Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant Leveling Tier List: Fastest Classes & Builds

So you're here to choose the fastest leveling Diablo 4 class to play through Season of the Malignant stuff and reach the end game quickly to start farming Sacred and Ancestral items and craft that perfect build. 

It's no surprise that Diablo 4's five classes - Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, and Sorcerer - have undergone significant changes since the base game's launch. 

While some previously powerful classes have received shocking nerfs, others have been buffed to make them more viable for Season of the Malignant. 

Keeping all the changes as well current meta in mind, we have refreshed our Diablo 4 leveling tier list for Season of the Maligant. Without further ado, let's get right into it. 

Diablo 4 fastest-leveling classes and builds ranked (up to level 50)

Our Diablo 4 leveling-tier list is divided into four tiers. From best to worst, these are S-tier, A-tier, B-tier, and C-tier. For the sake of simplicity, we rank builds only on three factors. These are - the overall damage output, mobility, and survivability. If a build excels in all categories, or at least two of them, you should have no problem breezing through most pre-endgame stuff.

• The S-Tier class builds are ideal. They are ideal for solo play, deal high DPS, and have high mobility.
• The A-Tier class builds are just as good as S-tier builds, but they may only excel in two out of three of the aforementioned factors. 
• The B-Tier class builds are more relaxing builds that are easy to get into it. They are not necessarily bad, but they don't really excel in any category, so you may level up at a more average pace. 
• The C-Tier class builds are high-risk high-rewards. They may excel in one category but lack heavily in another department, making them more of a personal choice than anything else. For instance, they could deal high DPS but have awful mobility, thus making them unfit for solo-play.

S-tier Leveling Classes & Builds in Diablo 4

Both Twisting Blades and Flurry Rogue builds are easily the fastest leveling builds in Diablo 4. With Dash and Shadow Steps, you get high mobility, allowing you to fly across the battlefield, stunning and dazing enemies while you deal significant AOE damage with Twisting Blades. They are the perfect solo class builds to try in Season of the Malignant, especially when paired with the best Rogue Caged Hearts that increase AOE damage and help with energy management.

Rogues excel in all the categories we have mentioned before. As such, it comes down to your preference, whether it's Twisting Blades or Flurry. You deal a ton of AOE damage with Flurry as well, and you move just as fast across the battlefield with Shadow Steps as you do with Twisting Blades.

One big difference between these two is that Flurry is simpler to use than Twisting Blades. So if you're new to Diablo 4, you may want to stick to the former rather than the latter. 
Both these Rogue Builds have great defenses as well, so you shouldn't have much trouble clearing Malignant tunnels, strongholds, and even the first Capstone dungeon solo. 

Both Chain Lightning and Firewall Sorcerer are quick to level up because of their ability to deal incredible AOE damage while quickly teleporting across the battlefield. Season 1 Nerfs have affected the overall damage output of this class, but these don't make much of a difference before the endgame.

Likewise, Sorcerer's survivability isn't an issue until you reach level 50. You can breeze through most activities solo, including level 50 strongholds, if you stack up Ice or Flame Armor or use Aspects that creates Barriers. 

Mana regeneration can be an issue early on, but thankfully, there's a Devious Caged Heart called Caged Heart of Determination that can help you with that. 

A-tier Leveling Classes & Builds in Diablo 4

Barrage Rogue is just as deadly as Twisting Blades or Flurry. The only reason it's not S-Tier is because it requires a more methodical approach. You can easily miss shots, and you must frequently reposition yourself to deal the most AOE damage. 

It's great for ads clearing, and with the right Caged Hearts, like the Caged Heart of the Picana, you can deal bonus AOE damage and breeze through most activities in the game until and beyond level 50.

Penetrating Shot has the same issue as Barrage. It requires more planning and positioning and could take a while to get used to. However, once you do, you can pair it up with Caged Hearts like the Clipshot to knock back enemies and give yourself more room to deal massive AOE damage. 

The Pulverize is a solid Druid build in Diablo 4 that deal a ton of AOE damage with Storm Strike, has good defenses overall, and can quickly move across the battlefield while being Unstoppable in the Wearbear form. You can also use this new seasonal Legendary Aspect called Shockwave Offensive Aspect to deal even more AOE damage. 

The Ice Shard deals devastating single-target damage but lack of AOE skills in the beginning means you will struggle playing this solo. However, if you're hell-bent on being an icy witch or wizard, you can use certain Caged Hearts, like the Caged Heart of Creeping Heart to increase damage over time effects.

B-tier Leveling Classes & Builds in Diablo 4

Rend Barbarian is a simple build to play with its strong single-target damage that applies bleed effect, solid defenses, and decent mobility. However, its AOE damage doesn't have much range, and it takes a decent amount of time before your build starts to come together. However, it's still fun to play, and the Season 1 buffs have significantly improved all Barbarian builds.

Tornado Druid is also really fun to play, but have some key issues that make it less than ideal for solo play and quick leveling. Firstly, it has awful mobility, which makes it a tough choice for tackling dungeons and strongholds solo. Pulverize has high mobility with Wearbear, which makes a night and day difference in early levels. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen here. The Tornado is also a skill that's just hard to get right, so you can't just breeze through stuff like you can with some other class builds in the game. 

You may have noticed that we have put every Necromancer build in B or C Tier list. It's not because it's a bad class to play as. It's just a bit more complex to play it right. It's also not as flashy and ferocious as Rogue or Sorcerer. Most importantly, every Necromancer build has terrible mobility, so you may struggle to finish more challenging activities alone. 

Among every Necromancer builds, only Sever makes it to the B-tier list because it's relatively easy to master. Unlike Blight Corpse and Bone Spear, Sever doesn't require much positioning and has incredible AOE and CC abilities that should allow you to clear most level 50 and below malignant tunnels, dungeons, and maybe even strongholds. 

C-tier Leveling Classes & Builds in Diablo 4

Blight Corpse Explosion Necromancer deals more AOE damage than Bone Spear, but the latter has excellent single-target damage. We won't recommend playing either of them solo. While they are not perfect, both Necromancer builds are much better to use in Season of the Malignant than they were in the Eternal Realm, thanks to the Seasonal items like the Caged Heart of Creeping Death, which amplifies the damage dealt by Blight Corpse Explosion or the Caged Heart of the Sacrilegious, which makes Corpse Tendrils more effective. 

Likewise, Whirlwind Barbarian isn't something we recommend playing solo. While it's simple to use and fun to play, you may struggle with resource management early on in the game. This could lock you out of more challenging activities like Strongholds. Again, it's a different thing if you're playing in a group, but Whirlwind Barbarian isn't something you would want to pick if you're new to Diablo 4 or just looking to quickly reach the endgame. 

And that sums up our Diablo 4 leveling tier list. We want to add again that none of the builds in this list are bad by any means. In fact, some of the fastest leveling builds, like Twisting Rogue, aren't as fun and flashy to play when compared to something like the Barrage Rogue or Tornado Druid. It's just that they have the tools necessary to quickly clear up early to mid-game activities with more ease and thus reach level 50 quickly. As such, you should pick up a class or pursue a build that you think is fun to play because that's what matters in the long run. 

For more Diablo 4, be sure to check out our dedicated section or some of our Guides & Tutorials just below:

Diablo 4 Class Builds - Best Barbarian Build |  | Best Necromancer Build | Best Sorcerer Build | Best Druid Build | Best Rogue Build | All Classes Tier List | Best Class For Beginners | Build Calculator | 

Class Mechanics: Sorcerer Enchantment System | Barbarian Arsenal | Rogue Specialization | Necromancer Book of the Dead | Druid Spirit Animals | Unlock Golems | 

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