Project Diablo 2 Starter Build Tier List
Season 11
Last Update: 16/05/2025
Introduction
With the arrival of Season 11, the Sanctuary battlefield is shifting once again. Whether you're a ladder-climbing veteran or a fresh character looking to farm Hell with efficiency, staying on top of the current meta is crucial. This season introduces key balance changes, new Runeword combinations, and many tweaks to Skills - all of which impact which builds rise to the top.
The goal of the Project Diablo 2 is to make every Skill a viable choice, and it is largely successful at it. However, as always, there will be some Skills that are easier to start than others. In return, their power might diminish as you tackle the hardest content in the game such as Tier 4 Dungeons, or challenge the Diablo Clone himself. However, at that point, you will be able to utilize all your accumulated wealth and easily swap to one of the more endgame-focused Builds with ease.
In this tier list, we’ve ranked two of the most popular and effective Starter builds for each Class, focusing on the efficient start of the new Season. Each Tier considers clear speed, survivability, gear dependency, and utility, so you can find a build that matches your goals and resources.
Starter Builds Tier List - Season 11
| S TIER |
| |
   |
| A TIER |
| |
    |
| B TIER |
| |
     |
| C TIER |
| |
  |
Detailed Explanation about Tier List Choices
| S TIER |
|
Summoner Druid
The Summoner Druid has become an established and excellent starter build with low gear requirements and strong progression into the late game. Early on, Ravens are incredibly powerful and can carry you through Normal difficulty with ease. Defensively, the build shines simply because your summons absorbs most incoming damage. This makes it one of the best choices for Hardcore, especially for newer players looking for a safe and reliable build that still packs solid endgame potential. If you enjoy summon-based gameplay but want something more primal than the Necromancer, the Summoner Druid is a valid and worthy pick.
|
|
Blessed Hammer Paladin
This build revolves around one of the most iconic skills in Diablo II: Blessed Hammer. The skill summons spinning hammers that deal Magic Damage, making it effective in most situations thanks to very few enemies being resistant to it. In the original Lord of Destruction, Hammerdin was considered one of the strongest and most overpowered builds in the game. In Project D2, it is not as strong, but it is still a very solid choice for all aspects of the game.
|
|
Decoy Amazon
This unconventional build focuses on the Decoy Skill, turning the Amazon into a tactical, defense-oriented character. Instead of relying purely on your own damage, the Summoner Amazon uses her namesake skill combined with the Valkyries to control the battlefield via your Minions. While the build doesn’t match the clear speed of top-tier Amazons, it excels in survivability and single-target Damage. Most importantly, it has almost zero dependencies on your gear to smoothly progress through the game all the way to the early Maps.
|
| A TIER |
|
Fissure/Volcano Druid
This build focuses on the elemental side of the Druid, using Fissure and Volcano as its primary damage sources. It excels at area damage and sustained fire damage, making it especially strong in open-field combat and against tightly packed groups. Fissure lays down a wide field of lava that continuously damages enemies, while Volcano combines Physical and Fire damage, making it effective even against Fire-resistant foes. It is the exact opposite of the Summoner Druid - it cycles a lot of Spells and features an active and visually pleasing playstyle. However, it is still quite effective even without good gear to back it up.
|
|
Frozen Orb Sorcerer
The classic Frozen Orb skill is a powerful Cold Spell that releases piercing ice shards in all directions. It offers a strong combination of AoE damage, control, and style, making it one of the most popular choices for Sorceress players across all versions of Diablo II. In Season 11, Frozen Orb remains a reliable and effective option, especially early in the season. The main drawback is that it can struggle against Cold Immune enemies and doesn't quickly scale into high-end farming content without heavy investment. |
|
Skeletal Mage / Revive Summoner
This build centers around summoning Skeletal Mages and Revived monsters to create a large, diverse army that deals elemental damage and overwhelms enemies through sheer numbers. Unlike the classic Skeleton Warrior build, this version relies more on ranged Elemental Damage from Mages and the brute strength of Revives, which bring defeated monsters back to life to fight for you. It shares many of the benefits of other Summoners on this list, but micromanaging Revives and keeping your army together can be clunky. However, the build is very safe, has low gear requirements, and works well in Hardcore. |
|
Mind Blast Assassin
The Assassin that revolves around the Mind Blast Skill from the Shadow Disciplines tree quickly turns into a master of crowd control. Mind Blast deals magic damage and has a chance to stun enemies, making it one of the most powerful damage and utility skills in the game. You will deal lots of damage from a safe distance, while also keeping enemies away from attacking you anyway, which is a very desirable playstyle while your gear is still far from perfect.
|
| B TIER |
|
Throw Barbarian
This build focuses on using Throwing Mastery and skills like Double Throw to deal damage from range with throwing weapons such as Axes or Knives. Once a novelty build in classic Diablo II, the Throw Barb has received major buffs in Project Diablo 2, turning it into a viable and even competitive option, especially in the early and mid-game. In PD2, throwing weapons have better availability, improved base stats, and synergize well with new or rebalanced Rune Words and Uniques. The Throw Barb performs well in farming mid-tier content and shines as a ladder starter due to low gear dependency and fast clear speed in open areas. However, its damage can fall off in high-end content, especially if you lack optimized gear or high-end weapons. |
| |
Wake of Fire Assassin
The build that centers around the Wake of Fire, which lays down a fiery trap that rapidly pulses fire damage in a line, is one of the most explosive and fast-clearing early-game builds in Project Diablo 2, thanks to low mana cost, fast Cast Speed, and strong early damage scaling. It's especially deadly in Normal and Nightmare, where few enemies have strong Fire Resistance. However, its damage falls off in Hell, where Fire Immunes become common and traps struggle against high-health enemies. To stay effective in the late game you will need better gear, but it will be easy to obtain with such fast Build. |
|
Holy Bolt Paladin
The Spellcasting version for the Paladin Class. It is centered around the Holy Bolt skill, which fires piercing projectiles that deal Magic Damage while also healing Allies. In Project Diablo 2, this skill has been heavily reworked and buffed, as it can now damage all types of enemies, not just demons. It’s also incredibly safe - you will be casting from a distance while your mercenary engages enemies in close combat. It gives it a unique hybrid playstyle that blends support and damage. It is a solid starter Build, but not as fast or flashy as other options. |
|
Teeth Necromancer
This build revolves around the Teeth skill from the Bone tree, turning the Necromancer into a proper spellcaster. Teeth fires multiple bone projectiles in a cone, each dealing individual magic damage. The Teeth Necro shines in wide-open areas and against clusters of weaker enemies. With strong synergy from Bone Spear and Bone Spirit, this build is often part of a broader Bone Necromancer setup that allows flexible transitions between AoE and single-target damage. Magic damage also means few enemies resist it, making the build reliable across most content.
|
|
Lightning Strike Amazon
The Lightning Strike skill from the Javelin and Spear tree makes the Amazon a powerful melee-elemental character. Lightning Strike causes your melee attacks to Chain Lightning between enemies, dealing significant Area-of-effect Lightning Damage that scales very well with synergies and gear. It offers great and satisfying Clear Speed, but the downside is that as with most Attack builds it's a bit more gear-dependent than Casters or Summoners. It’s also less effective in sparse, single-target scenarios. |
| C TIER |
|
Whirlwind Barbarian
Another very iconic build in Diablo II is the Whirlwind Barbarian. In Project Diablo 2, Whirlwind has received some mechanical improvements that make it smoother and more viable across all stages of the game. Whirlwind shines in melee-focused combat, offering great mobility, AoE clearing, and damage uptime. Finding a good weapon can be a challenge, but once you get one, you are set for a long time. The whirlwind lacks synergies with other skills, so you can max out a battle cry to deal with physical immunities on your own. however, It is still a true melee build which forces you to get proper defense for comfortable gameplay. |
|
Meteor Sorcerer
The Meteor Sorceress build centers around the powerful Meteor skill, which calls down fiery blasts that deal massive Area-of-effect Fire Damage after a short delay. Meteor excels in static farming, Boss fights, and stationary mob packs, where its full impact and lingering fire field can deal devastating damage. It deals both Physical and Fire damage, which makes dealing with Immunities much easier. The unfortunate aspect of every Sorceress is the lack of defense. The delayed damage and lack of slow make it more apparent here compared to the Cold Sorc. |
Evolving Builds for Project Diablo 2: Share Your Best Strategies
Please remember that every in-game decision should be based on your preference, as fun is the most important aspect of the game. You should not base your Build choice on raw statistics unless you are a true hardcore player focused on speed-clearing end-game content. Choosing a strong Build that uses mechanics that you don't like might kill all your enjoyment.
If you’ve found a build that’s performing exceptionally well or have a unique setup you’d like to share, let us know in the comments. We are committed to keeping this guide up-to-date throughout the expansion and beyond, adding new builds and refining existing ones based on player feedback and ongoing gameplay developments.
We hope this guide helps you find the perfect build for your journey in Season of Prosperity! Stay tuned for regular updates, and may your loot be plentiful and powerful.
|
 
Odealo is one of the biggest Project Diablo 2 marketplaces. It allows regular players to buy, sell, and trade Items and Currency with the use of real cash
|
If you have any other Guide requests, please leave them in the comments below. Also, we are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.
Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Blizzard Activision.
Buy/Sell
Log in
