Blood Golem Class: Necromancer (Diablo II) Required Level: 18 Skill Tree: Summoning Spells Requires: Clay Golem Active Cost: 25 Mana Summons a golem made of your blood. Damage Type: Physical Synergies: Golem Mastery, Summon Resist, Clay Golem, Iron Golem, Fire Golem Other Stats: Summon; Only one Golem of any type can be active at a time  |
Blood Golem is a Necromancer Skill in Diablo II. It creates a minion that fights and steals life for the Necromancer.
Lore[]
Utilizing a small quantity of his own blood, the Necromancer is able to give life to a creature neither living nor dead, yet formed of human tissue. This homunculus gains nourishment from the fresh blood of its slain enemies, from which it replenishes its strength. Tied to the Necromancer through the mage's own blood, the Blood Golem is able to share this stolen life force with his master. Unfortunately, the link flows both ways, and any damage taken by the Golem is also transmitted to the caster. *Note*
General Information[]
Synergies[]
- Gives synergy to :
- Clay Golem: +5% Life per level
- Iron Golem: +5% Life per level
- Fire Golem: +5% Life per level
- Receives synergy from :
- Golem Mastery
- Summon Resist
- Clay Golem: +20 Attack Rating per level
- Iron Golem: +35 Defense per level (wrong value can be shown; see below)
- Fire Golem: +6% Damage per level
Blood Golem summons a macabre being made of bone and flesh to serve the Necromancer. Like other Golems, it loyally attends its master, pursuing and attacking his enemies in close combat. The gruesome strikes from its skeletal limbs steal life from enemies, converting a portion of its dealt damage into a life bonus that heals both it and its master. Although its damage is relatively limited, especially at higher Difficulties, its sizable life steal percentage affirms its role as a formidable healing unit.
Blood Golems are useful for specialized Necromancers that fight on the front lines unescorted by a regular Skeleton force. Their ability to confer plentiful healing to negate their master's increased exposure to damage is very useful to Poison Dagger Necromancers, whose low physical damage limits the viability of Life Steal items to sustain them on the battlefield. However, the availability of Life Tap to offset this disadvantage, coupled with the otherwise limited utility of Blood Golems in large troops where their master is rarely in jeopardy, makes them less frequently employed than other Golems under the Necromancer's command.
The Blood Golem's life steal is completely based on its own damage, rather than the total amount of its target's hit points. Furthermore, only damage directly dealt by the Golem counts towards its life steal. For example, if it may take advantage of a damage return effect like Thorns or Iron Maiden, any extra damage served by these effects does not grant any bonus life.
The Golem gains 70% of the life it steals while its master gains the remaining 30%. Any excess life that the Golem steals for itself but cannot use is instead passed on to the Necromancer. Similarly, surplus life stolen for the Necromancer that he cannot use overflows to the Golem. Any residual bonus life that neither party can use is wasted.
The Blood Golem can also be summoned with charges of Bloodmoon (level 15) or Death Rune Word (level 22).
Skill Progression[]
Attack Rating: 60
Defense: 120
| Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mana Cost | 25 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 37 | 40 | 43 | 46 | 49 | 52 | 55 |
| Life | 637 | 764 | 891 | 1019 | 1146 | 1274 | 1401 | 1528 | 1656 | 1783 | 1911 |
| Damage | 12-33 | 18-51 | 25-69 | 31-87 | 38-105 | 45-123 | 51-141 | 58-160 | 64-178 | 71-196 | 78-214 |
| Life Leech | 86% | 95% | 102% | 108% | 112% | 116% | 119% | 121% | 124% | 126% | 128% |
| Level | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mana Cost | 58 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 79 | 82 | 97 |
| Life | 2038 | 2165 | 2293 | 2420 | 2548 | 2675 | 2802 | 2930 | 3057 | 3694 |
| Damage | 84-232 | 91-250 | 97-268 | 104-287 | 111-305 | 117-323 | 124-341 | 130-359 | 137-377 | 170-468 |
| Life Leech | 129% | 131% | 132% | 133% | 135% | 135% | 136% | 137% | 137% | 141% |
Known bugs[]
Due to an error in SkillDesc.txt, which has existed since Diablo II and is still present in Diablo II: Resurrected, the value of Defense shown is based on the total Iron Golem skill level instead of the base Iron Golem skill level. However, the actual calculation uses only the base skill level, which means the actual value will be either equal to or lower than the one shown. This affects all Golems receiving the Iron Golem defense bonus.
Trivia[]
- The skill's lore states that "Unfortunately, the link flows both ways, and any damage taken by the Golem is also transmitted to the caster." However, due to game updates, this effect is no longer present. This description has been corrected in Diablo II: Resurrected.
- In early versions of Diablo II, the life link between the Blood Golem and the Necromancer and its life stealing properties could be exploited. For example, enemies cursed with Iron Maiden would have a percentage of their damage reflected back, which would count as damage caused by the Golem, earning life back for both the Golem and the Necromancer. A blow from a heavy melee monster such as a Pit Lord could fill both the Golem and its master's life meters instantly.
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