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As with the other Diablo titles, Diablo 3 gives players the option to choose one of seven playable classes. Some of these classes have come from Diablo 2, with some new additions. Interestingly, despite the versatility of these classes, some seem to dominate the rest. Just what is the best class for players in Diablo 3?
Updated on December 18, 2021, by Rhenn Taguiam:With Diablo 4and Diablo Immortal in the works, and with Diablo 2: Resurrected retelling the vicious tale of Diablo’s resurfacing in Sanctuary, it’s no doubt that Diablo 3remains the go-to Diablogame for players looking to blast demons off the face of the earth with the wrath of the Nephalem. With seven Classes to choose from, just how would each Class fare against the forces of the Burning Hells? And with each Class of choice, just how do they approach the need to exterminate demons for the greater good?
7 Necromancer
The Necromancer from Diablo 2 returns in Diablo 3. And despite their heroics in the battle against the Prime Evils, Necromancers are still reviled for their usage of death magic. However, the Necromancer’s mastery of the cycle of Life and Death enables them to use the very forces of darkness against themselves. They use scythes, curved blades, and phylacteries that enhance their abilities.
Necromancers use Essence, the very fabric of life itself. They harvest Essence only through enemies, making them one of the more complicated classes to play. However, they do possess a lot of abilities. They can summon the undead that follows their bidding. Moreover, they can use blood and bone to destroy and stop enemies on their tracks. Necromancers have great crowd control potential, making them perfect for both solo and group play.
Like the Wizard, the Necromancer boasts great AOE spells. Moreover, its crowd control potential skyrockets thanks to their skeletons. However, unlike the other classes, the Necromancer seems to be the most technical. Despite its vast potential in team play, Necromancer players need to be wary of how they work with their comrades.
Notable Skills
The Necromancer taps on Essence, the very thing that binds all of reality. Depending on the purpose, a Necromancer can call forth blood, bone, and curses to eliminate all who stand in their way:
Essence Generators: These primary skills generate Essence through a variety of methods, such as lifesteal (Siphon Blood), ranged attacks (Bone Spikes), or a melee strike (Grim Scythe). Essence Spenders: These power attacks give Necromancers that oomph to eliminate foes. These include piercing spears (Bone Spear), a wave of poison (Death Nova), and a Skeletal Mage. Corpses: Necromancers can do a wide variety of things with corpses, such as make them explode (Corpse Explosion), become a ranged attack (Corpse Lance), healing (Devour), and skeletal minions (Revive). Reanimation: Necromancers can do a wide variety of resurrections, such as summoning skeletons (Command Skeletons, Army of the Dead), summoning golems (Command Golem), and reanimation spam (Land of the Dead). Curses: When activated, Necromancers can bestow debuffs to enemies such as slow (Decrepify), lifesteal (Leech), and instant-kills at 15-percent health (Frailty). Blood and Bone: These are utility abilities that let Necromancers create duplicates (Simulacrum), teleport (Blood Rush), a burst attack (Bone Spirit), and armor creation (Bone Armor).
6 Demon Hunter
Demon Hunters use two resources in battle - Hatred and Discipline. With Hatred, Demon Hunters become merciless and empowered to defeat their foes. It’s a quick-generating resource, giving Demon Hunters plenty of opportunities to experiment with their skills. Their second resource, Discipline, builds up much slower.
However, it does grant Demon Hunters more powerful attacks and specialized skills. Others might say Demon Hunters lack that oomph in firepower. However, players simply need to be more calculated with the Demon Hunter. Their arrows can slow down mobs, giving them great crowd control potential. Unfortunately, it takes mastery of their mobility and skill set to fully synergize the Demon Hunter.
Notable Skills
In order to combat the forces of Hell, Demon Hunters capitalize on their ranged weapons alongside traps and melee attacks. They have a dual resource, called Hatred and Discipline, that becomes the cost of offensive and defensive skills, respectively:
Hatred: These attacks rely on the Demon Hunter and their effective use of their arsenal. These mainly include ranged attacks (Hungering Arrow, Entangling Shot), areas of effect (Fan of Knives, Grenades, Spike Trap), and even melee maneuvers (Chakram). Discipline: These defensive skills aim to protect the Demon Hunter at all costs. These include mobility (Smoke Screen, Vault), buffs (Shadow Power, Marked for Death), and poke damage dealers (Caltrops, Sentry, Companion).
5 Witch Doctor
The Witch Doctor serves as another new class introduced in Diablo 3. Unlike other classes, not everyone can become a Witch Doctor. Rather, only talented individuals with battle history and the capability of communicating with spirits can become Witch Doctors. Akin to Diablo 2’s Druids, Witch Doctors are intimately connected to nature, this time using the spirits of the dearly departed to aid them in battle.
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The Witch Doctor uses Mana, a popular resource in the Diablo series. With Mana, Witch Doctors can use hexes and attack spells to devastate enemies. However, they can also summon gargantuan and mongrels to protect themselves and their allies. Witch Doctors offer a diverse set of skills that make them suitable for both solo and team play. Like the Druid, Witch Doctors are extremely versatile characters. However, like the Wizard, Witch Doctors tend to be fragile especially as summoners, and as such need to consider their distance.
Notable Skills
The Witch Doctor can tap into worlds of both the living and the spirits to combat the forces of evil, providing them with unique ways to approach combat:
Physical Realm: These skills allow the Witch Doctor to directly engage enemies in physical combat. The Witch Doctor can use Mana to unleash elemental abilities like Poison Dart, Firebomb, and Acid Cloud. Meanwhile, they can also summon otherworldly creatures to do their bidding, such as Plague of Toads, Zombie Charger, Corpse Spiders, and Firebats. Spirit Realm: These skills allow the Witch Doctor to tap the spiritual realm for more horrifying abilities. These include utility skills such as escapes (Spirit Walk), buffs (Soul Harvest), debuffs (Mass Confusion), and areas of effect (Haunt, Spirit Barrage).
4 Wizard
Wizards in Diablo 3 are the game’s counterparts to the Sorceress class in Diablo 2. Not only do they belong in separate classes of spellcasters, but they are also familiar with the workings of their other magic-user comrades. Wizards possess flair and are natural rebels, and as such show disdain over the strict nature of their studies. However, they do have a natural talent for magic, capable of using powerful spells.
Contrary to other spellcasters, Wizards use raw Arcane Power. This resource regenerates quickly, enabling Wizards to cast weaker spells that can still pick off multiple enemies. They have a natural mastery over the elements, giving them access to fire, lightning, and frost spells. Moreover, they have a healthy mix of AOE and protective spells, making them great support characters.
Unlike other classes, there’s no doubt the Wizard reigns in terms of sheer DPS. Unfortunately, their weak constitution does make them glass cannons, capable of dying just as fast as they can kill their enemies. As such, Wizard users need to be careful with the timing of their spells, especially when enemies try to get close.
Notable Skills
Unlike other spellcasters, Wizards are designed to be more fast and loose with their spellcasting. Their abilities rely heavily on crowd control, debuffers, and defensive abilities to survive wave after wave of enemies:
Primary and Secondary Skills: These skills are often used as direct generators of Arcane Power, and the most straightforward damage-dealers. These include Arcane Power fillers like Magic Missile or Secondary power attacks like Arcane Orb. Force: These skills are heavy hitters and often try to overwhelm enemies in a variety of ways. Some skills constantly spam attacks (Hydra), last long (Blizzard, Energy Twister), or land a powerful attack (Meteor). Defensive and Conjuration: These skills give Wizards a keen edge when it comes to defending themselves and staying out of trouble. These include mobility (Teleport, Slow Time), armors (Ice Armor, Energy Armor). Mastery: These skills are the pinnacle of a Wizard’s power, offering various endgame options. Mirror Image duplicates the Wizard and its powerful attacks, Explosive Blast rains fiery armageddon, and Archon is a temporary power boost.
3 Monk
Monks serve as one of the new classes introduced in Diablo 3. A mixture of the Paladin and the Assassin, the Monks are holy warriors with bodies and minds tempered to face the forces of evil. Thanks to their weapon training, Monks specialize in using Fist Weapons and the Daibo, capable of eliminating foes quickly.
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Monks serve as one of the more complicated classes to play, as their Spirit resource can only be regenerated with certain attacks, skills, and combos. However, the sheer versatility of their skills enables them to mess around with foes quickly. Their special combos grant Monks special effects, and their Mantras can buff them and their comrades.
As such, Monks remain one of the most versatile classes in the game. They’re capable of being tanks with Blinding Flashes and Crippling Waves. However, they can also assume crowd control with Cyclone Strike and Dashing Strike. They can also become great healers, especially with Chant of Resonance. This versatility makes them great for both beginners and pros.
Notable Skills
Masters of the body, the Monk capitalizes on both speed and strength to overwhelm foes. Coupled with their keen eye for strategy and aura bonuses, Monks can use Spirit to dominate the battlefield quickly with their skills:
Spirit Generator: These skills help Monks generate Spirit via unleashing combos. These include powerful punches (Fists of Thunder), sweeps (Crippling Wave), dashes (Way of the Hundred Fists), weapon sweeps (Sweeping Wind), and force blasts (Deadly Reach). Spirit Spender: With enough Spirit, Monks can rely on special skills that highlight their martial prowess. These include stuns (Blinding Flash, Lashing Tail Kick), buffs (Breath of Heaven, Inner Sanctuary, Serenity), ranged attacks (Dashing Strike, Tempest Rush, Seven Sided Strike, Wave of Light), and minions (Lethal Decoy, Mystic Ally). Mantras: These are auras that augment the Monk’s base abilities, such as life regeneration (Mantra of Healing), a damage buff (Mantra of Conviction), or evasive maneuvers (Mantra of Evasion).
2 Barbarian
The Barbarians return from Diablo 2, but this time without a home. Regardless of being separated from their kin, the Barbarian in Diablo 3 remains as ruthless and stalwart as ever. Moreover, due to their nature, they wield large weapons to battle - and some Barbarians wield two-handed weapons on each arm.
Powered by Fury, Barbarians generate energy whenever they damage foes and when they get hit. Moreover, they use Fury to unleash deadly blows and cleaves, as well as leaps that shatter the ground beneath them. As such, players love the Barbarian for their straightforward nature.
Aside from being one of the easiest classes to get into Diablo 3, it’s also one of the most flexible in terms of builds. Given their penchant for straightforward fighting, fans love the Barbarian for their sheer muscle. Revenge, Rend, and Frenzy easily build a Barbarian tank capable of taking on aggro and still living to fight another day.
Notable Skills
Being a deadly damage dealer, Barbarians need ways to generate Fury and spend it properly to wreak havoc on the battlefield as much as possible:
Fury Generators: These skills help the Barbarian build Fury quickly. These often come in the form of basic attacks that demonstrate the Barbarian’s strong base attacks. A lot of Fury Generators rely on stuns and knockbacks (Bash, Ground Stomp, Ancient Spear), areas of effect (Leap, Furious Charge), and stat boosters (Frenzy, War Cry). Fury Spenders: These skills are more versatile compared to generators, as they use Fury to achieve a myriad of effects. These include buffs (Battle Rage, Sprint), debuffs (Threatening Shout, Rend), and sheer offensive power.
1 Crusader
Champions of justice, the Crusader serves as the Paladin’s counterpart in Diablo 3. It’s revealed that both the Crusaders and Paladins were once companions, eventually separated by their duties. Either way, Crusaders pass down holy judgment with their shields and flails, with the former acting as both a weapon and a means of defense.
Empowered by Wrath, Crusaders use heavenly Light to both buff themselves and eliminate enemies. They can empower their strikes with Wrath, or use the Light to bless themselves and their allies. Despite being a melee class, some Crusader abilities give them decent range thanks to Blessed Shield and Smite. Moreover, given their ability to soak damage and still accumulate heals and buffs, they make far more resilient solo characters compared to Barbarians.
Notable Skills
Being forces of light, a Crusader depends on Wrath as a resource to eliminate the forces of evil. Through Wrath, they can invoke Laws, Convictions, and attacks that deal heavenly justice to their targets:
Wrath Generators: These basic attacks serve as Wrath generators, primarily giving the Crusader a set of enhanced melee (Punish, Slash) and ranged (Smite, Justice) attacks. Wrath Spenders: These basic power attacks serve as the heavier skills that aim to obliterate mobs quickly. These include dash attacks (Shield Bash, Sweep Attack), and ranged powerhouses (Blessed Hammer, Blessed Shield, Fist of the Heavens). Defensive: These are defensive skills that aim to protect the Crusader, such as stuns (Shield Glare, Judgment), heals (Consecration), and damage absorption (Iron Skin). Law: These are dual-purpose skills that have active and passive effects, effectively becoming auras. Valor focuses on attacks, Justice focuses on Defense, and Hope focuses on healing. Conviction: Serving as the pinnacle of Wrath, these attacks are extremely powerful abilities. These include calling forth aerial strikes (Bombardment, Heaven’s Fury), a power boost (Akarat’s Champion), or an aerial dive (Falling Sword).
Diablo 3 was released on May 15, 2012, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and last-gen consoles.
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