Diablo 3’s latest Season 26 is available now, and features the Echoing Nightmare challenge. It’s basically a survival horde mode where you and your party fight against tons of monsters and try to survive. It’s fun and features a ton of loot for the picking.

Of course, with each new Season comes new classes and builds/sets that work well. For our top classes and builds list, we’re avoiding Legacy of Dream builds as they’re tough to make and are very gear-dependant. We’re going for builds that are set-dependant since a number of them can be easily acquired by completing the earlier Season challenges.

MONK

Inna Mystic Ally

The best Monk set and build in the game still resides high on the class and build throne. The Inna Mystic Ally build is tanky and makes you go through the Season’s content pretty quick, and has useful pets with variable elements. Make sure the Dregs of Lie Soul Shard on your weapon is the one that buffs up your Mystic Allies. The best part? Season 26’s Haedrig’s Gift will net you the full Inna set when you complete the first four challenges!

Skills

LMB -Way of the Hundred Fists (Assimilation)
RMB – Cyclone Strike(Implosion)
1 – Mystic Ally (Fire Ally)
2 – Dashing Strike (Radiance)
3 – Epiphany (Desert Shroud)
4 – Serenity (Ascension)
Passives: Beacon of Ytar, Seize the Initiative, Near Death Experience, The Guardian’s Path
Kanai’s Cube Powerup: Messerschmidt’s Reaver, Bindings of the Lesser Gods, Ring of Royal Grandeur

Gear

Armor & Set: Inna’s Radiance (1x Diamond), Inna’s Vast Expanse (3x Diamonds), Inna’s Hold, Inna’s Favor, Inna’s Temperance (2x Diamonds), Aughild’s Power (craft), Aughild’s Search (craft), The Crudest Boots.
Weapon: Shenlong’s Fist of Legend (Dregs of Lies), Shenlong’s Relentless Assault (Emerald).
Amulet/Ring: Focus (Bane of the Trapped), Restraint (Gogok of Swiftness), Squirt’s Necklace (Enforcer).

Crusader

AoV Heaven’s Fury

This Armor of Valor set is the best Season starter if you’re into the tanky gameplay of the Crusader. If you love targeting single enemies and would trade speed for survivability, this build is a good choice. Basically this build let you use Heaven’s Fury and Fist of the Heavens one after the other. The build’s near infinite Wrath means you can do this forever against mobs and bosses.

Skills

LMB – Fist of the Heavens (Divine Well)
RMB – Heaven’s Fury (Blessed Ground)
1 – Iron Skin (Flash)
2- Judgment (Debilitate)
3 – Laws of Valor (Unstoppable Force)
4 – Akarat’s Champion (Prophet)
Passives: Heavenly Strength, Holy Cause, Hold Your Ground, Finery
Kanai’s Cube Powers: Holy Tower, Aquila Cuirass, Ring of Royal Grandeur

Gear

Armor & Set: Crown of Valor (1x Diamond), Brigadine of Valor (3x Diamond), Spaulders of Valor, Gauntlet of Valor, Greaves of Valor, Captain Crimson’s Girdle (craft), Captain Crimson’s Thrust (2x Diamond, craft)
Weapon: Fate of the Fell (1x Emerald), Shield of Fury
Amulet/Ring: Hellfire Amulet (craft, Esoteric Alteration), Justice Lantern (Bane of the Stricken), Convention of Elements (Bane of the Trapped)

Demon Hunter

Marauder Sentry

With so much nerfing going on with the Gears of Dread Hungry Arrow build, it’s only a matter of time  until the meta changes for the frail-but-high-DPS Demon Hunter. The Marauder Sentry build lets your Demon Hunter put up turrets and gets damage buffs from said turrets. Also, the turrets will fire the Multishots and other primary attacks/enemy-seeking shots you have equipped. Easy gameplan, and a great way to clear the room really, really fast.

The Marauder Sentry’s few downsides include low mobility and heavy reliance for positioning, since you are setting up turrets and finding the best place to fire your Cluster Bombs to get max damage and AoE on mobs. Still, this build is the way to go if you want a top-tier Demon Hunter that can go solo. The best part about this set is that you can acquire it easily via Haedrig’s Gift for this season’s early rewards.

Skills

LMB – Evasive Fire (Focus)
RMB- Multishot (Arsenal)
1- Sentry (Polar Station)
2 – Companion (Wolf Companion)
3- Vault (Tumble)
4 – Vengeance (Seethe)

Passives: Cull the Weak, Ambush, Custom Engineering, Ballistics
Kannai’s Cube Power: Dead Man’s Legacy, Zoey’s Secret, Ring of Royal Grandeur

Gear 

Armour & Set: Marauder’s Visage (1x Diamond), Marauder’s Spine, Marauder’s Gloves, Marauder’s Carapace (3x Diamond), Captain Crimson’s Silk Girdle (craft), Captain Crimson’s Thrust (2x Diamond, craft)
Weapon: Yang’s Recurve (1x Emerald), Bombardier’s Rucksack
Amulet/Ring: Focus (Bane of the Trapped), Restraint (Enforcer), Squirt’s Necklace (Zei’s Stone of Vengeance)

Witch Doctor

Arachyr Spiders

Arguably the easiest set to get in the first few hours if you’re grinding and farming for the Witch Doctor, depending on your luck. This build has high DPS and is fun to play, and its starter gear is easy to get thanks to the Season 25 buffs and Soul Shard powerups. Your Corpse Spider is going to be your main attack here, with your Horrify making your enemies stay in place, and your Locust Swarm and Pirahnas mopping up the floor with their amplified damage (being Creature spells thanks to the set armour’s bonuses). The Spirit Walk makes you invincible for a set time while you can go about your merry way attacking with your spider army.

Skills

LMB- Soul Harvest (Languish)
RMB- Corpse Spider (Leaping Spiders)
1- Horrify (Frightening Aspect)
2- Pirahnas (Pirahnado)
3- Locust Swarm (Cloud of Insects)
4- Spirit Walk (Jaunt)

Passives: Pierce the Veil, Confidence Ritual, Grave Injustice, Swampland Attunement
Kanai’s Cube: Echoing Fury, Mask of Jeram, Ring of Royal Grandeur

Gear

Armor & Set: Arachyr’s Vision (Sliver of Terror), Arachyr’s Mantle, Arachyr’s Claws, Arachyr’s Carapace (3x Topaz), Arachyr’s Stride, Brood of Araneae, Lakumba’s Ornament, Depth Diggers (3x Topaz)
Weapons: The Spider Queen’s Grasp (Dregs of Lies), Shukrani’s Triumph
Amulet/Ring: Traveler’s Pledge (Enforcer), Compass Rose (Bane of Trapped), Ring of Emptiness (Simplicity’s Strength)

Zunimassa Poison Dart

Season 26’s Haedrig’s Gift contains the Zunimassa set for the Witch Doctor, which is pretty good this season. The build uses the set’s bonus for the majority of its damage; it’s tailored for ranged combat and features pets and fast combat. The downside? You can die if an enemy so much as grazes you, so you need to be on point with your Spirit Walk.

Skills

LMB- Poison Dart (Spined Dart)
RMB- Pirahnas (Pirahnado)
1 – Spirit Walk (Jaunt)
2 – Fetish Army (Legion of Daggers)
3 – Soul Harvest (Languish)
4 – Horrify (Frightening Aspect)

Passives: Spirit Vessel, Grave Injustice, Fetish Syncophants, Pierce The Veil
Kanai’s Cube Powers: Echoing Fury, Mask of Jeram, Ring of Royal Grandeur

Gear

Armor & Set: Carnevil (1x Diamond), Zunimassa’s Marrow (3x Ruby), Zunimassa’s Finger Wrap, Zunimassa’s Trail, Depth Diggers, Aughild’s Power (craft), Aughild’s Search (craft)
Weapon: The Dagger of Darts (1x Emerald), Zunimassa’s String of Skulls
Amulet/Ring: Zunimassa’s Pox (Simplicity’s Strength), Convention of Elements (Enforcer), Squirt’s Necklace (Bane of the Stricken)

Wizard

Firebird Flame Blades

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Firebird builds for Wizards are still darn good. You still can die if a demon so much as sneezes at you, but its high DPS and fast-paced gameplay make it worth the trouble. The Shard of Hatred and Remnant of Pain can help mitigate some of the weaknesses and nerfs of the set.

Skills

LMB – Spectral Blade (Flame Blades)
RMB – Disintegrate (Chaos Nexus)
1 – Explosive Blast (Chain Reaction)
2 – Teleport (Safe Passage)
3 – Black Hole (Spellsteal)
4 – Frost Nova (Bone Chill)
Passives: Audacity, Evocation, Elemental Exposure, Unwavering Will
Kanai’s Cube: Orb of Infinite Depth, The Shame of Delsere, Ring of Royal Grandeur

Gear

Armor & Set: Firebird’s Plume (1x Topaz), Firebird’s Talon, Firebird’s Breast (3x Topaz), Firebird’s Tarsi, Aughild’s Search, Aughild’s Power, Captain Crimson’s Silk Girdle, Captain Crimson’s Thrust (2x Topaz).
Weapons: Fragment of Destiny (Remnant of Pain), Firebird’s Eye.
Amulet/Rings: The Traveler’s Pledge (Gogok of Swiftness), Convention of Elements (Bane of Stricken), The Compass Rose (Bane of Trapped).

Vyr-Chantodo Archon

Easy to learn, hard to master. This Wizard build focuses more on the Archon skill, where you transform into the Archon and deal huge damage and gather stacks for more damage and DOT effects. Due to the Archon’s huge cooldown timer, this build needs the cooldown reduction affixes for ALL the gear you find and may not be the best Season starter build to go for. It is rather rewarding if you can power through with this special.

Skills

LMB – Storm Armor (Shocking Aspect)
RMB – Arcane Torrent (Static Discharge)
1 – Black Hole (Absolute Zero)
2 – Archon (Slow Time)
3 – Slow Time (Time Warp)
4 – Magic Weapon (Deflection)
Passives: Evocation, Unstable Anomaly, Galvanizing Ward, Audacity
Kanai’s Cube: The Furnace, The Swami, Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac

Gear

Armor & Set: Vyr’s Sightless Skull (1x Diamond), Vyr’s Proud Pauldron, Vyr’s Grasping Gauntlets, Vyr’s Astonishing Aura (3x Topaz), Vyr’s Fantastic Finery (2x Topaz), Vyr’s Swaggering Stance, Ashnagarr’s Blood Bracer, Fazula’s Impropable Chain
Weapons: Chantodo’s Force (1x Emerald), Chantodo’s Will
Amulet/Rings: Convention of Elements (Bane of the Trapped), Halo of Karini (Zei’s Stone of Vengeance), Squirt’s Necklace (Bane of the Stricken)

Necromancer

Rathma Army of the Dead

The best Necromancer builds are all Legacy of Dreams-focused, so we have to resort to this Rathma set to make your life a bit easier. The Bones of Rathma Necromancer build is pet-focused & comes with a nuke: summon skeletons, bum rush them onto enemies, use Army of the Dead often and stay away from enemies. The Soul Shards on this build help amplify your minion’s strength and durability further.

Skills

LMB- Grim Scythe (Cursed Scythe)
RMB- Command Skeletons (Frenzy)
1- Bone Armor (Dislocation)
2 – Army of the Dead (Blighted Grasp)
3 – Blood Rush (Potency)
4 – Revive (Horrific Return)

Passives: Spreading Malediction, Eternal Torment, Swift Harvest, Grisly Tribute
Kanai’s Cube: Nayr’s Black Death, Fate’s Vow, Ring of Royal Grandeur

Gear

Armor & Set: Rathma’s Skull Helmet (1x Diamond), Rathma’s Spikes, Rathma’s Macabre Vambrace, Rathma’s Ribcage Plate (3x Topaz), Rathma’s Ossified Sabatons, Captain Crimson’s Silk Girdle, Captain Crimson’s Thrust (2x Topaz), Bonds of C’Lena.
Weapons: Jesseth Skullscythe (Essence of Anguish), Jesseth Skullshield
Amulet/Rings: Squirt’s Necklace (Gogok of Swiftness), Krysbin’s Sentence (Bane of the Trapped), Convention of Elements (Zei’s Stone of Vengeance)

Barbarian

Waste Whirlwind Rend

Still the best and most consistent Barbarian build ever. Spin to win using Whirlwind, but with Rend effects. Furious Charge to get to one spot super-fast and get all the buffs from Band of Might. The Essence Anguish makes it all the more painful for mobs.

Skills

LMB – Furious Charge (Merciless Assault)
RMB – Whirlwind (Wind Shear)
1 – Rend (Bloodbath)
2- Sprint (Marathon)
3- Ignore Pain (Bravado)
4 -Wrath of the Berserker (Insanity)

Passives: Rampage, Nerves of Steel, Boon of Bul-Kathos, Pound of Flesh
Kanai’s Cube: The Furnace, Mantle of Channeling, Band of Might

Gear

Armor & Set: Helm of the Wastes (1x Diamond), Pauldrons of the Waste, Gauntlet of the Wastes, Cuirass of the Wastes (3x Diamond), Tasset of the Wastes (2x Diamond), Sabaton of the Wastes, Lamentation, Mortick’s Brace.
Weapons: In-geom (Essence of Anguish), Ambo’s Pride (1x Emerald)
Amulet/Rings: Squirt’s Necklace (Molten Wildebeast’s Gizzard), Focus (Taeguk), Restraint (Bane of the Trapped).