Thanks for the replies! I agree—terminology isn’t the most important thing. A holy warrior class, whether it’s called Paladin, Crusader, Templar, or something new entirely, would still fit within the Diablo universe.
Lore-wise, D4 shows the last of the original Paladins have fallen or been corrupted, which explains why we don’t see them as a mainstream playable class. Crusaders and Templars are still around, though marginalized, so they could easily inspire a new class with some ties to the old orders.
I also love WhirlFeral’s point about Kormac—linking a player class to existing lore like his adventures could make for really interesting dialogue and world-building, even if the class isn’t a straight copy of the old Paladin.
At the end of the day, I just hope Blizzard gives us some kind of holy warrior option, whether it’s a revival of the old orders or a fresh take. I’d love to see your thoughts on how a new class like this could work mechanically or narratively!
holy skills mixed with shadow skills and melee skills
No longer uses faith as resource but instead Conviction. Gain conviction when u use a different type attack [shadow then holy or melee ect but not holy holy or melee melee]
Can use a 2h sword in one hand.
Auras mostly offensive Auras have passive always on and active with cooldown
Must use a cross. Cross is an offhand.
Cross is a new gear type that utilizes light radius. Paladins have some skills /paragon that do things with or increase light radius.
Light Crosses inherent damages undead and demons inside your light radius and heals allies.
Dark crosses inherent damages enemy humans and goatmen inside your light radius and increases allies move speed
Frankly I’d enjoy seeing surviving characters from 3 have a bit of screentime. I enjoyed having the scoundrel involved in a sidequest chain, even if he is kind of a garbage person.
It would be cool seeing an order started by Kormac or Kormac himself in the expansion, and a templar class could be directly involved.
If we ever get some of the fantastical areas like the arcane sanctuary it would be a neat place for the enchantress to show up.
I would like to see Covetous Shen in some form or another, and on that note can we actually go to Xiansai? I’m a little sick of the Europeanesque take on everything, and even the areas that aren’t like mainland Europe are either deserted or really poorly fleshed out.
That’s pretty much everyone who could be alive, I think. Everyone else is either dead, already accounted for, our probably dead.
Jacques de Molay was the last Templar. He was sentenced to death alongside Geoffroi de Charney in 1314, largely due to the decisions and actions of the cardinal legates rather than a direct order from King Philip the Fair. It was a shame, as he had fought in Jerusalem—yet rumors claimed he possessed treasures that greatly interested Philip. Much like with Joan of Arc, people at that time seemed far too fond of burning others.
Playing as a Templar would be fascinating, but I doubt Blizzard would risk conflict with the Church—especially nowadays. The Templar legacy is still a touchy subject.
On its own perhaps, though it could be included as just part of an expansion, or have another purpose outside just story. Or even have a large portion of an expansion centered on it located in another realm, like heaven/hell etc.
Also given the way Sanctuary has been handled so far - it seems to be a small planet, but the map of D4 is way too small for what it’s supposed to represent, even considering video games can’t really create realistically sized landscapes for games like this - I would not be surprised if Xiansai was resized to be expansion-friendly.
Urza’s Fallen Paladin concept especially hits that perfect middle ground between Diablo 2’s holy warrior and Diablo 4’s darker world. Having a class that blends holy and shadow magic while drawing power from “Conviction” instead of traditional faith would fit right in with the moral gray area Sanctuary is stuck in now. The light radius idea tied to crosses as offhands is brilliant, too — that could bring back some of the atmosphere that made Diablo 1 and 2 feel eerie.
And yeah, calling it something else entirely, like a Templar or something lore-specific, could let Blizzard re-introduce the archetype without feeling like it’s recycling the same Paladin/Crusader again.
Jacques de Molay’s mention actually got me thinking — the Templar’s real-world history already has that “betrayed faith” tone that would mesh perfectly with Diablo’s universe. Imagine a class whose story arc involves redemption through corruption or wielding holy power at great personal cost.
Honestly, there’s so much creative space here. I’d love to see Blizzard take that kind of risk instead of shying away from holy-aligned heroes.
What do you all think — would a Fallen Paladin or dark Templar fit better in D4’s world than trying to bring back a pure holy knight?
I agree that Jacques de Molay’s story fits perfectly into the D4 universe . Also, the treasures of the Templars are still a mystery. Though I bet they aren’t worth a salary of 1,000 billion dollars… ^^’ I mean, $1 trillion is so huge we can hardly imagine it—it’s just beyond human comprehension. If you spent $1 million every single day, it would take you about 2,740 years to spend $1 trillion.
Yeah, that number is absolutely insane when you break it down like that. Diablo lore has some wild treasures, but even Sanctuary would probably look at a trillion dollars and go “okay, that’s too much even for us.”
Honestly though, the idea of Templar relics or “lost orders” hiding secrets that big does fit the vibe. Sanctuary is full of myths that get blown out of proportion over centuries. That’s why imagining a darker, broken holy order in D4 feels so natural — every legend in this universe eventually twists into something more tragic.
Makes me wonder what kind of “relics” a fallen Templar or corrupted Paladin would actually carry into battle. Probably nothing worth a trillion… but something dangerous enough to change the world.
I always enjoyed playing a heavy armor/melee class (gimme that sword n’ board!).
Doesn’t matter to me if it is like a “holy” class like a paladin or a “evil” death knight (Ok, maybe I favor Darth Vader more on this one…. Evil IS More Fun!)
Barbarian is Paladin/Crusader (Holy Warrior) just add “Holy” skills, Light element, and allow Shield equipment.
Imbued and exploding with Holy Fire/Light.
Also add Spear Throw skill because it’s cool and should be in-game. Mighty Throw should’ve been a Spear throw skill, not a Mace throw skill, from the beginning.
I think adding the paladin as it was in D2 would be very difficult to balance in D4. His aura skills would make him beyond OP since there are no immunities. I could easily see someone just maxing fire aura and just going afk while clearing everything.
Big changes would be needed in order to bring that to D4. That’s why I don’t think it will be an actual paladin, but something similar like a templar or something new that we haven’t seen but it will scratch that itch everyone has for a holy warrior.
. Also, the treasures of the Templars are still a mystery. Though I bet they aren’t worth a salary of 1,000 billion dollars… ^^’ I mean, $1 trillion is so huge we can hardly imagine it—it’s just beyond human comprehension. If you spent $1 million every single day, it would take you about 2,740 years to spend $1 trillion.
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