This March, Sanctuary once again opens its doors to reckless adventurers during the Diablo 4 beta. Here is our guide to the classes available during this test.
More than ten years after our last adventures in Heaven and Hell, Diablo 4 makes a remarkable appearance this March. The sequel to the popular hack’n’slash game franchise, which will be available by the end of June, jumps to center stage this weekend with the arrival of its beta. This game test period will initially be open to players who have pre-ordered Diablo 4, before a weekend fully open to the public from March 24. If you too want to return to service and tread the desolate lands of Sanctuary again, here is a short guide on the different classes present during this beta.
Why choose the Barbarian?
A mountain of muscles and sharp objects, the Barbarian returns in Diablo 4. This melee specialist relies on his physical skills and his resistances to sow chaos in the ranks of the armies of the Demon Lords. In combat, the Barbarian is based on the principle of Fury, a metric which increases during the clashes and which allows him to gradually unlock his full power. It has excellent durability through various control (War Cry, Shockwave) and displacement (Leap) spells and very consistent Force-based damage, mostly physical in nature thanks to its steroids (Call of the Ancients, Hammer ancient). In Diablo 4, he will be able to equip himself with an extensive arsenal with no less than three types of weapons at the same time (two-handed blunt, two-handed slash and two one-handed weapons) which will allow him to take advantage of many bonuses on his legendary items. It is this small detail that makes it one of the classes with the most build variations possible.
Why not continue with the furthest character from the Barbarian possible? The Sorceress represents Diablo 4’s mage. Instead of relying on mere physical prowess to defeat enemies in Sanctuary, she relies on a host of spells to freeze, immolate, or electrocute her foes. As you will have understood, Witches use the forces of nature by having access to the elements of fire, ice and electricity, and benefit greatly from Intelligence. It is positioned as one of the biggest DPS in the game with excellent control over groups of enemies. Typically weak in close combat, she must handle the elements in order to stay at a safe distance from her opponents, by slowing down demons that are too close with Blizzard for example, or by fleeing thanks to her teleportation. She can equip a staff, a one-handed weapon and a spell focus, and has the power of Enchantment. Enchantment allows him to combine some of his spells for even more devastating effects. An ideal choice for fans of magic and high damage, but who remains one of the most fragile characters in the game.
Another RPG classic, the Rogue is also joining the catalog of classes available in Diablo 4. Comparable to Diablo 3’s Demon Hunter, he will be one of the most flexible classes in Diablo 4. a hand and a ranged weapon, it is the ideal choice for lovers of variation. The Thief is nimble, does high damage but is, like the Witch, one of the weakest characters in the game. His physical damage relies heavily on poison and shadow effects, and he has some control tools crowd thanks to its various traps. When he attacks, he generates energy which he then spends using his skills, and he generates combo points allowing different steroids on his special attacks. In general, Rogues (or Rogue) base their equipment on Agility.
When we talk about versatility, the Druid is one of the archetypes of Blizzard games that is likely to be mentioned very quickly. Caster of spells just like the witch, the Druid channels the forces of nature to adapt his way of fighting. He is adept at shapeshifting allowing him to periodically transform into a werebear or wolf to dive into the fray, but he is also a skilled elemental spellcaster. In addition to this, he has the possibility of being accompanied by many companions, animals or plants. He is literally Diablo’s handyman since he can generate magic and physical damage. It can be equipped with a staff and a one-handed weapon. This will undoubtedly be one of the most durable classes in the game, taking advantage of the bear form to be able to position themselves as the tank of the group.
Lonely, pariah, the Necromancer silently joins the group of adventurers in Diablo 4. This follower of black magic, excluded from society for his unworthy practices, resumes his trade in this new adventure. His speciality ? Use blood, bone and shadows to summon hordes of deadly skeletons, steal life from enemies and inflict heavy curses. He can equip a scythe and a shield if he prefers to throw himself into the fray, as well as a phylactery if he favors ranged damage. He must manage his Essence bar which acts a bit like the Thief’s energy, but also the corpses of his enemies. Indeed, as a Necromancer, the remains of your opponents constitute a resource of potential damage if you choose to explode them, or of allies by the dozen if you rather wish to control the dead. The Necromancer is one of the least mobile classes in the game but benefits from fairly good survivability thanks to its many protection spells, its shield and its drain of life. An ideal choice for all lovers of metal and style.
The Diablo 4 beta is divided into two periods, the first, early access, begins on March 17 at 5 p.m. for players who have pre-ordered the game, and will end on March 19 at 8 p.m. The open beta (for all players) will be held between March 24 at 5 p.m. and March 26 at 8 p.m. It will be found on PC via Battle.net, PS5 and Xbox Series. Only the prologue and Act 1 of the game will be playable and your character level will be capped at 25.
