Diablo 4 Season 1 tier list

Diablo 4 Season 1 has all the same classes and builds but a brand new set of patch notes that changes how good everything is. Because of the buffs, nerfs, and general changes, the best classes and builds could be the worst and the bad classes and builds are now a lot better in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant. In this guide, I’ll make a general tier list of all the classes and their builds so you can know exactly what you’re getting yourself into in Diablo 4 Season 1.

Note: If you want to know the reason behind the Diablo 4 Season 1 patch 1.1 changes, I recommend sitting in on the fireside chat which is where the devs go into detail about all the buffs and nerfs.

What’s the best class in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant?

Before I dive into the Diablo 4 class and build tier list, for those of you looking for a quick answer, the best class in Diablo 4 Season 1 after all the buffs and nerfs is the Rogue.

While Barbarian and Sorcerer reigned supreme at the launch of Diablo 4, the nerfs they received destroyed their best builds and made them a lot less powerful. Rogues and Druids, on the other hand, got much-needed buffs. Necromancers were in a great spot and are still great in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant.

1. Rogue

Rogues were extremely good before Diablo 4 Season 1, but after everything shakes down, Rogues are the best class in Season of the Malignant. They really didn’t receive any major nerfs, and they did receive a few great damage buffs that make them more powerful this season.

All in all, Rogues are still harder to play as they require more attention to detail and skill, but your time invested in becoming a good Rogue will pay off as they are definitely on top in Diablo 4 Season 1.

Note: If you want to see the full list of buffs, nerfs, and changes made to Rogues in Diablo 4 Season 1, check out our guide.

What are the best Rogue builds in Diablo 4 Season 1?

1. Twisted Blades
2. Flurry
3. Rapid Fire
4. Penetrating Shot
5. Barrage

As you can see, the melee Rogue builds still outperform the range Rogue builds, but all of them are good. Especially if you select a good imbuement, you can make a really powerful Rogue melee build that does well in every aspect of the game — leveling, endgame, you name it. As always, you should play the build you think is the most fun.

2. Druid

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Druids are just slightly less effective than Rogues at everything except survivability. You’ll find leveling easier with Rogues and be able to clear endgame activities faster, but overall, Druids are the strongest class in endgame and are a lot of fun to play after getting over the initial leveling grind.

Druids didn’t get hit with many nerfs and their buffs do help the existing builds pack an even bigger punch. If you haven’t played Druid yet, I think Diablo 4 Season 1 is the time to try this class out.

Note: If you want to see the full list of buffs, nerfs, and changes made to Druids in Diablo 4 Season 1, check out our guide.

What are the best Druid builds in Diablo 4 Season 1?

1. Werebear
2. Shred
3. Pulverize
4. Lightning Storm

The Werebear build was great before Season of the Malignant, but they remain great now. You can also go with the Shred or Pulverize build, but the Lightning Storm build will hold you back slightly as the tank viability found in the Werebear builds is unbeatable.

3. Necromancer

Screenshot: PC Invasion

My first class in Diablo 4 was Necromancer and I’m happy to see that they didn’t receive too many nerfs. In fact, Necromancers probably have the best overall outcome when it comes to the Season of the Malignant patch.

However, Necromancers remain in the middle of the pack because everything about them is average. Their leveling, endgame, survivability, and fun factor all hover around being okay or slightly above it. Necromancers still have some of the best builds in the game, but they are truly just average when compared to the rest.

Note: If you want to see the full list of buffs, nerfs, and changes made to Necromancers in Diablo 4 Season 1, check out our guide.

What are the best Necromancer builds in Diablo 4 Season 1?

1. Bone Spear
2. Bone Spirit
3. Blood Lance
4. Blood Mist

While Bone Spear did get nerfed, it’s still an insanely powerful build, one of the best in the entire game. As a casual player, I personally loved the Blood builds and most of the Blood abilities get buffs, so those are more viable in Diablo 4 Season 1.

4. Sorcerer

Screenshot by PC Invasion

While the entire vocal community of Diablo 4 is outraged by the nerfs made to Sorcerers, they aren’t the worst class in Diablo 4 Season 1 because they are still excellent in some ways. Sorcerers are still the best class at leveling fast and are incredibly fast when it comes to clearing activities like Dungeons and Helltides.

The challenge with Sorcerers in Season of the Malignant is going to be dealing high damage since most of the nerfs targeted crucial passive and damage buffs. Sorcerers also easily have the lowest survivability, which makes playing them a challenge.

Note: If you want to see the full list of buffs, nerfs, and changes made to Sorcerers in Diablo 4 Season 1, check out our guide.

What are the best Sorcerer builds in Diablo 4 Season 1?

1. Ice Shards
2. Ball Lightning
3. Fire Wall

Of course, Sorcerers have access to three elements: ice, fire, and lightning. In Diablo 4 Season 1, the best Sorcerer builds are the ice builds, particularly the Ice Shards build. While Ball Lightning and Fire Wall are still great for crowd control, Ice Shards is the only build that allows Sorcerers the damage potential to run with the other classes.

5. Barbarian

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Barbarians are the worst class in Diablo 4 Season 1 because of the nerfs made to their abilities, Unique Items, and passives. You can still pick Barbarian and have fun, but know that their builds aren’t as effective as half of the other class’ builds.

Overall, Barbarians are going to be extremely hard to play as in Diablo 4 Season 1 when compared to launch Diablo 4 because they are slow levelers, slow activity clearers, and their endgame builds got destroyed. On top of that, they are probably the least fun class to play for casual players.

Note: If you want to see the full list of buffs, nerfs, and changes made to Necromancers in Diablo 4 Season 1, check out our guide.

What are the best Barbarian builds in Diablo 4 Season 1?

1. Whirlwind
2. Hammer of the Ancients
3. Rend

While Barbarians once had the highest damage-dealing builds in the game, Diablo 4 Season 1 sees major nerfs to all the builds that made Barbarians broken. The only viable build now is Whirlwind, and even that isn’t going to be as good as the other okay builds you can find in other classes.