Diablo 4 Barbarian Guide

Making its debut in Diablo 2 and remaining a fixture of the series ever since the Barbarian is perhaps one of the most iconic and recognizable class archetypes in Diablo. This heavy-hitting melee-focused warrior can dish out punishment as well as they can take it, and Diablo 4‘s revamp of the class sees it being one of the more powerful options available to players. Though the Barbarian started as a bit of a controversial class thanks to some nerfs that Blizzard implemented, it has since become one of the most traditionally overpowered options for players to choose, especially with Diablo 4‘s adoption of a seasonal model and the accompanying changes to class balance.

Barbarian Class Statistics

The Barbarian is a close-quarters melee class that focuses on dealing massive amounts of damage up-close and generates more of its ability resource through constant combat. Essentially, the best way to play as a Barbarian is to jump right into the thick of combat and use the momentum gained from killing enemies and generating Fury to become an unstoppable wrecking ball on the field.

Class Type

• Melee, Physical Damage

Resource

• Fury; is generated with each successive hit

Class Mechanic

• Weapon Mastery, Arsenal; the Barbarian can equip four weapons at once, each of which affects the use of the class’ skills

Barbarian Skills

As with every other class in Diablo 4, the Barbarian has two categories of skills — Active Skills and Passive Skills. Active Skills are abilities that players can assign to their action bar to perform in battle, with a total of 6 available. Passive Skills are abilities that buff and improve Active Skills, and players can have as many active as they have available skill points for.

Further, each class skill tree is separated into Nodes, with each Node featuring a set of Active and Passive Skills for players to assign points to. The Barbarian’s Skill Tree features the following Nodes: Basic, Core, Defensive, Brawling, Weapon Mastery, and Ultimate.

Basic Node Active Skills

• Bash — Basic, Bludgeoning; Bash the enemy with your weapon, dealing 33% damage. After Bashing enemies 4 times, the next Bash will Stun for 1.25 seconds. This increases to 2 seconds if using a Two-Handed weapon.
  • Enhanced Bash — Damaging a Stunned enemy with Bash generates 5 additional Fury (10 Fury is using a Two-Handed weapon).
  • Combat Bash — Critically striking 4 times with Bash while using a Two-Handed weapon Overpowers the next Core or Weapon Mastery Skill.
• Flay — Basic, Slashing; Flay enemies, dealing 5% damage and inflicting 8% Bleed damage over 5 seconds.
  • Enhanced Flay — Flay grants a 15% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds. Increases to 30% when using a Two-Handed weapon.
  • Battle Flay — Any time Flay deals direct damage to an enemy, they suffer 10% increased Bleed damage for 3 seconds.
  • Combat Flay — Any time Flay deals direct damage to an enemy, the player gains 3% Damage Reduction and 166 Thorns for 3 seconds. Stacks up to 4 times.
• Frenzy — Basic, Dual Wield; Unleash a flurry of rapid blows, dealing 24% damage with each pair of hits. If Frenzy directly hits an enemy, Attack Speed increases by 20% for 3 seconds, up to 60%.
  • Enhanced Frenzy — While Frenzy is granting a 60% bonus to Attack Speed, it generates 3 additional Fury.
  • Battle Frenzy — While the Barbarian is Berserking, other skills gain 5% Attack Speed for each stack of Frenzy.
  • Combat Frenzy — 8% Damage Reduction for each stack of Frenzy.
• Lunging Strike — Basic, Mobility; Lunge forward and strike enemies for 33% damage.
  • Enhanced Lunging Strike — Lunging Strike deals 30% increased damage and Heals you for 2% Maximum Life when attacking a Healthy enemy.
  • Battle Lunging Strike — Lunging Strike inflicts 4% Bleed damage over 5 seconds.
  • Combat Lunging Strike — Critical Strikes with Lunging Strike grant Berserking for 1.5 seconds.

Core Node Active Skills

• Double Swing — Core, Dual Wield; Sweep weapons from opposite directions, dealing 50% damage with each. Enemies in the center are damaged by both.
  • Enhanced Double Swing — Gain 25 Fury for every Stunned or Knocked Down enemy hit.
  • Furious Double Swing — Using Double Swing while Berserking adds 2 seconds to its duration.
  • Violent Double Swing — Enemies hit by both weapons are Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
• Hammer of the Ancients — Core, Bludgeoning; Slam down your hammer, dealing 50% damage to an area.
  • Enhanced HotA — Gain 3% more Fury for 5 seconds for every enemy Hammer of the Ancients hits (stacks up to 10 times).
  • Furious HotA — Gain 2% Critical Strike Chance for every 10 Fury you have while using Hammer of the Ancients.
  • Violent HotA — Deal 30% more damage for 5 seconds after Overpowering using Hammer of the Ancients.
• Rend — Core, Slashing; Cleave enemies, dealing 12% damage and inflicting 19% Bleed damage over 5 seconds.
  • Enhanced Rend — Dealing damage with Rend extends the duration of Vulnerable by 2 seconds.
  • Furious Rend — Rend grants 4 Fury for every enemy hit (maximum of 20).
  • Violent Rend — Rend deals 25% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
• Upheaval — Core; Tear into the ground and fling debris at enemies, dealing 77% damage.
  • Enhanced Upheaval — 20% chance to Stun all enemies Upheaval damages for 2.5 seconds.
  • Furious Upheaval — Dealing direct damage with a skill other than Upheaval causes the next Upheaval to deal 12% increased damage (stacks up to 6 times).
  • Violent Upheaval — Gain Berserking for 2 seconds each time Upheaval hits 2 or more enemies or a Boss. Increases to 3 seconds if it hits at least 4 enemies.
• Whirlwind — Core, Channeled; Rapidly attack surrounding enemies for 17% damage.
  • Enhanced Whirlwind — Gain 1 Fury each time Whirlwind deals direct damage to enemies (4 Fury for Elites).
  • Furious Whirlwind — Whirlwind inflicts 40% of its Base damage as Bleed damage over 5 seconds when using a Slashing weapon.
  • Violent Whirlwind — After using Whirlwind for 2 seconds, it deals 30% increased damage until canceled.

Core Node Passive Skills

• Pressure Point — Core Skills have a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
• Endless Fury — Basic Skills generate 10% more Fury when using Two-Handed weapons.

Defensive Node Active Skills

• Challenging Shout — Defensive, Shout; Taunt Nearby enemies, gaining 40% Damage Reduction for 6.5 seconds.
  • Enhanced Challenging Shout — Gain 20% bonus Maximum Life while Challenging Shout is active.
  • Strategic Challenging Shout — Gain Thorns equal to 30% of Maximum Life while Challenging Shout is active.
  • Tactical Challenging Shout — Gain 3 Fury each time you take damage while Challenging Shout is active.
• Ground Stomp — Defensive; Deal 9% damage and Stun enemies for 3 seconds.
  • Enhanced Ground Stomp — Increase Ground Stomp’s duration by 1 second.
  • Strategic Ground Stomp — Reduces Cooldown of Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds for every enemy damaged by Ground Stomp.
  • Tactical Ground Stomp — Ground Stomp generates 40 Fury.
• Iron Skin — Defensive; Gain a Barrier that absorbs 50% of missing Life for 5 seconds.
  • Enhanced Iron Skin — Iron Skin’s Barrier absorbs 0.2% more Maximum Life.
  • Strategic Iron Skin — Iron Skin grants 20% Maximum Life as Fortify. Doubles if cast while below 50% Life.
  • Tactical Iron Skin — Heal for 10% of the Barrier’s original amount as Life per second while Iron Skin is active.
• Rallying Cry — Defensive, Shout; Increase Movement Speed by 30% and Resource Generation by 40% for 6.5 seconds (3.2 seconds for Nearby allies).
  • Enhanced Rallying Cry — Become Unstoppable while Rallying Cry is active.
  • Strategic Rallying Cry — Grants 10% Maximum Life as Fortify. Gain 2% Maximum Life as Fortify every time you deal or take damage while Rallying Cry is active.
  • Tactical Rallying Cry — Generates 20 Fury and grants an additional 20% Fury Generation.

Defensive Node Passive Skills

• Imposing Presence — Gain 6% additional Maximum Life.
• Martial Vigor — Increase Damage Reduction against Elites by 4%.
• Outburst — Gain 66 Thorns and 33 Thorns for each 166 bonus Maximum Life.
• Tough as Nails — Increase Thorns by 3%. Enemies take an additional 10% of Thorns as Bleed damage over 5 seconds.

Brawling Node Active Skills

• Charge — Brawling, Mobility; Rush forward, dealing 180% damage and Knocking Back enemies.
  • Enhanced Charge — Enemies Knocked Back into terrain take 150% damage and are Stunned for 3 seconds.
  • Mighty Charge — Hitting enemies with Charge makes them Vulnerable (4 seconds).
  • Power Charge — Reduce Charge’s Cooldown by 2 seconds for every enemy it hits (maximum 6 seconds). Reduces Cooldown by 4 seconds when used on Bosses.
• Kick — Brawling; Deal 18% damage and Knock Back any targets in front of you. Enemies Knocked Back into terrain take an additional 105% damage and are afflicted with Stun (3 seconds).
  • Enhanced Kick — Damaging enemies using Kick inflicts Vulnerable for 4 seconds.
  • Mighty Kick — Enemies hit and Knocked Back by Kick inflict 54% damage to enemies they collide with. Enemies damaged this way will be Knocked Down (2 seconds).
  • Power Kick — If Kick damages an enemy, consume all Fury and deal an additional 25% damage for every 10 Fury consumed. Kick no longer Knocks Back enemies.
• Leap — Brawling, Mobility; Leap forward and slam, dealing 42% damage and Knocking Back enemies.
  • Enhanced Leap — Cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds if no enemies are hit.
  • Mighty Leap — Enemies damaged by Leap are Slowed by 70% over 5 seconds.
  • Power Leap — Gain 40 Fury if Leap damages at least one enemy.
• War Cry — Brawling, Shout; Increase damage dealt by 15% for 6.5 seconds (and Nearby allies for 3.2 seconds).
  • Enhanced War Cry — War Cry grants Berserking for 4 seconds.
  • Mighty War Cry — War Cry grants 15% Maximum Life as Fortify.
  • Power War Cry — Damage bonus increases by an additional 10% if at least 6 enemies are Nearby when using War Cry.

Brawling Node Passive Skills

• Booming Voice — Shout effect durations increase by 8%.
• Guttural Yell — Shouts cause enemies to deal 4% less damage over 5 seconds.
• Raid Leader — Shouts Heal allies for 1% of their Maximum Life every second.
• Aggressive Resistance — Berserking grants 4% Damage Reduction.
• Battle Fervor — Gain Berserking for 1 second after damaging an enemy with a Brawling skill.
• Prolific Fury — Fury generation increases by 6% while Berserking.
• Swiftness — Movement Speed increases by 4%.
• Quick Impulses — Reduce duration of Control Impairing Effects by 6%.

Weapon Mastery Node Active Skills

• Death Blow — Weapon Mastery; Attempt a killing strike, dealing 120% damage to enemies in front. Cooldown resets upon successful kill.
  • Enhanced Death Blow — Death Blow deals 150% increased damage to Bosses.
  • Fighter’s Death Blow — Gain 20 Fury as long as Death Blow hits 1 enemy.
  • Warrior’s Death Blow — Gain Berserking for 3 seconds as long as Death Blow hits 1 enemy.
• Rupture — Weapon Mastery, Slashing; Skewer enemies, dealing 13% damage that has a guarantee to Overpower. After, rip out your weapon, damaging enemies for their total Bleed amount and removing all Bleed damage.
  • Enhanced Rupture — Ripping weapons out of enemies during Rupture creates an explosion dealing 13% Bleed damage over 5 seconds. Increases by 10% for every 50 Strength.
  • Fighter’s Rupture — Hitting 1 enemy with Rupture heals 22% of Maximum Life.
  • Warrior’s Rupture — hitting enemies with Rupture increases Attack Speed by 40% for 5 seconds.
• Steel Grasp — Weapon Mastery; Throw out chains that deal 23% damage and pull in enemies.
  • Enhanced Steel Grasp — Steel Grasp makes enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • Fighter’s Steel Grasp — If Steel Grasp damages an enemy, gain Berserking for 2 seconds.
  • Warrior’s Steel Grasp — Steel Grasp gains 1 additional charge.

Weapon Mastery Node Passive Skills

• Thick Skin — Gain 0.4% Maximum Life as Fortify each time the Barbarian takes direct damage.
• Counteroffensive — While Fortified for over 50% of Maximum Life, deal 4% increased damage.
• Defensive Stance — Damage Reduction increases by 2% while Fortified.
• Pit Fighter — Deal 3% increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2% Distant Damage Reduction.
• No Mercy — 3% increased Critical Strike Chance against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
• Slaying Strike — Deal 7.5% increased damage against Injured enemies.
• Expose Vulnerability — Dealing direct damage with any Weapon Mastery skill makes the next Core Skill cause enemies to become Vulnerable for 1 second.

Ultimate Node Active Skills

• Call of the Ancients — Ultimate; Call upon 3 Ancients to join you in battle for 6 seconds.
  • Prime Call of the Ancients — Gain 20% bonus to Attack Speed and 20% increased damage when Call of the Ancients is active.
  • Supreme Call of the Ancients — Each of the Ancients gains additional power. Korlic: Gain 10 Fury every time Korlic damages an enemy with his Frenzy. Talic: enemies are Slowed by 50% for 1 second when damaged by Talic’s Whirlwind. Madawc: 30% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds after being hit by Madawc’s Upheaval.
• Iron Maelstrom — Ultimate, Bludgeoning, Dual Wield; Activate three times to attach chains to each of the Barbarian’s weapons and perform an attack: First, Two-Handed Bludgeoning weapons slam into the ground, dealing 60% damage and Stunning enemies for 2 seconds. Next, Two-Handed Slashing weapons swipe in front, dealing 20% damage and inflicting 24% Bleed damage over 5 seconds. Finally, Dual Wield weapons swing around, dealing 32% damage every hit.
  • Prime Iron Maelstrom — Iron Maelstrom gains 30% Critical Strike Chance and deals 40% increased Critical Strike Damage.
  • Supreme Iron Maelstrom — Dealing direct damage after swapping weapons reduces Iron Maelstrom’s cooldown by 1 second.
• Wrath of the Berserker — Ultimate, Basic; Kock Back surrounding enemies and gain Berserking and Unstoppable for 5 seconds. For the next 10 seconds, dealing direct damage with Basic skills grants Berserking for 5 seconds.
  • Prime Wrath of the Berserker — While Wrath of the Berserker is active, gain 20% increased Movement Speed and 30% increased Fury Generation.
  • Supreme Wrath of the Berserker — While Wrath of the Berserker is active, every 50 Fury spent increases Berserking’s damage bonus by 25% (up to 100%).

Ultimate Node Passive Skills

• Tempered Fury — Increase maximum Fury by 3.
• Furious Impulse — Gain 2 Fury after each weapon swap.
• invigorating Fury — Heal 3% Maximum Life (50) for each 100 Fury spent.
• Heavy Handed — Deal 5% increased Critical Strike Damage when using Two-Handed weapons.
• Wallop — Bludgeoning; Skills using Bludgeoning weapons deal 5% increased damage when enemies are Stunned or Vulnerable.
• Brute Force — Overpowered Skills deal 8% increased damage when using Two-Handed weapons.
• Concussion — Bludgeoning; Lucky Hit: Skills using Bludgeoning weapons have a 10% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds. Increases to 15% when using a Two-Handed weapon.
• Duelist — Dual Wield; Attack Speed increases by 3% when using One-Handed weapons.

Key Passive Skills

• Gushing Wounds — After inflicting Bleed on an enemy, the Barbarian gains a chance equal to the Critical Strike Chance for the Bleed amount to increase by 140% of the Critical Strike Damage bonus.
• Unbridled Rage — Core Skills deal 100% increased damage, with the trade-off that they cost 100% more Fury.
• Unconstrained — Berserking’s maximum duration is increased by 5 seconds and its damage bonus increases to 100%.
• Walking Arsenal — 10% increased damage for 10 seconds when dealing direct damage with Two-Handed (Bludgeoning and Slashing) or Dual-Wielded weapons. When all three bonuses are active, gain an additional 20% increased Attack Speed and Damage.

Barbarian Unique Class Mechanic — Weapon Expertise

Unlike other classes, the Barbarian has a total of 4 weapon slots to work with thanks to its unique class mechanic: Weapon Expertise. Barbarians can equip one of each of the following:

• Main Hand
• Off-Hand
• Two-Hand Bludgeoning Weapon
• Two-Hand Slashing Weapon

The type of weapon players equip into each of these slots (as well as the weapon’s stats and affixes) will impact the effectiveness of the various Barbarian Skills that utilize each weapon type. Additionally, players also need to take Expertise into consideration. The more players use a specific weapon type, the more their Expertise with that weapon grows, increasing its effectiveness.

Barbarian Legendary Aspects

Aspects are a new addition to the Diablo series introduced in Diablo 4 as a way to allow players to specifically cater endgame builds to their playstyle. Each of the game’s 6 classes has its own unique Legendary Aspects to collect and affix to gear, as well as a set of generic Legendary Aspects that are usable across every class. Further, there are also new Aspects that are introduced each season that change the meta of the classes and the various builds players craft for them. Here are some of the more significant Barbarian Aspects that players will want to acquire to make certain builds viable:

• Aspect of Fierce Winds: Shout Skills create 3 Dust Devils that deal [60-105] damage to enemies along their path. Dust Devils are [5-20]% bigger and deal 1% increased damage for each 1% their size is increased.
• Aspect of Ancestral Echoes: Damaging enemies with Leap, Upheaval, or Whirlwind have up to a [45-60]% chance to summon an Ancient to perform the same skill.
• Aspect of the Dire Whirlwind: Whirlwind’s Critical Strike Chance is increased by [3-8]% for each second it’s active, up to [9-24]%.

Best Barbarian Builds (as of Season 4)

Each new season of Diablo 4 sees classes rise and fall in terms of their popularity and viability thanks to changes in the game’s meta. Surprisingly, the Barbarian is one of the more consistently powerful classes regardless of season, and Season 4 is no different. There are several excellent Leveling and Endgame builds for the Barbarian that are fun to play and not all that difficult to farm gear and Aspects for. As a reminder, players will be starting fresh from Level 1 with a new Seasonal character roll, and once the Season is over, that Seasonal character becomes an Eternal Realm character.

Leveling Builds

• Bash Barbarian — An easy-to-play build that is immensely powerful. Made possible after acquiring the Bash Cleaves for +% Damage Tempering Affix. Though it starts slow since players need to reach Level 15 before unlocking the ability to Temper, it rapidly scales in power and is made all the better thanks to some excellent Aspects. Key Skills: Bash, Charge, Rallying Cry, War Cry, Challenging Shout, Wrath of the Berserker, Unconstrained
• Charge Barbarian — Charge Barbarians are great for handling enemy mobs thanks to their great power and mobility. Buffs to the Charge ability coming courtesy of Season 4 makes this one of the better Leveling builds for the class. Key Skills: Bash, Charge, Upheaval, Rallying Cry, War Cry, Wrath of the Berserker, Unconstrained
• Thorns Barbarian — The Thorns Barbarian build takes an unconventional approach to the class by relying on Passive rather than Active damage. Thanks to the Thorns effect that damages any enemies who attack the Barbarian, players can sit back and let the enemies effectively wipe themselves out. Key Skills: Challenging Shout, Rallying Cry, War Cry, Call of the Ancients, Flay, Upheaval, Unconstrained
• Whirlwind Barbarian — The classic “Whirlwind go brrr” build, Whirlwind Barbarians are always moving and dealing plenty of damage, effectively careening across the map like the Tasmanian Devil. The ability to deal massive AoE damage and move at high speeds makes the Whirlwind Barbarian as fun to play as it is powerful. Key Skills: Lunging Strike, Whirlwind, Charge, Rallying Cry, War Cry, Wrath of the Berserker, Unconstrained

Endgame Builds

• Dust Devil Barbarian — The Dust Devil Barbarian is one of the more popular builds for the class in Season 4 thanks to a handful of powerful Aspects (Devilish Aspect, Windslasher Aspect, Aspect of Fierce Winds, Dust Devil’s Aspect) that allow the build to be just as effective against solo targets as it is against mobs. Key Skills: Double Swing, Leap, Rallying Cry, War Cry, Challenging Shout, Wrath of the Berserker, Unconstrained
• Double Swing Barbarian — The Double Swing Barbarian build takes some of the Dust Devil Barbarian’s lead but then separates itself by focusing on high damage output to single Elite targets while letting Dust Devils take out weaker mobs. Rather than the “best of both worlds” approach of the Dust Devil Barbarian, the Double Swing build allows players to focus on harder targets while their skills do the rest of the heavy lifting. Key Skills: War Cry, Rallying Cry, Challenging Shout, Wrath of the Berserker, Leap, Double Swing, Unconstrained.

Primary Stats & Effects

Each class in Diablo 4 will gain certain bonuses for each level up based on their Primary Stats and the unique class effects each one has. The Barbarian gains both offensive and defensive bonuses for each stat point gained, outlined in the table below.

Barbarian Status Ailments/Buffs

In addition to the Skills and Stat bonuses available to the Barbarian, there are also some important Status Ailments that play a vital role in how the class plays.

• Barrier: Absorbs damage from all sources up to a specific amount. Barbarian gains Barrier from the Iron Skin skill.
• Berserking: Increases damage by 25% and Movement Speed by 30%. Barbarian gains Berserking from a wide variety of skills, including Combat Lunging Strike, Furious Double Swing, and others.
• Fortify: Take 10% decreased damage. Characters become Fortified when they have more Fortify than Life. Barbarian gains Fortify from Rallying Cry and War Cry as well as from Enhanced Iron Skin.
• Overpower: Deal bonus damage based on the sum of Life and Fortify. Barbarian gains Overpower from Combat Bash.
• Thorns: Reflects inflicted damage back at enemies. Note that characters are not invulnerable but instead dish out an equal amount of damage received courtesy of the Thorns effect. The Barbarian has access to the passive Thorns effect and can amplify it by leveling up and gaining points in the Strength stat.
• Unstoppable: Removes and prevents Control Impairing Effects. Barbarians can gain Unstoppable from Enhanced Rallying Cry, Charge, and Wrath of the Berserker.

Why Play as a Barbarian in Diablo 4?

The Barbarian is the classic “sword and board” warrior archetype that many players prefer in role-playing games. For anyone who likes to get up close and personal with enemies and engage in some satisfying melee combat, it’s hard to choose a better class for Diablo 4 than the Barbarian. One of the best parts of playing a Barbarian is the power potential that they have thanks to their ability to equip 4 weapons and assign Aspects to each. Playing as a Barbarian is one of Diablo 4‘s best and most classic power fantasies, and it’s made even better by the potential to scale the class up with the right gear, Aspects, and Tempering.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Diablo 4 gameplay screenshot.