Diablo 4 Classes Explained: Which one to choose and why

In this guide, we break down each of the five classes in Diablo 4 and what they offer when compared to others, so you can choose your favorite to start with!

Diablo 4 currently has five different classes: Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, and Sorcerer. Each of these classes has different advantages and disadvantages, which unless you’re absolutely sold on a specific fantasy, can make it quite the proposition to choose a class to main.

We will break down the advantages and disadvantages of each class and why you might want to consider each. We’ll be talking about their power levels in various areas as well as covering their class mechanics before giving them a quick summary. Finally, we’ll go into further depth and give insight as to which classes are better for new players or a fresh start.

The Barbarian is predominately a melee class, which makes them inherently slower. While they do get some solid early AoE options in many of the Core Skill choices, they’ll often still feel a bit lackluster due to their slow animations. Though overall they have many advantages for a new player.

Barbarians are a class that is definitely a slow starter. This slower start to how they play isn't a bad thing, especially for beginners. You’re more able to focus on what is right in front of you with fewer worries about any upcoming encounters much easier. They end up slowly ramping into their end-game state, which makes the process much smoother and more comfortable overall.

Their strong AoE options either, like Hammer of the Ancients and Whirlwind to help with AoE clearing. Due to reliable access to Bleed from Flay and Rend, as well as faster single-target attacks like Frenzy and Double Swing, you won't be hurting for options to take down Elites or bosses either.

While most other classes get mobility options starting around level 10, the Barbarian will be left waiting until around level 20 before they can even consider a mobility option. However, Leap is easily one of the strongest mobility options among all mobility skills offered by all classes, falling just behind Sorcerer's Teleport.

Barbarians get some of the best options for reducing incoming damage, which includes an inherent damage reduction that you get from level one. That's not even accounting for skills like Iron Skin providing Barrier, or Challenging Shout providing 40% damage reduction.

Combined with other aspects and effects and the Barbarian is easily the most durable of the five classes available without relying heavily on just avoiding damage. They can take just as much of a beating as they can dish out.

Unlike other classes though, the Barbarians get their Class Mechanics, Arsenal, much earlier than most classes and get it right at Level 5. This helps balance out their early power fairly well, making them much more reliable when used well.

Their Arsenal is broken down into seven categories of weapon: Polearms as well as the One-Handed and Two-Handed variations of Axes, Maces, and Swords. Each of the weapon categories grants different bonuses that also level up over time as you use a weapon type.

This also allows you to Assign skills to use a specific weapon in your Arsenal, rather than the strongest equipped weapon. Doing so allows you to control both what Expertise you level, but also which Expertise bonus is applied to each skill. This gives them a lot of additional power that scales with them.

If you’re the type that like the in-your-face brawler type of class, the Barbarian will definitely give you just that. You’ll be one of the most durable and arguably easiest classes to pilot in the end game for most content.

Being a pure melee class and a bulky one at that, you’ll be a bit on the slower side to start. However, once you get access to your mobility skills around level 15 or so, you’ll have access to one of the stronger mobility options available, Leap.

That said, you won't lack any late-game power or have any shortage of power fantasy options as you get deeper into the game. The Barbarian scales incredibly well into late game with plenty of build options.

If the Barbarian sounds like a fit for you, check out our Barbarian Leveling Build Guide.

The Druid is a hybrid magic and melee class, having solid options for both styles that allow for a fair degree of mix-and-match that makes them fairly versatile. You’ll definitely want to take advantage of this versatility to have fun with this class.

Much like the Barbarian, the Druid is another class that is a slow starter. However, unlike the Barbarian, you have more options to deal damage at range as needed. With skills allowing you to shapeshift into a Werebear or Werewolf for high melee potential, as well as Earth-based and Storm-based magics to deal damage or offer additional protection.

As for their general power curve, Druids will likely steadily rise in power until they get access to most of their boons from Spirit Animals, their class mechanic. Once they have access to those, as well as aspects, they’ll be able to quickly spike their power up relative to the build used. Aspects will still play a part in their early power, but become truly powerful when paired with their boons.

Much of their early power will ultimately come from their Companion Skills which they’ll get around level 15, which offer a great amount of additional damage. As not only do companions offer additional passive damage, they all have active skills that can be used to dish out heavy damage

While they lack mobility in general, the high AoE potential from Companion Skills like Ravens or Storm Magic like Tornado make up for that by allowing you to just demolish groups of enemies faster compared to classes like the Barbarian who may still have some struggles depending on build.

They also make up for this lack of mobility with plenty of Defensive and Recovery options among their skills. While they’ll be a bit more fragile than the Barbarian until they get access to this category of skill around level 10 like most classes, they still get them early enough to give you that bit of extra safety in combat.

With skills like Cyclone Armor which offers some passive damage reduction and Earthen Bulwark which provides more active shielding, you can be quite durable. What defensive options you end up using will vary from build to build, but can offer a lot of synergies with other aspects of building out a Druid.

Unlike the Barbarian, it’ll be a while until you get your Class Mechanic having to wait until Level 15 and you have access to the Scosglen region. This isn't too far off from when most classes get their respective Class mechanics.

Once you are able to get it, this is where a lot of the Druid's power will come from. You’ll be able to make offerings to Spirit Animals who will offer you powerful boons, with up to a total of five active at the later stages of the game.

With there being a total of five slots and only four Spirit Animals, this means you’ll get to get double the bonuses from a preferred spirit. This will enable a ton of build diversity and synergy with however you want to build your Druid.

Overall, the Druid offers a unique mix of Melee and Magic that can be combined to incredibly high potential. If you’re torn between having a pure magic Sorcerer, or pure melee Barbarian, the Druid may just offer the flexibility you’re looking for, being able to almost swap on demand. This flexibility gives them plenty of options both early on and later in the game that can make them a force to be reckoned with.

It's worth keeping in mind that the Druid doesn't have a ton of mobility, so you’ll need to rely on defensive skills to help you through combat. Thankfully, with plenty of AoE skills to choose from as well as a fair account of crowd control, you’ll be more than fine.

If the Druid sounds like a fit for you, check out our Druid Leveling Build Guide.

Similar to Druids, Necromancers can also be a hybrid between magic and melee, but more predominately focus on magic and their army of skeletons. Being the class that will let you dive into their power fantasy the earliest, it's no surprise the Necromancer is a fan-favorite.

Necromancers are a class that, unlike the previous two, has a fairly strong early start. With easy access to multiple AoE Skills like Blood Surge and Corpse Explosion and even potent single-target options like Bone Spear, they’re able to handle most situations exceptionally well early on, despite their relative fragility.

Many of their skills also have exceptionally strong Legendary Aspects, which can really accelerate them into mid and even late-game with ease. This allows them to scale up fairly easily and quickly, should you be lucky enough to find a decent one early on.

While the Necromancer lacks mobility, they have a number of tools to help them survive. This is everything from becoming immune to damage with Blood Mist, Trapping enemies with Bone Prison, or even weakening them with Decrepify. Additionally, they’ll almost always have some form of minion to draw attention away from themselves.

Minions themselves also heavily contribute to the Necromancer's ability to scale. Not only do they provide meaningful damage, but they also have a number of options that grant excellent utility. This includes things like resource recovery, critical chance, damage reduction, and even taunting. It all comes down to how you use their Class Mechanic.

While you don't get full access to your Class Mechanic until you get all of your minion types at later levels, you will get access to it at a very basic level from Level 5. The Book of the Dead allows you to adjust how each of your minions handles combat, allowing for a wide array of offensive, defensive, and support options across all of them.

Each of your three summon types has three variations that affect their purpose and utility which alone give you plenty of options. However, you’re also able to sacrifice one of each type of minion (Warrior, Mage, Golem) and instead enhance a solo-caster style as well. These options are where you’ll find a lot of the Necromancer's strengths and build-tuning potential.

If you love that fantasy of just having an army of minions that do most of the work for you, the Necromancer is the best option for that. While Sorcerers may have their Conjuration Skills and Druids have their Companion Skills, neither have the same consistent access to them as the Necromancer.

Necromancers are also able to fill that potent caster fantasy as well, with a variety of Blood, Bone, and Darkness skills. These skills allow them to progress smoothly in the early game and can even accelerate them into mid and late-game with the added damage and protection found within these skills.

If the Necromancer sound like a fit for you, check out our Necromancer Leveling Build Guide.

The Rogue is a class that combines Melee and Ranged physical attacks to devastating effect. They are the premiere "glass cannon" class, having both high damage potential but also lower durability.

Unlike all of the other classes in Diablo 4, Rogues tend to have the least stable power curve as they progress. This is due to their lack of defenses making them generally more fragile than other classes as well as their Apsects and Class Mechanic spiking their power so easily.

All of that in combination with many powerful skills and high mobility makes them relatively strong and dominant in the early game. While they primarily focus on single-target damage, which would make them feel like a slower start, they also have a few strong AoE options too, which is what gives them a lot of early-game power.

While they have high damage potential with their skills, many of their skills rely on positioning to line things up just right. Many of their skills that deal AoE damage also require you to group or line enemies up in just the right way for maximum effect. This can make them tricky to play at times.

Rouges are also limited by their lack of defensive options, with Dark Shroud being their premiere and most reliable defensive option for most builds. Outside of this, they have to rely on their mobility to avoid damage which inherently makes them harder to play for a new player.

Their Class Mechanic, Specializations, come in the form of additional abilities that they unlock as they level. These powerful passive abilities add a ton of power to many of their skills, and can very easily enable builds to just deal insane burst damage or give periods of high sustained damage that is practically unmatched by most classes.

Currently, Rogues have three Specializations that are unlocked starting at Level 15 and completing the Rogue's "True Potential" quest. This unlocks the Combo Points Specialization, with the remaining two unlocking at level 20 (Inner Sight) and level 30 (Preperation) respectively.

Each of these provides various effects to the Rogue. Combo Points allows the Rogue to empower their Core Skills by using their Basic Skill. Inner Sight grants a meter that grants them infinite Energy for a short duration after it fills. The effects of Preparation are currently unknown at this time.

If the quick and flashy assassin style of play is what you prefer, you’ll be right at home on Rogue. While we recommend against playing it if you’re new to Diablo or the ARPG genre in general, the Rogue is quite a powerful early-game class that can still make it exceptionally fun to play.

While quick and flashy, the Rogue is also incredibly fragile. This fragility is offset by their mobility, which they also need to utilize to maximize their damage potential

If this playstyle sounds right for you, check out our Rogue Leveling Build Guide.

The Sorcerer is a class that specializes in magic attacks across the three elements of Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Similar to the Rogue, they can also be a bit of a glass cannon but have better defensive options overall.

Sorcerers will scale well into the end game, with spikes similar to those of the Rogue, but not quite as strong spikes making them fairly stable overall. They have great defense and mobility options making them really solid in the early game where you might otherwise be lacking in those areas.

They have great damage with Ice Skills like Ice Shards and Lightning Skills like Arc Lash and Chain Lightning often carrying their early damage. Fire Skills are a little more touch and go, as while there are decent options, they don't feel all too powerful early game.

Many of their skills also have AoE, which makes them exceptionally good at clearing packs. They don't have nearly as many great options for Elites or Bosses, but the few they do have like Chain Lightning are exceptionally powerful.

Similar to the Druid and Necromancer, they also have a good mix of defensive options which helps cover for being otherwise fragile. With options like Barrier-granting Ice Armor, Becoming immune to damage with Flame Shield, or even Chilling and Freezing foes with Ice Skills.

The Sorcerer's Class Mechanic, Enchantments, allows them to use any of their learned spells to enhance their build in various ways. They’ll get access to this at Level 15 after completion of the "Legacy of the Magi" quest and a second slot at level 30.

With the exception of their Ultimate Skills, Sorcerers are able to use any skill that have at least one level. This level can even be provided by the added Skill Level effect found on armors, which can allow you to use a skill as an enchantment without investing a passive point.

The number of options this opens up to the Sorcerer for added damage and utility is pretty insane. You can get everything from a guaranteed Burn, allowing your Conjurations to summon themselves, or even casting skills as you use mana. It makes them incredibly versatile.

Sorcerers are ultimately one of the more flexible classes available and a great starter class. We’d highly recommend the Sorcerer class to those new to the game or genre looking to play a class that's fun and flashy, but not super demanding.

Since Sorcerers have great early damage, access to early mobility and defensive options, and are consistent at all stages of the game, they’re good all-rounders. They have the potential to be incredibly flashy, without the same fragility drawbacks of the Rogue.

If the Sorcerer sound like a fit for you, check out our Sorcerer Leveling Build Guide.

If you’ve played previous Diablo titles, there's a chance you’ve played earlier incarnations of these classes. You might already have a favorite in mind or be open to trying something new. So here are our recommendations to help alleviate those pains.

Out of all the reasons you could pick any of the classes, the one that stands above everything else is how much you enjoy them. Their looks, their gameplay, all of that. There's a high chance that unless you’re a "meta chaser" type of player, your enjoyment will matter the most.

That said, the Necromancer is great if you want to immediately get right into the class fantasy. With early access to their Class Mechanic and by extension their minions, the Necromancer is able to deliver on their fantasy very early on. This can make it very enjoyable if that's the concept you enjoy the most. As a side bonus, they also have great early-game damage.

If you are the type to chase the meta, there's a high chance Rogue will be part of that. With their high damage and mobility, Rogues have everything a veteran player would want. They offer some of the highest damage but also have a great deal of skill expression and can be highly demanding.

If Diablo 4 is your first foray into the ARPG Genre or you’re just looking for a class that is simple but can still be rewarding, the Barbarian might be for you. While a slower class to start with, the Barbarian is inherently durable which makes it exceptionally new player friendly. It might not be the most exciting class, but they currently have a ton of potential to scale into the endgame.

Are melee classes not your thing? Sorcerers are also a great class for new players. Sorcerers are a class that has well-balanced damage and defenses and still has plenty of fun and flashy skills to play with. While on the more fragile side of things like the Rogue, their strong defensive options make them much more accessible.

Finally, there's the Druid. The Druid is a bit of a hidden gem, offering great damage and durability. Between its class mechanic and Legendary Aspects, it has the potential to go crazy late-game. The main problem is that unless you enjoy the fantasy of the class, it’ll be a slow process getting there. Once you get there though, you’ll be rewarded for the time spent.

This is a master list with the best and most optimized leveling builds for each class in Diablo 4. Kept updated for the most recent balance changes patches, these builds will help you get a character from level 1 to the end of the campaign at level 50 with no problems!

This leveling build for the Barbarian in Diablo 4 focuses on the early game progression of the class, all the way through the campaign's end!

This leveling build for the Druid in Diablo 4 focuses on the early game progression of the class, all the way through the campaign's end!

This build for the Necromancer in Diablo 4 focuses on the early game progression of the class, all the way through the campaign's completion.

This leveling build for the Rogue in Diablo 4 focuses on the early game progression of the class, all the way through the campaign's end.

This leveling build for the Sorcerer in Diablo 4 focuses on the early game progression of the class, all the way through the campaign's completion.

The guide breaks down all of the ways to scale your Damage in Diablo 4. This includes getting the biggest numbers possible, and what factors play into achieving that.

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