome archetype to Grim Dawn, but it is also one that has been highly requested by our players over the years. Today, we are proud to announce Crate Entertainment’s take on…the enigmatic Necromancer!

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Let’s take a quick look at some of the skills available to necromancers:

Please note that as the masteries are still under development, the following information may change by release.

Necromancers employ horrifying minions and debilitating spells that harvest the very souls from their foes, making them a deadly combatant at any distance. Their greatest strength lies in the use of Aether and Vitality magic, though they do not shy away from using Cold and Poison as well.

Drain Essence

”Necromancers firmly believe in the concept of greater good, and sometimes the greater good means that one's life essence must be sacrificed so that another may live. Though this transfer is frowned upon, some practitioners have trouble resisting the temptation of raw vital energy.”

Who needs potions when you’ve got enemies? Healing yourself is just a mere foe away. With sufficient practice, a necromancer can cause this ability to consume vitality from additional nearby foes as well.

Raise Skeletons

”The art of reanimating skeletal remains is among the first rites of aspiring Necromancers, but also one of the most rudimentary. Through sheer will, a Necromancer may call upon the spirits beyond the veil and draw them into the bones of the deceased. Should the ritual succeed, skeletal minions, loyal only to the summoner, shall rise. However, due to the unstable nature of the spell, such minions will not remain standing for long.”

A necromancer is not complete without an arsenal of undead minions to do his bidding. With this ability, you raise three skeletons to serve you. More powerful minions have a chance to emerge at higher ranks. Bring forth any combination of warriors, archers, mages and revenants.

Further mastery through modifiers increases the summon limit as well as the longevity and durability of your undead servants. When fully trained, any foes you slay have a chance to reset the cooldown.

Necrotic Edge

”By striking with the chill of the grave, your attacks inflict instant necrosis upon the afflicted wound, the sight of which can cause even the most resolute foes to falter.”

This devastating weapon pool proc strikes foes with chilling fear. While it works with any weapon type, it cleaves additional foes when used with melee weapons.