As a Diablo 4 obsessive with over 500 hours across the franchise, I‘ve experimented extensively to discover the top farming classes. In this guide, I‘ll share my deep knowledge to help you efficiently farm legendaries, gold, and experience points (XP) to maximize progression speed.
Why You Must Farm as a Diablo Grinder
Before we dive into tips, first we need to level-set on why farming is so crucial in ARPGs:
Scoring More Legendaries
As you likely know already, legendaries are the rarest and most game-changing item type. They fundamentally shift your character‘s power level and enable wild new build possibilities.
And the most reliable way to repeatedly score legendary drops is…you guessed it – dedicated farming.
The more monsters you slay per hour, the more loot dice rolls you generate. It‘s simply a numbers game.
Stockpiling Gold
You need copious amounts of gold to enchant gear, fund crafting materials, and architect your end-game builds.
Upgrading your gear to push into higher rifts requires millions of gold to awaken legendary powers via the Cube.
Farming generates that steady income so you can continuously tune your hero without worrying about costs.
Accelerating Paragon Levels
Paragon levels grant you extremely valuable stats to overcome deadly challenges.
Rather than painfully grinding away, efficient farming provides an XP deluge so you hit paragon caps sooner.
In short, mastering farming makes everything else in Diablo possible.
Now let‘s breakdown how to pick an elite farmer…
How I Evaluate the Best Diablo 4 Farming Classes
As a long-time ARPG veteran having played GR 150+ on multiple classes, I assess farmers against 4 key criteria:
1. Clear Speed
How quickly can you massacre monsters and navigate between groups?
You must prioritize eliminating packs rapidly thenvaulting to the next ASAP. Speed is profit.
2. Area Damage
What‘s the AoE size and damage to decimate monster clusters?
Top skills wipe screens. Subpar ones only kill stragglers. Broad damage range enables efficient clears.
3. Toughness
Can you avoid dying while plowing through hordes?
DPS means nothing when you‘re corpse running every 30 seconds. Resilience prevents wasteful deaths.
4. Gear Flexibility
How many specialized farming builds can the class enable?
Adapting your loadout to the situation optimizes yields. One-trick ponies fall short.
Now let‘s see how the classes stack up…
Ranking Diablo 4‘s Best Farmers
After evaluating all the classes against those farming criteria, these come out on top:
1. Rogue – Demolishes monsters at light speed backed by immense damage potential
2. Necromancer – Leverages minions to reliably speed clear without risks
3. Sorceress – Obliterates packs with high damage AoE
Here‘s an overview comparison:
| Class | Speed | AoE Damage | Toughness | Build Flexibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogue | S+ | A | B+ | S+ |
| Necromancer | A | A+ | A | B+ |
| Sorceress | B+ | S | C+ | A |
Let‘s analyze why each excels at farming…
Why Rogue Reigns Supreme
Rogues dominate farming through outrageously quick mobility and elite AoE that outpaces other classes.
Unrivaled Speed
Vault, Smoke Bomb and other movement abilities enable Rogues to obliterate packs while navigating dense maps faster than should be legal.
You‘re an unstoppable slaughtering machine teleporting between groups.
This mobility is hands-down the best in the game. And it‘s why Rogues are farming beasts.
Strong Area Damage
Skills like Multishot, Bladefury, and Rain of Vengeance slice through dozens of enemies instantly. You clinch massacres rapidly.
While not as insane as Sorceress AoE, Rogues compensate via speed and rival any class‘s damage.
Extreme Versatility
Another big differentiator is build variety. You can spec for movement, group support, single-target etc. without compromising quality.
This adaptability empowers you to farm any content wildly efficiently regardless of the situation.
In summary, Rogues dominate every farming metric that matters thanks togod-tier mobility and flexibility paired with excellent killing power.
Simply put – they have no rivals when it comes to farming.
Necromancer – Reliable Magic Finder
Necromancers leverage armies of minions to speed clear maps safely.
Hands Free Speed
Your skeleton and mage squadrons unleash hell on enemies while you sprint past towards the next pack. This allows reliably swift clears without wasting time fighting yourself.
Corpses left behind feed Devour to sustain your mana. Combined it‘s a streamlined farming flywheel.
Explosive AoE
Once mobs are defeated, skills like Corpse Explosion trigger massive area damage from the bodies to injure nearby monsters.
This unique mechanic amplifies clear efficiency following your minion‘s rampage.
Tanky Sustenance
Numerous defensive and life leech abilities like Bone Armor and Siphon Blood bolster durability so you rarely die while farming.
Between innate toughness and pets tanking hits, farming feels smooth and consistent.
Necromancers certainly can‘t move as quickly as Rogues. But their minion support empowers extremely safe speed clearing. And they make fantastic magic finders.
Sorceress – Ultimate AoE Destruction
No other class comes close to the raw AoE annihilation of a Sorceress. Skills like Frozen Orb and Chain Lightning decimate dozens of enemies instantly.
Teleport Movement
While dashing around via Teleport, Sorceresses can unleash devastating offensive spells across packs simultaneously.
Skills like Frozen Orb pierce targets dealing huge burst damage. This allows wrecking vast areas rapidly.
You skip past insignificant enemies to solely nuke large groups and champions where lucrative loot concentrates.
Total Map Destruction
Chaining abilities like Hydra, Meteor and Frozen Orb lays waste to masses of foes simultaneously.
By combining Cold, Fire, and Lightning attacks skillfully even the most overrun maps pose no threat.
This unmatched damage potential significantly outweighs the Sorceress‘ mobility limitations making her an elite farmer.
Best Zones to Farm in Diablo 4
Now that you‘ve selected a top-tier class, here are the richest farming areas I‘d recommend hitting:
Early Game:
- Leoric‘s Manor (Act 1)
- Spider Cavern
Mid Game:
- Archers Line
- Pit of Anguish
End Game:
- Nightmare Dungeons (Shassar Sea, Mount Zavain etc.)
These provide excellent monster density and lucrative drops to build your character rapidly.
Prioritize bonus gold find, magic find, and XP when assessing gear to specifically optimize farming gains.
Should You Group or Solo Farm in Diablo?
You may be wondering whether it‘s better to farm solo or in groups. Here‘s my take:
- Solo is easier to control and you obtain all loot without splitting
- Groups buff damage, pull monsters faster and stack magic find for more drops
Overall solo farming is substantially more efficient because:
- You dictate the pace and pulls without coordination needs
- All gear automatically goes into your inventory
- No competing or waiting on other players
Parties can work. But require closely aligned team strategies and godly communication.
For most players interested purely in accelerating their personal progression speed – solo is superior.
Starter Builds For Each Top Farmer
To quickly get you farming, here are effective starter builds I‘d recommend for each top Diablo 4 class:
Rogue Multishot Demon Hunter
Core Skills: Multishot, Companion Wolf, Vengeance Dark Heart
How It Works: Spam piercing Multishots to melt packs while mobility and damage boosts come from Companion and Vengeance. Vault between groups.
Necromancer Skeletal Mage
Core Skills: Skeletal Mage, Command Skeletons, Bone Armor
How It Works: Skeletal Mages supply heavy damage while Command Skeletons support. Bone Armor and Devour provide sustain.
Sorceress Frozen Orb
Core Skills: Frozen Orb, Hydra, Teleport
How It Works: Frozen Orb destroys packs while Hydras assist killing elites. Teleport between groups. Sprinkle in Ice Armor for defense.
Go Slay Those Monsters, Champion!
I hope this guide has illuminated the secrets of mastering farming in Diablo 4. Rogues reign supreme thanks to their unparalled speed and damage. But Necromancer and Sorceresses make fantastic alternatives too.
Remember to prioritize maximizing clear speed, area damage, magic find, and XP gains. That‘s the winning formula to drowning yourself in oceans of glorious loot!
Now enough talk – go wild and may fortune bless your adventures, hero! 🗡️
Let me know of any other Diablo 4 insights that were helpful!
