Published , by Aidan O'Brien
Published , by Aidan O'Brien
The Vessel of Hatred has arrived in Diablo 4, which means a new season, a new class, and all manner of new content to upset the apple cart that is the demon-slaying meta. If you are wondering what class to start the season with, then the number one slot might not be a huge surprise, but some other placements might be.
I like to list a couple of caveats whenever I write these types of lists, so let's cut through that real quick. I perceive lists like this as a fun thought exercise rather than a set-in-stone thing. Ultimately, the most important consideration for how you spend your time is fun. Unless a class is completely busted, and unless you are aiming to min/max yourself on a knife edge into the more challenging levels of content, you will likely be fine to play any of the classes.
For people who are eager to spend time with classes that will return your efforts with the fastest clears and biggest possible numbers, the below list is derived from a combination of time on the PTR, theory crafting from patch notes, and time spent with the new class and content pre-release. The main thing to note is that seasons are long. If you don't like the way something feels early, then respec, and if you still don't like it, jump ship to a new class.
| Mod | Effect |
|---|---|
| Spiritborn | I feel like we have barely had time to scratch the surface of Spiritborn, but a Gorilla Thorns, Eagle, or Centipede build all feel really fun, and that is before we get into deep crafting. A really nicely designed kit with huge room for exploration and experimentation. |
| Rogue | Dance of Knives is really good, in fact, I think it is much better than most of us have had time to figure out yet. It's weird to say because a spin-to-win build should be a Barbarian thing. Here is the Rogue having fun with it, though, fair play to them. |
| Sorceror | The Lightning Spear Sorcerer got pretty obliterated with nerfs, dropping it from would have been first to second had the Spiritborn not arrived. Firewall Sorcerer feels like a good option this season for leveling, and then you can experiment from there. |
| Necromancer | Big fun to be had here; Minions are back so you can have a lot of fun with that classic vibe. It is slow, though, no matter what you do. It just doesn't clear very quickly compared to other classes. |
| Druid | Oddly enough, the arrival of Spiritborn makes Druid feel worse, as it feels, thematically, like the way a Druid should play with a heavy focus on animal spirits. |
| Barbarian | I don't think I will be alone in feeling like the Barbarian is really in need of some serious love from the devs right now. Most of the builds you can make with this class feel pretty bad, and it feels like Barbarian has been left behind in the overall game design. |
And there you go, some rough thoughts on where the power is likely to lie this season for those who seek to fight the hordes of hell. This list will get a refresh as I polish up my thoughts based on further time in the game.
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