After nearly three decades of Diablo games, Blizzard has a huge library of classes to pull from and recently discussed what that meant for the Demon Hunter in Diablo 5. Some have become closely associated with specific entries, while others have returned in different forms as the series has evolved. Diablo 5 is taking advantage of that history in a particularly interesting way, with Blizzard promising more Diablo 5 classes than any previous game in the franchise while also using those returning classes as an opportunity to try something new.
Diablo 5 is not simply bringing back old favorites and calling it a day. Blizzard has already announced three classes for the game: Monk, Demon Hunter, and the completely new Plague Knight. That combination says a lot about what the studio is trying to do with Diablo 5 because longtime players will have familiar archetypes to fall back on while Blizzard has room to introduce ideas that did not exist in earlier games.
Diablo 5’s Demon Hunter is Nostalgic, but New
Diablo 5‘s Demon Hunter will be familiar to Diablo 3 players, revealed game director Joe Shely to MMORPG.com, but Blizzard is promising a new representation of the class. Shely explained that players who started with Diablo 3 should be able to jump into Diablo 5‘s Demon Hunter and recognize the tactile gameplay experience, while still getting something different. The twin crossbows are returning, too, with Shely specifically pointing to them as part of the nostalgia Blizzard wants to preserve. In Shely’s own words,
“If you started playing Diablo in Diablo 3, you probably know the demon hunter, and you can jump into Diablo 5 and have an experience that’s familiar but also new at the same time. It’s a new representation of the class. It’s going to be different, but you’re still going to have twin crossbows, and we’re going to pay off that nostalgia you have, that feeling for what that experience was like, right? So having a lot of classes lets us do that in a way that we haven’t been able to do before. It also affords us the opportunity to explore new classes like the Plague Knight—something where we don’t have to have as many heated discussions.”
Scratch & Peek
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
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The idea behind the Demon Hunter is part of a larger strategy for gameplay and character builds in Diablo 5. Shely explained that giving players more classes allows Blizzard to create different entry points for different types of Diablo fans. Someone who has spent years with the franchise can choose a class that taps into something familiar, while another player can pick something that feels completely new.
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That approach is especially interesting when looking at the new Diablo 5 class: Plague Knight. Unlike the Demon Hunter, the Plague Knight does not have decades of player expectations attached to it, giving Blizzard significantly more freedom to experiment. Shely specifically pointed to the class as an example of something the team can explore without having to deal with the same level of debate surrounding returning classes (which may be one of the biggest advantages of creating something entirely new).
Diablo 5′s larger class roster could ultimately be one of the game’s biggest departures from previous entries. Blizzard has more than 30 years of Diablo history to draw from, but the goal isn’t simply to cram as many familiar names into one game as possible. In short, the Demon Hunter can give Diablo 3 players a recognizable starting point while the Plague Knight opens the door to something the series has never done before.
