You currently have the chance to try out the Paladin in Diablo 4 for free. With the right build, the new class deals significant damage – and it plays quite relaxing.
How can I play the Paladin for free? Through a “Free Trial”, you have the opportunity to check out the Paladin in Diablo 4 for free. The trial period runs from March 11 to March 18, 2026 (6 PM German time) and started simultaneously with Season 12. The trial phase is available on PC via Battle.net as well as on Xbox and PlayStation.
Anyone who plays the Paladin during the trial up to level 25 and pre-orders the expansion “Lord of Hatred” can transfer their progress and character directly. Once you own the DLC, you can continue playing the Paladin without time limitations.
For leveling your Paladin, you can find a suitable build here that will guide you through the initial levels. For those who want to jump right in and keep playing after the Free Trial, we have a strong endgame build ready below.
Relaxed build that melts all monsters
What kind of build is this? It is the “Auradin” build of the Paladin. With this, you eliminate monsters in quick succession while simply existing. If you are looking for a relaxed build where you hardly have to press buttons or keep complex skill rotations in mind, the “Auradin” build is exactly what you need. The name is derived from Paladin and the Auras on which the build is based.
The experts from maxroll.gg refer to the build as “Walking Simulator” because you move quickly across the map as enemies simply evaporate in your Fire Aura.
The key points of the build:
- Falling Star: Your most important mobility skill, allowing you to move quickly between groups of enemies.
- Aura of Fanaticism: Weakens enemies, grants you increased attack speed and critical hit chance.
- Aura of Defiance: Heals you and grants bonuses to maximum health and armor. Activating the skill makes you unstoppable.
- Consecration: Heals you while dealing damage per second.
- Lord of Justice: Your ultimate, where you plunge onto the battlefield as the Lord and deal massive damage.
- The Disciple’s Oath enhances your Disciple skills like Falling Star and Lord of Justice. In the area form, these skills deal 50% [x] more damage.
You need the unique gloves “Duskfire” for the build, which drop among others from Varshan. This makes Holy Light continuously deal fire damage around you, which is your main source of damage.
For the Auradin build, you use the Disciple’s Oath. More information about the Paladin and its oaths can be found in the official trailer:
This is how the Auradin plays:
- You switch between the skills “Lord of Justice” and “Falling Star” to remain in your area form as much as possible.
- You regularly activate your aura skills to consistently deal damage while benefiting from bonuses to armor, resistances, critical hit chance and attack speed.
- “Consecration” is used mainly in more challenging fights.
- The unique gloves “Duskfire” ultimately ensure that your Paladin automatically melts enemies with fire damage.
A detailed build guide including skill tree and Paragon board can be found from the experts and theorycrafters at maxroll.gg.
Two alternative Paladin builds for the endgame
More strong builds for the Paladin: If you are looking for another playstyle for the Paladin in the endgame, there are more strong builds to choose from. The Wing Strike build is also a really strong playstyle. With this, you rely on an automatic skill that remains active as long as you are in the area form. The build is made possible by the “Oath of the Disciple”. A detailed guide can be found at maxroll.gg.
Another strong alternative is the “Shield of Vengeance” Paladin. This build emphasizes thorn damage and Moloch skills. You throw a shield at your enemies and destroy them in the process, making it a strong build at medium range. A variant of this build is also referred to as the “Captain America” build, which deals 5 billion damage per tick and is nearly unstoppable.
The Paladin is one of two new classes that are coming to Diablo 4 with the “Lord of Hatred” expansion. As members of the “Guardians of Light”, they are heavily armored and use the holy power. The second new class, the Warlock, is the exact opposite, as they are dark spellcasters who enslave demons to their will and draw their power directly from hell. You can find all the information about the Warlock in our overview: The Warlock will be the new class in Diablo 4 – What we know about gameplay, abilities, and class mechanics
