What is non physical damage in Diablo 4? Explained
Screenshot by Destructoid

What is “non physical damage” in Diablo 4? Explained

Maybe this is why some of your damage potential isn't higher.

In Diablo 4, some of the gear pieces you obtain may have the “non-physical damage” trait, but what it means isn’t too straightforward. Is it an affix worth keeping? If so, here’s what it means and what it applies to.

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What is non-physical damage in Diablo 4?

Non-physical damage is any damage type that isn’t labeled as physical damage, as straightforward as it sounds. 

For example, if you are leveling a Druid, all the core skills will be labeled as physical damage except for Lightning Storm. If you are equipping gear that gives a bonus to non-physical damage, you want to make sure that skills listed in your class’ tree have any other label than physical.

A class like a Druid will have a mix of the two, so make sure that you aren’t dipping into a damage type that you aren’t casting. It’s always best to specialize in specific damage types so you won’t lose out on any bonuses.

Non physical damage in Diablo 4
Screenshot by Destructoid

Is non-physical damage good?

In many cases, the non-physical damage boost can heavily increase your DPS in Diablo 4. This works exceptionally well for Sorcerers since all of their damage will come from fire, lightning, or cold. These are all examples of non-physical damage.

Most high-tier Sorcerer builds will either make use of the Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop, or the Fractured Winterglass because of the strong affixes they have. What they both also have are significant boosts to non-physical damage. 

It’s basically a direct damage upgrade by equipping these items, even if you’re running unoptimized builds that don’t benefit much from their key passives.

Rogues will also benefit from this when imbuing skills. Just know that just because you’re using a projectile attack doesn’t automatically mean it’s non-physical. The skill on your tree will tell you what type of damage it is, even if there is some type of class-specific element.


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Image of Elliott Gatica
Elliott Gatica
Contributing Writer - Elliott has been writing about video games since he was in high school. Carrying that momentum forward, he has now appeared in outlets such as App Trigger, Attack of the Fanboy, and now Destructoid. He focuses heavily on Warframe, but he is also an avid fan of fighting games and shooters. When he isn't here, he's probably getting salty in Mortal Kombat 1 or climbing the competitive ranks with his friends on Overwatch 2.