Diablo Immortal best solo class to start with

With all the hype revolving around Diablo Immortal and its official launch, we've decided that the best order of business would be to help you get started in the game - more specifically, at choosing the best solo class to start with.

No matter what your previous Diablo experience has been (even if you have thousands of hours in Diablo II or Diablo III, or you're a complete newbie), Diablo Immortal comes in hot with new mechanics and class changes that will make you think carefully about each decision you will make in regards to creating your first character.

Unlike Diablo III, where players could tweak their characters however they felt, in Diablo Immortal players will not be able to change their class at will. At the moment there is a possibility of players having a free class change monthly, but we don't really know much more on that topic just yet. This leads us to today's article where we will talk about which solo class is the best to start with in Diablo Immortal.

Why should you choose one class and stick to it?

Because of the fact that players won't be able to switch classes at will, picking a good, well-rounded one from the very start and investing all your time and resources in powering up that character is key to reaching the end-game content easily, and tackling any boss with ease.

What is considered the best solo class?

Long story short, for solo play in Diablo Immortal you want a class that is able to deal AoE damage for fast clearing, has the ability to tank (because, for obvious reasons, you'll have to challenge powerful bosses) and is not too shabby dealing with single targets either. When considering all of these, there are a couple of classes that come to mind - the Barbarian and the Crusader. There is a third class that could work great, but it's not completely beginner-friendly - the Demon Hunter. If you'd like to know more about each one, head out and read our Diablo Immortal classes guide.

However, there is one class that trumps all the others, and that is the Barbarian. With sheer strength and a weapon forged probably in enemy blood, the Barbarian easily takes the trophy for the most well-rounded, powerful, and surprisingly fun class to play. It does require a few Legendary items to truly shine in the end-game, but that's a topic for another story.

Now that the cat's out of the box, let's actually dive a little bit deeper into why the Barbarian class is the best for solo play, and what the pros and cons of playing it are.

Diablo Immortal's best solo class is - Barbarian

Arguably the number one class in the game, the Barbarian is the jack of all trades. Not only is it one of the best solo classes in Diablo Immortal (for reasons we've listed below), but also a great class to pick as a beginner, because it's easy, efficient and downright strong.

Pros	Cons
AoE damage Tanky Lifesteal (sustain) Amazing group buffs Great for any type of content, including PvP	Melee damage Not the best single target damage Not the absolute best PvP class in terms of damage, but thanks to its tankiness it can sustain and deal damage for long periods of time, often outlasting the enemies

Barbarian Skills

There are a few Barbarian builds that can work, but one of the best (and our personal favourite) is Lacerate + Cleave + Whirlwind + Hammer of the Ancients + Chained Spear.

Because Lacerate is such an amazing Main skill (it heals you and it deals heaps of damage), you will use it alongside Whirlwind and Hammer of the Ancients to zoom through waves and waves of enemies and rip them to shreds. If you have The Gathering you will also be able to pull enemies towards you, and then swiftly Whirlwind through them - otherwise, you can pull them with Chained Spear. 

The best Legendary items for Barbarian

Main hand:

• Rending Bite (Main-hand)
• The Tempest (Main-hand)
• Stonefall (Main-hand)

Off hand:

• Obin's Many Fingers (Off-hand)
• Virulent Fist (Off-hand)
• The Remembered (Off-hand)

Chest:

• Cracklefell (Chest)
• Impaler's Breath (Chest)
• Davin's Legacy (Chest)
• The Gathering (Chest)

Shoulders:

• Hatred's Reach (Shoulders)
• Ydama's Cyclone (Shoulders)
• The Coming Storm (Shoulders)

Head:

• Second Breath (Head)
• Battlemaster's Helm (Head)

Legs:

• Swiftwing (Legs)
• Screaming Fury (Legs)

Barbarian Stats Priority - what are the best stats to focus on?

1. Strength - this is the number 1 priority for the Barbarian
2. Fortitude
3. Vitality
4. Willpower
5. Intelligent

Others

The Special Attributes are not that important for the Barbarian. Thus being said, there are still a few notables that you can allocate if needed:

• Critical Hit Chance
• Critical Hit Damage
• Cooldown Reduction
• Movement Speed

The best Gems for Barbarians

Depending on the equipment you have, you can socket a number of useful Gems. Whether you have Normal or Legendary Gems, there's always something useful to socket.

Normal Gems

• Red - use Tourmaline to get additional DMG (the best)
• Blue - use Sapphire for Armor Pen
• Yellow - use Citrine for Potency

Legendary Gems

• Chained Death - exceptional for the early game and farming (AoE damage increase)
• Trickshot
• Fervent Fang
• Everlasting Torment
• Berserker's Eye

The Playstyle

When it comes to the actual playstyle, the Barbarian is the character you play if you want to go head-first into battle and kill anything and everything standing in your way. By having the additional sustain from Lacerate every third hit, your main goal is to lure as many opponents as you can with your first two hits (even if you take some damage) and then use the third hit on as many as you possibly can, which will heal you for 15% of the damage dealt. 

By combining Whirlwind and Chained Spear (and possibly other DPS skills) you will have a very "typical" and "by the book" Barbarian - the character that spins, dashes and slashes. 

For boss encounters, you want to use Frenzy as your main damaging skill, Wrath of the Berserker, as well as Undying Rage. Killing them will take some time, but you'll most often than not outheal them in battle. Additionally, you can change your Blue Gem to Aquamarine, which will give you some additional Armor.