Blizzard has introduced the latest class for Diablo 4 with the Warlock. Just after the presentation, MeinMMO spoke with the German Diablo expert Rob2628, who is absolutely thrilled about the abilities of the spellcaster. Especially one skill brings shining eyes to the streamer: transforming into a corporeal demon.
With the Warlock, Blizzard has created an absolute novelty in the history of Diablo. The new class is featured in three games: Diablo 2: Resurrected, Diablo Immortal, and Diablo 4.
On March 5, the developers finally showcased the Warlock in Diablo 4. The new class can summon demons and fights with the powers of Hell… against the powers of Hell.
Here you can read all about the abilities and gameplay of the Warlock.
Shortly after Blizzard showed what the Warlock can do, I grabbed the German Diablo expert Rob. He was already delighted with the class from Diablo 2, even though he mainly plays in Diablo 4.
The streamer is known for his deep expertise in the mechanics of Diablo 4, his impressive builds for all classes, and his skill in the highest difficulty levels of the game. In his videos, he explains builds and tricks, now even with a German YouTube channel.
Rob was able to play the Warlock directly at Blizzard in California and reveals a little more about the abilities and his impression in the interview – and it sounds extremely positive, the excitement is clearly heard in the conversation.
“Challenging, complex, but not in a bad way”
The expert’s first impression: the Warlock is “more challenging, complex” than other classes in the game, “but not in a bad way.” Especially in contrast to the Paladin, who can dominate the endgame even with just one button or without pressing any buttons at all, the Warlock is much more multifaceted.
On the one hand, there are different playstyles, with which either demon hordes are summoned or the Warlock empowers himself to become a true monster. On the other hand, there is the interplay of the revised skill trees with the Warlock’s abilities:
[The Warlock] goes a bit deeper with its mechanics and combination possibilities. You have a control build with powerful hordes of Hell, or a big demon fighting by your side. It sounds like the Necromancer now, but the Warlock has many more options to command its minions. […]
The genius part is also when it comes to aspects and such: you now have the new skill tree, which also comes for the other classes and is significantly more complex. You have many more options for shaping your skills. […] Aspects that were previously on legendary items are now in the ability tree. […] Each skill has, I believe, 7 different upgrades. Options that you can then combine in various ways.
Rob2628
Rob explains: concretely, this means that you can change the “tags” of certain skills, as is already the case with the Paladin. Thus, a Hellfire skill can become a shadow skill through an upgrade, opening up completely new build variants.
Additionally, the Warlock needs to manage two resources: a primary resource and one used to bind demons. You can think of it a bit like the demon hunter in Diablo 3.
Rob’s current favorite skill of the Warlock, the Metamorphosis:
“Works very well, even for beginners”
Despite the many possibilities that the Warlock offers, the class is not supposed to be “too difficult.” Rob summarizes the class with Blizzard’s classic: “easy to learn, hard to master.”
For those who do not want to deal with all the skills and their synergies, they can simply play a minion build, where the minions do everything, just like the Necromancer. Regarding casual-friendliness, the expert says:
I’m still a bit torn on this. I’m not sure how serious it is. I’m not really into the hardcore casual base myself. In principle, the class is already more challenging. But you have this quasi-automated build, where you let your pets do your stuff. The playstyle is relatively simple. […]
I believe the class is very well suited for beginners as well. Then you just play your minion build first, command your hordes, and do your thing. A lot of people actually find that playstyle great. […] You have an easy entry with the Summoner build and then later much more complex combination possibilities in the endgame.
Rob2628
Despite the many combination possibilities, the different playstyles will be somewhat dictated by the chosen ultimate, of which the Warlock – like all others – has four.
In one of his first German videos, Rob explains the skills of the Warlock in detail:
An ultimate makes the Warlock “an ultra-god, a bit”
The big highlight for the streamer is the Metamorphosis, an ultimate that allows the Warlock to become a demon himself, a kind of “mini-Diablo,” as he puts it, to an ultra-god, a bit
. In this form, the character has completely new attacks like a fire beam, a teleport, and claw attacks.
As a big proponent of the Barbarian, Rob compares the skill to the “Wrath of the Berserker” of the martial brawler, but even more intense. The other ultimates provide a completely different playstyle:
- a giant demon that basically “sits on your shoulders” and swings through the crowd with its massive sword.
- the Apocalypse, which you may already know from Diablo 2: a pentagram that you summon and that deals high damage in a large area. The peculiarity here, according to Rob: the cooldown cannot be reduced, as the skill would otherwise be too strong
- and finally a sort of “hellish swarm of locusts” that swirls around the Warlock and devours enemies.
When asked if the Warlock has what it takes to become the new favorite class, Rob clearly states: “Barb for life,” but the Warlock will definitely be played a lot at release – if only because it looks so strong.
However, he excludes the possibility that the new class will come with absurd numbers like the Spiritborn back then. For that circumstance, bugs were responsible back then. The Warlock will be strong, yes, initially definitely stronger than all other classes, but not completely OP like the Spiritborn was at release.
The Warlock will be released as part of the DLC “Lord of Hatred” on April 28, and will cost at least 40 euros. Also in the expansion is already the Paladin, which you can even play for a short time for free: Blizzard presents the latest class for Diablo 4, costs 40 euros, tempting you with an expensive DLC with a free test
