The Necromancer class in "Diablo 4" fails the only test it needs to pass in games featuring the Necromancer class: minions in Diablo 4 are weaker than the free spider pets you get in season 3. It is so much better to not summon minions that you can learn all the minion-based skills and do more damage.

That may change with next Tuesday's mid-season patch for Diablo 4. All Necromancer skeletons will have increased damage and health, and complementary skills like Corpse Explosion will be buffed; Blizzard said in yesterday's stream that these changes are the first step toward a major minion overhaul that will be implemented in Season 4.

Season 3 highlighted problems with the necromancer compared to the other four classes, and the new patch notes seem aimed at addressing them head on. Aside from the lack of good minions, necromancers had no way to increase their movement speed outside of gear, which is essential to efficiently clear dungeons.

Next week, their passive skill Death Approach (formerly Death Reach) will be boosted, increasing their movement speed by up to 12%.

There are so many buffs listed in the patch notes that it will take players a few days to figure them out. But for me the most notable are:

I haven't done the math yet, but I'm sure someone else will, but some necromancer builds should see improved damage, better skill selection, and smoother rotations. Even if Barbarians and Rogues continue to dominate the game in terms of speed, Necromancers won't be far behind.

The gauntlet will be the true test. It will drop the same day as the patch and offer endgame players a fixed weekly dungeon with a scoring system and leaderboards; Blizzard has designed it to be accessible to more casual players as well, with a set number of times each week, regardless of ranking to complete the dungeon will earn a cache of Legendary items. It is hopeful that necromancers will claim the best scores, but with the help of the patch, the gap between them and other classes may be narrower than expected.