Diablo 4 Season 9 Astaroth Boss Battle Strategies: How To Defeat This Returning Boss?

Posted: Jul 07, 2025 Views: 21

Posted: Jul 07, 2025

Source: IGGM

Astaroth debuts as a boss in Season 9, but unlike other lair bosses, in order to defeat it, we must complete Escalation Nightmare, which is also a new endgame mechanism added in the new season.

How To Find Astaroth?

In this dungeon connected by 3 Nightmares, we must continue to advance in order to encounter the new Astaroth boss at the end.

Diablo 4 Season 9 Astaroth Boss Battle Strategies: How To Defeat This Returning Boss?

Get Sigils

The first step is to get Escalation Nightmare Dungeon Sigil. These new Sigils can only be obtained by completing Horadric Strongrooms.

However, the spawn rate of Horadric Strongrooms is very high, and in addition to Sigil, this is also a great way for you to get all Arcanas and even recipes for making jewels.

After you get some new Sigils, you’ll notice that they have several affixes similar to the ones we find in normal Nightmare Dungeon Sigils, but we also get new affixes, and basically they either make enemies more deadly or make you weaker. So read the description of the Sigil before opening it, choose the one you think is best and go for it.

Run Escalating Nightmares

Season 9 has been really fun so far, and Escalating Nightmares is one of the main reasons why. This activity is very similar to Infernal Hordes, so if you liked Infernal Hordes, you’ll enjoy it too.

The way Escalating Nightmares works is that when you open a dungeon, it has a few affixes that are more challenging than a normal Nightmare Dungeon, and these affixes keep stacking, which is why each new dungeon becomes more challenging.

I think this idea is great, because not only can you get a ton of Diablo 4 gold, gems, materials, and most importantly XP with one dungeon key, but they’re also fun in their own right.

Once you reach Tier 3, the rest is up to your luck, and things can get pretty crazy at times.

Other Tips

Last but not least, here are a few things I think are important to note when running Escalation Nightmare Dungeons:

Treat these dungeons like you would The Pit, and don’t forget to use Elixirs and Incenses to farm more efficiently.
Depending on which Torment difficulty level you’re in, you’ll have access to different Tempered gear and quality gems.
If you die, you can always go back to town to repair, so you don’t have to stress about it, it just costs you some D4 gold.
Never stop moving, some affixes will cause monsters to constantly spawn, so even checking your inventory or allocating some Paragon points can cause you to die unexpectedly at any time.
It’s important to upgrade resistances, especially poison resistance. Because, especially at Tier 3, sometimes elite monsters can be very deadly for this reason, and this is also important when dealing with Astaroth boss.

Astaroth Battle Strategies

Once you have successfully cleared 3 dungeons, the final portal will open, which will take you into Astaroth’s Lair.

Once you arrive, you will find him standing on top of Amalgam of Rage, which we know is the first phase of the battle.

Amalgam of Rage will breathe fire from each of his heads at you, while Astaroth can summon meteors and indicate where they will fall in a split second.

If that wasn’t enough, Amalgam of Rage will jump on you to deal fatal damage. The only way to avoid this attack is to teleport as soon as you see it, and to set up some kind of fortification or barrier and maintain it as long as possible.

Diablo 4 Season 9 Amalgam of Rage

Once you have done enough damage to Amalgam of Rage, it will begin to regenerate in a pool of blood and venom. Honestly, I think this pool is very similar to the one that Lord Zir can spawn, so basically don’t touch it.

At this point, Astaroth will fight you, and you have one goal, which is to kill Astaroth before Amalgam of Rage regenerates, otherwise you will have to face them both at the same time.

Astaroth will continue to throw meteors at you, as well as some waves of fire that circle around the edge of the arena. So why is it throwing at this specific location, you might ask? This is because as Amalgam of Rage regenerates, the blood pool will continue to expand, and when it reaches its maximum size, there will be nowhere to escape. Combined with Astaroth’s attacks, it’s simply terrifying.

Remember that the poison in the pool has high damage, so the moment you enter the pool, it’s almost game over.

If Amalgam of Rage revives, try to focus your fire on Astaroth, because he has more health than Amalgam of Rage, so you want to drain his health as much as possible. This way, the next time after Amalgam of Rage dies, you can definitely kill Astaroth. Of course, if you want to do it the other way around, it may be possible, but it will definitely take longer.

All in all, defeating Astaroth isn’t that hard compared to other bosses like Andariel or Harbinger of Hatred, but timing is crucial. Regardless, Astaroth is a significant source of boss materials and gear in Season 9, so it’s definitely worth spending some time farming it!

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Diablo 4 Season 9 Gold Farming: The New Season Brings Even More Ways!
The introduction of Diablo 4 Season 9, Sins of the Horadrim, introduced many new game mechanics and content, including Horadric Spells that make builds more diverse, explorable Horadric Strongrooms, and Astaroth boss returns, which is greatly enhancing the exploration experience for players.

Of course, in addition to these, there are many more ways to farm the most important currency in Diablo 4, Gold. This guide will list the ways you can use it effectively in the current game content, so that you can have more gear, crafting materials, and smoothly improve your build without fear.

1. World Events

In the game world provided by Diablo 4, there will be some events that occur regularly from time to time, and they will provide you with a lot of D4 Gold, Legendary Aspects, Uniques, and a lot of experience points that can be used to increase your character level.

The world event that is highly recommended for you is the one located northwest of Bear Tribe Refuge Waypoint in Fractured Peaks, as the enemies in it are less challenging than in other events, and the gold rewards you get are also more generous.

On top of that, you will also pick up a lot of items in it, which means that you can use the fast teleport function to place your unwanted items in the marketplace in the town to sell them in exchange for more gold, and then teleport back to the event to do the rest of the farming.

It is important to note that when you teleport into the open world, you will be transferred to a session with a specific number of players, not all players. And each time you use the portal, you will enter a new session, which may make you farm the event longer.

2. Dungeons

Next up are Dungeons, which have been recognized by players as the best places to farm Diablo 4’s in-game currency since its release. While each dungeon has some rewards for you according to the developer’s description, there are also some that can give you more rewards with less time and effort.

According to the player community and feedback from players on various social media, the dungeons with higher potential for farming in-game gold are generally located in Fractured Peaks, which is the first zone you can explore. Here are some recommended dungeon options for you.

Anica’s Claim

Located near Bear Tribe Waypoint in Fractured Peaks, Anica’s Claim is one of the best places to farm gold and loot in the early game, as it has a lower level and build strength requirement.

However, you will need to clear and liberate Malnok Stronghold before you can enter Anica’s Claim, but this is not a particularly difficult combat process. Once you enter this dungeon, you should try to defeat all the enemies that spawn, especially the elite monsters.

Then, after making sure there are no enemies, start a screen full of gold and items. If you want to maximize the efficiency of your farming, incorporating world events near dungeons into your daily exploration and alternating between completing them will make for a more fulfilling exploration experience.

Dead Man’s Dredge

Another dungeon in Fractured Peaks that is highly efficient for loot farming is Dead Man’s Dredge. Compared to the previous dungeon, once you enter the prototype area, here recommends you run around the area and kill any enemies that stand in your way, as the gold and items they can provide are of higher quality.

Additionally, Season 9: Sins of the Horadrim has made some upgrades to Nightmare Dungeons and added Horadric Strongrooms, which are brand new micro dungeons. These new features and exploration content will make your dungeon farming process easier and more profitable.

3. Infernal Hordes

In addition to world events and dungeons, Infernal Hordes, which was added to the game in Season 5, is also one activity with high farming potential in Diablo 4. In this activity, you need to complete tasks in which you kill numerous groups of enemies to collect more Burning Aether, which will be used to exchange for various rewards before the end of the activity.

Among them, there is a reward option called Spoils of Gold, which will directly increase your gold reserves after you exchange it for all Burning Aether. But you need to be reminded that once you die in it, all Aether you have obtained before will disappear.

So try to choose the Infernal Compass that matches the tier according to your build strength, and then ensure your own survivability in it, so as to maximize the collection of more event currency. Of course, you can also exchange these Aethers for more precious unique weapons and gear to enhance your build’s exploration ability.

4. Other Ways

The above are some ways you can farm Diablo 4 gold over a whole game period, there are also some you can do just through regular exploration, such as:
- Complete Quests (some side quests will give you more)
- Kill Enemies (especially when Greed Shrine Gold buff is active)
- Explore Cellars
- Trade With In-Game Merchants
- Level Renown
- Complete levels In The Pit
These are some of the recommended ways to farm gold effectively in Diablo 4 Season 9 Sins of the Horadrim. Of course, as the developers continue to modify and improve the game content, there may be more events, dungeons, and activities for you to farm. Have fun playing!
Diablo 4 Season 9 (6 Fastest Leveling Builds): How To Reach Level 60 Fast?
Hello, Wanderers, Diablo 4 Season 9 has officially begun. The beginning of each Season is undoubtedly the most lively time, and most players are quickly clearing the main quest and upgrading their levels.

At the beginning of the season, the faster you level up, the more advantages you have. You can clear some difficult dungeons faster, get better equipment and more Diablo 4 items. If you level up slowly, then when you reach the endgame, other players may have switched to other games one after another, so choosing a good upgrade build is very important.

1. Fire Wall Hydra Sorcerer Leveling Build

Hydra Sorcerer build is one of the most fun builds in Season 9. It is also powerful and one of the best endgame builds. There are some differences between Fire Wall Hydra Sorcerer Leveling build and Hydra Sorcerer build. These differences are mainly reflected in the equipment, because you can’t get so many mythic unique items in the early game. But you can smoothly switch to Hydra Sorcerer build after reaching the endgame.

2. Minion Necromancer Leveling Build

Minion Necromancer has always been a great leveling build, and you can rush the entire main quest with a bunch of summons in the early game, and you don’t need to do anything because the summons will automatically kill your enemies. If the summons were killed, you can use a skill to replenish them.

This leveling build is undoubtedly a blessing for lazy people, and summons has been strengthened in Season 9. After you reach the endgame, you can continue to use the summoning build and turn your summons into Skeletal Mages. You can also use Diablo 4 gold to change your skills and play Blood Wave Necromancer build, which is a more powerful endgame build for Necromancer.

3. Dance Of Knives Rogue Leveling Build

Dance of Knives Rogue has excellent AOE damage, and Rogue itself has excellent speed, which allows it to pass dungeons very quickly, which makes this build level up also quickly, even faster than Minion Necromancer.

However, Dance of Knives Rogue’s performance in the endgame is very average, and it requires many Diablo 4 items to transform into Death trap Rogue builds. Therefore, it is not as recommended as the above two.

4. Quill Volley Spiritborn Leveling Build

Quill Volley build is a great Leveling Build for Spiritborn. You can harvest monsters by flying feathers, but the speed is not as fast as Dance of Knives Rogue, and it is not as fun and easy as Minion Necromancer and Fire Wall Hydra Sorcerer.

However, the advantage of this build is that Quill Volley Spiritborn Build still performs well in the endgame. This build has been powerful for several seasons in a row. Spiritborn’s new unique items make it even more powerful, and you can also try new builds in the endgame.

5. Pulverize Druid Leveling Build

Druids and Barbarians are both losers in Season 9. The nerf to Overpower mechanic has a big impact on Druids. The unique items in Season 9 were originally not so good, but they were buffed before the official launch, making Druids less embarrassed.

As a melee class, Druids do not have as many AOE methods as other classes, so they are not as efficient as other classes in farming XP or gold in the early game.

6. Whirlwind Lunging Strike Barbarian Leveling Build

The situation of Barbarians and Druids is very similar. Although the Barbarian’s endgame damage in PTR was amazing, it was just a bug. But after the bug was fixed, the Barbarian’s true colors were immediately exposed, showing his problem of insufficient damage both in the early and endgame.

Although Barbarians still have various play styles in the endgame, they are still a little behind the top builds.

Also Read: What Adjustments Have Been Made To Base Classes And Nightmare Dungeons In Diablo 4 Season 9?

Leveling Up Strategy

Leveling is actually one of the pleasures that this game can bring to players, and many players enjoy the leveling process very much. As long as you play the main quest normally, your leveling speed will not be slow. But some tips can make your leveling journey easier.
- Pets: Pets will help you pick up materials and Diablo 4 gold.
- Portals: Unlock all town portals as soon as possible.
- Mercenaries: Mercenaries can level up at the same time as you and help you kill monsters.
- Season quests: Complete season quest lines and Season journeys to increase your reputation.
- Nightmare dungeons: Can provide a lot of equipment and experience, and sometimes you can find EXP Wells.
- Elixirs: Using elixirs can increase the EXP you gain over a period of time.
- The Pit: After you reach level 60, you can go to farm monsters in The Pit 30-35.
Leveling up in Season 9 is very fast, and even if you are not particularly efficient, you can complete the leveling in 2 hours. If you are very efficient, you can even reduce this time to 40 minutes.

The above are the leveling builds and strategies recommended by Season 9. When you complete all the main lines and reach level 60, and you need to enter the endgame and start farming for higher quality equipment, although the endgame of Diablo 4 is not as rich as other games of the same type. Or you can change a class and try a different way of playing.
Diablo 4 Season 9 Reliquary Battle Pass Rewards: Why Are Players Unsatisfied With The Changes?
Diablo 4 Season 9’s Reliquary Battle Pass follows the style of Season 8, splitting the original Battle Pass into four parts. The developers explained that they wanted players to use Platinum for whatever they wanted, but the fact is that it made everything more complicated.

The new Reliquary Battle Pass is far less simple and intuitive than the original Battle Pass, and players have also reported that it gives them fewer rewards.

Season 9 Reliquary Battle Pass

Reliquary Battle Pass is divided into three different categories, and all but the free Battle Pass requires Platinum to unlock. Unlike Diablo 4 Gold, Platinum can only be got by topping up and cannot be dropped in the game.
- The free part of the battle pass is Sins of the Horadrim Reliquary, and you can also get each one free item in Weapon, Beast, and Armor Reliquaries.
- Premium Battle Pass (1,000 Platinum) includes the rewards from Free Battle Pass, plus all three Reliquary rewards, which unlock The Iron Demon Armor Set.
- Deluxe Battle Pass Bundle (2,800 Platinum) includes all the rewards, plus The Iron Demon Armor Set, plus two additional cosmetic items, Chains of the Iron Demon (Back Trophy) and Scapegoat (Pet).
Most of the rewards in the battle pass are cosmetic, which simply change the appearance of your Diablo 4 items and do not provide any improvements to your character. If you don’t like the cosmetics in the Reliquary Battle Pass, then there is no need to unlock Premium or Deluxe Battle Pass.

How To Unlock The Rewards On The Battle Pass?

To unlock the content in the battle pass, you need to complete quests or kill demons to earn Favor tokens. Favor tokens replace the previous battle pass progress. After you get enough Favor tokens, you can unlock any unlockable item.

But the drop rate of Favor Tokens is far lower than that of Diablo 4 gold. You can only get one or two Favor Tokens at a time. And Favor Tokens have a stacking limit, you can only stack up to 99. However, they will not disappear with the end of the season, and you can use them to unlock the battle pass of the next season.

Season 9 Reliquary Battle Pass Rewards:

Free Battle Pass (Sins of the Horadrim Reliquary)
- 6 Favor Tokens: Door of the Iron Demon (Town Portal)
- 2 Favor Tokens: Nightslayer’s Crossbow (Cosmetic Crossbow)
- 2 Favor Tokens: Nightslayer’s Mace (Cosmetic Mace)
- 2 Favor Tokens: Nightslayer’s Dualaxe (Cosmetic Glaive)
- 8 Favor Tokens: Eventine (Horse Mount)
- 5 Favor Tokens: Nightslayer’s Barding (Horse Armor)
- 5 Favor Tokens: 100 Platinum
- 5 Favor Tokens: 100 Platinum
- Bonus Reward: Claws of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Gloves)
Weapons Reliquary (Premium)
- 2 Favor Tokens: Free Nightslayer’s Bomb (Cosmetic Focus)
- 3 Favor Tokens: Premium Torch of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Sorcerer Staff)
- 3 Favor Tokens: Premium Greataxe of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Two-Handed Axe)
- 3 Favor Tokens: Premium Ax of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Ax)
- 3 Favor Tokens: Premium Brand of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Sword)
- 3 Favor Tokens: Premium Greatsword of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Two-Handed Sword)
- 3 Favor Tokens: PremiumFork of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Polearm)
- Bonus Reward: Fetters of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Boots)
Beasts Reliquary (Premium)
- 2 Favor Tokens: Free Nightslayer’s Stiletto (Cosmetic Dagger)
- 10 Favor Tokens: Premium Ferrukal, Thrall of Iron (Cat Mount)
- 7 Favor Tokens: Premium Ferrukal’s Saddle (Cat Armor)
- 5 Favor Tokens: Premium The Iron Flame (Mount Trophy)
- 6 Favor Tokens: Premium Little William (Pet)
- 8 Favor Tokens: Premium The Scarred Mare (Horse Mount)
- 5 Favor Tokens: Premium Bridle of Scars (Horse Armor)
- Premium Bonus Reward: Bonds of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Pants)
Armor Reliquary (Premium)
- 2 Favor Tokens: Free Nightslayer’s Scythe (Cosmetic Two-Handed Scythe)
- 15 Favor Tokens: Premium Nightslayer Spiritborn Armor (Cosmetic Armor Set)
- 15 Favor Tokens: Premium Nightslayer Necromancer Armor (Cosmetic Armor Set)
- 15 Favor Tokens: Premium Nightslayer Druid Armor (Cosmetic Armor Set)
- 8 Favor Tokens: Premium Gates of the Iron Demon (Town Portal)
- 15 Favor Tokens: Premium Nightslayer Rogue Armor (Cosmetic Armor Set)
- 15 Favor Tokens: Premium Nightslayer Barbarian Armor (Cosmetic Armor Set)
- 15 Favor Tokens: Premium Nightslayer Sorcerer Armor (Cosmetic Armor Set)
- Premium Bonus Reward: Crest of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Helm) and Cage of the Iron Demon (Cosmetic Chest Armor)
Compared to previous battle passes, Season 9 gives players less Platinum. The rewards for Season 7 battle pass still gave players 700 Platinum, but the Season 9 Reliquary Battle Pass doesn’t give that much.

Another point that players complain about is the bundle. Players can use 500 Platinum to unlock a single Reliquary, and 1500 Platinum is required to unlock three Reliquaries.

However, players can use 1000 Platinum to unlock Premium Battle Pass, which is undoubtedly a more economical choice. However, once the player has unlocked one of Reliquary in advance, he can no longer unlock Premium Battle Pass, which is definitely a rather weird design.

Many players have expressed dissatisfaction with the new Reliquary Battle Pass, both in terms of perfunctory content and unreasonable unlocking methods. The developer said that they have heard the feedback from players, but it may take until Season 10 or even 11 to make improvements.
Diablo 4 Season 9 Unlock And Upgrade Your Horadric Spellcraft System: How To Better Customize Your Unique Power!

Like last season, Diablo 4 Season 9 introduces a new seasonal power, Horadric Spells. This power system consists of 3 key elements: Catalyst, Infusion and Arcana, through which you can better customize your character build and maximize your potential in the new season.

But Horadric Spells are not immediately available when you enter Season 9, so here we will share how to unlock each part of this feature in the game and upgrade your unique power. Let’s take a look!

How To Unlock Horadric Spellcraft?

Now let’s talk about how to unlock items on Horadric Spellcraft menu.

If you open Horadric Spell interface, you will find that its first row is different from the second and third rows. On the left side of the first row, there are gems of different colors, which are Infusions. And on the right, there are five Catalysts, which are skills that can be bound to our own skills.

Catalyst & Infusion

In order to unlock the first Catalyst and the first Infusion, we need to reach at least the first tier on the seasonal reputation board.

Beyond that, the remaining four Catalysts and Infusions are locked behind the next reputation tiers. Therefore, you need to accumulate seasonal reputation by killing enemies, especially elite monsters and bosses in Nightmare Dungeons, which can provide you with more reputation points, and then unlock the corresponding tier quests on the reputation board. After completing these quests, you will be able to unlock Catalysts and Infusions as rewards.

You can see which quests will reward which Catalysts and Infusions. The last quest that needs to be completed to unlock all these Horadric Spellcraft items is called The Unseeable Demands Their Gaze. However, this is only the sixth tier on the reputation board.

After completing this quest, you will get all Catalysts and Infusions. Even if there are multiple other quests on the reputation board, you don’t need to complete them. Of course, if you have nothing else to do, it’s good to complete these quests, after all, they not only bring you the corresponding reputation points to enhance your character, but also a sum of Diablo 4 gold.

Arcana

Now, let’s take a look at the next two rows of Horadric Spell interface, which contains all Arcana.

These Arcanas are divided into 3 rarity levels: Magic, Rare, and Legendary. The second row in Horadric Spell menu only contains Arcana of Rare and Legendary rarity, with Rare on the right and Legendary on the left. The last row on the interface is just some Magic Arcana.

Despite the large number, Arcana is actually very easy to obtain. You can usually find them in Nightmare Dungeons by farming new Horadric Strongrooms.

Each Strongroom has a chance to drop a Magic Rarity Arcana, which you can then collect and add to Horadric Spellcraft interface.

Rare Arcana can be found in Grand Horadric Caches that drop from Horadric Strongrooms, but can only be obtained after reaching level three on the reputation board. Likewise, if you want to get a Legendary Arcana, first you have to reach level six on the reputation board.

Also Read: What Adjustments Have Been Made To Base Classes And Nightmare Dungeons In Diablo 4 Season 9?

How To Upgrade Power?

If you want to upgrade your Horadric Spells, you’ll need to have a new seasonal currency called Horadric Phials, which you can then upgrade to the next level by pressing F key on your keyboard.

You can get Horadric Phials by completing Nightmare Escalations, farming Horadric Strongrooms, and defeating Lair Bosses and opening Hordes they drop. In addition to upgrading Horadric Spells, these Phials can also be used to craft specific Horadric Jewels.

How To Unlock Horadric Jewel Crafting?

Horadric Jewels are a type of socketable item in Diablo 4 Season 9 that can only be socketed into jewelry, such as Amulets and Rings, and are much more powerful than the gems you would normally socket. There is a limitation to using it though, you can only use up to three Horadric Jewels in your gear.

In order to unlock the ability to craft Horadric Jewels, you need to complete the season questline until you unlock the season reputation board, which comes up pretty early on, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

Most importantly, however, the prerequisite for claiming your first Horadric Jewel recipe is that you must have completed tier 10 on the reputation board.

Horadric Strongrooms in Nightmare Dungeons drop Horadric Jewel crafting recipes, but only at Torment 1 or higher difficulty levels. These Jewel recipes are also known as Horadric Tomes.

After completing a Horadric Strongroom, there is a chance that a Horadric Tome will drop. These Tomes are consumables that teach players to craft Horadric Jewels at Wayfinders to grant players various powers and effects. Keep in mind, though, that some Jewels also have negative effects.

To craft Horadric Jewels, you need to prepare a few materials, including Horadric Phials and Gem Fragments.

Finally, another important information is that Astaroth boss can also drop jewel, not the recipe, but the jewel itself, but the drop rate is quite low.

In short, Horadric Spells are essential for the build gameplay in season 9, so if you want to better dominate Sanctuary, then the first step after starting your season journey is to understand how to unlock and upgrade this new power system is definitely a wise move!
Diablo 4 Season 9 Pulverize Druid Leveling Build: How To Optimize This Build To Reach The Endgame Faster!
Dear Druid fans, have you prepared your best build in Season 9? If you are still hesitant, perhaps our build guide today can bring you new inspiration!

Here we are going to share a reliable leveling build, which is Pulverize Druid Build. This is a powerful ranged build with amazing ranged damage and powerful defense. With this ranged play, you can go deep into the Pit and farm XP quickly.

However, the flaws of this build are also obvious. Unless you specialize in Overpower and multiple Uniques, its single-target attack will always make you feel powerless when facing Pinnacle Boss.

But overall, Pulverize Druid Build is still a great choice for leveling, and combined with our ultimate skill Grizzly Rage, Aspect of the Rabid Bear, and the new Rotting Lightbringer unique Two-Handed weapon, this is definitely Druid Build you should try in the new season!

Next, we will explain how to build this build at the beginning of the season to bring you some more realistic game experience as soon as possible, and briefly share leveling tips so that you can reach the endgame and rush through Torment 4 as soon as possible! Let’s get started.

Pulverize Buffs

Before we dive into this build, let’s first understand the buffs that Pulverize gets, so you can clearly see how powerful this build is and why it is also very suitable for leveling.

First of all, Pulverize’s base damage buff is now from 110% to 150%, which means that its attacks will be more powerful from the beginning. And when we put the first point into the skill tree, we get Enhanced Pulverize, and then Pulverize will trigger Overpower every 10 seconds.

In addition, it now deals 30% more damage to enemies and bosses with Crowd Control. This is a vast change as it stacks more damage on top of our skills.

We can then also upgrade it to Raging Pulverize. Previously it dealt 75% more Overpower damage and stunned affected enemies for 3 seconds, but now it will continue to crit enemies and gain an additional 20% Overpower damage.

So, what does this mean? In short, the updated 20% extra damage applies to everything, which is better than just 70% Overpower damage.

Aspects

However, these buffs tend to work best with Aspects in the endgame. So, I recommend that you grab any Pulverize Aspects you can find early on, which can help a lot with damage and AOE at the beginning.

Remember that Aspects you choose now are more focused on Utility than Offensive, so we can put them on boots or pets, which can also help us maximize damage.

Although it’s not like using Offensive Aspects like Aspect of Retaliation or Aspect of the Changeling’s Debt on our gloves later on, which can greatly enhance the player’s offensive capabilities and increase damage, critical chance, or other damage-related properties, just these two Aspects can already help a lot with damage in the early stages.

However, what I really recommend is Aspect of the Umbral, which helps you regenerate more Spirit. This way the build won’t be as slow as Spiritborn at the beginning, because this Aspect will give you more stacks of Spirit and Energy, which helps replenish Spirit as you deal damage.

In addition, talents like Willpower, Maximum Life, and Attack Speed are best for early leveling, so remember to pay attention to the seasonal questline as soon as possible to unlock and add new seasonal powers and gems, which help get more XP, equipment, and crafting materials.

Overall, this build is very powerful in the early stages and is known for having a good start, and you shouldn’t have any big problems.

Equipment

Let’s talk about equipment. Keep in mind that gear will change throughout the season, so you’ll want to optimize it as the season progresses to get the most out of this build. This is of course only if you have more Diablo 4 gold, but if your budget is low, you can refer to our gear options for now.

In addition, your gear should strike a balance between offense and defense. So, you can look for affixes such as Willpower, Maximum Life, and Armor on items like helmets, chests, pants, and boots, or all Resistance affixes on weapons, rings, and amulets.

So, for Pulverize Druid Leveling build, the gear we recommend is as follows:
- Helm: Heir of Perdition
- Mainhand: Rotting Lightbringer
- Chest Armor: Shroud of False Death
- Amulet: Aspect of the Rabid Bear
- Gloves: Shockwave Aspect
- Left Ring: Ring of Starless Skies
- Right Ring: Aspect of the Rampaging Werebeast
- Pants: Tibault’s Will
Skill Tree

Next, let’s take a look at the skill tree.

First, the base skill for this build is Storm Strike, which unleashes a chain of lightning that damages up to 3 nearby enemies and grants damage reduction for a short period of time.

Our core skill is Pulverize, which allows Druid to transform into a powerful bear man and slam the ground, damaging nearby enemies. The upgraded Raging Pulverize is also a good defensive skill, which guarantees Overpower damage and increases the damage taken by enemies by 20%.

Debilitating Roar has excellent damage output and provides some damage reduction. Upgrading it to Preserving Debilitating Roar will restore 6% of your maximum life per second for the duration of the skill.

Poison Creeper is very effective in the early season, poisoning enemies to give us an advantage. The passive effect of this skill causes the vine creeper to deal continuous poison damage to the enemy, temporarily immobilizing them.

Grizzly Rage is your ultimate endgame skill. Unlike other Werebear form skills, Grizzly Rage not only lasts longer, but also replaces all normal skills with Werebear form during the duration. Therefore, maintaining its duration is crucial for both damage and defense.

Horadric Spells

Finally, the new Horadric Spells in Season 9 are a key element to customize our build power. So for now, the best pairings in the early stages are:

Catalyst
- Celestial Surge: Its periodic group effect is very powerful, and paired with Pulverize to maximize its AOE damage.
Infusion
- Corrosive Vapor: When paired with Elemental Brand Gem, each of Pulverize’s attacks applies poison to enemies.
Arcana
- Bloody Charm: Provides a significant Execute threshold to Celestial Surge and reduces cooldown on executions.
- Sapping Crux: Your Catalyst applies more Vulnerable damage for 3 seconds, +1 per level.
- Shifting Powder: Allows you to reach the movement speed cap very early.
That’s it for this Pulverize Druid Leveling build, there are a lot of variations on this build, and you can definitely rework it to suit your playstyle and playstyle. But follow our recommended settings and you can definitely have a great ranged survival build in the early game!
Diablo 4 Season 9 (4 Best Necromancer Builds): Pick The Right Build Options For This Top-Tier Class!

Excited! The much-anticipated Season 9 Sins of the Horadrim is expected to enter Diablo 4 at 10:00 AM PST on July 1, bringing some new game mechanics, a significantly improved Nightmare Dungeons, and some changes to existing classes.

Among the six classes at this stage, Necromancer has always been recognized as the top class by players with its super strong damage ability, both in leveling content and endgame content. Although S9 has weakened its Overpower, Soul Rift and Blood Wave to some extent, it is relatively stable overall.

Therefore, choosing a stronger class from the beginning and picking some suitable build options for it will make your exploration in the new season more efficient. With that in mind, this guide will recommend some of the best Necromancer builds you can try, based on previous PTRs and recent developer updates and patch notes, as well as some things to keep in mind when using them.

1. Necromancer Builds Focused On Summon Minions

The most popular Necromancer builds have always relied on summoned minions to perform dual attacks, and with the help of the exclusive Unique added to Diablo 4 Season 9, the effectiveness of this type of build will be greatly improved.

What needs to be paid attention to here is that you need to change your minions from Skeletal Warriors and Golems to Skeletal Mages, so that they can be converted into Skeletal Arch-Mages with more powerful damage capabilities in subsequent difficult battles with Diablo 4 Gold.

In this type of build, you can choose Ring of Mendeln and Blood Moon Breeches to match Skeletal Mages accordingly, such as increasing the attack speed, skill level and damage capabilities of the minions.

But since Necromancer class itself has some poor survival attributes, you may need to put some Mythic Uniques in it to increase your character’s tankiness. Or use Horadric Spell combos added in Season 9 to improve this situation.

Here are the ones I can recommend to you: Smoldering Ember+Bloody Charm+Fractured Core+Invigorating Helix and Cosmic Anomaly+Corpse Explosion, they will make your minions more and more, and the combat ability will become stronger and stronger. But the specific attributes and statistics may have to wait for the official release of the new season to be determined.

2. Blood Wave Necromancer Build

Yes, you read that right. Although Blood Wave has been weakened a bit in this new season, it is still very stable and can be the focus of your attention. However, what I can recommend here is to try to use Blood Wave with Cosmic Anomaly.

In this combination, the combination of Alien that can perform continuous explosions and Blood Wave skill that can deal extremely high bleed damage, making it extremely efficient at clearing out groups of enemies in Nightmare Dungeons, Helltide, and Infernal Horde.

Additionally, choosing some Horadric spells that can increase your bleeding damage and attack speed will help your character smoothly and easily kill all low to mid-level monsters and bosses within a safe ranged attack area, allowing you to earn more loot.

For the gear you can put in it, Kessime’s Legacy is a recommended option. Similarly, this Blood Wave Necromancer build will also need some Mythic Uniques to complete safe exploration objectives.

3. Blood Spear Necromancer Build

Of course, Blood Spear with the same damage type is also an important skill you should pay attention to in Diablo 4 Season 9. However, to deal the most damage, you’ll need the help of Uniques like Memory of Indira, Path of Trag’Oul, and Face of the Undying. So it will cost a little more than Blood Wave in terms of the amount of D4 Gold invested.

But this is not without a way out. You only need to use Smoldering Ember, Fractured Core, Bloody Charm, and Tranquil Stone to form your Horadric Spell to create a perfect combination of Bone Prison with strong control ability and Bone Spear with strong penetration ability.

Thanks to this combination, you can see those enemies trapped in the solid Bone Prison in the battle, and then defeat them directly with those projectiles that are enough to disintegrate the enemy instantly. This process basically does not exceed 10 minutes, so you can use it as the most important rotation in the leveling stage where efficiency is more valued.

4. Necromancer Builds Focused On Damage Over Time

This type of Necromancer Build seemed to be very popular before Season 5, but gradually faded out of the spotlight due to the changes in various skills and item attributes. However, the addition of Horadric Spells has brought this type of build back to life.

For example, use Corpse Explosion skill with Decompose and Blight to cause a lot of continuous shadow damage, and then use a Horadric Jewel called Tyrant Bane to cause more continuous damage until the enemy disappears.

This is very useful for kiting strategies when dealing with enemies or bosses with vigorous defenses and high health: you just need to watch the enemy’s attack moves at every step and dodge in time, and wait for them to slowly die.

These are Necromancer builds worth trying in Diablo 4 Season 9 Sins of the Horadrim, which is expected to be released on July 1. And after the new season starts, here will continue to provide you with quest guides or build guides in S9 so that you can easily create a powerful build that suits you best. I wish you a happy game!