What is Overpower in Diablo 4?

Learn exactly what Overpower means in Diablo 4, allowing you to help make better use of it in your build.
When you get into the nitty gritty of things, Diablo 4 is quite a complex game. There are lots of mechanics to take into consideration when it comes to put together your character, and a lot of terminology is thrown about that might be alien to you. One of those terms is Overpower, and so, what exactly is Overpower in Diablo 4?
On a basic level, Overpower in Diablo 4 is basically another chance to power up an attack, just like a critical hit. There are a few differences to be aware of, however. For one, while you can improve your critical hit chance with things like gear, potions and passive skills, your chance to Overpower remains fixed. It starts at 3%, and will never increase from this amount. That means you’ll never find an item that adds to your chance to Overpower.
The second thing that differentiates Overpower from a critical hit is how its damage is calculated. A critical hit does base damage plus at least 50% extra – and whatever extra percentage you get from gear or skills. The damage from Overpower, however, uses a more complex calculation. It also takes into account your character health, Fortify, and gear that adds to Overpower damage. Generally, then, attacks that Overpower do more damage than critical hits.
The final thing to note is that while critical hits are applied on a per hit basis, Overpowered attacks will hit all enemies. In other words, an attack that hits multiple enemies might not land on all of them as a critical hit. But if that same attack is Overpowered, it’ll do extra damage to all enemies. So, while attacks have a small chance to Overpower, it’s hugely beneficial when they do.
Attacks that Overpower will have their damage numbers displayed in blue. And just like critical hits, only attacks that do direct damage can Overpower, not those that do damage over time. Bear all this in mind, and maybe you can use overpower to your advantage.
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