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. 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.
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.
Vitality is your HP, essentially. It’s an attribute worth investing in for any class, whether it’s a bulky DPS or squishy mage.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Either way, Dexterity is key here. An archer is only as good as their aim, after all.
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.
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.
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. 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. 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
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
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. Activision Blizzard is currently being investigated by the State of California following a major lawsuit over widespread harassment. In the wake of the lawsuit, Activision Blizzard has been sued by shareholders for allegedly hiding the investigation that lead to the suit, and a number of sponsors are pulling back from Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues. Subsequently, CEO Bobby Kotick has been subpoenaed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, despite him saying that “important improvements” have been made at the company. Many current and former employees however, feel the measures don’t go far enough to address the core issues cited in the suit.
