Diablo 2 best class recommendations for beginners explained

How important are classes in Diablo 2?

In Diablo 2, the class you choose at the first will define your playstyle in numerous ways. Each character has its own pros and cons, but they all offer enough variety to tackle them to your needs.

Although experimenting is key in Diablo 2, it's important to get to know the foundations from which you will be starting off. At a glance, these are the seven classes available:

• Barbarian
• Paladin
• Sorceress
• Necromancer
• Druid
• Assassin
• Amazon

It's worth keeping in mind that, while each of the classes excel at some particular skills, they can also have unique weapons and equipment. As you travel through the world picking up loot, you will often notice gear that is exclusive to a particular class.

While it wasn't possible to pass them to your other characters before, a new quality-of-life update in Diablo 2: Resurrected introduces a shared stash amongst your characters, in the likes of many modern ARPGs.

This is great while you're starting out in case you feel like trying a new character, so make sure to not discard everything you pick up. Now, let's see what classes are best for your first steps in the game.

Our best beginner starting class recommendations in Diablo 2

Let's begin with our top choice for beginners. If you've come to Diablo 2 with the hopes of clicking or button smashing your way through hundreds of enemies, the Barbarian is the perfect class for you.

The Barbarian is a daunting powerhouse that is fairly simple to use. Its complexity only starts to show in mid to late game, where you'll branching out to make him more of a tank or a DPS. Up to you, really, as he excels at both.

Dual wielding is definitely part of his appeal. In terms of skills, he has a range of warcries with a number of benefits, from taunting enemies to focus on you for a limited time to causing their defend and attack to drop momentarily.

But if having three skill trees sounds a bit daunting at first, don't fret, as one of the Barbarian's is focused solely on masteries of specific weapons and other traits. This will narrow the selection significantly and provide less of a headache while you're learning the basics.

If melee isn't your thing and you'd rather keep your distance while also keeping everyone on their toes, the Sorceress can be a great option. Each of her skill trees tackle a single element (fire, lighting and ice), and they all have their own benefits.

What's interesting is that they all have a focus on keeping your distance while attacking, which can be a great approach both in single and multiplayer. Dealing with multiple enemies at once while also providing status ailments, such as freeze, makes this character a vital addition to any party.

Alongside the long range of spells, you can expect other useful skills such as shields, summons and even teleportation. It will depend on what build you're looking for, of course, but there's no shortage of variety to try things out first without minding about it too much.

Last but not least, if you're looking for someone that excels at attacking from afar while also having a group of minions at his disposal, the Necromancer is the class for you.

The Necromancer is an expert in summoning companions - golems out of thin air, skeletons from the bodies of fallen enemies. These provide a great aid and you can focus on spending skill points on them as much as you'd like. Pairing this with one or two main abilities to attack enemies from afar makes for a great mix.

Other particular abilities include a bone armor, walls made out of bones to trap enemies and keep yourself safe from harm momentarily, and a long list of curses.

It's a versatile character that can be as complex as you'd like him to be. For a beginner phase, the Necromancer is great to pave the way forward while your minions keep you company.