What is the best class in Diablo 4 season 8?

Choosing the best class in Diablo 4 isn’t as simple as choosing a class you think sounds cool.

Blizzard’s isometric dungeon-crawler features six classes: Barbarian, Necromancer, Rogue, Sorcerer, Spiritborn, and Druid. Each class has a unique class mechanic along with a skill tree equipped with a variety of spells. All of their playstyles are different — and compounded by Diablo 4’s complex game of numbers — but which one is the best class for you?

In this Diablo 4 guide, we’ll explain each of the classes to help you decide how to pick the best class. We’ll also tell you the best Diablo 4 class for solo players, and the best class for beginners.

Update (April 29): Updated with our class recommendations for season 8.

How to make the class choice in Diablo 4 f0r you

There are six Diablo 4 classes, and all of them have their own unique playstyle. But before you dive into the game and pick your class, you may be wondering: Which class is the best class in Diablo 4?

You may be surprised to learn that this is an impossible question to answer — at least in such simple terms.

The best class changes season to season. And while Blizzard typically doesn’t make big balance changes during the season itself, it will rebalance classes that are overperforming too much. So it’s best to avoid picking a class for a specific build and instead try and pick based on the class that interests you most. Plus, the power level differences between the classes really only start to matter at the highest levels of play, which is something most players will never even get close to.

All that said, if you do want to know what the “best class” is and which you should choose for the current season we’ve got some advice for you below.

What is the best class in Diablo 4 season 8?

All of the classes are in a fairly equal place in Diablo 4 season 8, according to the patch notes and streamers who tested the public test realm PTR, so you shouldn’t worry too much about what the “best” class is unless you want to compete with other players.

However, it’s worth keeping in mind that these rankings could change over the coming days, weeks, and months. Blizzard revealed quite a few changes since the PTR in a recent livestream, including a reduction in power for the main theme of the season: boss powers. This could cause PTR reports to be a little more inaccurate than normal, which could heavily impact the rankings. On top of that, Blizzard is developing a new philosophy for balance, and is looking to instantly reduce the strength of builds that are drastically overperforming or underperforming.

With all that in mind, you should play the class that sounds the most interesting to you, not the one we rank the highest. However, at a glance, here’s our ranking of the best class in Diablo 4 season 8:

6. Spiritborn
5. Sorcerer
4. Spiritborn
3. Barbarian
2. Rogue
1. Necromancer

If you’re looking for additional resources and breakdowns on the best builds, Diablo 4 content creator Rhykker has a great video ranking the Diablo 4 classes going into season 8. And while his order varies slightly from ours, he’s got some interesting perspectives from his time on the PTR and his long history with the series. We’ve also got a video below from Diablo 4 content creator Wudijo, one of the highest-regarded Hardcore players in the Diablo community.

6. Spiritborn

The Spiritborn class has struggled since it came out much too hot in the Vessel of Hatred expansion. Since the nerf, it just doesn’t have as many high-quality builds as the other classes do. And while one of those builds could rocket to the top, it’s less likely based on how the season 8 PTR went down. However, as Rhykker mentions in his video above, part of what made the Spiritborn underwhelming in season 8 is their boss powers not being particularly strong compared to the other classes. With boss powers getting a big nerf since the last time players tested the game out, Spiritborn could jump up the ranks.

5. Sorcerer

Sorcerers always have a lot of builds available to them, and it makes the likelihood that they explode into the meta unexpectedly pretty high in every season! However, the Sorcerer remains very squishy compared to the other classes. This makes them difficult to farm endgame content with unless their power level is way out of pocket. This season is also heavily focused on taking out bosses, and Sorcerers specialize in area damage.

4. Druid

The Druid is seemingly always destined for the middle in Diablo 4. While this is another class that creators seem unsure of regarding how the PTR changes will impact it, the build variety just isn’t particularly impressive. Its best build, Cataclysm, is also just a lot more work than most of the other builds in the game. And as always, one of the biggest issues to plague the Druid is its leveling speed, which is still below the other classes.

3. Rogue

The Rogue is almost never bad in Diablo 4, and is a high-skill ceiling class that rewards focused play. However, Rogues have limited options to compete with this season. The Death Trap build is the build for Rogues in season 8, but if you don’t want to play it, you have more limited options. (MaxRoll.GG only has two non-Death Trap builds in A tier for Rogues, and Death Trap is the only S-tier build, with the rest being in B tier or below.) So, if you go Rogue, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket — a basket that could get nerfed by Blizzard if it’s too far out of band.

2. Necromancer

Necromancers are at the top of everyone’s list this season, as they were on top of the world in season 7, and had some very powerful builds on the PTR. (According to MaxRoll.gg, three of the seven S-tier endgame builds are for Necromancer.) But if we’re gambling, Blizzard typically tries to tweak the meta between seasons, so you’ll likely see the Necromancer fall a bit behind last season — especially with the studio promising to nerf some busted builds. But more importantly, Necromancers aren’t Barbarians.

1. Barbarian

When Barbarian is close to top-ranked, it’s almost always the right choice to assume they’ll be very powerful. Blizzard has historically struggled to balance the Barbarian class because of how many different weapons they have. And while that balance dance is less out of pocket than it was around launch, Barbarians are still usually feast or famine. They have multiple strong builds going into season 8, including the historically powerful Earthquake and Whirlwind builds. With that in mind, and with the history of the class, we’re betting that the Barbs will come out on top this time.

What is the best class in Diablo 4 for solo players?

The Rogue is likely the best solo class for skilled players looking to bring themselves through the game — even if you’ll eventually have to work harder in the endgame to compete with Barbarians.

As a Rogue, you’re highly mobile, stealthy, and are able to fight from both range and melee. You’re also the most versatile class with a huge variety of builds. You are easy to kill, which can make your class difficult to master, but once you’re practiced, you can take on an army of monsters by yourself without slowing down.

Of course, like the “which class is best for you” section, there is no right answer. You can play all six classes solo, and there is no support class in Diablo 4, only support builds.

What is the best class in Diablo 4 for beginners?

The easiest class for beginners is either the Necromancer or the Barbarian, and there are pros and cons to each.

The obvious boon for Necromancer players is the army of skeletons you have at your disposal. These minions will attack things alongside you and, depending on your build, they can deal very high damage. As a new player, being able to lean on some AI allies all the time is a huge stress reliever. If you mess up your abilities or aren’t sure how to attack and stay alive, you can just focus on keeping yourself safe while your buddies clean out the dungeon.

The con here is that Necromancers technically have two resources to manage, as they cast spells using Essence as well as their unique Corpse mechanic. This can make things a bit overwhelming for new players, as Corpses complicate certain skills and can also visually obscure the ground in dungeons.

Barbarians, on the other hand, are just big, smashy folk trying to do their best to rid Sanctuary of demons. The fantasy and (some of) the playstyles for Barbarians are similarly simple. You’re going to spend a lot of time just running up to monsters and punching them in the face until they die. There are no tricks here. You’re not turning yourself invisible or transforming into a bear. You’re taking a big hammer and you’re smashing stuff.

However, there are two big cons to the Barbarian: one on each end of the play experience. Barbarians are one of the weaker early game classes, and you can die fairly easily when you don’t know what you’re doing. For your suffering, you’ll get to be very powerful in the endgame. But even that comes with a complexity cost, as the reason Barbarians are so strong later in the game is because they are the only class that can wield four weapons at once. This means that you have to find more gear than other classes and you have more powerful Legendary powers to combine together. That’s exciting, but also overwhelming.

The great news about Diablo 4 is all the classes — including Druid, Sorcerer, Spiritborn and Rogue — all have simple builds and complex builds. While Barbarian and Necromancer are probably the easiest for most players, they might not be the best first choice for you.

All Diablo 4 classes summary

Let’s go through the classes in more detail, one by one.

Barbarian

Barbarians in Diablo 4 are fierce warriors who leap into the fray. As a Barb, your main mechanic is the Weapon Arsenal, which allows you to hold four weapons at once. Some of your abilities will require you to have a specific weapon type such as slicing, two-handed, dual-wield, or bludgeoning to use. But for some skills, you can manually switch weapons for different effects. You’ll gain expertise the more you use a certain weapon, which will provide you with buffs like increased critical hit chance or more damage against vulnerable enemies.

Not only are you capable of mastering offensive weapons, Barbarians are meant to be bulky bruisers who can take a hit from any foe. With a plethora of shouts and damage reducing abilities, you’ll be spending a lot of time up close and personal due to your survivability.

Necromancer

The Necromancer is a staple for the Diablo series. As a summoner, you’re able to conjure hordes of undead enemies to do your bidding or sacrifice your minions to empower yourself.

Your unique mechanic is called the Book of the Dead, which allows you to customize your undead army by selecting what type of skeletons you’ll summon (along with a specialization). You can give your pawns more health, increased damage output, or the ability to deal AoE damage. If you don’t want to manage your minions, you can choose to sacrifice either some or all of your minions to gain a permanent buff.

Necromancers have a unique resource that other classes do not have: corpses — which, you guessed it, are left behind when enemies die. You also have Essence, which functions similarly to mana, allowing you to cast your regular abilities, but in order to raise minions, you’ll need a corpse. If you’re going the solo show route, you can also detonate the deceased instead.

Rogue

Rogues are versatile duelists who can specialize in either ranged or close quarters combat. (If you played the Demon Hunter in Diablo 3, this is the most similar class for Diablo 4).

Your unique class mechanic is Specialization, which changes your fundamental abilities and your playstyle. There are three different specializations: Combo Points, Inner Sight, and Preparation.

Combo points will increase the damage output of some of your abilities and change how they function by increasing the number of arrows fired or adding a chance to knock down your opponents. Inner Sight will provide you with unlimited energy for a short amount of time when attacking a marked enemy. Preparation allows you to use your ultimate abilities more frequently after spending a lot of your main resource.

The Rogue is a mobile class that gives you access to stealth, traps, and imbuements, allowing you to take on any kind of content. You’re able to dart in and out of combat with a combination of ranged, melee, and stealth attacks.

Sorcerer

The Sorcerer is your typical ranged caster or fantasy mage. By using the powers of fire, lightning, and ice magic, you can obliterate your opponents. Whether you want to spawn fire hydras or spam chain lightning, you’ll easily take down anyone in your path.

Your unique class mechanic is Enchantment, which will provide your abilities with powerful passive effects that — when slotted into your Enchantment slots — will trigger without you needing to put them on your bar or spend mana. For example, you can cast Fireball using mana to shoot a giant flaming blast at enemies. But you can also place Fireball into one of your Enchantment slots, which will cause all enemies to explode when you kill them.

As a Sorcerer, you’re slightly more frail than the other classes, but you do have a bundle of defensive abilities that can make you (temporarily) unkillable. Encase yourself in ice, surround your body with fire, or simply zip away from danger.

Druid

Druids missed out on Diablo 3, but have been in the Diablo universe since Diablo 2. As a Druid, you’re are shapeshifter who can transform into a savage werebear or a vicious werewolf while also unleashing nature’s wrath to defeat your foes. Your unique class mechanic is the Spirit Animal system, which grants your character a boon such as new passives and stat increases.

Necromancers are not the only summoners in Diablo 4, as you can also call companions to your aid as a Druid. Summon wolves, ravens, and vines to assist you in defeating the demons scattered around Sanctuary. You’ll also be able to bring forth some of nature’s deadliest calamities such as a hurricane to sweep away your enemies.

Spiritborn

Spiritborn isn’t the typical martial arts “monk” class — although that’s certainly how they seem initially. As a Spiritborn, you’re a hyper-mobile melee class who is able to dash between targets and deal out a variety of different kinds of elemental damage.

You can channel these various elements through the four unique animal spirits that Spiritborn are intertwined with. There’s the jaguar (attack speed and fire), gorilla (physical and protection), eagle (lightning and speed), and centipede (poison and healing). You’re eventually able to pledge yourselves to two of these spirits in your Spirit Hall, which is your unique class mechanic, which transforms all of your skills into the spirit of your choosing.

The Spiritborn is one of the most complex and versatile classes in Diablo 4, and it’s extremely rewarding to both learn and play.

Going into this season, here’s the best Spiritborn build, all Tenets of Akarat locations, and guides on how to unlock Mercenaries and get more loot in Kurast Undercity.