Diablo 2's new Warlock class splits players over balance

Diablo 2's surprise release of its first new class in 25 years has been greeted mostly positively, but a week on the community is split over whether Warlocks are overpowered. The emerging consensus leans strongly toward "yes", yet the debate quickly shifts to what should be done: nerf Warlocks, buff other classes to match, or leave things alone and let players sort it out.

A clip from streamer Coooley, titled "Oops... I broke the Warlock", has stoked the discussion. Coooley calls it "the most powerful build I have ever seen in Diablo 2", showing a setup that levels Demonic Mastery to 10 to summon two demons, stacks several damage multipliers including consuming an extra demon, and pushes Echoing Strike to what he describes as "asinine numbers".

After that he solo-clears the entire game while on an eight-player server, where monsters are at maximum strength. Reactions online range from alarm to resignation.

diablo 2, warlock, coooley, demonic mastery, echoing strike, overpowered, game balance, damage multiplier, summons, streamer clip