Diablo 2: Resurrected was finally unveiled officially at BlizzConline 2021 last weekend during the keynote presentation. Many fans were looking forward to seeing the game be announced formally after months of rumors and leaks. The title seeks to emulate the best things about Diablo 2, while giving Diablo 2: Resurrected the tools it needs to succeed in the modern gaming space. A lot has happened since the game’s original release in 2000, but one area where Diablo 2 impacted the ARPG space heavily is the classes available to play in the game.
The original Diablo 2 is the title that created the more stratified version of its iconic playable character classes from the first Diablo. The first game allowed for any character to wield any equipment or learn any spell, which allowed for great flexibility, but didn’t necessarily make each character feel that unique. Diablo 2 ushered in the more focused version of the characters that fans know now. And with the developers of Diablo 2: Resurrected committed to the source material, it’s worthwhile to look back at what made those classes so interesting.
With it confirmed that Diablo 2: Resurrected will include the DLC from the original title, all of the classes from Diablo 2 will be available from the jump. Seven playable character classes are included: the Amazon, Assassin, Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Paladin, and Sorceress. One of the great things about Diablo 2 is how Blizzard was able to make each class flexible, but distinct from each other.
Each class has a primary stat attribute associated with their base attack power, a system very familiar to modern ARPG players. While the Assassin and the Barbarian feel completely unique from one another, it’s possible to build up a set of abilities for each of them that sort of meet in the middle of each other’s playstyle. Some of the available classes stand out from the others however.
There will be a lot of changes in Diablo 2: Resurrected, but the core of its gameplay isn’t one of them, according to the detailed presentation from BlizzConline. It will be interesting to see if that means the old tier lists from the original Diablo 2 will still be accurate, or if the past 21 years have seen players develop any new builds to shake up the formula. In classic Diablo 2, the Paladin was one of the highest-ranked classes in terms of damage and crowd control capabilities.
The Paladin class is also interesting to the story of Sanctuary, as the order of holy warriors saw a civil war amongst themselves that led to the separate but similar Crusaders players saw in Diablo 3. Mixing holy magic with righteous wrath, the Paladin is likely to be many players’ first choice when they start up Diablo 2: Resurrected for the first time.
Likely to be one of the more visually interesting character classes in Diablo 2: Resurrected will be the Sorceress. Now that the PC specifications for Diablo 2: Resurrected have been revealed, the myriad of magical attacks and effects available to the Sorceress are likely to be a nostalgic spectacle at higher levels. Another class that has been adapted for later iterations of the game, the Sorceress gave way to the Wizard in Diablo 3 and is now returning whenever Diablo 4 eventually releases. The iconic spellcaster will be a great choice for AoE attacks and magical mobility for players looking to sling spells in Diablo 2: Resurrected.
Becoming popular again in their return to Diablo 3, the Necromancer first debuted in Diablo 2. Having studied the forces of life and death, Necromancers can manipulate those forces to imbue themselves with powerful auras, summon armies of undead minions, and deliver deadly damage-over-time attacks and poisons to enemies. Many of the Necromancer’s abilities made their way into classes in other isometric RPGs, like Path of Exile‘s Witch. In a world with as dark an atmosphere as Sanctuary, the Necromancer is also thematically one of the most fun characters to control. Their ability to alter life and death will likely be a fan-favorite again in Diablo 2: Resurrected.
Blizzard has stated they don’t intend for Resurrected to replace Diablo 2, so it will be interesting to see if any changes are made to character classes via any post-launch patches. One character that some might argue could use a little polishing is the Barbarian, but that isn’t to say the Barbarian isn’t mighty on his own.
Great for players who are looking to conquer the story of Diablo 2: Resurrected solo, the Barbarian is one of the hardiest classes around. Powerful builds for the character emphasize the wide swath of damage the Barbarian can cut with abilities like Whirlwind. And the toughness of the Barbarian will help those solo players survive some of the nastiest encounters in the game.
Introduced in the Lords of Destruction DLC, the Druid and Assassin will join the original cast of character classes in Diablo 2: Resurrected. Kin to the Barbarians, Druid were considered a middle-of-the-road class by many players. Powerful nature magic and shapeshifting that any Dungeons and Dragons Druid would be jealous of, Diablo 2’s Druid offered a little of everything from each class. The Druid is returning in Diablo 4 alongside the Sorceress as well, so many long-time fans may use Diablo 2: Resurrected as a fun way to look at what the new Druid’s full ability set will look like against the original iteration.
The Assassin is one class that hasn’t been explored as much in later games given Diablo’s deep history of character classes. Story-wise, the Assassins are a group of people trained specifically for killing mages, which could be used for interesting dialogue in a world where magic users are common and often in the same party. Elements of their gameplay evolved into abilities used by the Monk and the Demon Hunter in Diablo 3. This will be a chance to look back at where those abilities came from for new players that have Diablo 2: Resurrected as their first experience with Diablo 2.
Diablo 2: Resurrected has a healthy stable of powerful character classes to choose from, many of these characters have become iconic in the past two decades since the game’s original release. With excitement about possibilities about a new class in Diablo 4 after the reveal of the Rogue, many will be looking at Diablo 2: Resurrected for clues about what that new class might be, or if it’s an adaptation of an older class. The Amazon in Diablo 2 was an adaptation of the Rogue in the original Diablo. Either way, 21 years later Diablo 2: Resurrected will still have quite an impressive stable of classes for players both veteran and rookie to enjoy, whenever it releases.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is scheduled to release in 2021 for the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X/S.
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