Our apologies to every other Diablo 4 class, but Sorcerers are the fan favorite

Diablo 4 Sorceress close-up
(Image credit: Tyler C. / Activision Blizzard)
Best Diablo 4 builds

Diablo 4 Necromancer build - A necro wearing armor with a sickle

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4 Sorcerer build: Element-ary
Diablo 4 Barbarian build: Stay buffed
Diablo 4 Rogue build: Need for bleed
Diablo 4 Druid build: Air and weres
Diablo 4 Necromancer build: Stay undead

Less than a week into Diablo 4's full release, Sorcerers have taken the lead as the most popular class.

Maybe it's the giant fire snake they can wrap around groups of enemies or the bliss of teleporting in and out of the fray. Sorcerers are one of Diablo 4's OG classes, all the way back to 1996's Diablo 1, so it's not particularly surprising that everyone wants to play them.

These element-bending spellcasters have one of the most creative skill trees in Blizzard's new action RPG. Their most effective builds make use of every school of magic in their arsenal and the Enchantment Slot system lets you equip spells for a passive benefit on top of everything else. If you want a class that paints the screen with fire, lightning, and ice, the Sorcerer is the perfect class to play.

As far as their power in Diablo 4's most brutal dungeons and open world activities, they fall a little behind the other four classes. Barbarians and Druids struggle in the early parts of the game where melee classes lack the damage output and positional benefits of a ranged class, but they eventually evolve into the most devastating classes for the game's endgame grind. Sorcerers, however, fall off in utility and power as they near the level 100 cap.

In Diablo 4's open beta earlier this year, Sorcerers were tied with Necromancers as the most played class. But the open beta came one week after the closed beta that didn't allow you to play Necromancers, which surely skewed the numbers. And with the nerfs to their undead minions in the final game, the allure of playing a goth spellcaster seems to have fizzled out.

Now everyone is playing Sorcerers. You can't walk two steps in Kyovashad without running into some guy named Gandalf with Legendary robes and a glowing staff who looks like he has a better place to be. Meanwhile, as a Necromancer, I'm looking like I raided Hell's only Hot Topic with a posse of rotting skeletons at my side. Necromancers are the wizards with flavor, born to thrive in a world of viscera and bones. One of their spells dissolves their entire body into a cloud of blood red mist. Can a Sorcerer do that? I didn't think so.

Associate Editor

Tyler has covered games, games culture, and hardware for over a decade before joining PC Gamer as Associate Editor. He's done in-depth reporting on communities and games as well as criticism for sites like Polygon, Wired, and Waypoint. He's interested in the weird and the fascinating when it comes to games, spending time probing for stories and talking to the people involved. Tyler loves sinking into games like Final Fantasy 14, Overwatch, and Dark Souls to see what makes them tick and pluck out the parts worth talking about. His goal is to talk about games the way they are: broken, beautiful, and bizarre.