I haven’t played Season 10 at max level yet, since it launched without a public beta. This tier list comes from the patch notes, everything I remember from grinding last season, and a fair amount of educated guessing where the notes don’t say enough. Some of these calls are safer bets than others, so it’s worth knowing which is which before you sink a whole campaign into one build.
For leveling, Bone Shred, Gunner Drones, Shield Wall, and Anchor Swing are the builds I keep landing on near the top. For endgame, Flicker, Frost Sunder, Chainsaw Slash, and that same Anchor Swing hold up too. A handful of picks below are still shaky for me, and I’ll explain why as I go.
What we cover:
Tier List Leveling Guide
These are the skills that keep landing near the top of my early runs, from level 1 through the Hero Level unlocks.
| Build | Class | Tier | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bone Shred | Necromancer | S | Extra projectiles unlock at level 5 and carry you through every act without much gear. |
| Gunner Drones | Marksman | S | Strong ranged clear, plus a movement skill you can spam once the drone unlocks at level 30. |
| Shield Wall | Shield Lancer | S | Rough before level 16, then an easy ride the rest of the way on cheap arcane gear. |
| Anchor Swing | Pirate | S | Base damage got buffed on top of an already strong skill. More on its range nerf below. |
| Lightning Fury | Paladin | A | Solid, consistent clear. I go back and forth between S and just fine on this one. |
| Totems | Shaman | A | Got an indirect buff, since rival classes lost their spammable teleports and that closed the gap. |
| Odin’s Fury | Viking | A | Good AoE once unlocked at level 24, though boss damage lags behind. |
| Scorching Aura | Pyromancer | A | Got a base damage boost this patch after a rough run in previous seasons. |
| Explosive Kunai | Samurai | A | Hits bosses hard, though the payoff item for it only drops in one Act 8 zone. |
| Sand Gush | Nomad | B | Miserable before level 16, genuinely strong after, better with a group than solo. |
Age of Proliferation levels faster than almost anything else early on, but I’m not going to bait you into playing it. The scaling falls apart hard once you leave the campaign behind, so I’m ranking it well below the builds above for anything past leveling.
Tier List Endgame Guide
Once you’re past leveling and into Hero Level content, a few of these change spots entirely.
| Build | Class | Tier | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flicker | Bard | S | The fastest clear and best mobility in the game now that teleports work differently. |
| Frost Sunder | Jötunn | S | Untouched by the patch notes, so whatever made it strong last season still applies. |
| Chainsaw Slash | Redneck | S | Deletes bosses outright once you get some decent gear behind it. |
| Anchor Swing | Pirate | S | Holds up at endgame too, not just while leveling. I’d rate it S in both spots. |
| Demon Spawn Bone Barrage | Demonspawn | S | Skeletons hit hard and the build scales well into Hero Level content. |
| Blood Tendrils | Demonspawn | A | The alternate Demon Spawn build, and it holds up just as well. |
| Fist of the Heavens | Paladin | A | Drops projectiles for solid clear and doubles as a way to shotgun bosses. |
| Cannonball | Pirate | B | Needs a decent weapon before it feels good. It’s middling without one. |
There’s a bigger story here around teleports. Stormweaver, Jötunn, and Amazon all had their teleports switched from spammable to charge based this patch. That change drops Stormweaver from a longtime favorite of mine down to B tier, and it pulls Jötunn down with it too, though the Frost Sunder build above escaped untouched. Amazon comes out as the best of that weakened group. It’s still solid, just no longer the standout it used to be. Surgical Bloodletting deserves a mention as well. I’d call it S for endgame on paper, but in practice it underperforms even with its augment.
Builds I’m Still Not Sure About
Four calls are still shaky for me, and I want to be upfront about why instead of pretending I’m locked in.
- Scorching Whip (Exo): I have it around S tier, but I can’t point you to a full breakdown of how to actually play the build well. Nobody has put out a real guide for it yet, so I don’t want to rank it that high without being able to back it up.
- Blender (Butcher): I’m torn on this one. Some runs it feels like an S tier pick from day one, other runs I want to drop it closer to D. That gap is about as wide as anything I’ve seen this patch.
- Anchor Swing (Pirate): Its per point range dropped from 70% to 20% this patch. I still have it ranked S above, but I’m watching this closely, since that’s a big enough cut that it could change how the skill actually feels once people are playing it for real.
- Caustic Spearhead: I want to rank this S for endgame, but I’m holding back. The actual proc rate behind its poison synergy hasn’t been published anywhere, so I don’t know yet if the build holds up in practice.
Best Starter Picks for New Players
If you’re new or deciding between a few options, these are the five classes I’d point you toward as safe, forgiving picks.
| Class | Why It’s Good for New Players |
|---|---|
| Viking | Well rounded with built in defense. Works as a physical build or an arcane caster using its shout. |
| Marksman | The starter I recommend most often, since it’s safe and strong early and still holds up at endgame. |
| Paladin | Feels good from the first hour. Its healing nova gives ongoing damage reduction. |
| Demonspawn | A balanced, fun caster that comes online fast, though it’s a little slow to ramp early on. |
| Stormweaver | I used to call this the most new player friendly class outright, but the recent teleport changes leave that a bit less certain than before. |
Butcher deserves an honorable mention too. It’s consistently the hardest hitting physical build in the game, but I won’t sugarcoat it, leveling it is miserable.
