What is the best PvP character?
Firstly, understand that no one character class can ever be the “bestâ€, as that implies it surpasses *all* others. This cannot be the case as every character CAN be beaten.
When determining the best and top PvP characters for this experiment, we need to know how to define “bestâ€. For our purposes, we will assume that it means, “The character that can consistently beat most other classes and character variantsâ€.
I polled about 20 people that were to assume **that standard PvP rules were enforced** (no Teleport, no potions/shrines/mercs, no slow gear, no over-absorbing, etc…) I asked them to rank their top five choices based on their own dueling experiences. From their responses I have created a list of the top 10 ranked characters based on averaging the placings and tallying the actual votes for each character. The results were very interesting.
1) Bone Necromancer
2) Whirlwind Barb
3) Blizzard Sorceress
4) Vindicator/Templar Paladin
5) Trapper Assassin
6) Wind Druid
7) Fury/Rabies Druid
8) Blessed Hammer Paladin
9) Bow Amazon
10) Whirlwind Assassin
#1 Bone Necromancers- This was no shocker with every person except two putting this class somewhere in their top 5 list. This is a class that casts unresistable, homing missiles averaging about 550+ damage a pop. That is enough damage to kill most characters in 2-3 hits. They can wreak havoc on melee chars by casting Bone Walls between themselves and their attackers and absorbing 700+ physical damage via Bone Armor. Definitely a tough nut to crack with 1.10 synergies.
“…Again minions to distract home attacks. Clay Golem has Slow.â€
“…has a MEAN attackâ€
#2 Whirlwind Barbarians- This, to me, was a very surprising number 2 choice. However, I can see the advantages of this class. Any character capable of having over 4K life, 15+ AR, and 15K Defense is a force to be reckoned with. Whirlwind is arguably the best melee skill in D2 existence; hitting quickly, having big damage, being uninterruptible, and making it hard for others to hit back with its movement.
“Whirlwind can be extremely hard for many melee characters to get in close to, can do some massive damage, and hits very often. An anti caster can easily get a range 5 spear or polearm and take out casters from-afar...â€
#3 Blizzard Sorceresses- Even without using Teleport, she still ranks high. Capable of dishing out ungodly (6000+) amounts of cold damage. Couple that to her high level Cold Mastery and most opponents have to stack well over 150 extra cold resists to even stand a chance. Although Blizzard is timered, it is a very wide spread skill.
“Opponents have to rearrange so much gear to even try and combat them…â€
“…so tempting to try and overabsorbâ€
#4 Vindicator/Templar (V/T) [FoH + Smite]
Fist of the heavens name locks, does mighty lightning damage, and is easily played passively with. Conviction can significantly lower the chances of anyone resisting it. Then you have one of the mightiest melee skills in the game - Smite. It can't be blocked and does very nice damage.
“V/T - Versatile and dangerous to most classes.â€
“If you don’t stack lightning resists you will die…periodâ€
#5 Trapper- Lightning and Fire traps both ranked high. This is a popular character as its ability to effortlessly stunlock opponents with traps and Mindblast is unmatched. Also rolls with a hugely effective minion, the Shadow Master, capable of killing opponents by herself.
“….with an array of decent traps can trap opponents even off screenâ€
“…need so much FHR and resists to even have a chance…â€
This list is a good representation of what people in this community find hard to duel effectively and although it doesn’t agree with my personal list to the tee, it comes close in most areas. There are however, many other factors other than character build that determine duel outcomes, some being: Character Level, Items/Gear, Player Skill and Experience, and Computer/Internet Speed. If these other areas aren’t at acceptable levels, the best character in the world won’t win a duel for you. Like I said, there can never be a “best†PvP character but I hope this gives you some idea as to which are the most threatening to most people.
Remember when replying to this post that this is just a general sampling taken from a small pool of duelers. It is just an interesting block of information that could influence newer players that are interested in participating in mannered duels. This is also based on the notion that general guidelines are enforced. In short, this is not applicable to pubbies.
