Choosing the best class in Diablo 4 isn’t as simple as choosing a class you think sounds cool.
Blizzard’s isometric dungeon-crawler features five classes: Barbarian, Necromancer, Sorcerer, Rogue, and Druid. Each class has a unique class mechanic along with a skill tree equipped with a variety of spells. All of their playstyles are different — and compounded by Diablo 4’s complex game of numbers — but which one is the best class for you?
In this Diablo 4 guide, we’ll explain each of the classes to help you decide how to pick the best class. We’ll also tell you the best Diablo 4 class for solo players, and the best class for beginners.
What is the best class for you in Diablo 4?
There are five Diablo 4 classes, and all of them have their own unique playstyle. But before you dive into the game and pick your class, you may be wondering: Which class is the best class in Diablo 4?
You may be surprised to learn that this is an impossible question to answer — at least in such simple terms.
The best class changes season to season. And while Blizzard typically doesn’t make big balance changes during the season itself, it will rebalance classes that are overperforming too much. So it’s best to avoid picking a class for a specific build and instead try and pick based on the class that interests you most. Plus, the power levels between the classes really only start to matter at the highest levels of play, which is something most players will never even get close to.
All that being said, if you do want to know what the current “best class” is and which you should choose, we’ve got some advice for you below.
What is the best class to pick for Diablo 4 season 4?
Based on Blizzard’s very first public test realm for Diablo 4 season 4, Loot Reborn, is debatably the game’s most-balanced season to date. All five classes are looking very good in season 4, so you shouldn’t worry too much about what the “best” class is unless you want to compete with your friends.
However, it’s worth keeping in mind that all of this is based off of the public test realm, which is only representative of the start of the season. These rankings could change over the coming days, weeks, and months.
At a glance, here’s our ranking of the classes, from worst to best, for Diablo 4 season 4.
5. Druid
4. Rogue
3. Barbarian
2. Sorcerer
1. Necromancer
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If you’re looking for additional resources and breakdowns on the best builds, Diablo 4 content creator Raxxanterax has a great video ranking the Diablo 4 classes going into season 4. And while his order varies slightly from ours, he’s got some interesting perspectives from his time on the public test realm that are worth checking out.
Druids
Druids have one of the strongest builds in season 4, with Werewolf Tornado. That’s how even the balance is looking for Loot Reborn, that our “worst” class of the season could be one of the strongest if you get a specific build going. However, Druids are still very slow, which can make them hard to stick with, as they’re pretty rough to play before you get your build going.
Rogues
Rogues are still extremely good in Diablo 4 season 4. However, as always, they take the most effort to play. This is especially true in season 4 when you consider that Necromancers and their partially passive minion build are number one this season. That’s a lot of power for not much effort, which inherently makes something more “high-skilled” like the Rogue fall in value.
Barbarians
Barbarians are always going to be the best or worse class in the game, just by nature of having four weapons equipped at a time. For season 4, Blizzard nerfed not only some of the Barbarian’s best builds from previous seasons, but also the best build from the test realm version of season 4, Double Swing Dust Devils. However, the Dust Devils build still looks very powerful — just not “delete everything on screen and crash your computer” powerful — so Barbs should still be in a great spot.
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Sorcerers
Sorcerers are always low health, high damage characters in Diablo 4, but the new item systems and simpler affixes coming to the game in season 4 should help push them into an even cleaner spot when it comes to mixing defense and offense. Plus they’re getting a new Frozen Orb build in Loot Reborn that looks very fun, and extremely powerful.
Necromancers
Necromancer players have been waiting since Diablo 4 launched to have a good minion build, and season 4 finally has one. Blizzard gave massive buffs to Necromancer minions in season 4, allowing you to run around the battlefield and summon a horde of undead monsters to kill stuff rather than having to do it yourself. This season, Necromancers get the double whammy of a relatively simple build to play paired with a ton of strength, making them the best class in the game.
What is the best class in Diablo 4 for solo players?
The Rogue is likely the best solo class for skilled players looking to bring themselves through the game — even if you’ll eventually have to work harder in the endgame to compete with Barbarians.
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As a Rogue, you’re highly mobile, stealthy, and are able to fight from both range and melee. You’re also the most versatile class with a huge variety of builds. You are easy to kill, which can make your class difficult to master, but once you’re practiced, you can take on an army of monsters by yourself without slowing down.
Of course, like the “which class is best for you” section, there is no right answer. You can play all five classes solo, and there is no support class in Diablo 4, only support builds.
What is the best class in Diablo 4 for beginners?
The easiest class for beginners is either the Necromancer or the Barbarian, and there are pros and cons to each.
The obvious boon for Necromancer players is the army of skeletons you have at your disposal. These minions will attack things alongside you and, depending on your build, they can deal very high damage. As a new player, being able to lean on some AI allies all the time is a huge stress reliever. If you mess up your abilities or aren’t sure how to attack and stay alive, you can just focus on keeping yourself safe while your buddies clean out the dungeon.
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The con here is that Necromancers technically have two resources to manage, as they cast spells using Essence as well as their unique Corpse mechanic. This can make things a bit overwhelming for new players, as Corpses complicate certain skills and can also visually obscure the ground in dungeons.
Barbarians, on the other hand, are just big, smashy folk trying to do their best to rid Sanctuary of demons. The fantasy and (some of) the playstyles for Barbarians are similarly simple. You’re going to spend a lot of time just running up to monsters and punching them in the face until they die. There are no tricks here. You’re not turning yourself invisible or transforming into a bear. You’re taking a big hammer and you’re smashing stuff.
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However, there are two big cons to the Barbarian: one on each end of the play experience. Barbarians are one of the weaker early game classes, and you can die fairly easily when you don’t know what you’re doing. For your suffering, you’ll get to be very powerful in the endgame. But even that comes with a complexity cost, as the reason Barbarians are so strong later in the game is because they are the only class that can wield four weapons at once. This means that you have to find more gear than other classes and you have more powerful Legendary powers to combine together. That’s exciting, but also overwhelming.
The great news about Diablo 4 is all the classes — including Druid, Sorcerer, and Rogue — all have simple builds and complex builds. While Barbarian and Necromancer are probably the easiest for most players, they might not be the best first choice for you.
All Diablo 4 classes summary
Let’s go through the classes in more detail, one by one.
Barbarian
Barbarians in Diablo 4 are fierce warriors who leap into the fray. As a Barb, your main mechanic is the Weapon Arsenal, which allows you to hold four weapons at once. Some of your abilities will require you to have a specific weapon type such as slicing, two-handed, dual-wield, or bludgeoning to use. But for some skills, you can manually switch weapons for different effects. You’ll gain expertise the more you use a certain weapon, which will provide you with buffs like increased critical hit chance or more damage against vulnerable enemies.
Not only are you capable of mastering offensive weapons, Barbarians are meant to be bulky bruisers who can take a hit from any foe. With a plethora of shouts and damage reducing abilities, you’ll be spending a lot of time up close and personal due to your survivability.
Necromancer
The Necromancer is a staple for the Diablo series. As a summoner, you’re able to conjure hordes of undead enemies to do your bidding or sacrifice your minions to empower yourself.
Your unique mechanic is called the Book of the Dead, which allows you to customize your undead army by selecting what type of skeletons you’ll summon (along with a specialization). You can give your pawns more health, increased damage output, or the ability to deal AoE damage. If you don’t want to manage your minions, you can choose to sacrifice either some or all of your minions to gain a permanent buff.
Necromancers have a unique resource that other classes do not have: corpses — which, you guessed it, are left behind when enemies die. You also have Essence, which functions similarly to mana, allowing you to cast your regular abilities, but in order to raise minions, you’ll need a corpse. If you’re going the solo show route, you can also detonate the deceased instead.
Rogue
Rogues are versatile duelists who can specialize in either ranged or close quarters combat. (If you played the Demon Hunter in Diablo 3, this is the most similar class for Diablo 4).
Your unique class mechanic is Specialization, which changes your fundamental abilities and your playstyle. There are three different specializations: Combo Points, Inner Sight, and Preparation.
Combo points will increase the damage output of some of your abilities and change how they function by increasing the number of arrows fired or adding a chance to knock down your opponents. Inner Sight will provide you with unlimited energy for a short amount of time when attacking a marked enemy. Preparation allows you to use your ultimate abilities more frequently after spending a lot of your main resource.
The Rogue is a mobile class that gives you access to stealth, traps, and imbuements, allowing you to take on any kind of content. You’re able to dart in an out of combat with combination of ranged, melee, and stealth attacks.
Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is your typical ranged caster or fantasy mage. By using the powers of fire, lightning, and ice magic, you can obliterate your opponents. Whether you want to spawn fire hydras or spam chain lightning, you’ll easily take down anyone in your path.
Your unique class mechanic is Enchantment, which will provide your abilities with powerful passive effects that — when slotted into your Enchantment slots — will trigger without you needing to put them on your bar or spend mana. For example, you can cast Fireball using mana to shoot a giant flaming blasts at enemies. But you can also place Fireball into one of your Enchantment slots, which will cause all enemies to explode when you kill them.
As a Sorcerer, you’re slightly more frail than the other classes, but you do have a bundle of defensive abilities that can make you (temporarily) unkillable. Encase yourself in ice, surround your body with fire, or simply zip away from danger.
Druid
Druids missed out on Diablo 3, but have been in the Diablo universe since Diablo 2. As a Druid, you’re are shapeshifters who can transform into a savage werebear or a vicious werewolf while also unleashing nature’s wrath to defeat your foes. Your unique class mechanic is the Spirit Animal system, which grants your character a boon such as new passives and stat increases.
Necromancers are not the only summoners in Diablo 4, as you can also call companions to your aid as a Druid. Summon wolves, ravens, and vines to assist you in defeating the demons scattered around Sanctuary. You’ll also be able to bring forth some of nature’s deadliest calamities such as a hurricane to sweep away your enemies.
