INTERVIEW – Skulm The Number 1 Diablo IV Necro Shares His Thoughts on The Game and Gaming – Part 1

He’s a lawyer by day and Necromancer by night, constantly tinkering with new builds. The world of Sanctuary in Diablo IV knows him as Skulm, arguably the best Necro player in the game. He’s an early Diablo alumni who spent days chasing the King’s Sword of Haste, enjoyed PvP battles and ladder races in Diablo II, doesn’t want to talk about Diablo III and Diablo Immortal, and feels like Diablo IV is on the right track to become much better – but not in the immediate future.

Stay a while, and listen. Here’s our interview with Skulm where we talked about Diablo IV and its future, the early days of his YouTube channel, the gaming industry and its consumers, and what he thinks needs to happen for players to be happy, and studios to make money.

What was the first Diablo game that you played and what made you continue?

I played the Warrior class in the first Diablo and I just fell in love with the game. The sense of gaining power, progression and it was also a bit enigmatic. There were some secret monsters you would discover, not every run was the same and the increasing difficulty and new items got me hooked.

You must have been very young when you started playing Diablo. How did you first hear about it?

Since I was a little kid, I watched my father and my mother play video games. My father had bought Diablo 1 and he installed it on my PC. I had my first Diablo experience thanks to my father. I also remember both my father and my little brother watching me when I first started playing the game. I was only 9 years old and it was a unique experience to say the least.

So how many times do you think you ran back and forth between the dungeon and Wirt the Peg-Legged to get the King’s Sword of Haste?

I actually used Griswold for the King’s Sword of Haste (laughs). King’s Sword of Haste was extremely hard to get. We’re talking days and each day I spent like nine to 10 hours. It was a lot. I lost count pretty much. It was in hell difficulty and my character was level I think 32 or 33 at that time.

So how would you describe the evolution of Diablo?

In a brutally honest sense, I think it started fantastic. It had a really dark and gothic vibe with the environment and character design, the game systems, they all supported player choice back in Diablo 1 and Diablo 2. We would assign stat points manually to our characters. We could go heavy, full in vitality or strength or dexterity. Those things were kind of taken away slowly with time, especially during Diablo 3 and Diablo IV because maybe players felt overwhelmed because there were many player agency requirements – and people didn’t want to make mistakes. In Diablo 3 and Diablo IV, they started to hold your hand more. They started to assist players more and players’ choices were taken away and things started to get more automated and everything just started to become more consumer friendly. 

When Diablo Immortal was announced at BlizzCon in 2018 instead of Diablo IV, how disappointed were you?

I think Diablo Immortal was one of the worst decisions that could ever be made. Especially when there was no sign of Diablo IV. They just jumped in and announced Diablo Immortal. That could have been handled so much better. If they would’ve just said, ‘hey, you know what, guys, we’re working on Diablo IV, it’s gonna be on PC, but we still need time. In the meanwhile, we have a different project for mobile phones – Diablo Immortal, you know, like a side dish.’ Also, in my mind I was thinking “who in their right frame of mind wants to play Diablo on a mobile phone?

What are your thoughts on the current monetization system in Diablo IV?

I think it’s a very healthy place because it’s cosmetics only right now. Like you cannot get any type of power with it. So I think it’s super healthy. We do not pay any monthly subscription. We just buy the product and once we buy the product, it literally comes with its own seasons free of charge, no extra payment, no nothing. And I think that’s a really, really healthy system because if you look at, for example, many games, they have season passes where you have to pay to join a season or World of Warcraft has monthly subscription or yearly subscription, but you pay a subscription. However, I do have a criticism, I think, for the cosmetics.

Yeah? What’s wrong with them?

They are really great, but at the same time I think the in-game cosmetics you can obtain for free, I think they have to be better. I think they have to rival those that are being sold in the shop.The shop shouldn’t be the only option to obtain a cosmetic, if you know what I mean.

We all know that Blizzard said that they basically split the development of seasons into two teams – odd and even – and so far the odd team seems to be producing the worst content according to the community. What are your thoughts on this and which is your favorite season so far?

Personally, I think Season 5 was the best for three reasons. You had the Gauntlet which was the competitive endgame content with a leaderboard, you had the pits, which is another type of high end game content. And then you had the Infernal Hordes, which just arrived. And it was amazing because each of those end game contents had their own challenges. The gauntlet was purely about speed running, the pit was purely about dealing as much damage as possible, and Infernal Hordes was basically about surviving.

In Season 2, you were the only Necro player, as far as I can tell, in the world that actually reached high levels in the seasonal endgame content, the Abattoir of Zir…

Yes. There was another Necromancer as well from South America, Aldra Manshee, I think he and I were the only Necromancers in the world who managed to clear Abattoir of Zir Tier 25. Necromancer didn’t have a lot of damage reduction. So it was suffering heavily from lack of defense. And also the lack of damage was extremely visible as well. It was actually a super bad experience, if you ask me. I do not want to remember those times because Necromancer players were getting shafted and a lot of Necro players quit the game.

So what are your thoughts on Season 7 in Diablo IV now that it’s kind of over (ends April 29, 2025)?

For Season 7, well, that’s a really good question. I think Season 7 was a step in the right direction. Of course, the class balance was a bit lacking. But if we look at the pit leaderboards right now (unofficial), yes, Necromancer is super powerful and everything. But most of the classes were able to complete pit 150. Like, you didn’t have to be a Necromancer to actually complete pit 150. You could actually do it with a barb or with a sorcerer, you know? This is a good thing.

How do you feel about the Necro getting all this love now from Blizzard?

It’s actually making me happy to see that Necromancer is now a viable, super strong class. Because it was about time, if you know what I mean. Like, we suffered a lot during the Abattoir of Zir. It was actually insane. So it actually makes me happy to see that Necromancer is not being left behind, but at the same time, I am supporting class balance. I think each class should have its own identity and each class should have different types of strengths. Like Necromancer for example could be the boss killer, whereas a Barbarian or a Druid could be like the AOE, mob clear type of build. But it’s up to Blizzard to actually balance it. Season 7 was granting a lot of power to players just like Season 2 did.

What about next season? Blizzard has already said that the pits will be harder to clear.

A lot of people are saying pit 150 should be aspirational. People should not be able to reach it. I disagree with them. If I’m paying money for a game, I should be able to access all of its content. Especially when there is a title and an achievement that is tied to it. Like, money to get a product and not being able to reach its full capacity is… It doesn’t sit well with me, personally. So, I think this is a journey that Blizzard should dynamically change.

Did you try the PTR for Season 8? What are your predictions?

Yes, I did play a lot of builds in PTR. Shadow Blood Wave definitely is the S tier build right now, not S+. In Season 7 it was S+, but with the nerfs it’s dropped to S tier. It’s still super strong, closely followed by Bloodspear. But I personally think Shadow Blood Wave is going to be easier to play and it’s going to be the best Necromancer build.

So, season eight, what do you think about the new boss powers? Are we going in the right direction?

Honestly, I don’t want to sound super negative or be seen as a doom-caller but I think this is going to be one of the worst seasons of Diablo. Season 8 is going to be one of the worst seasons of Diablo IV. I predict that Season 8 is going to retain players at the beginning of the season with the Berserk IP collaboration, new boss powers to try out, but it’s going to actually fizzle out. It’s going to be an ephemeral season. It’s going to have a short lifespan because it’s going to get boring really fast.

Editor’s Note: The interview with Skulm lasted for almost 90 minutes so for the sake of space it will be presented in parts. Part 2 will be published on April 29, 2025.