Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant starts soon, so players worldwide are looking at endgame builds. Many are also looking at builds to level with, but we’re focusing on what to do when you’ve already hit levels 50-60 and are finalizing how you want to approach the Season. However, there will still be some balance changes as the Season starts.
With that in mind, these builds are hypothetical at the moment. These classes could quickly get nerfed, making them unfun or unworthy of playing. We’ll watch Diablo 4 builds as Season of the Malignant starts and see if any need to go. As with all lists, this is done with one writer’s perspective on the meta.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.
5 powerful builds for Diablo 4 in Season of the Malignant's endgame
5) Druid - Werewolf Tornado
Primary Abilities
- Storm Strike
- Tornado
- Cyclone Armor
- Blood Howl
- Hurricane
- Grizzly Rage
- Earthen Might
Primary Druid Boons
- Wariness
- Swooping Attacks
- Calm Before the Storm
- Calamity
I didn’t know I would be such a big Druid fan in Diablo 4. Frankly, I loathed playing it in Diablo 2, so what changed? The abilities, the fantastic damage mitigation, it all just feels more fun than ever before. I think it’s going to be a real winner in Season 1.
Spamming Tornados is so much fun and covers an intense amount of screen real estate. However, you need Tempest Roar to make this thing go off. It turns your Storm Skills into Werewolf skills, so you never leave that form in Diablo 4.
This is one of the builds that’s conquered Uber Lilith, so we know it’s powerful and satisfying. However, it's not quite as powerful until you have the Tempest Roar unique.
4) Sorcerer - Ice Shards
Primary Abilities
- Frost Nova
- Ice Armor
- Teleport
- Flame Shield
- Ice Shards
- Meteor
- Avalanche
Key Enchantments
- Fire Bolt
- Ice Shards
Ice Shards builds are a lot of fun when it comes to Sorcerer gameplay. If you want another Diablo 4 Ice Shards to build, we recently covered one of the more powerful options. You focus on the powerful Frost Nova/Ice Shards abilities and many barrier options.
This is a class you stack Barrier on to make sure you stay alive as long as possible - then teleport away when you need to. Season of the Malignant in Diablo 4 will be a fun time for Sorcerers - they might get nerfed, but it won’t stop them from dealing tons of DPS.
However, it’s risky since Sorcerers rely heavily on their defensive cooldowns. On top of that, you need several Legendary Aspects that only drop off of gear. You also need Raiment of the Infinite as a unique to make this a safe build.
3) Rogue - Twisting Blades
Primary Abilities
- Puncture
- Twisting Blades
- Dash
- Shadow Step
- Shadow Imbuement
- Shadow Clone
- Momentum
Is it a shock that Twisting Blades cut? Not at all. It’s a devastating, vulnerability-creating AOE whirlwind of death. It’s arguably one of my favorite ways to play Rogue. You can see one of our Twising Blades builds here as well.
Regarding Diablo 4's Season of the Malignant, this is the build I’m most interested in on the Rogue side of things. This build focuses on Inner Sight for single target damage instead of Combo Points.
However, like all Rogue builds, they require precise positioning and aren’t very tanky. The single-target gameplay is boring in this build, making some bosses very annoying to fight. Other than that, it’s a blast. I can't wait to try this in Season of the Malignant.
2) Barbarian - Hammer of the Ancients
Primary Abilities
- Leap
- Ground Stomp
- Iron Skin
- Wrath of the Berserker
- Hammer of the Ancients
- Flay
Weapon Mastery
- Two-Handed Axe Expertise
Hammer of the Ancients builds are pretty popular, and I see no reason for that to change unless it gets nerfed into the ground in Season of the Malignant. Diablo 4’s resident berserker combines defensive traits, interruption, and movement abilities with Hammer of the Ancients' might.
This might be the fastest build in the game, too. You have almost no CD to speak of on Leap so that you can jump across the map and slaughter packs of enemies. It’s not as fun in single-target, but if you have a horde of enemies nearby, you will destroy them in Diablo 4.
It’s fun, hard-hitting, and satisfying to use. Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian’s one of my all-time favorite ways to play. Season of the Malignant will be no different.
1) Necromancer - Bone Spear
Primary Abilities
- Decrepify
- Corpse Tendrils
- Blood Mist
- Bone Storm
- Bone Splinters
- Bone Spear
- Ossified Essence
Book of the Dead
- Warriors: Skirmishers - No Warriors, +5% Critical Strike instead
- Mages: Cold - No mages, but 15% increased damage to Vuln enemies
- Golem: Iron - No Golem, but deal 30% increased Critical Strike damage
While personally, I prefer having an army of undead, but that’s not always practical. For Season of the Malignant, I want to try a solo-focused Necromancer in Diablo 4. In my estimation, the best way to do that is a Bone Build.
Instead of stressing about running out of minions, you shred through Elites and Bosses, thanks to tons of extra damage. You weaken enemies with Decrepify and shield yourself with Bone Storm. You can also use Corpse Tendrils to drag enemies together, making them easier to kill.
The hardest part about this particular build in Diablo 4 is that you have no army to take hits for you. That’s how I’m used to playing, so the Season of the Malignant will be an excellent place to test this for me. I’m confident it will be a robust build in the future.
There will always be better ways to play in Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant. We’ll update this with more powerful endgame builds as they come to light, post-balance changes. This all kicks off on July 20, 2023.