As Diablo 4 nears the launch of Season 1, players are working through the endgame, hitting the level cap and completing some of the game’s toughest challenges. But for some, that is not enough. For some, the ultimate challenge is hitting enemies for billions of points of damage just five weeks after launch.
Last week, Diablo 4 streamer Moxsy hit the highest damage ever in-game: 957,957,504.
HIGHEST DAMAGE EVER HIT IN DIABLO 4!!!! @PaulTassi #Diablo4 @Diablo pic.twitter.com/TmM3D7uGsu
— Moxsy (@MoxsyOG) July 8, 2023
But it didn’t take long for Moxsy to break through the billion barrier with an incredible 1.8 billion hit.
1.8 BILLION DAMAGE HIT HOLY SH*&% #Diablo4 pic.twitter.com/ceIfuHyReB
— Moxsy (@MoxsyOG) July 8, 2023
Since then, a Diablo 4 YouTuber called Echohack posted a screenshot showing a 2.1 billion hit.
Hmmm 🤔 two billion? Boiler over here breaking Diablo 4 entirely pic.twitter.com/E8csqruZpK
— Echohack (@echohack) July 10, 2023
These astronomical damage numbers are beyond what the vast majority of Diablo 4 characters are currently capable of, and make the game’s toughest elite enemies evaporate in the blink of an eye. So, what’s going on here?
Moxsy is using a Druid Werewolf build dubbed “LIGHTNING SHRED 2.0,” that lets the character infinitely teleport to its enemies and make them “vulnerable”. It’s worth pointing out the importance of the Stormclaw aspect for this build. This deals additional lightning damage to the target and surrounding enemies on critical strikes with the Shred skill. Stormclaw scales the lightning damage in a way that appears beyond the boundaries Diablo 4 has established via what’s called “double dip” damage. Moxsy explains what’s happening in more detail in a video.
With hits in the billions now hitting the headlines, all eyes will be on Blizzard to see if it considers this sort of damage output expected gameplay or broken in a way that requires a nerf or fundamental change that limits double dip damage. Meanwhile, Diablo 4 players are enjoying watching the race to 3 billion.
Feeling burnt out by Diablo 4? Blizzard has told players who have reached all their goals that it’s fine to take a break from the game ahead of the launch of Season 1, dubbed Season of the Malignant, on July 20. If you’re still playing, check out our interactive Diablo 4 map to start tracking your progress as you play.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].