Diablo III Character Classes

[Alexander I]

So we've all heard of Blizzard's announcement concerning the production of Diablo III. They've specified that there will be five character classes playable in the game, with male and female versions available for each.

So far, they've already revealed two: the Barbarian and the Witch Doctor, which are a very solid heavy melee class and a shamanistic summoning class respectively.

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/characters/

My question is, what do you think the other three classes will be?

I think it's likely that they may end up along these lines:

1. Holy type: Could be a rehash of the paladin, could be more of a holy magic healer/priest/cleric type, could be a combination of both of these, like a saint/zealot/mystic.

2. Ranged/Light Melee type: Possibly a rehashed amazon. Personally, I think the ranger would be an excellent option to use here, though I'd enjoy seeing the expansion's assassin return also.

3. Heavy Magic type: Similar to D1's Sorcerer and D2's Sorceress, this one will be the magic blaster. I think it could be interesting to have a Warlock type who tries to use the demons' own magic against them.

In my opinion, these archetypes are the most likely characters. However, I would definitely welcome some innovation (which Blizzard is certainly well known for).

[UnOrthOdOx]

Well, The Barbarian seems to have virtually identical skills to the Barbarian of DII.

The Witch Doctor has the summoning and curse trees of the Necro with some redesign on how they work. Don't know about how it's direct damage will work.

I think it's a fairly safe bet there will be a magic based class (sorceress).

And, some kind of bow based class (amazon)

The fifth, (assuming there is 5) I'ld say could be left open. Some kind of buff class seems likely with the witch doctor aparantly being the debuff class. But, there's no good reason the bow or sorcerer class couldn't get the buffs rolled into them.

[FrostyBoy]

Paladin definitely will be one.

Ranger will be one, you can't classify it as an Amazon if there is a male version.

As for innovation, I am thinking along the lines of some once-was-a-devil character, turned good coz Satan was in a bad mood with him one day and he got all upset and left.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by UnOrthOdOx
Well, The Barbarian seems to have virtually identical skills to the Barbarian of DII.

The Witch Doctor has the summoning and curse trees of the Necro with some redesign on how they work. Don't know about how it's direct damage will work.

I think it's a fairly safe bet there will be a magic based class (sorceress).

And, some kind of bow based class (amazon)

The fifth, (assuming there is 5) I'ld say could be left open. Some kind of buff class seems likely with the witch doctor aparantly being the debuff class. But, there's no good reason the bow or sorcerer class couldn't get the buffs rolled into them.

The fifth class will probably be a paladin type character, with the buffs put elsewhere as you said.

In fact the OP predictions are sensible - although it was pretty obvious.

I confidently predict Blizzard will change the names though.

[Patroklos]

Agreed, the Paladin appealed to all the medieval knight wannabe people out there. I actually rater enjoyed the Necromancer, I am sad to see him go.

I say they need a Drunken Pirate character

[LDiCesare]

I want my assassin!

[FrostyBoy]

Originally posted by Patroklos
Agreed, the Paladin appealed to all the medieval knight wannabe people out there. I actually rater enjoyed the Necromancer, I am sad to see him go.

I say they need a Drunken Pirate character

Drunken Pirate!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Drunken Ninja Pirate

[Guynemer]

Drunken Pirate: awesome
Drunken Ninja Pirate: crazy
Drunken Ninja Ghost Pirate: crazy awesome

[/Dimitri Martin]

[Alexander I]

In my opinion, interesting character classes can be made by rearranging attributes from the old characters.

We already know two.

Barbarian (back from D2):
Axes/Dual Wielding or Giant Weapons
Fighting Techniques
Warcries

Witch Doctor (remixed D2 Necro):
Buffs
Summoned Creatures
Diseases

My personal theory is that the other three will end up along these lines:

Ranger (bits from the Amazon/Assassin/Druid):
Longbow/Sword skills
Traps/Wilderness Survival
Animal Companions

Paladin/Cleric/Zealot:
Martial Skills
Holy Powers/Exorcism/Healing
Relics/Channeling/Auras

Sorcerer or Warlock:
Elemental Magic (Sorc)
Demonic Magic (Warl)

This way, all the skill sets are still roughly covered. The Barbarian and Witch Doctor have the brute strength and summoner archetypes. These other three that I have suggested cover the nature-lover, holy warrior and arcane caster types, covering all the bases.

Personally, I think a Demoniac/Warlock would be more interesting than a third repeat of the Sorcerer-type. What kind of character would try to use demonic magic against the demons, and how would they do it? Could be interesting.

The Ranger seems to me to be an obvious choice. By his very nature he combines the skills of three older classes. Plus, there's no such thing as a male Amazon.

As for the Paladin type, I'd prefer seeing a holy warrior who had a little more focus on channeling the heavenly powers, rather than just smashing everything with a warhammer while protected by buffs.

Seems pretty straightforward to me.

[Tuberski]

I think they need a sapper kind of character. Uses bomb and explosives to complete missions.

In the book series I'm reading now, they tend to be crazy.

ACK!

[LDiCesare]

We'll most probably see a rehash of the original D2 classes.
Amazons will be renamed rogue as in D1, et voilà.
I liked assassins' skills best though. Charging with one skill and delivering a final blow with another one was very original and made hand to hand combat more interesting than the barbarian way imo.
In this respect, Alexander's propsoed ranger class doesn't represent most of D2 assassins at all.

Also, I don't think the game needs more than one summoner, although shapeshifting is cool.

[Alexander I]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
We'll most probably see a rehash of the original D2 classes. Amazons will be renamed rogue as in D1, et voilà.
I liked assassins' skills best though. Charging with one skill and delivering a final blow with another one was very original and made hand to hand combat more interesting than the barbarian way imo. In this respect, Alexander's propsoed ranger class doesn't represent most of D2 assassins at all.

Also, I don't think the game needs more than one summoner, although shapeshifting is cool.

I don't know if the Rogue will be back as a playable class since, as with the Amazons, in Diablo lore the Rogues are an all female class: the Sisters of the Sightless Eye.

I would however like to see the Assassins back, as I mentioned in the original post. You are correct that their unique skill set was most interesting to play with. They were one of my favorites.

The Ranger I devised took bits of different classes: the Amazon's Bow/Melee proficiency, the Assassin's stealth and traps, and the Druid's animal companion.

I also think two summoners would be unnecessary, hence I don't think the Necromancer will be back. The Warlock I suggested would be a blaster, using dark arcane magic more similar to a D&D Warlock than say, a WoW Warlock.

Good input.

[Alexander I]

Another totally random idea I had was that Adria (from the first game) might well be an incarnation of the demoness Lilith.

[Zero]

they said 3 is same old **** ( "traditional classes"... obviously referring to warr, sorc, ranger)

2 is new (WD and something else)

i cant think of the source right now. IIRC it was kotaku.