How Does Barrier Generation Work in Diablo 4?

Diablo 4 may look like a simple RPG on the surface, but it packs several complex mechanisms when you start exploring your capabilities. There are numerous skills and stats that affect your gameplay experience. While the game takes its time to explain most attributes, some questions still remain a source of confusion for most players. For instance, the game introduces the Barrier Generation skill early on in the game.

However, the information you get isn’t enough to completely grasp its concept. It sounds easy, learn the skill, upgrade it, and you will become immune whenever you activate it during a fight. Still, you don’t get the information about how long it will remain active or how you can improve it. So, if you are eager to know about how Barrier Generation works in Diablo 4, you are in the right place.

What is Barrier Generation in Diablo 4?

Barrier refers to a secondary shield in Diablo 4. You can get a blue shield around your character by activating a skill that generates a barrier. This Barrier will act as a protective shield that makes you immune to all sorts of attacks for a limited duration. So, you will lose your immunity as soon as the timer runs out. In other words, the ability to forge a protective shield, aka a Barrier, around your character by using various skills, Aspects, and items is known as Barrier Generation.

How to use Barrier Generation?

Now that you understand the basic concept, the next step is to learn how to use the Barrier Generation mechanism in Diablo 4. Fortunately, it isn’t as complex as some of you might think. All you need to do is to acquire the power and use it during a battle to cast a Barrier around your character. Now, different classes in Diablo 4 have different forms of Barrier Generation. So, if your character build is based on a specific class, you must acquire the skill for the respective category. Here’s a list of all skills that provide Barrier Generation for different classes:

Druid Skills:

• Earthen Bulwark
• Innate Earthen Bulwark

Barbarian Skills:

• Iron Skin

Sorceress Skills:

• ice armor
• icy veil
• Mystical Ice Armor
• Prime Deep Freeze
• Protection

Aspects for Barrier Generation:

While most classes in Diablo 4 have their own form of Barrier Generation, some are still left unattended. For instance, there are no unique skills for Necromancers and Rogue players. Maybe these classes will receive their own skills in future updates. For now, you must rely on either class-specific or generic Aspects to use the Barrier Generation. Here’s a list of all Aspects that promote Barrier Generation:

Druid Aspect:

• Aspect of Mending Stone

Necromancer Aspect:

• Aspect of Shielding Storm

Rogue Aspect:

• Snap Frozen Aspect

How to upgrade Barrier Generation?

Now that you have picked the right skill or aspect to support Barrier Generation for your class, the next step is to improve your shield. In this regard, there are two main things to keep in mind. Firstly, you will need to improve the hit score of your Barrier by combining skills and aspects or by wearing a fortified armor set. Usually, the third option is the most preferable one, as you don’t need to activate your shield skill every time.

Secondly, Barrier Generation in Diablo 4 has an additive nature. In other words, when you use 2 skills that generate a barrier, rather than getting 2 shields, the damage score is added. For example, if your first shield has a score of 200 and you activate another barrier of 200 score. In this case, you won’t get two separate shields. Instead, you will get a single Barrier with a 400 damage score. However, each Barrier will last for its own duration. So, if the first one lasts for 3 seconds and the second one for 5 seconds, you will be left with only 200 shield for the last 2 seconds.

Role of Gems:

Gems are extremely important when it comes to Barrier Generation in the game. Though it isn’t obvious from the start, the game only tells you to place a Diamond Gem in the gear socket. However, in reality, adding different types of Diamond Gems in your gear sockets can improve your Barrier’s hit score, the duration of the shield, and even the Barrier Regeneration (the cooldown timer). Moreover, these gems also increase your chances of getting a Barrier from lucky and critical strikes. In some cases, adding a Diamond Gem to the right armor can boost your Barrier Generation by up to 5%.

Conclusion:

To sum it up, Barrier Generation is a crucial element for almost every fighting strategy in Diablo 4. You can use different skills, items, and aspects to form a barrier (shield) for a short duration. During this time, your character will be immune to most attacks. Furthermore, you can also improve your Barrier Generation by combining skills and aspects and placing Diamond Gems in your gear sockets. Hopefully, this article has answered all your questions about Barrier Generation and how it works in Diablo 4.