Diablo 4 Barbarian Getting Buffed

Following the early access beta of Diablo 4, Blizzard carefully considered player criticism of the Barbarian's early game performance and will make adjustments. Balance changes often come fast and furious during public and closed betas, and Blizzard's Diablo 4 seems to be no exception.

Blizzard's next action RPG, Diablo 4, is set to release on June 6, 2023, and it remains one of the most anticipated titles of the year. Fans of the series' hack-and-slash loot-centric gameplay have been craving a new mainline entry for more than a decade since Diablo 3's original launch, and the wait won't be long. An early access beta was available for players who pre-ordered the game or ordered a double sandwich during the KFC promotion between March 15th and 19th, and an open beta for all players will launch on March 24th and run through the 26th.

During Diablo 4's early access testing, one prominent area of criticism revolved around the performance of the Barbarian class at low levels, an issue Blizzard quickly addressed by announcing in a recent interview that it would be buffing the class before the game began emission. While sorceresses and rogues can slice through large swathes of enemies with ease, barbarians, as a melee-focused class, struggle to catch larger groups of mobs and eliminate them in time. The more impressive world and dungeon bosses also prove to be more challenging for barbarians than other classes, and for those who have to get in close to deal damage, onslaughts are almost inevitable. Blizzard's quick response bodes well for its commitment to making Diablo 4 a worthy successor to its predecessor's genre-defining honors.

More than 1 million players have logged into the early access beta of Diablo 4, and many more are expected to experience the public beta, which begins on March 24. Blizzard recently announced that the Druid and Necromancer classes will be available during the open beta, but there's no indication yet if the level cap of 25 will be raised, or if players will be able to explore beyond the game's first act. There's also no hint as to whether these new barbarian buffs will show up in time for the open beta, or if they're just planned for the game's June release.

For major Barbarian players everywhere, the buffs Blizzard announced in Diablo 4 came as a sigh of relief. Players at other levels share this sentiment, as lightning-quick response times bode well for a company committed to making Diablo 4 as perfect as possible ahead of its June 6 release.

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