Best Diablo 4 classes – Season 3 tier list for beginner builds

New to the series and want a Diablo 4 class tier list for Season 3? With five varied classes to choose from, each with its own pros and cons, it can be hard for a newcomer to choose the class that’s right for them. 

And with Diablo 4 Season 3 nearly here, you’ll get to start from scratch with a new Seasonal character. If you’re new to the game, you might also want to know some of our Diablo 4 tips for beginners before you head out to explore the vast Diablo 4 map in the end game.

Diablo 4 classes explained

Diablo 4 has five classes: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Necromancer, and Druid. For our Diablo 4 class tier list, we’ve focused on damage output over ease of control. Given that every class is different, there is no single ‘easiest’ beginner class in Diablo 4. Some players might find one class easier or harder than others, so pick the class that aligns most with your play style. Nonetheless, there are a couple of classes that are a bit more beginner-friendly than others.

Each has its own choice of buffs, crowd-controlling abilities, mobility options, and magic weapons to define its damage output. Picking the right defensive abilities and companions or prioritizing single-target damage can change how you approach the PvE section of Diablo 4. Remember that Paragon Glyphs are just as important in the endgame build as you face Nightmare Dungeons.

It isn’t easy to work on a class tier list for Diablo 4’s varied classes. Each of them has its strengths. And these strengths change as you tinker with the Paragon Board in the endgame build. The Druid mixes chain lightning storms and Earth skills with their werewolf and werebear forms. They’ve even got wolves and ravens for companions.

Diablo 4’s Rogue is a walking storm of twisting blades whose daggers can rend enemies apart quickly in Season of Blood. And the Sorcerer has a variety of mana-draining elemental attacks and frost effects like ice shards and fireballs.

What is the best class for beginners in Diablo 4

The best class for Diablo 4 beginners is the Necromancer.

Diablo 4 Season 3 class tier list for leveling up

Read on for detailed descriptions of each class and how we’d rank them on a tier list. Note that we’ve sorted this based on how easy they are to pick up. This list may change based on the synergy with the new Diablo 4 Seneschal companion.

The best Diablo 4 Season 3 class meta can change with a patch at any time if Blizzard decides to rebalance things. If you’re looking for a straightforward class tier list, here’s how we rank the Diablo 4 Season 3 classes:

Tier	Class
S-Tier	Druid
A-Tier	Necromancer, Barbarian
B-Tier	Rogue, Sorcerer

We didn’t add a C-Tier as we feel that all five classes have viable builds that can be used to wreck Lilith’s minions in Diablo 4. This was true in Season of the Malignant and Season of Blood as well. And with Season of the Construct on the way, we expect all classes to have solid build variety. Read on to know more about how we came up with our Diablo 4 class tier list.

A-Tier – Necromancer

The Necromancer is a great choice for beginners, because of its ability to create minions. The Necromancer can raise an army of skeletons in battle that will automatically fight for you. If you’re still getting to grips with the combat, this is great. Even if you mess up your own attacks, you’ll still be doing damage through your minions. This can be a great way to understand the game’s controls while still being able to make progress. Use the undead with swords and other weaponry to defeat demons as a demon hunter.

The downside of the Necromancer is that it has an extra resource for players to manage. Unlike other classes, Necromancers have to manage Essence and the Corpse mechanic. So while your monsters will make things easier on the combat front, you’ll have more to deal with in terms of resource management. If that doesn’t sound like something you want to deal with, maybe give Necromancer a miss.

Those looking for builds should consider the Blood Lance Necromancer, Blood Surge Necromancer, Blight Shadowmancer, and Summoner Necromancer builds.

Best Necromancer skills and passives in Diablo 4

Here are some of the best starting skills of a Necromancer in Diablo 4:

• Bone Splinters (basic, bone): fires three bone splinters. This skill has a lucky hit rate of 17% and generates six essence, plus one more essence each subsequent time an enemy is hit by the same cast of Bone Splinter.
• Bone Spear (core skill, bone): conjures up a bone spear that deals damage and pierces through enemies. This skill costs 25 essence and has a lucky hit rate of 50%.
• Corpse Explosion (corpse): detonate nearby corpses, dealing damage to all nearby enemies. This skill has a 40% lucky hit rate.

And here are some good passives for a Necromancer in Diablo 4:

• Hewed Flesh – Your damage has a percentage chance of creating a corpse at the target’s location. Use this to enable other skills in your arsenal.
• Grim Harvest – Consuming a corpse generates essence. Perfect to keep powerful skills going.
• Death’s Embrace – Close enemies take more damage from you, and deal less damage to you. This attempts to make your character less squishy.

A-Tier – Barbarian

After the Necromancer, the Barbarian is also pretty beginner-friendly. They’re the definition of a simple play style. Barbarians forego all this resource management nonsense in favor of just running in and smashing foes as a tank. Their class mechanic is Fury. If you’re the kind of player who just wants to get into close-quarters solo play, this is the character for you. Dive into melee combat with a barrage or flurry of blows. They’re easy to get started with as a solo player and only get stronger as the game goes on. I wouldn’t recommend them in PvP against other players though. They can wield different weapons like maces and axes.

Unfortunately, while the Barbarian is a simple character to start playing, their fighting style means you’ll be up close to all your enemies. This places you in higher-risk situations. This means you’re more likely to take damage or even die if you make mistakes. The Barbarian does have good survivability, though. Once you start getting the hang of things, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Players on the hunt for new barbarian builds should consider the Thorns Barbarian, Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian, Death Blow Barbarian, and Whirlwind Barbarian builds. Double Swing is a particularly potent skill.

Best Barbarian skills and passives in Diablo 4

Here are the best starting skills of a Barbarian in Diablo 4:

• Whirlwind (core skill): your Barbarian twirls across the battlefield while repeatedly hitting all nearby enemies. This skill costs 25 Fury per second and has a 25% lucky hit rate.
• Lunging Strike (basic skill): you quickly jump forward, striking enemies and regenerating 9 Fury. This skill has a 50% lucky hit chance.
• Rallying Cry (shout): increases your movement speed and (with upgrades) helps you regain fury.

And check out these passives for a Diablo 4 Barbarian:

• Walking Arsenal – Dealing direct damage with a Two-Handed Bludgeoning, Two-Handed Slashing, or Dual Wielded weapon grants 10% increased damage for 6 seconds. While all three damage bonuses are active, you gain an additional 15% increased damage. Since you’ll be using these weapon types often, it’s a solid pick.
• Unbridled Rage – Core Skills deal 135% increased damage but cost 100% more Fury. It’s a tradeoff worth taking.
• Unconstrained – Increase Berserk’s maximum duration by 5 seconds and increase its damage bonus by 25%. Increasing the boost from 25% to 50% is a must-have for any sensible Barbarian.

B-Tier – Rogue

While the Rogue’s low health might scare away beginners, their damage potential becomes ridiculously massive at higher levels. Be it close-quarters stabbing or ranged attacks with a bow or crossbows, the Rogue implements stealth across most of its moves to evade danger. This sneaky assassin can even exploit weaknesses and take enemies into the shadow realm to deal massive damage from relative safety.

The right build will let you decimate waves of foes well before they cause fatal damage to you. But get caught in a stun or a poorly executed gamble and you’ll be sent to the previous checkpoint pretty quickly. Despite that, it’s one of the best classes in the game thanks to its sheer offensive options. In the early game, you might take a while to find your footing. But its endgame builds are particularly devastating.

If you’ve decided to main a Rogue, consider the Twisting Blades Rogue, the Death Trap Rogue, the Flurry Rogue, and the Poison Trap Rogue. While it might not be at the top of our Diablo 4 class tier list, it’s still lethal in the right hands.

Best Rogue skills and passives in Diablo 4

Here are the best starting Rogue skills in Diablo 4:

• Twisting Blades (core, cutthroat, imbueable): throw your blades to deal damage. This also impales the enemy, allowing you to deal 8% increased damage against them while this status is active. The blades return after 1.5 seconds, thereby dealing extra high damage while piercing opponents. This skill costs 30 energy and has a lucky hit chance of 33%.
• Dash (agility, cutthroat, imbueable): performs a forward dash, thereby slashing through opponents and dealing damage. Dash has two charges, with a charge cooldown of slightly less than ten seconds (when fully upgraded). The lucky hit rate is 25%.
• Shadow Step (agility, cutthroat, imbueable): become unstoppable and move through the shadows to stab an enemy from behind. You’ll gain a 50% movement speed boost for two seconds after reappearing. The cooldown time for this skill is nine seconds, and the lucky hit rate is 100%.

And use these passives as a Rogue to amp your builds:

• Sturdy – This skill reduces incoming damage from enemies within melee range. It’s a surefire way to keep you less squishy, especially against bosses like the Butcher.
• Siphoning Strikes – Heals you for a percentage of your maximum life when you critically strike close-range enemies. Can’t say no to life steal.
• Weapon Mastery – Grants different bonuses on any kind of weapon equipped by your Rogue.

S-Tier – Druid

The Druid is for the player who wants to spice up their game. From transforming into different creatures to dealing a range of elemental damage, they’ve got it all. Lightning Storm is particularly solid at AoE damage.They’re also beefier than the frail Sorcerer, making them a better pick at higher levels.

Pairing the right Diablo 4 unique items and skills could make the Druid a lethal threat. You might have to respec often though if you want to try out all the possible builds you can find to master the Druid. It’s also a resource-dependant class, meaning that you’ll have to mix up normal attacks with special ones more frequently. This class isn’t great at first but as you unlock more skills, things get wild real fast. They’ve also got access to the unique Diablo 4 Spirit Boons mechanic with perks granted by spirit animals.

✓ Antony’s annotation

The right Aspects can define builds

Use the right Legendary Aspects in Diablo 4 to optimize your build even further.

The Landslide Druid, Pulverize Druid, and Storm Druid builds make this class a formidable one in the Diablo 4 class tier list.

Best Druid skills and passives in Diablo 4

Here are the best starting Druid skills in Diablo 4:

• Maul (basic, werebear, shapeshifting): shapeshift into werebear form, dealing damage to enemies in front of you. Generates 14 Spirit and has a lucky hit rate of 30%.
• Pulverize (core, werebear, shapeshifting): transform into a werebear and perform a ground slam, dealing damage to all nearby enemies. The spirit cost for this skill is 35 and it has a lucky hit chance of 25%.
• Earthen Bulwark (defensive, nature magic, earth): summon a rocky barrier around you, absorbing 63% of your base life in damage (when fully upgraded). This effect lasts for three seconds, has a cooldown of 16 seconds, and a lucky hit rate of 30%.

And watch out for these passives for the Druid:

• Elemental Exposure – Your Storm skills have up to a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable. This pairs really well with all your other skills as well.
• Call of the Wild – Bonus companion damage. Depending on whether you have two wolves, a raven, or a poison creeper, this will benefit any build.
• Abundance – Basic skills generate 6% more Spirit. Use your Core skills quickly with this buff.

B-Tier – Sorcerer

Sorcerers are the most-played class in Diablo 4. They also rank highly in most class tier lists. But their scrawny form makes them a hassle to handle at higher levels. While their casting options and devastating spells make them deadly in combat, their low health holds them back. Sure, they’ve got defensive options and escape skills too as a mage.

But they aren’t as reliable as a Druid or Barbarian when it comes to taking hits. The Rogue can weave out of trouble far more easily than a Sorcerer. Remember to take spells with bosses in mind too as your area attacks won’t be as effective.

Consider the Fire Sorcerer, Lightning Sorcerer, and Ice Shards Sorcerer builds for maximum damage. Firewalls are particularly useful against mobs of enemies.

Best Sorcerer skills and passives in Diablo 4

Here are the best starting Sorcerer skills in Diablo 4:

• Arc Lash (basic, shock): Hit enemies in front of you with a lightning lash. Upon the tenth strike, all enemies are stunned for two seconds. Has a lucky hit chance of 14%.
• Chain Lightning (core, shock): unleash lightning bolts that chain between your opponents and yourself (prioritizing opponents). This skill costs 35 mana and has a lucky hit rate of 25%.
• Teleport (defensive, shock): you take on the form of lightning, becoming unstoppable and quickly moving to a target location. This skill deals damage upon reappearing. It has a cooldown of 11 seconds (less when upgraded) and a lucky hit rate of 65%.

And use these passives to buff up your Sorcerer:

• Warmth – Heal yourself for every burning enemy around you (0.3 to 0.9% of your Health). It’s a great buff that doubles with Bosses.
• Shocking Impact – Deal more lightning damage to stunned enemies. This goes from 15% to 45%, making it pretty overpowered for Lightning builds.
• Shatter – This key passive lets you explode enemies after they’ve been frozen for twice the damage. This damage doubling happens for attacks dealt to enemies while frozen, setting off a massive chain reaction.

That’s it for the class tier list in Diablo 4 Season 3. If you’re looking to start as one of these characters, we’ve got a Diablo 4 best Necromancer build and a Diablo 4 best Barbarian build to point you toward each character’s best abilities from the start. If the best builds don’t suit your playstyles or have been hit with nerfs, experiment away with new seasonal mechanics. After all, each season brings a new meta to the table. To learn more about the game, check out our Diablo 4 review. Pick the right Diablo 4 Season 3 class and remember that you can switch classes to try others out too.

Diablo 4 best classes FAQ

Will Diablo 4 have more than 5 classes?

As of Season 3, there are five classes in Diablo 4.

Which class has the lowest health in Diablo 4?

The Rogue class has the weakest health in addition to the Sorcerer in Diablo 4.