With the ever-expanding arsenal of skills and abilities in Diablo 4, players are constantly looking for ways to maximize their damage output and dominate the battlefield. The recent introduction of the Belligerence passive skill for the Barbarian class offers just that—a potent tool to amplify your damage and maintain the relentless offensive pressure that the Barbarian is known for.
Belligerence is a new passive skill exclusive to the Barbarian class in Diablo 4. This skill is designed to enhance the Barbarian’s combat effectiveness by rewarding aggressive playstyles. When equipped, Belligerence allows the Barbarian to temporarily boost their damage output after successfully damaging an enemy with a Basic Skill.
Skill Breakdown:
To fully capitalize on the Belligerence passive, Barbarians should focus on consistently landing hits with their Basic Skills. Since the damage boost lasts for 4 seconds, players have a small window to unleash devastating attacks with their other abilities, making timing and skill rotation critical.
Tips for Effective Use:
Skill Synergy: Pair Belligerence with fast, low-cost Basic Skills like Bash or Frenzy to ensure the damage buff is activated frequently. Follow up with high-damage skills like Hammer of the Ancients or Whirlwind to maximize the benefit of the increased damage.
Cooldown Management: Since Belligerence only provides a temporary damage boost, managing your skill cooldowns is essential. Try to synchronize your most powerful attacks with the active period of Belligerence to deal maximum damage.
Gear Optimization: Consider equipping items or choosing skill enhancements that reduce the cost of Basic Skills or increase their effectiveness. This will help you maintain the Belligerence buff more consistently and ensure that you are always dealing increased damage.
Combat Flow: Belligerence encourages a fluid combat style, where you cycle between Basic Skills and more powerful abilities. This not only keeps the pressure on your enemies but also ensures that you’re taking full advantage of the passive skill’s damage boost.
Belligerence is a game-changer for Barbarian builds, especially those centered around sustained damage and aggressive playstyles. By offering a substantial damage increase with minimal investment, this passive skill allows Barbarians to dish out even more punishment in both PvE and PvP scenarios.
Build Considerations:
Frenzy Build: For Barbarians who favor speed and consistent attacks, Belligerence fits perfectly into a Frenzy build. With Frenzy’s rapid hits, you’ll constantly refresh the damage buff, making your sustained damage output extremely high.
Berserker Build: Combining Belligerence with skills that already increase damage, such as Berserker’s Wrath, can create a truly fearsome Barbarian. The stacking damage boosts can overwhelm enemies quickly, turning the Barbarian into an unstoppable force.
Whirlwind Build: While Whirlwind isn’t a Basic Skill, using a Basic Skill to trigger Belligerence before unleashing Whirlwind can significantly increase the damage dealt during the Whirlwind’s duration, making it an excellent opener in combat.
The Belligerence passive skill is a fantastic addition to the Barbarian’s toolkit in Diablo 4. By providing a straightforward yet powerful damage boost that rewards active and aggressive play, Belligerence can elevate any Barbarian build. Whether you’re charging into hordes of demons or dueling in PvP, this new skill ensures that Barbarians remain as formidable as ever.
As you venture through the dark and dangerous world of Sanctuary, consider incorporating Belligerence into your build. With the right strategy and skill combinations, you can harness this passive skill to unleash devastating damage and crush your enemies with the ferocity that only a Barbarian can muster.