The open beta for the highly anticipated action role-playing game Diablo 4 is just around the corner, and there are five classes to choose from. We'll tell you everything you need to know in our class guide.
The beta is just around the corner: Starting today, all pre-order customers will be able to spend their first hours in Diablo 4. Not all classes will be available for the first weekend, but all classes will be available to try by next week. To help you decide which class you want to play or try out in the beta, we have provided an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each class. So if you are not sure which class you want to play, read on!
In the following overview, we want to give you as much information as possible to help you decide which class to play in Diablo 4. Since each class plays differently and has different strengths and weaknesses, it's best to learn about the abilities of your favorite class beforehand.
While the Barbarian is known for his brutal melee combat, and the Sorceress, as in most games, is not very durable, but does massive damage with her magic. Classes like the Druid or the Rogue are not quite as self-explanatory. Even though the classes available in Diablo 4 can be found in other games, they all offer a little something different that you might not expect.
| ATTENTION: This guide does not yet contain all classes from Diablo 4. The Necromancer and the Druid will be added in the course of the next week. |
We'll start with perhaps the most iconic class in Diablo, the Barbarian. As a Barbarian, you rely on brute force and a lot of health. The bigger the weapon, the higher the damage. If you choose a Barbarian, you'll always be on the front lines, taking most of the damage. He has great attacking abilities, but can also keep himself alive for a long time with buffs.
Especially for beginners, the Barbarian brings a very nice set of damage and survival skills. He also has some options to increase his movement speed, making him a good choice for faster players as well. The Whirlwind Barbarian, already known from Diablo 3, is probably an option to play the melee fighter again in Diablo 4. At least the Whirlwind ability is among his available attacks.
Among the attributes, Strength is of course the most important. Each point of Strength gives you x0.1% skill damage. The second attribute you should try to increase is Willpower, as each point of Willpower increases the speed at which your class resource, in the case of the Barbarian, Rage, builds up by x0.1%. Don't neglect Agility either, as it increases your critical strike chance.
The Arsenal class mechanic allows the Barbarian to equip a total of four different weapons and assign them to their active abilities. This allows the Barbarian to always use the best weapon for the ability. For example, if you want to increase the stun duration of your Bash ability, a large two-handed mace is a good choice. However, you could also use a one-handed axe that might be more useful for another ability.
The different weapon categories also give you their own specific bonuses and level up with use. For example, two one-handed swords give you up to a 20% chance to gain an additional 10 rage per strike. At level 10, you will unlock another special bonus for that weapon type. When using a two-handed sword, you will deal x30% more Bleeding damage after killing an enemy.
| Conclusion: The Barbarian is a good choice for newcomers as well as veterans. Even as a veteran, there are enough new things to discover thanks to the new class mechanics. |
The Sorceress is another well known class. Unlike the Barbarian, she was even present in the first installment of the Action RPG series. With a variety of magical attacks, she can freeze, burn, or stun enemies with lightning. If you are looking for a class that can defeat large hordes of enemies in a short amount of time, you should take a closer look at the Sorceress.
Since the Sorceress can withstand much less than, say, the Barbarian, it's even more important to know your opponent's abilities. In addition, you should always try to position yourself as well as possible. As in previous Diablo games, the Sorceress will have the ability to teleport, which made her the most effective farming class in Diablo 2. Perhaps she will make a comeback in this role in Diablo 4.
In terms of attributes, the Sorceress relies heavily on Intelligence, as a high Intelligence also increases her damage from abilities. Each point of Intellect gives her x0.1% ability damage. Next on the list is Agility, which increases the speed at which the Sorceress recovers mana. Willpower also helps with the above, giving you faster mana regeneration and a higher critical chance.
In Diablo 4, the Sorceress' Enchanting class mechanic allows her to buff certain abilities. This allows you to customize your build even more and, for example, patch defensive weaknesses with specific enchantments in each slot. With the exception of her ultimate abilities, all of the Sorceress' spells can be enchanted.
For example, the Hydra mentioned above can be enchanted with one of the abilities so that whenever a burning foe dies, a Hydra head spawns and deals damage for three seconds. Enchanting your base ability with Arc Lash gives you a 20% chance to stun attackers for 20 seconds when they hit you.
| Conclusion: The Sorceress is a class that deals a lot of damage but can only take a little. Especially in groups she can use her full damage potential. As a solo player and beginner, however, it is not necessarily the easiest and best class. |
The Rogue is a class that was very popular in the second part of the series and is returning in Diablo 4. With the Slayer, you can choose between melee and ranged combat, so you have a mix of the classic hunter and some kind of rogue. Also, the combo mechanic that the hunter gets in Diablo 4 seems to play a bit like the rogue from another popular Blizzard game. She can enhance her weapons with poisons or shadow magic.
The Rogue has abilities that allow her to quickly jump between enemies or even emerge from the shadows behind them. This makes her a difficult target to hit, and she can skillfully avoid most damage. In addition, the Slayer's high critical strike chance and powerful abilities allow her to deal a lot of damage quickly. You'll also want to take good care of your abilities, because if you don't use your combo points efficiently, you'll quickly be overrun by your opponents.
When it comes to attributes, the Rogue's Agility is obviously first and foremost. Higher Agility increases your ability damage and your chance to dodge. Your second attribute should be Strength, as the higher your Strength, the faster your Energy will regenerate. Intelligence increases your chance of critical hits, so you don't want to come up empty-handed here either.
The class mechanic specialization allows the rogue to adapt to different situations. She has three different specializations, two of which are currently known. She can switch between them at any time, even during combat. With the Combo Point specialization, each Combo Point she has will boost certain abilities. So one of her core abilities will do +60% damage and shoot twice as many arrows as without Combo Points.
With the Inner Sight specialization, she can mark an opponent. This gives them a resource bar that fills up with attacks. Once the bar is full, the Hunter receives a buff that allows her to use abilities for 10-20 seconds without losing Energy. Combined with short cooldowns, this results in high damage potential against single targets or bosses. The third specialization is called "Preparation", what it does is currently unknown.
| Conclusion: The Rogue is not necessarily the most beginner-friendly class, but with a little practice it is possible to play a very varied and strong class with which you will probably never get bored. |
One of the most popular classes since Diablo 2 is the Necromancer. In Diablo 3 he was added via DLC and in Diablo 4 he is available right at the beginning. In addition to the necromancer's typical summoning of skeletons, the necromancer in Diablo 4 also relies on blood and bone magic. In Diablo 4, you even have the option to permanently dispense with your companions and thus receive strong buffs.
As a necromancer, you have many different ways to play. You can fully concentrate on your companions and use and strengthen strong skeleton warriors and skeleton mages as well as a golem while you sit back and watch them defeat your enemies. Another option is blood magic, which allows you to restore a lot of life and makes the necromancer look a bit like a vampire. There are also many other builds that we will present to you in future articles.
With the Necromancer, you naturally focus on intelligence and willpower to do a lot of damage with your spells and always have enough resources available. But because the Necromancer is so versatile, there are also some builds where you should rather focus on items with increased companion damage or thorns. That's why we can't give you an exact instruction in this short overview which attributes are "always" the most important for you.
The class mechanic of the necromancer is called "Book of the Dead", with which you can adapt your summoned companions to your build and play style at any time. On your way to the maximum level, you regularly unlock further variants of your skeleton warriors, skeleton mages and golems. These different variants each have two different "abilities" from which you can choose. Depending on what you choose, you can, for example, summon more skeleton warriors or your skeleton mages freeze enemies with spells.
You unlock your golem at level 15 through a short class quest. He is your strongest companion and comes in three different variants, like all your companions. Should you decide to do without all your companions, you can receive strong buffs. These can even be strengthened by some passive abilities in your ability tree. This means you can also become a magical melee fighter who defeats his opponents with blood magic and curses without a companion.
| Conclusion:The necromancer is a class that offers an easy start, especially at the beginning, because the companions do a lot for you. Due to its many possibilities, you can adapt it to your strengths and weaknesses as well as your play style. |
Known from Diablo 2, the druid is also found in Diablo 4. With his shapeshifting into werewolf and werebear and his earth and storm magic, he offers a unique gameplay experience. As a werebear, the druid is more of a tank with lots of life and damage reduction mechanics. While the Werewolf form is more designed for direct damage and damage over time. Since the druid does not have to maintain a form permanently, as in World of Warcraft for example, you can also combine attacks of the two forms.
The two types of magic the druid can use make him either a melee fighter with enchanted weapons and storms to accompany him in battle, or a spellcasting warrior who relies on earth magic. If you choose earth magic, you can impale enemies with earth spikes or crush them between two earthen pillars. Additionally, you can protect yourself from incoming damage with earth shields.
When it comes to the druid's attributes, you should focus strongly on willpower, as this increases your ability damage as well as your incoming healing. The latter scales especially with the abilities as a werewolf, as you benefit from high self-healing. Which attribute you prioritise second is somewhat up to you, but you can't go wrong with Intelligence as it increases your resource generation and resistances. Strength increases your armour and Dexterity your critical hit chance as well as the druid's dodge chance.
The class mechanics of the druid revolve around ghostly animal companions, these do not serve the druid directly in battle, but support him with many buffs. In total, as a druid you can choose up to four companions, all of which give you different buffs. While defeating enemies, you can get offerings for your animal companions, which you can then sacrifice for enhanced effects.
In total, there are four different types of animal companions and each of these types has a total of four different buffs. Available animals are the stag, the eagle, the snake and the wolf. Depending on which abilities you choose for the individual animals, you will receive the following bonuses, for example:
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