Diablo 4 is set to get a brand-new class in 2027, Blizzard announced during BlizzCon 2027. The iconic Amazon class from Diablo 2 will debut in Diablo 4 next year after the Lord of Hatred DLC added the Amazon homeland of Skovos. Now, Blizzard has confirmed that the Amazon will be the first of its kind among Diablo 4‘s classes, breaking a tradition that has been upheld since the game’s launch in 2023.
Although the news of Diablo 4‘s upcoming Amazon class was overshadowed by the announcement of Diablo 5 at BlizzCon, it’s still a game-changing addition for the game that is still Diablo‘s flagship entry for the next few years. The Amazon will make her return to Diablo as a playable class for the first time since Diablo 2, continuing Diablo 4‘s tradition of revitalizing beloved features from the fan-favorite entry. However, in doing so, the Amazon will also mark the first case of a female-only class within Diablo 4‘s character creator.
Amazon Will Be Diablo 4’s First Gender-Locked Class
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Image via Blizzard -
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Image via Blizzard
Confirmed by the Diablo 4 development team during BlizzCon, the Amazon will be the first instance of a gender-locked class in Diablo 4. Players who wish to create an Amazon during character creation will have to select a female character to keep with the lore of the Amazon clan within Diablo‘s universe. Every other class in Diablo 4 allows players to select whether they’d like to play as a male or female version, with slight variations in the look of the class depending on the chosen gender. The Amazon will forego this option and lock players into a female character if they wish to play the new class.
From a lore standpoint, this decision makes a lot of sense. The Askari people of Skovos are a matriarchal society with only the women serving as Amazon warriors. It would be strange for Diablo 4‘s take on the playable Amazon to break from this lore, especially after players got to see the Amazon caste firsthand during the Lord of Hatred storyline.
The Amazon has historically only ever been female in the Diablo series as well, with players being locked to a single gender within Diablo 2. However, Diablo 2 didn’t have the same degree of character customization that Diablo 4 had, and all classes were gender-locked in that game, producing characters such as the female Sorceress and Assassin classes alongside the male Necromancer and Paladin classes.
Despite the inability to choose the Amazon’s gender during character creation, the class is poised to be one of the most diverse from a build perspective when she joins the Diablo 4 roster in 2027. Blizzard outlined the four different archetypes players will be able to build the Amazon into, including the Commander, Skirmisher, Champion, and Ranger, which is Diablo 4‘s version of the classic Diablo 2 “Bowazon” build. The Amazon will also exclusively use the new Javelin weapon type, giving players an even greater reason to check out the class. There isn’t a timeframe for the Amazon’s release beyond sometime in 2027, so fans will have to be patient for more information coming out of Blizzard in the future.
- Released
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June 5, 2023
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
