Vortex Gaming

· As Hero Siege Season 9 approaches, many players are wondering which class to choose.
· Especially for new and returning players, we introduce the best starter classes for Season 9.
· While I haven't played every class extensively, I've assessed the potential of each through testing and the experiences of other players.

· The Demon Spawn offers very smooth, safe, and easy campaign progression.
· From level 8 onwards, you can easily clear all content.
· It boasts excellent endgame clear capabilities, fantastic single-target damage, and great built-in defenses.
· The only downside is the lack of a primary movement skill, apart from a movement speed buff on kill.
· It's one of the best casters for new players learning the game, ensuring a high success rate.

· The Paladin is one of the tankiest characters in the game, gaining damage reduction through later augmentations.
· It has good self-healing capabilities and allows for various build variations, such as a Lightning Hybrid Caster/Attacker or a pure Arcane Caster (Hammers/Holy Bolt).
· Easy to learn and convenient to use, making it very suitable for new and returning players, and shows a high success rate in endgame progression.

· The Cold Anchor Pirate is a powerful starter that many players might overlook.
· It takes a bit of a journey to acquire Anchor Swing, but once you do, it demonstrates game-breaking power.
· In the endgame, with new Avatar nodes, Anchor Swing can fill the entire screen, easily clearing everything, and synergizes well with Cold gear.
· In the endgame, you can either maintain Anchor Swing, switch to a Cannonball build as a physical ranged attacker, or opt for the Parrot Minion build, which received a lot of support this season.
· Early levels before acquiring Anchor Swing might present some challenges.

· The Jotunn is one of the best starters alongside Demon Spawn, offering very smooth and easy campaign progression.
· Level 16 is the only hurdle, but after acquiring 'Frost Orb,' you can easily deal with all enemies and bosses.
· At level 24, you gain a teleport ability, boasting very high mobility and power.
· One of the most outstanding features among all classes is the 'Ignore Death Effects' ability.
· It remains powerful in the endgame, and later you can switch to a melee-oriented build to deal immense damage.

· The Illusionist is personally the best class for campaign progression, to the point where I'd choose it as a season starter.
· 'Time Dilation' is a core skill from level 1 to 100+, providing excellent AoE and single-target damage, stacking with cast speed.
· It's a very powerful skill that auto-targets enemies near your cursor and switches to the next closest enemy on kill.
· The teleport gained at level 16 has no cast delay and provides a movement speed buff, making it one of the best teleports in the game.
· At level 40, the 'Hero of Time' augmentation grants the Viking's Health/Mana Shout, increasing survivability, and minions block projectiles.
· Early, mid, and late-game progression are all fantastic, and it's considered an excellent starter alongside Demon Spawn, Jotunn, and Paladin.

· The following classes are expected to be very powerful this season, but are not recommended for beginners.
· This is because most are paid classes, have tricky mechanics, or may have slow or difficult campaign progression.
· However, in the hands of experienced players, they can unleash immense potential.

· The White Mage has no major issues with campaign progression; it's a very good, powerful, and safe class.
· To 'explode' with the build I suggest, you might need a bit of grinding until hero level 31-35.
· Before that, you can progress using 'Restless Spirit' or 'Holy Lightning Chain.'
· It's an excellent class that is safe, powerful, and has a cool aesthetic.

· The Bard is expected to be very powerful this season.
· You can progress as a pure Lightning Caster with a Lightning build in Normal, Nightmare, and Hell difficulties.
· Ultimately, you can transition to a 'Pyrotechnician' build, similar to Path of Exile's 'Flicker Strike,' teleporting between enemies and dealing explosive damage.
· It's one of the coolest builds, and many players will be drawn to it.

· The Marauder remains largely unchanged from Season 8, so it will still be powerful in Season 9.
· As a physical attacker, it was one of the best classes for quickly clearing Inferno.
· With Season 9's Avatar tree and additional power, it will become even stronger.
· It performs powerfully from the start with minimal gear, and if forced to play a physical character, I would choose the Marauder.

· The Exo requires practice to get used to early leveling and some abilities.
· 'Solar Dash' is one of the best speedrunners throughout the campaign, easily traversing maps and eliminating enemies and bosses while leaving a trail of fire.
· Around level 40, it transitions to a 'Black Hole' build, becoming even more powerful up to level 100.
· Black Hole Exo is one of the best map clearers in the game, boasting excellent mobility, immense damage, and Solar Dash's built-in survivability.
· It's a class with tremendous potential for overworld mechanics and Chaos Tower farming.
· It might be underestimated due to its past unfavorable history.

· The Storm Weaver, contrary to the Exo, is expected to be very popular.
· It's not recommended for new players who don't understand how to survive in the game, as its survivability isn't great.
· However, it boasts the fastest clear speed in the game and is extremely powerful, especially when entering new difficulties like high Hell or Inferno.
· It's visually stunning, fun to play, and scales tremendously with gear.
· It will be one of the strongest and most played classes this season, and more play options open up as your gear improves.

· The Samurai's early leveling might feel a bit odd, so it's not recommended for new players.
· 'Explosive Kunai' is an Arcane spell that scales with attack speed, and this season, items specifically designed for this ability have been added, making it a true powerhouse in the endgame.
· You move very quickly with 'Empire Slash,' throwing massive exploding kunai everywhere to clear enemies and deal immense damage.
· It's a cool, stylish, fun, and very unique class.
· Kunai are expected to have the highest damage scaling potential in the late game, making it an excellent starter.
· From level 40 onwards, it starts clearing everything and is very good for progressing through Nightmare difficulty.

· If you're a new player, I recommend Pirate, Paladin, Demon Spawn, Illusionist, and Jotunn. These are very solid classes, and you won't regret them.
· If you need build guides, you can refer to Graxy's channel, my channel, Benderden's channel for Paladin, or ask in the class Discord.
· This season, all classes are good, and it's more important to choose based on your personal preference and fun rather than a specific S-tier class.