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Dec 11, 2023

How to Switch Weapons

Diablo 4 has introduced a new way to fight with multiple weapons, as skills will

Diablo 4 has introduced a new way to fight with multiple weapons, as skills will now often make you swap to certain weapon types when using a skill, but there are also ways to select your preferred weapon if the skill does not require a specific weapon type. This page includes information on unlocking skills and how to set up weapons for each skill.

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Before you can switch between weapons, you'll need the proper skill first. To get skills, you'll need to level up and then open your Abilities chart. After that, you can pick a skill under the Skill Tree Menu.

Skills come in different types:

Certain classes, like the Rogue and Barbarian, will automatically use different weapons for different skills, though you can still equip all possible weapon types on your character: A Rogue using the Heartseeker will automatically fire a bow, but swap to using equipped daggers or swords when using the Blade Shift skill.

Now that you have the proper skill, you must equip it on your hotkey. To do this, open up your Abilities Tab in the Character Menu, and click on the Skill Assignment Button (or use L3 on console controllers). You'll be given rows for each type of skill with highlighted skills that you've already unlocked. Click on the desired skill, and move it to the hotbar on the desired button/key (more slots will unlock as you increase in level).

Each class has specific skills that allow them to use certain weapons. For example, if you want to use your duel wield weapons as the Barbarian, you'll need to unlock a skill that "Requires Dual Wielded weapons," and if you want to use a two-handed weapon, you'll need to have a skill that says it Requires a "Two-Handed weapon."

The Barbarian in particular has many skills - some require a specific weapon type, but others may simply say "Requires any complete Arsenal Weapon" or "Physical Damage". For these skills, you can let the game automatically choose what it think is the best weapon, or you can manually select a weapon for that skill:

On PC, hover over the skill on your hotbar to display its tooltip, and press the middle mouse button to cycle between all applicable weapons -- the symbols will denote which type of weapon, with the arrow circle denoting Auto Select.

On consoles or using a controller, you will have to go to the Ability Tab in the Character Menu, and either use L3 to bring up the Skill Assignment section, or hit Assign Skill to place the skill on your hotbar. Once the skill is set, you can then press X (on Xbox) or Square (on Playstation) to cycle between weapon types. If the skill does not allow you to cycle weapon types, it is because the skill requires a certain type to be used.