Arsenal System Guide and Best Technique Slot Choice

The Arsenal System is automatically unlocked after reaching level 5 with your Barbarian in Diablo 4 (D4). Read on to learn how to level up the Arsenal System, how the Arsenal System works, how to Assign Weapons to Skills, and what the best Technique Slots are!

All Barbarian Guides
Class Guide	Best Builds	Arsenal System

How to Unlock Arsenal System

Reach Level 5

The Arsenal System is automatically unlocked at level 5 where players can access their Expertise Tab that shows all different weapon types and their bonuses when using them.

Barbarian Leveling Guide and Best Skills

Unlock Technique Slot at Level 16

Players receive the quest Barbarian: Masters of Battle to unlock the Technique Slot at level 16, and it is located in Ked Bardu at the Dry Steppes area.

Barbarian: Masters of Battle Quest Walkthrough

How to Equip and Assign Weapons

Equip Weapons in the Inventory Tab

Players can equip the weapons they prefer in the inventory tab. You can an item's weapon type by hovering over the item and checking its information. Then, you can slot it onto your character's weapon slots.

Although, equipping a weapon does not mean it will be used for that skill. To do that, you must assign a weapon to be used for a specific skill.

How to Use Two-Handed Weapons

Assign a Weapon from The Skills Tab

Barbarians can assign a weapon to certain skills by going to the skills tab and hovering over a skill. An option to “Cycle Weapon” will appear under the skill description if it can utilize different weapon types. Simply press the corresponding button to change the weapon.

How to Use the Technique Slot

Technique Slot Summary
Increase Weapon Expertise Select Expertise in Expertise Tab Technique Slot Effect is Applied to All Weapons

Increase Weapon Expertise

To use the Technique Slot, you need to have at least one level of Expertise in any weapon. You can accumulate Expertise by dealing damage with your equipped weapon.

How to Switch Barbarian Weapons

Select Expertise in Expertise Tab

You can select an Expertise to put in your Technique Slot by clicking on it in the Expertise tab. You can quickly access this window by hitting Shift + C at the same time, provided you are using default keybinds.

PC Controller Support and Button Mapping

Technique Slot Effect is Applied to All Weapons

After picking an Expertise for your Technique Slot, its passive effects will now be applied to all attacks regardless of the weapon equipped. This is incredibly powerful if you want to switch builds and have racked up plenty of Expertise ranks for a certain weapon.

Switch Builds to Use Certain Weapon Passives

You can activate specific weapon effects, even if it is originally incompatible with your chosen Skill.

For example, Rend requires a slashing weapon, but you can gain the effects of 2-Handed Mace Expertise even if it is a blunt weapon, as long as you assign it to your Technique Slot.

Barbarian Skills

Best Weapon Expertise

Recommended Weapon Expertise

Weapon Expertise	Effects
Two-Handed Axe Expertise	・Deal 15% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. ・10% increased Critical Chance against Vulnerable Enemies.
Two-Handed Sword Expertise	・20% of direct damage you deal is inflicted as Bleeding Damage over 5 seconds. ・You deal 30% increased Bleeding Damage for 5 seconds after killing an enemy.

These are the best Weapon Expertise choices for Barbarians, as these give significant boosts to damage for almost any build.

Best Weapon to Assign for Each Skill

High DPS Weapon to Most Powerful Skill

It's best to assign your most powerful weapon to your most powerful skill, as the damage of the skill resonates from the damage output of the weapon.

Additionally, if you're only using one skill to deal damage (using your most powerful weapon), the stats of your other weapons apply to your main weapon as well (primary DPS skill).

Certain Skills Only Use Specific Weapon Types

The Barbarian's attacks are tied to certain weapon types such as a Bludgeoning Weapon, a Dual Wield weapon, or a Two-Handed weapon. Be sure to check the skill's required weapon to know which weapon type will be used by that specific skill.

Arsenal System and Technique Slot Explained

Allows Players to Assign a Weapon Type to a Skill

The main idea of the Arsenal System is to allow Barbarian users to assign a weapon type to certain Barbarian Skills aside from Ultimate Skills. This means that using your skills counts as “using” your weapons and contributes to that weapon's mastery.

Barbarian Class Guide: How to Play

Technique Slot Gives Buffs to All Weapons and Damage Skills

When players unlock the Technique Slot, they can assign a specific weapon type to grant its buffs to all of the other weapons. This means that its effects will be applied regardless of what weapon you use. Use this to synergize certain weapon effects with other skills!

Note that the Technique Slot does not stack with Arsenal Bonuses if you use the same weapon type in the Technique Slot which you already have equipped, so be sure to choose a type you don't have equipped.

All Weapon Arsenal Bonuses

Provides Bonuses for Each Weapon Type

The Arsenal System provides bonus stats for each weapon type depending on the weapon's rank. A weapon's rank can reach up to 10 with its bonuses scaling to the weapon's rank. After reaching rank 10 on a specific weapon, players unlock an additional stat bonus.

Use Weapons to Rank Up Expertise

Players can rank up each weapon type by using them in combat and hitting enemies. Note that weapon XP cannot be gained from and PvP kills, only hitting enemies in PvE instances counts towards ranking up your expertise.

How to Farm Expertise Quickly

Diablo 4 Related Guides

Beginner Guides and Best Tips for Getting Started

Tips and Tricks