Diablo 4is an upcoming title in Blizzard’s long-running action-RPG series. Like its predecessors, the game will pit players against demons and monsters as they hack, blast, and loot their way through the story. Visceral combat and exciting loot have been the selling points of theDiabloseries for over a decade, and we expect the fourth game to be no different.
As players embark on their quest to thwart the plans of the demon Lilith, they will pick one of five classes to play as. Just asin previousDiablogames, these classes will all have their own unique skills and playstyle. Some will favor close-range, brutal physical combat, while others will prefer to hurl magical energy from afar. Only three of the five playable classes that will be launching withDiablo 4have been confirmed so far: the Barbarian, the Sorceress, and the Druid.
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Diablo 4’s Confirmed Launch Classes
Thefirst confirmed class, the Barbarian, is a classicDiablocharacter, and the only one to appear in every game. The Barbarian is a brutal, physical warrior, dealing heavy damage with an array of powerful weapons. IfDiablo 4’s incarnation of the class is similar to its predecessors, then the Barbarian will deal physical damage. It’s also likely to focus on either dual-wielding or two-handed weapons.
In contrast, the Sorceress is all about magical damage, particularly fire, ice, and lightning.The Sorceresslast appeared in 2000’sDiablo 2, where she was one of five playable classes. While we don’t know much aboutDiablo 4’s Sorceress so far, it’s almost certain she’ll blend big, AoE damage with low HP.
Thethird confirmed class, the Druid, is somewhat more balanced. Another class that last appeared inDiablo 2, it blends spell-casting with melee prowess. This close-quarters strength is achieved through shape-shifting, either into a Werewolf or a Werebear.
Diablo 4 Class Predictions
Each of the three confirmed classes forDiablo 4fills a very specific role. The Barbarian is a tanky, melee brute, his opposite the Sorceress is a fragile, ranged spell-caster, and the Druid falls exactly between the two, blending both magic and melee. While these roles are very set, they do leave gaps for other classes to fill.
It’s possible that Blizzard will opt to create anentirely new class for itsDiablo 4, but it’s likely to be new in name only. While there have been 20 different playable classes over the previousDiablogames, they can be boiled down to 10 distinct archetypes:
The wide-ranging capabilities of these archetypes leave Blizzard with little room for innovation. This makes it more likely that, just as it has in previous games, the studio will choose to reinvent a classic character rather than create a new one. To predict which classes will be chosen, we need to look at which niches are most likely to be filled.
Ranged Damage-Dealer
Probably the most obvious gap so far is the lack of a ranged physical-damage dealer. All previousDiablogames have featured a class like this, using ranged weaponry to deal non-magical damage from a distance. In the originalDiablo,this was the Rogue; inDiablo 2,it was the Amazon; and inDiablo 3,it was the Demon Hunter.
The Rogue, as the most basic of the three, is unlikely to see a return without a major reinvention. The Demon Hunter is a little more likely, but with the Barbarian already in, it’s possible Blizzard might want to avoid too manyDiablo 3classes. In fact, it seems like the Amazon would be the most likely choice, beingDiablo 2’s ranged damage-dealer. InDiablo 2,the Amazonhad some melee capabilities, but was largely focused on striking hard from a distance. She also had some magical-damage capabilities, which we may see returning in a similar way to the Demon Hunter’s skills.
Summoner or Cleric
Two other popular archetypes that might find their way intoDiablo 4are the summoner and the cleric. The first, the summoner role, has previously been filled by the Necromancer in bothDiablo 2andDiablo 3. In the latter title,the Witch Doctoralso took the summoner role, albeit to a lesser extent. Summoners focus on using other creatures to do their fighting, which they often support with their active skills. There aren’t going to be many support skills among the Barbarian, Druid, and Sorceress, so the summoner is quite a likely addition.
Another support-based archetype is the Cleric, filled by the Crusader inDiablo 3, and the Paladin inDiablo 2. Both of these are tanky, melee classes who can use holy magic to support allies and weaken foes. WhileDiablo 4’s Druidalready mixes physical and magical damage, the increased focus on support and healing that a cleric-type class would bring is enough to let it stand out.
Diablo 4’s release datehas yet to be confirmed, and it may be a year or more before the game actually launches. Plenty of time for Blizzard to reveal the two remaining classes, and confirm whether they’ll be sticking to the tried-and-true classics, or experimenting with something new.
Diablo 4is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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