When designing the Barbarian, classical barbarian imagery was looked at along with the takes on the class from previous games. The arsenal system was added to reflect how, invariably, takes on the Barbarian in the past had always shown the class equipped with heavy weaponry (swords, axes, and polearms).
Barbarians unlock the Arsenal system automatically when they reach level 5. They get access to the expertise tab, that can be opened by pressing shift + C, which shows all different weapon types and their respective bonuses, when using them. They all start at level 1, and can be leveled up to level 10 by using them in battle.
A brutal, physical warrior, the Barbarian roams around the battlefield constantly, dishing heavy damage and wielding an array of powerful weapons with ease. With the Arsenal system, Barbarians can swap between different types of weapons, such as from a heavy two-handed mace to a pair of sharp, agile hand axes, depending on the situation, skill, and your player needs. The Arsenal can be composed out of two two-handed and two one-handed weapons, with affixes applying from all four at once, but only one or two at a time used to resolve attacks.
Barbarians are depicted as masters of Diablo weaponry, and the Arsenal system is a new mechanic designed to accentuate that. Instead of the mighty Weapons system of Diablo 3, players will use this passive ability that allows the Barbarian to have four weapons equipped at one time: two one-handed weapons and two two-handed weapons. While the Barbarian can only use up to two one-handed weapons or one two-handed weapon for each attack, the Arsenal system allows the Barbarian to swap between all the equipped weapons to use a specific tool for its particular purpose.
Barbarian skills can be assigned to each item in the Barbarian's Arsenal, which leads to a wide range of customizable options and approaches to battle. Because Barbarians carry four weapons at a time, they get more item affixes to give them boosts than other classes. There are several skills that specifically require a bludgeoning weapon, such as Maces, or slashing weapon, such as Swords. Some skills may require dual wielding or two-handed weapons. and using those skills will immediately swap the Arsenal to the most appropriate choices. This feature is intended to make the gameplay faster, less confusing, and overall more enjoyable for new and seasoned players.
The Arsenal system was added to reflect the way past iterations of the Barbarian were equipped with heavy weaponry. The class's implied weapon mastery will now be more effectively implemented in gameplay.
The Arsenal System is automatically available when you reach Level 5. Opening the Expertise tab (Shift + C) shows all the different weapon types and their bonuses when using them. They all start at Level 1, can be leveled up to 10 through battle, and scale linearly. Here is the complete list of all powers and bonuses:
Expertise | Rank 10 Power | Rank 10 Additional Bonus |
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1H Axe | {+5.0%} increased Critical Strike Chance against injured enemies. Double this amount when using two Axes. | Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a {55%} chance to grant {+0.6%} increased Attack Speed for {2} seconds. Double the Attack Speed bonus when using two Axes. |
1H Mace | {x10%} increased damage to Stunned enemies. Double this amount when using two Maces. | Lucky Hit: Up to a {10%} chance to gain Berserking for {1.50} seconds when you hit a Stunned enemy. Double this chance when using two Maces. |
1H Sword | Lucky Hit: Up to a {10%} chance to gain {5} Fury when hitting a Crowd Controlled enemy. Double this chance when using two Swords. | Killing a Crowd Controlled enemy grants {+15%} increased Attack Speed for {3} seconds. Double this amount for kills with two Swords. |
2H Axe | {x15.0%} increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. | {+10%} increased Critical Strike Chance against Vulnerable enemies. |
Polearm | {x10%} increased Lucky Hit Chance. | You deal {+10%} increased damage while Healthy. |
2H Sword | {+20%} of direct damage you deal is inflicted as Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. | You deal {x30%} increased Bleeding damage for {5} seconds after killing an enemy. |
2H Mace | Lucky Hit: Up to a {10%} chance to gain {2} Fury when hitting an enemy. Double the mount of Fury gained while Berserking. | You deal {x15%} increased Critical Strike Damage to Stunned and Vulnerable enemies while Berserking. |
The first order of business is to assign the weapon for your main damaging ability. Do this by opening the skills menu (S), hovering over the skill you’re using, and pressing down on the middle mouse button. Usually it is more important to pick a weapon based on it’s DPS / Attack Speed / Lucky Hit Chance, than the preferred Weapon Bonus you’d receive from the Arsenal System. In simple terms: consider the Arsenal System “a nice bonus” rather than something you’re making conscious decisions on. Once the weapons are assigned properly, you receive the corresponding Weapon Bonus. Notice that if you primarily use one skill to DPS, all other equipped weapons become stat sticks to boost your main weapons power!
Diablo 4 automatically tries to switch your assigned weapons when it thinks you’ve acquired a better one. During leveling, for the most part, it does a good job of picking the right one. Pay attention to this as you’re playing though!
Leveling up the Arsenal System is a natural process. As you pick up new weapons and battle monsters, the corresponding weapons you’re using gain experience. Getting up to Level 10 with all weapons is not very difficult, and can easily be done by even casual players. A few things to note:
In order to level up the Arsenal system, players have to use the corresponding Weapon type to level it up. It is a natural process that occurs as you play, given that the Barbarian switches Weapons on the fly and use diverse types. There are two important details that players will have to have in consideration regarding this.
Barbarians will be able to haul around four total weapons and swap between them dynamically at any time. You’ll also be able to assign specific weapons to different skills, allowing advanced players even greater depths of customization. Several skills specifically require the equipped weapon to be bludgeoning, such as Maces, or slashing, such as Swords; some skills may require Dual Wielding or Two-Handed weapons; using such a skill immediately swaps the Arsenal to the best fitting weapons.
Barbarian may bestow immunity to Crowd Control upon themselves or others, as well as other useful bonuses, via Shouts (working similarly to D2 and D3 skills of the same name).
Most Barbarian skills will only deal Physical damage, but the Barbarian has two distinct specializations, either at Red or Orange skills. Warlord (Red) skills and talents generally aim for defense, party bonuses, tactical damage, Bleeding and opportunity strikes, as well as Crowd Control; while Berserker (Orange) skills go for reckless offense, maximum damage output, self-buffs and speed.
As a Barbarian, each point of Strength increases the damage of their skills, while Willpower improves Fury generation, and Dexterity grants critical chance.
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