We independently assess all our recommendations. Purchases through our links may earn us a commission.
Min-maxing is one of the most popular pastimes in all Diablo games, Diablo 4 included. Actually, most RPGs are fraught with min-maxing that it’s easy to get caught up in the craze. A lot of players are treating it like a race or strict competition and many Diablo 4 class tier list suggestions reflect this.
However, not all people find that kind of video game mentality fun. So let’s try something a bit relaxed– a Diablo 4 class tier list based on how fun the classes are to play.
Fun is subjective, of course. But our criteria for how fun a class can be in Diablo 4 revolves around class mobility, gameplay smoothness, and how less likely you’re going to be bored or sleepy while playing or leveling instead of ranking classes based on damage output.
Hopefully, this Diablo 4 class tier list can help you decide which class to play once Diablo 4 Season 1 arrives sometime in July. From most fun to least fun class to play, here they are.
1. Rogue
It was a tough battle, but we feel that the Rogue comes out on top when it comes to determining the most fun class to play in Diablo 4. Class design is fundamental, and it likely won’t change despite nerfs or buffs.
Regardless, the Rogue’s multiple sources of mobility and its fast movement speed which is innate for the class and tied to the skill tree, make the class a breeze to play (pun intended). You’ll experience that kind of mobility even in the early levels.
At the same time, the Rogue also has one of the highest damage outputs in the game, so you’re going to have fun either way. Build variety is quite excellent as well since there’s a melee and ranged option like a typical RPG ranger, and the Rogue can excel in both single and multi-target skills.
One caveat of playing a Rogue is that it’s a glass cannon archetype class, meaning it’s squishy. Still, you can always practice reactive dodging, and you usually won’t run out of options to move in and out of harm’s way due to the plethora of movement skills. Besides, the high-risk, high-reward gameplay is exhilarating.
Make sure to try out either the Twisting Blades or Flurry builds if you’re looking for the most fun rogue gameplay. At times, those builds even make Diablo 4 akin to the fast-paced gameplay of Hades or similar games.
2. Sorcerer
The Sorcerer has some glaring design issues like how two of its most useful spells (Teleport, Frost Nova) are melee. However, The Sorcerer is still fun thanks to the light show orchestra you’ll be getting regardless of the build you commit to. It’s a spectacle to play a Sorcerer in Diablo 4 and just about most Diablo games.
By the way!
Did you know we’re launching a Kickstarter campaign? In the next few months, our campaign for ‘Gentle Jack: The Party Game for Bad Friends‘ goes live! Visit the official website or follow the Kickstarter page to stay in the loop.
Lightning skills are crisp and electrifying, Frost skills are deadly and cool, and Fire skills are somewhat lukewarm but they still look great, especially Inferno.
Once you also have the right gear which can be cheap and accessible for a Sorcerer, you can also spam Teleport around a bit more frequently, leading to more mobility and a one-two punch combo with Frost Nova.
The Sorcerer, however, has the same issue as the Rogue. Both are glass cannon classes– heck even the Sorcerer has a passive skill literally called ‘Glass Cannon.’ Still, that adds to the high-risk gameplay.
Moreover, the clear speed is stellar since many of the skills are ranged and the Sorcerer has a way of filling up the screen with all its radiant spells. At least that’s the case until a Paladin with its holy D&D-like clerical spells arrives in the future, hopefully.
3. Necromancer
Coming up third is the Necromancer– a staple class in the Diablo series since Diablo 2 which is practically a retro game these days. The Necromancer’s primary schtick as a summoner class is sadly not viable in the game once content becomes too hard (Tier 3) but the class’ other builds are impressive and sinister.
Bone Spear, Bone Prison, Corpse Explosion, and even Blood Mist offer satisfying gameplay since you don’t usually have to dedicate skills for single or multiple targets. All of them hit the same targets like a truck.
The Necromancer also has great survivability thanks to Blood Mist and its life-steal-themed skill interactions.
If there’s one thing that can make the Necromancer a bit dull– that would be the lack of movement skills. You’re confined to just walking up to and around enemies in order to unleash your most devastating melee skills. That’s not much of a problem for Bone Spear builds, but other builds can noticeably suffer from jankiness due to the lack of mobility.
4. Druid
The Druid has always been a jack-of-all-trades class in Diablo games and the same role holds true for Diablo 4.
If you want a class that can be a tank, a melee bruiser, or a spellcaster, the Druid offers all of those possibilities. You can even be a permanent werewolf or were-bear that unleashes earthquakes and tornadoes while attacking in melee– it’s like seeing an epic painting of nature’s wrath in motion.
The problem is the journey to get to that point. Leveling up the Druid is a chore. It’s a mind-numbing task where the fun only starts once you get the right items that allow you to change how your skills work; that requires too much luck and it also only begins once you’re level 50 or way past that.
So keep that in mind before rolling a Druid in Diablo 4. You’ll need a lot of patience and mental fortitude to stick to the class during its pupa stage so it can metamorphose into a beautiful and colorful butterfly.
5. Barbarian
As was the case in Diablo 2, the Barbarian gets the short end of the stick in Diablo 4. The iconic class is just tedious to level up and play all the way to level 50 until they start getting skill-changing aspects and gameplay modifiers. And even then, you’ll need plenty of luck and patience to get good rolls for your gear, especially the weapons.
And while the Barbarian has some mobility skills, they’re mostly shelved or ignored in favor of maintaining a good uptime for Whirlwind using the three Shout skills. And with the limited number of skill slots in Diablo 4, you’re left with no mobility skill– apart from Rallying Cry which you’ll mainly be using to keep Fury topped up for Whirlwind.
Fury generation is also an issue and that slows down the Barbarian’s main mode of gameplay, which is melee Core Skill spamming. You’re confined to three builds. There’s Whirlwind but it’s slow and requires too much Fury; Hammer of the Ancients but the range is disappointing; and then there’s the Thorns build which is frankly just sleep-inducing and only good as a novelty.
Still, those who have managed to stick with the Barbarian’s painfully slow and awkward leveling process to 50 or beyond will be rewarded with astronomical damage numbers and admirable durability once you have the right gear. If you don’t– then away goes the fun.
