Diablo 4's strongest builds are being nerfed in the name of increasing build variety: 'Our goal is not to make you weaker'

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Since launch, Diablo 4's strongest builds have been fueled by the exceptional power of multiplying two damage stats together to get a really, really big number when you hit an enemy. In season 2, the math will work differently, resulting in lower damage numbers, but a wider range of possibilities for your build, Blizzard announced during its Campfire Chat stream today.

Look up any Diablo 4 build guide and you'll be told to take every skill and item that increases your Critical Strike Damage and Vulnerable Damage. Both of these percentages—which could be as high as 150 or more—would multiply with each other and rocket your damage numbers up, letting some classes hit bosses for millions of points of damage.

In a patch alongside the beginning of the Season of Blood on October 17, your bonus Critical Strike Damage and Vulnerable Damage will be added together and then multiplied by a set percentage for each stat. Your Critical Strikes will always multiply your damage by 50% and hitting Vulnerable-afflicted enemies will always multiply your damage by 20%. So, instead of the absurdly high numbers you'd get before, the total amount caps out at 80% (1.5 x 1.2).

This change significantly reduces the grip that builds focusing on both of these stats had on the game while, if it all works out, still maintaining a strong incentive to combine them when it suits your desired playstyle. And, like the recent list of excellent quality of life changes, should ideally add much-needed variety to the game.

«Our goal is not to make you weaker, it's to make everything have more parity, and we're going