When you have a skill supported by Barbs equipped, you gain a Barbs buff any time you retaliate with [[Thorns]].
While you have the Barbs buff, each hit with the supported strike causes your Thorns to apply to the hit enemy. In almost every way, hitting with Barbs is the same as being hit and retaliating with Thorns. The Thorns effect is independent of the attack hit that caused it.
With a skill supported by Barbs equipped, you gain stacks of the Barbs buff any time you retaliate with [[Thorns]].
The only difference between hitting someone while you have Barbs, and being hit by someone and retaliating with Thorns normally, is that hitting someone with Barbs does not actually count as "Retaliating with Thorns" and so does not trigger effects that occur when you do that, such as gaining more uses of Barbs or [[Quill Burst]].
While you have the Barbs buff, hitting with the supported skill works almost exactly like ''being hit'': both cause your Thorns to hit the enemy in exactly the same way. The Thorns effect is a separate hit from the supported skill's hit.
In particular, these things do not affect Barbs:
Therefore, a Barbs-focused character may want to focus solely on a strike's ability to hit as many targets as possible, as fast as possible. The strike's own damage and effect do not affect Barbs at all, nor do its other support gems.
* Whether or not the attack was a critical hit. The Thorns effect rolls its own separate critical effects, based on your Thorns Critical Hit Chance and Damage.
The only difference between hitting someone while you have Barbs, and being hit by someone while you have Thorns, is that hitting with Barbs is not "retaliating with Thorns" for effects that respond to that. In other words, Barbs is not self-sustaining; hitting with Barbs will not give you more stacks of the Barbs buff.
* The "Attack Damage" stat of the supported strike. For example, Barbs supporting [[Perfect Strike]] does the same damage regardless of timing (though with perfect timing, you will hit a larger area, potentially applying Barbs to more targets).
Because attacking with Barbs causes two simultaneous hits (the one from the attack and the one from Barbs), it could be useful for applying two stacks of an ailment at once. However, Thorns cannot poison (since no damage type has an inherent chance to poison, and the player's modifiers to the chance to inflict an ailment like poison do not apply to Thorns), making it very difficult to leverage in the current state of the game. Right now, only a [[Stormweaver]] can take advantage, to apply two [[Chill|Chills]] with [[Heavy Snows]] or two [[Shock|Shocks]] with [[Strike Twice]].
* Any damage conversion or extra damage gained by the supported strike. Physical Thorns Damage will not be converted to fire by a Perfect Strike supported by Barbs.
* Any other support gems on the supported strike. For example, if you have Lightning Thorns Damage, supporting a strike with Barbs and [[Electrocute_(support_gem)|Electrocute]] will still have a chance to [[Shock]], and will not build up [[Electrocute|Electrocution]].
* Your weapon. The Thorns damage from Barbs is not considered damage done with your weapon.
* Any modifiers on items or passive nodes that apply to the strike, but would not apply to retaliating with Thorns. For example, increased Melee Damage, increased Attack Damage, increased Damage with any kind of Weapon, etc. will not affect the Thorns damage from Barbs. Modifiers that do apply to Thorns will apply, including those that wouldn't apply to the supported strike (e.g. increased Thorns Damage modifiers).
{{Item acquisition}}
{{Item acquisition}}
Latest revision as of 02:45, 17 January 2026
Barbs IISupport, Attack, Melee, Strike Category: Barbs Tier: 5 Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%Support Requirements: +5 StrSupports MeleeStrike Skills. Supported Skills deal your Thorns Damage on Hit after you've Retaliated with Thorns Damage.Supported Skills deal your Thorns Damage on their next 6 Hits after you Retaliate with ThornsPlace into a Skill's Support Gem socket in the Skills Panel to apply its effects to that Skill. You cannot have multiple Support Gems of the same Category socketed within one Skill.
Acquisition Drop restricted It can be obtained by engraving an Uncut Support Gem.Metadata Item class: Support Gem Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gem/SupportGemBarbsTwo
With a skill supported by Barbs equipped, you gain stacks of the Barbs buff any time you retaliate with Thorns.
While you have the Barbs buff, hitting with the supported skill works almost exactly like being hit: both cause your Thorns to hit the enemy in exactly the same way. The Thorns effect is a separate hit from the supported skill's hit.
Therefore, a Barbs-focused character may want to focus solely on a strike's ability to hit as many targets as possible, as fast as possible. The strike's own damage and effect do not affect Barbs at all, nor do its other support gems.
The only difference between hitting someone while you have Barbs, and being hit by someone while you have Thorns, is that hitting with Barbs is not "retaliating with Thorns" for effects that respond to that. In other words, Barbs is not self-sustaining; hitting with Barbs will not give you more stacks of the Barbs buff.
Because attacking with Barbs causes two simultaneous hits (the one from the attack and the one from Barbs), it could be useful for applying two stacks of an ailment at once. However, Thorns cannot poison (since no damage type has an inherent chance to poison, and the player's modifiers to the chance to inflict an ailment like poison do not apply to Thorns), making it very difficult to leverage in the current state of the game. Right now, only a Stormweaver can take advantage, to apply two Chills with Heavy Snows or two Shocks with Strike Twice.
Item acquisition
Barbs II has restrictions on where or how it can drop.
