5 best slashing weapons in Diablo 4

Barbarians in Diablo 4 can wield four different weapon types at once, the most for any class in-game. They can carry two one-handed and two more two-handed weapons. Among the options that they can carry are swords and axes that deal slashing damage. Basically, any item that has a bladed edge can be considered as a weapon that does slashing damage.

Some Barbarian skills rely on having a slashing weapon equipped. Taking note of which ones do specific types of damage is important because specific build types require you to have certain weapons equipped before you can activate their skills.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's views.

What are the best slashing weapons in Diablo 4?

Keeping track of which weapons are capable of doing specific types of damage in Diablo 4 is important in ensuring that your build is optimized. If you are looking for a guide to help you figure out which slashing weapons you should look out for, this one is for you.

1) Ancient's Oath

The Ancient's Oath is a Unique Two-Handed Axe in Diablo 4 that is capable of dealing massive damage to your enemies. It can only be found randomly once you reach World Tier 3, so you will need to play through the game quite a bit to get it.

It enhances the Steel Grasp Barbarian skill through its Unique Effect, which makes it a weapon worth looking for if you are using a build that utilizes this particular skill. Furthermore, it helps the Barbarian deal with large amounts of enemies.

The Unique Effect of this Two-Handed Axe is as follows: Steel Grasp launches two additional chains. Enemies hit by Steel Grasp are Slowed by [XX-XX] percentage for three seconds. Furthermore, it also provides the following Affixes:

Equipment Affix: + Damage to healthy enemies
Affix 1: + Damage to slowed enemies
Affix 2: + Vulnerable Damage
Affix 3: + Damage while Berserking
Affix 4: + Ranks to Steel Grasp

2) The Butcher's Cleaver

The Butcher's Cleaver is a Unique axe that can be obtained randomly or it can be dropped by defeating The Butcher. It is an enemy that randomly appears inside dungeons once you reach higher difficulty levels in Diablo 4.

Since the odds for The Butcher appearing are random, finding him may or may not be easy. The chances of him dropping this axe once defeated are not guaranteed as well.

The Butcher's Cleaver has a Lucky Hit Unique Effect that will inflict Fear and Slow on enemies that you Critically Strike. Aside from this, it also has the following Affixes:

Equipment Affix: + Damage to healthy enemies
Affix 1: + Critical strike damage
Affix 2: + Critical Strike change against injured enemies
Affix 3: + Damage to crowd controlled enemies
Affix 4: + Damage to injured enemies

3) Fields of Crimson

Fields of Crimson is a Unique Two-Handed Sword that can also only be found randomly in Diablo 4. Like other Unique weapons, it starts appearing once you advance the difficulty to World Tier 3 and become even easier to find in World Tier 4.

This Two-Handed Sword is best used when your Barbarian build in Diablo 4 makes use of the Rupture skill due to its Unique Effects and some of its Affixes. You can still use this weapon if you aren't particulary keen on using this skill, but you won't be able to take full advantage of it.

Its Unique Effect is as follows: While using this weapon, damaging at least one enemy with Rupture creates a pool that inflicts Bleeding damage over six seconds, and enemies standing in the pool take 10% increased Bleeding damage. Here are its Affixes:

Equipment Affix: + Critical Strike Damage
Affix 1: + Damage with Two-Handed Slashing Weapons
Affix 2: + Damage Over Time
Affix 3: + Cooldown Reduction for Rupture
Affix 4: + Ranks to Rupture

4) Doombringer

The Doombringer is another Unique Sword in Diablo 4 that can only be found in the latter stages of the game once you've completed the story and have advanced the difficulty to World Tier 3. Locating this sword can be a bit of a challenge and may require you to grind for a bit.

It has a Unique Effect and a wide range of Affixes that aren't tied to a specific skill which means you can use it regardless of your character's build. Furthermore, it can be equipped by any class in the game so it isn't locked to the Barbarian exclusively.

Here is its Unique Effect that activates upon a Lucky Hit: [XX-XX] percentage chance to deal [X] Shadow damage to surrounding enemies and reduce their damage done by 20 percent for five seconds. These are its Affixes in Diablo 4:

Equipment Affix: + Critical Strike Damage
Affix 1: + Core Skill Damage
Affix 2: + Damage
Affix 3: Lucky Hit: Chance to heal
Affix 4: + Maximum Life

5) Ramaladni's Magnum Opus

Ramaladni's Magnum Opus is a Unique Sword that is considered to be so good that it has featured in several player's builds for the Barbarian in Diablo 4. Similar to most Unique weapons, there isn't a single place where you can find it. As such, you will need to just keep slaying enemies and opening chests until you come across it randomly.

Due to its Affixes and Unique Effects, it has been featured in specific builds such as the Whirlwind Barbarian. It requires a bit of a learning curve to master this weapon due to its Unique effect, but it will become an extremely deadly tool once you've learned how to use it.

The Unique Effect of this sword makes it so that Skills using this weapon deal increased damage per point of Fury you have, but you lose two Fury every second. Here are its Affixes:

Equipment Affix: + Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Affix 1: +Damage with Dual-Wielded Weapons
Affix 2: + Damage to Close Enemies
Affix 3: + Physical Damage
Affix 4: Lucky Hit: Chance to Restore Primar Resource

These are the best slashing weapons that you can equip your Barbarian with in Diablo 4. If you want more guides, check out this end-game Barbarian build.