The upcoming Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred expansion is delivering significant quality-of-life and gameplay upgrades for two of the most popular classes, giving Necromancers and Druids far more flexibility and power in their summoner playstyles. With the expansion launching on April 27, 2026 (April 28 in some regions), players will be able to experiment with these changes from the very start of the new campaign.
Blizzard has focused on making the classes feel more customizable and less restrictive, addressing long-standing player feedback about form-locking for Druids and rigid minion management for Necromancers. These changes tie directly into the new skill trees and loot systems introduced in Lord of Hatred, allowing both classes to fully capitalize on the expansion’s deeper customization options.
Druid Skill Tree Rework – Freedom from Form Locking
Druids no longer have skills strictly tied to specific shapeshifting forms. Instead, players can now freely select which form (human, bear, or wolf) they want a skill to transform them into directly in the skill tree — at no extra cost. This opens up entirely new build possibilities:
- Storm and earth skills can now be used in human form for players who prefer a more traditional caster playstyle.
- It makes items that grant bonuses for staying in a single form significantly more viable and interesting.
- Players who dislike being locked into bear form for extended periods can now mix and match abilities without sacrificing power.
This change represents one of the biggest quality-of-life improvements for the class and should make Druid builds feel far more personalized and fun to play.
Necromancer Summoner Overhaul – Command Up to 28 Skeletons
Necromancers are arguably the biggest beneficiaries of the expansion. The class has been reimagined as a true undead general capable of commanding massive armies. Key improvements include:
- Up to 28 skeletons can be active at once with the right gear and skill investments which is a massive increase in minion count.
- Direct control over skeletons, allowing players to command them to focus specific targets rather than relying solely on passive AI.
- Minions now live directly in the skill tree, making them easier to manage and customize.
- Skeletal mages are summoned using the Necromancer’s essence resource.
- Skeletal warriors spawn passively when nearby monster corpses are present.
- Golems remain available in the skill tree for players who prefer a single powerful tank companion.
The Book of the Dead mechanic is still present, allowing players to sacrifice minions for powerful permanent stat bonuses, but it no longer prevents summoning weaker versions of those minions in combat. This gives summoner builds more flexibility you can sacrifice for bonuses while still using minions as disposable tanks or to trigger specific gear effects.
These changes should make Necromancer summoner builds far less frustrating during tough boss fights (where minions often get wiped out) and open the door to creative, high-minion-count strategies that were previously impossible.
While Druids and Necromancers received the most dramatic overhauls, every class in Lord of Hatred benefits from new skill variants and upgrades in their respective skill trees. However, the unique mechanics of Druids (shapeshifting) and Necromancers (minions) required more extensive changes to fully integrate with the expansion’s new systems and loot philosophy.
The goal, according to Blizzard, was to ensure every class can take full advantage of the deeper customization, crafting, and loot improvements coming in Lord of Hatred without feeling held back by outdated or restrictive mechanics.
All of these changes will be available immediately when the expansion launches on April 27/28. Players who jump into the new campaign will be able to respec and experiment with the updated skill trees right away.
The expansion also introduces new story content centered around Mephisto’s return and the corruption of Skovos, giving players fresh narrative reasons to dive back into Sanctuary while testing these reworked classes.
For summoner enthusiasts, Lord of Hatred looks like it will finally deliver the fantasy many have been waiting for whether that means commanding a massive skeletal army as a Necromancer or freely mixing human, bear, and wolf forms as a Druid without compromise.
With the launch now just days away, the excitement around these class changes is palpable. If you’ve been waiting for a reason to dust off your Necromancer or try a new Druid build, April 27 could be the perfect time to return to Diablo 4.