Diablo 4 brought the spiteful hearts to the action RPG with Season 1. One of the new items is truly evil, because other players can use it to steal your damage.
Season 1 of Diablo 4 has started and has added a new special game mechanic to the action RPG with the 32 spiteful hearts. But one of these hearts is currently reaping a lot of attention from the players, because your fellow combatants are using it to steal the damage.
What is this item? Wicked hearts are new items that you can use like gemstones in the matching sockets on your rings and amulets, and they then give you special effects.
The spiteful heart that’s causing a stir among players is called the “Barber” and can be equipped by any class.
Barber absorbs critical hits and all damage you deal to an enemy over a period of time (2.0 to 4.0 seconds). After the time expires, the heart discharges, dealing the absorbed damage to the target and nearby enemies, increasing by 10% per second.
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How do players steal your damage with the item? If you play cooperatively with a player who has the Vicious Heart Barber equipped, that player will steal your damage from you. This is also reported by some users on Reddit.
During the damage absorbing period, you won’t see any damage numbers – instead, a disappointing “immune” lettering will appear. This is because Barber not only absorbs the damage of the player who equipped the item, but also the damage of his fellow players.
When the absorbed damage then discharges, the barber wearer is happy about dizzyingly high damage – all other players in the fight get nothing. Your damage isn’t gone, you just don’t see it. The barber carrier stole it (via Reddit).
Does the item also have disadvantages? The players have not yet agreed on this. On Reddit, a few users write that Barber can disrupt the effects of abilities such as Hunter’s Inner Eye. That would ruin certain builds.
The Diablo expert and YouTuber “MacroBioBoi” took a closer look at Barbier and found no effects on individual effects in the test (via YouTube).
According to MacroBioBoi, the Necromancer’s Drain Vitality and Frayed Flesh abilities both triggered their effects while Barber absorbed the damage. Drain Vitality requires a hit, and Frayed Flesh requires damage.
Whether barber can therefore have a negative impact on your builds or the builds of your fellow campaigners has not yet been fully clarified.
Since you cannot decide against playing together with other players in certain areas or with world bosses, it is inevitable that you will meet other players with the barber in certain situations – this may well displease one or the other player.
Another crazy item that all classes can equip is the Fists of Destiny:
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