Diablo 4players aren’t happy with the Vulnerable status effect, believing the game’s itemization would be better off without it. As opposed to the conventional value of investing in Critical Strike stats,Diablo 4has several “buckets” for players to chase, and Vulnerable Damage is the biggest and most important bucket by far. ThoughDiablo 4has issues with its itemizationthat go beyond the Vulnerable attribute, its effects trickle down and affect other aspects of the game such as player builds.
As it stands, all fiveDiablo 4classes benefit tremendously from having a bonus to Vulnerable damage. However, not all abilities (or builds) can reliably produce the Vulnerable status effect on enemies.Sorcerers inDiablo 4immensely strugglein this regard, as Ice spells are the sole Vulnerable generators for the entire class, forcing even Lighting and Fire-based Sorcerers to invest and rely on Frost Nova to deal any reasonable amount of damage.
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The dislike for Vulnerable Damage has gotten so high that TheTrueAlCapwn submitted a thread on theDiablo 4subreddit, and was met with near-universal support calling for their removal. Whereas Critical Strike and Attack Speed are still valuable inDiablo 4, the big advantage they have over Vulnerable Damage is that they’re universal (as opposed to situational), and their effect on a build extends beyond being just a numbers boost. By contrast, many players consider Vulnerable to be a boring stat, as it seems to solely dictate the viability of one’s gear.
One of the comments posted by mtv921 depicts Vulnerable as a much more interesting attribute, where instead of providing a huge damage increase, it would provide different bonuses for eachDiablo 4class. Sorcerers could have a high Lucky Hit Chance versus Vulnerable enemies, Rogues could have Armor Penetration, and Barbarians could have Damage Reduction or Thorns. Compared to the more inspired aspects ofDiablo 4’s combat, Vulnerable Damage sticks out like a sore thumb, and the community doesn’t feel it’s good enough to justify its existence.
Build diversity has been one of the biggest strengths ofReaper of Soulsin recent years, and so long as Vulnerable Damage continues to pigeonhole players into certain skills,Diablo 4classes will struggle to offer the same level of variety. The ability to guarantee the Vulnerable status on enemies trivializes the other spells of their category, as seems to be the case with Bone Spear for Necromancer and Puncture for Rogues. ThoughSeason of the Malignant inDiablo 4will not fix the issues that players have with Vulnerable Damage, the developers have shown a willingness to listen to the community. Fans can hope that their feedback will be heard sooner or later.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
