Diablo 4 will be a service game that is to be supplied with new content over the years. Fans are already speculating about what might come and which new class is on the horizon. One class is particularly popular and is even very likely. The best part: most of you also want it.
What kind of class is that? Paladins have already existed in Diablo 2. The holy warriors fight with divine magic, sword and shield in heavy armor. They are the proverbial bulwark against the dark forces.
The idea of paladins was later continued in Diablo 3 and Diablo Immortal with the Crusader. The two classes share many characteristics, although Crusaders still have signature abilities with horses.
In our poll on which new class you want in Diablo 4, paladins are currently in first place with 29% of the votes. And it looks like the chances are quite good that you might get your wish as early as the first expansion.
Currently, only 5 classes are known in Diablo 4: Barbarian, Druid, Huntress, Necromancer, and Sorceress. However, hints about a 6th class were already found in 2022, including a leak from Blizzard itself.
The Open Beta for Diablo 4 starts soon and you can test the classes yourself. Here’s what you need to know for the beta:
Will the Paladin be the first new class in Diablo 4?
What speaks for the Paladin: At the end of 2022, an image appeared that shows the classes of Diablo 4 fighting against some demons and other opponents. No character is distinctly detailed except for the playable classes.
The same image was shown in 2019 when Diablo 4 was announced, but only with Sorceress, Barbarian, and Druid, the classes known at the time. The new image looks almost identical, except that three additional characters are visible.
Next to the Huntress and the Necromancer, a 6th figure in golden armor is visible, carrying a shield, possessing angel wings, and holding a spear in the air. The image was quickly removed, but a user on reddit has saved and shared it.
Since then, rumors have been running hot, and players are wondering what kind of character this could be. They suspect an angel, which doesn’t fit because a face is visible. Angels don’t have faces in Diablo. Therefore, various classes are now being considered that could be possible:
- Paladin
- Crusader
- Valkyrie (like in the Amazon skill from Diablo 2)
- Templar
Another indication for the Paladin, according to fans and experts, is that a class of this archetype is still missing. There is currently no class that uses holy power and also no real shield bearer. For completeness, such a class would still need to come.
Do you want to vote yourself? Here is the poll on which class you wish for:
When could the Paladin appear? It would make sense historically for the class to come into play with the first or second expansion. In the story of Diablo 4, the gates of heaven are closed, so there is no help from angels.
However, if the story eventually leads to a point where players travel to heaven, as in Diablo 3, or otherwise make contact with divine beings, a corresponding class would thematically fit as well.
When exactly the expansion will be released, we cannot say yet. Some fans suspect that the first expansion or the first new DLC will be released before the end of the year. We also don’t know anything about the cost of a possible new class yet.
It is common practice in game development to think about potential new content long before the release, and some of it may even be partially completed. So it may well be that the new class is announced even before the release on June 6.
Since the announcement in 2019, a lot has changed in Diablo 4 – and some information has remained rather under the radar:
