How Does Vulnerable Work in Diablo 4?

Diablo 4 features an overwhelming amount of status ailments that you can inflict on other enemies to maximize damage. Similarly, enemies can inflict those same ailments on you to take you down. 

If you're new to the Diablo franchise, you may get overwhelmed by all the different status effects that pop on the screen every now and then. Vulnerable is one such offensive status ailment that is very important to understand since you will be dealing with a lot. As such, here's our guide, which explains how Vulnerable works in Diablo 4. 

Update on 18 July 2023: We've updated this article to reflect that latest details about the Vulnerable debuff in Diablo 4.

Diablo 4 Vulnerable Effect Explained

Simply put, Vulnerable enemies in Diablo 4 take extra damage. Additionally, enemies under the effect of Vulnerable also deal less damage. 

To apply the Vulnerable effect on enemies, you must use the weapons, skills, and Legendary Aspects that inflict this effect. The item stats description should tell you if it can make an enemy Vulnerable or not.

The base Vulnerable damage is 20%, but you can increase the damage output by equipping certain Aspects. Keep in mind that some Aspects only increase the damage dealt to Vulnerable enemies but do not apply the Vulnerable effect, so make sure you have something equipped to make enemies Vulnerable first. 

When the Vulnerable effect is applied, the enemies' health appears purple, so you would know which enemy to focus on when that happens. Similarly, when your character is Vulnerable, its health orb will start to crack. When that happens, make sure to distance yourself from the enemies.

You can check the amount of Vulnerable damage your character is currently inflicting by going to the Character menu and selecting the Stats & Menu section. Here, under the Offensive column, you can view the exact percentage of Vulnerable Damage your current build can deal. You can also click on individual gear pieces to check if they offer any Vulnerability bonuses.

That's everything you need to know about the Vulnerable status effect in Diablo 4. 

For more Diablo 4, be sure to check out our dedicated section or some of our Guides & Tutorials just below:

Our section keeps growing, so check for new guides daily! Don't forget to pick up one of the Diablo 4 Editions and join the fight to save Sanctuary soon.