Quick Links
Builds are the name of the game in Diablo 4 and are the crux of what brings players to these games with every entry. Crafting your character to your exact specifications and experimenting with them is the joy behind this series.
The game offers you a ton of options in building your, well, build, as well as offering you a selection of classes to start from that can appeal to players of all playstyles. A popular choice that has been around since the series began is the Barbarian, a massive brute that specializes in using any weapon to dish out massive damage, usually up close to their enemies.
Updated by Shane Black on July 24th, 2023: This guide was updated to include another Barbarian Build that is widely popular in the game’s community and fan base, as well as flesh out some more details in previous builds. It also added some more in-text links for relevant guides and changed some formatting to make it easier to read.
Barbarian Specializations
There are five builds that you should strive for right now and all of them present an emphasis on damage output and turning your Barbarian into a tank:
- Whirlwind Barbarian build
- Juggernaut Barbarian build
- Rend Barabarian build
- Ice Vortex Barbarian build
- Bloody Barbarian build
- Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian Build
The Whirlwind Barbarian is a build that, as the name suggests, is focused on using the Barbarian's Whirlwind ability as much as you can. This ability uses Fury to cast, so around the use of Whirlwind are a lot of passives and more that help boost Fury generation as you play. This build is solid throughout the entire game as it continues to build your ability to dish out damage to enemies around you.
The Juggernaut Barbarian is a build centered around rapidly switching between weapons that are tied to different Skills to dish out the most damage to your enemies. It boosts your movement speed and also relies on generating Fury at a solid rate to allow you to keep using the Hammer of the Ancients ability. It's devastating and can take out a lot of enemies in one blow if you are strong enough.
The Rend Barbarian build is all about using attacks and abilities that will not only damage an enemy right up front but also continue to damage them over time. As can be deduced by the name, it relies heavily on the Rend ability to accomplish this goal and will inflict the Bleeding Status on just about everyone you hit.
The Ice Vortex Barbarian build operates very similarly to the Whirlwind Barbarian build, except this build utilizes ice abilities and passives to freeze enemies. It is a great build to use once you hit Tier IV, as it can dish out some of the best DPS in the game and clear out enemies in a second.
The Bloody Barbarian build is very similar to the Rend Barbarian build, though with a bit of a twist. As with the Rend build, the Bloody Barbarian build is all about inflicting the Bleeding effect on enemies to cause them to take damage over time after landing a hit. The general idea for the build is to inflict Bleed with Rend and then finish them off with Death Blow.
Finally, the Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian build will utilize the Aspect of Berserk Ripping and the Skullbreaker's Aspect to create an incredibly powerful amount of Bleeding that you can use on your enemies. It doesn't focus on using a specific piece of equipment, but rather these two Aspects and other abilities to bring the most out of it.
Best Whirlwind Barbarian Builds
The following skills will help your Whirlwind Barbarian maximize its damage output while also causing your Fury to generate fast enough to keep using Whirlwind whenever you want. This build is currently regarded as one of the best builds in D4. This is done through upgrading shouts such as Challenging Shout and Rallying Cry, both of which generate Fury when you're hit after activating and boost the generation by 50%, respectively.
The core of the build, Whirlwind, is a powerful area of effect attack that dishes damage all around you. Further, as you upgrade Whirlwind, you will be able to generate Fury with the attack as well, which helps you create an endless loop to keep yourself alive and your enemies dead.
You will also be building off of the Lunging Strike attack, which generates nine Fury with every hit you land. As you upgrade this ability, you will unlock the ability to heal yourself as well, which can be huge when you are surrounded by enemies at the same time.
|
Type of Skill |
Recommended Skills |
|---|---|
|
Basic Skills |
Lunging Strike Level 1, Enhanced Lunging Strike, Combat Lunging Strike |
|
Core Skills |
Whirlwind Level 1, Enhanced Whirlwind, Violent Whirlwind, Whirlwind Level 2, Whirlwing Level 3, Whirlwind Level 4, Whirlwind Level 5, |
|
Defensive Skills |
Rallying Cry Level 1, Enhanced Rallying Cry, Tactical Rallying Cry, Challenging Shout, Enhanced Challenging Shout, Tactical Challenging Shout, Rallying Cry Level 2, Rallying Cry Level 3, Rallying Cry Level 4, Rallying Cry Level 5, Imposing Presence Level 1, Imposing Presence Level 2, Imposing Presence Level 3, Matrial Vigor Level 1, Martial Vigor Level 2, Martial Vigor Level 3, Challenging Shout Level 2, Challenging Shout Level 3, Challenging Shout Level 4 |
|
Brawling Skills |
War Cry, Enhanced War Cry, Power War Cry, War Cry Level 2, War Cry Level 3, War Cry Level 4, Booming Voice Level 1, Booming Voice Level 2, Booming Voice Level 3, Guttural Yell Level 1, Guttural Yell Level 2, Guttural Yell Level 3, Aggressive Resistance Level 1, Aggressive Resistance Level 2, Aggressive Resistance Level 3, Prolific Fury Level 1, Prolific Fury Level 2, Prolific Fury Level 3, War Cry Level 5 |
|
Mastery Skills |
Pit Fighter Level 1, Pit Fighter Level 2, Pit Fighter Level 3, Slaying Strike Level 1, Slaying Strike Level 2, Slaying Strike Level 3. |
|
Ultimate Skills |
Wrath of the Berserker |
|
Key Passives |
Unbridled Rage |
The Ultimate Skill for this build is the Wrath of the Berserker, which grants you Berserking and Unstoppable for five seconds after activating, as well as knocking back surrounding enemies. You will then be able to gain five more seconds of Berserking every time you deal damage with Frenzy.
Further, once you have upgraded it to Supreme Wrath of the Berserker will grant you 20% extra movement speed, as well as let you increase your Berserk's damage bonus by 25% for every 50 Fury you spend.
Whirlwind Barbarian Best Aspects
There are a total of eight Aspects that are recommended for this build. These are Legendary items that you can find as you progress through Side Dungeons and other events.
|
Gear Slot |
Aspect |
Aspect Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon
|
Aspect of Ancestral Echoes |
When damaging enemies with Leap, Upheavel, or Whirldwind, you have a 40-50% chance of summoning an Ancient to perform the same skill. |
|
Helm, Chest, Gloves, Boots, Shield, Amulet |
Aspect of Anemia |
Direct damage on Bleeding enemies has a 20-30% chance to Stun them. |
|
Ring |
Aspect of Berserk Fury |
While Berserking, you gain 3-6 Fury per second. |
|
Ring |
Aspect of Echoing Fury |
Your Shout skills will generate 2-4 Fury per second while it's active. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Limitless Rage |
While you are at Maximum Fury, every point of Fury you generate increases your next Core Skill by 1-2%, up to 15-30%. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of the Dire Whirlwind |
The Critical Strike Chance for your Whirlwind ability is increased by 3-8% every second it is channeled, up to 9-24%. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Edgemaster's Aspect |
When cast, your Skills deal 10-20% increased damage based on your available Primary Resource, getting the maximum when you have full Primary Resource. |
|
Ring |
Bold Chieftain's Aspect |
When you cast a Shout skill, the Cooldown is reduced by 1-1.9 seconds per every nearby enemy, up to 6 seconds. |
Whirlwind Barbarian Best Gear & Gems
There are three types of Gems that you will focus on collecting for this Build: Rubies, Amethysts, and Diamonds.
Each kind of gem will correspond to a different type of gear. Rubies in your armor will help boost your total health and keep you alive. Amethysts in your weapons help your damage over time, which can be a huge advantage with some of the skills this build will use. Finally, using Diamonds in your jewelry will give you a higher resistance to all elemental damage.
|
Gear |
Gem |
Affixes |
|---|---|---|
|
Head |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Chest |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Hands |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Legs |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Boots |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Weapon |
Amethyst |
Increase in damage over time |
|
Amulet |
Diamond |
Higher resistance to elemental damage |
|
Ring |
Diamond |
Higher resistance to elemental damage |
There are a couple of specific pieces of Gear that you should look for as well as you play the Whirlwind Barbarian:
|
Gear |
Attributes |
|---|---|
|
Harlequin Crest |
This helmet gives the following boosts:
|
|
Ramaladni’s Magnum Opus |
This dual-wield weapon gives the following boosts:
|
Whirlwind Barbarian Best Paragon Nodes
Once you have reached the Paragon Board for the Whirlwind Barbarian at Level 50, you will go for the Nodes that will boost your various Skills, with a focus on bumping up your damage even further than it was before.
|
Paragon Node |
Type of Node |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Brawn |
Rare Node |
10% boost to Physical Damage and 4% boost to Maximum Life Bonus: Another 10% Physical Damage boost if 200 Strength |
|
Raw Power |
Rare Node |
10% boost to Physical Damage and +10 to Strength Bonus: Another 10% boost to Physical Damage if 160 Dexterity |
|
Conditioned |
Rare Node |
4% boost to all elemental resistance and +10 Strength Bonus: Another 4% elemental resistance if 170 Willpower |
|
Raw Power (Second Board) |
Rare Node |
10% boost to Physical Damage and +10 to Strength Bonus: Another 10% boost to Physical Damage if 160 Dexterity |
|
Warbinger |
Legendary Node |
Every 75 Fury Points you spend, gain 12% of your Maximum Life as Fortify. |
|
Weapons Master |
Legendary Node |
Gain 3 Fury every time you swap weapons. |
Whirlwind Barbarian Playstyle
When this build comes together, you will start to be able to shred through swarms of enemies like a breeze. Using Whirlwind will damage every enemy that comes within reach of you, and as you continue to use your other skills and passives, you can generate Fury at the same time. And with the Aspects and Gear laid out, you will be able to keep your health as high as possible.
Whirlwind Barbarian Best Expertise & Technique
The Whirlwind Barbarian has two options when it comes to Class Specialization, and the options here will help with your damage output and Fury generation. Either one can be a proper choice that will do you well, and you can't go wrong in choosing either one.
|
Expertise/Technique |
Summary |
|---|---|
|
Polearm |
A 10% boost to the possibility of landing Lucky Strike 10% bonus damage when healthy, as long as you are using a Polearm. |
|
One-Handed Sword Expertise |
Up to a 6% chance to gain 5 Fury Points hitting a Crowd Controlled enemy when using any weapon. |
Best Juggernaut Barbarian Builds
The main focus of the Juggernaut Barbarian build is to utilize the Walking Arsenal passive ability, which will allow you to constantly swap weapons as you use different abilities to dish out massive damage. The use of these Abilities is that they will use up a good amount of Fury, which is why we will counteract this with other Passives, Aspects, and more to make sure your Fury Generation is good enough to keep up.
You will focus on Lunging Strike, Death Blow, and Hammer of the Ancients as you start out the build. Each one will come with a different kind of damage style and do a lot to keep your Barbarian killing. The build will sacrifice defense to add more damage to it, but that will hopefully be negated by other abilities.
|
Type of Skill |
Recommended Skills |
|---|---|
|
Basic Skills |
Lunging Strike, Enhanced Lunging Strike |
|
Core Skills |
Hammer of the Ancients, Enhanced Hammer of the Ancients, Furious Hammer of the Ancients |
|
Defensive Skills |
Ground Stomp, Enhanced Ground Stomp, Strategic Ground Stomp, Iron Skin, Enhanced Iron Skin, Tactical Iron Skin, Imposing Presence, Martial Vigor |
|
Brawling Skills |
Swiftness |
|
Mastery Skills |
Death Blow, Enhanced Death Blow, Fighter's Death Blow, Pit Fighter, No Mercy, Expose Vulnerability |
|
Ultimate Skills |
Iron Maelstrom, Prime Iron Maelstrom, Supreme Iron Maelstrom, Tempered Fury, Furious Impulse, Brute Force, Wallop, Concussion |
|
Key Passives |
Walking Arsenal |
Juggernaut Barbarian Best Aspects
As is the case with the rest of this build, you are going to be focusing mostly on pumping up your damage through your Aspects, with a couple of defensively-minded ones tossed in for good measure.
|
Gear Slot |
Aspect |
Aspect Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Retribution |
Distant enemies have an 8% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You also deal 20-40% more damage to Stunned enemies. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Edgemaster's Aspect |
Skills deal up to 10- 20% increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Earthstriker's Aspect |
After swapping weapons 10 times, your next attack will Overpower and deal 30-50% increased Overpower damage. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Ancestral Force |
The Hammer of Ancients will quake outward and deals 32-50% more damage to enemies. |
|
Helm, Chest, Pants, Amulet, Shield |
Aspect of the Protector |
Damaging an Elite enemy grants you a Barrier absorbing up to a certain amount of damage for 10 seconds. Can only happen once every 30 seconds. |
|
Helm, Chest, Pants, Amulet, Shield |
Aspect of the Iron Warrior |
Iron Skin grants Unstoppable, with 10-20% Damage Reduction. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Weapon Master's Aspect |
Your Weapon Mastery Skills have an additional Charge. Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy with a Weapon Mastery Skill has up to a 32-50% chance to Stun them for 2 seconds. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Limitless Rage |
Each point of Fury you generate while at Maximum Fury grants your next Core Skill 1-2% increased damage, up to 15-30%. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Encroaching Wrath |
After spending 100 Fury, your next Weapon Mastery Skill deals 82-100% increased damage. |
|
Gloves, Boots, Helm, Chest, Shield, Amulet |
Luckbringer Aspect |
Gain 12-20% increased Lucky Hit Chance while all damage bonuses from the Walking Arsenal Key Passive are active. |
Juggernaut Barbarian Best Gear & Gems
In terms of Gems, you will want to use a combination of Rubies, Emeralds, Diamonds, and Skulls.
These will combine to help you boost your health, bump up your damage done to enemies, and help compensate for some of the resistances you may be missing. This will help keep you upright as you continue to slay the hordes of the Underworld.
|
Gear |
Gem |
Affixes |
|---|---|---|
|
Head |
Rubies |
Boosts your maximum health. |
|
Chest |
Rubies |
Boosts your maximum health. |
|
Hands |
Rubies |
Boosts your maximum health. |
|
Legs |
Rubies |
Boosts your maximum health. |
|
Boots |
Rubies |
Boosts your maximum health. |
|
Weapon |
Emerald/Diamond |
Emerald boosts your damage to vulnerable enemies, while Diamonds boost your damage with your Ultimate. It's up to you which one you want to use. |
|
Amulet |
Skulls |
Boosts your resistance to keep your defense up. |
|
Rings |
Skulls |
Boosts your resistance to keep your defense up. |
For specific pieces of gear, look for the 100,000 Steps boots and the Ramaladni's Magnum Opus One-Handed Sword.
|
Gear |
Attributes |
|---|---|
|
100,000 Steps |
It increases your Dexterity while also increasing your damage while swapping weapons and to Stunned enemies, and also adding ranks to Ground Stomp. Further, once you have reached the final damage bonus from the Walking Arsenal passive, you automatically cast Ground Stomp and gain 32-50 Fury. |
|
Ramaladni's Magnum Opus |
Increases your Physical Damage, damage to close enemies, and damage to crowd-controlled enemies, and its Lucky Hit gives you a 5% chance to restore Primary Resources. Also, Skills using this weapon deal 0.1 - 0.3% increased damage per point of Fury you have |
Juggernaut Barbarian Best Paragon Nodes
The Paragon Nodes for the Juggernaut will continue to buff up your Barbarian, ensuring that you can dish out more damage while also not taking as much damage.
|
Paragon Node |
Node Type |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Tenacity |
Rare Node |
A 4% Maximum Life boost. |
|
Brawn |
Rare Node |
10% boost to Physical Damage. |
|
Iron Strength |
Rare Node |
Gives you +100 Armor and a 4% increase in your Maximum Life. |
|
Raw Power |
Rare Node |
Gives you a +10 boost to Strength and a 10% increase to Physical Damage. |
|
Bludgeoner |
Rare Node |
A 10% increase in damage with Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapons and a 30% increase to Overpower Damage. |
|
Bone Breaker |
Legendary Node |
Using your Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapons to Overpower will Stun your enemies and grant you 20% of your Maximum Life. |
|
Carnage |
Legendary Node. |
Critical Strikes increase your Attack Speed by 2%+, up to 8%+, for 6 seconds while you are Berserking. |
|
Warbringer |
Legendary Node |
For every 75 Fury you spend, gain 12% of your Maximum Life as Fortify. |
Juggernaut Barbarian Playstyle
The Juggernaut Barbarian is all about wreaking havoc and doing as much damage as it can in as little time as possible. While its defenses are rather low compared to other builds, the Passives, Gear, and Gems you use should all help keep you alive so that you don't have to stop swinging ever.
The Juggernaut will deal out just about every kind of damage to any kind of enemy. It's great in a one-on-one fight and can also keep a swarm of enemies at bay with its attacks. It's really just an offensive powerhouse that can tear through the story and also be useful in the endgame content.
Juggernaut Barbarian Best Expertise & Technique
For your Expertise, go for the Two-Handed Axe Expertise, as it will give you a strong boost to damage to Vulnerable enemies, which you are going to fight more often than not. This will help you clear out much more enemies than any of the other Expertise options.
Best Rend Barbarian Build
The skills and abilities that you unlock for this Build will begin with unlocking Rend and its subsequent upgrades early on, and then continue building off of doing damage over time.
|
Type of Skill |
Recommended Skills |
|---|---|
|
Basic Skills |
Flay Level 1, Enhanced Flay, Battle Flay |
|
Core Skills |
Rend Level 5, Enhanced Rend, Violent Rend |
|
Defensive Skills |
Rallying Cry Level 1, Enhanced Rallying Cry, Tactical Rallying Cry, Imposing Presence Level 3, Martial Vigor Level 3 |
|
Brawling Skills |
Aggressive Resistance Level 3, Prolific Fury Level 3 |
|
Mastery Skills |
Death Blow Level 1, Enhanced Death Blow, Warrior’s Death Blow, Steel Grasp Level 1, Enhanced Steel Grasp, Fighter’s Steel Grasp, Hamstring Level 1, Cut to the Bone Level 3, Pit Fighter Level 3, Thick Skin Level 3, Defensive Stance Level 3 |
|
Ultimate Skills |
Wrath of the Berserker, Prime Wrath of the Berserker, Supreme Wrath of the Berserker, Wallop Level 1, Concussion Level 3, Tempered Fury Level 1, Invigorating Fury Level 3, Furious Impulse Level 2 |
|
Key Passives |
Walking Arsenal |
The Walking Arsenal passive is going to allow you cycle through your weapons for different abilities, and you will be able to assign which weapons go to what ability. It is recommended that you assign the following:
- Dual-Wielded assigned to Flay
- Two-Handed Slashing assigned to Rend
- Two-Handed Bludgeoning assigned to Death Blow and Steel Grasp
Rend Barbarian Best Aspects
All of your Aspects will continue to help produce damage over time, while also benefiting other parts of the build as you progress.
|
Gear Slot |
Aspect |
Aspect Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Ring |
Aspect of the Relentless Armsmaster |
Gain 20-36% increased Fury Generation while all damage bonuses from the Walking Arsenal Key Passive are active. |
|
Weapon, Gloves, Amulet |
Aspect of Limitless Rage |
Each point of Fury you generate while at Maximum Fury grants your next Core Skill 1-2% increased damage, up to 15-30%. |
|
Ring |
Aspect of the Umbral |
Restore 1-4 of your Primary Resource when you Crowd Control an enemy. |
|
Weapon, Gloves, Amulet, Ring |
Aspect of Berserk Ripping |
Whenever you deal direct damage while Berserking, inflict 20-30% of the Base damage dealt as additional Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Edgemaster's Aspect |
When cast, your Skills deal 10-20% increased damage based on your available Primary Resource, getting the maximum when you have full Primary Resource. |
|
Ring |
Aspect of Berserk Fury |
While Berserking, you gain 3-6 Fury per second. |
|
Helm, Chest, Gloves, Boots, Shield, Amulet |
Aspect of Anemia |
Direct damage on Bleeding enemies has a 20-30% chance to Stun them. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Limitless Rage |
While you are at Maximum Fury, every point of Fury you generate increases your next Core Skill by 1-2%, up to 15-30%. |
Rend Barbarian Best Gear & Gems
The three gems you will be focused on socketing into your gear are Rubies, Amethysts, and Diamonds. The Rubies will help boost your health, the Amethysts will add more damage over time, and the Diamonds will give you higher resistance to all elemental damage.
|
Gear |
Gem |
Affixes |
|---|---|---|
|
Head |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Chest |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Hands |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Legs |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Boots |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Weapon |
Amethyst |
Increase in damage over time |
|
Amulet |
Diamond |
Higher resistance to elemental damage |
|
Ring |
Diamond |
Higher resistance to elemental damage |
In terms of specific gear, focus on trying to obtain the following two items:
|
Gear |
Attributes |
|---|---|
|
Fields of Crimson |
This two-handed sword can cause an enemy hit with Rupture to create a pool of blood that will inflict Bleeding damage for six seconds, and will also increase Bleeding damage for any enemy standing in it. |
|
Rage of Harrogath |
This Chest Armor piece is useful for its Lucky Hit stat: Lucky Hit: up to a 20-40% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Non-Ultimate Skills by 1.5 seconds when you inflict Bleeding on Elites. |
Rend Barbarian Best Paragon Nodes
|
Paragon Node |
Type of Node |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Mortal Draw |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, skills that swap to a different weapon deal +3.505% increased damage. Additionally, swapping weapons has an 18% chance to cause the Skill’s damage to Critically Strike. |
|
Exploit |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal +1.5% increased damage to Vulnerable targets. When an enemy is damaged by you, they become Vulnerable for 3 seconds. This cannot happen more than once every 20 seconds per enemy. |
|
Ire |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal +1.5% increased damage while Berserking. While Berserking, you take 10% reduced damage from Elites. |
|
Imbiber |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Willpower purchased within range, you deal +1.84% increased damage while Healthy. You can also gain +30% increased Potion Healing. |
|
Disembowel |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Willpower purchased within range, you deal +1.5% increased Bleeding damage. Killing a Bleeding enemy has a 10% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Non-Ultimate active Cooldowns by 1 second. |
|
Weapon Master |
Rare Node |
Paragon nodes within range gain +30% bonus to their Physical damage and damage reduction modifiers. Hitting with a Weapon Mastery Skill reduces the active Cooldown of another random Weapon Mastery Skill by [2] seconds. |
|
Blood Rage |
Legendary Node |
Killing a Bleeding enemy has 10% chance to grant Berserking for 5 seconds. |
|
Hemorrhage |
Legendary Node |
Enemies that have been affected by your Bleeding for [3] or more seconds take x12% increased damage from you. |
|
Decimator |
Legendary Node |
Lucky Hit: Two-Handed Slashing Weapon attacks have up to a 8% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds. |
Rend Barbarian Playstyle
The Rend Barbarian is all about hitting an enemy and letting its passives and skills keep damaging them over time. It inflicts Bleed with almost every hit and will continue to build this effect until an enemy falls. It's an aggressive kind of character that asks you to get in close and personal to do the most damage you possibly can. Since it's a Barbarian build, it is set up to sustain a good amount of damage as well.
Rend Barbarian Best Expertise & Technique
The best Technique to choose for Rend Barbarian is the Two-Handed Sword Technique for its ability to add 20% of your damage as Bleeding Damage over 5 seconds. You will also deal an additional 30% increased Bleeding Damage over 5 second after killing an enemy.
Best Ice Vortex Barbarian Build
Your Skill Tree is going to look pretty similar to that of the Whirlwind Barbarian build, and a lot of the Ice damage that it will deal will come from your equipment, specifically the Penitent Greaves.
|
Type of Skill |
Recommended Skills |
|---|---|
|
Basic Skills |
Lunging Strike Level 1, Enhanced Lunging Strike, Combat Lunging Strike |
|
Core Skills |
Whirlwind Level 1, Enhanced Whirlwind, Violent Whirlwind, Whirlwind Level 2, Whirlwind Level 3, Whirlwind Level 4, Whirlwind Level 5, |
|
Defensive Skills |
Rallying Cry Level 1, Enhanced Rallying Cry, Tactical Rallying Cry, Challenging Shout, Enhanced Challenging Shout, Tactical Challenging Shout, Rallying Cry Level 2, Rallying Cry Level 3, Rallying Cry Level 4, Rallying Cry Level 5, Imposing Presence Level 1, Imposing Presence Level 2, Imposing Presence Level 3, Matrial Vigor Level 1, Martial Vigor Level 2, Martial Vigor Level 3, Challenging Shout Level 2, Challenging Shout Level 3, Challenging Shout Level 4 |
|
Brawling Skills |
War Cry, Enhanced War Cry, Power War Cry, War Cry Level 2, War Cry Level 3, War Cry Level 4, Booming Voice Level 1, Booming Voice Level 2, Booming Voice Level 3, Guttural Yell Level 1, Guttural Yell Level 2, Guttural Yell Level 3, Aggressive Resistance Level 1, Aggressive Resistance Level 2, Aggressive Resistance Level 3, Prolific Fury Level 1, Prolific Fury Level 2, Prolific Fury Level 3, War Cry Level 5 |
|
Mastery Skills |
Pit Fighter Level 1, Pit Fighter Level 2, Pit Fighter Level 3, Slaying Strike Level 1, Slaying Strike Level 2, Slaying Strike Level 3. |
|
Ultimate Skills |
Wrath of the Berserker |
|
Key Passives |
Unbridled Rage |
Ice Vortex Barbarian Best Aspects
The Aspects for this build will give you an edge on crowd-controlling and dealing with swarms of enemies, using both damage output and damage reduction boosts to keep you upright as you face off against the swarms you will come across.
|
Gear Slot |
Aspect |
Aspect Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Helm, Chest, Pants, Amulet, Shield |
Aspect of Numb Wrath |
Each point of Fury generated while at Maximum Fury grants Fortify. |
|
Boots, Amulet |
Ghostwalker Aspect |
While Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after, you gain 10- 25% increased Movement Speed and can move freely through enemies. |
|
Weapon, Gloves, Amulet, Ring |
Aspect of the Dire Whirlwind |
Whirlwind's Critical Strike Chance is increased by 3-8% for each second it is channeled, up to 9-24%
|
|
Weapon, Gloves, Amulet, Ring |
Aspect of the Expectant |
Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by 5-10% up to 30% |
|
Weapon, Gloves, Amulet, Ring |
Conceited Aspect |
Deal 15-25% increased damage while you have a Barrier active. |
|
Ring |
Aspect of Echoing Fury |
Your Shout skills generate 2 - 4 Fury per seconds while active. |
|
Helm, Chest, Gloves, Boots, Shield, Amulet |
Aspect of Anemia |
Direct damage on Bleeding enemies has a 20-30% chance to Stun them. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Limitless Rage |
While you are at Maximum Fury, every point of Fury you generate increases your next Core Skill by 1-2%, up to 15-30%. |
Ice Vortex Barbarian Best Gear & Gems
The combination of gems you can use will primarily serve to help your defenses by boosting your health and defense stat, but will also help improve damage against certain kinds of enemies.
|
Gear |
Gem |
Affixes |
|---|---|---|
|
Head |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Chest |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Hands |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Legs |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Boots |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Weapon |
Emerald |
Increase critical damage against vulnerable enemies. |
|
Amulet |
Skulls |
Boosts your defense stat. |
|
Ring |
Skulls |
Boosts your defense stat. |
There are a few pieces of equipment that you can pick up to help with this build, but the one that you absolutely must get is the Penitent Greaves. Beyond that, the rest are optional but every piece listed will not lead you wrong.
|
Gear |
Attributes |
|---|---|
|
Penitent Greaves |
These Greaves will give you the following benefits:
|
|
Harlequin Crest |
This helmet gives the following boosts:
|
|
Rage of Harrogath |
This Chest Armor piece is useful for its Lucky Hit stat: Lucky Hit: up to a 20-40% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Non-Ultimate Skills by 1.5 seconds when you inflict Bleeding on Elites. |
|
Gohr's Devastating Grips |
These gloves will give you:
|
Ice Vortex Barbarian Best Paragon Nodes
The Paragon Nodes for this build will continue to help your attacks do even more damage, as well as give you more defense so that the enemies around you won't kill you very quickly, if at all.
|
Paragon Node |
Type of Node |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Raw Power |
Rare Node |
Get a 10.0% Physical Damage boost and +10 to Strength Bonus: Another +10.0% Physical Damage |
|
Brute |
Rare Node |
Get a +10% boost to Physical Damage and a 5% boost to Attack Speed. Bonus: Another +10% to Physical Damage if at 360 Strength |
|
Destroyer |
Rare Node |
Get a +1-% boost to Two-Handed Slashing Weapon Damage and Vulnerable Damage. Bonus: Another +10.0% Damage with Two-Handed Slashing Weapons if at 345 Strength 345 |
|
Brawn |
Rare Node |
Get a +10% boost to Physical Damage and a 4% boost to Maximum Life. Bonus: Another +10% Physical Damage |
|
Demolish |
Rare Node |
Get a +10% boost to Vulnerable Damage and +10 to Strength Bonus: Another +10.0% Vulnerable Damage if at 270 Dexterity |
|
Carnage |
Legendary Node |
While Berserking, Critical Strikes increase your Attack Speed by 2%, up to 10%, for 6 seconds. |
|
Warbringer |
Legendary Node |
For every 75 Fury you spend, gain 20% of your Maximum Life as Fortify. |
|
Decimator |
Legendary Node |
Lucky Hit: Two-Handed Slashing Weapon attacks have up to a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds. |
|
Weapons Master |
Legendary Node |
Swapping weapons grants you 3 Fury. |
Ice Vortex Barbarian Playstyle
Similar to the Whirlwind build, you are going to be getting up-close and personal to swarm the enemies to you. And once they are close to you, use your Skills to dish out immense damage to every enemy around you. Of course, you will also inflict some Chill to your enemies which will slow them down and make it even easier for you to take them out.
Your Passives and gear will also help you generate Fury so that you won't have to worry about running out and making your abilities useless.
Ice Vortex Barbarian Best Expertise & Technique
The best technique that you are going to want to use with the Ice Vortex build is the Two-Handed Axe Expertise to help keep Vulnerable on enemies at all times. It applies to any of your weapons and will help your Ice Vortex Barbarian stay strong.
Best Bloody Barbarian Builds
Most of the abilities you will use for the Bloody build is focused on inflicting Bleed on your enemies and causing them to just wither away while you are doing other stuff.
|
Type of Skill |
Recommended Skills |
|---|---|
|
Basic Skills |
Frenzy Level 1, Enhanced Frenzy, Combat Frenzy |
|
Core Skills |
Rend Level 5, Enhanced Rend, Furious Rend, Pressure Point |
|
Defensive Skills |
Challenging Shout, Enhanced Challening Shout, Iron Skin, Enhanced Iron Skin, Strategic Iron Skin |
|
Brawling Skills |
Leap |
|
Mastery Skills |
Death Blow Level 1, Enhanced Death Blow, Fighter's’s Death Blow, Hamstring |
|
Ultimate Skills |
Wrath of the Berserker, Prime Wrath of the Berserker, Supreme Wrath of the Berserker, Wallop Level 1, Concussion Level 3, Tempered Fury Level 1, Invigorating Fury Level 3, Furious Impulse Level 2 |
|
Key Passives |
Walking Arsenal |
Bloody Barbarian Best Aspects
Your Aspects for this build are going to look identical to those of the Rend Barbarian build:
|
Gear Slot |
Aspect |
Aspect Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Ring |
Aspect of the Relentless Armsmaster |
Gain 20-36% increased Fury Generation while all damage bonuses from the Walking Arsenal Key Passive are active. |
|
Weapon, Gloves, Amulet |
Aspect of Limitless Rage |
Each point of Fury you generate while at Maximum Fury grants your next Core Skill 1-2% increased damage, up to 15-30%. |
|
Ring |
Aspect of the Umbral |
Restore 1-4 of your Primary Resource when you Crowd Control an enemy. |
|
Weapon, Gloves, Amulet, Ring |
Aspect of Berserk Ripping |
Whenever you deal direct damage while Berserking, inflict 20-30% of the Base damage dealt as additional Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Edgemaster's Aspect |
When cast, your Skills deal 10-20% increased damage based on your available Primary Resource, getting the maximum when you have full Primary Resource. |
|
Ring |
Aspect of Berserk Fury |
While Berserking, you gain 3-6 Fury per second. |
|
Helm, Chest, Gloves, Boots, Shield, Amulet |
Aspect of Anemia |
Direct damage on Bleeding enemies has a 20-30% chance to Stun them. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Limitless Rage |
While you are at Maximum Fury, every point of Fury you generate increases your next Core Skill by 1-2%, up to 15-30%. |
Bloody Barbarian Best Gear & Gems
For the Bloody build, you will want to focus on Rubies for your armor, Emeralds for your weapons, and Skulls for your jewelry. You can see a breakdown of what these do for you in the following table:
|
Gear |
Gem |
Affixes |
|---|---|---|
|
Head |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Chest |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Hands |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Legs |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Boots |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Weapon |
Emerald |
Increase critical damage against vulnerable enemies. |
|
Amulet |
Skulls |
Boosts your defense stat. |
|
Ring |
Skulls |
Boosts your defense stat. |
For gear, there are two pieces that will want to find in order to bring the most out of the build:
|
Gear |
Attributes |
|---|---|
|
Fields of Crimson |
This two-handed sword can cause an enemy hit with Rupture to create a pool of blood that will inflict Bleeding damage for six seconds, and will also increase Bleeding damage for any enemy standing in it. |
|
Rage of Harrogath |
This Chest Armor piece is useful for its Lucky Hit stat: Lucky Hit: up to a 20-40% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Non-Ultimate Skills by 1.5 seconds when you inflict Bleeding on Elites. |
Bloody Barbarian Best Paragon Nodes
id="rend-barbarian-best-paragon-nodes">
You will want to look to unlock the following nodes on your Paragon board once you have reached Level 50 with your Bloody Barbarian:
|
Paragon Node |
Type of Node |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Mortal Draw |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, skills that swap to a different weapon deal +3.505% increased damage. Additionally, swapping weapons has an 18% chance to cause the Skill’s damage to Critically Strike. |
|
Exploit |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal +1.5% increased damage to Vulnerable targets. When an enemy is damaged by you, they become Vulnerable for 3 seconds. This cannot happen more than once every 20 seconds per enemy. |
|
Ire |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal +1.5% increased damage while Berserking. While Berserking, you take 10% reduced damage from Elites. |
|
Imbiber |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Willpower purchased within range, you deal +1.84% increased damage while Healthy. You can also gain +30% increased Potion Healing. |
|
Disembowel |
Rare Node |
For every 5 Willpower purchased within range, you deal +1.5% increased Bleeding damage. Killing a Bleeding enemy has a 10% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Non-Ultimate active Cooldowns by 1 second. |
|
Weapon Master |
Rare Node |
Paragon nodes within range gain +30% bonus to their Physical damage and damage reduction modifiers. Hitting with a Weapon Mastery Skill reduces the active Cooldown of another random Weapon Mastery Skill by [2] seconds. |
|
Blood Rage |
Legendary Node |
Killing a Bleeding enemy has 10% chance to grant Berserking for 5 seconds. |
|
Hemorrhage |
Legendary Node |
Enemies that have been affected by your Bleeding for [3] or more seconds take x12% increased damage from you. |
|
Decimator |
Legendary Node |
Lucky Hit: Two-Handed Slashing Weapon attacks have up to a 8% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds. |
Bloody Barbarian Playstyle
You are going to be able to deal a lot of damage and take very little with this build, so you will always want to be getting in close and tanking. Spam your enemies with Frenzy and Death Blow, and you will be able to wipe out entire groups with ease. Just keep the pressure and don't slow down; the speed of this build is part of what makes it so fun.
Bloody Barbarian Best Expertise & Technique
Choose the Two-Handed Sword Technique for this build, as it adds a certain amount of Bleeding to your enemies, which is the entire core concept of the build. You can't have too much Bleeding for this. You could also choose the Two-Handed Axe to deal more damage to vulnerable enemies, but the Two-Handed Sword is, by far, the best option.
Best Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian Builds
Most of the abilities for this build are the same that you would see on another build focused on Bleed, with a combination of attacks to build Fury fast, and passives to keep that Fury amount steady.
|
Type of Skill |
Recommended Skills |
|
Basic Skills |
Lunging Srike, Enhanced Lunging Strike, Combat Lunging Strike |
|
Core Skills |
Rend, Enhanced Rend, Furious Rend |
|
Defensive Skills |
Challening Shout, Enhanced Challenging Shout, Rallying Cry, Enhanced Rallying Cry, Strategic Rallying Cry, Imposing Presence, Martial Vigor |
|
Brawling Skills |
Aggressive Resistance, Prolific Fury, Booming Voice, Guttural Yell, Raid Leader |
|
Mastery Skills |
Steel Grasp, Enhanced Steel Grasp, Fighter's Steel Grasp, Thick Skin, Couteroffensive, Hamstring, Cut to the Bone, Pit Fighter |
|
Ultimate Skills |
Iron Maelstrom, Prime Iron Maelstrom, Supreme Iron Maelstrom |
|
Key Passives |
Gushing Wounds |
Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian Best Aspects
The Aspects for this build are possibly the most important part of the entire thing, as they are really what brings out the best qualities of this build. With all of these Aspects in play, you can overcome not having a specific, special piece of equipment to use, and maximize the amount of Bleed you can deal.
|
Gear Slot |
Aspect |
Aspect Effect |
|
Amulet, Boots, Chest, Gloves, Helm, Offhand |
Aspect of Audacity |
When there are at least 5 Close enemies, Stun them for 2-4 seconds. This can only occur once every 20 seconds. |
|
Helm, Chest, Gloves, Boots, Shields, Amulet |
Aspect of Anemia |
Lucky Hit: Direct damage against Bleeding enemies has up to a 20-30% chance to Stun them for 2 seconds. |
|
Helm, Chest, Gloves, Boots, Shields, Amulet |
Exploiter's Aspect |
You have 20% increased Crowd Control Duration. While enemies are Unstoppable, you deal 20-40%. |
|
Ring |
Bold Chieftain's Aspect |
Whenever you cast a Shout Skill, its Cooldown is reduced by 1-1.9 seconds per nearby enemy, up to a maximum of 6 seconds. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Smiting Aspect |
You have 10-20% increased Critical Strike Chance against Injured enemies. While you are Healthy, you gain 20- 40% increased Crowd Control Duration. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Rapid Aspect |
Basic Skills gain 15-30% Attack Speed. |
|
Helm, Chest, Pants, Shield, Amulet |
Aspect of Might |
Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for 2.0-6.0 seconds. |
|
Helm, Chest, Pants, Shield, Amulet |
Iron Blood Aspect |
Gain 2-4% Damage Reduction for each nearby Bleeding enemy up to 10 - 20% maximum. |
|
Helm, Chest, Pants, Shield, Amulet |
Aspect of Disobedience |
You gain 0.15-0.30% increased Armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage, stacking up to 60%. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Aspect of Berserk Ripping |
Whenever you deal direct damage while Berserking, inflict 20-30% of the base damage dealt as additional Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Accelerating Aspect |
Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by 15-25% for 5 seconds. |
|
Gloves, Amulet, Ring, Weapon |
Skullbreaker's Aspect |
Stunning a Bleeding enemy deals 22-40% of their total Bleeding amount to them as Physical damage. |
Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian Best Gear & Gems
The three Gems that you will be using for this build are Amethysts, Rubies, and Skulls. These will help boost your Health while also adding some more damage to your already-plentiful output.
|
Gear |
Gem |
Affixes |
|
Head |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Chest |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Hands |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Legs |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Boots |
Ruby |
Maximum Health Increase |
|
Weapon |
Amethyst |
Increase in damage over time |
|
Amulet |
Skulls |
Boosts your defense stat |
|
Ring |
Skulls |
Boosts your defense stat |
There are no specific pieces of equipment that you need to worry about for this build; you will need to focus on getting the Aspects to make this build how it needs to be.
Boody Maelstrom Barbarian Best Paragon Nodes
The Paragon Board for your Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian will help round out all of your stats and abilities to make sure you are putting out the best damage possible.
|
Paragon Node |
Type of Node |
Effect |
|
Iron Strength |
Rare Node |
+100 Armor and +10 Strength |
|
Raw Power |
Rare Node |
10% Physical Damage reduction and +10 Strength |
|
Demolish |
Rare Node |
+10 Strength and 10% Vulnerable Damage reduction |
|
Blood Rage |
Legendary Node |
Killing a Bleeding enemy has a 10% chance to grant Berserking for five seconds. |
|
Warbringer |
Legendary Node |
For every 75 Fury spent, you gain 12% of your Maximum Life as Fortify. |
|
Hemorrhage |
Legendary Node |
Enemies that have been afflicted by your Bleeding for more than 3 seconds take x15% increased damge. |
Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian Playstyle
The Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian is meant to be relentless. You keep attacking your enemies to inflict Bleed and then move on to the next one. With your Fury staying full pretty often, you won't find yourself in need of recharging it and can keep using Rend to inflict a ton of damage. And as you cause your enemies to Bleed, you can focus on other ones as they start taking damage without you even having to hit them.
Bloody Maelstrom Barbarian Best Expertise & Technique
The best expertise that you can use for this build is the Two-Handed Axe Technique, as it bumps up the damage that you can inflict on Vulnerable enemies, which is a status that a lot of your abilities will put on the enemies. Both your attacks and gear will make it so that Vulnerable is commonly being placed on your foes, thus bringing your damage even higher.