Does Diablo 4 Season 8 solve the problem of Barbarian core skills not being "cool"?

During the 2.2.0 PTR Campfire Chat, the developers discussed numerous changes to come regarding the classes in Diablo 4. Almost every class is looking at a significant overhaul to their skills and passives. In the case of the Barbarian, it was noted that there has been a lot of feedback regarding how this class works.

While efforts were made in the past to make Barbarian skills look more flashy, I would agree that Barbarians don't hit hard enough. Rather, it requires multiple items to finally feel like a “Barbarian.” Colin Finer, Design Director of Diablo 4, explained during the 2.2.0 PTR Campfire chat (1:23:10),

"Your core skill is not the cool thing, it’s the thing that the core skill spawns."

Here the "cool" factor is the feeling of swinging around a large weapon and wiping out multiple enemies at a time. Rather than the effect of the attack skill that deals the damage.

This article specifically discusses the Barbarian class, which has received increased damage buffs in multiple skills. Along with updated skill effects, the barbarian class will also get new items, just like the other classes.

Diablo 4 devs want to add more "physicality" to Barbarians

Skills like Whirlwind, Mighty Throw, Steel Grasp, Power Charge, Double Swing, and Ground Stomp are getting considerable overhauls.

As far as physicality goes, it is the one quality barbarians have. They can wipe out screens full of enemies in a single strike, though it requires some itemisation. During the Campfire Chat, Diablo 4 developer Charles Dunn made it clear that they are looking into making Barbarians feel more powerful in the upcoming season during the PTR Campfire Chat (1:23:18),

“We want to make sure we're also catering to that you know heavy hitter kind of fantasy. So a lot of the updates in this season are focused around that."

The Season 8 2.2.0 PTR patch notes bring in promises of massive gameplay changes toward Whirlwind, Double Swing, Mighty Throw skills, etc. Most of which received significant changes, specifically toward how powerful they feel now.

Whirlwind

Previously: Rapidly attack surrounding enemies for 24.27% [x] damage
Now: Rapidly attack surrounding enemies for 32.5% [x] damage

Violent Whirlwind

Previously: After using Whirlwind for two seconds, Whirlwind deals 35% increased damage until it is cancelled.
Now: Channelling Whirlwind for two seconds increases the damage for your next Weapon Mastery Skill by 35% if used immediately after Whirlwind ends.

Gohr’s Devastating Grips Unique Gloves

updated Gohr's Devastating Grip (image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Previously: Whirlwind explodes every two seconds, and after it ends, dealing up to 80% of the Base damage dealt to surrounding enemies as Fire damage.
Now: Whirlwind explodes every three seconds dealing up to 600% increased damage as Fire. Critical Strikes with Whirlwind reduce the time until the next evolution by 0.2 seconds down to one second.

This changes the whole playstyle with Whirlwind Barbarian. No more increased damage after using the Whirlwind skill; rather, it'll be used to prepare the buff for the next Weapon Mastery skill to be used after using Whirlwind for two seconds. Additionally, using Gohr’s Devastating Grips, it's possible to deal enormous amounts of damage while dealing fire damage to enemies.

Thus, Whirlwind could end up being a cool pairing with skills like Mighty Throw, which is also getting a massive overhaul.

Mighty Throw

Mighty Throw is getting a major buff towards multiplicative damage output through new items like the Bane of Ahjad-den, which lets Mighty Throw detonate every 12 seconds, dealing fire damage up to 600%, and Aspect of Delayed Extinctions, which allows Mighty Throw and Steel Grasp to gain a multiplicative damage buff instead of a cooldown from cooldown reduction to get up to 250% increased damage output.

Fighter’s Mighty Throw

Previously: Mighty Throw generates pulses, each extra pulse generated gives 5% of your max life as Barrier for five seconds.
Now: Mighty Throw generates 20% of your maximum life as Barrier for six seconds.

The updated stars Mighty Throw has immense promise to allow players to create a fun and powerful build to play with.

Fighter's Steel Grasp

Previously: If Steel Grasp damages an enemy, gain Berserking for two seconds.
Now: Steel Grasp's damage is increased by 400%, and if it damages an enemy, you gain Berserking for two seconds.

This being a massive damage boost will definitely be used by players more often now. The lower damage of this skill often felt wrong since it's a Barbarian skill; now with the 400% extra damage, it's perfect.

Other skill buffs and debuffs in Season 8 PTR:

Cooldown of Charge is increased from 4 to 6 against bosses.
Tactical Ground Stomp bonus is reduced from 900% to 100%; too much of a power-up allowing players to skip fundamental aspects of the game.

Did Blizzard end up keeping the promise of making the Barbarian "cool" again?

Yes, in terms of physical prowess, Barbarians have never been more powerful in Diablo 4 than they are now. The recent skill changes not only make them feel powerful but also genuinely enhance their strength. There’s a possibility that Season 8 will bring further adjustments to how certain skills work. But for now, I can confidently say Barbarians feel significantly stronger than in previous seasons of Diablo 4.

According to the Campfire chat on the Diablo official YouTube channel, the developers are more focused on lowering single-item power-ups, where you would get a massive upgrade in skill just after acquiring a single unique item.

Check out our other guides of Diablo 4:

Edited by Angad Sharma