Command the dead to serve your will-learn how to call forth a golem as a Necromancer in Diablo 4, harnessing bone, blood, or shadow to shape a relentless guardian that fights until nothing remains standing.
All classes in Diablo 4 are special, but there’s only one where you can stomp around the world with an army of skeletons in your wake: the Necromancer. This class uses the unique “Book of the Dead” mechanic to help you summon all manner of creatures, including the Golem, which is the Necromancer’s ultimate minion. But – similarly to the Barbarian’s complex weapon swapping system – summoning a golem is actually a little more complicated than you’d think, as it works differently than other skills.
In this Diablo 4 guide, we’re going to teach you how to unlock your golem and how to summon a golem onto the battlefield.
How to unlock your golem
To summon your golem, progress through the Necromancer’s class quest “Call of the Underworld,” which becomes available after reaching level 25. Completing this task grants access to the Golem ability slot in your skill menu. From there, assign your chosen golem type-Bone, Blood, or Iron-to the skill bar. Each variant offers distinct strengths, allowing you to tailor your minion to your preferred combat strategy.
When you first start out as the Necromancer, you’ll have an extra ability on your bar, which will let you summon skeletons to fight alongside you. You can customize these minions via the Book of the Dead menu. In the Book of the Dead, however, you’ll notice that you can also, eventually, summon a golem to fight at your side.
In order to unlock the golem, you must first hit level 25 on your Necromancer. If you aren’t quite there yet, continue leveling up and then come back to this guide. Once you ding 25, you’ll get a quest called “Call of the Underworld.” Complete this short mission to unlock the golem summon in your Book of the Dead.
How to summon your golem
To summon your golem, first make sure you’ve unlocked the Golem skill after completing the Necromancer’s “Call of the Underworld” quest. Open your skill menu and assign the Golem ability to your action bar. You can choose between different golem types-Bone, Blood, or Iron-each offering unique abilities and advantages in combat. Once equipped, press the assigned button to raise your golem from the ground, ready to fight by your side and draw enemy attention while you cast your dark spells.
In order to actually summon the golem, you must put the Golem ability on your ability bar. Go to your skill tree and hit the “skill assignment” button to open up that menu. At the bottom of your unlocked skills, you’ll see the Necromancer’s unique summon abilities.
Once you place the Golem ability on your bar, you’ll see the big guy pop up right next to your character. If you then remove the ability from the bar, the golem will die.
Best Golem upgrades and builds for Necromancer
In Diablo 4’s Season 11 (Patch 2.5+), the Golem shines in Necromancer builds with the Gravebloom unique mace, enabling up to three Golems for massive AoE damage and pit/tower pushing. Blood Golem is the top pick for its healing orb and active nuke after buffs, outperforming Iron (faster attacks for farming) or Bone in raw scaling.
Best Upgrades
Blood Golem upgrades prioritize survivability and output:
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Sacrifice: Unlocks Golem Mastery for +damage per level (core for all builds).
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Healthy: Boosts max life and healing output via orbs.
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Robust: Adds armor and thorns for tankiness.
Key aspects include Aspect of Fel Gluttony (damage amp on active) and Unyielding Commander’s (minion buffs). Temper for cooldown reduction (CDR), attack speed, and Golem size/health.
Top Builds
Pure Golem (Mobalytics) focuses on triple Blood Golems:
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Skills: Golem (hold for buffs), Soulrift (CDR/vuln), Corpse Tendrils (pull), Bone Prison (debuff/CDR), Reap (speed).
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Gear: Gravebloom, Blood Moon Breeches (crit/Mastery), Heir of Perdition (damage/MS), Ring of Mendeln (AoE farming swap), Fists of Fate.
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Consumables: Elixir of Attack Speed II, Sage’s Whisper incense (damage).
Mekuna’s variant adds Paragon farming for T1-T4 Torment:
| Slot | Priority Stats | Key Unique/Aspect |
|---|---|---|
| Helm | CDR, Crit | Wat’s (endgame swap) |
| Chest | Armor, Life | Blood Moon Breeches |
| Weapon | +Golem Ranks | Gravebloom |
| Ring | Attack Speed | Ring of Mendeln |
These excel in Helltides/Pits over minion spam, scaling via Masterworking (prioritize +50% on Golem Mastery/CDR).
Which Golem types scale best into endgame
Blood Golem scales best into Diablo 4 endgame for Necromancer builds, particularly in Season 11 with Gravebloom enabling triple summons for superior AoE clear and survivability.
Top Scaling Types
Blood Golem excels due to its healing orbs, active nuke ability, and synergy with Mastery upgrades, outperforming others in high-tier pits and raids. Iron Golem offers faster attacks for speed farming but lacks Blood’s raw damage and sustain scaling. Bone Golem prioritizes tankiness via thorns but falls behind in pure output.
Endgame Comparison
| Golem Type | Strengths | Scaling Priority | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood | Healing, AoE nuke, Mastery amp | +Ranks, CDR, Life | Pits, Bosses |
| Iron | Attack speed, Corpse utility | Attack Speed, Size | Helltides, Farming |
| Bone | Thorns, Armor | Robust upgrades | Tanking swaps |
Upgrades like Sacrifice (all types) and Healthy/Robust (Blood) push Blood furthest via gear like Blood Moon Breeches and Fel Gluttony Aspect.
