Followers are one of the first things I notice new players are ignoring when they first play the game. In Diablo 2 followers were mostly unnecessary but in Diablo 3 they are extremely helpful as they deal damage, stun and snare enemies, offer buffs and even heal you. So the question that comes to most players mind is which follower is the best for my class? So let’s take a look.

Honestly you’re probably not going to depend on your follower to do a significant amount of damage. While leveling through Hell your follower might do 150-300 dps while you’re pumping out 5,000-10,000. On the other hand, if you’re a range class you might appreciate stuns, snares and tanking while if you’re a melee class you might appreciate added defensive auras or knockbacks. In either case you might like extra heals or extra damage buffs. Here are the notable passive abilities of each follower:

Enchantress

Powered Armor – Increases allies’ Armor by 15% + 30% snare to attackers.

Focused Mind – Increases allies’ Attack Speed by 3%.

Scoundrel

Anatomy – Increases allies’ Critical Hit Chance by 3%.

Hysteria – Increases allies’ Damage by 10% for 3 seconds after they crit. (You can only choose one: Anatomy or Hysteria)

Templar

Loyalty – Increases allies’ Life Regeneration by 155 Life per Second.

Inspire  - Increases allies’ Resource Regeneration, Mana: 2 per second, Arcane Power: 0.5 per second, Hatred: 1 per second, Fury: 8% generated, Spirit: 12% generated.

So the Enchantress offers 15% armor and 3% attack speed, the Scoundrel offers either 3% crit or a 10% damage buff after crits and the Templar offers 155 Life per Second and additional resource regeneration. But those are just passives. After leveling several characters to 60 I’ve noticed that knockbacks, snares, stuns and other disorienting effects can save your life. Here is a list of these notable abilities:

Enchantress

Charm – Tricks an enemy to fight for you for 4 seconds (25 second cooldown)

Forced Push – AoE Knockback (10 second cooldown)

Reflect Missiles – Reflects incoming projectiles for 5 seconds (20 second cooldown)

Disorient – AoE disorientation, lasts 2 seconds (45 second cooldown)

Mass Control – AoE hex, lasts 5 seconds (60 second cooldown)

Scoundrel

Crippling Shot – 60% snare, lasts 3 seconds (6 second cooldown)

Dirty Fighting – Frontal-AoE disorient, lasts 3 seconds (30 second cooldown)

Powered Shot – AoE chance to stun, lasts 2 seconds (30 second cooldown)

Templar

Intimidate – 60% snare to all attackers, lasts 3 seconds.

Guardian - AoE knockback + heal (30 second cooldown)

Intervene - 3 second taunt (60 second cooldown)

While the Scoundrel might offer the most damage dealing abilities and buffs, the Enchantress offers the most crowd control through hex, disorientation, reflect missiles and charm. The Templar is the only follower who heals while he also offers beneficial health and resource regeneration.

Each class will, at times, need all of these three abilities. Don’t stick with one follower but instead use the one that offers the most benefit for the situation you’re in.

Important: Many of the strategies and tips I share here were originally inspired by the people at the Diablo 3 Gold Secrets Forum. If you're serious about making the big bucks in Diablo 3, or just being the best players, you need to signup ASAP.