Although Diablo 3 is a multiplayer game where parties of different classes can combine their skills, you can also play the game by yourself, solo. There isn’t a difference of content between solo and party like WoW has, and you don’t have to wait until you outgear content like soloing raids in WoW. You can jump right in and experience the entire game by yourself.
Of course, you might want a little help when it comes to killing and controlling monsters or protecting and healing yourself. Or maybe you just want some company on your adventures in Sanctuary, Heaven, and Hell. When you go without other player friends, you have the option of partying with a follower NPC, whose skills you can pick and whose gear you will provide.
Each Diablo 3 follower plays a different role in helping you in your journey. Any followers you are not currently using will stand in town with their gear and skills as you left them. Each follower can equip an amulet, two rings, a special follower item, and select weapons. There’s one follower for every primary attribute — Strength, Dexterity, and Intellect.
The followers are characters by themselves and do interact with each other in the game, if you pay attention. For example, the Scoundrel likes to trash talk the Templar when standing around in town, and there’s a whole dialogue conversation stream that reveals the Templar has a crush on the Enchantress.
Black magic bars our way. But the will of a templar is stronger!
– Kormac, entering Jondar’s room
You come upon the Templar early in Act I, before you face down the Skeleton King. Kormac meets you as a warrior captured by cultists in Tristam Cathedral. You help him find his gear and together you defeat the corrupt Jondar. After Jondar is dead, the Templar offers to join you if do you not already have a follower.
The Templar uses his Strength to protect you from monsters and to heal you in times of need. Kormac can use one-handed weapons including spears, swords, maces, axes, and daggers, and he holds a shield in the other hand. His special follower item is the Templar Relic. There are three legendary Templar Relics:
A typical skill build for the Templar is: Heal, Loyalty, Charge/Onslaught, and Inspire. Heal and Loyalty provide heals for your character, and Inspire increases your resource generation. Charge is an AOE damage ability as well as a stun, while Onslaught is a single target damage ability.
If we stand here much longer, I am going to rob you. Just so you know.
– Lyndon, when you’re AFK
You meet the Scoundrel just before the Drowned Temple questline. He meets you running up the hill and asks for your help in saving his friend Sasha from bandits. After you defeat the head bandit, Nigel Cutthroat, the Scoundrel offers to join you on your ways, in his efforts to get out of his feigned marriage to Sasha. You’ll soon realize that Lyndon is perfectly fine with a life of stealing from others and he doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.
The Scoundrel uses his Dexterity to get himself out of tricky situations while dealing damage from afar with his bow. Lyndon can use only crossbows or bows, and his special follower item is the Scoundrel Token. There are three legendary Scoundrel Tokens:
A typical skill build for the Scoundrel is: Poison Bolts, Vanish, Multishot, and Anatomy. Anatomy provides a passive bonus to Critical Hit Chance. Poison Bolts deal a Poison DoT in addition to firing damage off, and Multishot fires off 3 bolts at a time. Finally, Vanish allows the Scoundrel to heal himself, so you can let him be a pure DPS in the background.
You move so surely through these lands. It is as if you have been here before!
– Eirena, randomly in Act I
You come upon the Enchantress as you enter Act II, and she helps you reveal and disrupt the rituals of cultists in the desert. Just before you travel on to Alcarnus, she tells you of her true nature, a powerful sorceress who is much older than she looks.
The Enchantress uses her Intellect to charm and damage your enemies while buffing you. Eirena can’t use any off-hand items, so she uses two-handed axes, swords, maces, and staves, as well as one-handed daggers and spears. Her special follower item is the Enchantress Focus. There are three legendary Enchantress Focuses:
A typical skill build for the Enchantress is: Charm, Powered Armor, Erosion, and Focused Mind. Focused Mind buffs your attack speed while Powered Armor helps reduce incoming melee damage. Erosion buffs your damage done to enemies and Charm makes your enemies fight other monsters for you.
