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Blizzcon 2019: Diablo 4 announced with Barbarian, Sorceress, and Druid

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Diablo IV Announce Cinematic | By Three They Come

Blizzcon 2019  has started with a bang, with the announcement of Diablo 4. The much-awaited entry into the franchise seems to be pulling no punches this time around. The title was announced with a gruesomely beautiful trailer in which three ill-fated travelers are sacrificed to summon the game’s villain, Lilith. She is described as the mother, the creator of Sanctuary.

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Luis Barriga, the game’s director, took to the stage to outline three major points of the game. Darkness, World, and Legacy are the pillars of Diablo 4. Blood, Gore, and the occult will be core to the visual style and overall aesthetics of the game. Barriga made sure to emphasize that this entry would be much more grim, even Gothic. Fans of early installments will be happy to hear that a “reverence” for the games’ roots is an important part of Diablo 4’s design. 

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Spaces like Sanctuary will be front and center in the campaign, with looks at previously unseen corners of the Diablo universe. Monsters will feel more dynamic as you navigate a PVE world filled with enemy and friendly camps. PVP zones will be making a welcome return, allowing players to challenge one another in not-so-friendly bouts for glory and loot. Blizzard seems to be iterating on and improving the dynamic combat of Diablo 3 as well, drawing even further on all that they’ve learned thus far.

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The haunting cinematic was accompanied by a gameplay trailer that further established a darker tone. Fans will be able to choose from a Sorceress, Druid, or Barbarian, with more classes possibly on the way. It is clear from the gameplay that the in-game spaces will feature a more realistic look and a muted palette. This should be a welcome change for fans who found fault in the more colorful look of Diablo 3. 

Diablo IV Official Gameplay Trailer

Luis Barriga also announced that the upcoming title will be released on Xbox One, PS4, and PC, although no specific date was announced.

A demo and developer panels are available to fans at Blizzcon, but for those of you who can’t make it, Blizzcon Virtual Tickets are still available

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Alan Torres
Alan Torres
Introduced to gaming in the mid-’90s, I was lucky to experience consoles from before my time. The PS1 is the first console…
Best Diablo 4 Rogue builds: recommended skills, passives, and gear
A rogue looking determined.

Rogues are always an enticing class to play as in RPGs like Diablo 4. These characters have plenty of different tricks and options open to them, making them versatile, but always deadly, no matter what World Tier you're on. With so many options to pick from, such as melee or ranged, trap types, and different status effects, it can feel overwhelming when trying to figure out what is worth investing in to make a powerful Rogue. Rather than tinker endlessly with all the possible combinations of this class, we'll give you two powerful Rogue builds to make you more formidable in Diablo 4.
Rogue overview
Rogues are meant to be fast and deadly. They have very high damage-per-second (DPS) potential to make up for lower defense and HP, as well as numerous tricks like bombs and traps to keep themselves safe. This is one of the more active classes in Diablo 4, requiring you to manage your cooldowns and be more active during fights compared to more tanky classes. You'll need to be more precise playing a Rogue because many of their skills need to be targeted. However, thanks to some powerful synergies, mastering this class could make you one of the most powerful members of your team.
Ranged build

Unless you're absolutely certain you can take out an enemy before they can land any significant blows on you, a ranged Rogue build is the safest bet. Don't let that get you down, though, because Rogues are arguably even more deadly at a distance than up-close. Here's a strong range build to mop up enemies before they even have a chance to touch you. Feel free to use either a bow or crossbow depending on your preference.
Must-have skills
Penetrating Shot: This is going to be your basic attack in many ways. As the name suggests, this skill shoots an arrow that penetrates all enemies to hit as many as you can get lined up, though at slightly reduced damage than a normal shot. It also has a chance for a Lucky hit, but make sure you get the Enhanced Penetrating Shot as well to increase the damage the shot does by a percentage for each enemy it hits.

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Best Diablo 4 Necromancer builds: recommended skills, passives, and gear
The necromancer holding a balde in a crypt.

Why should all those corpses you create in Diablo 4 go to waste? You'll be ripping through swaths of demons, monsters, and other evils all across Sanctuary during your adventure, and if you're not playing in a group, you might feel a little lonely. Thankfully, the Necromancer is here to turn those former foes into brand-new friends. Sure, Necromancers have typically been seen as the villains, but you're free to flip the script and show the world they can be heroes too. Becoming a master of the dead isn't so simple, so we've come up with two of the best Necromancer builds to test out in Diablo 4.
Necromancer overview
The Necromancer is a very interesting class in Diablo 4. Not only can it serve as a high-damage, single-target class, but it also has some strong area of effect options. Of course, the thing that really makes this class stand out is the ability to summon up minions to fight on your behalf, keeping you from being overwhelmed by enemies. How and why you summon those minions is where the diversity comes in, so let's take a look at some build options.
Bone Spirit build

If you want to hit as hard as possible, then this Bone Spirit build will certainly do the trick. By focusing on maximizing crit chances, you'll be able to crush even the tankiest of foes in just a few hits. This does take a good bit of mechanical skill, but once you've gotten the hang of it, you'll basically be unstoppable.
Must-have skills
Reap: This one is basic, but you need your normal scythe swipe to fall back on. Mainly, you'll just use this as a corpse creator for other skills.

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Best Diablo 4 Sorcerer builds: recommended skills, passives, and gear
Diablo 4

Each of the five classes in Diablo 4 plays to different strengths. All of them are viable for completing the game, whether you're going through the story alone or with a group of friends, but it is important to know what role each one serves best and how to optimize them to take advantage of those strengths. The skill trees for each character can be a bit overwhelming, especially if this is your first time venturing into the world of Sanctuary. If the Sorcerer has caught your eye as a fun character to begin with, then a little guidance on how to make a powerful build will go a long way. Here is a general overview of the Sorcerer class, plus some examples of builds you can work toward to melt all that oppose you with powerful magic in Diablo 4.
Sorcerer overview

The Sorcerer is a magic-focused class that focuses on three primary elemental magics: Fire, Ice, and Lightning. They tend to be something of a glass cannon, meaning they deal very high damage, but are not able to take many hits. There are ways to mitigate your more squishy nature, but this isn't a class you should pick if you want to get right up in your enemies' faces and beat them down. Sorcerers are best used at range, so they can keep moving and dishing out tons of damage and effects.
Lightning build

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