Choosing Your Class in Diablo Immortal
Diablo Immortal contains six classes to choose from as you face the forces of hell in the realm of Sanctuary: Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, and Wizard. Here you can find a brief primer on each class to help you decide which to create a character from.
How to choose your class in Diablo Immortal
This guide is meant to give you a brief overview of the class choices in Diablo Immortal, giving you a taste of each character's pros and cons. All classes in Diablo Immortal are equally viable for the vast majority of content, especially on the PvE side. What matters most are your personal preferences in gameplay and the type of character fantasy you want to embody.
Go through the general outline of each class — and once you have made your choice, you can go in-depth with the dedicated class guides linked in each section.
Barbarian Overview
Choose the Barbarian if you want to experience the brutality of melee combat in its full, blood-drenched glory. The Barbarian deals in charging, slicing, and smashing demons to a pulp — enraged with maddening frenzy, but standing strong and unrelenting through mighty war cries. You will build up your energies by rampaging around in combat, leaping and shouting, and channel the built up Fury into massive, sweeping strikes. The Barbarian is the epitome of a ruthless brawler in Diablo Immortal, combining peerless hand-to-hand carnage with invaluable group utility.
Barbarian Pros
- The Barbarian offers sweeping Area of Effect abilities spread at a relentless pace — a package that is immediately satisfying to play.
- While highly gear-dependent, the Barbarian can be the one of the most efficient farming characters in the game, and can spread that efficiency over the whole group with legendary items like Battlemaster's Helm and Swiftwing.
- Crowd control is a Barbarian's specialty, which is useful both in PvE content as well as locking down PvP opponents.
Barbarian Cons
- While Barbarians excel at AoE and deal with massive swarms of enemies more efficiently than most classes, their single-target capabilities leave much to be desired and need to be geared around.
- Although they thrive at melee range, Barbarians need to survive closing the gap to monsters and ranged players — so they need to gear around their considerable mobility cooldowns, and hope to finish off enemies in singular bursts.
- The Barbarian's strengths at party buffing and support means they will be regularly taken in groups, but largely for their support capabilities — a hard sell if you do not enjoy that role.
Barbarian Builds
Below, you will find a list of all Barbarian builds we currently have on the site:
- Barbarian Leveling Guide
- Barbarian Whirlwind Bounties Build
- Barbarian Whirlwind Dungeon Build
- Barbarian Cleave Challenge Rift Build
- Barbarian Frenzy Boss Killer Build for Raids
- Barbarian Chained Spear PvP Build
You can also see an overview briefly explaining all of these builds on the guide below.
Crusader Overview
Choose the Crusader class if you imagine yourself clad in the heaviest of armors, destroying your enemies with equal parts holy power and raw martial prowess. Descending into battle on a ghostly steed, consecrating the fighting grounds and enfeebling the enemy with resolute judgments, the Crusader proceeds to annihilate the demonic hordes with celestial energy and bombardment volleys. Strengthening your entire party with mighty blessings and rallying banners, the Crusader is the ultimate tactician in Diablo Immortal.
Crusader Pros
- Crusaders are peerless controllers of the battlefield when facing other players, sporting a plethora of interrupt and crowd control skills that can quickly turn the brawl in their favor.
- Crusaders are incredibly potent additions to party play, as their group-wide damage buff, Holy Banner, guarantees critical hits when planted. While on the move, Crusaders are unparalleled scouts, as they are able to withstand first contact with the enemy and commence in-game events — all while pulling monsters together, readying them for the combined effectiveness of the party members in tow.
- Few other classes can even compare to the farming prowess of a Crusader, as the class charges around on the celestial war horse from Draw and Quarter and tramples the enemy with their very mobility skill. This is a utility package that only grows in strength with legendaries added on top that enhance the power of Draw and Quarter, such as Cavalier's Courtwear, Bladed Jambeau, and Besieger.
Crusader Cons
- While they excel at pulling monsters together and applying massive, decimating AoE attacks to them, Crusaders lack when lone, important targets are left standing on the battlefield — making Challenge Rifts a particularly vexing war of attrition. Crusaders' prolonged cooldown droughts and lackluster primary attacks are to blame.
- Crusaders are entrusted with charging ahead of their party, but their outrider duties lead to smaller payoffs — loot will inevitably get left behind, falling victim to the increased effectiveness of the party. While this will not starve Crusaders of important gear, it is proven to diminish their overall resources from salvage — an important factor in the game.
- Crusaders are heavily reliant on Draw and Quarter during farming, making the skill a focal point of their rotation of many builds. Combined with the fact that Draw and Quarter is the only mobility tool available to the class, that means any crowd control or interruption applied to the skill makes the Crusader suffer greatly in both DPS and repositioning potential.
Crusader Builds
Below, you will find a list of all Crusader builds we currently have on the site:
- Crusader Leveling Guide
- Crusader Draw and Quarter Bounties Build
- Crusader Draw and Quarter Dungeon Build
- Crusader Spinning Shield Challenge Rift Build
- Crusader Conjuration of Light Boss Killer Build for Raids
- Crusader Condemn PvP Build
You can also see an overview briefly explaining all of these builds on the guide below.
Demon Hunter Overview
Choose the Demon Hunter class if you enjoy destroying your enemy from afar, alternating piercing arrows with massive explosive barrages. Wonders both mechanical and supernatural stand by your side, as powers of shadow itself envelop and protect you. Mastering their hatred for demons through discipline alone, the Demon Hunter is the ultimate sharpshooter in Diablo Immortal.
Demon Hunter Pros
- A key tactic for their survival and mobility, Demon Hunters are masters of weaving attacks into their movement. The ability to reposition to both optimize damage and avoiding incoming attacks — while never stopping to DPS in the slightest — is a crucial distinction of the class.
- Demon Hunters are adept at dealing with elite and Boss enemies, owing to their potent single-target abilities and the opportunity to stack legendary powers that augment their focused fire even further.
- Ever dexterous and elusive, Demon Hunters are able to slink in the shadowed outskirts of PvP combat and deliver devastating volleys of arrows from the safety of their frontline melee teammates. The Demon Hunter's supreme range ensures few classes are able to retaliate without needing to close at least some of the distance.
Demon Hunter Cons
- Fitting their class fantasy of evasive sharpshooters, Demon Hunters are notoriously fragile if caught unprepared and can be easily overwhelmed if they are not wary of the enemy positioning. This makes the class somewhat unfriendly to beginner players.
- On the flip side and somewhat contrary to their class fantasy, Demon Hunters are not the fastest characters in Diablo Immortal. They are, in fact, quite slow at long distances — and their solitary movement skill, Daring Swing, is quite capricious with its collision detection. A botched swing can leave you helplessly behind in farming, or dead in PvP.
- While they are excellent and sublimely useful at single-target DPSing for the party, Demon Hunters are not the greatest team players — providing next to no useful buffs for the group. Their class consumable, Tracking Kit, is a decent enough movement speed buff, but their only other contribution comes in the form of Chakram enhanced by Slayer's Breeches.
Demon Hunter Builds
Below, you will find a list of all Demon Hunter builds we currently have on the site:
- Demon Hunter Leveling Guide
- Demon Hunter Crossbow Shot Bounties Build
- Demon Hunter Spinning Chakram Dungeon Build
- Demon Hunter Rain of vengeance Challenge Rift Build
- Demon Hunter Knockback Shot Boss Killer Build for Raids
- Demon Hunter Multishot PvP Build
You can also see an overview briefly explaining all of these builds on the guide below.
Monk Overview
Choose the Monk if you want to gain mastery over dexterous, hand-to-hand melee combat, and channel the built up powers of your melee pummeling into crushing blows of sacred energy. The Monk is the master of engagement, dashing through the battlefield and exerting utmost control through pulls, pushes, and mantras. Your crippling blows overpower the adversaries like the sweeping tides, as you finish them off with flurries of spiritual power. The Monk embodies the duality of an evasive assassin and sacred protector in Diablo Immortal, balancing between martial prowess and group-wide utility.
Monk Pros
- Matching the expectations set by previous Diablo games, Monks are one of the most mobile classes you can pick in Immortal, with the ability to reposition at will with the various tools built into the class. Not only is Mystic Strike a movement powerhouse, but Monks also have dashing built into their various attacks like Flying Kick, or get additional access to it via legendary items such as Reaching Rebuke.
- While there is no strict role definition in Diablo Immortal, soft roles are almost inescapable in aRPGs. With respect to that, Monks are one of the most versatile supports you can add to a party, with numerous skills that supplement the party and sacrificing little of their own damage output — a dream-like combo.
- Other classes are able to control combat to an extent, but Monks are able to completely lock a battlefield down — be it in PvE or PvP environments. They have a supremely powerful displacement tool in the form of Cyclone Strike, a crowd control powerhouse from Imprisoned Fist, and unparalleled party buffs like Inner Sanctuary and Shield of Zen.
Monk Cons
- This might appeal to certain players and be considered a positive to them, but it is important to note that Monk builds suffer heavily from poor execution of their rotations, and will not perform at their best with trigger-happy players.
- While they can masterfully dispatch large groups of weaker enemies, Monks struggle against single targets — owing to their reliance on Mystic Allies and their capricious pet AI to focus down meatier priority targets.
- Though undeniably effective against hordes of enemies, the Monk's arsenal is somewhat streamlined in terms of skill selection — narrowing down to a few particularly effective, near-universal choices in a pool of situational abilities.
Monk Builds
Below, you will find a list of all Monk builds we currently have on the site:
- Monk Leveling Guide
- Monk Seven-Sided Strike Bounties Build
- Monk Inner Sanctuary Dungeon Build
- Monk Mystic Allies Challenge Rift Build
- Monk Cyclone Storm Killer Build for Raids
- Monk Imprisoned Fist PvP Build
You can also see an overview briefly explaining all of these builds on the guide below.
Necromancer Overview
Choose the Necromancer if you relish in the practice of dark arts — crushing bone with your grim will and sharpening it against your enemies, spilling blood in calculated dosages to empower your spells, and all the while raising massive hordes of the dead from their very graves. With debilitating curses and ample ways to control the battlefield, the Necromancer embodies the summoning commander in Diablo Immortal.
Necromancer Pros
- With control over the forces of life and death — as well as the ability to summon the very bones of their enemies to do their bidding — Necromancers are one of the most resilient classes in Diablo Immortal. The ability to envelop themselves and their allies in impenetrable Bone Armor shells, as well as the endless supply of minions ready to throw themselves in the enemies' paths, make Necromancers durable beyond expectation.
- The talents of Necromancers are surprisingly multifaceted and can be adapted to a vast array of situations — from pure damage dealing (both single-target via Command Skeletons and Skeletal Mage, as well as multi-target via Corpse Explosion), to tanking with the burly Command Golem, to supporting your teammates with Bone Armor damage immunity and Bone Wall crowd control.
- Necromancers are an amazing backbone addition to PvP teams, with a triple-threat crowd control in the face of Bone Spikes, Proximal Fear-enhanced Wraith Form, and the almighty Bone Wall (empowered by Pyre's Allure and Exhumant's Backbone).
Necromancer Cons
- While it comes with the territory, Necromancers are a heavily pet-dependent class for much of the content you will be doing, and (surprisingly or not) pet AI can be unreliable. This forces you to babysit your summons if you want to get the most out of them, and to be very strategic with their use.
- Necromancers frequently expose themselves to more danger than their ranged counterparts, the Demon Hunter and the Wizard. Necromancers lack options to fight from afar, as most of their arsenal operates in mid-to-melee ranges — and the supporting legendaries encourage this daredevil playstyle.
- Furthering their problems with range, Necromancers are very limited in terms of mobility; their solitary skill for the purpose is Wraith Form, and it comes with considerable drawbacks — like lackluster mechanics and legendaries in very competitive slots.
Necromancer Builds
Below, you will find a list of all Necromancer builds we currently have on the site:
- Necromancer Leveling Build
- Necromancer Command Skeleton Bounties Build
- Necromancer Skeletal Mage Dungeon Build
- Necromancer Command Golem Challenge Rift Build
- Necromancer Bone Armor Support Build for Raids
- Necromancer Bone Spear PvP Build
You can also see an overview briefly explaining all of these builds on the guide below.
Wizard Overview
Choose the Wizard if you want to bend the elements to your will, wielding the might of fire, ice, lightning and pure arcane power into the singular purpose of annihilating your enemies. While weaving spellcraft into storms, twisters, and explosions, the Wizard remains safe behind by mighty shields of ice — whether fighting from afar, or into fierce melee. With the ability to tear open gorging Black Holes into the fabric of reality itself, the Wizard is the embodiment of elemental power in Diablo Immortal.
Wizard Pros
- Wizards are masters of elemental synergies, and their spells are much more interactive with each other than the abilities of other classes. Skill fusions like Ice Crystal reflecting Ray of Frost or Arcane Wind scorching enemies when cast on Meteor-burnt ground lead to devastating primordial combos that are extremely satisfying to pull off. Such combos scale nicely with the increasing mastery of the player.
- Contrary to the expectation of sorcerous frailty and the spell-slinging archetype, Wizards offer a good variety of playstyles at all ranges, including completely viable melee wizardry.
- With the superb maneuverability and unpredictability of Teleport, Wizards can dive in and out of PvP combat before their enemies can react accordingly — dishing out bursts of elemental damage that eradicate a foe, and then quickly blinking out of reach. This can be of great appeal to PvP players that like to nuke opponents down, picking out unsuspecting victims to erase out of a fight.
Wizard Cons
- While this might appeal to a certain subset of players, effective use of a Wizard's arsenal requires precise aiming; their hardest-hitting spells are not of the fire-and-forget kind, and careless use will plummet your DPS.
- Compounding the effect of the above, Wizard skills have considerable downtimes, and their combo-oriented, interconnected nature means that failed executions of rotations will heavily punish your damage output.
- Wizards can definitely hold their own in a group as far as pure DPS is concerned, but they contribute little to the overall utility of the team. The class lacks meaningful buffs for their party members and have a poor class consumable in the form of Scroll of Westmarch.
Wizard Builds
Below, you will find a list of all Wizard builds we currently have on the site:
- Wizard Leveling Guide
- Wizard Meteor Bounties Build
- Wizard Disintegrate Dungeon Build
- Wizard Black Hole Challenge Rift Build
- Wizard Ice Crystal Boss Killer Build for Raids
- Wizard Storm Armor PvP Build
You can also see an overview briefly explaining all of these builds on the guide below.
Closing Words
While classes in Diablo Immortal certainly vary in power depending on the type of content you are doing — as well as the group composition you are doing it with — the differences are not so vast as to dictate your choice to certain metagame adherence. To put it simply, pick the character you like best, and you will be more than adequate at anything the game can throw at you.
Changelog
- 27 Jun. 2022: Guide added.
This build is presented to you by Deadset, one of the very few professional Diablo 3 players. Deadset regularly publishes video guides on Youtube and streams on Twitch, where you can see how this and other builds play out in practice.
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