Diablo 4: Best Builds For Every Server Slam Class

Diablo 4‘s Server Slam weekend is our last chance to play the game ahead of its full release. That also means that it’s the last time we’ll get to play with the various build possibilities for every class ahead of Diablo 4‘s release.

Diablo 4‘s surprisingly substantial Server Slam patch means that every class was subject to a series of nerfs, buffs, and, in most cases, a little of both. As such, these builds will primarily focus on the new possibilities that those changes hopefully enabled.

Before we dive into all of that, though, let’s go over a few things.

– As before, these builds are based on what we currently know about the game thanks to the Early Access beta, earlier previews, and datamined information. This article will be updated for the retail release of the game.

– This article primarily focuses on the best solo builds since that’s how many people may have to experience the beta until things open up a bit. For co-op players, be sure to always synergize with your partners. If they offer massive single-target damage, you might need to bring more AoE to the party. If you can turn a flexible skill slot into a party buff ability, it might be a good idea to pick that ability up.

– Due to the limited nature of the beta, this guide will primarily focus on Skills and Stats rather than recommended gear and other high-level upgrades that are not currently available. Future versions of this article will feature much more information regarding those aspects of the game.

– Finally, the massive size of Diablo 4‘s skill trees makes it difficult to simply include a picture of the final build. Instead, we’ll be sharing links to a build calculator that showcases the Level 25 versions of each build. Hopefully, more resources will become available in the future that will make it easier to share all of this information.

With that out of the way, here are some of the best builds for every class you’ll find in the Diablo 4 Server Slam beta.

Diablo 4 Beta – Best Barbarian Build: Double Swing Warrior

Barbarian Build Full Skill Tree

Primary Skills: Double Swing, Ground Stomp, War Cry, Charge, Death Blow, Call of the Ancients

Double Swing was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the recent Diablo 4 Barbarian buffs, so we’re leaning into that skill with this build.

The basic idea behind this build is to use Double Swing as often as possible. Because that skill now restores pretty much all of your Fury and grants you Berserking, it can absolutely shred even the toughest of foes. It’s early days yet, but it looks like a really strong ability. Find a couple of good weapons to use it with, and you should be laughing.

The rest of this build is designed to support that skill. Ground Stomp offers one of the best ways to stun multiple enemies and set them up for Double Swing. War Cry remains a very powerful buff, and Charge is a fantastic damage ability that also makes up for Barbarian’s slow movement speeds.

I tend to prefer Death Blow and Call of the Ancients in those last two spots, but those spots are flexible. Death Blow is still a fantastic boss killer, and Call of the Ancients is just a generally powerful Ultimate. If you need to, though, you can work kick or a few passives into your build instead. If you’re doing so, try to keep Death Blow and replace Call of the Ancients.

Diablo 4 Beta – Best Rogue Build: Shadow Flurry

Rogue Build Full Skill Tree

Primary Skills: Invigorating Strike, Flurry, Shadow Step, Dark Shroud, Shadow Imbument, Shadow Clone

Since I still love the Barrage/Poison ranged Rogue build I previously shared, let’s take a look at a melee version of the Rogue class that is already proving to be incredibly powerful. 

The cores of this build are Flurry and Shadow Imbument. Flurry is a powerful AoE melee ability that unleashes a barrage of strikes on nearby enemies. Shadow Imbument imbues your weapons with Shadow damage that can (among other things) make corpses explode and damage other nearby enemies. Combined, those abilities allow you to unleash a flurry of strikes that turn recently slain enemies into bombs. It’s an incredibly fun and undeniably effective way to deal with larger groups of foes.

The rest of this build is designed to support that core combo. Invigorating Strike helps us keep our Energy levels high (though Puncture is an interesting alternative), while Shadow Step and Dark Shroud offer some much-needed defensive and evasion abilities. Exploit and Malice make our Flurry combo even more powerful (as does the always-valuable Shadow Clone Ultimate). 

Boss fights can be a little tricky with this build, especially if that boss doesn’t summon creatures that you can use your Shadow combo on. I put a couple of points in Precision Imbument (which increases the Critical Strike chance of our Imbued attacks) to help you out a bit against single targets, but you definitely have a couple of flex points in this build that can go towards whatever fits your playstyle. Twisting Blades, for instance, could be a big help during certain fights.

Finally, be sure to increase your enemy Vulnerability uptime through gear upgrades whenever possible. Vulnerability makes this build even better, and while you will gain some natural Vulnerability output via your other abilities, that status effect makes everything this build is already doing that much better. 

Diablo 4 Beta – Best Sorcerer Build: Chained Lightning

Sorcerer Build Full Skill Tree

Primary Skills: Arc Lash, Chain Lightning, Teleport, Ice Armor, Ice Blades, Hydra, Unstable Currents

Yes, Chain Lightning was recently nerfed. Based on what we’ve seen, though, those nerfs will likely just make other builds more viable and appealing. In other words, Chain Lightning may be worse than before, but it still looks like an absolutely devastating ability.

As it does in many other games that feature similar abilities, Diablo 4’s version of the Chain Lightning spell summons a powerful lightning attack that that then spreads to other enemies. It’s an expensive ability, but it’s pretty hard to beat in terms of pure AoE damage. It also works really well with our basic lightning attack, Arc Lash, which also unleashes AoE lightning damage and can even eventually stun affected enemies. 

With those two abilities handling most of your AoE needs, the rest of this build is designed to offer some additional protection and much-needed single-target damage. For instance, Teleport not only offers additional lightning damage but is one of the best evasive abilities in the game regardless of class. Ice Armor, meanwhile, offers additional protection uptime when you deal damage, which is quite nice given how much damage we’ll be dealing with this AoE build. It even offers a little extra mana regen, which is also nice considering that this build is certainly a resource hog.

Ice Blades and Hydra are two interesting additions to the basic Chain Lightning build. Ice Blades is fantastic against bosses (and helps reduce our cooldown timers), while Hydra is just a generally useful attack that deals a respectable amount of safe damage during most fights. Ice Blades is the more essential of those two abilities, so if you’d rather not put so many points into two Conjuration spells, feel free to swap Hydra out for Blizzard, Ball Lightning, or even just some additional points into enhancements or Arc Lash. 

Glass Canon and Elemental Attunement are two enhancement abilities that just work well with everything else this build is trying to do, though you can swap those out for other enhancements or separate attacks if you just want to experiment with additional possibilities. I like leaning heavily into Glass Cannon given how well it synergizes with Ice Armor, but I’ve seen other versions of this concept work well that don’t take that high-risk, high-reward approach. 

Unstable Currents is our obvious Ultimate choice, and it really does take this build to the next level. Simply spam Arc Lash while that Ultimate is active, and you’ll unleash a barrage of various Lightning abilities that will leave you feeling like you somehow just unlocked a cheat code. 

Diablo 4 Beta – Best Necromancer Build: Decomposing Corpse Explosion

Necromancer Build Full Skill Tree

Primary Skills: Decompose, Blight, Corpse Explosion, Decrepify, Corpse Tendrils, Army of the Dead

Much like Chain Lightning, Corpse Explosion took some major nerfs in the latest Diablo 4 update. However, an overpowered ability that is slightly less powerful is still very powerful. In this case, Corpse Explosion wasn’t impacted nearly as much as some thought it would be.

So, this build is designed to support Corpse Explosion in every way possible. For the most part, that means taking abilities that allow us to generate additional corpses or otherwise kill enemies as quickly as possible. Once those first few corpses are up, Corpse Explosion will help you carpet bomb the area and clear out even the largest packs of enemies. It’s a rinse-and-repeat process that will get you through most of the game.

Blight is actually a fantastic enabler for some of the other passives that we’re picking up, while Corpse Tendrils is just a powerful overall ability regardless of your build. The same goes for the Army of the Dead Ultimate. Once you unlock that ultimate, you’ll be able to sit back and just enjoy a wave of AoE chaos.

Decripify is interesting. It’s not really an essential ability, but I struggle to find anything that works quite so well in this spot. unless you’re going for a “Bone Build” or picking up a ton of passives, it seems to be one of your best overall options. That said, you can play wiht those points a bit if the mood strikes you.

Diablo 4 Beta – Best Druid Build: The Werewolf Rabies Build

Druid Build Full Skill Tree

Primary Skills: Claw, Shred, Rabies, Wolves, Poison Creeper, Blood Howl

I found that the werewolf Druid was much more powerful in the last Diablo 4 beta than most people gave it credit for. Well, now that basic archetype has received some surprising buffs (and relatively few nerfs) that should make it more powerful than ever.

This build relies on two things: poison/rabies and companions. The poison/rabies package is pretty obvious Some of the werewolf’s best abilities allow you to poison enemies as you damage them, and that poison can absolutely melt through larger targets. Seriously, some boss fights simply require you to keep poison up on a target, keep your distance, and eventually enjoy the win.

Your companions are the star of this package, though, Poison Creeper not only offers additional poison but a fantastic AoE ability that helps you tear through large groups of enemies. Wolves, meanwhile, just got a huge base damage buff, which helps them compensate for their biggest previous weakness. Now, they can absolutely shred any poisoned enemies, which is useful against packs of lesser foes and bosses.

Claw, Shred, and Blood Howl aren’t the most exciting abilities, but they each play an invaluable role in this build. Blood Howl, in particular, can often be the stealth MVP of many Druid builds, including this one. It’s a fantastic resource generator that allows you to apply a constant stream of damage and pressure.

We’re not taking an Ultimate with this build due to the companion buffs. Lacerate is the obvious choice if you want to go that route, but honestly, I just don’t think it has as much to offer as the combination of companions does.