Diablo 4 is temporarily disabling yet another Barbarian Legendary Aspect, prompting many players to voice their frustration as a response. Despite a series of nerfs at launch, the Barbarian class in Diablo 4 seems to have no shortage of game-changing builds, as Blizzard is forced to outright disable some of its Legendary powers to prevent the abuse. Though Season 1 will only kick off in mid-July, the launch of Diablo 4 has been a frustrating experience for many, as players continue to be upset over the spontaneous shutdowns of Diablo 4’s global servers.
Shortly after Blizzard disabled the Edgemaster Legendary Aspect in Diablo 4, another Aspect posed a problem to the endgame balance. Though Edgemaster wasn’t necessarily overpowered by itself, its unique interaction with Whirlwind is what made the power so game-breaking. It was a known issue since the first open beta, which is why many players are surprised Blizzard only chose to address it now.
The new culprit that had to be disabled was Berserk Ripping, and it very obviously comes at the heel of Rob, a Diablo 4 streamer, demolishing the Diablo 4 Pinnacle Boss in seconds using the Legendary Aspect. Though it’s certainly no fun for players to outright lose a cornerstone of their build, being able to take down the hardest challenge in Diablo 4 with ease is likely not what the developers had in mind. That being said, there is an argument to be made that proper balance should be less urgent in a pre-Seasonal phase of the game, as currently there are no Seasons in Diablo 4 to compete in.
As Diablo 4 continues to break Blizzard records, the commercial success of the game speaks to the continued popularity of the Diablo franchise among hack-and-slash fans. These players are currently going through the campaign, and preparing to ascend the World Tiers in Diablo 4 all the way to the Pinnacle Boss. Though many have already reached endgame, enough to feel slighted that some of their Legendary items no longer work, the vast majority of players are slowly assembling their builds in the vast open world of Diablo 4.
Hopefully, Barbarian players using a Whirlwind build will be able to come up with a new strategy that doesn’t rely on Edgemaster to clear difficult content, as much as Bleed builds will have to adapt to an existence beyond Berserk Ripping. Despite having their strongest toys taken away, these builds will likely remain a staple for the Barbarian class, as Diablo 4 continues to evolve in this early, volatile stage of the game.
Diablo 4 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
