State of the Classes in Diablo 4: A PTR Deep Dive
The Diablo 4 PTR allowed players to jump straight into Sanctuary for a sneak peek at changes coming in Season 4. Everything from new bosses to new itemization was on the table, and enough information was learned to make anyone's head spin.
Our Class Leads took the time to analyze some of the buffs and nerfs experienced in the Patch 1.4.0 PTR, and shared their thoughts below on the good, the bad, and the future!
State of the Barbarian
The Season 4 PTR was certainly a change of pace for Barbarians, though it wasn’t all bad. Yes, Hammer of the Ancients Barbarians took a sizeable hit to their damage output, but it’s hard to say it was unnecessary. The newly favored Charge and its best modifier were nerfed considerably only a few months after becoming a part of the meta, but Kick feels exceptionally strong.
Call of the Ancients is starting to look like a viable Ultimate contender with enough Cooldown Reduction, and both Unbridled Rage and Marshal may have finally fallen out of viability. The two biggest hits to Barbarians in general might be Blood Rage’s nerf and the removal of our innate 10% Damage Reduction, but significant nerfs were expected.
While we can’t know exactly how much Patch 1.4.0 will change between now and May, loot adjustments and the new gear systems seem to bring new life to the Barbarian playstyle and open the door for some interesting builds.
State of the Druid
For most Druid builds, the changes were incremental enough that there's unlikely to be a big shakeup in the meta or in overall tier list rankings — with the exception of new Companion-based builds that will burst onto the scene in Season 4. The biggest changes for Druids are undoubtedly the many improvements to Companions, particularly with Companions inheriting 100% of the Druid's attributes.
Biggest Winner: Companions. Until now, the most daunting issue faced by Companions as a cornerstone of Druid builds is poor endgame scaling, but Tempering in the PTR has addressed many of
