There’s a bunch of classes to decide from in Activision Blizzard’s mobile tour of Sanctuary, but the Diablo Immortal crusader might be the best of the bunch. However, with so many moves to choose from, and more than a few different pieces of equipment, it can be difficult to know how to mould your warrior into a demon demolisher.
That’s where we come in, with our comprehensive Diablo Immortal crusader build guide. With the class functioning as a strength/melee combo, we’re going to show you how to build a tanky attacker that can lead you and your allies into even the darkest of battles, as well as highlighting some of the most attractive aspects of the crusader class that are often glossed over.
If you’d rather raise the dead than put your opponents in the ground, why not check out our Diablo Immortal necromancer buildguide. Or, if you’re still not sold on a mobile version of the classic action RPG, check out our Diablo Immortal review, and from there, head-on into our guides to Diablo Immortal classes, Diablo Immortal gems, and Diablo Immortal crest and rifts.
Best Diablo Immortal crusader skills
Diablo Immortal’s crusader has two primary skills, just like the rest of the classes, with punish available from level one, and sacred fire unlocking at level 34. Punish is a pretty standard basic attack, dealing damage to the opponent while offering a small 30% block buff for two seconds, while sacred fire steps up the heat by setting fire to the crusader’s sword with holy flames, dealing damage to adjacent enemies.
When deciding on the more specialist or scenario-based secondary skills for Diablo Immortal’s crusader, the only sensible way to go is for all-out power. For this reason, the crusader makes a particularly potent partner for Diablo Immortal’s necromancer, providing a human shield between enemies and the dark mage.
Skill | Unlock level | Skill type | Skill effect |
Spinning shield | One | Gather | Throw a spinning shield that damages enemies, before pulling them towards the crusader to deal additional damage (maximum of three charges) |
Draw and quarter | 15 | Buff / damage | Summon a war horse of pure light to increase your movement speed, cancel out movement debuffs, and change your primary attack to a dragging mechanic to move enemies across the field |
Shield charge | 41 | Dash / control | Charge into a group of enemies shield first, dealing damage and stunning any knocked into the environment for three seconds |
Sacred chain | 44 | Control | Throw a set of chains that damages, and then stuns, up to eight enemies |
Holy banner | 38 | Buff | Summon a beam of light that increases critical hit change to 100% for 11 seconds, while lowering critical hit damage slightly |
Conjuration of light | 50 | Buff | Provides three seconds of damage immunity for all allies |
Your strategy for deciding set moves should suit whatever challenge you’re facing, be that difficult one-on-one battles, or taking on swarms of skeletons. Sacred chain, spinning shield, and draw and quarter are imperative when facing larger groups, allowing you to control the masses while keeping movement speed high, so we recommend that trio. As for boss battles, shield charge is an excellent way of keeping yourself safe while attacking, and don’t forget to use conjuration of light to keep your party in good condition.
Best gems for Diablo Immortal crusader
As Diablo Immortal’s crusader is a melee-heavy attacker, you need to concentrate on gems that boost attacking prowess. We specifically recommend the Berserker’s eye, providing you have enough strength to tank a few hits with the crusader’s various shield effects. Still, other options below also work if you need an alternative.
Gem | Effect |
Berserker’s eye | The berserker’s eye boosts damage output while increasing damage taken, turning the sturdy crusader into one of Diablo Immortal’s more powerful glass cannons |
Chained death | Increases your damage output for the more enemies you’re currently fighting |
Fervent fang | Creates a stacking damage bonus that is particularly useful against single bosses |
Blessing of the worth | This gem boosts the crusader’s combat power, and has a special effect do deal a percentage of the user’s damage, which is particularly useful with a tanky crusader |
Best stats for Diablo Immortal crusader
The order of importance for the crusader’s stats in Diablo Immortal is that power comes before all else, with fortitude and vitality sharing second place in the running. Essentially, you can discount willpower, unless you feel you need it for a specific scenario, and it’s not even worth thinking about intelligence as it has no bearing on any of the crusader’s primary strengths.
There you have it, our comprehensive Diablo Immortal crusader build guide. If all this talk of tanks has you thinking about, well, actual tanks, why not get behind some artillery in our picks for the best games like PUBG on Switch and mobile. And if you’re playing the latest game, then check out the best Diablo 4 Necromancer build, a full Diablo 4 classes list, and the PCGamesN team and Blizzard’s recommendations for the best Diablo 4 builds.