Shadow Blood Wave Necromancer
S-TIER Season 11 - Divine Intervention| Pit 140-150+ Viable
Last Updated: December 21, 2025 Synced Just now
Master the ultimate Blood Wave build with advanced tools and calculations
Strengths
- Massive AoE damage - clears entire screens
- Excellent boss damage with Tidal Aspect stacking
- High survivability with Blood Mist + Fortify
- S-Tier push build for Pit 140-150+
- Scales extremely well with gear investment
Weaknesses
- Requires specific Mythic Uniques to excel
- Moderate speed - not ideal for speedfarming
- Corpse dependency can be frustrating
- Overpower builds nerfed in Season 11
- High learning curve for optimal rotation
Build Variants
Endgame Pit Push (Pit 140+)
Maximum damage variant focused on pushing the highest Pit tiers. Uses full Mythic gear with DoT focus after Season 11 Overpower nerfs.
- Weapon: Sanctified 2H Scythe with +Quality (up to 25%)
- Focus: DoT damage + Ultimate Shadow Aspect
- Key Stats: Vulnerable, Crit Damage, Int, Blood Skill Damage
Speedfarm Variant
Faster movement and quicker kills for Helltide and lower Pit farming. Trades some damage for mobility.
- Swap: Blood Mist for faster mobility skill
- Paragon: Prioritize movement speed nodes
- Focus: AoE clear over single-target
Starter / Budget Variant
Can start with just Ancestral gear. Focus on getting Tidal Aspect and Blood-bathed Aspect first.
- Priority 1: Get Tidal Aspect from Codex
- Priority 2: Farm for Kessime's Legacy
- Priority 3: Stack Vulnerable damage where possible
Bossing Variant
Optimized for Uber Bosses and Tormented bosses. Maximum single-target with Tidal wave stacking.
- Key: Position to maximize Tidal wave bounces
- Rotation: Tendrils → Blight → Blood Wave spam
- Stats: Prioritize Crit Damage and Vulnerable
Season 11 Meta Update (Dec 20, 2025)
Season 11 Sanctification Guide
Sanctifying gear at Hadriels Forge can add new Stats, Greater Affixes, or Legendary Aspects - but makes items Unmodifiable.
What to Sanctify
- Weapon - Sanctify for +Quality (up to 25% = x40% damage!)
- Amulet - Great slot for bonus stats
- Rings - Lucky Hit to Vulnerable synergy
Don't Sanctify
- Kessime's Legacy - Keep for future upgrades
- Items you haven't fully Masterworked
- Gear missing key Greater Affixes
Pro Tips
- Sanctify potential gear, not equipped items
- You can still swap Gems and Runes after
- Focus on Corrupted Essences from Belial (Pit)
Interactive Skill Bar
Click skills to see detailed information
Skill Point Calculator
Interactive Skill Tree (71 Points Total)
Basic Skills
Decompose 1/5 Enhanced Decompose 1/1 Reap 1/5 Enhanced Reap 1/1 Acolyte's Reap 1/1Core Skills
Blight 5/5 Enhanced Blight 1/1 Paranormal Blight 1/1
Hewed Flesh 3/3Corpse & Macabre Skills
Blood Mist 1/5 Enhanced Blood Mist 1/1 Ghastly Blood Mist 1/1 Corpse Tendrils 1/5 Enhanced Corpse Tendrils 1/1 Blighted Corpse Tendrils 1/1 Necrotic Carapace 3/3Curse Skills
Decrepify 1/5 Enhanced Decrepify 1/1 Abhorrent Decrepify 1/1
Amplify Damage 3/3
Death's Embrace 3/3Ultimate Skills
Blood Wave 1/1 Prime Blood Wave 1/1 Supreme Blood Wave 1/1
Titan's Fall 3/3Key Passives (MAX PRIORITY)
Stand Alone 3/3 Fueled by Death 3/3 Terror 3/3 Gloom 3/3 Coalesced Blood 3/3 Tides of Blood 3/3
Rathma's Vigor KEYAdvanced Damage Calculator
Blood Wave Damage
D4-accurate formula with damage buckets
Book of the Dead (All Sacrificed)
Skeletal Warriors
Use Skirmishers if Crit Chance < 60%
Skeletal Mages
Golem
Paragon Boards (Priority Order)
Starting Board
Legendary Node: Sacrificial
Glyph: Corporeal
Bloodbath
Legendary Node: Gravekeeper
Glyph: Dominate
Scent of Death
Legendary Node: Scent of Death
Glyph: Exploit
Blood Begets Blood
Legendary Node: Blood Begets Blood
Glyph: Desecration
Wither
Legendary Node: Essence
Glyph: Control
Flesh-Eater
Legendary Node: Flesh-Eater
Glyph: Darkness
Gear & Aspects
Helmet
Heir of Perdition (BiS Mythic)
Huge Crit Chance + Lucky Hit + Damage multiplier
Alternative: Aspect of the Cursed Aura
Chest
Shroud of False Death (BiS Mythic)
+1 All Passives, huge survivability
Igni Aspect
30% Damage Reduction baseline
Gloves
Sacrificial Aspect
+55% increased Sacrifice bonuses
Pants
Kessime's Legacy REQUIRED
Blood Wave forms dual converging waves that explode. Core of the build!
Boots
Metamorphosis Aspect
Evade turns you into bats, Unstoppable 2.5s
2H Weapon
Tidal Aspect REQUIRED
Blood Wave fires 3 total waves at 200% damage each
Alternative: Bloodless Scream (endgame)
Amulet
Diamond Aspect
+38% Crit Chance & +75% Crit Damage after Corpse Tendrils
Ring 1
Fastblood Aspect REQUIRED
Blood Orbs reduce Ultimate CD by 3 seconds
Ring 2
Aspect of Ultimate Shadow
Blood Wave becomes Darkness skill + Shadow damage + Desecrated Ground DoT
Stats Priority
| Slot Type | Priority 1 | Priority 2 | Priority 3 | Priority 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapons | Maximum Life | Intelligence | Overpower Damage | Lucky Hit: Vulnerable |
| Armor | Maximum Life | Intelligence | Cooldown Reduction | Armor/Resistances |
| Jewelry | Cooldown Reduction | Critical Strike Chance | Intelligence | Maximum Life |
| Amulet | +Ranks Tides of Blood | +Ranks Gloom | Crit Chance/CDR | +Ranks Terror |
Tempering Priority
| Slot | Temper 1 | Temper 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Blood Wave Double Damage Chance | +Ranks to Titan's Fall |
| Chest | Corpse Tendrils Size % | — |
| Gloves | Blood Overpower Damage % | — |
| Amulet/Rings | Ultimate Cooldown Reduction % | — |
Interactive Gameplay Rotation
Approach Pack - Trigger Cursed Aura or Igni+Wat runeword
Automatically applies Decrepify to enemies
Reap (LMB) - Create a corpse if none available
Skip if corpses already on ground
Corpse Tendrils (1) - Pull enemies together
Triggers Crit Chance buff from Aspect of Grasping Veins
Blight (2) - Throw into grouped enemies
Applies damage multiplier debuff
Blood Wave (4) - MAIN DAMAGE
Triple waves converge and explode for massive damage
Collect Blood Orbs - Walk over spawned orbs
Resets Blood Wave cooldown + triggers Rathma's Vigor Overpower
Repeat - Once cooldowns reset
Blood Mist (3) if you need emergency escape
Key Mechanic: Cooldown Reset Engine
- Fastblood Aspect: Blood Orbs reduce Ultimate CD by 3 seconds
- Abhorrent Decrepify: Lucky Hits against cursed enemies reduce cooldowns
- Rathma's Vigor: Collecting Blood Orbs within 10s (was 15s) = guaranteed Overpower on next Blood Wave
Gems & Runewords
| Location | Gem/Rune | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Royal Emerald | Increased damage |
| Armor (Socket 1) | Igni + Thul | Frost Nova - Freeze + Vulnerable application |
| Armor (Socket 2) | Ahu + Qax | 100% damage increase vs non-Healthy |
| Jewelry | Royal Diamond / Topaz / Ruby | Resistances (prioritize Lightning & Fire) |
Mercenary Setup
Main: Raheir
- Ground Slam
- Raheir's Aegis
- Bastion
- Inspiration
Reinforcement: Aldkin
- Flame Surge
- Triggers Abhorrent Decrepify on skill cast
Divine Gifts (Season 11 Exclusive)
Duriel - Helltides
Maggots spawn throughout Helltide areas. Great for passive farming while running other content.
Priority: High - Helltides are core content
Andariel - Undercity
Appears as final boss of Undercity runs. Good for XP farming.
Priority: Medium - If you run Undercity
Belial - The Pit
Find 5 eyes in Pit runs to summon him. Essential for pushing high Pit tiers.
Priority: High - Pit is endgame focus
Azmodan - World Boss
New summonable World Boss. Toughest Lesser Evil but great rewards.
Priority: Medium - When you need a challenge