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Nightmare is a terrifying difficulty level in Diablo 4. It requires serious focus and an understanding of what your build can and cannot do. While any build can succeed with enough gear and skill, some loadouts simply do it better for far less stress. For example, a Sever Necromancer could, in theory, do well if it’s tanky enough - but why do that when you can go Bone Spirit?
It’s worth pointing out that this is not the definitive list you must adhere to. In Diablo 4, you can play whatever build makes you happy. Just remember that some loadouts will be easier or have more ideal abilities at this difficulty level.
Which Diablo 4 builds are best in Nightmare
1) S-Tier
S-Tier
- Whirlwind Barbarian (Lunging Strikes, Rallying Cry, War Cry, Wrath of the Berserker, Whirlwind, Death Blow)
- Bone Spirit Necromancer (Reap, Bone Spirit, Corpse Explosion, Corpse Tendrils, Blood Mist, Bone Storm)
- Penetrating Shot Rogue (Penetrating Shot, Forceful Arrow, Caltrops, Dark Shroud, Poison Imbuement, Shadow Imbuement)
- Pulverize Druid (Pulverize, Maul, Earthen Bulwark, Trample, Grizzly Rage, Poison Creeper)
- Ice Shards Sorcerer (Ice Shards, Frost Nova, Teleport, Ice Armor, Hydra, Flame Shield)
The S-Tier builds for Diablo 4 are the best of the best options. These powerful, easy builds will likely carry you through your adventures in Sanctuary. Some of these aren’t really a surprise. During the preview period, many people were talking about the overwhelming late-game power of Pulverize Druid.
Bone Spirit Necromancer combines the power of Corpse Explosion with Blood Mist, Bone Storm, and Tendrils. You can easily drag a group of enemies together and melt them with non-stop damage.
All the S-Tier loadouts are, without a doubt, strong. But you’ll still need experience with the build and preferably decent gear if you want to survive in the harder difficulty of Nightmare.
2) A-Tier
A-Tier
- Arc Lash Sorcerer (Arc Lash, Flame Shield, Teleport, Ice Armor, Frost Nova, Unstable Current)
- Tornado Druid (Tornado, Storm Strike, Hurricane, Blood Howl, Wolves, Grizzly Rage)
- Bone Spear Necromancer (Bone Spear, Bone Storm, Corpse Explosion, Corpse Tendrils, Blood Mist, Bone Prison)
- Firewall Sorcerer (Firewall, Inferno, Frost Nova, Teleport, Ice Armor, Flame Shield)
The A-Tier builds in Diablo 4 are solid, but they just lack a little something that the top-tier builds have. It might be less survivability, or their main ability doesn’t hit quite as hard.
I’ve heard a few people suggest Arc Lash Sorcerer is an S-Tier class, but I just don’t see it. In my experience with Arc Lash, it was a solid ability, but I don’t know if I want to be in melee that often, especially when my defensive options have high cooldowns.
The same goes for Firewall Sorcerer. It’s okay, but it’s no Ice Shards build. Bone Spear is another shining example. Bone Spear does so much damage, but you can’t spam it. These loadouts are all-around solid but not the best.
3) B-Tier
B-Tier
- HOTA Barbarian (HOTA, Rallying Cry, War Cry, Challenging Shout, Wrath of the Berserker, Lunging Strike)
- Death Trap Rogue (Twisting Blades, Poison Trap, Puncture, Shadow Step, Dark Shroud, Death Trap)
- Shred Druid (Shred, Wolves, Poison Creeper, Storm Strike, Blood Howl, Debilitating Roar, Rabies)
The B-Tier options for Diablo 4 aren’t terrible, either. These often have glaring flaws or drawbacks that might make you reconsider. For example, Death Trap Rogue relies heavily on the Death Trap skill. It has the potential to dump tons of damage, but it requires precise timing, and without your ultimate, you’re very weak.
Shred Druids can be fun in Diablo 4 due to being tanky and having solid healing potential. That’s important in higher difficulties and hardcore modes alike. However, they lack AOE, which is important in Nightmare. While the class is mobile, it’s only mobile if it is doing damage.
Some other builds on this tier, such as Corpse Explosion variants, were primarily leveling builds. That’s not what we need in Nightmare Difficulty, so they were chopped at the last second from this Diablo 4 tier list.
4) C-Tier
C-Tier
- Twisting Blades Rogue (Twisting Blades, Poison Trap, Dash, Shadow Step, Dark Shroud, Shadow Clone)
- Chain Lightning Sorcerer (Arc Lash, Chain Lightning, Teleport, Ice Armor, Frost Nova, Unstable Currents)
- Upheaval Barbarian (Upheaval, Lunging Strike, Rallying Cry, Leap, War Cry, Call of the Ancients)
When you get to the C-tier class builds in Diablo 4, you start seeing the more challenging builds like Twisting Blades Rogue. It’s squishy, difficult, and has a hard time pushing into the harder content in general. With that in mind, there are other much better Rogue options for players.
For leveling in Diablo 4, the Sorcerer Chain Lightning build is easily the best. You shred through groups of enemies with almost no work. It’s not as viable in Nightmare, though. You’re in melee range, you have long cooldowns, and bouncing spells are unpredictable. You don’t want unpredictability in these situations.
5) D-Tier
D-Tier
- Fireball Sorcerer (Fire Bolt, Fireball, Flame Shield, Teleport, Meteor, Inferno)
- Pure Summoner Necromancer (Bone Splinters, Sever, Corpse Explosion, Raise Skeleton, Corpse Tendrils, Golem)
- All leveling builds
Several builds could easily be put in the D-Tier in Diablo 4. Those loadouts either aren’t viable in Nightmare (but are good at leveling) or simply lack too much to make them safe and useful in the harder difficulties. Summoner Necromancer is a prime example. It requires so much micromanagement.
You also have to keep your minions alive at all times in Nightmare or have corpses around. It also lacks useful Unstoppables. It can be boring - but that’s no crime. If you don’t have crowd control or your enemies are immune, you can be in serious trouble in Diablo 4.
Fireball Sorcerer is a weaker version of every other Sorcerer build in the game. It can produce results and win battles in the Nightmare tier of Diablo 4, but it does so much slower. It has mediocre powers like Meteor, for example. It’s not the worst power in the game, but it lacks the punch of several other Sorcerer abilities.
Finally - any leveling build. Don’t run the same leveling builds you were running in the 1-50 levels. That’s not going to cut it in Nightmare without enormous skill.
This tier list for Diablo 4 is just the opinion of one writer. Don’t let it stop you from trying a build in the Nightmare difficulty. If something is not meta or not popular, you should still give it a try if that’s how you want to play the game.
