Tag: barbarian

『Diablo 4』 Devs promise to FIX the 1.1.0 MESS + Hotfix Nerf for Nightmare Dungeons

Diablo 4’s Devs promise to FIX the 1.1.0 MESS + a Hotfix Nerf for Nightmare Dungeons

(yesterday Diablo 4’s devs held another Campfire Chat livestream & made promises to FIX the current balance mess as well as to avoid making the similar messes in the future )

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Diablo IV launched on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation) and I’ve had my fair share of playing and testing done. After the 18th of July patch 1.1.0a, the game was left in a severely & unreasonably badly balanced state. All classes received massive nerfs mostly in the shape of reduced bonuses of the stats & affixes we get such as: Cooldown Reduction, Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Core Skill Damage, as well as various types of Damage Reduction, to name a few of the major culprits. There were a plethora of other nerfs that affected all classes as well as some buffs that do so too, but the overall result was that many of the working viable meta builds received a big blow and the ones that were non-meta & barely viable even stopped being viable for endgame content.

The aftermath was that a plethora of players, me including, did not feel the game was worth our time in its current state and were left looking for other games to play in the meantime. Blizzard held a Campfire Chat livestream yesterday and made a bunch of promises to address the situation and “fix” the mess in the upcoming Patch 1.1.1 (ETA around 1-2 weeks from the Campfire Chat on the 21st of July). What promises did they make, how do they plan to “fix” this mess, this article will hopefully answer any questions you may have regarding this.

Video Version:

“We know it is bad, we know it is not fun”

Blizzard acknowledged that reducing player power this drastically was uncalled for… but then why do it in the first place? They have at least realized that they made a big oopsie and are fast with the damage control so we already received (yesterday) a Hotfix that adjusts the hp and damage of the middle & higher tier Nightmare Dungeons. They also promise that they “don’t plan on doing a patch like this ever again”. So without further ado, below is a list of the Nightmare Dungeon changes that the most recent hotfix included:

Gameplay Update

We are implementing a reduction to overall monster power levels in Nightmare dungeons. The new top range for tier 100 will feel like what tier 70 was previously.

Developer Note: Although these values make it appear that the higher tiers are easier than lower tiers, this is not the case because the monsters also benefit from being significantly higher level than players in higher Nightmare Dungeon tiers.

Examples
Tier 35

HP reduced by ~2%
Damaged reduced by ~1%

Tier 50

HP reduced by ~20%
Damage reduced by ~13%

Tier 70

HP reduced by ~60%
Damage reduced by 54%

Tier 100

HP reduced by ~82%
Damage reduced by ~79%

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where additional Blood Lances from the Gore Quills aspect could sometimes not deal damage.
Fixed an issue where the Answers in the Ashes quest could have progression blocked if Varshan was killed before the quest updates to the step to defeat him.
Fixed an issue where the dungeons Buried Halls and Endless Gates dungeons were not giving players proper rewards upon completion.
Fixed an issue where the Akhan’s Grasp Nightmare Dungeon was not giving players proper rewards upon completion.
Fixed an issue where the Moonrage Malignant Power would cause the Wolves power to be unequipped from the action bar.
Fixed an issue where the Subterranean Legendary aspect was dealing far less damage than intended.
Fixed an issue where the Frozen Terror Malignant Power could also fear the player with it equipped.
Fixed an issue where Malignant Hearts could be duplicated when salvaging them, logging out immediately, and logging back in.
Fixed an issue where Tier Skips wouldn’t be properly rewarded in certain scenarios.
Fixed an issue where Whispers sometimes wouldn’t grant experience on completion.
Further stability improvements

Why did they do those Nerfs?

Blizzard explains that the reason for those nerfs is that they did not want to see certain stats over-performing as much as they did compared to others and that they wanted people to use a wider variety of affixes instead of always using the same 5-6 affixes in their gear like Cooldown Reduction, Damage Reductions, Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage, and Core Skill Damage, for example. And this seems like a sound reason BUT the way they went on about it was FAR from the right way to handle this.

First off, if they wanted people to not feel pressured to use damage reduction in 3 out of 4 of their Leg armor affix slots, for example, they should have just buffed damage reduction to the point where people would feel that 3 of those on the same item are an overkill and just 2 would suffice, but they did the exact opposite and nerfed various kinds of damage reduction affixes. And now comes the damage control hotfix I mentioned & listed earlier where Nightmare Dungeons are getting nerfed to match the weak player power. While it’s better than nothing it’s definitely not the proper way those things should be done. I’ll be logging in later tonight to see how the game feels with the new NMD rebalance.

Another change I strongly disagree with is the cooldown reduction nerfs, they went overboard with that one and this severe of a nerf was totally uncalled for. They could have went for a very minor 5 to 10% nerf and then just increased the cooldown of skills that were being abused if they wanted to prevent infinite resources, infinite cast of certain abilities and so on as they said was their intention.

Addressing The “Vulnerable Problem”

I, among many players, agree that we need a rework or a removal+replacement of the Vulnerable damage mechanic. Simply nerfing the Vulnerable Damage affixes/rolls is not going to magically solve the problem. There is a reason why we take this stat in all our builds and why we take advantage of the mechanic. And apparently Joe Piepiora knows that it’s because of how Vulnerable damage is calculated. So the Devs admitted that it was not the proper way to handle this problem and that they’ll need to do a proper rework of the Vulnerable damage formula. He also said that doing a proper rework on Vulnerable will mean needing to look at other things, such as Overpower damage as an example, because all kinds of builds use it currently to be viable, so good alternatives will be needed.

Diablo IV Mission Statement

Blizzard showed a list of 4 key points that they will use as guidelines when making patches & balance changes to avoid such a big mess of a patch from happening again. They are as follows:

A wide variety of viable builds to discover, put together, and optimize, across all five classes
New items and powers every season to keep the game fresh and increase build variety
Continually evolving endgame content with high monster density for powerful builds to mow down and activities to challenge your build
Make the game more fun for players

So, those 4 mission statement points are obviously something that makes sense. So far, since launch, I have never felt that Blizzard was spot on with either of them while playing Diablo 4 on various builds on each class. They definitely have a long way to go before I would feel like each of those things feels accomplished. I obviously can not speak about point 3 as only the future will tell if the endgame evolves in the right pace but I do believe they should have launched with 2 more endgame activities as an alternative to Nightmare Dungeons that are just as rewarding and give us more ways to level up our glyphs and spend our in-game grind time.

Regarding new items and powers patch 1.1.0 was a hit and miss. Sorcerers, once again, getting the short end of the stick with yet another unique that has an awful negative effect, and is still the only class to get negative effect alongside the positives with their unique and legendary powers. 1.1.0 did bring some cool stuff for various classes in terms of unqiues and legendaries but was kind of a 50-50 for me what i considered cool and reasonable. And that also applies to the malignant hearts that also seem to be 50-50 hit or miss, and also has some underwhelming ones for the sorcerer.

A promise to make Sorcs viable & make Barbs worth it again

Blizzard made a promise that with 1.1.1 Sorcs, who were always at the bottom of the barrel in terms of how underpowered they are compared to other classes, a viable class worth playing. They also made a promise to bring Barbs to a reasonable power level again as 1.1.0 hit the very few reasonable Barb builds pretty hard too. Will this happen? Time will tell but I for sure hope it’s not an empty promise as i love playing elemental mages/casters in games or a good close range brawler class, which the Barbarian never felt like one to me (even with a strong build) ever since the game launched.

Players can expect that to happen partially trough re-visiting of the legendary and unique powers for those two classes and reworking + re-balancing those to make the two classes have a reasonable amount of viable builds for players to use.

Changes to Crowd Control in NMDs?

Blizzard also made a promise to address the ridiculously stupid amount of crowd control that exists in Nightmare Dungeons as well as the lack of many builds capable of dealing with it. I hope this change comes with patch 1.1.1 because right now it’s extremely painful to play certain maps & map affixes on the majority of the builds, especially ones that don’t have enough unstoppable (or any for that matter) to counter the freezing, rooting, slowing, etc. enemies

New Endgame Mode to challenge our builds… in Season 3

Apparently, NMDs are not the best type of content to use as a goal/benchmark to challenge one’s builds and Blizzard will be introducing a new Endgame Mode for us to do that. BUT it’s going to be a long wait of at least another half a year before we get a taste of it as it’s coming with Season 3. Not sure if they were talking about this content but they did also say they plan on bringing back the bosses from the campaign story in new endgame type that suits them when asked about bringing those bosses back. Another thing that they were asked about was leaderboards and they did say with Season 3 they will be bringing leaderboards and content where those could fit.

Here’s a wild guess from me: could we be getting a tower/arena/crucible/survival mode type of endgame with X arena stages where every N stages there’s a bigger boss fight? Is this going to have a timer running to see who get to the end of it the quickest? Is this going to be the content that re-uses the story bosses? I say probably but my guess is as good as anyone’s at this point so we’ll just going to have to wait and see.

A promise to leave overpowered builds as they are until given reasonable alternatives

Blizzard also promised to keep some builds overpowered until they have provided the playerbase with a compelling viable alternative to those builds. What is worth noting is that such meta shift changes will occur at predictable times, like the start of a new Season. However, in cases where a bug is causing game-breaking damage or crashes, Blizzard will still react quickly.

Increased density for Helltides and NMDs

Another changed that we’ll supposedly be getting with 1.1.1 is an increase of the mob density is the majority of Helltide area zones as well as in Nightmare Dungeons. They’ll also look into improving performance for certain effects/skills so that the substantial increase to mob density doesn’t result in substantially worse performance.

More storage? Devs: 1 extra stash tab is my best offer!

A big source of the negative experience in Diablo 4 is the inventory and storage tension. And maybe only players who play 1 class and 1 build only don’t feel this but anyone who has played more than 1 character or likes testing multiple builds on at least 1 character has realized how bad and how little the storage we’ve got available is. Blizzard has previously promised that Season 2 will come with a rework to the gem system and that gems will get their own “materials” tab in the way veiled crystals and the likes do. However, players need improvements to inventory and storage space right now. The best Blizzard can do is apparently give is a measly extra stash tab which is, obviously, better than zero extra stash tabs. So what can they do to hopefully solve this problem?

I, and many others i assume, believe that giving us personal stash tabs + much more shared ones would be the best option. 4 to 5 personal stash tabs + 10 shared ones should be all we need to have enough room for all sorts of builds on every single class. Additionally, I believe we’ll need a big change to the aspects & the codex of power where every single aspect is on the codex of power and can be unlocked from dungeons and other types of content. As an added bonus being able to put extracted aspects in the codex with their “better than min-roll” values being selectable from there when imprinting would be an amazing QoL feature

Respec cost will be 40% cheaper

One more area where the game has needed improvement was the respec cost for skill points and paragon points. The devs promised that 1.1.1 will bring a 40% reduction to that cost, which should make it roughly around 7-8 million gold for a full respec at lvl 100 (down from 12-13 mil). While it’s still far from perfect it’s a step in the right direction. I still believe respecs should not cost much at all and the real cost of switching to a new build should be farming the new gear and aspects for it + re-rolling the stats on that new gear to suit the build.

Currently, having to pay 12-13 Million god coins, on top of the already costly re-roll (enchant), extract, and imprint costs that one would need to do when gearing up for a new build is a kick in the nuts. Reducing it by only 40% down to 7-8 Mil will make the kick feel like a punch in the nuts so it will still be pretty painful. I’ve counted that excluding skill & paragon respecs, switching a build could end up somewhere between 20 and 40 mil gold on average. The main reason why the cost is this high is because of the shitty design of the enchantment system where each consecutive enchant gets more expensive. If they change it so that the cost of our 2nd re-roll is as high as the cost goes, then this whole respec “problem” will be much bearable. We need a gold sink but it also needs to be reasonable with the bloody costs.

More Changes to EXP incoming

Blizzard are also promising more changed to EXP, in particular speeding up the leveling from levels 50 to 100. They did not provide any specifics but they did say they don’t want reaching lvl 100 to feel like a job but still want it to feel like a challenge. They added that they don’t want players to reach a wall around lvl 70 or 75 where leveling becomes a total slog. I’m personally looking forward to that as EXP rates are a sore subject for me in looter games like Diablo 4.

Hammer Time Barbarian Build for Diablo IV [S- Tier Grade]

Hammer Time Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV [S- Tier Grade]

(It’s HAMMER TIME! Slam that massive Warhammer into the ground and grind your foes into dust.)

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Diablo IV launched on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation) and I’ve had my fair share of playing and testing done. I’m now ready to start making full Builds/Theorycrafts that work for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I’ll evolve & keep them updated when we get major rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Barbarian Class called Hammer Time.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for my builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated when needed.

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 + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Hammer Time) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Bash – Bash the enemy with your weapon, dealing 30% (X – ?) damage. After bashing enemies 4 times, your next Bash will Stun for 1.25 seconds, this increases to 2 seconds if using a Two-Handed weapon.
Requires bludgeoning weapon. Generate Fury: 10
Lucky Hit Chance: 50% | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Bash – Damaging a Stunned enemy with Bash grants you 5% Base Life as Fortify. Double this amount when using a Two-Handed weapon.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Combat Bash – After Critically Striking 4 times with Bash using a Two-Handed weapon, your next Core or Weapon Mastery Skill will Overpower.

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

(active) Hammer of the Ancients – Slam your hammer down with the fury of the Ancients, dealing 50% X – ?) damage to a concentrated area.
Requires a two-handed bludgeoning weapon. Fury Cost: 35
Lucky Hit Chance: 40% | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hammer of the Ancients – Gain 3% (multiplicative) more Fury for 5 seconds for each enemy damaged by Hammer of the Ancients, stacking up to 10 times.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Hammer of the Ancients – Hammer of the Ancients deals 1% (multiplicative) additional damage for each point of Fury you had when using it.
(passive) Pressure Point – Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to a 10%/20%/30% to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) Endless Fury – Basic Skills generate 5%/10%/15% (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 – ONLY put 1 point here) Challenging Shout – Taunt nearby enemies and gain (40/45/50/55/60) Damage Reduction for 8 seconds.
Cooldown: 25 seconds | Tags: Defensive, Shout
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Challenging Shout – While Challenging Shout is active, gain 20% (multiplicative) bonus Maximum Life.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Challenging Shout – While Challenging Shout is active you gain 3 Fury each time you take damage.

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Rallying Cry – Bellow a rallying cry, increasing your Movement Speed by +30% and Resource Generation by 50% (multiplicative) for 6 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3 seconds.
Cooldown: 25 seconds | Tags: Defensive, Shout
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry grants you Unstoppable while active.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry generates 25 Fury and grants you an additional 50% (multiplicative) Resource Generation.
(passive) Imposing Presence – Gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, is increased by 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Charge – Become Unstoppable and rush forward pushing enemies with you then swinging through them for 25% (X – ?) damage and Knocking them Back.
Cooldown: 17 seconds
Lucky Hit Chance: 33% | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Brawling,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Charge – Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain by Charge take 15% (X – ?) damage and are Stunned for 3 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mighty Charge – Damaging enemies with Charge makes them Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) Booming Voice – Shout Skill effect durations are increased by 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative).
- (upgrade) Raid Leader – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Guttural Yell – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick any other Brawling passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 ) Not taking an active Weapon Mastery skill

(active)
- (1st upgrade)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive) Pit Fighter – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade) No Mercy – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Slaying Strike – You deal 7.5%/15%/22.5% increased damage against Injured enemies.
- (upgrade) Expose Vulnerability – did NOT take this one
(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 seconds
Lucky Hit Chance: 40% | 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) 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 – ONLY put 1 point here) Wallop – Your Skills using Bludgeoning weapons deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage if the enemy is Stunned or Vulnerable.
- (upgrade) Concussion Lucky Hit: Skills using Bludgeoning weapons have up to a 10%/20%/30% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds, or up to a 15%/30%/45% chance when using a Two-Handed Bludgeoning weapon.
(passive ) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.seconds.
- (upgrade) Brute Force – Your Overpower deals 15%/30%/45% (multiplicative) increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon *NOTE: Unlocking this skill upgrade requires investing into either Wallop OR Heavy Handed (can still get both if you want)
(passive) Tempered Fury – Increase your Maximum Fury by 3/6/9.
- (upgrade) Furious Impulse – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here and it’s totally optional) Invigorating Fury Heal for 3%/6%/9% of your Maximum Life for each 100 Fury spent.
(passive) did not pick 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 Fury.

Class Mechanic:

The Barbarian class mechanics is called Arsenal and this is how I believe it works:

Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons on Barbarians can be either Slashing or Bludgeoning such as: Swords, Axes, or Maces. The game seems to clump all 1-Handed weapons together under the “Dual-Wielding” as far as Barbarians and their skill tags are concerned so regardless of Slashing or Bludgeoning type, a 1-Handed weapon will apparently not count as either.
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 go for a swap-centric build

On top of this, each weapon type has it’s own passive bonus levels weapon & a technique which gets unlocked after a certain threshold is reached. Here is how I recommend that you arrange the weapons by skill and also which weapon technique to use:

Dual Wielded OR 2-handed Slashing will be attached to Charge But. I personally prefer Dual Wielded for it as I’m looking for speed when used to escape enemy CCs or initiate a fight rather than dmg with that skill.
2-handed Bludgeoning must be on both Bash & Hammer of the Ancients as the build demands it for Bash‘s guaranteed Core Skill Overpower after critically striking 4 times with a 2H Bludgeoning

Unique Items

Top Pick Unique for the Build

Harlequin Crest (Helm)

Gain [5-8%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[2-4] Ranks to All Skills.

[0.245 – 0.455] Maximum Life
X% Cooldown Reduction
+[42 – 70]% Crafting Material Drop Rate
[14 – 28] All Stats

“This headdress was once worn by an assassin disguised as a court mage. Her treachery was unveiled, but not before she used its magic to curse the king’s entire lineage.” – The Fall of House Aston

Additional/Alternative Unique for the Build

Ideally I’d want this one in the build but not sure how well it would work considering the Fury Drain that will occur

Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet)

[4 – 25]% Resistance to All Elements

Gain +30% Maximum Resource. In addition, when you take damage, drain [3 – 8] Resource for every 1% of Life you would have lost instead.

[10 – 18] All Stats
+[12.5 – 19.5]%
Core Skill Damage
+[16.5 – 23.5]% Damage while Healthy
[7 – 14]% X Generation (Struck’s note: I’m 100% sure X here stands for each class’ Primary Resource: Mana, Essence, Spirit, Energy, Fury)

“Do not allow your passions to become obsessions. Fuel the fire that burns within you, but it is madness to allow yourself to become ash to please an uncaring universe.” – Last words of Master Selig

This one is an EXTREMELY RARE DROP but IF you get it It may be an amazing one for the 2h Slashing slot. (We get a solid chunk of MULTIPLICATIVE crit dmg from it and that should be a solid dps boost by itself on top of the +% dmg, life and core stats)
The Grandfather (Two-Handed Sword)

+[17.5%] Critical Strike Damage

Increases your Critical Strike Damage by x[60 – 100]%. The other properties on this weapon can roll higher than normal.

+[14 – 28]% Damage
[0.245 – 0.455] Maximum Life
[20 – 36] All Stats
Ignores Durability Loss

This one is an ALTERNATIVE pick and not something I suggested for the final build but worth considering. (It has pretty good rolls that come with it and pretty useful when mobbing, not so much vs bosses)
Mother’s Embrace (Ring)

[6 – 35]% Fire Resistance
[6 – 35]% Cold Resistance

If a Core Skill hits 5 or more enemies, [20 – 40]% of the Resource cost is refunded.

+[2 – 6]% Critical Strike Chance
+[14 – 21]% Critical Strike Damage
+[21 – 42]% Overpower Damage
+[12.5 – 19.5]% Core Skill Damage

“Every tome, every scroll, every book in this temple produces the same answer. The only being willing to stand against the Eternal Conflict, against the Prime Evils, was Lilith.” – Elias

This one is an ALTERNATIVE pick and not something I suggested for the final build but worth considering. (It comes with not so good rolls but the unique affix is nice for either bosses or mobbing)
Ring of Starless Skies (Ring)

[6 – 35]% Lightning Resistance
[6 – 35]% Shadow Resistance

Each consecutive Core Skill cast reduces the Resource cost of your next Core Skill by [5 – 10]%, up to a maximum of 30%.

[10 – 18] All Stats
+[4 – 10]% Lucky Hit Chance
+[9.5 – 16.5]% Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
+[12.5 – 19.5]% Core Skill Damage

“Yours is the power to pluck the stars from the heavens with the ease of a child gathering fruit from the bough.” – Unknown

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Ruby. Emerald is also good, but Ruby is what this build needs more.
Armor: Ruby or Saphire (dmg reduction apparently is very needed in high tier NM dungeons).
Jewelry: Skull for Armor until they rework resistances. After the rework: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/+5% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage
• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/+39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

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 RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Hammer Time) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Aspect of Might OR Aspect of The Protector / Harlequin Crest (see notes below)
Amulet: Accelerating Aspect (see notes below)
Chest: Aspect of Might OR Aspect of The Protector
Pants: Aspect of Disobedience
Gloves: Aspect of Ancestral Force
Boots: Eluding Aspect
Ring 1: Aspect of Echoing Fury
Ring 2: Bold Chieftain’s Aspect
Main Hand Weapon: Rapid Aspect
Off-hand Weapon: Aspect of The Expectant (see notes below)
2-H Weapon (Bludgeoning): Earthstriker’s Aspect
2-H Weapon (Slashing): Aspect of Limitless Rage (see notes below)

NOTES: How to re-arrange if using any of the Uniques:

- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of Might OR Aspect of The Protector gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.

ALTERNATIVE PICKS (if you decide to use them), my advice will be to sacrifice one of the offensive aspects (especially if already using the Unique Helm):

- For Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet): Aspect of The Expectant gets removed from the Off-hand weapon slot, then Accelerating Aspect goes into the, now empty, Off-hand slot to make room for the Unique Amulet.
- For Grandfather (Greatsword): Aspect of The Expectant gets removed from the Off-hand weapon slot, then Accelerating Aspect goes into the, now empty, Off-hand slot to make room for Aspect of Limitless Rage to go into the Amulet Slot, which makes room for the Unique Greatsword.
- For any 1 of the Unique Rings: You will need to sacrifice one of the Ring aspects and it may be hurting the build to loose any of those two. Up to you to decide which on is okay to sacrifice for that Unique ring but I'd recommend testing out how it will be without Aspect of Echoing Fury as the unique rings will, at least on paper, make up for the lost Fury generation.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 93 with 190 paragon points (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100). The other link is what the boards will look like when fully maxed out (I left the last 5 point unspent in case one want the Carnage legendary node) on paragon points.

190/223 Paragon Pts. (~LVL 93 with renown & altar pts): Click THIS LINK
MAX LEVEL & (MAX – 5) Paragon points spent (218/223): Click THIS LINK

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 41 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority. NOTE: I’ve added a new “Top Priority per Slot” list but left the old unsorted list below it.

This is the Sorted by Slot list of Top Priority Affixes/Rolls:

Helm:
- Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction
- Priority 2: Maximum Life, Maximum Fury
- Priority 3: Core Stats (Str, Dex, Wil, All Stats)
- Priority 4: Total Armor
Amulet:
- Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Movement Speed
- Priority 2: Maximum Life, +X Ranks of All Brawling Skills or to a Passive you like, +X% Damage with Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapons
- Priority 3: +X% Damage, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/While Injured,
- Priority 4: Fury Cost Reduction, Overpower Damage with Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapons
Chest:
- Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/while Fortified
- Priority 2: Maximum Life, + X% Damage
- Priority 3: Core Stats (Str, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Total Armor
- Priority 4: Physical Damage, Fortify Generation, Overpower Damage with Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapons
Pants:
- Priority 1: +Ranks of Charge, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/while Fortified
- Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction while Injured
- Priority 3: Core Stats (Str, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Total Armor
- Priority 4: Damage Reduction
Gloves:
- Priority 1: + X ranks to Hammer of the Ancients, Critical Strike Chance, Overpower Damage
- Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
- Priority 3: Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% Chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource, Lucky Hit Chance
- Priority 4: Core Stats (Str, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% Chance to Heal +X Life
Boots:
- Priority 1: Movement Speed, Fury Cost Reduction
- Priority 2: Damage Reduction while Injured
- Priority 3: Core Stats (Str, Dex, Wil, All Stats)
- Priority 4: Fortify Generation
Ring 1:
- Priority 1: Overpower Damage, Critical Chance, Maximum Fury
- Priority 2: Maximum Life, Critical Damage, Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Close Enemies
- Priority 3: Damage to Stunned/Slowed/Crowd Controlled Enemies
- Priority 4: Physical Damage, Lucky Hit Chance
Ring 2:
- Priority 1: Overpower Damage, Critical Chance, Maximum Fury
- Priority 2: Maximum Life, Critical Damage, Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Close Enemies
- Priority 3: Damage to Stunned/Slowed/Crowd Controlled Enemies
- Priority 4: Physical Damage, Lucky Hit Chance
Main Hand Weapon: Apparently, weapons can NOT roll two types of Damage mods!!!
- Priority 1: Damage to Vulnerable Enemies & Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Close Enemies, Overpower Damage
- Priority 2: Critical Strike Damage, Core Skill Damage
- Priority 3: Damage to Slowed/Stunned Enemies
- Priority 4: Core Stats (Str, Dex, Wil, All Stats)
Off-hand Weapon: See the 1H Weapon Rolls List
2-H Weapons: See the 1H Weapon Rolls List

+ X% Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/2H Bludgeoning Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core Skills
Damage with Core Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core Skills
+ X Ranks to Hammer of the Ancients/Rallying Cry/Challenging Shout/Charge
Overpower Damage
+ Willpower, + Dexterity, + Strength
+ All Stats
+ Maximum Life
Fury Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Resource/Fury Cost Reduction
Cooldown Reduction
Physical/2H Bludgeoning Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/2H Bludgeoning Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical Damage
+ % Physical Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage / Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Close Enemies
Damage / Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage / Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Movement Speed
Attack Speed

Higher Priority

Damage vs Injured Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)

Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Post-Launch & RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Hammer Time 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)

Quake Stomp Diablo IV Barbarian Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Quake Stomp Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(It’s HAMMER TIME! Do the Sanctuary Shake® with constant Stomps and Leaps that make the ground Quake.)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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 Launch in less a week and I’m bringing you my 25th Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Barbarian Class called Quake Stomp.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspects + unique gear + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more 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 + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Quake Stomp) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Bash – Bash the enemy with your weapon, dealing 30% (X – ?) damage. After bashing enemies 4 times, your next Bash will Stun for 1.25 seconds, this increases to 2 seconds if using a Two-Handed weapon.
Requires bludgeoning weapon. Generate Fury: 10
Lucky Hit Chance: 50% | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Bash – Damaging a Stunned enemy with Bash grants you 5% Base Life as Fortify. Double this amount when using a Two-Handed weapon.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Combat Bash – After Critically Striking 4 times with Bash using a Two-Handed weapon, your next Core or Weapon Mastery Skill will Overpower.

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

(active) Hammer of the Ancients – Slam your hammer down with the fury of the Ancients, dealing 50% X – ?) damage to a concentrated area.
Requires a two-handed bludgeoning weapon. Fury Cost: 35
Lucky Hit Chance: 40% | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hammer of the Ancients – Gain 3% (multiplicative) more Fury for 5 seconds for each enemy damaged by Hammer of the Ancients, stacking up to 10 times.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Hammer of the Ancients – Hammer of the Ancients deals 1% (multiplicative) additional damage for each point of Fury you had when using it.
(passive) Pressure Point – Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to a 10%/20%/30% to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Ground Stomp – Smash the ground, dealing 10% (X – ?) damage and Stunning surrounding enemies for 3 seconds.
Cooldown: 16 seconds | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Defensive,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ground Stomp – Increase Ground Stomp’s duration by 1 second.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Ground Stomp – Ground Stomp generates 25 Fury.

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Rallying Cry – Bellow a rallying cry, increasing your Movement Speed by +30% and Resource Generation by 50% (multiplicative) for 6 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3 seconds.
Cooldown: 25 seconds | Tags: Defensive, Shout
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry grants you Unstoppable while active.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry generates 25 Fury and grants you an additional 50% (multiplicative) Resource Generation.
(passive) Imposing Presence – Gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, is increased by 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Leap – Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 33% (X – ?) damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact. Cooldown: 17 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Brawling,
- (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 40 Fury.
(passive) Booming Voice – Shout Skill effect durations are increased by 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative).
- (upgrade) Raid Leader – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Guttural Yell – did NOT take this one
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Aggressive Resistance – Gain 4%/8%/12% Damage Reduction while Berserking.
- (upgrade) Battle Fervor – When a Brawling Skill damages at least one enemy, gain Berserking for 1/2/3 second(s).
- (upgrade) Prolific Fury – While Berserking, Fury Generation is increased by 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick any other Brawling passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 ) Not taking an active Weapon Mastery skill

(active)
- (1st upgrade)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive) Pit Fighter – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade) No Mercy – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Slaying Strike – You deal 8%/15%/23% increased damage against Injured enemies.
- (upgrade) Expose Vulnerability – did NOT take this one
(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 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 40% 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) 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) Wallop – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Concussion – did NOT take this one
(passive ) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.seconds.
- (upgrade) Brute Force – Your Overpower deals 15%/30%/45% (multiplicative) increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon *NOTE: Unlocking this skill upgrade requires investing into either Wallop OR Heavy Handed (can still get both if you want)
(passive) Tempered Fury – Increase your Maximum Fury by 3/6/9.
- (upgrade) Furious Impulse – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Invigorating Fury – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick 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 Fury.

Class Mechanic:

The Barbarian class mechanics is called Arsenal and this is how I believe it works:

Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons on Barbarians can be either Slashing or Bludgeoning such as: Swords, Axes, or Maces. The game seems to clump all 1-Handed weapons together under the “Dual-Wielding” as far as Barbarians and their skill tags are concerned so regardless of Slashing or Bludgeoning type, a 1-Handed weapon will apparently not count as either.
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 go for a swap-centric build

Unique Gear:

Sockets & Gems:

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Emerald, Saphire, Ruby, or Skull.
Armor: Ruby, Emerald, Saphire, or Skull.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage
• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

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 RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Quake Stomp) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Steadfast Berserker’s Aspect / Harlequin Crest (see notes below)
Amulet: Relentless Berserker’s Apect / Melted Heart of Selig (see notes below)
Chest: Aspect of Numbing Wrath / Exploiter’s Aspect (see notes below)
Pants: Aspect of Bul-Kathos
Gloves: Exploiter’s Aspect / Aspect of Veteran Brawler (see notes below)
Boots: Aspect of Perpetual Stomping
Ring 1: Aspect of Giant Strides
Ring 2: Aspect of Berserk Fury / Mother’s Embrace (see notes below)
1H Weapon: Earthquake Aspect
Off-hand: Aspect of Limitless Rage / Ramaladni’s Magnum Opus (see notes below)
2-H Weapon 1: Aspect of Ancestral Force
2-H Weapon 2: Aspect of Veteran Brawler / The Grandfather (see notes below)

NOTE 1: Aspect of Veteran Brawler goes in the 2h Weapon 2 slot ONLY until you get The Grandfather Unique Two-Handed Sword. After that: Aspect of Numbing Wrath gets removed from the Chest slot & discarded. Exploiter's Aspect gets moved from the Gloves slot to the, now empty, Chest slot. Aspect of Veteran Brawler goes in the, now empty, Gloves slot to make room for the Unique Two-Handed Sword. 
There are four other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those: Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet), Harlequin Crest (Helm), Mother's Embrace (Ring) & Ramaladni's Magnum Opus (Sword)
See the 2nd note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet): Relentless Berserker's Apect gets removed from the Amulet slot to make room for the Unique Amulet.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Steadfast Berserker’s Aspect gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Mother's Embrace (Ring): Aspect of Berserk Fury gets removed from the Ring slot to make room for the Unique Ring.
- For Ramaladni's Magnum Opus (Sword): Aspect of Limitless Rage gets removed from the Off-hand slot & to make room for the Unique Sword.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 83 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

LVL 83 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 41 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Brawling/Basic/Defensive Skills
Damage with Core/Brawling/Basic/Defensive Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Brawling/Ultimate/Basic/Defensive/Shout Skills
+ X Ranks to Hammer of the Ancients/Leap/Ground Stomp/Rallying Cry/Bash
Lucky Hit Chance withPhysical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage
Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Overpower Damage
+ % Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Close Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Overpower Chance
Overpower Damage with Hammer of the Ancients/Leap/Ground Stomp/Bash
Overpower Damage with Core/Brawling/Basic Skills
Overpower Damage with Slashing/2-handed/Sword/Bludgeoning/etc. Weapon

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Fury Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Strength
Resource Cost Reduction

Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Quake Stomp 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)

Official Website.

Juggler 2.0 Diablo IV Barbarian Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Juggler 2.0 Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(keep Juggling those weapons & never let them know your next move)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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 Launch is getting closer and it’s time to make some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Barbarian Class called Juggler 2.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more 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 + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Juggler 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Flay – Flay the enemy, dealing 5% (X – ?) damage and inflicting 36% (X) Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Requires a slashing weapon. Generate Fury: 9 Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Flay – Flay has a 10% chance to make the enemy Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Double this chance when using a Two-Handed weapon.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Combat Flay – When Flay deals direct damage to an enemy, you gain 3% Damage Reduction and X Thorns for 3 seconds. This stacks up to 4 times.

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

(active) Rend – Cleave enemies in front of you, dealing 12% (X – ?) damage and inflicting 96% (X) Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Requires a slashing weapon. Fury Cost: 35 Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rend – Dealing direct damage with Rend extends the duration of Vulnerable on enemies by 2 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Rend – Direct damage with Rend grants 4 Fury per enemy hit, up to a maximum of 20 Fury.
(passive) Pressure Point – Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to a 10%/20%/30% to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Ground Stomp – Smash the ground, dealing 10% (X – ?) damage and Stunning surrounding enemies for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 16 seconds Damage: Physical ; Tags: Defensive,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ground Stomp – Increase Ground Stomp’s duration by 1 second.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Strategic Ground Stomp Reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate skill by 1 second for each enemy damaged by Ground Stomp..

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Challenging Shout – Taunt nearby enemies and gain (40/45/50/55/60) Damage Reduction for 8 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds Tags: Defensive, Shout
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Challenging Shout – While Challenging Shout is active, gain 20% (multiplicative) bonus Maximum Life.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Strategic Challenging – Shout While Challenging Shout is active, gain Thorns equal to +50% of your Maximum Life.
(passive) Imposing Presence – Gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, is increased by 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative).
(passive) Outburst – Gain 2/4/6 Thorns. Also gain 2 Thorns for each 2 bonus Maximum Life you have.
- (upgrade) Tough as Nails – Increase your Thorns by +20%/+40%/+60%. When enemies hit you, they take an additional 1% of your Thorns as Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 ) Not taking an active Brawling skill

(active)
- (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)
(passive) Booming Voice – Shout Skill effect durations are increased by 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative).
- (upgrade) Raid Leader – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Guttural Yell – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick any other Brawling passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Steel Grasp – Throw out a trio of chains that deal 23% (X – ?) damage and Pull In enemies. Charges: 2 Charge Cooldown: 11 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Weapon Mastery,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Steel Grasp – Steel Grasp also makes enemies Vulnerable for 2.5 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fighter’s Steel Grasp – If Steel Grasp damages an enemy, gain Berserking for 2 seconds.
(passive) Pit Fighter – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade) No Mercy – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Slaying Strike – You deal 8%/15%/23% increased damage against Injured enemies.
- (upgrade) Expose Vulnerability – did NOT take this one
(passive) Thick Skin – Each time you take direct damage gain 0.4%/0.7%/1.1% Base Life as Fortify.
- (upgrade) Counteroffensive – While you have Fortify for over 50% of your Maximum Life, you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
- (upgrade) Defensive Stance – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick any other Weapon Mastery passives to save points

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Iron Maelstrom –
First your Two-Handed Bludgeoning weapon slams into the ground, dealing 60% (X – ?) damage and Stunning enemies for 2 seconds.
Second your Two-Handed Slashing weapon swipes in front of you, dealing 20% (X – ?) damage and inflicting 120% (X) Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
Third your Dual Wield weapons swing around you, dealing 33% (X – ?) damage per hit. Requires a Full Arsenal of weapons.
Cooldown: 60 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Ultimate,
- (1st upgrade) Prime Iron Maelstrom – Iron Maelstrom gains +10% increased Critical Strike Chance and deals 20% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supreme Iron Maelstrom – Dealing direct damage to an enemy after swapping weapons reduces Iron Maelstrom’s Cooldown by 1 second.
(passive) Wallop – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Concussion – did NOT take this one
(passive ) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.seconds.
- (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here) Brute Force Your Overpower deals 15%/30%/45% (multiplicative) increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon
  *NOTE: Unlocking this skill upgrade/passive requires investing into either Wallop OR Heavy Handed (can still get both if you want)
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Walking Arsenal – Dealing direct damage with a Two-Handed Bludgeoning, Two-Handed Slashing, or Dual Wielded weapons grants 10% (multiplicative) increased damage for 6 seconds. While all three damage bonuses are active, you gain an additional 15% (multiplicative) increased damage.

Class Mechanic:

The Barbarian class mechanics is called Arsenal and this is how I believe it works:

Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons on Barbarians can be either Slashing or Bludgeoning such as: Swords, Axes, or Maces. The game seems to clump all 1-Handed weapons together under the “Dual-Wielding” as far as Barbarians and their skill tags are concerned so regardless of Slashing or Bludgeoning type, a 1-Handed weapon will apparently not count as either.
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 go for a swap-centric build

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects List for some additional picks:

100,000 Steps (Boots)

Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown by [X] Seconds; After gaining the final damage bonus from the Walking Arsenal Key Passive, you automatically cast Ground Stomp and gain [32 – 50] Fury. This cannot happen more than once every 30 seconds.

[28 – 42] Dexterity
+[14 – 28]% Damage with Skills that Swap to New Weapons
+[16.5 – 23.5]% Damage to Stunned Enemies
+[2 – 4] Ranks of Ground Stomp

“While many Barbarians remained in the Dreadlands, small groups from the Oxen, Crane and Bear tribes instead chose to search the land for a new home.” – A History of the Children of Bul-Kathos

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Emerald, Saphire, Ruby, Amethyst, or Skull.
Armor: Ruby, Emerald, Saphire, or Skull.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage
• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Amethyst (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Damage Over Time
• Armor: N% Damage Taken Over Time Reduction
• Jewelry: N% Shadow Resistance

+5%/+8.2%/+14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

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 RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Juggler 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Aspect of Anemia / Harlequin Crest (see notes below)
Amulet: Earthquake Aspect / Exploiter’s Aspect
Chest: Weapon Master’s Aspect / Rage of Harrogath (see notes below)
Pants: Aspect of Tempering Blows
Gloves: Windstriker Aspect / Weapon Master’s Aspect (see notes below)
Boots: Exploiter’s Aspect / 100,000 Steps (see notes below)
Ring 1: Slaking Aspect
Ring 2: Death Wish Aspect
1H Weapon: Aspect of The Prickling OR Needleflare Aspect (IF Aspect of Prickling doesn’t exist anymore)
Off-hand: Earthstriker’s Aspect / Accelerating Aspect (see notes below)
2-H Weapon 1: Skullbreaker’s Aspect
2-H Weapon 2: Accelerating Aspect / Ancients’ Oath (see notes below)

NOTE 1: Earthquake Aspect goes in the Amulet slot ONLY until you get the 100,000 Steps Unique Boots. After that discard it & put Exploiter's Aspect in the Amulet slot to make room for the Unique Boots. 
There are three other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Rage of Harrogath (Chest Armor) & Harlequin Crest (Helm) & Ancients' Oath (Two-Handed Axe). See the 2nd note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Rage of Harrogath (Chest Armor): Windstriker Aspect gets removed from the Gloves slot and Weapon Master’s Aspect replaces it to make room for the Unique Chest Armor.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of Anemia gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Ancients' Oath (2-Handed Axe): Earthstriker’s Aspect gets removed from the 2H Weapon 2 slot & discarded. Accelerating Aspect goes in the now empty 1H Weapon (main-hand) slot to make room for the Unique 2-Handed Axe.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 87 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

LVL 87 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points (2 spare points left): Click THIS LINK

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 41 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Ultimate/Basic/Weapon Mastery Skills
Damage with Core/Ultimate/Basic/Weapon Mastery Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Ultimate/Basic/Weapon Mastery/Defensive Skills
+ X Ranks to Rend/Flay/Steel Grasp/Ground Stomp/Challenging Shout
Lucky Hit Chance withPhysical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage
Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Overpower Damage
+ % Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Slashing/Bludgeoning Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Close Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Overpower Chance
Overpower Damage with Rend/Flay/Steel Grasp
Overpower Damage with Core/Ultimate/Basic/Weapon Mastery Skills
Overpower Damage with Slashing/2-handed/Axes/Bludgeoning/etc. Weapon

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Fury Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Strength
Resource Cost Reduction

Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Juggler 2.0 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)

Official Website.

Bladestorm 2.0 Diablo IV Barbarian Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Bladestorm 2.0 Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(SPIN your way to Victory while being a speedy & angry Bladestorm with this spin2win setup)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more 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 + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Bladestorm 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Frenzy – Unleash a rapid flurry of blows, dealing 20% (X – ?) damage with each pair of hits. If Frenzy hits an enemy, its Attack Speed is increased by +20% for 3 seconds, up to +60%. Requires dual-wielding weapons. Generate Fury: 4 Lucky Hit Chance: 30% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frenzy – While Frenzy is granting +60% bonus Attack Speed, it also generates 2 additional Fury.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Battle Frenzy – While Berserking, your other Skills gain +5% Attack Speed for each stack of Frenzy you have.

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

(active) Whirlwind – Rapidly attack surrounding enemies for 12% (X – ?) damage. Fury Cost: 20 per seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Damage: Physical
- (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) Violent Whirlwind – After using Whirlwind for 2 seconds, Whirlwind deals 30% (multiplicative) increased damage until it is cancelled.
(passive) Pressure Point – Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to a 10%/20%/30% to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Rallying Cry – Bellow a rallying cry, increasing your Movement Speed by +30% and Resource Generation by 50% (multiplicative) for 6 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds Tags: Defensive, Shout6 seconds Damage: Physical ; Tags: Defensive,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry grants you Unstoppable while active.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry generates 25 Fury and grants you an additional 50% (multiplicatrive) Resource Generation.
(passive) Imposing Presence – Gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, is increased by 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Leap – Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 33% (X – ?) damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact. Cooldown: 17 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Brawling,
- (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 40 Fury.
(passive) Booming Voice – Shout Skill effect durations are increased by 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative).
- (upgrade – did NOT put points here) Raid Leader
- (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Guttural Yell – Your Shout Skills cause enemies to deal 8%/16%/24% (multiplicative) less damage for 5 seconds.
(passive) Aggressive Resistance – Gain 4%/8%/12% Damage Reduction while Berserking.
- (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Battle Fervor – When a Brawling Skill damages at least one enemy, gain Berserking for 1/2/3 second(s).
- (upgrade) Prolific Fury – While Berserking, Fury Generation is increased by 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick any other Brawling passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Steel Grasp – Throw out a trio of chains that deal 23% (X – ?) damage and Pull In enemies. Charges: 2 Charge Cooldown: 11 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Weapon Mastery,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Steel Grasp – Steel Grasp also makes enemies Vulnerable for 2.5 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Warrior’s Steel Grasp – Steel Grasp gains 1 additional Charge.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Pit Fighter – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade) No Mercy – You have +3%/+6%/+9% increased Critical Strike Chance against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
- (upgrade) Slaying Strike – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here) Expose Vulnerability – Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery Skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
(passive) Thick Skin – Each time you take direct damage gain 0.4%/0.7%/1.1% Base Life as Fortify.
- (upgrade) Counteroffensive – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Defensive Stance – did NOT take this one
(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 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 40% 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) Wallop – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Concussion – did NOT take this one
(passive ) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.seconds.
- (upgrade) Brute Force – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick 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 Fury.

Class Mechanic:

The Barbarian class mechanics is called Arsenal and this is how I believe it works:

Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons on Barbarians can be either Slashing or Bludgeoning such as: Swords, Axes, or Maces. The game seems to clump all 1-Handed weapons together under the “Dual-Wielding” as far as Barbarians and their skill tags are concerned so regardless of Slashing or Bludgeoning type, a 1-Handed weapon will apparently not count as either.
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 go for a swap-centric build

Unique Item

“The brutish construction of these gloves belies the strength they bestow. Gohr was clearly no craftsman, but it would be foolish to ignore the triumph of his work.” – Barrett’s Book of Implements

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Emerald, Saphire, Skull, Ruby, or Topaz.
Armor: Skull, Saphire, or Ruby.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage
• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Topaz (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Basic Skill Damage
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Control Impaired
• Jewelry: N% Lightning Resistance

+16.7%/8.2%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

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 RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Bladestorm 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind Aspect
Amulet: Exploiter’s Aspect
Chest: Weapon Master’s Aspect
Pants: Steadfast Berserker’s Aspect
Gloves: Dust Devil’s Aspect Until The Unique goes here (see notes below)
Boots: Relentless Berserker’s Apect
Ring 1: Aspect of Giant Strides
Ring 2: Aspect of Berserk Fury
1H Weapon: Rapid Aspect
Off-hand: Aspect of The Expectant
2-H Weapon 1: Aspect of The Dire Whirlwind
2-H Weapon 2: Accelerating Aspect

NOTE 1: Dust Devil’s Aspect goes in the Gloves slot ONLY until you get the Gohr's Devastating Grips Unique Gloves. After that discard it from the build. 
There are three other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Battle Trance (Chest Armor) & Harlequin Crest (Helm) & Ancients' Oath (Two-Handed Axe). See the 2nd note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Battle Trance (Amulet): Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind gets removed from the Helm and Exploiter’s Aspect replaces it to make room for the Unique Amulet.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Ancients' Oath (2-Handed Axe): Aspect of Berserk Fury gets removed from the Ring 2 slot & discarded. Accelerating Aspect goes in the now empty Ring 2 slot to make room for the Unique 2-Handed Axe.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 89 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

LVL 89 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 41 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Fire/Slashing Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Basic/Brawling Skills
Damage with Core/Basic/Brawling Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Basic/Brawling/Defensive Skills
+ X Ranks to Whirlwind/Frenzy/Leap/Steel Grasp/Rallying Cry
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage
Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Overpower Damage
+ % Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Close Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Overpower Chance
Overpower Damage with Whirlwind/Frenzy/Leap
Overpower Damage with Core/Basic/Brawling Skills
Overpower Damage with Slashing/2-handed/Swords/etc. Weapon

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Fury Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Strength
Resource Cost Reduction

Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Bladestorm 2.0 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)

Butcher 2.0 Diablo IV Barbarian Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Butcher 2.0 Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(Leap & Stomp on your foes, Bleed them dry & Rupture the Gushing Wounds)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more 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 + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Butcher 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Lunging Strike – Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% (X – ?) damage. Generate Fury: 9 Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Lunging Strike – Lunging Strike deals 30% (multiplicative) increased damage and Heals you for 2% Maximum Life when it damages a Healthy enemy.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Battle Lunging Strike – Lunging Strike also inflicts 20% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

(active) Rend – Cleave enemies in front of you, dealing 12% (X – ?) damage and inflicting 96% (X) Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Requires a slashing weapon. Fury Cost: 35 Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rend – Dealing direct damage with Rend extends the duration of Vulnerable on enemies by 2 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Rend – Direct damage with Rend grants 4 Fury per enemy hit, up to a maximum of 20 Fury.
(passive) did not pick any Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Ground Stomp – Smash the ground, dealing 10% (X – ?) damage and Stunning surrounding enemies for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 16 seconds Damage: Physical ; Tags: Defensive,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ground Stomp – Increase Ground Stomp’s duration by 1 second.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Ground Stomp – Ground Stomp generates 25 Fury.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Imposing Presence – Gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, is increased by 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick other Defensive passives to save points

Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Leap – Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 33% (X – ?) damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact. Cooldown: 17 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Brawling,
- (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 40 Fury.
(passive) did not pick any Brawling passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active) Rupture – Skewer enemies in front of you, dealing 13% (X – ?) damage, then rip your weapon out, damaging enemies for their total Bleeding amount removing all Bleeding damage from them. Requires a slashing weapon. Cooldown: 10 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Weapon Mastery,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rupture – Ripping your weapon out of enemies during Rupture causes an explosion that deals 30% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fighter’s Rupture – Hitting at least 1 enemy with Rupture Heals you for 15% of your Maximum Life.
(passive – ONLY put 2 points here) Pit Fighter – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade) No Mercy – You have +3%/+6%/+9% increased Critical Strike Chance against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
- (upgrade) Slaying Strike – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Expose Vulnerability – Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery Skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
(passive) Thick Skin – Each time you take direct damage gain 0.4%/0.7%/1.1% Base Life as Fortify.
- (upgrade) Counteroffensive – While you have Fortify for over 50% of your Maximum Life, you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
- (upgrade) Defensive Stance – did NOT take this one
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Hamstring – Your Bleeding effects Slow enemies by 10%/20%/30%.
- (upgrade) Cut to the Bone – Your Bleeding effects deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable Enemies.
(passive) did not pick 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 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 40% 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) Wallop – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Concussion – did NOT take this one
(passive ) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.seconds.
- (upgrade) Brute Force – Your Overpower deals 15%/30%/45% (multiplicative) increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon
  *NOTE: Unlocking this skill upgrade requires investing into either Wallop OR Heavy Handed (can still get both if you want)
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Gushing Wounds – When causing an enemy to Bleed, you have a chance equal to your Critical Strike Chance to increase the Bleed amount by 100% of your Critical Strike Damage bonus. Overpowering a Bleeding enemy creates an explosion that inflicts 11% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.

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-wielding 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’, even any aspects slotted on them. Here are the types:

Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons on Barbarians can be either Slashing or Bludgeoning such as: Swords, Axes, or Maces. The game seems to clump all 1-Handed weapons together under the “Dual-Wielding” as far as Barbarians and their skill tags are concerned so regardless of Slashing or Bludgeoning type, a 1-Handed weapon will apparently not count as either.
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 go for a swap-centric build

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Fields of Crimson (Two-Handed Sword)

+[17.5%] Critical Strike Damage While using this weapon, damaging at least one enemy with Rupture creates a blood pool that inflicts N Bleeding damage over 6 seconds. Enemies standing in the pool take x[0.18 – 0.34]% increased Bleeding damage.

+[7 – 14]% Damage with Two-Handed Slashing Weapons
+[7 – 14]% Damage Over Time
CDR_Rupture (Struck’s note: I’m 100% sure this is cooldown reduction for Rupture)
+[2 – 4] Ranks of Rupture

“We’ve been fighting these flesh-eaters for so long, been soaked in so much blood, that after a while it’s difficult to tell what side you’re truly on.” – Daelyr, Crane Tribe warrior

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Saphire, Skull, Ruby, Amethyst, or Emerald.
Armor: Skull, Saphire, or Ruby.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage
• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

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 RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Butcher 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Exploiter’s Aspect
Amulet: Aspect of Veteran Brawler
Chest: Weapon Master’s Aspect
Pants: Iron Blood Aspect
Gloves: Aspect of Anemia
Boots: Aspect of Perpetual Stomping
Ring 1: Aspect of Quickening Pulse
Ring 2: Slaking Aspect
1H Weapon: Aspect of Berserk Ripping
Off-hand: Skullbreaker’s Aspect
2-H Weapon 1: Aspect of Encroaching Wrath
2-H Weapon 2 (see NOTE below): *Smiting Aspect Until The Unique goes here

NOTE 1: Smiting Aspect goes in the second 2-Handed slot ONLY until you get the Fields of Crimson Unique Two-Handed Sword. 
There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Rage of Harrogath (Chest Armor) & Harlequin Crest (Helm). See the 2nd note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Rage of Harrogath (Chest Armor): Smiting Aspect gets removed from the 2nd 2-handed slot & Aspect of Veteran Brawler replaces it. Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the now empty Amulet slot, emptying the Helm slot. Weapon Master’s Aspect goes in the now empty Helm slot to make room for the Unique Chest.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Smiting Aspect gets removed from the 2nd 2-handed slot & Aspect of Veteran Brawler replaces it. Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the now empty Amulet slot & makes room for the Unique Helm.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 93 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

LVL 93 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 43 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with DoT/Physical/Bleeding Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Weapon Mastery/Brawling Skills
Damage with Core/Weapon Mastery/Brawling Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Weapon Mastery/Brawling Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage
DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Overpower Damage
+ % DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Close Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Overpower Chance
Overpower Damage with Rupture/Rend/Leap
Overpower Damage with Core/Weapon Mastery/Brawling Skills
Overpower Damage with Slashing/2-handed/Swords/etc. Weapon

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Fury Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Strength
Resource Cost Reduction

Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Butcher 2.0 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)

Overkiller Diablo IV Barbarian Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Overkiller Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(get MAD, Charge headfirst into combat & Overpower your foes before dealing a final Death Blow)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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 Launch is getting closer and it’s time to make some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I’ also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Barbarian Class called Overkiller.

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more 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 + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Overkiller) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

(active) Lunging Strike – Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% (X – ?) damage. Generate Fury: 9 Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Lunging Strike – Lunging Strike deals 30% (multiplicative) increased damage and Heals you for 2% Maximum Life when it damages a Healthy enemy.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Combat Lunging Strike – Critical Strikes with Lunging Strike grant you Berserking for 1.5 seconds

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

(active) Upheaval – Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% (X – ?) damage. Requires a two-handed weapon Fury Cost: 40 Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Upheaval – Upheaval has an 20% chance to Stun all enemies it damages for 2.5 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Upheaval – Dealing direct damage to an enemy with a Skill that is not Upheaval causes your next cast of Upheaval to deal 8% (multiplicative) increased damage, stacking up to 10 times.
(passive) Pressure Point – Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to a 10%/20%/30% to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active) I did NOT take any Active Defensive Skills due to lack of enough skillbar slots
- (1st upgrade)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive) Imposing Presence – Gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, is increased by 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick other Defensive passives to save points

Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active 1 rank/level only) War Cry – Bellow a mighty war cry, increasing your damage dealt by 15% (multiplicative) for 8 seconds, and Nearby allies for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds Tags: Brawling, Shout
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced War Cry – War Cry grants you Berserking for 4 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mighty War Cry – War Cry grants grants you 28% Base Life as Fortify.

(active 1 rank/level only) Charge – Become Unstoppable and rush forward pushing enemies with you then swinging through them for 25% (X – ?) damage and Knocking them Back. Cooldown: 17 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Brawling,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Charge – Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain by Charge take 15% (X – ?) damage and are Stunned for 3 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mighty Charge – Damaging enemies with Charge makes them Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) Booming Voice – Shout Skill effect durations are increased by 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative).
- (upgrade) Guttural Yell – Your Shout Skills cause enemies to deal 8%/16%/24% (multiplicative) less damage for 5 seconds.
- (upgrade) Raid Leader – did NOT take this one
(passive 1 point/rank only) Aggressive Resistance – Gain 4%/8%/12% Damage Reduction while Berserking.
- (upgrade) Battle Fervor – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Prolific Fury – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick other Brawling passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active) Death Blow – Attempt a killing strike, dealing 120% (X – ?) to enemies in front of you. If this kills an enemy, the Cooldown is reset. Cooldown: 15 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Weapon Mastery,
- (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 1 enemy, gain 20 Fury.
(passive) Pit Fighter – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade) Slaying Strike – You deal 8%/15%/23% increased damage against Injured enemies.
- (upgrade) No Mercy – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Expose Vulnerability – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick 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 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 40% 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) Wallop – Your Skills using Bludgeoning weapons deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage if the enemy is Stunned or Vulnerable.
- (upgrade) Concussion – Lucky Hit: Skills using Bludgeoning weapons have up to a 10%/20%/30% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds, or up to a 15%/30%/45% chance when using a Two-Handed Bludgeoning weapon.
- (upgrade) Brute Force – did NOT take this one
(passive ) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.seconds.
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Unconstrained – Increase Berserk’s maximum duration by 5 seconds and increase its damage bonus by +25%.

Class Mechanic:

The Barbarian class mechanics is called Arsenal and this is how I believe it works:

Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons on Barbarians can be either Slashing or Bludgeoning such as: Swords, Axes, or Maces. The game seems to clump all 1-Handed weapons together under the “Dual-Wielding” as far as Barbarians and their skill tags are concerned so regardless of Slashing or Bludgeoning type, a 1-Handed weapon will apparently not count as either.
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 go for a swap-centric build

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Overkill (Two-Handed Mace)

+[31.5]% Overpower Damage

Death Blow creates a shockwave, dealing [16 – 30]% of its Base damage to enemies. Enemies who die to this effect also reset Death Blow’s Cooldown.

+[21 – 35]% Damage to Injured Enemies
+[4.5 – 12]% Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Elite_Kill_Damage (Struck’s note: I suspect this is X% dmg after killing an Elite for X seconds)
+[2 – 4] Ranks of Death Blow

The malformed snake creatures that live in the swamps are not content with simply killing their prey. They seem to take a malicious pleasure from inflicting as much suffering as possible before death.

Sockets & Gems

Full Diamonds is a good fit for many builds, not so much for this one due to not much Barrier sources. I’ve shortlisted 5 total gems that work well with the build so pick based on your preference. I’d recommend either of those for Weps: Diamond, Skull, Saphire or Emerald. For Armor: Diamond, Skull, Saphire or Ruby. For Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received • Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage
• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

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 RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Overkiller) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Aspect of Might
Amulet: Exploiter’s Aspect
Chest: Weapon Master’s Aspect
Pants: Steadfast Berserker’s Aspect
Gloves: *Aspect of Inner Calm (see NOTE below)
Boots: Relentless Berserker’s Apect
Ring 1: Bold Chieftain’s Aspect (see notes for alternative choices)
Ring 2: Bear Clan Berserker’s Aspect (see notes for alternative choices)
1H Weapon: Aspect of Brawler’s Aspect
Off-hand: Edgemaster’s Aspect
2-H Weapon 1: Aspect of Encroaching Wrath
2-H Weapon 2 (see NOTE below): Aspect of Veteran Brawler

NOTE 1: Aspect of Veteran Brawler should go into the 2nd 2-Hander slot until the Overkill Unique 2-handed mace drops. After that, move it to the Gloves slot and discard the aspect there (Aspect of Inner Calm).

NOTE 2: The two Resource aspects I put for the Ring slots can me mix-and-matched with those two other resource aspects in any ways between the 4: Aspect of Echoing Fury & Aspect of Berserk Fury.

It's up to you which 2 of the 4 resource Aspects to take if you're not "feeling it" with the two I picked.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 95 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

LVL 95 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 37 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Damage Bonus
Critical Strike Chance
Crit Chance / Critical Strike Damage with Core Skills
Damage with Core Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
Physical Damage Bonus
Physical Crit Chance / Critical Strike Damage Bonus
Resistance to All Elements
Cooldown Reduction
Weapon Mastery Skill Damage
+ % Damage to Elites
+ % Physical Damage to Elites
Damage Upon Killing an Elite
+ % Critical Chance / Crit Damage with Physical Damage Against Elites
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Vulnerable Damage
Crit Chance / Critical Strike Damage to Close Enemies
Crit Chance / Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Crit Chance / Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage while Healthy
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Damage to Close Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies with Core / Weapon Mastery Skills
Crit Chance/ Critical Strike Damage with Weapon Mastery Skills

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Fury Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Strength
Resource Cost Reduction

Low Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Overkiller 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)

Juggler Diablo IV Barbarian Build

Juggler Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV

(keep Juggling those weapons to confuse your enemies & make it seem as if you have 6 hands)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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 Juggler.

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 (Juggler) 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) Frenzy – Unleash a rapid flurry of blows, dealing 26.83% (X – ?) damage with each pair of hits. Dealing damage with Frenzy increases Frenzy’s Attack Speed by +20% for 3 seconds up to 60% Requires dual-wielding weapons. Damage: Physical Generate Fury: 5 Lucky Hit Chance: 30%
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frenzy – While Frenzy is granting +60% bonus Attack Speed, it also generates 1 additional Fury.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Combat Frenzy – You gain 8% (multiplicative) Damage Reduction for each stack of Frenzy you currently have.

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

(active) Hammer of the Ancients – Slam your hammer down with the fury of the ancients, dealing 107.31% X – ?) damage to a concentrated area. Requires a two-handed bludgeoning weapon. Damage: Physical Fury Cost: 35 Lucky Hit Chance: 40%
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Hammer of the Ancients – Gain 10 Fury when Hammer of the Ancients damages 2 or more enemies.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Hammer of the Ancients – Gain Berserking for 2 seconds when hitting 2 or more enemies with Hammer of the Ancients.
(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) did not pick any other Core Passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active) Ground Stomp – Smash the ground, dealing 18.20% (X – ?) damage and Stunning enemies for 3 seconds. Damage: Physical Cooldown: 16.0 seconds
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Ground – Stomp Increase Ground Stomp’s duration by 1 second.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Strategic Ground Stomp – Reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate skill by 1 second for each enemy damaged by Ground Stomp.
(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) Aggressive Resistance – Gain 4% Damage Reduction while Berserking.
- (upgrade)Battle Frenzy – When a Brawling Skill damages at least one enemy, gain Berserking for 1 second.
- (upgrade) Prolific Fury – did not pick to save points
(passive) did not pick any other Brawling Passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active) Steel Grasp – Throw out a trio of chains that deal 24.15% (X – ?) damage and Pull In enemies. Charges: 2 Charge Cooldown: 11.0 seconds Damage: Physical Tags: Weapon Mastery Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Steel Grasp – Steel Grasp also makes enemies Vulnerable for 2.5 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Warrior’s Steel Grasp – Steel Grasp gains 1 additional Charge.
(passive – only put 1 point to unlock the upgrades) Pit Fighter – You deal 3% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (passive – did not put any points here) No Mercy – You deal 5% (multiplicative) increased damage against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
- (passive – only put 1 point to unlock the next upgrade) Slaying Strike – You deal 8% increased damage against Injured enemies.
- (passive – only put 1 point to save points) Expose Vulnerability – Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1.5 (multiplicative) seconds.
(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%.

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Iron Maelstrom – Activate to attach a chain to your Two-Handed Bludgeoning weapon and slam the ground, dealing 63.00% (X – ?) damage and Stunning them for 2 seconds. Reactivate a second time to attach a chain to your Two-Handed Slashing weapon and swipe it in front of you, dealing 21.00% (X – ?) damage and 126.00% (X) Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Reactivate a final time to attach a chain to your Dual Wield weapons and swing them around you, dealing 34.13% (X – ?) damage per hit. Requires a Full Arsenal of weapons. Cooldown: 60.0 seconds Damage: Physical Tags: Ultimate
(1st upgrade) Prime Iron Maelstrom – Iron Maelstrom gains +10% increased Critical Strike Chance and deals 20% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supreme Iron Maelstrom – Dealing direct damage to an enemy after swapping weapons reduces Iron Maelstrom’s Cooldown by 1 second.
(passive – only put 1 point to unlock the upgrades and save points) Tempered Fury – Increase your Maximum Fury by 3.
- (upgrade) Furious Impulse – Each time you swap weapons, gain 2 Fury.
- (upgrade – only put 2 points to save points) Invigorating Fury – Heals you for 2% of your Maximum Life for each 100 Fury spent.
(passive – – did not take this to save points) Wallop – Your Skills using Bludgeoning weapons deal 5% (multiplicative) increased damage if the enemy is Stunned or Vulnerable.
- (upgrade – – did not take this to save points) 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.
(passive) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.
- (upgrade – did not take this to save points) 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) did not pick any other Ultimate Passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Walking Arsenal – Dealing direct damage with a Two-Handed Bludgeoning, Two-Handed Slashing, or Dual Wielded weapons grants 10% (multiplicative) increased damage for 6 seconds. While all three damage bonuses are active, you gain an additional 15% (multiplicative) increased damage.

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-wielding 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 (Juggler) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Aspect of The Relentless Armsmaster
Amulet: Aspect of Retribution
Chest: Aspect of Tempering Blows
Pants: Aspect of Bul-Kathos
Gloves: Relentless Berserker’s Apect
Boots: Aspect of Shared Misery
Ring 1: Aspect of The Umbral
Ring 2: Aspect of Unrelenting Fury
1H Weapon: Windstriker Aspect
Off-hand: Aspect of Ancestral Echoes
2-H Weapon One (see Class Mechanic for info): Aspect of Ancestral Force
2-H Weapon Two (see Class Mechanic for info): Aspect of Veteran Brawler

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

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Juggler 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)

Butcher Diablo IV Barbarian Build

Butcher Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV

(flay the skin off of their bones and bleed them dry)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

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 (Butcher) 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) Flay – Flay the enemy, dealing 9.58% (X – ?) damage. Inflicts 80.48% (X) Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Requires a slashing weapon. Damage: Physical Generate Fury: 9 Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Flay – Flay has a 10% chance to make the enemy Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Double this chance when using a Two-Handed weapon.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Battle Flay – When Flay deals direct damage to an enemy, they take 10% (multiplicative) increased Bleeding damage for the next 3 seconds.

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

(active) Rend – Cleave enemies in front of you, dealing 23.00% (X – ?) damage and inflicting 183.96% (X) Bleeding over 5 seconds. Requires a slashing weapon. Damage: Physical Fury Cost: 35 Lucky Hit Chance: 33%
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Rend – Dealing direct damage with Rend extends the duration of Vulnerable on enemies by 2 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Rend – Direct damage with Rend grants 4 Fury per enemy hit, up to a maximum of 20 Fury.
(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) Challenging Shout – Taunt nearby enemies and gain 40% (multiplicative) Damage Reduction for 10.4 seconds. Cooldown: 16.0 seconds
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Challenging Shout – While Challenging Shout is active, gain +20% bonus Maximum Life.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Challenging Shout – While Challenging Shout is active you gain 3 Fury each time you take damage.
(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) Charge – Become Unstoppable and rush forward pushing enemies with you then swinging through them for 47.91% (X – ?) damage and knocking them back. Cooldown: 17.0 seconds Damage: Physical
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Charge – Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain by Charge take 28.74% (X – ?) damage and are Stunned for 3 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Power Charge – Reduce Charge’s Cooldown by 3 seconds if it Knocks Back an enemy into terrain.
(passive) Booming Voice – Shout skill durations are increased by 30% (multiplicative).
- (upgrade) Raid Leader – did not pick to save points
- (upgrade) Guttural Yell – Your Shout Skills cause enemies to deal 8% (multiplicative) less damage for 5 seconds.
(passive) Aggressive Resistance – Gain 4% Damage Reduction while Berserking.
- (upgrade) Battle Frenzy – did not pick to save points
- (upgrade) Prolific Fury – did not pick to save points
(passive) did not pick any other Brawling Passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active) Rupture – Skewer enemies in a line, inflicting 13.65% (X – ?) damage then rip your weapon out, damaging enemies for their total Bleeding amount receiving all Bleeding damage from them. Requires a slashing weapon. Cooldown: 15.0 seconds Damage: Physical Tags: Weapon Mastery Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Rupture – If an enemy dies while being skewered by Rupture, then reset its Cooldown. Enemies who survive take 20% (multiplicative) increased Bleeding damage for the next 8 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Warrior’s Rupture – Killing enemies with Rupture increases your Attack Speed by +20% for 4 seconds.
(passive – only put 1 point to unlock the upgrades) Pit Fighter – You deal 3% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (passive – did not put any points here) No Mercy – You deal 5% (multiplicative) increased damage against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
- (passive – only put 1 point to unlock the next upgrade) Slaying Strike – You deal 8% increased damage against Injured enemies.
- (passive – only put 1 point to save points) Expose Vulnerability – Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1.5 (multiplicative) seconds.
(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 – only put 1 point to save points) Hamstring – Your Bleeding effects Slow enemies by 10%
- (passive) Cut to the Bone – Your Bleeding effects deal 6% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable Enemies.

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Call of the Ancients – Call upon 3 Ancients to aid you in battle for 6 seconds. Korlic leaps at enemies, dealing 80.00% (X – ?) damage and swings his weapon in a Frenzy dealing 30.00% (X – ?) damage per hit. Talic spins in a Whirlwind rapidly attacking enemies for 50.00% (X – ?) damage. Madawc Upheaves the ground, dealing 150.00% (X – ?) damage. Cooldown: 50.0 seconds Damage: Physical Tags: Ultimate
(1st upgrade) Prime Call of the Ancients – While Call of the Ancients is active, gain +10% bonus Attack Speed and 10% (multiplicative) increased damage.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supreme Call of the Ancients – Each of the Ancients gains additional power: Korlic: You gain 10 Fury each time Korlic damages an enemy with Frenzy. Talic: Enemies are Slowed by 50% for 1 second when damaged by his Whirlwind. Madawc: 30% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds when using his Upheaval.
(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 – did not pick due to using Slashing) Wallop – Your Skills using Bludgeoning weapons deal 5% (multiplicative) increased damage if the enemy is Stunned or Vulnerable.
- (upgrade – did not pick due to using Slashing) 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.
(passive) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.
- (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) did not pick any other Ultimate Passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Gushing Wounds – Killing a Bleeding enemy creates an explosion that inflicts 11.55% (X) Bleeding damage over 3 seconds.

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 (Butcher) 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

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Butcher 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)