I think every kid is into skeletons growing up. They’re just scary enough to be cool/profane, but not too scary. They were one of the first “horror genre” creatures my kid really loved beyond zombies. And if you’re a Necromancer in Diablo 4, you have the opportunity to control a whole army of them! Here’s how the Skeletal Priest works in the game.
Skeletal Priests can’t be summoned: they momentarily buff your army
At the very start of the game, Necromancer players can summon four skeletons at any given time to fight for you. This number raises considerably once you pick up the Skeletal Mage ability (which is a separate “Book of the Dead” skill line unlocked at level 15) and the Golem power (at level 25): but a core four skeleton outfit is what you’ll be working with initially.
If you attempt to summon another skeleton beyond this limit (which includes all of the aforementioned summon types), you’ll create a skeletal priest momentarily, who will appear, buff and heal your summon army, then fade away. Here’s the full tooltip from the game:
“Once all of your Skeletons have been summoned, Raise Skeleton briefly summons a Skeletal Priest to empower your Minions for 5 seconds, increasing their damage by 20% and healing them for 10% of their Maximum Life.”
In short, spamming a Skeletal Priest every five seconds will ensure that your army is constantly healed and buffed up, empowering them constantly. That isn’t the best strategy per se (given that it consumes a corpse, which could potentially be used for other purposes), but it’s an option.
You can buff your Skeletal Priests in the skill tree
Picking up the “Bonded in Essence” skill will beef up your Skeletal Priests:
“Every 5 seconds, your Skeletal Priest’s Healing will Heal your Skeletons for 20% of their Maximum Life”
You can find Bonded in Essence near the very bottom of the Necromancer skill tree in the ultimate selection, as you approach level 30.
How did Patch 1.2.0 impact Skeletal Priest changes?
As part of Diablo 4‘s 1.2.0 patch changes, the “Raise Skeleton” skill was buffed, which impacts the Skeletal Priest. As the patch notes detail: “Skeleton Priest duration increased from 5 to 8 seconds, total healing increased from 15% to 25%.”
It’s not just a straight buff: other abilities were brought down to “match the update to Skeletal Priests,” including Gruesome Meddling, Inspiring Leader, and Ossified Essence. Heavy minion or “zoo Necro” builds have been on the rise this season as a result.
