The Lord of Hatred Warlock Build is basically a Demon Meat Grinder

With Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred finally released, fans can now get their hands on the brand new Warlock class. Warlock is already becoming one of the strongest classes of all Diablo 4with access to demon summons, Hellfire skills and arcane sigils to support gameplay. Based on what has been achieved so far, there is a Warlock archetype that is emerging as the most powerful of the class, and it relies on summoning demons and immediately sending them to be slaughtered.

Builds a Warlock Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred looks much different than what players are used to with previous seasons Diablo 4as the game has seen a massive Skill Tree overhaul removing passive elements and adding more nodes for each skill. This change allows players to customize their specific build even more than was previously possible, while also opening the door to a more versatile build meta. Without a previous frame of reference, it can be difficult to know how well this new skill tree will affect Warlock, but all signs initially point to the summoned archetype using Legion Shard and Demonology Skills as the most broken of the class.

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Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred's Skill Tree Update has a clear winner

Diablo 4's reworked Skill Tree is a key part of the Lord of Hatred update, and one class benefits from these changes more than any other.

Summoner Warlock builds are overpowered in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred

A clean call built-in Diablo 4 can be difficult to make useful deep into the endgame, and the Summoner Necromancer and Druid builds have never really excelled in any given season. Warlock seems to be the first chance Diablo 4 players need to build a true summon focused build with endgame clearing potential. With an entire playstyle dedicated to summoning demons to use as weapons, most Diablo 4 Warlock builds will likely revolve around making the most of these summons with Warlock's Skill Tree modifiers and new Uniques.

What kind of weapon is that?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

What kind of weapon is that?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

The best Warlock skills to use on Summoner Warlocks

Command Fallen
Bombardment
Rampage
Sigil of Summons

Command Fallen is one of the Warlock's core skills, but can play a critical role in making this build successful in Diablo 4 Season 13 meta. With this skill, Warlocks can send out summoned Fallen Madmen that run at enemies and explode for 80% damage. With the Damage Per Demon modifier, the Command Fallen deals 1% increased damage for each active demon the Warlock has up to x20%, and the Meat Shields modifier summons one Fallen Lunatic per second based on the Warlock's attack speed. The goal here is to constantly cycle through Demons by spamming Command Fallen as much as possible.

The core skill of choice for this build is Bombardment, which essentially uses demons as projectiles and knocks four of them into the ground for 40% damage each. With the Extra Demon upgrade, the Bombardment's total demon count increases to 5, giving the Warlock more fodder for slaughter as they move through the region of Skovos. Between Command Fallen and Bombardment, players should be able to keep summoning and killing demons all the time, which will ultimately help strengthen their build.

Rampage is an incredibly powerful skill for Warlocks to run on almost any build, but is especially strong for Legion Shard summoner Warlocks. This skill summons a raging brute that deals massive damage over 10 seconds, and with the Demon Masher upgrade, it also smashes the Warlock's own lesser demons to Fortify them.

Sigil of Summons is the final skill required for this build, which extends the duration of the Warlock's Demonology summon while active, and summons an additional demon if 8 enemies or demons are killed during the ritual. Not only does this skill provide even more demons for the Warlock to use with the Feeding Frenzy upgrade that allows the Sigil of Summons to summon a total of 5 demons from the ritual, but extending the time a Rampage demon is active can increase its utility and bonus effects.

Aspect of mockery
Unscrupulous aspect
The fecund seal
Cage of Madness
The Blade of Sight Flame

The two legendary aspects it Diablo 4 Warlocks will want to make sure Aspect of Scorn and Remorseless Aspect are included in this build. Aspect of Scorn kills lesser demons for 6-10% of the Warlock's maximum health in damage when the player loses at least 10% of their maximum health, making it a great way to keep the demon meat grinder constantly active. More important to this build is Remorseless Aspect, which increases the Warlock's damage by 40-60% for 10 seconds when they kill 30 or more demons within 10 seconds. The key here is the fact that this effect is also triggered by the Warlock's own summoned demons being killed, making it critical that Command Fallen and Bombardment constantly kill these summons to keep this damage buff active.

There are also three fantastic Diablo 4 Unique to Warlock that synergizes well with this build: The Fecund Seal and the Cage of Madness. Fecund Seal increases the utility of Sigil of Summons even more by increasing the damage it deals and allowing up to three additional demons to spawn from the ritual. The Cage of Madness has the wild ability to turn the Warlock into a madman for 15 years before exploding, damaging the Command Fallen when dodged. This unique also spawns Mini Lunatics to seek out enemies while the Warlock transforms and increases Command Fallen's damage by 340%.

The final piece of this puzzle is The Blade of Sight Alfame Unique One-Handed Sword, which has the effect of exploding Lesser Demons and dealing 400% of a bombardment effect if the demon has less than 3 seconds left on it. It also increases the base damage when bombing by 100-120%. This unique pairs perfectly with Sigil of Summons, but players will need to time it just right to kill their Lesser Demons with 3 seconds left to take full advantage of the 400% damage it can deal. While this build can be effective for leveling a Warlock in Lord of Hatred, it is even better for tackling Warplans in Diablo 4s playoffs.