Diablo 4 will feature five playable classes during Open Beta: Barbarian, Necromancer, Sorcerer, Rogue, and Druid. Each class – all of which will be available for the game’s launch in early June – has a unique class mechanic and skill tree equipped with a variety of spells. All of their playstyles are different, but which one is right for you? Read on to learn about all the classes that Diablo 4 has to offer and see which class suits you best.
Barbarian
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Barbarians inside Diablo 4 are fierce warriors who leap into battle. Their main mechanic is the Weapon Arsenal, allowing them to hold four weapons at once. Some of their abilities require you to have a specific weapon type such as slashing, ambidextrous, double wielding, or bludgeoning to use. The more you use a given weapon, the more you gain expertise, giving you buffs such as a higher chance of critical hits or more damage to vulnerable enemies.
Not only are they capable of mastering offensive weapons, but barbarians are also meant to be hefty powerhouses that can hit any enemy. With an abundance of screaming and damage reduction abilities, these warriors like to get up close and personal for their survivability.
Ghost charmer
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The Necromancer is new to the open beta (it was unplayable during the first weekend), but a staple of the series. These summoners will summon hordes of undead enemies to do their bidding or sacrifice their minions to strengthen themselves.
Their unique mechanic is called the Book of the Dead which allows you to customize your undead army by selecting what you summon and their specializations. You can give your pawns more health, more damage, or the ability to deal AoE damage. If you don’t want to manage your minions, you can choose to sacrifice some or all of your minions to get a permanent buff.
Necromancers have a unique resource that other classes don’t: corpses. They have Essence, which works similarly to mana, allowing you to cast your normal abilities, but to raise followers you need a corpse. If you go the one-man show route, you can also detonate the deceased instead.
Villain
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Rogues are versatile duelists that can specialize in ranged or close range combat. Their unique class mechanic is specialization, which changes your fundamental skills and your style of play. There are three different specializations: Combo Points, Inner sightAnd Preparation.
Combo points increase the damage of some of your skills and change the way they work by increasing the number of arrows fired or adding a chance to take down your opponents. Inner Sight gives you unlimited energy for a short time when you attack a marked enemy. Preparation is unfortunately not available in the beta, but can be unlocked at level 30. (The Diablo 4 beta caps characters at level 25.)
The Rogue is a mobile class that has access to stealth, traps, and inbuements that allow them to take on any kind of content. They’ll be out of combat with their access to ranged and melee abilities and stabbing you in the back before you know it.
Wizard
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The Sorcerer is your typical ranged caster or fantasy mage. By using the powers of firework, lightningAnd ice Magic, a wizard can destroy his opponents. Whether you want to spawn fire hydras or chain lightning, sorcerers will easily take out anyone in their path.
Their unique class mechanic is the Enchantment, which will equip your skills with powerful passive effects that cast on themselves. There are three enchantment slots, one for a skill of each element. When you use an ability of a certain element, there is a chance that the passive ability will be activated. For example, if you use a fire skill or an enemy takes burning damage, there is a chance that your enchanted fire skill will activate on its own.
Sorcerers are slightly more vulnerable than the other classes, but they have a bundle of defensive abilities that make them unkillable. Encase yourself in ice, surround your body in fire, or simply zip away from danger. The Sorcerer was the king/queen of the early access beta, and will continue to be a demonic powerhouse.
Druid
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Druids are new to the open beta, but are in the Diablo universe for quite some time. They are shape-shifters that can transform into a ferocious bear or vicious werewolf, while also unleashing nature’s wrath to defeat their enemies. Their unique class mechanic is the Spirit Animal systemwhich gives your character a boon, such as new passive features and stat increases.
Necromancers aren’t the only summoners Diablo 4, as druids can summon companions to their assistant. Summon wolves, ravens and vines to help you defeat the demons scattered across Sanctuary. You will also be able to create some of nature’s deadliest calamities, such as a hurricane to wipe out your enemies.