In Diablo 4, after Lord of Hatred, classes were shaken up again — Paladin and Sorcerer are in business, and old favorites seem to be stuck in the S-tier. Season 13, the meta has not yet settled, but some things are already clear.
We tested all available builds in the endgame — rolling around, blowing things up, throwing corpses. And this is the rating we got. Spoiler: The robber breaks.
Table of Contents
Tier list of Diablo 4 classes in Lord of Hatred season 13
-
S-tier — Rogue, Wizard, Barbarian
-
A-tier — Sorcerer
-
B-tier — Paladin, Necromancer
-
In progress/testing — Heir of the Spirit, Druid
It is worth clarifying here: the assessment is not the ultimate truth. This is a snapshot of the current strength in the endgame after patches with new items and skill changes. But if you are wondering how good your favorite character is, you will get the general idea. We will analyze individual builds later, when more data has accumulated.
Best Rogue builds for fast endgame
Of all the ones we have tried, Rogue is the most comfortable right now. Both during leveling and in the endgame. Why? In Lord of Hatred, the skill tree was seriously shaken up — the Outlaw and Marksman styles played in a new way. And most importantly, the Impregnations have been reworked. Previously, they gave a limited number of charges, now they last over time. A huge qualitative change.
It is really fun to run around the maps as the Rogue. You run around like one stung, piercing enemies with blades, arrows, throwing traps and explosives. Everything is fast, smooth and with some kind of evil drive. Among the endgame builds, the following stand out:
-
Penetrating Shot
-
Death Trap
-
Rapid Fire
-
Dance of Knives
By the way, the Wizard and the Barbarian also flew into the S-tier — but we will tell you about them and the others in the next part. Stay tuned.
Powerful builds on the Wizard through lightning and chain charge
The Wizard, by the way, ended up in the same boat as the Robber. The skill tree and items really suited him. Much of what used to be mind boggling has either been simplified or removed completely. The pumping, however, is a little slower — but still pleasant. And the redesigned Charms made the game much more comfortable. And yes, the magician has not lost his end-game destructive power.
In Season 13, lightning is a common beast. Although builds for other elements are also quite good. There are almost no problems with survivability if you remember to press Teleport and Flame Shield at the right time. Here are some strong builds:
-
Ball Lightning
-
Chain Lightning
-
Blizzard
-
Meteor
Guide to Barbarian and choice of abilities for an easy start
Barbarians used to be such a pain: you need to invest tons of resources before the basic abilities start to make any sense. It is a thing of the past now. The reworked tree removed the annoying crit or overpower requirements for most mechanics. More importantly, some Legendary aspects that were previously mandatory have been turned into skill upgrades. Less hassle with gear, more space for strong effects.
In terms of clearing speed during leveling, the Barbarian is still inferior to a mage or robber. But in the endgame it is repaid with interest. Some builds are complete madness. Earthquakes that shake the screen, Ancestor builds with a horde of minions, Bloody Whirlwinds at supersonic speed. Try it yourself:
-
Ancestral Leap
-
Brawl Rend
-
Ancestral Hammer of the Ancients
-
Mighty Throw / Iron Maelstrom
Review of the Sorcerer and tactics of playing for fragile builds in DLC
The sorcerer flew into Diablo 4 and immediately showed himself to be alive, interesting and strong. A bunch of different styles, each of which brings pleasure. At first it may seem a little chaotic, but once you get the hang of it, you will be able to put together builds that will pass the most difficult content without much strain.
What lowers him below a wizard and a barbarian? Few defensive aspects. The sorcerer is an even more fragile “glass cannon”. But if you learn to bypass this point, there will be no problems. Here are some interesting builds:
-
Abyssal Rampage
-
Apocalypse
-
Abyssal Hellfire
-
Dread Claws
Is it worth playing as a Paladin in the current patch meta
Before the release of the Lord of Hatred expansion, the Paladin felt like an unchallenged ruler — he destroyed everyone left and right. But the developers improved the rest of the classes by giving them the same flexible skill options. And now the former favorite has lost ground a little. No, he did not become weak. The competitors we discussed above gain more situational advantages.
What have I personally encountered playing Paladin in endgame? These are two things: the scarcity of really working builds and the slow killing of bosses. Most popular builds elegantly cut out crowds — like a meat grinder. But as soon as you are left alone with a boss of your level, the suffering begins. You will fail it anyway, and it will take much more time. This means that the chances of running into an accidental one-armed blow become higher.
Best endgame builds for Paladin now:
-
Shield of Retribution
-
Wing Strike Arbiter
-
Pure Zeal
-
Auradin
Build for Necromancer Summoner through a skeleton army
Season 13 completely shook up the mechanics of the Necromancer’s minions. Sacrifice no longer blocks summoning, which is great news. The minion skills themselves now live in the normal skill tree, with upgrades and alternative options. At the time of writing, builds through an army of skeletons look very decent. You can put together a truly fat summoner — just the thing for fans of the classic style.
The rest of the Necromancer builds have remained almost unchanged. But the Blood branch — especially Blood Lance — has become noticeably stronger. The skill is much more enjoyable in the early stages. Just keep in mind: Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Mages now have their own skill nodes. To summon both types, you will have to add both skills to the action bar. Not the most obvious moment, but you can get used to it.
Overall, the Necromancer remained as dangerous as before. There are noticeably more assembly options. Here are some working connections:
-
Gore Quills Blood Lance
-
Minion Army
-
Blood Wave
-
Bone Spear
Relevance of the Heir of Spirits class after balance changes
In the previous expansion of Diablo 4, the Heir of the Spirits was a real sensation — he endured everything and everyone. Now the class is still strong at any stage, from leveling to endgame. But I personally have the feeling that he was a little… forgotten. While everyone else was given shiny new skills, this guy stood on the sidelines. It is a shame.
The Heir of the Spirits feels very much like the Rogue — the same mobility, sharp rolls and escapes. Only he has less strength and comfort in the early stages. At least without normal clothes. She might be fine.
We have not yet retested our old Heir builds to see if they work in Lord of Hatred. But the evasion build, to be honest, feels quite cheerful. The new skill tree and aspects give her air. So it is too early to give up. Until the final verdict, we will place it in the B-tier. Then we will see.
Top classes for comfortable farming and lazy gameplay
The world of Sanctuary in Season 13 offers a lot of options for those who are not ready to turn evening relaxation into an e-sports discipline. If your goal is to quietly close content after work, you should take a closer look at builds with a low APM (number of actions per minute). Auras, minions and passive triggers rule the roost here. The top casual favorites are now firmly entrenched in the Necromancer through minions, the Wizard with a focus on Hydra, the Barbarian on automatic shouts, and the Rogue using Dance of Knives. Such solutions allow you to deliver solid damage without having to tap out complex substitutions on the keyboard.
Criteria for choosing a convenient character for playing on a gamepad
Character comfort in Diablo 4 is a subjective concept, but one that lends itself to logic. First of all, this is the minimum number of active buttons. A good build for the lazy should have high autonomy: while you position the hero, summons or damage over time (DoT) do all the dirty work for you. Equally important is the simplified form of assembly. The ideal option does not require hours of knocking out Uber-unique items or filigree adjustment of aspects. In addition, safety margin is important. The hero must forgive positioning errors so that a chance encounter with an elite pack does not end with an instant respawn in the city.
Table of effective builds for casual players
The actual value of a casual build is not measured by record-breaking damage per second, but by the level of stress when clearing locations. Builds like these turn routine grinding into a meditative process. This is critical for Steam Deck owners and gamepad enthusiasts — the less pinpoint targeting and abrupt animation interruptions, the better the game feels on a controller. Diablo 4 can be a very friendly game if you choose the right tools to conquer nightmarish dungeons.
The mechanics of changing Druid forms and the potential of elemental builds
The Druid, like the Necromancer, has been seriously shaken up — especially in terms of builds. Now you can decide for yourself in what form to activate the skill. Do you want to throw lightning bolts as a wolf? Yes, for God’s sake. Or tank with a bear and heal with a bird? Also an option. This really expands the possibilities.
As a result, Druid remains a reliable class with a ton of workable builds. True, we have not yet had time to study it properly — we did not have enough time. My early Druid with Lightning Storm looks very promising. And most other abilities have decent potential.
We will expand on this once we better understand how Druid competes with the rest. In the meantime, it is also B-level, like Heir of the Spirits. But this is not a sentence.
