Bladestorm Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV
Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).
Diablo IV‘s Open Beta Tests are almost here and I felt motivated to make some Pre-Launch theorycrafted semi-builds that should be good for ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters when the game launches. I also plan to evolve them into FULL builds when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Barbarian Class called Bladestorm.
The Beta tests will only let us reach lvl 25 and only let us play in the first Act/Zone (Fractured Peaks) so those builds will be more useful for the actual game launch and ideally for characters around lvl 50+ or 60+. I’ve used 50+ and 60+ skill points when making the build instead of the full 100 so that they can be used to jumpstart a player’s post-story endgame grind.
I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect that work well with the build so one can spend the extra skill points on the way to lvl 100 into those other skills.
This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have actual in-game information as reference.
Video Version:
Skill Trees
Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken on the way to lvl 100 + alternative skill options, you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Bladestorm) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Some of the skill icon images you see could be outdated & differ from what is seen in the Full release version. I plan to replace them once the Beta ends or after the full launch
Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )
- (active) Lunging Strike – Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 51.74% (X – ?) damage. Critical Strikes with Lunging Strike grant you Berserking for 1.5 seconds. Lunging Strike deals 30% (multiplicative) increased damage and Heals you for X Life when it damages a Healty enemy Damage: Physical Generate Fury: 5 Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Lunging Strike – Critical Strikes with Lunging Strike grant you Berserking for 1.5 seconds
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Battle Lunging Strike – When using a Slashing weapon, Lunging Strike has a 30% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )
- (active) Whirlwind – Rapidly attack enemies nearby for 27.68% (X – ?) damage. Damage: Physical Fury Cost: 20 per seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 20%
- (1st upgrade)Enhanced Whirlwind – Gain 1 Fury each time Whirlwind deals direct damage to an enemy, or 6 Fury if the enemy is Stunned.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Whirlwind – After using Whirlwind for 2 seconds, Whirlwind deals 30% (multiplicative) increased damage until it is cancelled.
- (passive – NOT INVESTED INTO IT but good to consider) Pressure Point – Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
- (passive) Endless Fury – Basic Skills generate 5% (multiplicative) more Fury when using Two-Handed weapons.
- (passive) did not pick any other Core Passives to save points
Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )
- (active) Rallying Cry – Bellow a rallying cry, granting allies +30% increased Movement Speed, and 50% (multiplicative) increased Resource Generation for 7.8 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry grants Unstoppable while active.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry grants 25 Fury. You gain +50% increased Resource Generation from Rallying Cry
- (passive) Imposing Presence – Gain 15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, Bosses, and Players is increased by 4% (multiplicative).
- (passive) did not pick any other Defensive Passives to save points
Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 )
- (active) Leap – Leap forward and slam downward, dealing 62.28% (X – ?) damage and Knocking Back nearby enemies on impact. Cooldown: 17.0 seconds Damage: Physical
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Leap – If Leap doesn’t damage any enemies, its Cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Power Leap – If Leap damages at least one enemy, gain X Fury.
- (passive- I did invested into but may want to skip it) Booming Voice – Shout skill durations are increased by 30% (multiplicative).
- (upgrade) Raid Leader – did not pick to save points
- (upgrade) Guttural Yell – did not pick to save points
- (passive – I ONLY put 1 point to unlock the Fury upgrade) Aggressive Resistance – Gain 4% Damage Reduction while Berserking.
- (upgrade) Battle Frenzy – did not pick to save points
- (upgrade) Prolific Fury – While Berserking, Fury Generation is increased by 6% (multiplicative).
- (passive) did not pick any other Brawling Passives to save points
Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )
- (active) Death Blow – Attempt a killing strike, dealing 126.00% (X – ?) to enemies in front of you. If this kills an enemy, the Cooldown is reset. Cooldown: 15.0 seconds Damage: Physical Tags: Weapon Mastery Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Death Blow – Death Blow deals 100% (multiplicative) increased damage to Bosses.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fighter’s Death Blow – If Death Blow damages at least one enemy, gain 20 Fury.
- (passive – did not pick but worth considering) Thick Skin – Each time you take direct damage gain X Fortify.
- (upgrade – did not pick but worth considering) Counteroffensive – While Fortified for over 50% of your Maximum Life, you deal 5% (multiplicative) increased damage.
- (upgrade – did not pick but worth considering) Defensive Posture – Increase the Damage Reduction gained while you are Fortified by an additional +3%.
- (passive) did not pick any other Weapon Mastery Passives to save points
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )
- (active) Wrath of the Berserker – Gain Berserking and Unstoppable for 5 seconds. For the next 10 seconds, dealing direct damage with Basic skills grants Berserking for 25 seconds Cooldown: 60.0 seconds Tags: Ultimate
- (1st upgrade) Supreme Wrath of the Berserker – While Wrath of the Berserker is active, gain +20% increased Movement Speed and increase Fury Generation by 30% (multiplicative)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Prime Wrath of the Berserker – While Wrath of the Berserker is active, every 50 Fury spend increases Berserk’s damage bonus by 25% (multiplicative)
- (passive – did not pick but worth considering) Tempered Fury – Increase your Maximum Fury by 3.
- (upgrade) Furious Impulse – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
- (upgrade – did not pick but worth considering) Invigorating Fury – Heals you for 2% of your Maximum Life for each 100 Fury spent.
- (passive) Wallop – Your Skills using Bludgeoning weapons deal 5% (multiplicative) increased damage if the enemy is Stunned or Vulnerable.
- (upgrade) Concussion – Lucky Hit: Skills using Bludgeoning weapons have up to a 10% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds, or up to a 15% chance when using a Two-Handed Bludgeoning weapon.
- (upgrade) Brute Force – Your Overpower deals 15% (multiplicative) increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon *NOTE: It seems that unlocking this skill upgrade requires investing into either Wallop OR Heavy Handed (can still get both if you want)
- (passive) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.
- (passive) did not pick any other Ultimate Passives to save points
Specializations (Required Points: 33 )
- (passive) Unbridled Rage – Core Skills deal 135% (multiplicative) increased damage, but cost 100% (multiplicative) more.
Arsenal (Class Mechanic):
The Barbarian class mechanics is called Arsenal and this is how I believe it works:
The Barbarian class can equip 4 weapons at the same time: a Dual-wielding set of 2x One-Handed weps + two separate Two-Handed weapons (not dual-weilding those). They switch in combat between those based on what weapon is assigned to specific skills via the class unique Arsenal System. So each skill can have its own weapon assigned to it as long as it’s one of the 4 weapons equipped. The weps you don’t actually use work as ‘stat sticks’. Here are the types:
- Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons are Slashing and can be Swords, Axes, or Maces (strange why the 1H Maces are clumped together with Swords & Axes under Slashing and not listed as Bludgeoning maybe the information I found is incorrect… hopefully 1h Maces are not Slashing)
- The two slots of Two-Handed Weapons can be occupied by Slashing type weps like Swords, Axes, & Polearms and/or by Bludgeoning Maces
- Ideally 1x 2h Slashing, 1x 2h Bludgeoning and a Dual Wield 1h combo for the 4 weps if you got for a swap-centric build
Legendary Aspects / Powers
I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Bladestorm) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
- Helm: Aspect of Shared Misery
- Amulet: Aspect of Pummeling
- Chest: Aspect of Anemia
- Pants: Aspect of Numbing Wrath
- Gloves: Relentless Berserker’s Apect
- Boots: Wind Striker Aspect
- Ring 1: Aspect of Echoing Fury
- Ring 2: Aspect of Unrelenting Fury
- 1H Weapon: Aspect of Berserk Ripping
- Off-hand: Aspect of Veteran Brawler
- 2-H Weapon One (see Class Mechanic for info): Aspect of Retribution
- 2-H Weapon Two (see Class Mechanic for info): Aspect of The Dire Whirlwind
Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):
For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet
For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet
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This concludes the Bladestorm Barbarian Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):
PC (Battle.Net)