New Player

Hi everyone, I just got the game and will be playing for the first time this weekend. Does anyone have a great beginner class or build that is easy and they can recommend?

I would recommend watching streamers or videos on YouTube

Zizaran

Makes great beginner videos I would start there

Generally, ranged builds are easier than melee builds. But it totally depends on what playstyle you like most.
Zizaran is definitely a good starting point, and I would also recommend Ghazzy. He specialized in minion builds, they are always easy to play.

Have fun!

Depending on your experience with ARPGs, the game can be pretty difficult, so can expect to die quite a few times. Dying during the campaign doesn't really set you back at all though. Unless you were playing HC, of course.

Typically ranged builds do similar or higher damage than melee builds, while having the added benefit of not needing to be so close to enemies. But basically all builds can work you through the campaign.

The skills you use tend to matter more than your class, at least during most of the campaign. Skills require a specific weapon for the most part and all classes can use all weapons.

At the moment, Mace is easily the weakest. And well it's quite weak enough that it can honestly be a bit of a struggle for brand new players.

Druid and its associated Primal skills are pretty good. As you go, grab armor pieces that have Armor and Energy Shield (ES) or just ES. Many of the skills are usable, you can spam Shred which is the default attack of the werewolf shapeshifting form. Try out Lunar Assault and then when Lunar Assault freezes an enemy, Furious Slam. Then grab the Savage Fury buff when you get your first spirit gem about half way into Act 1 (assuming you are playing SC, which most players are).

Ranger (and then Pathfinder when you get your first Ascendancy) with Bow skills is pretty nice atm. You might want to start with Lightning Arrow and maybe Lightning Rod. Then you can go Poisonburst Arrow at some point and later combine with Toxic Growth. If you go for Poisonburst Arrow, as you level, just grab the "Vile Wounds" and "Clean Shot" notable passive nodes (pretty close to where you start your leveling in the passive tree; passive tree being the thingy with the nodes you unlock as you level) and then go towards Stacking Toxins and Lasting Toxins.

Sorceress is pretty nice and easy enough. Basically go Spark and Orb of Storms. Drop down Orb of Storms on bosses and tankier rares, then Spark away. Can add Frost Bomb on bosses. Start with the spell damage nodes when leveling, then grab Practiced Signs, Dampening Shield, and go towards Potent Incantantion. Get Efficient Casting if mana is constantly a big problem.

I don't know if I really would recommend following a guide to the letter on your first playthroughs. Some of them get pretty OP when done correctly and that can also make your first playthrough less interesting, but up to you. One source for starter builds with varying quality is: Mobalytics league starter builds

And as a few small tips:
For attack damage, which is pretty much everything that is associated with martial weapons (mace, bow, quarterstaff, crossbow, spear, half of the primal skills), you want to focus mainly on flat damage from your weapon, rings and gloves. Flat damage is e.g. "adds 2 to 4 physical damage to attacks".
For spell damage, you want x% increased spell damage, or if you use elemental skills, x% increased elemental damage etc. And on your weapon (which would be a wand or a staff) and your Focus (which is a shield that gives ES rather than Armor), the +x to level of spell skills is very strong, generally.
Strength nodes give life, so unless you have a particular reason to get intelligence or dexterity nodes - usually due to your gear requirements or skill gem requirements, sometimes mana requirements - can as well take strength really.
The campaign is very doable on a Life-only build without Energy Shield, but then it needs to be Life + Armor. I'd say that generally speaking ES is easier, since you just get quite a lot quite easily from gear and from the passive tree while leveling up. Don't go Life + Evasion, that's a disaster.
Movement speed on boots is really nice.
Respeccing during the campaign is not particularly expensive and mistakes aren't very costly overall, so you don't have to fret about making mistakes in your build.