The Warlock reveal was a major shocker for Diablo fans, especially when this Diablo 2: Resurrected drop was the first time in 25 years, since Lord of Destruction, that the RPG got a new Class. With this historical framing in mind, it's no surprise Blizzard went all out creating a character befitting the game's legacy. The result? A scholar so resentful of the Light that they decided the best way to fight the Burning Hells is with darkness itself.
Diablo 2: Resurrected Every Class, Ranked
Diablo 2: Resurrected is bringing back a classic debate over which class reigns supreme. Here's the complete breakdown of where they stand so far.
The reveal trailer and the launch itself showed more than just a mere practitioner of the demonic arts. Instead, the Warlock of Diablo 2 boasted a playstyle focusing on summoning and binding demons to their will, exerting the power of the mind to enchant and levitate weapons, and control Chaos to decimate enemy lines. At first glance, this made the Warlock rather reminiscent of the Necromancer — perhaps its "sibling" summoner among the spellcasters of the franchise. However, there are important distinctions in both the lore and gameplay that position the Warlock in a pedigree unique to their own.
They Work In Similar Domains, But Never The Same
The Warlock Sees The Light As Useless, The Necromancer Just Works In Its Shadow
While both the Warlock and the Necromancer rely on forces closely associated with "darkness," only the former actively uses it. This is tied to the difference in philosophies between the two Classes. As fans might already know, the Necromancer is a follower of Rathma, the eldest among Lilith and Inarius's children and one of the most powerful Nephalem out there. Tired of the bickering of his parents, Rathma studied under the tutelage of the mysterious Trag'Oul and came back to Sanctuary, wielding the power over life and death itself. As a result, the Necromancer deals with summoning the dead, using poison and bone (and eventually blood), as well as curses.
The Warlock can bind demons to their will and even consume them for power..
The Warlock makes a drastic turn. Their hatred for the "complacency" of the Zakarum and how the Light never really seems to do anything to protect humanity has made these scholars dabble in the dark arts themselves. Using their forbidden knowledge of Vizjerei text, the Warlock can bind demons to their will and even consume them for power. As a result, they can exert the power of their mind towards enchanting their weapons, hexing enemies, binding and summoning demons, and even using the forces of chaos itself.
The Warlock Was Never A Part Of The Group That Defeated Diablo
The Warlock Did Not Work With The Necromancer
Despite the characters of Diablo 2 being played separately, the lore implies all the characters working together to defeat the Prime Evils as they start roaming in Sanctuary once more. In the lore, the Necromancer took action upon seeing this imbalance of powers, finally resurfacing from their solitude to lend their aid. It's implied that people were initially distrustful of the Necromancer and their mysterious powers, and within reason.
In contrast, the Warlock is said not to be a part of the group that defeated the Prime Evils. Instead, the Warlock is a scholar driven to action upon witnessing the Darkening of Tristram. They realized that knowledge is power, and not using it is a disservice to all lives lost. Unlike the Necromancer, who is more of a secluded hero, the Warlock is an antihero that will grow to have a more rebellious streak in Diablo Immortal.
The Warlock Offers More Versatile Builds
The Warlock Has More Varied Options, Versus The Corpse Exploder
Thanks to the Warlock skill trees, the Diablo Class seems to have playstyles revolving around summons and binds (Demon), tanking and physical damage (Eldritch), as well as damaging and altering spells (Chaos). In turn, powerful builds for the new caster seem to revolve around bullying enemies with Demons that provide power at a distance or beefing up and using Cleave for AOE. These build disparities allow the Warlock to work as both a distance and melee combatant, giving more flexibility to players.
Diablo 2: 10 Hard Challenges To Try In A Replay
Looking for a challenge for your umpteenth playthrough of Diablo 2? These examples will keep you busy!
This is in stark contrast with the Necromancer, whose builds generally rely on Corpse Explosion as their primary damage-dealing attack. The abundance of corpses in the game and the way enemies often mob around the Necromancer make Corpse Explosion the logical choice for a damage-dealing skill. This means any Necromancer build is just Corpse Explosion with an extra motif, be it damage-over-time spams, curses, or good ol' fashioned summons galore.
The Warlock Uses Hyper-Specialized Summons
The Warlock Has Beefed-Up Summons, Whereas The Necromancer Has An Army
Despite being summoners, the Warlock and the Necromancer's summoning approach couldn't be any more different from their minions. Ever the fan-favorite mob demolisher, the Necromancer's Raise and Revive skills can easily create armies of more than 40 minions – the perfect layer of defense. If, at any point, the Necromancer runs out of bodies, the surrounding mobs could be enough for a resupply. When built right, a Necromancer can tour around different zones to Revive their preferred minions before fighting Uber bosses.
In contrast, the Warlock has two main summoning mechanics: a standard Summon for a Goatman (tank), Defiler (utility), and Tainted (range), as well as the ability to Bind almost any enemy to turn them into a more powerful variant. The low unit count will demand more strategy on the part of the Warlock, resulting in more focus-fire builds. Players bored with the traditional mob gameplay can get more challenge out of the Warlock.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
The Warlock Has Less-Demanding Prerequisites
The Warlock Can Guarantee Summons, A Necromancer Has a "First Corpse" Problem
While both Warlocks and Necromancers exert some form of "control" over an enemy, the summoning execution varies for the two Classes. For instance, despite the Necromancer's ability to summon a ginormous number of minions, there is still the necessity for an actual corpse to create the summon from. This means an area without an abundance of corpses can cause a lot of inconvenience on the part of the Necromancer, making boss fights tougher unless there's a pile of corpses nearby, or if the Necromancer teleports out to a zone with many corpses and then back to take care of the boss in question.
This proactive summoning ensures the Warlock is in optimal damage-dealing capacity...
The Warlock conducts summoning differently. Since Warlocks in the lore invoke actual denizens of the Burning Hells, their base summons (the Goatman, Tainted, Defiler) do not need a body to work with. On top of this is a second minion through Binding, which needs a live creature to take control. This proactive summoning ensures the Warlock is in optimal damage-dealing capacity as soon as they enter combat, instead of having to meet prerequisites to be in full fighting condition.
The Warlock Is A More Viable Melee Fighter
The Warlock's Levitation Makes Fighting With Shields More Practical Than The Necromancer's Skill Stick
The weapon choices for the Necromancer in Diablo 2 focus mainly on helping them proc their skills as fast as possible, which usually means Skills+, FCR (faster casting rate), and boosted Resistances. There's hardly ever a need for the Necromancer to do melee attacks, since their best builds are often confined to drowning enemies with mobs or sustained novas. Necromancers have melee builds, but they're often hyper-specialized and challenging to pull off as they stray from the Class's design philosophy.
Diablo 2: 20 Best Runewords For Armor
To defeat the forces of darkness, players will have to enhance their gear with powerful Runewords in Diablo 2. Here's what to pick for armor.
Players who want a summoner who can do melee can work with the Warlock, as their Levitation Passive gives them the opportunity to use a Shield or a Grimoire and a two-hander, as well as have another floating weapon in tow. This makes for a crucial basis of the two-handed Cleave build for brutal close-range tactics with a bit of extra juice courtesy of their summons.
The Warlock Focuses More On Damage Redirection
Compared To The More Heavy-Duty Defense Of The Necromancer
Being both summoners in Diablo lore, the Necromancer and the Warlock make it evident that their minions take the heat from a majority of their opponents; however, this doesn't mean they don't take damage ever. In situations where the casters need extra defense, Diablo 2 skills they possess do offer some degree of damage mitigation, but both Classes defend themselves with different philosophies. The Bone Armor is the Necromancer's main defensive option, protecting them from a set of Physical Damage per cast. Resistance is where the rest of their defenses lie, making their protection the trade-off with multiple summons.
This is in direct contrast with the Warlock, as their potential melee focus with Eldritch builds provides them with various defensive capabilities, such as attack absorption with melee stun (Psychic Ward) and, most importantly, Blood Oath. With Blood Oath, not only does the summoned Demon get a massive Life boost, but also Resistances and Physical Damage Reduction. To top it all off, Blood Oath transfers a percentage of all damage taken by the Warlock to the Demon. With the right build, a Warlock maxxing Blood Oath can theoretically transfer 99% of their damage to their Demon.
The Warlock Has Built-In Mobility
The Necromancer Is Practically Helpless Without Teleport
To add more to the sheer complexity of the Necromancer in Diablo 2 is the fact that they don't have any innate mobility option save for actual Staves (like Ormus) or the Enigma Runeword (with +1 Teleport), both of which can be either extremely expensive or difficult to acquire. Without mobility, the Necromancer will be highly dependent on their summons to soak damage. However, when facing tougher bosses, that lack of an escape route could make fights much harder.
In contrast, the Warlock has Blade Warp (Level 18, Eldritch) that acts as a natural teleport. They hurl an astral weapon to a location and get teleported there, eliminating the need for a +1 Teleport item in the first place. If at any point damage gets too much for the Warlock or they need some breathing room, they can quickly reposition. It's also a natural prerequisite of Mirrored Blades (Level 30, Eldritch) that serves as the final skill of the tree, making Blade Warp an acquisition worth the investment.
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard Entertainment, Vicarious Visions
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
