The Best Diablo IV Barbarian Build

You can build the Barbarian in even more ways in Diablo IV.

The Barbarian is one of the most recognizable classes in the Diablo franchise, and many players have turned to the melee fighter for its decent durability and powerful AoE crowd-clearing ability.

Diablo IV’s new revamped gameplay mechanics create new build ideas for all its classes. The Barbarian, however, is a bit special in Diablo IV, thanks to a special class mechanic that allows it to equip more than one weapon.

In this guide, we have outlined some Barbarian Build ideas that you can use to lay waste to your enemies in Diablo IV.

Diablo IV Barbarian Class Overview

The Barbarian is a staple melee damage Class in the Diablo franchise since Diablo I. The fan-favorite class returns in Diablo IV, and with the game’s new class mechanics, it brings versatility that’s never been seen before in the Barbarian class.

Arsenal System is the Barbarian’s special class mechanic, allowing the class to carry up to four weapons simultaneously.

• 1x Two-handed Bludgeoning Weapon
  
• 1x Two-handed Slashing Weapon
  
• 2x One-handed Weapon (Duel Wield)

In case you didn’t know, weapons in Diablo IV only affect your character’s stats and nothing more. Since Attacks come from your character’s Skills, your weapons only bolster your Skills’ effects through the bonuses they provide.

However, unlike the rest of the Classes, you can assign Skills to any of the Barbarian’s four weapon slots to maximize Skill damage. Using Skills will trigger the assigned Barbarian weapon and utilize that weapon’s bonuses for maximum effect. You won’t have to swap between the four weapons since the switching happens automatically when you use Barbarian Skills.

Diablo IV Barbarian Builds

Popular Diablo IV Barbarian builds revolve around Whirlwind or Rend, which are decent build options that allow you to level up smoothly to Level 50. Which one you choose will depend greatly on your goals and gameplay preferences.

Barbarian Whirlwind Build

If there was only one way to build the Barbarian in Diablo IV, you could never go wrong with the Whirlwind Build – the most beginner-friendly and highest DPS build for the Barbarian in Diablo IV.

The Whirlwind Barbarian build is easily the most recognizable in the Diablo franchise. This build has been very popular in previous Diablo games thanks to its ability to deal damage to a large number of enemies.

Whirlwind’s AoE damage makes it great for clearing mobs quickly and dealing consistent damage to larger, more powerful enemies. Leveling from 1-50 in Diablo IV will be much faster with the Whirlwind build than anything else.

Whirlwind Skill Build (Level 1-50)

‘Spin to Win’ is the game’s name with the Barbarian Whirlwind Build, and you will deal most of your damage through the iconic ability. However, you must maintain your Fury Gauge as Whirlwind desperately relies on this resource.

The Leveling Skill build above will help support Whirlwind’s damage and Fury Gauge needs by utilizing Fury-generating Skills such as Lunging Strike, Rallying Cry, and War Cry.

Barbarian Rend Build

Rend is also a popular Barbarian build focused on clearing in Diablo IV. However, unlike Whirlwind, which deals area damage consistently, Rend requires you to gather enemies and group them up before unleashing instant damage.

Rend Skill Build (Level 1-50)

The Rend build is all about dealing as much burst damage as possible. Picking up Lunging Strike early adds even more Bleed damage to Rend’s already devastating Bleeding damage.

Pick up your Shout Skills after you pick up Furious Rend to gain more damage and movement speed. By Level 19, you should already have Death Blow – a valuable Skill that provides a big chunk of Fury regen, allowing you to spam the Rend freely.

Best Weapons, Stats, and Aspects for the Barbarian in Diablo IV

Weapons

Look for the following stats when equipping a Slashing weapon for your Barbarian Builds.

• 1 Handed Weapons: Critical Strike, Damage to Close, Damage to Slowed, Sockets.
  
• 2 Handed Weapons: DPS, Core Skill Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Sockets.

Stats

There are only four stats to worry about in Diablo IV, and only three are particularly useful for the Barbarian.

For the most part, you will want to equip items that boost Strength, as this stat increases Armor and Skill damage. Next, boost the Barbarian’s Willpower to improve the class’ Overpower damage, healing, and Fury gauge regen. Lastly, the Barbarian can also benefit from items that boost the Dexterity stat to help increase Dodge and Critical Strike chance.

Aspects

Like Stats, Aspects provides additional effects and buffs to supercharge your Barbarian builds. The following Aspects will serve any Barbarian build nicely.

• Accelerating Aspect – triggering Critical Striking with your Core Skills increases Attack Speed by 15% for 5 seconds.
  
• Aspect of Anemia – Dealing direct damage on bleeding enemies has a 20% chance to Stun the enemy for 2 seconds.
  
• Bold Chieftain’s Aspect – Using Shout Skill reduces the skill’s cooldown by 1 second per nearby enemy. Maximum of 6 seconds.
  
• Death Wish Aspect – Gain Thorns while Berserking.
  
• Dust Devil’s Aspect – Whirlwind leaves behind Dust Devils that damage surrounding enemies.
  
• Aspect of Echoing Fury – Using Shout Skills generates 2 Fury while active.
  
• Aspect of the Expectant – Basic Skills increases your next Core Skill cast by 5% up to 30%.
  
• Iron Blood Aspect – Gain 2% damage reduction for each nearby Bleeding enemy. Maximum of 10%.
  
• Needleflare Aspect – It deals Thorn damage and has a 20% chance to deal damage to enemies around you.
  
• Aspect of the Protector – Dealing damage to Elite enemies spawns a Barrier that absorbs a limited amount of damage for 10 seconds. Has a cooldown of 30 seconds.

Best Gems for the Barbarian in Diablo IV

Gems can also provide additional stats and bonuses to your Barbarian builds. Look for the following Gems and slot them into their respective weapon/armor slots to reap their bonuses.

• Amythyst (Weapons) – Increases Damage Over Time
  
• Emerald (Weapons) – Increases Critical Strike
  
• Emeralds (Armor) – Gain more Thorns
  
• Rubies (Weapons) – Increases Overpower damage
  
• Rubies (Armor) – Increases Max Health
  
• Skulls (Weapons) – Increases Health regen from kills
  
• Skulls (Armor) – Increases HP healing from external sources

Final Thoughts

The Barbarian’s Arsenal System opens up a multitude of builds for the staple melee class in Diablo IV. The ability to bolster skills using multiple weapons is unique to the Barbarian and allows players to build around the Barbarian’s powerful skills, such as Whirlwind.

Regardless of the build you go for with the Barbarian, make sure you equip weapons that increase Strength, Willpower, and Dexterity, and supplement them with the right Weapons, Aspects, and Gems to get the most out of your Barbarian build in Diablo IV.