Diablo 4 will be released with five character classes. In this article, we”ll give you an overview of what they are and what sets them apart.
Piece by piece, Blizzard has revealed which classes are teaming up in Diablo 4 this time around. As was once the case in Diablo 2, there will be five brave warriors at release who will stand against the hosts of hell.
And as usual, each class brings its own unique background and fights the fiends in its own way. We as players can not only shape the appearance and gender of each hero according to our preferences, but will above all define the skills with which they go into battle.
In this article we will introduce you to all five classes that will be available in Diablo 4 at release and explain in detail what they can actually do. But beware: This info is based on a pre-release version and is not final.
Overview
- The Barbarian
- The Druid
- The Necromancer
- The Huntress
- The Sorceress
Update notice
Last update from: 9 January 2023
Last updated from: Up to date information on the barbarian, huntress and sorceress based on the press beta.
Table of Contents
The Barbarian
Skills
Barbarians are brutal melee fighters who deal mainly physical damage to their enemies. To do so, they draw on an extremely wide arsenal of weapons. However, barbarians are also able to strengthen themselves or their companions with the help of war cries.
The barbarian”s abilities can be divided into different categories. They are either physical attacks, shouts or serve as defence. As in earlier parts, the barbarian uses his rage as a resource, which you build up over time and spend on certain skills. Not all skills require Fury, however; many of the barbarian”s abilities have a cool-down instead. Fury is generated from basic attacks.
Class Mechanics
The barbarian”s unique class mechanic makes it possible to switch fluidly between multiple sets of weapons all the time. The barbarian can have two sets of weapons in each hand and two sets of two-handed weapons equipped at any time. The affixes of the weapons are all active at the same time. Some of the barbarian”s skills require a specific weapon type, others can be explicitly assigned to a skill. If the skill is used, the barbarian then automatically changes the set.
In addition, the barbarian becomes better and better at the weapons he uses. Weapon expertise allows him to unlock up to 10 ranks for each weapon. The damage done here determines when a new rank is unlocked. For one-handed maces, this increases the damage done to stunned enemies with each rank, while two-handed maces increase the damage done by bleeding.
Weapons
- swords
- Mace
- axes
- Two-handed swords
- Two-handed maces
- Two-handed axes
- Spears
The Druid
Skills
After having to take a break in Diablo 3, the Druid is back in Diablo 4. The nature mage relies primarily on four different types of abilities in battle.
- Storm Magic
- Earth magic
- shapeshifting
- Animals
Storm and earth magic are classic spells with which the druid influences the environment. He can summon lightning or create an armour of air around himself. At the same time, he makes the earth tremble or hurls boulders at his enemies. With shapeshifting, the druid changes form fluidly in battle. He can appear as a human, werewolf or werebear. Unlike in Diablo 2, however, the forms are not permanent. The druid transforms when certain abilities are triggered, retains the form for a few seconds and then transforms back again.
Next to the Necromancer, the Druid is the second Pet class. He is therefore able to call companions. In his case, these are animals such as wolves or birds that pounce on his enemies.
Class Mechanics
Little is known about the Druid”s unique class mechanics. We do know, however, that he can trigger so-called Crushing Blows with earth magic. These are hits that take a percentage of damage from the enemies.
Weapons
- Wands
- Mace
The Necromancer
Skills
The Necromancer is a classic pet class that can summon whole armies of undead monsters. However, she is also able to defend herself completely independently of skeletons. The Summoner uses two different resources for her abilities:
- Essence: With this astral power the necromancer casts her spells. Essence charges automatically and is increased by the use of basic skills.
- Corpse: This resource is dynamically created around the necromancer when enemies near her pass away. However, there are also certain skills that create corpses. Corpses are needed to create undead henchmen.
The necromancer”s skills can be divided into four categories: Bones, Darkness, Blood and The Army. Bones are used to create and deploy projectiles or prisons made of bones. It is also possible to summon a spirit from bones. Darkness is shadow magic that causes damage but also weakens enemies. For example, you can shoot a plague bullet that creates a contaminated area.
Blood magic is used to drain life energy from enemies and use it for your own protection. It can also be discharged, causing damage to groups of enemies in the form of a blood nova. With the help of blood mist, the summoner becomes untouchable and drains energy from enemies in the process. Finally, the army focuses on creating skeleton warriors and golems to fight in place of the summoner.
Class Mechanics
The unique class mechanic of the necromancer is the Book of the Dead. Using the book, you can set exactly what form of undead henchmen are usually summoned. Here you can also modify your skeleton warriors, skeleton mages and the skeleton golem. Optionally, it is possible to forgo summoning some or all of the undead henchmen, thus strengthening the necromancer herself.
Weapons
- Sensors
- Swords
- Daggers
- Wands
- Focuses
- Shields
The Slayer
Skills
The Huntress is a very diverse class, strongly reminiscent of the Demon Hunter from Diablo 3, with a dash of the Assassin from Diablo 2. She is dashing and can ruin the day for entire groups of monsters in ranged combat. However, she is also able to attack quickly in close combat. That is why the huntress is also able to switch between two weapon sets fluently. She always has one set for ranged weapons and one for two light melee weapons.
In addition to her mundane fighting skills, the Slayer also has three very special abilities:
- Trapping
- Shadow Magic
- penetration
Traps explain themselves and are triggered when enemies get too close. She can use shadow magic to gain a strategic advantage. For example, one of them creates three shadow clones. With the help of the penetration system, the huntress can equip her weapons with special effects. For example, the blades become poisonous, cold or shrouded in shadow magic. The huntress uses energy as a resource, which is automatically replenished – but many traps rely more on a cool-down.
Class Mechanics
The huntress is allowed to choose one of three specialisations as a unique class mechanic. However, these specialisations must be unlocked in the game by leveling up. A specialisation aims to accumulate a high number of combo points. Certain abilities are strengthened depending on the number of points. The second specialisation is based on hitting marked enemies. Each hit fills up a metre that then provides the hunter with infinite energy for a short time.
The last specialisation is called Preperation. What exactly it does is not yet known. Originally, however, a jump into a shadow dimension was supposed to be possible with a specialisation.
Huntresses prefer to shoot with arrows, which they are also allowed to strengthen with shadow magic.
Weapons
- Bows
- Crossbows
- Daggers
- Swords
The Sorceress
Skills
No Diablo without a sorceress. The powerful sorceress naturally resorts to elemental magic as usual, which she can combine into death-dealing storms, destroying several enemies at once. However, the sorceress is also the most fragile of all classes and should better stay out of close combat.
Her spells are composed of three different elements:
- Fire
- Ice
- Flash
Each skill is assigned to a different element. Each element in turn triggers special effects from which the sorceress can benefit. Lightning spells, for example, can create small balls of energy that the sorceress can use to replenish her mana supply. Ice magic, on the other hand, slows down enemies visibly. The more ice spells hit them, the more immobile they become, until they come to a complete standstill. Fire, meanwhile, can infect opponents, causing them to take damage over time or making them more vulnerable to subsequent spells.
Class mechanics
As a special class mechanic, the sorceress is free to use active skills as enchantments as well. In addition to the six skill slots for active skills, the sorceress also has three enchantment slots. Any spell can be used in these slots. This means that the spell is no longer available to the sorceress for active use, but instead becomes a passive bonus. For example, a meteor then becomes a hail of smaller rocks that hit irregularly around the sorceress.
Weapons
- Wands
- Focuses
Which class do you like best so far? Drop us a line in the comments with who you”d like to protect Sanctuary from evil with!
