There are three characters in Diablo, the Rogue, Sorcerer, and Warrior, and three more were added in the Hellfire expansion pack, the Monk, Bard, and Barbarian. This page provides basic information about the characters. This information can also be found on the individual character pages, along with more context and discussion of their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Starting/Max Stats
The characters in Diablo and Hellfire start off with different stats, and gain different bonuses with each level up. All attributes, life, and mana can be vastly increased with equipment. Each level up also provides 5 attribute points to distribute as you see fit.
- All four attributes, life, and mana are listed with their starting / maximum values.
- Attributes turn golden when they have reached their maximum values; life and mana never turn golden.
- The maximum life and mana values in this table are for a naked character.
- Characters do not gain their life/mana bonus for reaching level 50.
| Class | Strength | Magic | Dexterity | Vitality | Life | Mana | Level up Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 30 / 250 | 10 / 50 | 20 / 60 | 25 / 100 | 70 / 316 | 10 / 98 | +2 life, +1 mana |
| Rogue | 20 / 55 | 15 / 70 | 30 / 250 | 20 / 80 | 45 / 201 | 22 / 173 | +2 life, +2 mana |
| Sorcerer | 15 / 45 | 35 / 250 | 15 / 85 | 20 / 80 | 30 / 138 | 70 / 596 | +1 life, +2 mana |
| Monk | 25 / 150 | 15 / 80 | 25 / 150 | 20 / 80 | 45 / 201 | 22 / 183 | +2 life, +2 mana |
| Bard | 20 / 120 | 20 / 120 | 25 / 120 | 20 / 100 | 45 / 221 | 35 / 231 | +2 life, +2 mana |
| Barbarian | 40 / 255 | 0 / 0 | 20 / 55 | 25 / 150 | 70 / 416 | 0 / 0 | +2 life, +0 mana +1% resistance to all |
Max Stats with Equipment
Maximum stats with equipment. Diablo / Hellfire stats listed for the Warrior, Rogue, and Sorcerer (unique rings were added in HF that allowed greater stat boosts than in D1). These figures do not include the two pieces of unique jewelry that move a % of life/mana to each other.
| Class | Strength | Magic | Dexterity | Vitality | Life | Mana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 425 / 485 | 225 / 285 | 225 / 285 | 265 / 325 | 796 / 916 | 533 / 568 |
| Rogue | 230 / 290 | 245 / 305 | 415 / 475 | 245 / 305 | 681 / 741 | 690 / 718 |
| Sorcerer | 220 / 280 | 425 / 485 | 250 / 310 | 245 / 305 | 618 / 618 | 1196 / 1216 |
| Monk | 385 | 315 | 375 | 305 | 741 | 728 |
| Bard | 370 | 360 | 360 | 340 | 761 | 865 |
| Barbarian | 490 | 235 | 280 | 375 | 1091 | 470 |
Attributes
The characters derive different benefits from the points they add to their various attributes. For example, Warriors get more life per vitality point than Sorcerers, who get more mana per magic point than do Warriors. Attribute points from leveling up and elixirs are treated the same as points added by equipment.
- The Barbarian can not add any magic points, but can gain magic from equipment. The mana he derives from his magic points is the same as a warrior's, in that regard.
- The monk suffers an AC penalty when wearing chain or plate armor. This makes it impossible to raise his AC as high as the other characters. His highest AC still comes from high defense plate, but his AC will be much lower than any other character's in the same chain or plate armor equipment. (Though much higher when naked or in light armor).
- Unique armor plate is counted as mail, and unique mail as leather, in this penalty calculation.
- Barbarians only receive half AC from their shields.
| Class | from Vitality | from Magic | Armor Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 2 life per vit | 1 mana per magic | Dex/5 + AC (items) |
| Rogue | 1.5 life per vit | 1.5 mana per magic | Dex/5 + AC (items) |
| Sorcerer | 1 life per vit | 2 mana per magic | Dex/5 + AC (items) |
| Monk | 1.5 life per vit | 1.5 mana per magic | Plate: Dex/5 + AC (items) Mail: Dex/5 + AC (items) + .5 x Clvl Light: Dex/5 + AC (items) + 2 x Clvl Naked: Dex/5 + AC (items) + 2 x Clvl |
| Bard | 1.5 life per vit | 1.75 mana per magic | Dex/5 + AC (items) |
| Barbarian | 2.5 vit per life | 1 mana per magic | Dex/5 + AC (items) + Clvl / 4 Shield AC counts 50%. |
Max Attainable Attributes
255 magic is required to read higher than level 5 or 6 in most spells. Rogues and Warriors can not attain that in Diablo, but can in Hellfire, with the right equipment.
Class | Max AC (naked) | Max AC (maxed stats) | Max AC | Max to/hit (naked) | Max to/hit (maxed stats) | Max to/hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 12 | 45 / 57 | 349 / 401 | 80 | 162 / 192 | 392 |
| Rogue | 50 | 83 / 95 | 385 / 425 | 175 | 257 / 287 | 487 |
| Sorcerer | 17 | 50 / 62 | 350 / 390 | 92 | 175 / 205 | 405 |
| Monk | 130 | 175 | 419 | 125 | 237 | 437 |
| Bard | 24 | 72 | 413 | 110 | 230 | 565 |
| Barbarian | 23 | 56 | 370 | 77 | 190 | 390 |
To Hit
Being able to hit your target is of the utmost importance in Diablo and Hellfire. Adding dexterity (and leveling up) helps with this for combat characters, and putting more points into magic (and leveling up) helps with spells. Some characters have hidden bonuses to various types of attack; see below.
- To/hit calculations:
- Character screen: 50 + Dex/2 + to hit from items
- Melee: 50 + Dex/2 + to hit from items + Clvl + bonus
- Arrow: 50 + Dex/2 + to hit from items + Clvl + bonus - distance x damage / 2
- Magic: PvM: 50 + Mag - 2 x Mlvl + bonus
- Magic: PvP: 50 + Mag - 2 x Clvl (of the target) + bonus
- To hit penalty for adacent quarter damage: 70 - 2 x Clvl (minimum 30)
- (Monk and Bard only; this is calculated for targets immediately to the left and right of the direction the character is facing, since these characters can hit up to 3 enemies at once.)
Hidden Hit/Block Modifiers
Hidden to/hit modifiers are always in effect, but are never displayed in the character window.
- Inherent blocking bonuses are bugged in Diablo and Hellfire. The bonus is always 0, except in the first game a new character plays.
Class | Melee | Arrow | Magic | Blocking* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 20 | 10 | -- | 30 |
| Rogue | -- | 20 | -- | 20 |
| Sorcerer | -- | -- | 20 | 10 |
| Monk | -- | -- | -- | 25 |
| Bard | -- | 10 | 10 | 25 |
| Barbarian | -- | -- | -- | 30 |
Blocking and hit recovery
Blocking refers to how much time must pass between hits for another successful block to take place. The blocking animation will not always display when you block successfully, though there is usually a sound heard. Characters can not block while walking. Characters can block while in mid-attack or spell-casting animation, but will not show the blocking animation.
| Class | Blocking | Fast Block* | Hit Recovery | of balance | of stability | of harmony |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.30 | 0.25 | 0.20 | 0.15*** |
| Rogue | 0.20 | 0.10 | 0.35 | 0.30 | 0.25 | 0.20*** |
| Sorcerer | 0.30 | 0.10 | 0.40 | 0.35 | 0.30 | 0.25*** |
| Monk | 0.15 | 0.10 | 0.30 | 0.25 | 0.20 | 0.15 |
| Bard | 0.20 | 0.10 | 0.35 | 0.30 | 0.25 | 0.20 |
| Barbarian | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.30 (0.20)** | 0.25 (0.20)** | 0.20 | 0.15 |
- * Fast block = unique items with fast blocking, or magical shields with the "of blocking" suffix.
- ** The Barbarian has an inherently property that's equivalent to a character using the "of stability" suffix when he equips an axe or a club. Therefore, items "of balance" or "of stability" will drop him to 0.20 recovery time when wielding an axe or club. ("of harmony" will take him down to 0.15 in that situation).
- *** In Diablo (but not HF) simultaneously equipping one or more items of all 3 modifiers: "of balance," "of stability," and "of harmony," reduces hit recovery times to 0.05 faster than harmony alone. Warrior 0.10, Rogue 0.15, and Sorcerer 0.20.
Attack Rate
How fast your character swings their weapon (or fires arrows or casts spells) is an enormously important factor in their overall success. The magic number is 0.35 seconds; that's how fast an attack has to be to "stunlock" most monsters. If you can hit them that quickly, with enough damage to break their attack animation, any single target (or 3 targets, for Axe Barbarians, dual wielding Bards, and Staff-wielding Monks) will become helpless before your onslaught. Accuracy counts as well, of course. Swinging does no good if you don't hit, but it's pretty easy to see how the characters were designed by comparing their attack rates.
- Rogues can do pretty well with a sword/shield setup, but they're just 0.05 of a second slower than the Warrior, and that twentieth of a second is what lets him stunlock enemies and take out mages and witches before they can flee, and what keeps her from doing so. (Of course she can do it with a bow, so all is not lost.)
- Sorcerers are feeble with all sorts of weapons (but actually have one of the faster attacks with just a shield), and they can not cast spells quickly enough to stunlock with them. Not that they especially need to, since spells do so much damage.
- There aren't any items that increase casting speed in Diablo or Hellfire (though plenty were added in Diablo II.)
- Monks are very slow with all one-handed weapons, but are deadly with staffs. They can also hit (kick) fast enough to stun lock empty handed, or with just a shield, something no other character can manage. They only hit one target at a time that way though, compared to up to three at once with a staff.
- Bards swing all weapons at the same speed as Rogues, except for bows, with which they are much slower. This makes playing a Bard melee style an interesting task, since they can do enormous damage with their dual wielding, but can't quite stunlock fleeing enemies. Their high mana and variety of weapons have to make up for that inability.
- Barbarians are weapon masters, and can achieve stunlock with one handed swords or maces (with which they're even faster) as well as two-handed axes.
Weapon | Suffix | Warrior | Rogue | Sorcerer | Monk | Bard | Barbarian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swords & Clubs | Normal & Readiness | 0.45 | 0.50 | 0.60 | 0.60 | 0.50 | 0.45 / 0.40 |
| Swiftness | 0.40 | 0.45 | 0.55 | 0.55 | 0.45 | 0.40 / 0.35 | |
| Speed & Haste | 0.35 | 0.40 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.40 | 0.35 / 0.30 | |
| Axes | Normal & Readiness | 0.50 | 0.65 | 0.80 | 0.70 | 0.65 | 0.40 |
| Swiftness | 0.45 | 0.60 | 0.75 | 0.65 | 0.60 | 0.35 | |
| Speed & Haste | 0.40 | 0.55 | 0.70 | 0.60 | 0.55 | 0.30 | |
| Staffs | Normal & Readiness | 0.55 | 0.55 | 0.60 | 0.40 | 0.55 | 0.55 |
| Swiftness | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.55 | 0.35 | 0.50 | 0.50 | |
| Speed & Haste | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.50 | 0.30 | 0.45 | 0.45 | |
| Bows | Normal & Readiness * | 0.55 | 0.35 | 0.80 | 0.70 | 0.55 | 0.55 |
| Swiftness * | 0.50 | 0.30 | 0.75 | 0.70 | 0.55 | 0.55 | |
| Shields | -- | 0.45 | 0.50 | 0.45 | 0.35 | 0.50 | 0.45 |
| Bare hands & feet | -- | 0.45 | 0.50 | 0.60 | 0.35 | 0.50 | 0.45 |
| Spells ** | -- | 0.70 | 0.60 | 0.40 | 0.60 | 0.60 | 0.70 |
- * In Hellfire, Readiness and Swiftness make the arrows move faster, rather than the character fire more quickly. This essentially ruins the modifier since it lowers the total damage dealt over time (since it takes longer to fire the same number of arrows), but makes the arrows slightly more accurate over longer distances. (Since projectile accuracy decreases by time, not by distance.)
- ** Spells cast without a target (such as Flash, Infravision, Mana shield, etc) are .05 faster than spells that target where the cursor is pointed. Thus Phasing or Warp are better escapes from being mob stunlocked than Teleport.
Triple Hits
All three characters added in Hellfire have the ability to hit three targets at once; the one they aim directly at and the monsters immediately to the left and right of the targeted space. This can only be done when properly-equipped -- Monk with staff, Barbarian with axe, Bard while dual-wielding -- and it makes these characters capable of dealing far more damage over time, especially against large groups of enemies. Tactics are required to take advantage of this ability; it's useless if you position yourself so that only one monster can come at you at a time.
The easiest way to use this ability is to back into a corner and swing out, diagonally. Standing against a wall and swinging diagonally towards the monsters (instead of parallel to the wall) also works well, as does positioning yourself in a three-wide doorway, of the type that are commonly found on the Hell levels.
Another way to use this talent is to stand in single width doorways. These are commonly found in the Church, Cats, Caves, and Crypt. Rather than standing back a space, as a Rogue, Warrior, or Sorcerer would, stand right in the doorway. Monsters will swarm at you, but since there are walls to your sides, they can only come straight on, or diagonally from the left or right. This technique will enable you to clear rooms up to three times as fast as if you waited through the doorway to challenge the monsters one at a time. You must be powerful enough to hit and kill them quickly, of course, since you're potentially exposing yourself to triple the damage as well.
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