A love letter to Amazons, the Diablo 4 class I always wanted — coming to the game in 2027

The Amazon class is coming to Diablo 4 and I couldn’t be more excited. This fan-favorite Diablo 2 class seemed like an obvious fit for the Lord of Hatred expansion, which took us to the Amazon homeland of Skovos. Instead, the Paladin and Warlock classes were added, and we adventured through Skovos alongside the residents of the isles instead of as an Amazon ourselves. But now we know playable Amazons will be joining the lineup, just a little late. The Amazon class will be coming to Diablo 4 in early 2027 as part of a class pack, similar to the Necromancer in Diablo 3. Blizzard hasn’t yet said what the Amazon will cost, or what else the class pack might include.

I’m a long-time Amazon fan, but when Diablo 4 launched the addition of the class didn’t feel likely because Diablo 4 already had Rogue as bow-wielding ranged damage dealer. To date, Diablo games have always reliably had one bow-wielding class — the Rogue in Diablo 1 and Diablo 4, the Amazon in Diablo 2, and the Demon Hunter in Diablo 3 — but not more. Even though Diablo 4’s Rogue was unlike other bow-wielding classes (and in fact, most meta builds for the class leaned into melee weapons rather than ranged combat with bows), it didn’t seem like there was room for a second class that shared the archer role.

But as we ventured into Skovos, I started to wonder if an Amazon might come with the expansion, and thinking about the ways it could be different from the Rogue. Amazons in Diablo 2 could use bows, but frequently used javelins and spears. Their javelins could be empowered with poison or lightning, and thrown to cut through crowds of enemies. They were excellent at hybrid combat, dancing between fighting at range and getting up close in melee, either slashing up close with the javelin or hurling it across the battlefield. Surely this playstyle was sufficiently different from a Rogue. Surely our trip to Skovos was the right moment to bring Amazons to the game as a playable class. I watched the news and hoped at every announcement: perhaps now, they’ll add Amazons.

It was the desperate sort of hopium of the video game fan, but apparently Blizzard was thinking along the same lines. How could they build an Amazon class that felt distinct, and had a unique identity in Diablo 4? They focused on the concept of the Amazon as an expert soldier, an olympic-level athlete. The Rogue is a scrappy fighter, utilizing tricks and subterfuge. The Barbarian harnesses their rage in wild, untamed attacks. The Spiritborn is all fluid attacks, powered by their connection to the spirits. The Paladin is a heavily muscled, heavily armored fighter, calling on their faith to sustain them. But the Amazon is a trained soldier, and their fighting style is about discipline and precision. Even though they share some features with other martial classes, the focus on Amazons as expert athletes informed their character models and animations, their skills and abilities. And that gave them a playstyle that looked and felt different from other Diablo 4 classes. The class was built from this core idea into something that will hopefully feel familiar to Diablo 2 players while also fitting into Diablo 4’s class lineup.

Following the lore, Amazons will be the game’s first gender-locked class. While Diablo 4 has touted character customization options, Amazons can only be female. Diablo 3 and Diablo 4 have both allowed you to select your character’s gender, so this is bucks the design philosophy we’ve seen in recent games — but it’s also necessary for Amazons to make sense in the world.

We don’t yet know all of the details on how Amazons will play. No class demo was available at BlizzCon, and we’ve only seen concept art of the new Amazon, no gameplay. But we do know it will be a melee and ranged hybrid class, dealing both physical and magical damage, with a focus on poison, cold, fire, and lightning, depending on your build. The Amazon will be the only class that can wield the new javelin weapon type, and though you don’t have to fight with a javelin, the “javazon” playstyle is alive and well in Diablo 4.

Amazons will have four different combat archetypes:

• Champion, a front-line warrior leading the charge, a gladiator going head-to-head with any enemy. Shown wielding a sword and shield, the champion is a leader who can inspires her allies through action.
• Skirmisher, the modern javazon. An agile fighter who weaves in and out of combat and can adapt to any situation, she’s shown wielding a shield and a javelin shrouded in lightning.
• Ranger, the classic bow-wielding Amazon. She’s a long-range combat specialist who eliminates threats before they get close. Beyond the bow, she can use artillery to blast her enemies with ballistae. As opposed to the scrappy Rogue archer sending out a rain of arrows in hopes of catching their target, the Ranger is an olympic-level archer, a precision sniper.
• Commander, an Amazon who summons Valkyries to battle alongside her. This archetype is described as strong on her own, but a powerhouse when fighting alongside her sisters. She’s shown holding a javelin.

The Amazon is still fairly early in development. The team seems to have nailed down the key features of the class, but it looks like there’s still a lot of work to be done — and time to submit your feedback on the forums to inform development. The Amazon class pack is due out in the first half of 2027, perhaps in season 17 or 18 if the game keeps to its current seasonal schedule. That’s a fair amount of time to wait, but this hopium knows no limits. I’ll see you in Sanctuary.