Diablo 4 Skills Guide: Master All Diablo 4 Skill Trees

Diablo 4 Skill Tree Mechanic & System

The Diablo 4 Skill Tree uses a Node System, where Skills are grouped in Clusters. The players start unlocking Skills from the center of each Cluster, depending on their class. Once they start to amass a certain amount of Skill Points, they can then spend them to acquire different nodes of Skills. Upon successfully spending a certain number of nodes Skill Points in total, the next cluster connected to the acquired Skills in the tree will be unlocked. You can see how many Skill Points you'll need to spend to unlock the next cluster by looking at the main, largest node in the next cluster. It should have a number that decreases every time you use a Skill Point. It's important to note that this applies to enhancing Skills that you've already unlocked as well. This means that if you find yourself needing to spend a few more Skill Points to unlock a cluster of nodes that you really want to acquire, but you find it wasteful in terms of optimization to spend on nodes that your desired Build does not really call for, you can instead consider making the Skills that you've already acquired stronger.  Clusters unlock from the top to the bottom of the node map, unlocking more intricate or stronger Skills as you go down. 

There are multiple elements that can be seen in the Skill Tree:

• Square Icons represent Skills (Non-Passive Skills).
• Diamond Icons are Enhancements and Upgrades
• Circle Icons are Passive Skills

As mentioned previously, some nodes are exclusive, such as Skill Upgrades, Ultimate Skills, or Masteries.  In these cases, players can only choose one from the pool of nodes and then they will be unable to select the others at all, which closes them off of any branches to other smaller nodes connected to the nodes that weren't chosen. unless they Respec the Skill Points that they spent to choose and acquire the initial node.

Diablo  4 XP & Skill Points

Playable characters gain different amounts of Experience Points (XP) by defeating Enemies and completing Quests. The higher the threat, the higher the XP reward. Once the character gains a certain amount of XP, your character will level up. Each time you level up, certain stats increase or decrease to the player's advantage and they will gain 1 Skill Point per Level.

Diablo IV Skill Trees now have a Node System that expands in all directions, unlocking a certain Skill will make the next Skill available to unlock later. Once the character reaches Level 50, they will no longer receive Skill Points from leveling up. Instead, characters are able to develop and get stronger still through the Paragon System. So then, will the Skill Tree remain stagnant forever after level 50? If you've only been developing your character by gaining Skill Points through leveling, the answer can be yes. However, there are other ways to gain additional Skill Points such as the Renown system.

Renown & Skill Points in Diablo 4

Completing certain objectives such as completing Side Quests, Dungeons, and Strongholds, and discovering or arriving at certain points in the map will grant different amounts of Renown Points. Achieving a certain amount of Renown Points will grant the player different rewards, such as an additional Potion Charges, extra Paragon Points, and additional Skill Points. There will be two additional Skill Point rewards per Renown System per region, for a total of ten extra Renown Points that players can use to further develop their characters.

D4 Skill Rank

Common Skills can be Ranked up by spending more Skill Points on them (Up to Rank 5). This will affect the Skill in terms of Stats by, for example, increasing damage, but this won't change any technical mechanic in the skill. Ultimate Skills can only be Ranked up to Rank 1, while Passive Skills can be Ranked up to Rank 3.

Respec Skill Points in Diablo 4

Respec can now be done directly from the Skill Tree menu, without having to visit any specific NPC to do so. Players will be able to Respec their entire Skill Tree or Respec only a few selected Skills. Respec only has a currency cost that is relative to the number of Skill Points the player wants to Respec, and also the character Level affects the cost of the respecification. The more Skills you want to Respec and/or the higher the level of the character, the higher the cost.

Having the ability to Respec a single skill was well received as Builds can be very complex. But as the cost increases, high-level Builds may become less dynamic as it becomes too expensive. In previous Diablo games, Players used to respec their skill trees in order to swap their build for PvP, grind high-value items, or complete the campaign in the hardest difficulty. But now instead, players may consider having multiple characters for each game mode.

Diablo IV Passive Skills

Skill Clusters now include Passive Skills, once the player spends Skills Points in these skills, they won't require any activation during combat to use them. Passive Skills can be ranked up to Rank 3. These skills also obey Cluster lock rules, as the player has to spend a certain number of Skill Points to unlock the Cluster to then be able to spend Points in the Cluster's Skills.

Enhancement & Upgrades in Diablo IV

You can also Enhance certain Skills (Skills that not only grant passive effect or that are not an Ultimate skill) by spending a Skill Point, in order to not only buff the stats of the Skill, but to also add some special mechanics for it. It's not necessary to Rank the skill to the top to enhance it.

After Enhancing a Skill, you will then be able to Upgrade the skill, once more by spending a skill point. Each of these Skills has available upgrade from which you can only choose one.