Diablo 4 players 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 4 has several "buckets" for players to chase, and Vulnerable Damage is the biggest and most important bucket by far. Though Diablo 4 has issues with its itemization that go beyond the Vulnerable attribute, its effects trickle down and affect other aspects of the game such as player builds.
As it stands, all five Diablo 4 classes 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 in Diablo 4 immensely struggle in 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.
The dislike for Vulnerable Damage has gotten so high that TheTrueAlCapwn submitted a thread on the Diablo 4 subreddit, and was met with near-universal support calling for their removal. Whereas Critical Strike and Attack Speed are still valuable in Diablo 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 each Diablo 4 class. 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 of Diablo 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 of Reaper of Souls in recent years, and so long as Vulnerable Damage continues to pigeonhole players into certain skills, Diablo 4 classes 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. Though Season of the Malignant in Diablo 4 will 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 4 is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
