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Summer has been an avid gamer ever since she was a young girl. She graduated from the University of California Davis in 2019, and completed an inte... Read more
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
While trying different classes and builds in Diablo 3 can be a fun adventure, the game’s constantly changing meta can make it difficult to find a perfect combination. Your favorite build from one season may not carry over into the next.
So what’s the best class in Diablo 3 for Season 25? In this guide, we’ll be ranking Diablo 3’s classes from best to worst, highlighting the best build for each to help you slay your way to the top. Let’s get started!
Related reading: Top 15 Games like Diablo
Diablo 3 Classes Ranked Best to Worst
Season 25 is shaking up Diablo 3’s classes and their best builds. There are seven classes total, each with their own unique characteristics, abilities, and weapons. Below, we’ll cover each of the classes in detail and talk about their best builds.
1. Monk
A righteous servant who uses the divine power to wreak havoc on their enemies.
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The Monk, while underwhelming at first glance when compared to the other classes, is by far the best class to choose in Season 25. This class combines the Paladin and the Assassin to create an extremely strong and fast melee champion. The Monk’s main strengths are its mobility, survival abilities, and wave-clear.
While they are one of the more difficult classes to master, they’re also one of the most adaptable classes in the game. They can be a hard-hitting tank, specialize in crowd control, or become an excellent healer. If you can manage to consistently generate enough Spirit to effectively use your skills, the Monk will easily pave your way to victory.
Best Build: Inna Mystic Ally
The Inna Mystic Ally build is the Monk’s most powerful build. The Inna’s Mantra set (reworked in Season 24) creates a Mystic Ally playstyle that allows you to utilize the full power of all Ally runes. Call forth groups of Allies to attack by your side, and focus on one of two elemental variations: fire or cold.
To use this build to its full potential, you’ll need to level your fire damage, critical hit chance, critical hit damage, damage range, and attack speed. It’s a complicated playstyle, but well worth the rewards if you can master it.
For more details on what Active Skills, Passive Skills, and Items you will need for this build, click here.
2. Demon Hunter
A lethal marksman whose mission is to destroy the demons that endanger the Sanctuary.
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The Demon Hunter is an underestimated class that, with the right skills, can absolutely demolish any evil in its way. These agile, merciless assassins use ranged weapons and traps to destroy their foes. Their greatest strengths are their mobility, damage output, and crowd control.
Unlike the tanky Barbarian, the Demon Hunter shoots enemies from a distance and relies on its mobility and abilities to stay at range. This makes the class more challenging to master, but capable of unspeakable damage when used correctly. This class is the perfect choice for players who can effectively manage their Hatred, Discipline, and mobility.
Best Build: Gears of Dreadlands Hungering Arrow
The Gears of Dreadlands Hungering Arrow build was one of the best back in Season 21, and remains powerful despite being nerfed in Season 23. It’s a challenge to master, but a whole lot of fun if you can get it right.
This build’s fantastic mobility and damage output make it great for solo-pushing. To make the most of it, you’ll need to fully level your critical stats, cold damage, Hungering Arrow damage, and area damage.
For more details on what Active Skills, Passive Skills, and Items you will need for this build, click here.
3. Wizard
A powerful sorcerer who utilizes magic to destroy their foes and accumulate power.
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The Wizard is the king of damage output. The magic they use to destroy their foes is easy to learn and fun to level, but difficult to master. Though their Arcane Power regenerates quickly, players still need to time their spells when faced with countless enemies.
While their strength lies in their sheer power, they’re a glass cannon that can easily be overtaken by enemies. Like the Demon Hunter, they rely on mobility, speed, and damage output to stay out of danger. Their damage spells and protective spells make them ideal support characters as well. If you’re looking to melt hell’s demons with powerful fire, lightning, and frost spells from a safe distance, then the Wizard is for you.
Best Build: Typhon Hydra
Hydra Wizards used to be ineffective in battle, but that changed in Season 20 with the release of The Typhon’s Veil set. This set introduced the Frost Hydra build, which is perfect for farming and pushing. Though it’s a very strong build that offers a fun and unique playstyle, don’t be surprised if it takes you some time to learn.
For more details on what Active Skills, Passive Skills, and Items you will need for this build, click here.
4. Barbarian
An enormous warrior who uses brute strength and robust armor to crush anyone who stands in their way.
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The Barbarian class is a tanky melee class that shreds through enemies and uses any damage taken to become even stronger. Unlike the other classes we’ve covered to this point, the Barbarian is a classic slayer who doesn’t need complicated spells and abilities to demolish hell’s minions.
Though it doesn’t have as many powerful builds, the Barbarian is still a top-tier pick for Season 25. They’re one of the easiest classes to learn, and their disgusting damage output, insane crowd control, and savage playstyle is nothing short of satisfying. If you want to rush into the demon horde, axe ablaze, and emerge with nary a scratch, the Barbarian is definitely for you.
Best Build: Waste Whirlwind Rend
The Waste Whirlwind Rend build has been the Barbarian’s strongest and most reliable build for a few seasons now. It’s valued for its damage output and farming capability, letting you spin through enemies and down them at record speed. This spin-to-win build is satisfying and easy to play, and will pave your way to the top in no time. It’s excellent for solo pushing, but keep in mind that it relies heavily on cooldown reduction.
For more details on what Active Skills, Passive Skills, and Items you will need for this build, click here.
5. Crusader
The ultimate defender of justice and protector of those who are threatened by the forces of evil.
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The Crusader is a virtuous protector of mankind who heavily relies on physical attacks to destroy their enemies. They are tanky and heavily armed like the Barbarian, but utilize magic to make their fighting style more complex. Their magic comes from a variety of skills that enable them to fight their enemies from afar.
This righteous warrior has great crowd control, enormous damage output, and a unique and interesting playstyle. Their skills and abilities are versatile, and their sheer damage output falls just short of the Barbarian’s. If you like to get up close and personal with your enemies but still want access to ranged magic attacks, the Crusader is a solid choice for you.
Best Build: Aegis of Valor Fist of the Heavens
The best Crusader build this season is the Aegis of Valor Fist of the Heavens build. This build utilizes the Aegis of Valor Set, and significantly boosts Heaven’s Fury and Fist of the Heavens.
Heaven’s Fury puts forth some massive damage output, but Fist of Heavens is the better option for its ease of use and incredible AOE damage. Though this makes it excellent for speed farming, it suffers from low attack speed and won’t be able to reach High Greater Rifts.
For more details on what Active Skills, Passive Skills, and Items you will need for this build, click here.
6. Necromancer
A ghastly summoner who uses skeletal armies and curses to eliminate their foes.
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The Necromancer combines elements from the Witch Doctor and the Wizard to form a completely unique class centered on dark magic, blood, and bone. They deal enormous damage from a distance with their sinister and grotesque magic, controlling corpses and sending countless skeletons to do their melee attacks for them.
The Necromancer is one of the newest classes to Diablo 3, and also one of the most complex. They can be quite difficult to master (especially their Essence mechanic) and challenging to coordinate in team play. Still, their excellent crowd control and AOE spells give them incredible potential in the right hands.
Best Build: Lord of Destruction Skeletal Mage
If you want to try out the Necromancer this season, you’ll want to go with the Lord of Destruction Skeletal Mage build. This build, which originally used the Bones of Rathma armor set, uses a variety of different pieces to create an insanely fast, experience-farming Necromancer.
Although it can be very rewarding and powerful, it can also be very risky. It requires a ton of practice and patience, and its squishy nature can make it very frustrating. However, if you get through the trial-and-error phase and perfect it, you’ll feel really accomplished and satisfied with the results.
For more details on what Active Skills, Passive Skills, and Items you will need for this build, click here.
7. Witch Doctor
A terrifying magician who uses the dead and other grotesque creatures to fight their battles.
Image: Blizzard
The Witch Doctor is by far one of the most colorful and strange classes in Diablo 3. Like the Necromancer, they use ghastly creatures and the undead to do their dirty work. Although they boast high-damage output and offer many different kinds of playstyles, they demand skill and patience. They rely heavily on their spells and summoned creatures to do the fighting that they are too squishy to do.
Despite their terrifying appearance and chilling magical abilities, the Witch Doctor is the worst class to play with this season. Although they received some pretty substantial buffs this season, they weren’t quite enough to make it as powerful as its competitors. Their most effective builds are weak and underwhelming overall, and require a considerable amount of skill to pull off. They certainly aren’t for everyone, and are more often meant for the well-seasoned player who is looking for a new challenge.
Best Build: Mundunugu Spirit Barrage
If you want to try out the Witch Doctor this season, you’ll want to equip the Mundunugu Spirit Barrage build. It uses deadly explosions to wipe out groups of enemies in a given area. The AOE damage is incredible, but the playstyle is extremely complicated and difficult to learn. Although the Witch Doctor has gone through a series of nerfs in past seasons, this season’s buffs have made it powerful again. This build can be very rewarding and fun for the few that can get it right.
For more details on what Active Skills, Passive Skills, and Items you will need for this build, click here.
Join the High Ground
The best classes and builds in Diablo 3 are definitely subject to change with each patch and new season, but keeping up with the current meta is crucial if you want to destroy the most difficult demons and earn the best rewards.
If your favorite class or build didn’t make it into the current meta, that doesn’t mean you can’t try out their most powerful build and still rise to the top. Which class and build would you choose for Season 25? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to follow us on social media, and subscribe to our newsletter.
Happy gaming!
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