How to swap weapons in Diablo 4 as the Barbarian

Wondering how to swap weapons in Diablo 4? Having departed significantly from its predecessors’ mechanics, no one will blame you for asking. Blizzard’s much-loved series brings plenty of fresh changes to the series. Among the biggest is how weapons and skills work.

If you’re a series veteran, know that how to switch weapons has changed in Diablo 4. And if you’re new to the series, all the more reason to learn. Unlike in previous titles, there’s no longer an assigned key to cycle through weapons and have different skill sets.

In this guide, we’ll demystify this new system and explain how to change weapons in Diablo 4. You may want to explore all the Fractured Peaks dungeons and learn how to beat the Diablo 4 Butcher boss. Here’s more information on Diablo 4 Season 3.

How to swap weapons in Diablo 4

Barbarians get to choose their skill weapons. Currently, there is no way to switch weapons outside of manually changing them for Barbarian skills. The Barbarian has four weapon slots – a two-handed bludgeoning weapon, a two-handed slashing weapon, a main weapon, and an off-hand weapon. Some skills require specific weapons, like Rend needing a slashing weapon. Frenzy needs Dual Wield weapons.

Out of the gate, it’s important to understand that weapon switching isn’t an instantaneous, player-controlled mechanic in Diablo 4 like it was in previous games. Instead, the game swaps weapons automatically based on the skill used, but you can also select what weapon to use if a skill is compatible with different weapon types.

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While Barbarians have four types of weapons, switching is automatic

Use the right skills to make use of specific weapons and their advantages in Diablo 4.

For example, perhaps you’ve been carefully crafting the best rogue build. You have the Twisting Blade skill assigned to key 1 and the Barrage skill assigned to key 2. When you press 1, your character will use the daggers or swords you have equipped, while if you press 2, the switch is automatically made to the bow or crossbow equipped in your inventory.

As you can see, weapon switching is both skill-dependent and automatic. Basically, Diablo 4 switches weapons per the skill’s requirement without any need for input from the player. Your character will automatically pull out the weapon that’s relevant to the skill used. This means that the closest you get to switching weapons for most skills is swapping your hotbar skills with others that use a different weapon.

How to swap weapons for a specific skill in Diablo 4

You’re afforded a few more options for skills compatible with different weapons, notably many Barbarian and a few Rogue skills. Some Barbarian skills let you assign a specific weapon from your arsenal to them in the skills menu. Yes, this includes two weapons when you dual wield via the Main Hand and Off Hand slots.

To swap weapons, tap S to bring up the skill tree, then hover over an equipped skill slot in the hotbar at the bottom of your screen. You can then cycle through all compatible weapons using the scroll wheel/middle mouse button on your mouse. There’s also an Auto-Select option in the skill assignment menu if you’d rather stick to what the game considers the best weapon for a particular skill.

That’s how to swap weapons in Diablo 4. You’ll need it to fine-tune your Barbarian build. Other classes (Druids, Sorcerers, Necromancers, Rogues) don’t have access to this option. If you want more Diablo content, consider our how to get gold fast in Diablo 4 and Diablo 4 Den Mother boss guides. With Season 3 nearly here, read up on the Diablo 4 Seneschal companion too. The game is out on PC, PlayStation 5 (PS5), and Xbox Series X|S.

Diablo 4 swap weapons FAQ

Can all classes switch weapons in Diablo 4?

No classes can switch weapons. But Barbarians can switch between skill weapons.

How to change weapons in Diablo 4?

Head to the inventory to equip a different weapon in Diablo 4.