As one of the most recognizable and iconic classes in the series' history, many players both new and returning will likely choose Diablo 4's Barbarian as their starting class. For Diablo veterans, there will likely be some familiarity in choosing how to spec the Barbarian, but for new players, the sheer amount of options for the class may be somewhat overwhelming. The key to maximizing the potential of Diablo 4's Barbarian is to focus on one particular skill map rather than attempt to allocate points in a wide range of abilities. For a Barbarian that deals equally in terms of speed and damage, one should look no further than the Thorns Berserker build.
One of the best aspects of the Thorns Berserker is its ability to effectively draw aggro from enemy mobs and then immediately melt them through the use of reflect damage applied via the Thorns skill. For anyone that has steered clear of the Barbarian due to its lack of viable mobility options, the Thorns Berserker just might be the build that will convert anyone to the class thanks to its focus on speed as much as sheer power. The recent buffs to the Barbarian in Diablo 4 as a result of beta feedback now make this build even more effective.
Skills to Prioritize for the Thorns Berserker Build
The Thorns Berserker is one of the better tank-type builds for the Barbarian class thanks to its focus on reflecting any damage received through the Thorns skill. With the Barbarian's comparatively slow movement when compared to the other Diablo 4 classes, the Thorns Berserker helps improve the class' sense of speed by focusing on launching the Barbarian into enemies and then drawing aggro away from the rest of the party. In addition to the Lunging Strike base skill, players using the Thorns Berserker build will want to invest points into Challenging Shout to taunt enemies and Upheaval for triggering Berserk.
One important factor to note for the Thorns Berserker build is that it is predicated upon two procced abilities - Thorns and Berserk. While players cannot map points into Diablo 4's skill tree that will directly improve these abilities, the skills outlined as part of this build will work toward synergizing the Barbarian's ability to both reflect damage and improve speed and damage through the Thorns and Berserk effects, respectively. In addition to the skills below, players may want to invest points into Tough as Nails to add a bonus to Thorns' damage dealt.
Lunging Strike - Lunging Strike is the main skill that players using the Thorns Berserker will use to begin each encounter. Not only does the skill deal a moderate amount of damage, but it also helps the frustratingly slow Diablo 4 Barbarian clear large distances almost instantaneously. After initially investing points in Lunging Strike, players will want to upgrade to Enhanced Lunging Strike and Combat Lunging Strike to allow for healing on damaging a target with max health and the triggering of the Berserk effect.
Challenging Shout - The utility of the Thorns Berserker is exemplified through the build's ability to taunt enemies and draw aggro from enemy mobs. Challenging Shout is not only an effective skill for taunting enemies, but it also reduces the amount of incoming damage that the Barbarian receives. This skill helps the Thorns Berserker gather as many enemies as possible to then destroy them with the reflected damage from Thorns. Further, upgrading to Enhanced and Strategic Challenging Shout will increase the Barbarian's health pool in Diablo 4 and then deal Thorns damage using half of the Barbarian's Maximum Health.
Upheaval - The Upheaval skill is useful for triggering Berserk but also requires a significant amount of Fury to activate. Thanks to using Challenging Shout, activating Upheaval can also be useful toward crowd control once upgraded to Enhanced Upheaval through applying Stun to affected targets. Essentially, players will want to use Upheaval to deal significant damage to enemy mobs while simultaneously building Berserk and amplifying the already impressive damage of the Barbarian in Diablo 4's beta.
How to Use the Thorns Berserker Build Against Diablo 4's Enemies and Bosses
Compared to some of the other builds in Diablo 4, the strategy for the Thorns Berserker is drastically different when dealing with enemy mobs versus when encountering bosses. The general encounter strategy for the Thorns Berserker is to begin each encounter by using the Lunging Strike skill to close the distance between the player and the enemy. Once the Barbarian is in the vicinity of an enemy mob, activating the Challenging Shout skill will draw enemy aggro. Thorns will reflect damage received back at enemies while also building toward the Barbarian's Berserk. Once enough Fury has been generated, players will want to activate the Upheaval skill and deal massive amounts of damage to any enemies unlucky enough to be caught in its path.
Since the Thorns Berserker heavily relies on dealing reflected Thorns damage back at enemies, encountering Diablo 4's challenging bosses presents a different approach to using the build. To deal with both bosses and elite enemies, players using the Thorns Berserker build will want to invest skill points into Death Blow to then subsequently unlock Enhanced Death Blow, which boosts damage done to bosses by 100%. Additionally, unlocking Warrior's Death Blow will help the player maintain Berserk for extended encounters and keep the speed and damage buff this effect applies active.
Diablo 4 launches June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.