Best Open-World Games To Play As A Necromancer

As open-world games continue to grow as a genre, players are beginning to see them broaden into a host of sub-genres, from faithfully articulated historical titles like Ghost of Tsushima to the neon flares and dystopic charm of Cyberpunk 2077. As the size and scope of the open-world genre continues to broaden, players are finding more than ever ways to find freedom not just in their exploration of the setting, but in the exploration of their character as well.

The most immersive open-world titles aren’t just the ones that use graphics and mechanics to win players over, but also let them build characters in a way that suits the setting. For many fantasy titles, the presence of necromancy as a magical discipline represents an alluring, confronting means of gaining mastery over life and death.

1 Elden Ring

Mastering Death Sorceries In The Lands Between

Elden Ring is a game known for the colossal amount of variety it affords players building their characters. Almost any avenue of stat specialization, if planned carefully, can lead to some incredibly satisfying (or incredibly overpowered) builds. Part of this design philosophy is how Elden Ring rewards investment in intelligence and faith. Minor investment in these stats will still allow players to synergize their melee builds with incantations and sorceries, while heavier investment leads to the overwhelming power seen in schools of magic like death sorceries.

Between skeletal ash summons and the death sorcery branch of magic, there’s plenty of necromancer material in Elden Ring. Tibia’s summons, explosive ghostflame, or mass of putrescence are all examples of powerful necromantic spells – though players should be prepared to invest heavily in both faith and intelligence to cast these spells at all.

2 Battle Brothers

Necromancy Is Difficult To Achieve, But Very Powerful

Battle Brothers is an exemplar among open-world roguelikes, known for its difficulty but also its immersive nature and an incredibly rewarding combat system that feels tactical and technical without being overwhelming. The iterative and progressive storytelling in this game is a marvel to behold, and players will very quickly find themselves attached to their mercenaries as they gain skills and battle scars in equal measure, exploring a brutal world of beasts and bandits waiting to inflict death around every corner.

The Obsidian Dagger is a rare artifact given to the mercenary company after they complete the quest in a location known as the Witch Hut. This ominous black dagger will raise any humans slain with it back from the dead as Weirdergangers ready to fight for the company. Undead are unaffected by morale in this game, so these shambling brothers will be twice as loyal as those mercenaries with pesky things like “hearts” and “brains”.

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Necromancy Gains Some Well-Deserved Attention

From Daggerfall to Skyrim, players can track an utterly, some might say depressingly, linear decline in magic quality. Morrowind said goodbye to Thaumaturgy. Oblivion said goodbye to levitation. Skyrim said goodbye to Mysticism, custom spell-making, touch spells, and hands-free casting. But, for the first time in the series, Necromancy wasn’t just a skill reserved for enemy cultists hiding away in caverns, but an entire branch of the Conjuration school, complete with Necromancy-specific skills and enchantments.

Forgive the bold statement, but being able to turn slain enemies into shambling, groaning thralls who put their strength to use against their former allies is so delightfully sinister it almost, almost makes up for the lack of spell crafting in Skyrim. For the first time in the series, players can properly join the pantheon of necromancers who have held Tamriel under their sway.

4 Tales of Maj’Eyal

Necromancy Is A Powerful, Dangerous Tool

Tales Of Maj’Eyal

Systems

Released

December 31, 2012

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Developer(s)

TE4

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While the other games on this list so far have let players specialize in the dark arts of a necromancer through classless means, Tales of Maj’Eyal has a bona fide Necromancer class – and it is ridiculously overpowered. TOME is a game known for the variety it offers players through classes, and whether they’re dragon-worshiping knights or faithful sun paladins, there’s always a new playstyle to engage with.

The Tales of Maj’Eyal Necromancer can defy death (literally, their HP bar can go into the negatives) and summon all manner of undead creatures. The game does an excellent job through worldbuilding of making players know how strong – and dangerous – necromancers are.

Necromancers Are Present After Fan Demand

The Necromancer class was added to Elder Scrolls Online with the Elsweyr expansion, mostly due to fan demand. It’s an incredibly thematic, grim class that lets players stitch their comrades back together again with dark magic, or deal sustained damage with skeletal summons and persistent effects.

There are a host of good builds and loadouts for the Necromancer that make them worthwhile to play, especially as a DPS class. Just make sure the spells being cast aren’t happening in public areas, as many regressive, luddite NPCs in major towns see necromancy as a “major desecration of the dead” and will call the guards if the player is spotted using this dark school of magic.

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