This Diablo 4 Season 12 Paladin Build Makes the Most of the Free Demo

Players who are still on the fence about Diablo 4‘s Lord of Hatred DLC but want to give the new Paladin class a try have the chance to demo the character during Season 12. Diablo 4 is offering a limited-time trial of the Paladin from March 11 through 18, allowing players to level the class up to level 25 during this time. While it might not seem like enough time to really dig into the class, there is one build that can give players a solid picture of the Paladin’s strength even at lower levels during this trial period.

Diablo 4 players can unlock access to the complete Paladin class by pre-purchasing the Lord of Hatred expansion, which will also grant them access to the Warlock class upon release. The Paladin has been one of the best Diablo 4 classes in the meta since it dropped at the start of last season, so it’s definitely worth checking out the demo for players who haven’t given the Paladin a shot yet. Diablo 4 also brings back the classic Auradin build from Diablo 2, which is arguably the best way to experience the Paladin during this limited Season 12 trial.

One Diablo 4 Class Gets the Short End of the Stick in Season 12

Diablo 4 players may want to avoid this class during the Season of Slaughter, as it’s playstyle doesn’t synergize well with the seasonal mechanics.

Diablo 4 Season 12’s Auradin Build is Ideal for the Paladin Demo

The distinguishing feature of Diablo 4‘s Paladin is the class’s access to Aura skills, which give it passive effects on top of active abilities that can both buff themselves and damage and debuff enemies. Diablo 2 players familiar with the Paladin of that game will likely already know how powerful Auras can be. And while the Diablo 4 version of the Paladin doesn’t have as many Auras as its Diablo 2 counterpart, the Auras it does have can be stacked to create one of the best builds in the game, even early in the class’s leveling progression.

Balance the critic averages

Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)

Skills Needed for a Level 25 Auradin in Diablo 4

Fanaticism Aura
Holy Light Aura
Defiance Aura
Advance
Condemn
Falling Star

The first skill new Paladin players will want to invest in is the Advance Basic skill, which essentially exists to generate the Faith needed to cast the Paladin’s Aura skills. Condemn is helpful for pulling enemies within range of the Paladin’s Auras while also stunning and damaging them. Falling Star gives the Paladin some improved mobility, allowing the class to leap into the air and come crashing back down to deal damage and reposition players to get out of tricky situations.

The three Auras on this build, Fanatacism Aura, Holy Light Aura, and Defiance Aura, are the Paladin’s main focus. Fanaticism Aura passively boosts the Paladin’s attack speed and critical strike chance, while actively Weakening all nearby enemies. Defiance Aura passively increases Resistances and Armor while actively making the Paladin Unstoppable. Holy Light Aura is the main damage dealer, passively damaging nearby enemies and actively unleashing bolts of Holy damage that chain between enemies and healing the Paladin when it returns.

The Auradin functions best when in the Paladin’s Arbiter Form, so players will want to select the Disciple Oath when it becomes available at level 15.

The Best Gear for a Level 25 Auradin in Diablo 4

diablo 4 lord of hatred mephisto vs paladin cinematic

Aspect of Holy Punishment
Hectic Aspect
Aspect of Proselytizing
Aspect of Angelic Masterwork

Unfortunately, Diablo 4 players participating in the free Paladin demo won’t be able to reach the Torment difficulty tiers during their trial, making Uniques like the Dawnfire gloves incredibly elusive. The Dawnfire gloves are the keystone to the typical Auradin build, but for the sake of this trial, players will have to manage without them. However, there are several Legendary Aspects worth farming for that can still showcase the Paladin’s holy warrior prowess.

The Aspect of Holy Punishment is ideal for the Paladin’s shield, as it increases the Holy damage of Holy Light Aura. The Hectic Aspect preferably goes on the Paladin’s chest armor, and it reduces the cooldown of a random skill after every 5 Basic skill uses, making it the perfect Legendary Aspect for players to use when spamming Advance to reduce the cooldown of their Auras. Aspect of Proselytizing on a ring gives the Paladin’s Judicator skills, like Holy Light Aura, the chance to chain to an additional enemy, further allowing players to spread out their Aura damage. For the Paladin’s Arbiter Form, the Aspect of Angelic Masterwork comes in handy since it increases the player’s Resistances while in Arbiter Form.

How to Make the Most of Diablo 4 Season 12’s Paladin Demo with the Auradin

With 25 as the level cap for the Diablo 4 Season 12 Paladin demo, it might seem difficult to get a full picture of how the class actually plays. Players won’t really be able to access the Pit of the Artificer or Lair Bosses during this trial, so the true endgame potential of the Paladin can’t fully be showcased. However, the Auradin build does a good job of giving players an idea of the leveling capabilities of the Paladin, and how well it can handle groups of enemies.

Ideally, new Paladin players will want to spend their time leveling up in a Helltide, since the Paladin’s Auras should be able to make short work of the high monster density in these zones. Otherwise, Paladin players will probably want to jump into a Nightmare Dungeon as soon as possible, since fighting a boss at the end can give them a good approximation of how well the class does against strong single targets. Thankfully, the Auradin is still a very strong build in the early game of Diablo 4, and it should give players a nice taste of how powerful the Paladin can become in the endgame.