Games Marketplace - Odealo
0.00 25 (Click on the icon to view details)

Articles

The Best Project Diablo 2 Builds

The Best Project Diablo 2 Builds

List of the best PD2 builds for all the classes in Season 3

Project Diablo 2
Classes and Builds

 

Introduction

Each of the seven Diablo 2 Classes can be developed in dozens of different ways. Over the years, however, the players have discovered every synergy, every interaction, every hidden strength, and every little weakness or every Class and used that knowledge to create a range of meta builds that simply have no competition. Because of this, Diablo 2 has somewhat stagnated and there's not much variety when it comes to "competitive" builds - this might change in Diablo II: Resurrected as Blizzard is likely to introduce balance changes and new Unique items. Despite this, there is still a lot of room for experimentation and the creation of weird and gimmicky builds; if you just want to have fun, Diablo 2's character development system has got you covered. If you want to experience Diablo II in a new way and are tired of the same-old meta builds, however, you should definitely try Project Diablo II. PD II maintains the Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction experience while also providing consistent ladder resets, increased build diversity (achieved by MANY balance changes to all classes), item rebalances, and new end-game content (including 6 new solo maps, extremely difficult group maps, and more). 

Below, we present you with the best, the most powerful, and the most fun-to-play Diablo 2 and Project Diablo 2 Builds. Moreover, for those of you who are new to Diablo 2 or want to refresh your memory, we have also prepared short breakdowns of all D2 Classes. These also contain a brief summary of the most important balance changes introduced in Project Diablo II. 

 

The Best Project Diablo 2 Builds

Sorceress Builds
  1. [S4] Combustion/Frozen Orb Sorceress build - one of the best Fire Sorc setups with amazing AoE and skill diversity allowing you to farm low and mid-tier content solo. It's also an amazing build for Magic Find with tons of Unique and Set Items that allow you to maximize MF stat while maintaining a solid DPS
  2. [S4] Frozen Orb Magic Find Sorc - one of the best setups for pure Magic Find based on the currently most powerful Sorceress' Cold Spell - Frozen Orb. This is presumably the most efficient Unique/Set Item farming builds in Season 4
  3. [S4] Fire Hydra Sorceress Build - one of the best setups for the Sorcerer Class when it comes to farming end-game Bosses including Ubers and Dclone
Paladin Builds
  1. [S4] Holy Bolt Paladin build - a Top Tier Paladin build which was the number 1 build during Season 1. Even with the recent nerfs, you are still looking at one of the best Pala setups in the game, whether you want to deal tons of damage or heal and assist your Allies with Auras
  2. [S4] Zealer Paladin Build - recommended setup for farming Ubers with a Paladin. It's among the top Melee builds for this class which offer amazing self-sustain and high single-target DPS
  3. [S2] Dragondin/Auradin Paladin build - insanely powerful, and presumably, a totally over-powered Paladin build based on stacking Holy Fire Aura from Dragon and Hand of Justice Runewords for massive Fire AoE Damage
Necromancer Builds
  1. [S4] Curses/Dark Pact Necromancer build - one of the most interesting and unique builds in Project Diablo 2. It's amazing for solo play with tons of sustainable damage, as well as, it offers amazing team utility will all the powerful Curses
  2. [S4] Bone/Tooth Necromancer build - one of the best Map farming builds currently with tons of Magic Damage from your Tooth Spell which damages plenty of enemies in a wide radius
  3. [S4] Poison Nova Necromancer - one of the deadliest Poison/DoT builds in the game, which works wonders in Maps thanks to strong AoE and high sustainable Poison damage
  4. [S4] Clay Golem Necromancer - a very powerful Minion/Summoner build that utilizes powerful Melee Golem with extra splash damage to fight for you offering a smooth and safe playstyle
  5. [S4] Raise Skeleton Necromancer - one of the best Minion builds for the Necromancer Class which is mainly based on the Raise Skeleton Warrior and Archer spells
Druid Builds
  1. [S4] Fire Elemental Druid build - a very powerful Elemental/Caster build for the Druid class that utilizes Molten Boulder, Volcano and Armageddon Spells to deal massive Fire Damage and additional Physical Damage to deal with the monster Immunities you can find in higher Tier zones
  2. [S4] End-game Summoner Druid build - top tier Druid build for end-game farming including DClone and such. This build allows you to stay in safety while summons do the job, but surprisingly the DPS output is extremely high for this type of build
  3. [S4] Werewolf Shape Shifter Druid build - insanely fast and versatile Melee fighter build based on the Druid's Werewolf form
Barbarian Builds
  1. [S4] Whirlwind Barbarian build - the Spin-to-Win build of Project Diablo 2. One of the most iconic and most powerful Barbarian builds out there. At the same time, it offers a very smooth playstyle that appeals to most of the players
  2. [S4] Double Throw Barbarian build - a godly Barbarian build that simply melts content with flying axes chaining between enemies dealing massive damage. Tanky, flexible, and all-around simply amazing Barbarian build
  3. [S2] War Cry Singer Barbarian - one of the most Unique Barbarian build which surprisingly does not use any Attack Skill but instead deals strong Physical Damage with War Cry thanks to greatly increased Skill levels and tons of synergies
Assassin Builds
  1. [S4] Wake of Fire Assassin Trapper build - Wake of Fire is among the best Skills in the entire PD2 out of all the available classes. It makes this one of the best and fastest Map and Cow level farming builds in the game
  2. [S4] Chain Lightning Sentry Assassin - a solid S-Tier build based on the Chain Lightning Sentry which is one of the most powerful Lightning Skills in the game currently
  3. [S4] Phoenix Strike Assassin - the most unique and interesting Assassin build which utilizes the Phoenix Strike ability to trigger three different Elemental Spells with Attacks for tons of damage and AoE
  4. [S4] Claws of Thunder Assassin - an S-Tier build that utilizes the recently buffed Claws of Thunder skill to deal massive Lightning Damage to obliterate enemies while being able to block most of the incoming attacks
Amazon Builds
  1. [S4] Javazon Amazon Build - one of the best builds mainly oriented on Boss/Single-target DPS from Charged Strike and Lightning Strike and Javelin wielding Amazon
  2. [S4] Multi-Shot Bowazon Build - a great Amazon build that utilizes Bows for massive ranged/aoe damage from your Multi-Shot skill
  3. [S4] Freezing Arrow Bowazon Build - a Bow-wielding Amazon setup that combines very high Area Damage with insane crowd-control for potent freeze effects

 

D II Classes and PD II Class Balance Changes

Note: We have focused on the most important balance changes introduced in Project Diablo 2. If you want to check and review all of the changes, You can do that on PD2's official Wiki.

Sorceress

A powerful mage, able to harness the power of fire, cold, and lightning, and use it to devastate Her enemies. As most magic-wielders in Sanctuary, She shies away from hand-to-hand combat and prefers to keep her distance. While quite fragile, Sorceress is more than capable of protecting herself with her magic - she has access to potent utility and defensive spells that make her hard to catch and even harder to defeat. 

Sorceress's Skill Trees

  • Fire Spells - Fire is a very destructive element and this Skilltree allows the Sorceress to direct its power. Fire Spells deal a lot of damage and often have a high area of effect that makes them ideal against packs of enemies. One of the most important fire spells is Warmth, a level 1 spell that increases the mana recovery rate and synergizes with multiple other spells in the tree (in Project Diablo 2, it also provides an Attack Rating boost). 
  • Lightning Spells - A very powerful but also somewhat unpredictable skill tree - Lightning Spells have very high potential damage but they also tend to have high variation (min and max damage values vary greatly). On top of the considerable damage potential, lightning spells also offer a lot of utility. Telekinesis and Teleport come in handy in a variety of situations and can greatly increase Sorceress's survivability when used properly. 
  • Cold Spells - If you're interested in crowd control, this skill tree will be a natural choice for you. Cold spells slow enemies on hit and have a chance of freezing them in place (the chance varies from spell to spell and is increased with subsequent spell levels). Frozen enemies are shattered upon death which stops them from being revived or their bodies being used for other purposes. Cold Spells skill tree also offers some potent defensive options in the form of Armors that increase Sorceress's defense and slow or freeze melee attackers (Cold, Chilling, and Shiver).

Sorceress Balance Changes in Project Diablo 2

Changes implemented in project diablo 2 have made the Sorceress a lot more versatile (many more builds are now possible) yet balanced. Some of the more important changes include: 

  • Teleport now applies a 50% spell damage debuff for 1 second after use (nerf). 
  • Telekinesis provides a damage buff and has added synergies (buff). 
  • Warmth now also adds a flat attack rating bonus (buff). 
  • Combustion - a new fire spell (level 24) that has high AoE damage; it creates a ring of fireballs around the caster. 
  • Meteors fall faster and their AoE deals more damage but dissipates more quickly. 
  • Ice Barrage - a new Cold Spell (level 24) that shoots chilling missiles that slow nearby enemies (additional ones are fired per level - max of 5). 

Paladin

A warrior of light, able to wield holy magic in combat, sworn to fight against the undead and daemons alike. He is more than capable of dispatching the enemies of light on his own, however, His real power comes from His ability to aid allies and intimidate foes. The very presence of a Paladin (and his auras) is often enough to tip the scales of a battle. 

Paladin's Skill Trees

  • Combat Skills - This skill tree is the main source of Paladin's offensive power. It contains a plethora of offensive moves that aid the Paladin in his crusade against darkness. Most of the skills from this tree are designed to harm Paladin's enemies, however, some can also be used to aid His's allies. Some also have negative side effects. For example, Sacrifice also damages the Paladin on use, and the Holy Bolt heals friendly units on top of damaging monsters. 
  • Offensive Auras - This offensively focused skill tree is mainly aimed at improving Paladin's combat capabilities, but it also contains some skills able to dispatch monsters on their own (for example, Thorns Aura reflects damage and Holy Fire periodically burns nearby enemies). Offensive Auras work on the Paladin as well as His allies, which makes them especially strong in multiplayer or while having mercenaries. Offensive Auras persist until canceled and do not use mana while active which makes them very convenient. Only one Aura can be active per Paladin. 
  • Defensive Auras - These auras allow the Paladin to passively heal His wounds, increase His elemental resistances, or increase His defense rating and physical damage reduction. They also offer various utilities, like increased movement speed, better stamina regeneration, improver mana regeneration, or shortened poison/curse duration. Defensive Auras work on the Paladin as well as His allies, which makes them especially strong in multiplayer or while having mercenaries. Defensive Auras persist until canceled and do not use mana while active (with the notable exception of Prayer) which makes them very convenient. Only one Aura can be active per Paladin. 

Paladin Balance Changes in Project Diablo 2

In Project Diablo 2, Paladin has become even better at supporting his allies, both offensively and defensively. Moreover, some of his skills were brought back in line to ensure that more builds are viable. Some of the more important changes include: 

  • Resistance Auras (Fire, Cold, Lightning) now also grant bonus damage to their respective elements. 
  • Multiple Offensive Auras had their tick rate increased (Holy Fire, Holy Freeze, Sanctuary, Holy Shock). Moreover, most of them had their effects tuned. 
  • Conviction has received a considerable nerf. 
  • Zeal had its number of attacks decreased from 5 to 3. To counterbalance this change, the damage per hit was increased. This change eliminates the animation lock problem. Moreover, it was moved to level 6 (it previously required level 12). 
  • Two "Holy" spells were added; Holy Light (a simple single target heal), Holy Nova (a powerful AoE spell that heals allies and damages enemies - it has a long cooldown). 
  • "Joust" Skill was added - it allows Paladin to teleport to an enemy and impale them while also gaining a short bonus to movement speed (requires level 24 and has a short CD). 

Necromancer

A master of the dark arts of necromancy (duh), able to summon spirits of the dead to his aid. Unlike the Sorceress, He does not concern himself with "ethics" and happily employs even the darkest of magic arts; be it curses, poisons, corpse reanimations, or forbidden summoning rituals. Necromancer is very durable for a spell caster (thanks to a plethora of defensive and utility spells) and is able to focus on dealing direct damage or opt to stay out of harm's way and have his minions do the dirty work instead. 

Necromancer's Skill Trees

  • Curses - These forbidden spells debuff, cripple, or otherwise debilitate Necromancer's enemies. Curse effects vary greatly; from simple blindness to mind-altering effects that make enemies attack each other. Unlike other skills, Curses do not receive synergies and none of them deal direct damage. Some Curses offer a lot of utility in multiplayer modes, as every player, not only the Necromancer, can benefit from them - for example, Amplify Damage will make enemies take more damage from all party members. 
  • Poison and Bone Spells - This skill tree contains spells that focus on dealing direct damage, poison damage over time, and on protecting the Necromancer from harm. This skill tree is what differentiates Diablo 2's Necro from the "standard" necromancer Archetype - in D2, you can play a Necromancer without any undead minions, by focusing on bone and poison magic instead, and be successful. Bone and Poison skill tree also offers some good crowd control and utility spells. 
  • Summoning Spells - These are the skills everybody associates with a Necromancer. Here, you will find spells that raise the dead and bind them to the Necromancer as minions, as well as more powerful summoning spells that allow the Necromancer to create Golems. On top of the summons, this skill tree also offers various ways to improve the strength and staying power of Necromancer's minions. 

Necromancer Balance Changes in Project Diablo 2

Necromancer has received a complete overhaul of his Curses skill tree as well as a range of balance changes which should make many more builds viable. Some of the more important changes include: 

  • A complete rework of the Curses skill tree (added Curse synergies, multiple Curses can be active per Necromancer, new Curses that reduce enemy's Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Defense, and other parameters). 
  • Curse Mastery - a skill that improves the effectiveness of all curses. 
  • Summon Skeleton/Mages - Reduced the maximum possible number of Summoned Skeletons but increased their Damage and Splash (Skeleton) and Pierce (Mages). 
  • Golem Mastery now enables Necromancer to summon additional Golems (1 every 5 points, up to 5). 
  • Bone Speer has received additional projectiles at 15/25 Skill, however, the three spears can't hit one target. 
  • Blood Warp - a teleport spell that costs max health to use. 
  • Desecrate - a skill that summons a poisonous pile of corpses. These corpses can be used in other Necromancer's spells (like Corpse Explosion, for example). 

Druid

Druid wields magical powers that come directly from his unbreakable bond to nature. He can call upon the aid of animals, elements, and even plants to help Him in battle. Moreover, he can use his shapeshifting skills to become a beast himself. These traits make him a true hybrid Class, capable of fighting in melee, keeping distance while relying on ranged spells, or summoning minions to do most of the fighting for Him. 

Druid's Skill Trees

  • Summoning Skills - Druid can call for Nature's aid at any time and Nature will always answer by sending spirits, plants, and animals to help Him fight the evil. Summoning Skills are great for those who prefer to conserve their resources and make their minions do most of the fighting. Another pair of hands/claws/thorns is always handy to have when enemies attack in overwhelming numbers, which makes this skill tree exceedingly powerful. 
  • Shape Shifting Skills - With these skills, Druid can assume the form of a powerful beast. Once shapeshifted, He gains access to incredible strength, inhuman resilience, and primordial cunning. It is worth noting that the weapon a Druid wields while shapeshifting adds its abilities and power of the beast He has shapeshifted into. There are two forms a Druid can assume - Werewolf (level 1 skill) and Warbear (level 6). The rest of the Shape Shifting skill tree is aimed at making these two forms more powerful. 
  • Elemental Skills - While Druid's magical powers are not as sophisticated as Sorceress's, they are definitely much wilder. He can bind the elements to his will and summon hurricanes, tornados, and firestorms, or even create a volcano that will shower his enemies with fireballs. While elemental magic is not the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to the Druid, it is definitely a powerful tool in His hands. 

Druid Balance Changes in Project Diablo 2

Balance changes to Druid are focused mainly on tweaking the length of His Cooldowns, making Him a better team player, and buffing some of His more underwhelming skills. The more important changes include: 

  • Carrion and Scholar Summons now also grant AoE effects to all nearby allies whenever they consume a corpse; Carrion grants healing and Scholar grants mana. 
  • Grizzly now summons an extra bear. 
  • Hunger was changed to a level 12 skill that allows the Druid to consume a corpse to temporarily gain movement speed, critical strike, and life steal.
  • Warbear is now a Level 1 Skill that also grants a buff to summon grizzly and a decrease to wolves. 
  • Lycanthropy now grants bonuses to attack rating and maximum life of all shapeshift forms. 
  • Arctic Blast was buffed and is now a level 1 skill. 
  • Twister now grants additional twisters based on soft points (max of 14). 

Barbarian

Barbarian is your "standard" melee class that relies on raw strength, physical power, and considerable martial skills to fight and survive. A typical Barbarian is a seasoned warrior who likes to meet his enemies head-on and shies away from "girly" tactics (so, the ones that involve any kind of ranged or indirect fighting). He is not only capable of dispatching his foes with ease, but can also inspire His allies and terrify enemies unfortunate enough to stand in His way. 

Barbarian's Skill Trees

  • Warcries - A utility-heavy skill tree that ranges from "standard" attack skills to abilities that can be used on corpses. Because of their nature, many Warcries really shine in multiplier environment. Moreover, some of them can be used to generate potentially unlimited resources (Find Potion, for example; this, however, can be very time-consuming). Warcries also offer some much-needed crowd-control abilities to the Barbarian. Skills from this tree are often chosen as an addition to builds focused on Combat Skills, as some additional utility is always welcome. 
  • Combat Masteries - This skill tree offers a range of passive bonuses that range from weapon-based ones (these increase the effectiveness of all 6 weapon types a Barbarian can use) to ones that grant resistances and other passive bonuses. Because of its passive nature, the Combat Masteries Skill tree is rather boring and is generally used only to support builds based on other skill trees. Nevertheless, it offers a substantial power boost to the Barbarian and should not be overlooked. 
  • Combat Skills - The main Skill Tree of a "standard" Barbarian. Unlike the previous two, it features mainly active offensive skills around which you can design a working build. It also contains some important utility skills, like Leap that greatly increases Barbarian's mobility, and Bash which allows Him to push enemies back. Many Combat Skills benefit from passive skills found in the Combat Masteries tree so builds that combine these two are very common. 

Barbarian Balance Changes in Project Diablo 2

Barbarian's balance changes had made him much more versatile and fun to play. Many skills were re-shuffled on the trees and multiple new skills were added. The more important changes include: 

  • Bash now requires a 2-handed weapon to use. 
  • Concentrate is now a level 12 skill that converts Physical Damage to Magic. 
  • Whirlwind now also increases movement speed by 4% ber soft point. 
  • Leap and Leap Attack now offer AoE on landing. 
  • Grim Ward - a new Warcry that grants party members bonuses to damage and attack rating. 
  • War Cry now has a scaling AoE but got its stun effect removed. 
  • General Mastery, a new Combat Mastery Skill that improves maces, axes, and swords. 
  • Polearm Mastery and Spear Mastery were combined into a single "Polearm and Spear Mastery" skill that affects both weapon types. 

Assassin

Assassins are extremely elusive - to a point where their very existence is universally doubted. They are the shadows that lurk in the dark, trained in the arts of stealth, subterfuge, deception, and silent killing. While they are forbidden to utilize magic directly, their Shadow Arts are as close to magic as they can get without actually being magic - every Assassin has dozens of deadly tricks up her sleeve.

Assassin's Skill Trees

  • Traps - Why fight monsters directly when you can set deadly traps for them instead? This skill tree offers a range of unique ground-based abilities that allow the Assassin to turn any battlefield into a deadly trap for Her enemies. Traps are best used when combined with Assassin's other abilities - after all, enemies will often not trigger the traps on their own and will have to be lured to them. When used to their full potential, traps can turn any engagement into a one-sided slaughter. 
  • Shadow Disciplines - Abilities present in this skill tree are the end result of generations of strict mental conditioning and intensive stealth training of Assassins. They allow the Assassin to remain unseen but not make her invisible. They don't deal damage directly but make other attacks much deadlier. In short, Shadow Disciplines are very subtle in what they do but a true Assassin can use them to devastating effects. This Skill Tree offers a lot of utility that can augment Assassin Builds based on both Traps and Martial Arts. 
  • Martial Arts - This combat-oriented skill tree contains two types of attacks - powerful finishers and builders that are used to prepare them. This builder-spender mechanic is unique to the Assassin and offers a new kind of gameplay experience as far as Diablo 2 is concerned. Charges can be acquired by using different charge-up skills (points from different skills accumulate) while using a finishing move will always consume all accumulated points. Some of the Skills from the Martial Arts tree can only be used with Claws weapon type. 

Assassin Balance Changes in Project Diablo 2

Assassin has received a comparatively minor overhaul (compared to some other classes) but some of the changes are very impactful. The most important of them include: 

  • Chain Lightning Sentry - a new Trap skill (level 30) that shoots chain lightning to scorch passing enemies. 
  • Fire Blast will now fire extra missiles per 4 points (up to 6). 
  • Blade Fury now has Pierce effect and is affected by attack speed. Moreover, it has 100% of weapon damage and does not have a penalty when used with 2-handed weapons. 
  • Dragon Talon Kick is now capped at 3 attacks. 
  • Psychic Hammer had its damage buffed massively and has received synergies. 
  • Fade was nerfed (reduced damage reduction). 
  • Cloak of Shadows now has a fixed duration. 

Amazon

A ranged Class specialized in bows and throwing weapons, able to enhance her martial abilities. Thanks to her considerable prowess, Amazon can face any enemy without fear. She derives from a band of nomadic fighters who prefer to eliminate enemies from a distance with Bows, Crossbows, and Thrown Weapons. If the situation demands it, however, She is more than capable of defending herself in melee as well. 

Amazon's Skill Trees

  • Bow and Crossbow Skills - A ranged-combat-oriented skill tree that enables the Amazon to pick off her enemies from a long distance (most of the skills from this tree have a range that exceeds the width of the screen considerably). The ranged nature of Bow and Crossbow skills allows for glass-cannon type builds that rely on mobility to avoid damage. Some of the Skills from this tree offer magical and elemental effects, for example, a Frost Arrow deals Cold Damage in addition to physical damage and slows enemies on impact. 
  • Passive and Magic Skills - A utility-heavy skill tree, mainly focused on survivability but also offering very powerful offensive skills. Evade, Avoid, and Dodge skills, from this tree, are crucial for Amazon's survival at higher levels and allow Her to play more aggressively. Valkyrie, the "ultimate" skill available from level 30, summons one of the most powerful minions in the game and is build-defining because of that. Other Passive and Magic Skills are great for boosting the offensive power of Amazon builds focused around the two other skill trees. 
  • Javelin and Spear Skills - Skills from this tree greatly enhance Amazon's ability to fight with thrown weapons. Unlike the Bow and Crossbow skills, these ones focus not only on ranged combat but also on melee which makes them more versatile - with them, you can turn the Amazon into a fierce hand-to-hand fighter. Thanks to Fend, a melee Amazon is able to destroy multiple enemies in close quarters, and thanks to Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, and Lightning Fury She has access to high additional elemental damage. 

Amazon Balance Changes in Project Diablo 2

As with other Classes, some of Amazon's more powerful skills were tuned down, while some of the weaker ones were substantially buffed. The more important changes include: 

  • Fend now makes the Amazon attack 5 times instead of 10. 
  • Impale was replaced by Javelin and Spear Mastery that increases damage and critical hit chance of Spears and Javelins. 
  • Multi-Shot had its mana cost reduced but at the cost of a highly decreased range. 
  • Magic Arrow now fires an additional Arrow for every 10 soft points spent. 
  • Exploding Arrow had its AoE increased, moreover, AoE now triggers on each pierced impact. 
  • Lightning Fury is now capped at 10 bolts, damage per bolt was also nerfed. 
  • Valkyrie now summons an additional minion from level 20 and another one from level 30 (maximum of 3). Valkyries are now faster and use Power Strike. 

 

END NOTE

If you have any Build requests, please post them in the Comments section below. We will be happy to update our list with the newest and the most popular/requested Builds, so feel free to leave your feedback, we will much appreciate it. 

We hope that you have found this guide useful and informative. If you liked it and want us to add more guides such as this one, please let us know! Also, we will be happy to receive constructive criticism that will help us improve our future work so leave your suggestions in the comments section below.