What is the Thorns damage stat in Diablo 4?

Diablo 4 is absolutely swarming with stats that seem to be really important, and yet aren’t fully explained anywhere. One of the more puzzling stats if you’re new to the Diablo series, or new to RPGs in general, is Thorns. You’ll find it referenced in your character profile and some item descriptions. But what does Thorns mean?

It might seem simple to anyone who’s been playing RPGs for decades like I have. But if you’d never heard the term in this context before, how would you know?

What are Thorns in Diablo 4?

Thorns is an affix (buff) on some items that causes you to inflict damage on attackers every time they hit you with a direct attack. The Thorns stat tells you how much damage the attacking enemy takes each time they hit you.

Related: Diablo 4 Barbarian class quest: How to start and complete it

How do Thorns work in Diablo 4?

Your character’s Thorns stat is the total sum of all the Thorns affixes on all of your equipped items, plus a bonus based on whatever Skill Damage boost you get from your Core Stats. Every time an enemy makes a direct attack at you, you will inflict damage on them equal to your Thorns stat. This applies to both melee and ranged attacks and applies regardless of whether the attack actually hits.

Is Thorns good in Diablo 4?

Thorns can be really good in Diablo 4, particularly if you’re playing as a tough character with high Armor and high Life. If your character is capable of wading into the midst of the enemy and drawing all their attacks, they’ll do an awful lot of Thorns damage on top of their own attack damage. This works best if you equip several different items with a Thorns affix (and socket Emeralds into them), as the Thorns effects will stack, and the damage per hit can get really high. If you just equip one low-level Thorns item, you might not see much of a difference.

Is the Thorns Barbarian a good build in Diablo 4?

The best class for Thorns is the Barbarian, which can get Thorns effects from the Combat Flay, Strategic Challenging Shout, Outburst, and Tough as Nails skills. Combining all these together with some Thorns gear makes the Thorns Barb a really effective build. Weaker enemies will die almost as soon as they start attacking you without you having to lift a finger. But you really have to prioritize Armor and Life over other stuff like resistances. This build can work really, really well, but I would make sure your Barbarian is tough enough to take a lot of hits without dying before your enemies do.