In Diablo 4 you will pick a class during character create. Here is an overview of the available classes and how they compare to one another. We've ranked them for solo play and for co-op.
Classes in Diablo 4 are very important. You will choose a class at the beginning of the game and this will dictate how you play, which resources you need, and your starting stats. And given how big Diablo 4 is, it's especially important that you pick a class you will enjoy playing throughout the game (and if we're being honest, no one wants to feel like their character is useless in a co-op party).
We have five classes available in Diablo 4: Barbarian, Sorceress, Rogue, Necromancer, and Druid (but the Barbarian and Necromancer, which are the only two that appeared in Diablo 3, are quite different here). In this article, we will provide you with an overview of each class.
- If you aren't sure about whether to buy Diablo 4, read our review (spoiler alert: we gave it a 26/30).
All Classes In Diablo 4
These are the classes available in Diablo 4:
Class | Overview | Fighting Style | Starting Stats | Most Important Stat To Level | Class Resource |
| Barbarian | The Barbarian is the big, muscly character that attacks everything in close-quarters. Basically a tank. | Non-magical melee weapons, including dual axes and two-handed axes. | Strength: 10 Dexterity: 8 Intelligence: 7 Willpower: 7 | Strength | Fury |
| Sorceress | The Sorceress gives players the most simple and obvious forms of magical DPS. | Elemental magic, including fire, cold, and lightning spells. | Strength: 7 Dexterity: 7 Intelligence: 10 Willpower: 8 | Intelligence | Mana |
| Rogue | Rogues are squishy, but they have great movement and access to ranged weapony. Rogues exel at single-target damage. | Non-magical melee and ranged weapons, including crossbows, bows, daggers & swords. | Strength: 7 Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 7 Willpower: 8 | Dexterity | Energy |
| Necromancer | Necromancers are the summoner class, they will bring back armies of undead and keep a wall of flesh between you and the enemies. | Summons and close-quarters magic, including zombies and physical damage-magic spells. | Strength: 9 Dexterity: 7 Intelligence: 12 Willpower: 8 | Intelligence | Essence / Corpses |
| Druid | Druids are very peculiar. They can shapeshift into animals that attack in close-quarters, but they can also cast control magic from a distance. | Shapeshifts into a bear or wolf for melee combat, and has access to control magic via earth, wind, and storm spells. | Strength: 9 Dexterity: 7 Intelligence: 10 Willpower: 10 | Willpower | Spirit |
Did any of them stand out to you? Personally, we will probably be starting with a Necromancer playthrough.
The Best Class In Diablo 4: Ranking All Classes For Solo Play
This is our ranking of the best Diablo 4 classes for when you're playing Solo.
Ranking Diablo 4 Classes For Solo Play | 5. Barbarian
Barbarians aren't bad. We don't want anyone to look at this list and have that takeaway. But, the other classes are all much easier to use effectively. And for solo play, the Barbarian can't be built to "cover all bases" in the same way other classes can. Barbs basically have to pick between focusing on single-target damage or mob-killing.
Another annoying problem with Barbarians compared to other classes is that their skills actually need to be aimed and used correctly. This won't seem like an obvious problem in itself, but compare it to the Sorcerer who can face any direction and just spam spells that seek out the enemy.
Because they lack versatility, we have to rate the Barbarian as the worst class for solo play in Diablo 4 so far, even though it was buffed after the beta.
Ranking Diablo 4 Classes For Solo Play | 4. Druid
The Druid is underwhelming, or at least, the shapeshifting capabilities are a disappointment. But when you instead focus on using the summons and the spells, and remain more of a mage-focused character than a melee-focused one, you can get a lot more out of the class. However, even when used in the optimal way, the Druid is simply harder to use and less powerful than the three options higher up on this list.
It beats out the Barbarian for solo-play because it has more versatility, but we can still only rate the Druid 4th in our ranking of all classes for solo play.
Ranking Diablo 4 Classes For Solo Play | 3. Rogue
The Rogue is definitely going to be a fan-favorite. No matter how you choose to play the class, you can be guaranteed fantastic damage output and great mobility. Some of the Rogue's mobility options sadly require a target rather than just a new location, but that's only a small setback.
The more significant setback for Rogues in solo play is their lack of any defense. Yes, they have abilities for evasion, but they don't have any straight-up defensive skills that can keep you alive in harder boss fights when playing solo.
We rate the Rogue as the third-best class in Diablo 4 for solo play. This is a great class capable of absurd damage, but it really benefits from a tank up-front who can take the aggro.
Ranking Diablo 4 Classes For Solo Play | 2. Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is almost perfect for solo play because they can do it all. They can put out great damage against single targets, they have a ton of CC and AoE options for mobs, and most impressively of all, their defensive skills can make themmuch less squishy, and much harder to hit.
With a combination of Chain Lightning, Teleport and Ice Wall, Sorcerers can solo even the hardest content in the game without the help of a tank.
All in all, we rate Sorcerers as the second-best class in Diablo 4 for solo play. This is a versatile class, and it's overloaded with abilities that are easy to use (most Sorcerer spells actively seek out the target, so you don't even need to aim).
Ranking Diablo 4 Classes For Solo Play | 1. Necromancer
The Necromancer is somehow even better than the Sorcerer class for solo play. Necromancers have a very fun and unique playstyle that revolves around close-range, aggressive magic. And they can survive being so aggressive because they get a ton vampirism effects and a hoard of skeletons. What could be better for solo-play than a one-man army that can passively self-heal?
Nothing, that's what. And so we rate Necromancers as the best class in Diablo 4 for solo play. Plus they look badass.
The Best Class In Diablo 4: Ranking All Classes For Group Play
Here is how we rank the Diablo 4 classes for playing in a group (even a party of two will significantly change the effectiveness of each class).
Diablo 4 Classes Ranked For Group Play | 5. Druid
The Druid just needs some developer love; they don't put out enough damage or take enough aggro to be worth picking for group-play. Now, you could argue: why not pick them for CC? But CC isn't something only Druids are capable of. Sorcerers were somehow blessed with these abilities in addition to their great damage, so there really is no reason to pick a Druid.
We therefore rate the Druid as the worst class for group play in Diablo 4. Hopefully future buffs improve the situation.
Diablo 4 Classes Ranked For Group Play | 4. Barbarian
The Barbarian is thankfully more effective in a group because their lack of variety isn't as much of an issue. They can focus on taunting the enemies and taking the hits, while their DPS colleagues put the damage out. In other words, they can be tanks.
However, despite being much better in a group, Barbarians are still sadly the second-worst class in Diablo 4 because their usefulness is more situational. It's great that they can be tanks, but in many instances you just don't need a tank. You could commit every character in the group to DPS, and if your evasion was good enough, you'd do just fine.
Diablo 4 Classes Ranked For Group Play | 3. Necromancer
The Necromancer's one-man-army shtick just isn't as good in Group Play, where you can afford to min-max and specialize. Don't get it twisted, this is still an incredible class, but the top two classes can contribute more, especially when slaying bosses (a particular weak point with Necromancers).
Another slightly negative thing we have to say about Necromancers for group play is that their army of undead can be straight up obnoxious when blocking corridors and such.
Diablo 4 Classes Ranked For Group Play | 2. Sorcerer
In a group, the Sorcerer can choose to go full DPS and just stand at the back casting spells for a huge amount of damage. Which is awesome, obviously. But the problem is that Rogues are also going to be focused on damage when playing in a group. And Sorcerers just don't quite reach the same squishy-to-powerful ratio as Rogues.
They're still fantastic in a group, and having more Hydras out on the map is always a good thing, but we have to rate the Sorcerer as second best for group play. Remember, most of the defensive abilities that make the Sorcerer so good in solo play simply aren't needed for group play.
Diablo 4 Classes Ranked For Group Play | 1. Rogue
As we outlined when discussing Rogues for solo play, their only downside is a slight over-squishness and a lack of defensive skills. But in Group Play those flaws are far unimportant.
We rate the Rogue as the best class in Diablo 4 for playing in a group. When the enemies have a few other characters to target, the Rogue can focus entirely on doing damage, and they're capable of absurdly high damage output.
Are Classes Gender-Locked In Diablo 4?
No, classes are not gender-locked in Diablo 4, and you will be able to play as a male or female of any class. Gender has no impact on anything mechanical in the game, it's only cosmetic.
And there you have it, an overview of all the classes in Diablo 4. We could see even more classes added to the game at a later date, but for now the base five should give us more than enough to play around with.
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