Diablo 4 ... 5th character

[SirBeef]

Don't know, it may be a hood but also a cloak that covers the shoulders aswell. It looks like having gauntlets though, so you may be right. Sword/board doesn't mean he can't be a magic user aswell - holy warrior archetype still fits and it's missing from the 5 classes.

Kinda sad to not see the Necro but i expect it to be basically the next class to be released in a DLC/xpack.

https://www.google.com/search?q=chai...IY0wL7OrJCSHLM

It's more reminiscent of this than a cloak/hood. I'm not discounting holy warrior. Just with the nostalgia angle, I'm sure it's a Paladin. I wouldn't mine seeing a Cleric type that opens up for some melee/caster version, I know both Paladin and Crusader have had ranged stuffs, but they have been primarily melee. But my guess is pure melee tanky class.

That way we start with physical pure melee -Barb. Pure magical ranged - Sorc. Hybrid physical melee, magical ranged, pseudo pet, tanky - Druid. Hybrid physical ranged/melee, agile - Rogue. Magical melee, tanky - Paladin.

That's a nice well rounded set of classes. Still missing dark magic user, pure pet class, pure magic user sword and board, and pure physical ranged.

Still going off nostalgia and existing lore, we have Necro, WD, and Amazon with room for a brand new class or a reimagining of older classes. Not to mention they can go in a different direction. My bet is Necro will be the first added class though.

[The One Percent]

I love how one of the choices is OP's OC please do not steal

[threads]

hope it's paladin

[ClassicPeon]

Don't know, it may be a hood but also a cloak that covers the shoulders aswell. It looks like having gauntlets though, so you may be right. Sword/board doesn't mean he can't be a magic user aswell - holy warrior archetype still fits and it's missing from the 5 classes.

Kinda sad to not see the Necro but i expect it to be basically the next class to be released in a DLC/xpack.

Do we know for sure that its only going to release with 5 champions?

Could the druid be the summoner type then?

Surely they arent going to release without some sort of summoner

[TigTone]

The 5th characters shadow reminds me of 12th century European armor.

My guess it would be a middle range class like the crusaders.

If we look at lore it could be a new class mix of Crusader and Paladin. Seeing how both orders where basically extinct by the end of Diablo 3

[Holycloud]

Did they confirm they would only have 5 Characters? I feel like they left it open for a 6th+ Character at launch.

[Triceron]

Did they confirm they would only have 5 Characters? I feel like they left it open for a 6th+ Character at launch.

There are 5 at launch, but it's very likely they will add more post-launch through expansions or DLC.

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That's not the idea of a summoner at all. Pets don't tank for you in Diablo and never have. Largely because there's no real threat mechanics in the game.

You don't need active threat mechanics to tank, the term tanking is relative to engaging an enemy and taking its focus away from you.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Diablo without paladin is not diablo

So the first Diablo game is not a Diablo Game?

[justandulas]

Crusader/paladin and Necromancer. The two missing niches that are iconic

[Makabreska]

I want Necro, just so I can kick Rathma's ass with him. :v

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Do we know for sure that its only going to release with 5 champions?

Could the druid be the summoner type then?

Surely they arent going to release without some sort of summoner

"Summoner-type" is not essential.

Any class can have summoned minions as a part of their gameplay.

https://diablo.fandom.com/wiki/Pet#S..._count_as_pets

[TigTone]

Doesn't negate my point--plate wearing summoners are not uncommon in Diablo 2, lore precedent exists for them in characters like Bartuc, and proof of concept exists in other games like World of Warcraft as well (Unholy DK). I think much of the problem with Diablo 4's development can be seen right here in this forum, ie, mindless adherence to past archetypes. Everyone wants what they've already had, and no one is willing to give something new a chance. I understand that witch doctor left a sour taste in many people's mouth, but a heretic fits the flavor and tone of Diablo perfectly while allowing a chance for something new. If we keep demanding the exact same classes and mechanics we've already seen then all we'll get is a reskinned version of a game we've already played.

The lore is there especially now for a class that uses demonic powers and to be plate/mail wearer would be great.

At the end of Diablo 3 90% of humanity has been killed off and demons freely invade sanctuary.

Out of desperation to survive it’s entirely plausible for a “evil” class to arise to survive in those hell times.

Or a class that is a balance of angelic/demonic.

That is the direction blizzard has been going with Diablo story is that there must be a balance.

Also Witch Doctor isn’t a bad class. Though it should have focused more on the dark animal magic vibe it has than the spirit.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

The 5th characters shadow reminds me of 12th century European armor.

My guess it would be a middle range class like the crusaders.

If we look at lore it could be a new class mix of Crusader and Paladin. Seeing how both orders where basically extinct by the end of Diablo 3

The art for D4 has a lot of Bibleesque similarities, which is fine I'm ok with that. OT

If its a Paladin or whatever hopefully not just a "I use a one hander and a shield only just cause" cause thats kinda lame. Be hillarious if you could use double shield though(Doubtful as serious as Diablo can get).

[Triceron]

Doesn't negate my point--plate wearing summoners are not uncommon in Diablo 2, lore precedent exists for them in characters like Bartuc, and proof of concept exists in other games like World of Warcraft as well (Unholy DK). I think much of the problem with Diablo 4's development can be seen right here in this forum, ie, mindless adherence to past archetypes. Everyone wants what they've already had, and no one is willing to give something new a chance. I understand that witch doctor left a sour taste in many people's mouth, but a heretic fits the flavor and tone of Diablo perfectly while allowing a chance for something new. If we keep demanding the exact same classes and mechanics we've already seen then all we'll get is a reskinned version of a game we've already played.

I'd agree that the archetype would be cool, but it's somewhat counter-intuitive to what Diablo 4 is already establishing.

It will most likely be a Paladin.

- Silhouette is of an armored character
- All classes shown so far are variants of existing Diablo 1+2 archetypes, including the classic Zann Esu Sorceress
- Paladin and Necromancer missing from the roster.

So why not Necromancer or a Warlord of Blood summoner?

The direction of D4 is focused more on direct ARPG mechanics and minute-to-minute gameplay. There is also an emphasis on large-scale grouping like world bosses and exploring the world on mounts. These aspects make it difficult to bridge in traditional Summoner style gameplay, which has a build up to reach maximum efficiency (counter-intuitive to dismounting attacks) and would be tricky to manage in large-scale world boss fight situations (16+ summoners = lagfest?)

These would be things best considered after the game is actually released. A Paladin would simply be the solid choice right now, given that there is a gap left for a Holy representative. As for summoning or dark-themes, we already have a Druid, who isn't really a true summoner but works for now, while the Rogue more than makes up for a dark archetype for the time being. Necromancer would also be best implemented on its own and not as a part of a Warlord of Blood archetype, since that is what fans fully expect to see and Diablo 4 is seemingly aiming to pander to the D1/2 crowd with its selection of classes.

I would say the consideration of pet-heavy gameplay is the trickiest thing the devs have to deal with, especially for a brand new game with open world mechanics in consideration. Once they feel comfortable with that, they can branch out to tackle a summoner class in full.

[Orby]

hope it's paladin

They don;t have a shield character so its most likely something based around a shield. Paladin seems to be likely, unless Warrior makes its first return since Diablo1 lol.

[TigTone]

The problem with Witch Doctor is it didn't fit with the Medieval Gothic Horror genre. It's firmly entrenched in the Colonial Adventure genre--same place you'd find Tarzan and similar "Dark Continent" works (which, as an aside, have some seriously problematic racial undertones that feel very out of place in any modern game). While there is a *thin* margin of precedent for a Witch Doctor thanks to Diablo 2's Act III, the witch doctors therein were demonically possessed dolls, not actual humans, and at the time canonic lore established Necromancers as the predominant magic practitioners of the Khejistani jungles . Nevertheless, a Witch Doctor might have been palatable as a standalone add-on for Diablo 3; it just didn't have the flavor, history, or integration with Diablo's lore to justify it being a core class.

I agree with your statement which is why i mentioned it should have focused more on the animal abilities it has rather than spirits or at least focused on animal spirits.

And the more I think about it , you are right, it would have been best as a class added later on so Blizzard could have better fleshed out it’s place in Diablo world.

[ClassicPeon]

That's not the idea of a summoner at all. Pets don't tank for you in Diablo and never have. Largely because there's no real threat mechanics in the game. At best, they can distract and absorb a few hits. Armor type was never restricted to anything but your strength stat in Diablo 2 anyway so it was perfectly viable to run around in plate with a horde of skellies.

If you havent used your pets to tank for you then you havent played a pet class in diablo
Just cant say it more clearly then that

And no. i'm talking about the armor type the characters actually wear. You dont see the necromancer running around in full plate

[Coldkil]

Do we know for sure that its only going to release with 5 champions?

Could the druid be the summoner type then?

Surely they arent going to release without some sort of summoner

The druid will cover the "summoner" archetype albeit at a more limited/hybrid take. From what devs said it should be possible to play it with summons only but i need to see how many different ones we get.

And yes, it's gonna be 5 classes. They stated it multiple times.

[Kumorii]

Looking at the site it looks like a cowl or similar over the shoulders of the armor. Which sort of reminds me of templar. Which might be a cross between paladin and crusader for the holy archetype.

[Stacko]

Something original I hope. They haven't shown off anything we haven't seen in a previous Diablo game. Diablo 3 had 2 original classes (Witch Doctor & Demon Hunter), and I enjoyed them.