The 30th anniversary of Diablo has been full of surprises across the board, but if there’s one thing, or rather, someone, who has taken a place in the spotlight, it has been the Warlock. We have seen their arrival in two out of three games now, bringing the destructive power of hell to wield against, well, hordes of hell. Now, this class has made its way to Diablo Immortal, and as the lawful good player that I am, I have to admit that my alignment has shifted once more because the Warlock is a superb class to play.
Demonology 101
After trying all the iterations of Warlock across all current major Diablo titles, I have to say that the one from Diablo Immortal sits somewhere in between Diablo 4 and Diablo 2. My favorite will always be the one I took to defeat Mephisto, and I really loved how it embraced the Shadow archetype in it. However, I believe that Diablo Immortal‘s Warlock is much better when it comes to one thing that makes the class so iconic: summoning demons.
While I’m not a huge fan of summoner builds, this iteration of Warlock has actually nudged me into trying them. As soon as you begin your journey as a Warlock, you get your faithful and destructive Soulgorger, which follows you around all the time and clears enemy hordes for you. Then, you get your primary that summons the usual exploding demons, a few others that send swarms to your foes, and even some that let you control Soulgorger more directly.
For me, what really sold me on making Warlock my new main Diablo Immortal is the fantasy of being a proper demonologist. Even if Diablo 4 has some excellent summons, nothing beats the jaw-dropping moment of seeing you fly alongside a hellish bat while it breathes fire on enemies. The same can be said for Soulgorger, who you can instruct to leap toward enemies and stun them for a bit. That is the true essence of a Warlock class: commanding demons to do your bidding in an edgy and destructive way.
Yet, demons aren’t the only weapons you can use as a Warlock. You also have some Hellfire skills that summon pillars of fire on the ground or even switch your primary to a Hellfire Bolt. Frankly, these skills were my go-to choice at first, until I started raising my demon army. And then, you also have some sacrificial skills, which I never really choose in any game, as I prefer a safer approach to combat. However, the high-risk, high-reward gameplay is there, and with these skills unlocking in later levels, some players might cook up devastating builds that empower you and Soulgorger at the same time, while also draining your other poor demons to turn them into living bombs.
And while I am praising every single thing about Warlock because it definitely deserves that praise in terms of class design, I do think it is a bit overpowered. See, when I previewed Druid, I saw it as a beginner-friendly class that would take a while to reach its full potential. With Warlock, it still has that easy approach for newcomers, but it feels extremely powerful right from the get-go. Now, this is not a complaint, mind you. I am rolling a Warlock as soon as it launches on the live version. Still, I feel that, just like in other games featuring classes, this new one will eclipse every single one in the game and quickly move to the highest spots of the meta at launch, which might be good or bad, depending on the player.
Fighting Hellfire With Hellfire
Ultimately, and as I’ve always said, it is great to see Diablo Immortal featuring some of the best class designs in the franchise, and Warlock is a perfect example of that. I’ve always felt as if Warlock in other games was lacking something: the embracing of the demonologist fantasy. Well, Diablo Immortal nailed it. And frankly, I’m glad the game took this approach. With so many Warlocks roaming around Sanctuary this year, this one truly stands out as one of the most fun classes in the whole game, and I just hope that we continue getting more in the future.
