Best Diablo 4 Barbarian builds, Skills, and Aspects to use

Try these Diablo 4 Barbarian builds to cleave your way through armies of demons with your armory of melee weapons and be an unstoppable berserker. Below you’ll find a full guide on how the Barbarian class works in Diablo 4, from its basic playstyle and unique Arsenal System mechanic to builds and Aspects you should try out.

The best Barbarian Skills allow you to be an effective frontline force as you delve into dungeons, but Barbarians can also specialize in several ways of dealing damage, whether that’s through bleeding the enemy dry, smashing them with various bludgeoning attacks, or going into a Berserk rage. Here’s how the Barbarian class works in Diablo 4, as well as two solid Barbarian builds and tips on Barbarian Aspects, stats, and gems.

Diablo 4 Barbarian guide

The Barbarian class in Diablo 4 uses a variety of melee weapons to deal a lot of physical damage up close, whether it’s through wide AOE attacks, single-target strikes, or extra effects such as Bleed damage and status ailments. Barbarians are also the main ‘tank’ class and are very resilient, allowing them to protect their allies in the heat of combat, mainly through being a good distraction for enemies to focus on. Here’s a quick rundown of the Barbarian class’s core functions:

• Role: Melee fighter, tank, protects allies
• Skill Resource: Fury – using Basic Skills generates Fury but it decays outside of combat
• Class mechanic: Arsenal System – Barbarians can hold up to four weapons across three slots and assign weapons to certain Skills. Each weapon type available to Barbarians also has Expertise levels that add small buffs. You can then apply these buffs to other weapon types with the Technique slot.
• Barbarian weapons: Two-handed Axes, Two-handed Maces, Two-handed Swords, Polearms, Hammers, Axes, Maces, Swords
• Damage types used by Barbarians: Physical (+ Bleed)

Diablo 4 Barbarian Arsenal System and Weapon Expertise

The Barbarian’s special class mechanic – the Arsenal System – provides useful benefits that allow these warriors to become highly versatile in melee combat and can bolster some of the best Diablo 4 Barbarian builds. Firstly, you can hold four weapons at once – one Two-handed Bludgeoning weapon, one Two-handed Slashing weapon, and two one-handed weapons which are your Dual Wield weapons. You can also assign them to different Skills to slightly change how they function. Learn how to swap weapons in Diablo 4 to switch between your Barbarian weapons for Skills.

The main feature of the Arsenal System is Weapon Expertise. These Expertise perks are unlocked at level 5 and provide extra buffs for a certain weapon type – for example the Two-handed Sword Aspect causes a portion of your direct damage to be dealt as Bleed damage over 5 seconds. Each perk can be levelled up to Rank 10 just by using the specified weapon type in combat – doing so improves the perk and unlocks an additional benefit. For the Two-handed Sword Expertise, this adds 30% extra Bleed damage for 5 seconds after killing an enemy.

Finally, you can also choose one Expertise perk to put into your Technique slot, extending its benefit to all weapon types. However, you won’t unlock the Technique Slot until you’ve completed the “Barbarian: Masters of Battle” quest, which is added to your Diablo 4 quest log at Level 15.

Best Diablo 4 Barbarian builds

Below, I’ve laid out all the best Skills and the best Weapon Expertise options you need for two great Diablo 4 Barbarian builds. They’re powerful builds that’ll help you level up and get through the endgame, with one making frequent use of the AoE Whirlwind attack, and the other focusing on dealing massive amounts of Bleed damage – good for single-targets and small groups. Further down, you’ll also find some tips on the best Attributes, Aspects, and Gems to use across your builds.

Diablo 4 Barbarian Whirlwind build Skills

Start things off with Frenzy – a solid Basic attack that’s fast when assigned to your Dual Wield weapons and is great for quickly building up Fury. Next, you obviously need to get Whirlwind as the core of this build. With various attack speed bonuses, Berserking, and damage boosts, you’ll be smashing clusters of enemies as they rush in to surround you.

Since Whirlwind is a channeled Skill, the idea is to generate as much Fury as often as possible to keep your Whirlwind attack going. Rallying Cry, especially with the Tactical upgrade, will really help, giving you a temporary boost to movement speed and Fury generation, while also making you Unstoppable. Add in War Cry and you can deal even more damage for a short time, and gain Berserking. Since both these shout Skills offer crucial buffs, some passive Skills that enhance them are useful too.

The Steel Grasp Skill isn’t critical to this build, but it is useful for providing a brief period of Berserking and for bringing enemies to you and into Whirlwind range. Cap things off with the Wrath of the Berserker Ultimate and Unconstrained Key Passive to enhance your Berserking in pretty much every way – a longer Berserking period, more damage, faster Fury generation, and faster movement speed – practically making you a Tasmanian Devil. Here’s a full list of all the Skills needed for this Whirlwind Barbarian build in Diablo 4:

To get the most out of Whirlwind, I recommend sticking to using only your Dual Wield weapons to ensure your attack speed remains relatively fast. If you’re playing solo, the dual One-handed Axes Expertise offers good Critical Strike potential and bonus attack speed, so equip a pair of those. However, if you’re teamed up with a player that uses lots of crowd control Skills, switching to either dual One-handed Swords or Maces will also be useful. You should also opt for the Two-handed Mace Expertise for your Technique slot to help slightly with Fury generation while using Whirlwind.

Best Diablo 4 Barbarian Bleed build Skills

The Barbarian class has quite a few Skills that apply and benefit from the Bleed effect which can deal a hefty amount of damage over time – great for cleaving through crowds, but also focusing on elite enemies and bleeding them dry. Flay gets the blood ball rolling, allowing you to apply lots of Bleed damage and Vulnerable effects to multiple enemies. Throw in as many Rend attacks as you can to deal even more damage to those you just made Vulnerable too.

You’ll also need to use two Defensive Shout Skills – Challenging Shout and Rallying Cry – to keep your Barbarian appropriately buffed up for the damage they’re going to take. Across both upgraded shouts, you’ll be benefitting from a significant incoming damage reduction, extra maximum health, even more Thorns, increased Fury generation, higher movement speed, and more.

However, this build really comes into its own once you unlock Rupture, as this Weapon Mastery attack allows you to deal huge amounts of damage by draining built-up Bleed damage. It can even cause bloody explosions that spread Bleed to nearby enemies and can heal you! Top this off with the Gushing Wounds Key Passive to bolster your Bleed damage even further. Here are all the Skills you need to craft one of the best Diablo 4 Barbarian builds:

Bleed Skills generally require slashing weapons, but a Two-handed Sword is definitely the best weapon type for this build. Using one for all your Skills means each strike deals plenty of damage, and therefore large amounts of Bleed damage. You’ll also benefit from the Two-handed Sword Expertise, which is the only Expertise perk that increases and improves your Bleed damage. Finally, apply the Two-handed Axe Expertise in your Technique slot to increase the damage you deal to Vulnerable enemies – paired with the Two-handed Sword Expertise, you should be dealing a lot of direct damage and bleeding to any target.

Best Diablo 4 Stats and Attributes for Barbarian builds

Getting gear with the right stat bonuses can help round out the fundamentals of your chosen Barbarian build, and of the four core stats, there are some clear standouts to prioritize:

1. Strength: Arguably the best stat for Barbarians as it increases Armor and Skill damage – both very useful for a class that relies on soaking up damage and dealing a lot of damage with its Skills.
2. Willpower: Increases Overpower damage, healing received, and Fury generation for Barbarians. Essential for any builds revolving around Core Skills such as Whirlwind and Hammer of the Ancients.
3. Dexterity: Increases Dodge chance and Critical Strike chance. Certainly not as useful as Willpower overall, but definitely a good stat to increase for builds focused less on AoE attacks.
4. Intelligence: Increases resistance to all elements but offers nothing specific for Barbarians. This is the least important stat for Barbarians by far.

Best Diablo 4 Barbarian Aspects

As you level up and start earning Legendary gear items, you’ll need to consider which Aspects you need as the right combination can massively improve your build. Here are several Diablo 4 Aspects that work well for a range of Barbarian Skills and builds:

• Accelerating Aspect: Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by 15% for 5 seconds. Must be extracted from Legendary gear.
• Aspect of Anemia: Lucky Hit: Direct damage against Bleeding enemies has up to a 20% chance to Stun them for 2 seconds. Get it from the Kor Dragan Barracks, Fractured Peaks.
• Bold Chieftain’s Aspect: Whenever you cast a Shout Skill, its Cooldown is reduced by 1 second per Nearby enemy, up to a maximum of 6 seconds. Must be extracted from Legendary gear.
• Death Wish Aspect: Gain a significant number of Thorns while Berserking. Unlock this Aspect from the Penitent Cairns, Scosglen but this dungeon is only unlocked once you’ve progressed the campaign in Scosglen.
• Dust Devil’s Aspect: Whirlwind leaves behind Dust Devils that deal damage to surrounding enemies. Must be extracted from Legendary gear.
• Aspect of Echoing Fury: Your Shout Skills generate 2 Fury while active. Get this Aspect from the Sirocco Caverns, Kehjistan.
• Aspect of the Expectant: Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by 5%, up to 30%. Get it in Underroot, Scosglen.
• Iron Blood Aspect: Gain 2% damage reduction for each nearby Bleeding enemy, up to a maximum of 10%. Found in the Forgotten Ruins, Kehjistan.
• Needleflare Aspect: Thorns damage dealt has a 20% chance to deal damage to all enemies around you. Get this in Yshari Sanctum, Kehjistan but you can only access this dungeon by progressing the campaign in Kehjistan.
• Aspect of the Protector: Damaging an Elite enemy grants you a Barrier that absorbs a limited amount of damage for 10 seconds. This effect only happens once every 30 seconds. Find this Aspect from in the Lost Archives, Fractured Peaks.

Best Diablo 4 Barbarian Gems

With your Diablo 4 Barbarian build pretty much ready, you can add some small stat boosts through gems. Here are the Diablo 4 gems I recommend for pretty much any of the best Diablo 4 Barbarian builds out there:

• Amethysts in weapons: Increases damage over time – great for Bleed builds.
• Emeralds in weapons: Increases Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable enemies.
• Emeralds in armor: Gain more Thorns.
• Rubies in weapons: Increases the damage of Overpowers.
• Rubies in armor: Increases maximum health.
• Skulls in weapons: Increases the amount of health you regain with each kill.
• Skulls in armor: Increases the amount of healing received.

Once you reach Level 50, you can start taking your Barbarian build to the next level via the Diablo 4 Paragon Board and Diablo 4 Glyphs. Why not test your build against other players in Diablo 4 PvP too.

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