Diablo 4's dark and gritty world continues to captivate millions, but as we approach Season 9, there's an undeniable tension within the community: class balance is becoming a bigger issue than ever. Despite the introduction of new features, seasonal content Diablo 4 Items, and endgame goals, players are increasingly frustrated with the inconsistencies and bugs plaguing certain builds-while others are left to rot in obscurity.

Let's unpack why class balance is a pivotal issue, what's broken, and what Blizzard can realistically do to fix it without overhauling the entire game.

A Broken Meta: The "Bugged Tier" That Dominates

Let's start with the elephant in the room-blatantly broken builds that are dominating the PTR (Public Test Realm) heading into Season 9.

Bleed Barbarian (Berserk Ripping), Hydra Sorcerer (Shatter Passive), and Thorns Spiritborn (Quill Volley). These builds exploit unintended double-dipping mechanics, where multipliers stack in unintended ways. The result? Damage numbers in the hundreds of trillions, sometimes so high they loop into negative values.

 Bleed Barbarian: Abusing Berserk Ripping interactions, this build scales damage into infinity.

 Hydra Sorcerer: The Shatter passive continues to apply effects twice, a bug that has persisted through multiple seasons.

 Thorns Quill Volley: The Spiritborn class utilizes Jaguar's Main Hall effects to double up on multipliers, melting bosses in seconds.

These bugs are not new, nor are they difficult to fix. In fact, they stem from straightforward mathematical issues in skill calculations. And yet, they remain live on the PTR.

The Nerf Problem: Stop Punishing the Fun

One of the biggest missteps Blizzard keeps making is the tendency to nerf top-tier builds instead of buffing the lower-tier ones. This reactive philosophy stifles creativity and discourages players from investing time into theorycrafting or trying out lesser-known strategies.

Instead of gutting the few fun builds players enjoy, a better philosophy: raise the floor, not lower the ceiling. Make weaker builds viable, and let more people enjoy powerful, expressive gameplay.

This applies to both basic skill and core skill builds, two of the most underutilized areas in Diablo 4 right now.

Basic Skill Builds: Fun but Forgotten

There are flashes of potential in Diablo 4's basic skill builds. Frenzy Barb, Lunging Strike, and Heartseeker-all offer interesting gameplay loops. But they remain underpowered due to nerfed aspects like Adaptability and Moonrise, which previously empowered basic builds to perform competitively.

Revert the nerfs to these foundational aspects, then apply small numerical buffs to make the builds shine. He points to his own experience running a basic teleport-barrier build-creative and fun, but hard-capped at Pit 55.

With minor tweaks, these builds could open up a new layer of enjoyable gameplay, giving players a reason to return and experiment.

Core Skill Builds: The Forgotten Fantasy

If basic skills are underwhelming, core skills are even more neglected. Once meant to be the centerpiece of each class fantasy-Hammer of the Ancients, Pulverize, Twisting Blades-core skills have fallen out of favor. Today's meta is dominated by builds that rely on bugs, ultimate cooldown chains, or off-meta procs.

Druid Despair: The Class That Time Forgot

No conversation about balance in Diablo 4 would be complete without mentioning the Druid class-arguably the most neglected class in the game. Ever since TrampleSlide Druid was nerfed in Season 2, the class has felt lackluster.

The solution here is again simple: give Druids a bold round of buffs. Pump the numbers, empower their key legendaries, and bring their damage potential back into the spotlight. With minimal development resources, the class could be fun again.Meta Shakeups: Promised but Not Delivered

Blizzard publicly stated their intent to create a "meta shakeup" for Season 9. But basedon current PTR data, that goal hasn't been met.

 Death Trap Rogue is still top-tier-for the third season in a row.

 Bloodwave Necro continues to perform extremely well.

 Quill Volley Spiritborn hasn't budged from its throne.

 Earthquake and Pet B builds remain top for Barbarians and Necros.

Blizzard's Path Forward: Buff, Don't Break

Want Pit 100+ clears to be possible for more builds? Buff weaker ones.

Want players to experiment? Make more styles viable.

Want a healthy endgame? Don't nerf what's fun-add more fun.

To create a real meta shakeup in Season 9, Blizzard should focus on:

 Fixing the obvious bugs in builds like Bleed Barb, Hydra, and Thorns Quill.

 Reverting the nerfs to key aspects like Moonrise and Adaptability.

 Giving basic and core skill builds massive numerical buffs.

 Empowering Druid with meaningful, bold updates.

 Ensuring every class gets at least one new A-tier viable build per season.

This approach doesn't just improve class balance-it revives player interest and drives community engagement in meaningful ways.

Final Thoughts: A Simple Fix for a Complex Problem

Diablo 4's endgame has no shortage of problems: itemization, tempering, loot systems, and more. But class balance is the low-hanging fruit. Blizzard doesn't need to reinvent the wheel-they just need to listen, act boldly, and iterate faster.

If you're a fan of theorycrafting D4 Gold for sale, trying weird builds, or just want to see your favorite class thrive again, now's the time to be vocal. Whether you're a Frenzy Barb, a Quill Volley Spirit, or a Hydra Sorc-every class deserves a shot at glory.