Most Necromancers in Diablo 4 have likely tried out the Corpse Explosion ability, because the allure of creating countless explosions can be hard to resist. The prevalence of Blighted Corpse Explosion also makes this a common sight in builds, and that ability can get even better with the Howl From Below Unique.
This set of Unique gauntlets vastly benefits Corpse Explosion, and it also brings a few special benefits to boot. You can pair this Unique with the Black River one-handed scythe for more firepower, but Howl From Below is powerful and unique enough that you’ll likely want to add it to your build. Here’s what Howl From Below does, its effects, and how to best slot it in a build.
What does Howl From Below do in Diablo 4?
The key to Howl From Below is its effect to boost Corpse Explosion’s damage. Most of its affixes aren’t that great in general, and since it’s a Unique drop, you can’t really change them or extract an Aspect from it. That said, its core effect may be more than enough to slot it into a build.
Here’s what our roll of Howl From Below came with, though your mileage may vary depending on upgrades, item level, and RNG.
- + Lucky Hit chance (5.4 to 11 percent)
- + Corpse skill attack speed (10.5 to 17.5 percent)
- Lucky Hit: Chance to inflict Stun (7 to 14 percent)
- Lucky Hit: Chance to inflict Fear (9.5 to 16.5 percent)
- Unique Effect: Instead of detonating immediately, Corpse Explosion summons a volatile skeleton that charges at a random enemy and explodes. Corpse Explosion’s damage is increased by (30 to 40) percent.
Howl From Below’s unique effect can drastically improve your Corpse Explosions. The flat damage buff is, of course, the biggest benefit of it, but having the volatile skeleton chase enemies also vastly improves the range for this ability. This means you can be in an area filled with Corpses and still hit distant enemies.
Related: How to get the Aspect of Grasping Veins in Diablo 4
There is a degree of RNG involved, though, and that’s without mentioning the random drop chance for this Unique. The skeletons it summons may not always go where you want them to, but that’s a minor inconvenience compared to the firepower and the flair this effect brings (after all, one of the coolest Necromancer abilities gets even more impressive when using this Unique).
How to get Howl From Below in Diablo 4
Howl From Below drops by killing enemies randomly, opening chests, and wrapping up activities once you’re in World Tier three or higher. We’ve obtained this in World Tier three as a random drop from enemies, and we’ve also gotten an Ancestral version of it in World Tier four upon wrapping up a level 40+ Nightmare dungeon.
This seems to be the standard procedure for most Unique items in Diablo 4: we’ve found a Temerity as a random drop from a mob, but we’ve also gotten a Penitent Greaves as an end-of-activity reward from Nightmare dungeons and our first Howl From Below dropped from the chest at the end of a cellar. We don’t really recommend farming cellars for Uniques, but it goes to show most Uniques can drop everywhere.
Best builds for Howl From Below in Diablo 4
Howl From Below doesn’t really need any specific builds. The only requirement for it is to use Corpse Explosion, which isn’t terribly hard to do. We’ve tinkered with all sorts of Necromancer builds—from Bone Spear to Blood Surge, with Sever and Minions in between—and we’ve always found room in our bar for Corpse Explosion, so Howl From Below is pretty seamless to slot into a build. The only caveats are: you’ll miss a potential slot for an Aspect, and you’ll also have to ditch some Affixes that drop on gauntlets, such as increased crit damage, increased crit damage with Bone skills, ranks of Bone Spear or Blood Surge, and even a Lucky Hit mechanic to restore your Essence. Even the best Necromancer builds may use Corpse Explosion, though using Howl From Below can depend heavily on player preference.
Related: How to get the Aspect of Exposed Flesh in Diablo 4
Howl from Below also works with both versions of Corpse Explosion. If you’re using Blighted Corpse Explosion, for instance, the volatile skeleton you summon will chase an enemy and create a pool of Blight where it lands. This opens up quick room for it on Shadow builds.
Corpse Explosion also synergizes well with Fueled by Death (increased damage after consuming a Corpse) and Grim Harvest (consuming a Corpse grants you a small amount of Essence), with Hewed Flesh potentially serving as a good way to create more Corpses. For Paragon boards, aim for whatever class-specific ones you’re using and dip into Flesh-Eater (increased damage after consuming five Corpses) and Scent of Death (damage reduction while near two or more corpses, increased damage while there are no Corpses nearby).
If you’ve gotten lucky enough to get two Uniques to drop, you can also pair it with the Black River scythe, which consumes more Corpses to create a bigger, higher-damaging Corpse Explosion.
