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Here’s the real most OP and best Diablo 3 class for Inferno
Everyone wants to play the most overpowered classes in the beginning of new games. Who wants to be stuck with some broken class that takes more effort and time to advance. There hasn’t been much information regarding the scaling of classes throughout Diablo 3 difficulties (Normal, Nightmare, Hell, Inferno). The only content available on Beta is level 1-13 within one-third of the first act, (out of 4 acts) on the easiest difficulty, normal.
How Can we Figure this Out?
The most OP Diablo 3 class needs fast movement, durability, effective aoe and the ability to destroy single target elites and bosses without sweating. It seems completely unpredictable when mobs start hitting harder, charging players in numbers involving several monster types and who knows what kind of mechanics, resistances and armor. What we can figure out is which abilities seem better and which combinations of abilities are better in theory! I’ve made dozens of builds, researched many mechanics and put hours of thought into each class to try to figure this out on my own.
I’ve come up with several loose-ended conclusions that may help you find your own. Check out my builds for more detail. (BTW with the new rune system, there’s an estimated total of 2.8 trillion builds, Jay Wilson (Game Director) said it himself in a video! ZOMG, if that doesn’t satisfy your customization thirst then you’re NUTS!)
I predict the best solo classes will be Barbarians, Monks, Witch Doctors and only the best Wizards competing in Inferno while Demon Hunters sadly crawl behind. I do think every class has a chance though, unlike many other games on release day. I feel Blizzard made a good call only creating 5x classes from the start. Balancing them while giving them a chance to be complex is much more reasonable. Players are actually presented a hard choice! There’s no laughable Kung Fu Panda’s in Diablo! If you have selected a class and thought they were the most OP Diablo 3 solo class, check out this article - Diablo 3 groups.
The Monk is OP
The Monk has unbelievable avoidance, healing and thus sustainability. This classes solo potential is ridiculous. Simply put, it is the easiest, most simple class in the game with almost no need for well-planned attack strategies in the harder difficulties. The effort to success ratio favors the casual gamer. Therefore, for the average gamer, the Monk will trump any other class in progression speed and efficiency in the entirety of Normal-Inferno.
The only weaknesses I foresee is the amount of CC available to the Monk and AoE damage output when made with a tanky build. This can be avoided by using a damage intensive build in early difficulties and perhaps tweaking for more survivability during end-game Hell and Inferno. Maybe Monks won’t maintain a rapid pace, but a solid pace should be manageable with much less effort than the rest of the classes, which comes in handy during grindy leveling sessions.
Monks are essential to any group composition and are the best team playing class in the game. This is due to their team buffs (mostly through Mantras), tank capabilities, healing and steady DPS.
The Wizard Looks Fun
The Wizard comes with a great arsenal of attacks and should really live up to the expecations of players who enjoy mages. There’s lots of room in the abilities for Wizard’s to pump out hard, fast killing AoE damage with little or no downsides. I think Normal-Hell will be a cakewalk for any seasoned gamer who enjoys casters. In fact I think Normal-Nightmare and perhaps Hell mode will be faster for the Wizard than any other class.
The downside I foresee is that Inferno will take a heightened amount of skill and precision as a Wizard and the straight pyroblast pwnage to the face strategy won’t work so well. Unless high level strategy is combined with several utility skills, a well timed combination of abilities, and superb kiting; I will expect to see people failing in Inferno. The Wizard’s lack of durability and healing can be made up for with burst, CC and utility, but don’t expect to be owning end game Hell and Inferno without great concentration and well-planned strategies.
I expect the Wizard to be a great asset to groups, but not needed. If you’re a fan of Magesque classes you won’t be disappointed.
The Witch Doctor has Potential
The Witch Doctor is the X factor class. I’ve never seen a class so crazily designed in any game. Thinking about the WD makes me want to play it even though I’ve made up my mind on another class. If you are somewhat psychotic or just love creativity and weird abilities involving sacrificing life, summoning minions and eating souls you may be in for a treat. There is sooo much room for strategy in this class. A supreme expert AKA pro player will be very competitive as a solo class in the game. A phenom who tests ridiculous strategies, tests some more and refines his methods of domination will destroy nearly everything.
Ironically this class will be easy to pick up and play at a moderate pace which I expect will be the majority of WDs. An easy to pick up, hard to master class defines the Witch Doctor. If you are able to manage the great arsenal of CC abilities, multiple draining techniques, mana and really weird mechanics there’s a good chance you will beat inferno with flying colors. Normal-Hell should be easy and Inferno will test the depth of the Witch Doctor’s strategies.
With the CC of the Witch Doctor and capability of his Pets soaking damage, he really brings huge benefits to group play. I expect Witch Doctor’s to be a nuisance in group PvP play draining and controlling the shit out of you. If you play this class in organized PvP, expect to get swarmed.
Barbarians – Bingo we have Found EZ Mode
The Barbarian is every drunkard’s and high school football player’s dream class. If you have a high level of testosterone, are angry, or just feeling bloodthirsty; nothing brings out the hack and slash feel better than the Barbarian. Visualizing myself playing this character with all his abilities makes me hungry. It makes me want to beat down the punk-kid who corrected my pronunciation of some arbitrary word in front of the girl I had a crush on when I first hit puberty.
The Barbarian must have been given an extreme amount of thought by Blizzard. It truly is the most well-rounded class in the game. I don’t see any weaknesses for this class when put in the right hands. In fact I expect Barbs who are slightly above average players to be the fastest soloers in the game hands down. The Barb has great self-sustainability, a great ability for direct dps, AoE dps, great CC mechanics, mobility and lots of damage reduction.
In group play the Barb will beable to tank or destroy anything on the front lines while easily boosting his allies and debuffing his enemies. The Barbarian just looks unfairly designed to me and I expect him to be the best PvPer at release too.
Demon Hunter looks Skill Based and Fun for PvP
The Demon Hunter is the snipers delight. If you like pelting at a distance with rogue-like tactics you will like this class. I can see the Demon Hunter putting out an insanely large amount of consistent dps with the right build in group play.
The trouble with the class in solo play is kiting large amounts of random mobs who hit hard. There are only so many times you can do a backflip before a monster gobbles you. I expect Hell and Inferno to be largely difficult even for masters of this class until insanely geared. I wouldn’t underestimate this class, but I wouldn’t expect it to be a reliable choice if I were to gamble on who would level the fastest. PvP wise I expect this class to be a great asset to groups and to be very skill based.
Conclusion
Overall I expect the most OP Diablo 3 class to be the Barbarian at release. When it comes to completing the whole game from Normal-Inferno in solo PvE I suspect Barbarians along with good Monks and Witch Doctors to be in the hunt. I expect only the best Wizards to be slightly behind. I expect Demon Hunters to struggle somewhat behind the rest of the pack. In the end it comes down to playstyle when the classes all seem to be near equal. Just expect a harder learning curve for Wizards and Demon Hunters. Barbarians and Monks will have it the easiest while Witch Doctors should have it some-what easy. Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with any class. Good job Blizz.
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