Diablo 4's damage-stealing Caged Heart of the Barber is ruining everyone's day

Diablo 4
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4 players reckon the Barber is completely ruining the game.

No, this isn't the sort of barber that cuts your hair, but it's the sort of barber that will apparently cut down your enjoyment of Diablo 4. That's according to dozens of players, at least, all of which believe the notorious Caged Heart of the Barber, introduced with Diablo 4 Season 1, brings a number of problems to Blizzard's game.

Take the post just below, for example. The player in question quite literally proves, on screen for everyone to see, that the Malignant Barber Heart is causing massive damage loss for anyone who equips it. This would appear to be a bug, but right now we don't have confirmation from Blizzard that that's the case.

The Barber causing massive dps loss from r/Diablo

Elsewhere, another player alleges the Barber Heart ruins the experience of other players as well. What's going on here is that the Barber Heart sucks up the damage of other players nearby, before dealing it all back out in one massive attack. Diablo 4 players aren't necessarily happy with having their damage hoovered up by another player, regardless of whether it results in a big payoff.

Hot take: Barber ruins other players experience from r/diablo4

The post below is another great example of how the Barber is stealing damage - but this time for an entire team of players. One comment notes that because damage from sources like poison is nerfed with the Barber active, Rogues are basically "shooting themselves in the foot" with the Barber. Those poor Rogues really do have a rough time of it.

Barber absolutely IS stealing damage when in party, not just numbers from r/Diablo

Everyone really, really hates the Barber Heart right now, and it's just another in a very long line of complaints Diablo 4 players have about the state of the game right now. Blizzard might've already held a broadcast to address criticisms late last month, but they'll need to be on the ball with fixing issues like these to appease the ever-restless player base.

There's good news elsewhere though: Diablo 4 is finally buffing its weakest classes, with the Sorcerer and Barbarian set to get huge boosts for skills and items.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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