Diablo 4 Boosting

Players, have you ever struggled against Mephisto's relentless attacks, falling just short of victory by the final blow? However, in Diablo 4 Season 15, a piece of equipment you might have overlooked is quietly changing that - the reworked El'Druin, Sword of Justice.

Based on extensive testing on PTR, we've discovered that this weapon's attacks can inflict Smite on enemies below 35% health, instantly executing them.

Next, we'll delve into how to integrate El'Druin, Sword of Justice into your Diablo 4 Season 15 progression.

Core Mechanics

Players should know that El'Druin, Sword of Justice will receive a brand-new execution effect in Season 15, instantly killing all enemies below 35% health. Unlike regular damage-boosting attributes, this mechanism doesn't rely on a single damage value; it directly executes the kill.

Furthermore, this effect applies to almost all enemies in Diablo 4 - elite monsters, Lair Bosses, World Bosses, and even Mephisto are not spared.

Because this change wasn't mentioned in PTR notes, many players completely overlooked this new effect. In fact, it's this execute effect that gives El'Druin, Sword of Justice the ability to dominate all regular combat in Diablo 4.

However, it's important to note that the previous effect of this Unique Sword in-game - reducing the cooldown reduction time of skills after defeating elite monsters - was a mechanic serving speed farming gameplay.

The original cooldown reduction effect will be inherited by In-Geom in Season 15. These two Diablo 4 items are independent of each other; only the effects have been transferred, they have not been merged.

Practical Impact

Because we can switch weapons at any time during combat, we don't need to keep El'Druin, Sword of Justice as our primary weapon. Instead, we can switch to it temporarily when the conditions for a kill are met during a boss fight, instantly executing the enemy.

With this capability, players can skip many previously difficult phases.

For example, the dense mechanics in the latter half of Mephisto's second phase, or Infernal Protection triggered by Lair Boss when its health drops to 33% - this shield is equivalent to double health.

However, El'Druin, Sword of Justice's execute effect can ignore the shield and instantly kill the enemy's remaining health!

Of course, to fully utilize this practical advantage, your weapon switching must be very convenient.

For Diablo 4 players using controllers, switching equipment mid-battle is cumbersome and may even affect the smoothness of combat.

More importantly, whether this mechanism, capable of instantly killing enemies in high-difficulty challenges, will be removed shortly after Season 15's release remains a point of contention.

Applicable Scenarios

If we disregard switching weapons during combat and simply use El'Druin, Sword of Justice as our fixed main-hand weapon, its benefits are not particularly outstanding.

From the start of combat until the enemy's health drops to 35%, this weapon provides no additional damage bonus; it only removes the remaining health at the very end.

In contrast, regular damage-dealing aspects in the game (such as Edgemaster's Aspect) typically provide a 60%-70% damage increase, with some class-specific aspects offering even higher increases.

Compared to El'Druin, Sword of Justice, the overall benefit is actually less than a stable damage-boosting aspect.

Therefore, in typical combat scenarios of Diablo 4 Season 15, El'Druin, Sword of Justice may not be our optimal choice.

However, this weapon's effectiveness is significantly enhanced against shielded enemies like Lair Boss. The execute effectively skips the entire shield phase, greatly increasing our total damage output, making it very competitive in boss fights.

Even Better in a Group

If you can form a multi-player group, the value of El'Druin, Sword of Justice will be further amplified.

Because as the number of people in the group increases, the health of the monsters we encounter also increases, but the weapon's execute effect still applies a fixed 35% of health, unaffected by total health.

This means that as long as one member of your team can wield this weapon and trigger the execute when the enemy's health drops to 35%, the damage contributed by El'Druin, Sword of Justice will be enough to offset the lack of other DPS or support members in your team, and may even significantly improve monster-clearing efficiency.

Consider this: in the upcoming Diablo 4 Season 15's high-level Tower Push gameplay, El'Druin, Sword of Justice is highly likely to become a core consideration in team composition.

Potential Issues

While El'Druin, Sword of Justice is currently performing impressively, it still has some potential drawbacks that cannot be ignored.

The most prominent issue is switching equipment during combat, as this is actually unfriendly to controller players.

Furthermore, it could render the carefully designed boss phase mechanics of the development team ineffective, and ultimately, El'Druin, Sword of Justice's powerful effects may still be nerfed or even removed.

However, some players believe that the changes to El'Druin, Sword of Justice might be a prelude to a longer-term feature in Diablo 4 - it's possible that a one-click weapon switching function will be introduced in the future, and this weapon could very well be the first test subject.

Of course, we're still in Season 14. If you want to acquire more resources in the game right now, you can join IGGM Diablo 4 Facebook Group, because we're having giveaways that give you the chance to get free items to help you make a better sprint at the end of the season!

In any case, the final playability of this item still awaits further clarification in the upcoming Diablo 4 Season 15!

With the conclusion of Diablo 4 3.2.0 PTR testing, the class strength landscape for Season 15 is gradually becoming clear. Based on PTR performance, high-level progression results, and the new season's mechanics, the core keyword for this season is undoubtedly DoT damage. The addition of Soul Splinters has impacted traditional critical strike-dependent builds, giving sustained damage builds like Bleed, Poison, Shadow Damage, and Burning a significant boost.

So, which class truly represents the meta in Season 15? Below, based on PTR performance, we'll provide a simple overview of the strongest builds for each class, along with recommendations for progression and Pit pushing.

Soul Splinters Enhance DoT System

A key reason for the significant changes in the class meta this season is the new Soul Splinters system. Soul Splinters provide characters with very strong special effects, but also come with significant negative consequences.

For example, Splinter of Hellfire can sacrifice critical strike chance for higher damage, while other Splinters will make trade-offs in terms of health, resources, movement speed, or damage reduction. This directly impacts the damage environment in Season 15.

In 3.2.0 PTR, we found that DoT builds can benefit significantly from the new mechanics. Especially with the added bonuses of certain Soul Splinters, traditional builds that relied on critical strikes are giving way to sustained damage systems like Bleed, Poison, Shadow Damage, and Burning.

Of course, Diablo 4 Season 14 isn't over yet. If you still want to push for higher Pit tiers in the final stages of the season, consider joining IGGM Diablo 4 Facebook Group. We're hosting free items giveaways; participating gives you a chance to win Season 14 resources to help you further improve your build!

T0: Warlock

Blazing Scream Warlock

This is the strongest DoT build in 3.2.0 PTR, and also the build with the highest damage. In testing, players have already achieved a single-hit damage peak of 800 quadrillion, easily clearing Pit 150. This build is built around Blazing Scream skill, and with the new season's double DoT mechanic and Soul Splinters bonus, the damage is completely overflowing.

Apocalypse Warlock

Apocalypse is Warlock's burst damage build, focusing on massive one-hit damage. Players have already used this build in the new environment to achieve a terrifying 120 quadrillion damage, suitable for players aiming for the highest possible tiers. It's relatively simple to operate, but requires certain gear support.

Hellhound Abodian Warlock

This is a relaxed, one-click farming build - players ride a Hellhound, charging around and automatically killing all enemies. While the damage ceiling isn't as high as the previous two, it offers an excellent speed-farming experience, perfect for early game progression and daily material farming.

T1: Spiritborn, Rogue & Barbarian

Spiritborn

Spiritborn continued its strong performance in 3.2.0 PTR, with Poison Swarm remaining one of the top choices for pushing higher levels. Spiritborn inherently possesses excellent mobility, area-of-effect damage, and multiple damage multipliers, while the new season's DoT mechanics further raise the growth ceiling for poison builds. Therefore, some players in 3.2.0 PTR have already demonstrated the ability to challenge Pit 150 with Poison Swarm.

Regarding equipment, the three new items, Leoric's Crown, Squirt's Necklace, and Arioc's Needle, form a perfect synergy, significantly amplifying all damage output.

For players who want to quickly build their character in Season 15 and reach higher Pit levels as early as possible, they can buy Diablo 4 items at IGGM.com to quickly complete their build, saving a significant amount of grinding time.

Additionally, you can register and log in to your account to use our newly launched IGGM Points System, participate in daily check-ins to earn points, and redeem coupons to obtain in-game resources at lower prices.

Rogue

Rogue will see a full-scale resurgence of poison-based DoT builds in Season 15. The previously powerful Azurewrath freeze build has been nerfed to single-target, while poison DoTs are gaining ground.

Penetrating Shot Rogue

This is Rogue's strongest build for pushing higher levels. On PTR, some players have easily reached level 145 with gear far from maxed out. Combined with Poison Imbuement and the double damage DoT mechanic, this build is considered one of the most likely ways to comfortably clear Pit 150.

Rain of Arrows Rogue

Similar to Penetrating Shot, Rain of Arrows also relies on poison DoT output, making it another strong choice for Rogue. Furthermore, the two builds have highly overlapping gear and gem choices, allowing players to freely switch between them based on personal preference.

Barbarian

Charge Barbarian

Barbarian has performed steadily on PTR, and Charge Barbarian remains a top choice for pushing higher levels. It also benefits from DoT double damage mechanism and is currently estimated to be able to reliably clear level 150.

Whirlwind Barbarian

Whirlwind Barbarian experienced a nerf to Fury consumption with Ramaladni's Magnum Opus, making Fury management a major challenge. Nevertheless, this build remains the best choice for Barbarians in terms of map clearing, although players need to address Fury issues through additional gear and skillful play.

Rend Self-Casting Barbarian

This is a new build that emerged on Diablo 4 3.2.0 PTR. Due to the nerf to Ring of Ravenous, self-cast Rend has become the new mainstream direction. This build allows Barbarians to kite like ranged classes, and some players have already achieved a Pit 130 clear in under 2 minutes, with the potential to reach level 145.

T2: Necromancer, Sorcerer & Druid

These three classes performed moderately well on PTR; while they are competitive, they are significantly behind the top tier.

Necromancer

Necromancer's Shadow DoT build is currently the dominant force. Thanks to Fist of Fate and the new gem bonuses, this build is estimated to reach around 145 stacks.

Sorcerer

Sorcerer's situation is somewhat awkward. Most Sorcerers on PTR still rely on Ring of Fire. Although this build has been nerfed, it still holds its own under the double damage DoT mechanism. Some players are also experimenting with Freeze build, but overall, Sorcerer's strength is not optimistic.

Druid

Druid is one of the classes most significantly nerfed on Diablo 4 3.2.0 PTR. Shred build has been heavily weakened, and Rabies DoT has become the new hope. This build utilizes gear like Shattered Vow to achieve poison DoT output, estimated to reach around Pit 140. However, overall, Druid's strength has declined significantly compared to Season 14.

T3: Paladin

Paladin faces the most difficult situation on PTR. Builds like Shield of Retribution lack sufficient damage scaling, and some skills, such as Judgment, don't even benefit from skill level-based damage increases, preventing Paladins from gaining significant skill level bonuses through amulets like other classes.

Furthermore, Paladins' multi-piece set bonuses are outdated, and some only apply to Crowd Control, severely limiting build diversity.

Overall, the power distribution in Diablo 4 Season 15 is relatively clear: Warlock leads, followed by Spiritborn, Rogue, and Barbarian, with Necromancer, Sorcerer, and Druid in the middle, and Paladins currently at the bottom.

If you're aiming for higher Pit difficulty, prioritize Warlock, Spiritborn, and Rogue; if you prioritize a smoother map clearing experience, Whirlwind Barbarian and Hellhound Warlock are also worth considering. Of course, PTR data doesn't represent the final performance, and numerical adjustments after the official release may bring changes.