I’ve Played Over 80 Hours of Each Diablo 4 Class, and Here’s My Official Ranking

With a total of 7 playable classes now available for Diablo 4 players to use, the game offers a wide variety of playstyles and builds that can be created. I’ve been playing Diablo 4 since day one, participated in nearly every season, and have roughly 80+ hours of playtime on each Diablo 4 class. While the viability of each Diablo 4 class varies greatly from season to season, there are some common recurring themes across the meta. Throughout my time with the game, I’ve seen how these classes have changed over time, and there’s a pretty clear-cut hierarchy that has developed over time.

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7

Druid

Despite having a top-tier build in Diablo 4 Season 10 with the powerful Ravens Companion Druid, the Druid as a whole has been somewhat underwhelming. Leveling the Druid in Diablo 4 can take a while, as the class doesn’t really begin to shine until players reach the endgame and unlock the Paragon Board. Endgame Druid builds can be solid for sure, but reaching that point can be kind of a slog with the class’s low early-game damage output.

Best Druid Builds in Diablo 4

• Companion Druid
• Boulderstorm Druid
• Pulverize Druid

Pulverize Druid builds have remained the most consistently powerful option for the class, with a solid AoE attack that gets even better after the addition of the Rotting Lightbringer Unique. I used an impressive Companion Druid build in Diablo 4 Season 10, which used the Savagery Chaos Perk to make Ravens a Core Skill that could be spammed repeatedly. Even without Chaos Perks, Companion Druids are still solid options, as are Boulderstorm Druids, which saw a heyday in Season 7, but the combo of Hurricane and Boulder is still pretty devastating even in Season 11.

6

Barbarian

Much like the Druid, Barbarians have had some high highs intermixed with mediocrity. One of my favorite Barbarian builds over the seasons has been the Hammer of the Ancients build, but there have been several Barbarian builds that have stayed meta contenders. The Barbarian class is on the upswing again in Season 11, with several fantastic meta options that take advantage of the new Chainscourged Mail Unique. However, the Barbarian has been in this position before and has seen the other end of the spectrum when Overpower Damage was nerfed back in Season 9.

Best Barbarian Builds in Diablo 4

• Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian
• Earthquake Barbarian
• Lunging Strike Barbarian

Lunging Strike Barbarian has been a mainstay of the class’s build options throughout Diablo 4‘s life, and has remained a solid option in almost every season due to ease of use with a high potential ceiling. Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian is the most fun to play, in my opinion, with its massive AoE damage coupled with the Call of the Ancients Ultimate to make for a great screen-clearing build. Earthquake Barbarians, and the LeapQuake variant, have been huge in Diablo 4 Season 11 thanks to Chainscourge Mail, but have been inconsistent in past seasons.

5

Rogue

Rogues have a wide array of tools in Diablo 4 that allow the class to be very versatile from season to season, even if not every build option is in the meta. My major hangup with the Rogue is the number of skills you need to keep in rotation to play the class effectively, making it a tough class for new Diablo 4 players to learn. That said, it has a high skill ceiling and has consistently been one of the better classes season in and season out.

Best Rogue Builds in Diablo 4

• Dance of Knives Rogue
• Twisting Blades Rogue
• Death Trap Rogue

The Rogue is notable for having one of Diablo 4‘s best one-button builds in Dance of Knives, which is probably the most entertaining to play. Other Rogue builds get much more complicated, like the Death Trap build, which requires the player to manage the Rogue’s Trap Skills alongside the class’s Subterfuge skills to support their playstyle. Twisting Blades Rogue dominated the meta in the early seasons of Diablo 4, and remains a solid choice even in Season 11.

4

Sorcerer

Although the class seemed to struggle in the early seasons of Diablo 4, the Sorcerer has quietly become one of the most consistently powerful classes in recent seasons. The Hydra Sorcerer really helped elevate the Sorcerer’s standing after the Ophidian Iris and Serpentine Aspect kicked the build up a notch. However, the main drawback that has kept me from using the Sorcerer more is its glass cannon status, which makes it hard to survive without serious help.

Best Sorcerer Builds in Diablo 4

• Hydra Sorcerer
• Crackling Energy Sorcerer
• Chain Lightning Sorcerer

Hydra Sorcerer has been the go-to build for the past few seasons, since the Ophidian Iris’s debut in Season 9 turned Hydra into a Core Skill with increased damage. Chain Lightning has historically been the best Sorcerer build for Diablo 4, with the Axial Conduit Unique playing a huge role in its success. Most recently, Crackling Energy Sorcerer has gained popularity thanks to the Galvanic Azurite greatly buffing Lightning damage.

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3

Necromancer

My favorite archetype in the Diablo franchise is the Necromancer, with that love really blossoming in Diablo 2. Prior to the release of Diablo 4‘s DLC, I would say that the Necromancer is my favorite Diablo 4 class to play as well. It is another versatile class with fantastic build options for nearly every stage of the game. Minion Necromancer is arguably the best for leveling, while endgame builds like Blood Wave Necromancer and Shadowblight Necromancer have consistently been at the top of the meta.

Best Necromancer Builds in Diablo 4

• Minion Necromancer
• Shadowblight Necromancer
• Blood Wave Necromancer

The Necromancer has a high skill ceiling but a low skill floor, and the Minion Necromancer build is the perfect build for players of all skill levels, since players can let their Skeletal Mages, Warriors, and Golems get kills for them. Once players reach Diablo 4‘s endgame, builds like the Shadowblight and Blood Wave Necromancer come to life. Shadowblight is an insane key passive that allows the class to stack Shadow damage to quickly melt enemies, while Blood Wave Necromancer can become an AoE threat with Kessime’s Legacy Unique Pants.

2

Spiritborn

The first post-launch class for Diablo 4 really made a splash when Vessel of Hatred was first released. Since its release, the Spiritborn has remained atop the Diablo 4 meta with a range of fantastic build options. The Spiritborn is fast, fluid, and powerful, making it extremely fun to play. While I’m partial to the Quill Volley Spiritborn build myself, Evade Spiritborn is even simpler and more powerful. However, all the Spiritborn class’s Spirit Halls have meta build options that have been viable basically since the class was introduced.

Best Spiritborn Builds in Diablo 4

• Evade Spiritborn
• Quill Volley Spiritborn
• Crushing Hand Spiritborn

Since the Evade Spiritborn only really requires the player to hit the Evade button to spam Thunderpike and melt enemies, it has maintained the top option in the class’s kit. However, Quill Volley carried my Vessel of Hatred playthrough and Season 6 endgame push to great effect with the Rod of Kepeleke Unique. Crushing Hand Spiritborn has also climbed its way to being one of the class’s best builds with the Season 10 addition of the Hesha e Kesungi to support the Gorilla Spirit Hall.

1

Paladin

The latest addition to Diablo 4‘s class roster takes the crown as the best class in the game, even with only one season under its belt. Leading up to Season 11, the Paladin was the most requested class from the fan base, and Blizzard really knocked it out of the park with the Paladin’s addition, creating a class that is versatile yet easy and fun to play. Now, this may be some recency bias speaking, but playing the Paladin in Diablo 4 Season 11 has been the most fun I’ve had in the game in a long time.

Best Paladin Builds in Diablo 4

• Aura Paladin
• Shield of Retribution Paladin
• Blessed Hammer Paladin

While things could change in future seasons, the majority of the Paladin’s builds in Diablo 4 Season 11 are viable in the meta. By far the best build the class has to offer is the Auradin build that utilizes the Paladin’s exclusive Aura mechanic to essentially get kills simply by existing. However, there are other great builds if that’s not your cup of tea, like the Shield of Retribution build that I’m running this season, which combines Thorns damage and Blessed Shield, or the Blessed Hammer Paladin that essentially turns the player into Marvel’s Thor.

Released

June 5, 2023

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact