Which class should you play in Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred?

Diablo 4 is throwing all conventional wisdom for what class to play right out the window in the new Lord of Hatred expansion, which is launching today  in parallel with Season 13: Season of Retribution. Lord of Hatred is improving every single class in the form of skill tree refinements, by first ripping out all passives (with many continuing as Legendary Aspects and Unique items). Instead, active skills now have several customization options (with more options unlocking as you level) — the first two containing general modifiers and the last option offering skill variants. Instead of piling on mountains of passive, you’ll select options to modify the skills you want to use to customize your build as you level, and it makes all of the game’s classes feel fresh and new.

As we head into the new expansion, it’s time to revisit what class to play, and we’re driving our recommendations of what to play off of changes we think you should not miss. Here are our suggestions on the classes you’ll enjoy playing in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred.

Barbarian. Do you want to spin around launching shrapnel from your body? Play Barbarian with Whirlwind’s “Winding” skill variant. Attacking with other skills grants four stacks of charge, up to 20, that decays over time — for each stack, Whirlwind does 1%[x] increased damaged and gains 1%[x] movement speed. While you have any stacks, you launch Iron Shrapnel which pierces enemies, dealing both initial Physical damage and Bleeding damage-over-time for five seconds.

Druid. If you’re feeling some serious dedication to shapeshifting, you definitely want to check out the Druid and its revisions. See, in addition to the overall changes to the skill tree, Druid players are invited to double down on their preferred shifting form with an additional choice node — these cost no skill points, but define the shapeshift form to use for that skill among Human, Werewolf, or Werebear. Think about stacking Wind Shear’s Wind Swept variant, with its 15%[+] movement speed buff with Werewolf form’s 15% bonus. Werewolf zoomies.

Necromancer. Does the minion army class fantasy speak to you? Play the Necromancer friends, it’s your time to shine. Summoning skills are pulled out of the Book of the Dead into the skill tree, which means yes, they also have integrated improvements. Your summons types are still integrated in the Book class mechanism — think Defenders vs Warriors for Skeletal Warriors — but the actual summoning action comes from your skill tree now, also enabling directed minion attacks like Diablo 3 Necros. Editor-in-Chief Liz Harper wrapped our review period with a mindblowing 28 summoned pets.

Rogue. Are you disappointed the second class coming with LoH wasn’t Amazons? Trust me, play Rogue. I recognize they’re not the same, but the drive to hear that delightful bow twang sound cannot be sated by any other class. You’re going to want to look at Barrage with the Multishot variant — in addition to a damage boost, Barrage will fire two additional arrows and all arrows now travel faster and pierce through two additional enemies. Add the Cast Speed improvement from one of Barrage’s general branches and the arrows just won’t stop.

Sorcerer. Do you yearn for the Hydra variants of the Diablo 3 Wizard? Well rejoice, because the Sorcerer is finally receiving some flexibility for the skill. Yes, your Hydra conjuration now has a Frost option, from the Frigid Hydra skill variation. This changes your Hydra to a Frost skill, so your Hydras will deal cold damage, but even better are the improvements — Hydra’s attacks will now pierce enemies and Chill them. Chilled enemies have reduced movement speed, and repeatedly chilled enemies are frozen in place (preventing them from moving or attacking).

Spiritborn. Play the Spiritborn if you want to experience some of the coolest uses of the new Skill Variants with their Ultimates. Instead of changing keywords, each Ultimate has a variant that combines two of their spirit damage types. The Protector’s The Infected Forest variant combines Gorilla and Centipede, The Seeker’s Tag Team variant combines Eagle and Jaguar, The Hunter’s Push and Pounce variant combines Jaguar and Gorilla, and The Devourer’s Sky and Soil variant combines Centipede and Eagle. This design has some truly wild implications for Spiritborn builds.

Paladin. Feeling the burn in your belly, not from heartburn but holy fire as if sent by the High Heavens? Well, it’s time for you to play Paladin, the first of two new classes in LoH (which was unlocked early for players who pre-ordered). If you’ve been playing Paladin in Seasons 11 and 12, you have already experienced the three skill variant model! The other two branches will still be new to you, and may add some interesting new variation to your play. Plus, just think of the absolute joy of countering Mephisto’s plans as a holy warrior.

Warlock. Last, but absolutely not least — the Warlock is your choice if you 1) want to play the cutting edge of “new hotness,” 2) love the idea of combining Sorcerer and Necromancer into one class, or 3) love the idea of skirting the edge between “which one of us is the monster.” You can’t go wrong with any of their skill families while leveling your way through the expansion campaign, but make sure to try the Wall of Agony defensive — the summons fuses five demons together in a line, both blocking and damaging enemies.  Check out our full review of the Warlock class if you want to learn more about the newest D4 class.

Lord of Hatred is going to be absolutely amazing no matter what class you play, so pick what sounds best and go forth to hunt. See you in Sk0vos!