Gamers that love Diablo 4 and the rest of the franchise might have it in their heads that the Barbarian is almost exclusively a support hero. As these were some of the best builds in the series, that remains the case; players that want to support the team with crowd control and buffs can still do so.
But the best PvE build, for solo or groups, is a little bit different this time. The Barbarian can dish out moves that stop enemies from dealing any damage and can take the helm for damage dealing in Diablo 4. With a build that gives them limitless Fury, their best moves are consistently ready to go.
Updated on June 30th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: This guide has been updated for the huge rebalance patch in 1.0.3. Many guides have remained untouched because most skills got a simple numerical buff or nerf to bring them in line with the rest of the skills in the game. Especially with Vulnerable builds becoming so powerful, this was an appropriate rebalance. However, not every skill received a small buff or nerf. Some of these were significant enough to change builds for and this build was one of those. Some of these buffs weren't to damage but to cooldown or resource reduction which alters the skill rotation entirely. The old build might still be better than it was before but this new guide gets the absolute most out of the class.
Skill Tree
Skill | Points |
Flay | 5 |
Enhanced Flay | 1 |
Battle Flay | 1 |
Rend | 5 |
Enhanced Rend | 1 |
Violent Rend | 1 |
Pressure Point | 3 |
Kick | 5 |
Enhanced Kick | 1 |
Mighty Kick | 1 |
Charge | 5 |
Enhanced Charge | 1 |
Mighty Charge | 1 |
Rupture | 5 |
Enhanced Rupture | 1 |
Fighter's Rupture | 1 |
Steel Grasp | 5 |
Enhanced Steel Grasp | 1 |
Warrior Steel Grasp | 1 |
Hamstring | 1 |
Cut to the Bone | 3 |
Pit Fighter | 1 |
Slaying Strike | 1 |
Expose Vulnerability | 3 |
Heavy Handed | 3 |
Gushing Wounds | 1 |
At the maximum level and with all the Renown gathered, players will have 58 skill points to invest. The skills almost pick themselves when the Barbarian focuses on maximizing Bleed damage, Vulnerable debuffs, and two-handed combat.
While many Barbarian builds go for mobility, this PvE barbarian build goes for moving enemies around. As Kick and Charge pushed enemies away, Steel Grasp brings them back, creating a cycle that keeps enemies from attacking back while they Bleed out.
Paragon Boards
Board | Paragon/Legendary Nodes | Glyph |
Start | Brawn, Raw Power | Bloodfeeder |
Decimator | Destroyer, Decimator, Pillage, Brawn, Demolish | Might |
Hemorrhage | Lacerator, Hemorrhage, Flayer, Butcher | Exploit |
Blood Rage | Enraged, Blood Rage, Revel, Craving | Brawl |
Warbringer | Guarded Advance, Raw Power | Disembowel |
The paragon boards and glyphs can be a bit tough to figure out. It's a matter of adjusting the boards so that they snake properly. Few players will get to the maximum 200 paragon points but those that do will find that their powers are enhanced by enormous magnitudes.
Listing all nodes would be tedious and impossible to read, but if gamers move between the major nodes listed, it shouldn't be an issue. Make sure to purchase all relevant stat bonus nodes inside the designated glyph areas.
Decimator and Hemorrhage are natural boards for this build but don't sleep on Blood Rage. The PvE Barbarian does not naturally gain the Berserk buff outside of the legendary Blood Rage node. After picking this up, players will be entering Blood Rage fairly consistently.
Gear
Slot | Aspect/Piece |
Helm | Harlequin Crest |
Chest | Rage of Harrogath |
Gloves | Aspect of Anemia |
Pants | Iron Blood Aspect |
Boots | Weapon Master's Aspect |
Amulet | Relentless Berserker's Aspect |
Ring | Aspect of Berserk Ripping |
Ring | Skullbreaker's Aspect |
Main Hand | Fields of Crimson |
Off-Hand | N/A |
With the new aspect system, gamers have a ton of freedom to take the piece of gear they find with the best stats and then add their favorite effect to it. Increasing potion efficiency helps out a bit but these aspects are game-changing. Note that some of these aspects can be swapped in and out on other pieces of gear; which piece has which aspect is not important.
Weapon Master's Aspect is a colossal upgrade as it gives both Steel Grasp and Rupture an extra charge and makes them both likely to stun opponents who are caught in the PvE Barbarian's cycle of death. Fields of Crimson, a two-handed sword, may have been specifically for this build so hold onto it after finding it.
Technique
- Two-Handed Sword Expertise
World Tiers can get out of control when it comes to difficulty. Thankfully, techniques are a simple way to keep pace with the escalating challenge. For the Barbarian, it makes the most sense to choose a technique and then work backward.
There is no doubt that Two-Handed Sword Expertise is the best as slashing weapons are the best for Bleed damage and the Fields of Crimson is the best at applying Bleed damage. Axes aren't too bad either since enemies will also be suffering Vulnerable debuffs as well.
Diablo 4 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.