How to Use Aspects in Diablo 4

In the dark and dangerous depths of Hell that is “Diablo 4,” you’ll be fighting off demons and raiding treasure chests while unlocking Aspects. These powerful tools could turn your character from an ordinary dungeon crawler to a demon-slaying terror of the deep.

But you’re probably wondering how exactly you use these aspects. Let’s take a look at this system and see what secrets it holds.

The Steps to Aspects in Diablo 4

Aspects can do much for your gameplay, and unlocking them is fairly straightforward. However, first, you’ll need to reach Level 25 or earn the Codex of Powerby completing certain dungeons.

 Here is a breakdown of everything you need to do after reaching the requisite level or earning the appropriate codex:

1. To imprint and extract Aspects, go to any major town. Find the Occultist (indicated by three linked circles). In Kyovashad, they’re in the top left section.
   
2. Interact with the Cultist to open the Aspect menu and your inventory.
   

With the Occultist, you can extract and imprint Aspects. Visit the Occultist and choose what Aspect you want to imprint onto your gear.

You can also upgrade your Aspects with Veiled Crystals. You can find these in many places throughout the game to significantly boost the power of your Aspects.

Before you can imprint Aspects with the Occultist, you’ll need to collect them. You can find them in dungeons or extract them from Legendary items. As a tip, if you hover over a dungeon on the map, it’ll display which Codex it can unlock.

Aspects can be imprinted onto any piece of equipment — be it a sword, a helmet, or a ring. Some items may already have Aspects imprinted on them, so you can use them as is or extract their Aspect for a different item.

To find out which aspects you already have:

1. Open the “Collections” tab or press “Y.”
   
2. Select the Codex of Power to display all aspects of the game. The ones you own will be highlighted.
   

The Hidden Menu

If you need an easier way to identify which Aspects work best for your “Diablo 4” build, the game actually has a hidden settings menu with Advanced Tooltips. With these optional toggles, the gear menus will expand and give you more info so you can make better decisions about what to equip and what not to equip for an encounter.

To enable Advanced Tooltips:

1. Pause the game and go to “Options” and find the “Gameplay” tab.
   
2. Scroll down until you find “Advanced Tooltip Compare” and “Advanced Tooltip Information.”
   
3. Enable these two togglable options and reap the benefits of more detailed info.
   

The Aspects

While a comprehensive overview of all the Aspects is a bit outside the scope of this article, there are a few worth mentioning to give you a taste of what’s to come. Take a look at some of the Aspects that you’ll eventually have a chance to get your hands on:

Aspect of Engulfing Flames

As a wielder of the Aspect of Engulfing Flames, you gain the power to engulf your opponents into a fiery inferno. Your attacks cause more Burn damage to your opponents than their total Health points indicate. Additionally, they take extra harm from any Damage over Time effects you inflict on them. If you prefer a more scorching approach to combat, this Aspect could be just what you need.

Aspect of the Unwavering

The Aspect of the Unwavering is a treasure for those who need a little more defense in battle. Depending on your defensive style, taking direct damage has a 5% chance to reset the cooldown of one of your defensive skills. This is excellent if you want to create more balance with attacks and defense and squeeze more power out of the Skills you already have.

Aspect of Ancestral Echoes

If you’re a fan of dishing out damage in a big way, then the Ancestral Echoes Aspect is for you. Using Leap, Upheaval, or Whirlwind to damage enemies has up to a 40% chance of summoning an Ancient that will use the same skill for a major damage multiplier. However, this can only occur once every five seconds.

Runeworker’s Conduit Aspect

By using Storm Skills to land Critical Strikes, you will be able to build up a charge around yourself that can cause periodic lightning strikes to your opponents and deal out lightning damage.

Aspect of Surprise

When you either Evade or Shadow Step away from enemies, a swarm of explosive Stun Grenades is left in your wake. These deal damage and Stun any nearby foes for two seconds. It may seem like you’re retreating, but your foes are in for a bombastic surprise.

Aspect of Ultimate Shadow

Bone Storm and Blood Wave are both Dark Arts, which inflict shadow damage and carry unique effects. Foes hit by Bone Storm will suffer additional Shadow Damage the longer they stay in its range. Meanwhile, Blood Wave corrupts the ground it passes through, dealing continual shadow damage to all enemies standing on it.

Bladedancer’s Aspect

Twisting Blades travel around you for a moment upon returning to your side, dealing 10% of the damage they caused upon their journey back. If the distance traveled is further, that percentage can reach up to 20%.

Protecting Aspect

A magical bubble will appear for a few seconds when you are hurt and not in full health with this Aspect. While in the bubble, you are protected from taking any damage. For balance, you can only use this Aspect once every 90 seconds.

Aspect of Mending Stone

With this Aspect, your Earthen Bulwark will last an additional six seconds, giving you even more protection. Moreover, when using your Earth Skills to slay an enemy, eight points from the active Barrier of your Earthen Bulwark will replenish.

Snap Frozen Aspect

When you quickly move away from frozen or chilled enemies, you will gain a Shield that can absorb damage for a few seconds. This Shield can take a maximum amount of damage.

Symbiotic Aspect

When Nature’s Fury Key Passive activates, your non-ultimate cooldowns reset faster than usual. This effect is based on what type of skill you used before you activated it.

Aspect of Arrow Storms             

With the Aspect of Arrow Storms, your Marksman abilities have a 10% chance to release a concentrated burst of arrows at your target. This deals 171 physical damage over three seconds, and you can have up to four arrow storms active at the same time.

Overcharged Aspect

When dealing Lightning damage to an enemy, there is a 10% chance for that enemy to be overloaded for three seconds. During this time, any direct damage you deal to them will also pulse out 111 extra points of damage to the enemies around them.

Aspect of Corruption

Using your Imbuement Skill against vulnerable enemies will be 20% more powerful than usual with the Aspect of Corruption.

Aspect Management

There are tons of Aspects to collect in “Diablo 4,” but the real skill is knowing when to use them. Each Aspect has distinct abilities, many of which combine with other skills that your character has leveled up. You can combine these abilities for maximum impact on your playstyle.

For instance, certain Aspects work better for crowd control than others, while others deal extra damage for snappier battles. The Aspect of Surprise is a good example of an aspect that’s excellent to use in multiplayer, as it can catch real players off-guard better than NPCs. The Aspect of Ultimate Shadow is one of these Aspects that are best used when you’re faced with a large swarm of enemies coming at you from all directions.

The Protecting Aspect is an example of a versatile aspect that’s equally as convenient in single-player and multiplayer, regular mob encounters, and boss battles. But it’s best used when facing off enemies on the edge of your ability at your current level.

Experience and trial-and-error will help you find the best combination for your playstyle.

The Ultimate Aspect

Forging a legend in “Diablo 4” takes more than smashing hordes of demons. Aspects are one of the systems that help you personalize your playstyle and beat even the most challenging parts of the game with skill rather than mere brute force. So go ahead, collect as many Aspects as you can lay your hands on, and become an unstoppable force on the battlefield.

Do you have any tips or tricks about “Diablo 4” Aspects that you’d like to share? What type of Aspect is your favorite? Drop a comment below and engage with the excellent community of like-minded demon-slayers.