There are tons of stats to keep track of in Diablo 4, and some of them don’t have a great explanation on the surface as you scroll through your equipment. Thorns are one of the many stats that can have a significant effect if you know how to utilize them, and I’m here to explain how they work on your armor. Here’s how Thorns work in Diablo 4.
What are Thorns in Diablo 4?
Thorns are used to reflect damage back at enemies in Diablo 4. When an enemy hits you with any damage, thorns will automatically reflect a percentage of it back at them. It’s a passive way to deal some small doses of damage by simply getting hit, and I tend to use Thorns in elixirs or as a secondary stat for my rogue. It’s a great way to make use of close-quarter fights.
On squishy characters, Thorns are less useful because it doesn’t provide mitigation. Most of the damage from the enemy will still hit your character. Considering I play a Rogue character, I need to avoid damage, not take it and reflect it back. For squishy characters, you want to focus on base armor.
Related: How to Get More Paragon Boards in Diablo 4
Classes that can truly utilize Thorns to their full potential in Diablo 4 are the Druid and the Barbarian. Both of these classes are designed to be bruisers and soak up damage as they clobber enemies. So having Aspects based on Thorns or armor that has secondary stats with reflect damage can improve the overall DPS. Otherwise, this stat is a waste of a slot for most other builds, and pure defense is a better choice in general.
One great stat you can focus on instead of Thorns in Diablo 4 is the Barrier. These are a fantastic way to soak damage as a squishy character. We also have a great guide on how to utilize Barrier Regeneration if you want to try it out in your own build.
Best Aspect or Item for Thorns in Diablo 4
If you’re a player that wants to use Thorns in their build, then there is no better item to have than the Razorplate chest armor. This Unique armor can be incredibly be tough to find, but it gives you a flat increase in Thorns damage with no strings attached.
The increase in damage can be significant to a defensive build. However, it’s going to take plenty of luck getting the exact unique armor piece that you need. Luckily, the item is global rather than class-based in Diablo 4.
