MMoexp: The Class Winners of Diablo 4’s Season 9

[Anselmrosseti]

Since its launch, Diablo 4 has become a cornerstone of the action RPG genre — a brutal, gothic world where theorycrafters and casual players alike dive into the seasonal grind in search of perfect gear and powerful builds. With every season comes not just new content, but sweeping balance changes that shift the game’s meta, often elevating some classes while sending others plummeting in popularity.


Season 9, titled Sins of the Horadrim, is no exception. In keeping with Diablo 4 tradition, Blizzard introduced a fresh wave of unique items for every class. These seasonal uniques have historically served as meta-defining pieces, sometimes elevating underdog builds or reinforcing dominant archetypes. However, this season's gear shake-up has had mixed results — and for some classes, it’s been a bitter pill to swallow.


The Weight of a Unique: How Seasonal Gear Impacts the Meta


In a loot-driven game like D4 Gold , unique items do more than just offer interesting effects. They can dictate entire builds, shift class viability, and become key to how players approach endgame content. The community watches each seasonal patch with anticipation, dissecting every new item to see whether it will redefine a class's role in group play, solo pushing, or PvP.


In Sins of the Horadrim, each class received one new unique designed to interact with either core mechanics or niche playstyles. Some were welcomed with open arms. Others… not so much.


The Rise (and Stall) of the Barbarian


Barbarians have long held a reputation in Diablo 4 as juggernauts of Overpower Damage — a mechanic that allows attacks to deal massive bonus damage based on certain stats like Maximum Life and Fortify. In past seasons, this led to a host of powerful Barbarian builds that capitalized on Overpower procs to decimate bosses and clear high-tier Nightmare Dungeons.


But Season 9 wasn’t kind to the Overpower mechanic. A significant nerf to Overpower Damage scaling hit both Barbarians and Rogues hard, shaking up some of the most popular meta builds from prior seasons. Yet, somehow, Barbarians managed to stay afloat — and that might have everything to do with their new unique, Hooves of the Mountain God.


This item not only supported core aspects of the Barbarian’s kit but offered synergy that allowed them to compensate for the Overpower nerf. Whether used in Whirlwind-based builds or more specialized Slam configurations, Barbarians found ways to adapt, retaining a solid position in endgame tier lists.


While not as dominant as in previous seasons, the Barbarian’s resilience speaks volumes about how a single well-designed unique can buffer a class against sweeping balance changes.


Rogue: The Season’s Disappointment?


If the Barbarian weathered the storm, the Rogue arguably got caught in the downpour with no shelter in sight.


Traditionally a high-mobility, high-burst damage class, the Rogue has thrived in previous seasons thanks to its ability to stack massive crits, exploit combo points, and lean into glass-cannon setups that reward aggressive play. However, Season 9 has seen the Rogue falter — not solely because of the Overpower nerf, but due to a lackluster unique that failed to give them any meaningful power boost.


Enter the Deathmask of Nirmitruq — a unique that, on paper, offered a novel twist for Rogue builds. Yet in practice, the Deathmask of Nirmitruq has done little to elevate Rogue play or provide new build diversity. Unlike the Barbarian's Hooves of the Mountain God, which actively helped counterbalance class-wide nerfs, the Rogue’s seasonal unique seems more like a missed opportunity than a game-changer.


The result? Rogues have slipped into the lower tiers of the Season 9 endgame meta. While still viable in certain niche builds or group compositions, they no longer enjoy the top-tier presence they had in prior seasons.


Why the Deathmask Fell Flat


So what went wrong with the Deathmask of Nirmitruq?


While Blizzard hasn’t offered official commentary, players and theorycrafters have floated several common critiques:


Lack of Synergy with Core Builds — Unlike other uniques that slot naturally into established meta builds, the Deathmask feels awkward to integrate. It either disrupts key mechanics or forces players into suboptimal setups that don’t deliver competitive damage or survivability.


No Compensation for Overpower Nerf — With Overpower-based Rogue builds gutted by Season 9’s nerf, the Deathmask needed to offer an alternative path to competitive damage scaling. It simply didn’t.


Niche Effects with Low Impact — Uniques in Diablo 4 need to be more than quirky; they need to justify their slot over powerful legendaries or existing uniques. The Deathmask’s effects didn’t move the needle in terms of raw power, leaving many players underwhelmed.


The lesson here is clear: in a game where each patch can redefine class viability, unique items need to hit hard — or risk rendering an entire class underpowered for an entire season.


The Meta Shifts: Winners, Losers, and Surprises


While the Barbarian and Rogue have been at the center of Season 9’s class discussion, they’re not the only ones affected by the seasonal shake-up. Here’s a quick overview of where other classes stand after the dust of Sins of the Horadrim settled:


Sorcerer — With access to powerful new enchantment interactions and a unique that bolsters mana sustain, Sorcerers found themselves in a better spot this season, climbing the ranks in both solo and group play.


Druid — After seasons of lagging behind, Druids finally got their moment in the sun. A strong new unique and buffs to Shapeshift mechanics propelled Werebear and Storm builds into higher viability, especially in solo play.


Necromancer — The perennial powerhouse remains strong, though not overbearingly so. Their Season 9 unique bolstered minion builds, giving summoner-centric Necros a reason to smile after several seasons of direct damage dominance.


In short, Season 9 has reinforced a truth Diablo 4 players know well — every season is a reshuffling of the deck. Some classes win big, others lose out, and the rest fall somewhere in between.


What Blizzard Got Right — And What Needs Fixing


Credit where it’s due: Blizzard’s commitment to seasonal experimentation remains one of Diablo 4’s greatest strengths. By introducing new uniques and adjusting mechanics each season, the game retains a sense of freshness that keeps players returning.


However, Season 9 also highlights ongoing issues with balance philosophy:


Over-reliance on Uniques for Class Viability — When a class’s meta viability hinges so heavily on a single item, balance becomes fragile. One bad unique — as Rogues learned — can tank an entire class’s season.


Inconsistent Power Budgeting — Some uniques seem meticulously balanced with impactful effects, while others feel like throwaway gimmicks. A more standardized design philosophy could help avoid these extremes.


The Need for Mid-Season Adjustments — With community feedback rolling in quickly after a season launch, timely mid-season patches could help mitigate glaring class imbalances before they stagnate.


The Road Ahead for Diablo 4’s Class Balance


Season 9 isn’t the end of the story — nor is it the end of Blizzard’s balancing journey. Players can likely expect further patches, hotfixes, and maybe even a surprise buff or two before Season 10 rolls around.


The developers have shown willingness in the past to address underperforming classes or overpowered builds, and the feedback loop between the community and Blizzard remains active.


For the Rogue, hopes are high that Season 10 will bring either a rework of the Deathmask of Nirmitruq or new support for alternative builds that can restore the class’s former prominence.


Final Thoughts: A Meta in Motion


Diablo 4 thrives on its dynamic seasonal model, even when it stumbles. Season 9’s Sins of the Horadrim will be remembered as a season of recalibration — where once-dominant classes like the Rogue saw their supremacy challenged cheap D4 Gold , and the Barbarian clung to relevance by the skin of its teeth.


But that’s the essence of Diablo’s seasonal grind. Nothing stays static, and with every new patch, the dance of power shifts again. Whether you’re a Barbarian charging into battle with Hooves of the Mountain God or a Rogue hoping for brighter days ahead, one thing is certain — the fight for dominance in Diablo 4 never truly ends.