I take a slightly different approach:
I donāt have a problem with the core damage formula in Diablo 4. The real issue is how Blizzard keeps introducing multipliers that stack too effectively without broadening the base stats they multiply. This leads to massive scaling potential being funneled through only a handful of additive values, which limits build diversity.
Right now, the meta revolves around additive stats like:
- Critical Strike Damage ##%
- Overpower Damage ##%
- All Damage ##% (represented as Damage ##% (x))
- Ultimate Skill Damage ##%
- Basic Skill Damage ##%
- āDamage to [Crowd Control Type]ā ##%
Each of these exists directly in the character stat sheet as an additive damage type, which can then be amplified through multiplicative effectsāthatās where the real scaling comes from.
To be clear:
When you have three different effects that say ā##%(x)ā for Critical Strike Damage, those are multipliers stacking onto your additive Critical Strike Damage stat. You can test this in-game: stack additive Critical Strike Damage on your paragon board, and youāll see it increase linearly on your stat sheet. Then apply multiple multiplicative sources (like aspects or passives), and youāll see your actual output scale exponentiallyāespecially as you invest more into that additive base.
This is the core gameplay loop for build scaling. You arenāt just increasing your raw skill powerāyouāre:
- Choosing an additive stat to focus on (e.g. All Damage, Poisoning Damage, Crit Damage).
- Stacking multipliers that specifically affect that stat.
- Using skills that utilize that additive type and apply damage at 100%+ base effectiveness (usually attained through ranks to a skill).
Hereās how this looks in practice:
- Inner Calm Aspect multiplies your āAll Damageā +% while standing still.
- Ring of Starless Skies also multiplies āAll Damageā +%, based on resource spent.
- Vehement Brawlerās Aspect applies yet another multiplicative effect to āAll Damageā when you cast your Ultimate.
These aspects all interact with the same additive statāāAll Damageāāwhich is clearly visible in your character sheet. Stack them together and you get extreme scaling, even with minimal gear. This is the foundation of how optimized builds work. In fact, many are not limitted to scaling only the āAll Damage ##%ā stat.
Another example:
- Serration
- Ossified Essence
- The Grandfather
All offer Critical Strike Damage multipliers, but those only matter if youāve already stacked additive Critical Strike Damage +% from your gear and glyphs. Without the base stat, the multipliers donāt scale hardly anything.
Skill tooltips help clarify this:
- Poison Trap ā ###% Poisoning Damage ā scales with Poisoning Damage additive.
- Bone Prison ā ###% Damage ā generic, uses All Damage additive.
So when people ask why some builds scale better or ābreakā the game, itās not just about broken aspectsāitās because a few additive stats are massively amplified by too many compounding multipliers, and the game gives you plenty of tools to stack them.
Rather than calling for global nerfs or damage caps, a smarter approach would be to:
- Introduce more additive stat types tied to specific playstyles or skills.
- Design more multipliers that interact with underused additive types (e.g., Thorns, Fortify, DoT).
- Avoid concentrating the entire gameās scaling potential through just a few additive stats like āAll Damageā and āCritical Strike Damage.ā
That would expand viable build diversity and reduce the need to nerf everything that starts hitting too hard. The problem isnāt scalingāitās where the scaling is allowed to occur, and how narrowly itās focused.
