Home » Gaming » Diablo 4 Fortify Stat – explained

Diablo 4 Fortify Stat – explained

Updated: Jun 5, 2023 6:48 pm
Diablo 4 Fortify Stat – explained

WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more

Diablo 4 has brought a lot of changes to the table and none are more important than the new stats to keep track of. Fortify is one of these new stats and is causing a bit of confusion for many players. 

A lot of this confusion seems to be caused by the lack of in-game information about Fortify. It doesn’t really get covered in any of the tutorials the game has. Until that gets fixed, we got you covered on what the Fortidfy stat does and how it works in Diablo 4.

What is Fortify in Diablo 4?

Fortify is essentially a shield that you can acquire when using specific abilities at full hp. The in-game description of the stat is as follows: “Fortified characters take 10% reduced damage. You become Fortified when you have more Fortify than your current Life.”

That can sound a bit odd to many at first, but once you put it into practice it makes a lot more sense. This essentially awards tankier classes like the barbarian and druid with extra damage reduction while at full health and can allow them to take advantage of overpower damage with skills like pulverize and trample. A few of their abilities will be able to activate fortify, like the following:

  • Iron Skin
  • Werebear Skills
  • Maul
  • Bash
  • Wolves’ basic attacks
  • Roar
  • Fury Skills

Many other classes do have access to the fortify mechanic as well, but it is not linked to their core skills like it is for Druid and Barbarian. However, this could change with many of the balance changes made before the server slam beta.

Diablo 4 – What Does Fortify Do?

If you can activate Fortify on a character, it will give you a 10% damage reduction for the amount of Fortify you have. Meaning if you have 100 Fortify stacked up, you will take 10% less damage until you take a total of 100 damage. Then the damage will go back to normal.

While Fortify is a passive stat, some classes will be heavily based on the Fortify effect and practically need it to survive. Just like how other classes like the rouge are highly based on critical strike chance.

How the Fortify mechanic works in Diablo 4

Fortify can only be triggered by abilities and skills unless you are wearing a piece of gear that changes this. Normally, you will activate a skill that will reward you with an amount of Fortify based on your base life. Do keep in mind that Fortify will not stack if you are not at full health.

Once you do activate Fortify, you should notice a thin red line surrounding your health bar. This shows the amount of Fortify you have and can grow thicker or shrink depending on how much damage you take.

Diablo IV Fortify FAQ

What is the Fortify stat in Diablo IV?

The Fortify stat determines how much of a shield you will get while using specific abilities while at max health.

Why is Fortify important in Diablo 4?

Fortify helps tank classes to survive longer by providing them with a damage reduction while active.


Trusted Source

WePC’s mission is to be the most trusted site in tech. Our editorial content is 100% independent and we put every product we review through a rigorous testing process before telling you exactly what we think. We won’t recommend anything we wouldn’t use ourselves. Read more