Diablo 2 Resurrected starting classes and best character builds
Ava Richardson Diablo 2 Resurrected classes are the soul of the game.
The right build can help you dominate the demonic hordes, even if you’re playing on nightmare. It’s tough knowing how to spend those skill points, but our class build guide is here to point you in the right direction.
What's more, even though Diablo 2 is more than 20 years old at this point, this remaster is bringing the game to a brand new audience. As well as peak end-game builds, we'll also discuss the finer points of building the best class, as well as picking the best starting character for your playstyle.
Diablo 2 Resurrected skill points and stat points explained
Diablo 2 doesn't tell you much about how skills and stat points work, but punishes you for not understanding. Skill and Stat resets are incredibly rare — you get one reset for free and have to grind the end-game to get more — so think carefully before investing your points.
What does strength do in Diablo 2?
Strength is what decides how much damage you deal and what kind of armor you can wear, which makes it a bit tricky. Melee-focused characters naturally need plenty of strength for their DPS role, but you'll need to add some strength for mages and ranged characters too. Otherwise, higher-level armor will remain out of reach.
What does dexterity do in Diablo 2?
Dexterity is slightly more vague. It primarily determines your accuracy, but ranged characters need higher dexterity to equip certain weapons, while it also decides the likelihood shield users can block incoming attacks.
What does vitality do in Diablo 2?
Vitality is your HP, essentially. It's an attribute worth investing in for any class, whether it's a bulky DPS or squishy mage.
What does energy do in Diablo 2?
Energy raises your character's mana, or MP if you're used to traditional RPGs. Spellcasters use this the most, so energy is vital for them. However, casting any ability uses mana as well. Don't completely neglect it for your DPS classes either.
Diablo 2 Resurrected best starting class
We recommend the Druid, Sorceress, or Barbarian as your starter class. The Druid is a solid all-around class that gives you the tools necessary for understanding how combat works. Sorceress is a powerhouse that doesn’t require too much thought to maintain - and who doesn't love pew-pewing elemental spells at bad guys? while the Barbarian is a good intermediate melee class if you want to tinker with something slightly more complex.
Diablo 2 Resurrected classes | Diablo 2 Druid build
The two best Druid builds revolve around wind and fire.
Druid wind build
The wind build is a good mix of offense and support.
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Cyclone Armor | 20 |
| Oak Sage | 20 |
| Twister | 20 |
| Tornado | 20 |
| Hurricane | 20 |
Cycline Armor boosts your defense, while Oak Sage increases health for both you and the rest of the party. The other three skills are potent AoE attacks that deal hefty damage without you getting too close.
Vitality should be your main attribute focus, outside whatever is necessary to equip your best gear. Equip items that increase elemental damage as well, such as Ravenlore.
Druid fire build
Fire Druid is more of a DPS character, so your skill points should focus on building out their best elemental attacks.
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Firestorm | 20 |
| Volcano | 20 |
| Armageddon | 20 |
| Molten Boudler | 20 |
| Fissure | 20 |
Diablo 2 Resurrected classes | Diablo 2 Paladin build
The Paladin’s two best builds maximize the class’ potential for heavy damage and solid defense.
Paladin Hammer build
The hammer build is more offensive than the Smiter build, and its top skills reflect that.
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Blessed Hammer | 20 |
| Blessed Aim | 20 |
| Vigor | 20 |
| Concentration | 20 |
| Holy Shield | 20 |
Enigma is a fantastic rune for this build, since it lets you add points to Dexterity — which improves shield block chances — instead of Strength. Make sure to still target strength as well, however, so you can equip the best weapons.
Paladin Smiter build
This build blends offense and defense.
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Fist of the Heavens | 20 |
| Holy Bolt | 20 |
| Holy Shock | 20 |
| Holy Shield | 10 |
| Conviction | 10 |
| Smite | 1 |
The first three are your main offensive skills. These deal AoE lightning damage, though Holy Bolt also heals allies. Holy Shield increases defense, while Conviction decreases enemy resistances.
Diablo 2 Resurrected classes | Diablo 2 Barbarian build
The Barbarian is a bit less flexible than most, and you’ll find almost every build has overlapping skills outside the primary one.
Barbarian Frenzy build
The Frenzy build lets you wield and strike with two weapons at once, making it a good choice for those who just want to smash things.
| Skill | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Frenzy | 20 | ||
| Sword Mastery | 20 | ||
| Battle Orders | 20 | ||
| Double Swing | 20 | ||
| Taunt | 20 | ||
| Increased Speed | 1 | Battle Command | 1 |
Battle Orders keeps everyone alive longer, while Taunt makes enemies more predictable. Strength and Dexterity should be your two primary stats for this build, so the Barbarian can equip the best weapons and increase the likelihood of landing more hits.
Barbarian Whirlwind build
The Whirlwind Barbarian is a more cautious Barbarian suited for tank-style play.
| Skill | Point |
|---|---|
| Whirlwind | 20 |
| Sword Mastery | 20 |
| Shout | 20 |
| Battle Orders | 20 |
| Natural Resistance | 5 |
| Increased Speed | 5 |
| Iron Skin | 5 |
| Berserk | 1 |
| Battle Command | 1 |
Natural Resistance and Iron Skin are the key skills here outside Whirlwind. These boost your resistance to afflictions and enhance defense. Berserk increases attack power at the expense of defense, so adjust the point totals as necessary depending on how much more attack power you need.
Diablo 2 Resurrected classes | Diablo 2 Amazon build
The Amazon is sort of a one-trick character. However you build yours, they excel at doing just one thing. Fortunately, they do it pretty well.
Amazon Archer build
This is the standard and probably best Amazon build to go with. It offers a wider variety of skills and methods of damage dealing than some elemental builds.
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Strafe | 20 |
| Multiple Shot | 20 |
| Valkyrie | 20 |
| Penetrate | 5 |
| Critical Strike | 5 |
| Pierce | 5 |
| Avoid | 5 |
| Evade | 5 |
| Dodge | 5 |
The skills from Penetrate onward have some flexibility in how you build them. You can drop some of the evasion skills to focus on boosted attack power, for example, or leave off Penetrate and make your Amazon an evasion tank.
Either way, Dexterity is key here. An archer is only as good as their aim, after all.
Amazon Lightning Javelin build
This is a more offensive Amazon with strong elemental damage potential.
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Charged Strike | 20 |
| Lightning Strike | 20 |
| Lightning Fury | 20 |
| Power Strike | 20 |
| Critical Strike | 5 |
| Avoid | 5 |
| Pierce | 5 |
| Evade | 5 |
| Dodge | 5 |
The primary difference here is making spear your Amazon’s primary weapon and, obviously, they’re imbued with lightning. These make the Amazon slightly more offensive thanks to the extra damage lightning deals after the base attack’s damage.
Diablo 2 Resurrected classes | Diablo 2 Necromancer build
The Necromancer is a flexible class you can build into a passive DPS character or a full-on damage dealer.
Necromancer Summoner build
This one capitalizes on the Necromancer’s unique ability to make the dead work for them. It’s fairly passive, though, so keep that in mind.
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Raise Skeleton | 20 |
| Corpse Explosion | 20 |
| Raise Skeletal Mage | 20 |
| Golem Mastery | 20 |
| Dim Vision | 3 |
| Lower Resist | 1 |
| Amplify Damage | 1 |
Magic is the Necromancer’s stat of choice, along with Vitality. Getting enough skeletons to do your bidding is the primary goal in this build, but corpse explosion is handy for dealing heavy damage. Either way, make sure your Necromancer is at a safe enough distance since they’re rather fragile.
Necromancer Bone Spell build
This is a good DPS build if you want to be more involved in the Necromancer’s fights.
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Bone Spear | 20 |
| Teeth | 20 |
| Bone Wall | 20 |
| Bone Spirit | 20 |
| Bone Prison | 20 |
| Clay Golem | 1 |
| Amplify Damage | 1 |
| Bone Armor | 1 |
| Revive | 1 |
This is a fairly straightforward build. Bone spells seek targets and deliver high damage, while some, including Bone Prison, keep them from moving. You might want to invest more in Bone Armor if you find you’re taking too much damage though.
Diablo 2 Resurrected classes | Diablo 2 Sorceress build
The Sorceress is a powerful class built, as you’d expect, entirely around magic. There’s still some flexibility in how you can tailor her spells, though.
Sorceress Frozen Orb build| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Frozen Orb | 20 |
| Ice Blast | 20 |
| Cold Mastery | 20 |
| Ice Bolt | 20 |
| Warmth | 10 |
| Teleport | 1 |
| Energy Shield | 1 |
The Frozen Orb is a purely DPS build. Warmth and Cold Mastery are its cornerstone skills that keep the Sorceress’ mana replenished and bolsters the damage she can deal. The Magic and Vitality stats should be your priority for the Sorceress.
Sorceress Fire Meteorb build| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Fire Bolt | 1 |
| Fire Ball | 20 |
| Meteor | 20 |
| Fire Mastery | 20 |
| Frozen Orb | 20 |
| Cold Mastery | 5 |
| Teleport | 1 |
| Frozen Armor | 1 |
Diablo 2 Resurrected classes | Diablo 2 Assassin build
The Assassin isn’t the strongest class, but if you like tricks and traps, it’s the one for you.
Assassin Trapper build
| Skill | Point |
|---|---|
| Death Sentry | 20 |
| Wake of Fire | 20 |
| Lightning Sentry | 20 |
| Lightning Blast | 20 |
| Wake of Inferno | 20 |
The name pretty much says it all here. Most of these skills deal fairly high damage without the Assassin having to be nearby, which is good since they’re frail.
Assassin Chaos Runeward build
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Shadow Master | 20 |
| Venom | 20 |
| Fade | 20 |
| Claw Mastery | 20 |
| Burst of Speed | 1 |
| Dragon Flight | 1 |
| Weapon Block | 1 |
| Blade Sentinel | 1 |
This is a middle-of-the-road build that moderately enhances both attack and defense while adding some tricky afflictions to the mix.
Make sure to plan your Diablo 2 Resurrected skills wisely. Skill resets don’t come cheap, though you should be set for some of the early challenges, such as the Monastery and Cairn Stones, whatever you pick.
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