Diablo 4 Season 9 is here, and with it comes a fresh start and new challenges. Whether you're a veteran or a new player, choosing the right class and build for leveling is one of the most important decisions you'll make. The faster you can get from level 1 to 70, the sooner you unlock World Tier content, Nightmare Dungeons, and the core Seasonal mechanics. A strong leveling build makes this grind faster, smoother, and much more enjoyable.

In Season 9, some classes and builds stand out for their efficiency, speed, and survivability. These builds don't require perfect gear or high-end Legendary Aspects to function properly. Instead, they start strong with core skills and offer consistent performance through the campaign and beyond. If you're struggling with what to play in Season 9, this leveling tier list will help you pick the best path forward.

Diablo 4 Season 9 Leveling Class Tier List

S-Tier

Necromancer

Necromancer remains one of the top classes for early leveling. Summoning minions allows you to stay safe while your skeleton army handles most of the work. Core skills like Bone Splinters offer solid single-target and AoE damage from early levels. Once you add Corpse Explosion to your toolkit, your clear speed skyrockets. Blood skills also offer amazing sustain, making the Necro durable and low-maintenance, perfect for solo or casual players.

Spiritborn

The new Spiritborn class hits the ground running. With fast builder/spender combos and powerful Spirit Guardian passives, Spiritborns scale well from the start. Skills like Quill Volley and Lightning Spike offer fast AoE and great mobility. Their adaptable skill tree and high baseline power make them a fantastic option for a smooth and fast leveling journey.

Rogue

Rogues shine through flexibility, whether you want to go melee with Twisting Blades or ranged with Barrage or Flurry. They're incredibly mobile, dish out high single-target damage, and clear mobs quickly. Strong crowd control and synergy with early Aspects help Rogues dominate both bosses and packs. Their fast-paced playstyle makes them ideal for experienced players looking for momentum.

A-Tier

Barbarian

Barbs are tanky and have great core skill options like Rend and Double Swing that help them chunk down enemies effectively. Weapon Expertise gives them better scaling early, and they handle bosses well thanks to their high durability. However, their short range and ramp-up time make them feel a bit slower than S-tier classes when it comes to map-clearing and mobility.

Sorcerer

Sorcerers offer explosive power with Chain Lightning and Fireball builds that can quickly wipe out groups of enemies. Teleport provides much-needed mobility, helping you dodge danger. Their issue is early mana management and slight gear dependency, which can lead to pacing issues until you get key gear or passives online.

B-Tier

Druid

Druids have powerful skills like Pulverize and Shred, but early on, they're held back by clunky Spirit generation and shapeshifting mechanics. While they have excellent tankiness and endgame potential, their early game can feel slow and inconsistent without specific Legendary Aspects or lucky gear drops. Leveling as a Druid is very viable, but not as smooth as other classes out of the gate.

Diablo 4 Season 9 Leveling Build Tier List

S-Tier Builds

Minion Summoner Necromancer

This build is the definition of low-effort, high-reward. Skeletons and Golems do all the heavy lifting, while you supplement their damage with Corpse Explosion and Blight. It's incredibly safe, making it ideal for hardcore players or anyone who wants a laid-back leveling experience.

Blood Surge Necromancer

Blood Surge turns you into a wave-clearing machine. The ability heals you while damaging enemies in a wide radius, letting you clear rooms without worrying about your health. It thrives in crowded areas and remains consistent through campaign content and dungeons.

Upheaval Barbarian

Upheaval offers massive crit-based AoE damage and works well with Rallying Cry to keep your Fury flowing. Despite Barbarian's slower movement, this build levels surprisingly quickly due to its bursty damage and decent sustain.

Dance of Knives Rogue

This build blends speed, mobility, and melee burst. Using Shadow Step and Blade skills, you zip from pack to pack, shredding everything with poison and high attack speed. It's a fast, fun option for anyone who enjoys aggressive play.

Barrage Rogue

For players who prefer a ranged playstyle, Barrage is a great pick. It offers smooth resource generation, reliable AoE damage, and good safety through kiting. You stay on the move and destroy enemies from a distance.

Chain Lightning Sorcerer

This classic Sorc build excels at bouncing bolts of electricity between enemies, deleting groups before they get close. It's easy to play and efficient for leveling, though it can struggle with resource issues at times.

Incinerate Sorcerer

With a continuous fire beam, this build melts through packs quickly. It excels in dungeon content and pairs well with cooldown and mana regeneration buffs. It's especially effective in narrow corridors and mob-heavy zones.

Firewall Sorcerer

This set-it-and-forget-it build lets you drop fire zones that enemies walk into and burn. It's great for controlling choke points and works well even if you're undergeared. Mana-efficient and safe, it's a solid leveling option.

Quill Volley Spiritborn

Quill Volley floods the screen with projectiles, delivering fast, consistent damage while allowing you to reposition freely. It scales hard and snowballs quickly, making early-game leveling a breeze.

Stinger Spiritborn

Stinger is a high-speed melee build that delivers powerful bursts of damage thanks to Spirit Guardian buffs and fast attack animations. It works well in close-range engagements and feels fluid from early levels.

A-Tier Builds

Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian (HotA)

This build offers strong elite damage and great bossing potential. Its main weakness is slower pack clear early on, which makes it slightly less optimal for pure speed-leveling.

Double Swing Barbarian

Double Swing provides good cleave and mobility. It's effective, but relies on consistent Fury generation to feel smooth, which can be hit-or-miss in the early game.

Pulverize Druid

Pulverize is a strong AoE skill that allows you to chunk down groups while staying tanky. Unfortunately, early Spirit issues slow down your momentum until you unlock better resource tools.

Landslide Druid

Landslide delivers good burst damage and scales well with earth-themed buffs. The main downside is that it can feel clunky without specific gear or talents to streamline the rotation.

Sever Necromancer

Sever is great for single-target and linear AoE, making it solid for campaign content. However, it doesn't offer the same explosive AoE as other Necro builds early on.

Dual Core Rogue (Rapid Fire + Flurry)

This hybrid build adapts well to various situations and can tackle both mob packs and bosses with the right adjustments. It requires more setup and button management than other Rogue builds, but performs well in experienced hands.

Twisting Blades Rogue

Twisting Blades shreds bosses and handles mob packs efficiently with good Aspect synergy. However, it's more gear-dependent and slightly more vulnerable than safer Rogue builds like Barrage.

Arc Lash Sorcerer

This fast-paced melee-style Sorcerer build offers quick AoE and mobility. It's fun and responsive, but the short range puts you in more danger than other caster setups.

Blizzard Sorcerer

Blizzard builds offer strong crowd control and reliable damage over time. Targeting can be finicky, and damage ramps up more slowly, making it a safer but slower leveling option.

Crushing Hand Spiritborn

This tanky melee build provides great lockdown and durability. It can struggle with early burst damage but excels in extended fights and elite encounters.

Rake Spiritborn

Rake offers good damage over time and bleeding effects. It requires solid positioning and uptime to maximize its damage, but it's an effective leveling option with the right pacing.

B-Tier Builds

Rend Barbarian

Rend has decent DoT damage and scales well with gear, but it underperforms in the early game without strong Aspects. The lack of burst slows leveling speed significantly.

Shred Druid

This melee Druid build has potential, but it suffers from inconsistent Spirit generation and awkward skill flow. Until you gear up, it's not smooth enough for fast leveling.

Companion Druid

Druid pets are fun but underwhelming early on. Their damage and AI performance leave much to be desired unless you have support Aspects to boost them.

Fireball Sorcerer

Fireball does solid AoE but burns through mana quickly. Other Sorc builds like Chain Lightning and Firewall offer better pacing and efficiency for early game leveling.

Penetrating Shot Rogue

This high-damage single-target Rogue build can delete bosses but struggles in mob-heavy zones due to poor AoE and tricky aiming. It's better suited for experienced players or late-game tweaking.

Final Thoughts

In Diablo 4 Season 9, your choice of leveling build matters more than ever. Whether you're blasting enemies with Chain Lightning, sending minions to do your bidding, or zipping through dungeons with Dance of Knives, picking a powerful and efficient leveling build sets the tone for your entire seasonal journey.

Necromancer, Spiritborn, and Rogue dominate early-game leveling in Season 9, thanks to strong skill synergy, fast clear speed, and low gear dependency. If you're looking to hit World Tier 3 and beyond quickly, these classes and their top-tier builds are your best bet.