Hammer Time 2.0Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV S2 [S Tier Overpower DPS]
(It’s HAMMER TIME!Slam that massive Warhammer into the ground and grind your foes into dust.)
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Diablo IV Season 2 (Season of the Blood) started on October 17th, 2023 for Players on PC (Battle.Net & Steam), XBOX, & PlayStation. After extensive testing, I bring you a Hammer of the Ancients & Overpower Barbarianwith S Tier Overpower DPS for the Archetype. The build’s relatively easy to gear up & get things going & requires 0 non-codex aspect. Only 1 out of the 3 Uniques is a Duriel Drop. As usual, I’ll evolve & keep my builds updated. This is one such build for the Barbarian Class called Hammer Time 2.0.
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 a link to a new build calculator/planner (MOBALYTICS) that I’ll be using from now on as well which seems amazing.
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 Latest & older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Hammer Time 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Bash – Bash the enemy with your weapon, dealing 30% (X – Y) 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: 13 Lucky Hit Chance: 50% (per hit) Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Bash – Damaging a Stunned enemy with Bash grants you 20% Maximum 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.
(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 – potentially can put the last 1 skill point here) 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
DefensiveSkills (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, 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) War Cry – Bellow a mighty war cry, increasing your damage dealt by 15% (multiplicative) for 6 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds Tags: Brawling, Shout Cooldown: 25 seconds | Tags: Defensive, Shout
(1st upgrade) Enhanced War Cry War Cry grants you Berserking for 4 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Power War Cry If at least 6 enemies are Nearby when War Cry is cast, its damage bonus is increased by an additional 10% (multiplicative).
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Leap – Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 32.5% (X – ?) damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact. Cooldown: 17 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 66% (per hit) 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) Swiftness – Movement Speed is increased by +4%/+8%/+12%.
(upgrade) Quick Impulses – 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 – ONLY put 1 point here) Thick Skin – Each time you take direct damage gain 0.4%/0.7%/1.1% Maximum Life as Fortify.
(upgrade) Defensive Stance– did NOT take this one
(upgrade) Counteroffensive – While you have Fortify for over 50% of your Maximum Life, you deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage.
(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 5 seconds Cooldown: 60 seconds Tags: Ultimate,
(1st upgrade) Supreme Wrath of the Berserker – While Wrath of the Berserker is active, gain +20% increased Movement Speed and increase Fury Generation by 30% (multiplicative)
(2nd upgrade) Prime Wrath of the Berserker – While Wrath of the Berserker is active, every 50 Fury spend increases Berserk’s damage bonus by 25% (multiplicative), up to 100% (multiplicative).
(passive) Wallop – Your Skills using Bludgeoning weapons deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage if the enemy is Stunned orVulnerable.
(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.
(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.
Seasonal Mechanic (Vampiric Powers):
In Season 2 (Season of Blood), the seasonal Mechanics involves slotting in up to 5 (out of 22) Vampiric Powers at once. Each power requires a certain number of pacts to be applied to your armor. There are 3 types of Pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, Eternity. Pacts can be applied to Armor as follows: Helmet & Boots up can have to 3, Pants up to 4, while Chest Armor and Gloves can have up to 5 pacts applied to them. That Makes a Total of 20 and is enough for any possible combination of 5 powers. Below you can find Information of the total pacts this build needs + the 5 powers we’ve used.
Metamorphosis = ferocity 2, divinity 2, eternity 2 Evading making us unstoppable is great! This helps triggering Tibault’s Will‘s unique special/effect. Also causes Vampiric Curse (read below why it’s needed)
Blood Boil = eternity 6 TOP synergy for any Overpower build. Every 20 seconds a guaranteed Overpower
Prey on the Weak = ferocity 2 it’s good bit of extra dps but also good synergy with HotA builds so we don’t require Accursed Touch as evading through enemies will keep the curse on them (due to Metamorphosis).
Sanguine Brace = divinity 1 + eternity 1 a very good fit for classes that can keep the fortify up (like a Barbarian) for that extra +8% crit chance is great here.
Hemomancy = eternity 3 this one helps with trash mobs clear and also heals us a bit every 4 seconds. Very good on Overworld content like Helltide or Blood Harvest.
Alternative options (instead of Hemomancy):
Undying a bit of extra healing with each attack/cast
Resilience extra Damage Reduction so you may prefer it over Undying. For lower tier NMDs & overworld content Resilience won’t be needed and neither will it be needed for Uber Bosses (except maybe for Uber Lilith but for her you need well timed evading & keeping your armor high more than anything)
Class Mechanics (Arsenal, Expertise, Technique):
The Barbarian class mechanics are called Arsenal, Weapon Expertise & Weapon Technique and this is how I 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 not rarely count as either for passives & triggers.
The two slots of Two-Handed Weapons can be occupied by 1 Slashing type weps like 2h Swords, 2h Axes, & Polearms and by 1 Bludgeoning Weapon like 2h Hammer and 2h 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 that levels can be leveled up to rank 10 + a weapon technique which gets slotted into a slot that lets you benefit from the passive bonuses of a certain weapon with all attacks, regardless of the weapon they used. 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 Leap. I personally prefer Dual Wielded for it as I’m looking for speed when using Leap 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 SkillOverpowerafter critically striking 4 times with a 2H Bludgeoning
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following:
Top Pick Uniques for the Build
Banished Lord’s Talisman (Amulet)
+[X]% Resistance to All Elements After you spend 300 of your Primary Resource, your next Core Skill is guaranteed to Overpower. Your Critical Strikes that Overpower deal x[80-120]%increased damage.
+[5 – 12]% Resource Generation +[21 – 42] Overpower Damage +[1.8 – 5]% Critical Strike Chance +1 Ranks of All Core Skills (note: this goes to +2 at max upgrade rank)
“His name has been lost to history, but to have been exiled from a land as cursed as Hawezar, his deeds must have been truly depraved.” – Scholar’s Notes
Ring of Red Furor (Ring)
+X% Resistance to All Elements +Y% Fire Resistance
After spending 100 Fury within 3 seconds, your next cast of Hammer of the Ancients, Upheaval, or Death Blow is a guaranteed Critical Strike and deals x[10 – 30]% (multiplicative) bonus Critical Strike Damage.
“Anger brings strength but clouds the mind. You must learn to focus your fury, direct it with purpose. Keep our sacred duty at the forefront of your mind, always.” – Talic, to Madawc
The Grandfather (Two-Handed Sword) BEST-IN-SLOT 2N Slashing BUT it’s a uber unique so you may never get it before the season ends.
+[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 +[XYZ] Maximum Life +[36] All Stats Ignores Durability Loss (this affects all durability loss not just for this item)
An unbroken lineage of unwavering strength.
Godslayer Crown (Helm)
When you Stun, Freeze, or Immobilize an Elite enemy, or damage a Boss, it pulls in nearby enemies. You deal x[30-60]%increased damage to them for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 12 seconds.
+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction +[X – Y] Maximum Life +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 12]% Crowd Control Duration
“The Sahptev faithful believe in a thousand and one gods. If it takes me as many lifetimes, I will find and kill them all.” – Gaspar Stilbian, Veradani Outcast
Ideal & best-in-slot Helm Choice: Right now this seems like a very good option for any build and if you’re lucky enough to get I Strongly advise trying it. I personally felt that my DPS fell too much while wearing it so I went back to a Godslayer Crown. Harlequin Crest (Helm)
Gain [20%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[4] Ranks to All Skills.
+[N] Maximum Life +X% Cooldown Reduction +12% Resource Generation +[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
Alternative Helm Choice 2: This isn’t a direct Synergy for this build but has it’s worth when used. If you’re lucky enough to get I advise trying it and deciding if you like it or not. The attack speed is pretty great and so is having 90 poison resistance on an item, on the other hand the lifesteal is not that great but is still better than none at all. Andariel’s Visage (Helm)
Lucky Hit: Up to a [15 – 20]% chance to trigger a poison nova that applies XPoisoning damage over 5 seconds to enemies in the area.
+18 All Stats +10% Attack Speed +2% Life Steal (fully upgraded goes to +3%) +60% Poison Resistance (fully upgraded goes to +90%)
The horrific whispers of the Maiden of Anguish flicker through your mind, pushing you ever closer to madness…
Tibault’s Will (Pants) (this one’s very good to use if you don’t feel like your survivability sucks or for overworld and other easier content as well as to swap to for boss fights)
While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores 20% Resource You deal x[20-40]%increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 secondsafter. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource.
+[2 – 3] Potion Capacity +[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 13] Maximum Resource
“The younger apprentices think wearing heavy plate in the swamps is foolish. They fail to understand that our armor is our legacy, and without it we are nothing.” – Crusader Pembroke
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. (if you don’t have any use Topaz for a bit) Armor: Ruby or Saphire/Topaz (dmg reduction can help you If needed in higher tier NM dungeons). Jewelry: Skull (ideally) OR Diamond if not capped on resists. Unless you need specific resistance more.
XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)
• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage • Armor: +N% Barrier Generation • Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements
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 Latest & Older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Hammer Time 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Helm:Exploiter’s Aspect/Harlequin CrestOR Godslayer Crown OR an Alternative Helm Pick (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Amulet: Rapid AspectOR Earthstriker’s Aspect / Banished Lord’s Talisman (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Chest: Relentless Berserker’s Apect
Pants: Aspect of Disobedience / Tibault’s Will (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Gloves: Aspect of The Expectant / Until The Grandfather is equipped as a 2h Slashing wep, then put Edgemaster’s Aspect here (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Boots: Ghostwalker Aspect
Ring 1: Rapid AspectOR Earthstriker’s Aspect / Ring of Red Furor (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Ring 2: Aspect of Echoing Fury
Main Hand Weapon: Aspect of Ancestral Force
Off-hand Weapon: Aspect of Inner Calm
2-H Weapon 1 (Bludgeoning): Aspect of Limitless Rage
2-H Weapon 2 (Slashing): Edgemaster’s Aspect / Until Grandfather is equipped as a 2h Slashing wep (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Paragon Boards:
Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. I’ve made two version: 1 for before the Abattoir of Lord Zir (December 5th) Patch and 1 for after the Abattoir patch. On the link you’ll see what the boards will look like at lvl 100 with ALL paragon points spent and fully min-maxed to get the most out of every board BUT it’s based on my gear’s attributes bonuses (STR, DEX, WIL) so you may need to re-order some of the floating nodes to make sure you get the double bonus requirements of all rare nodes. Leveling in Season 2 is fast so I no longer will provide a version with less points spent.
MAX LEVEL & MAX Paragon points spent Before Abattoir Patch : Click THIS LINK
MAX LEVEL & MAX Paragon points spent After Abattoir Patch: Click THIS LINK
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (in order of priority):
I’ve shortlisted various 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: Damage While Berserking, Total Armor, Cooldown Reduction
Priority 2: Maximum Life, Basic Skill Attack Speed
Priority 3: Core Stats (Str, Wil, Dex, All Stats)
Priority 4: +N% X Resistance(es)
Chest:
Priority 1: Total Armor, Overpower with 2h Bludgeoning, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies OR Damage Reduction while Fortified,
Priority 1: Total Armor, Movement Speed, Overpower DMG with 2H Bludgeoning, Cooldown Reduction
Priority 2: +X% Strength
Priority 3: +X Ranks of a Passive you like, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/While Injured/While Fortified
Priority 4: Critical Strike Chance Against Injured, +X% Damage,
Rings:
Priority 1: Damage While Berserking, Critical Strike Chance, Overpower Damage, Maximum Fury
Priority 2: Critical Strike Damage, Maximum Life
Priority 3: Damage to Close/Distant/Injured Enemies, Vulnerable Damage
Priority 4: Fortify Generation
Main Hand 1H-Weapon:
Priority 1: Damage While Berserking, Overpower Damage, Critical Strike Damage, (All Stats or Strength)
Priority 2: Core Skill Damage, Damage to Close Enemies
Priority 3: Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Injured Enemies, Damage to CCed
Priority 4: Other Core Stats (Dex, Wil, Int)
Off-hand Weapon:
Same priorities as the Main-Hand 1H Weapon(scroll up a bit and read)
2H Weapon 1 & 2H Weapon 2:
Same priorities as 1H Main Hand Weapon (scroll up a bit and read)
This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:
Overpower Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Attack Speed
Damage While Berserking
Damage with CoreSkills
+ X Maximum Fury
+ X Ranks to Hammer of the Ancients / to all Core skills
Total Armor
Cooldown Reduction
+ Maximum Life
+ All Stats
+ Strength, + Willpower, + Dexterity
Damage to Close Enemies
Total Armor
Movement Speed
Damage Reduction while from Close/Distant Enemies
Damage Reduction while Fortified
Damage Reduction while Injured
Vulnerable Damage / Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Resistance to All Elements
+ X Ranks to Defensive/Brawling Skills (not that important)
+ X% Damage
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Damage while Healthy
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Physical Damage Bonus
Higher Priority
Lucky Hit Chance
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource
Fortify Generation
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life
Barrier Generation
Lower Priority
Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):
For all of my Diablo IV Latest Season 2 & Older (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
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This concludes theHammer Time 2.0Barbarian 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):
Storm Lord 4.0Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [BIG Spam Synergy]
(Call forth the power of Storms as you rapidly Claw away at your foes)
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Diablo IV Season 2 (Season of the Blood) started on October 17th, 2023 for Players on PC (Battle.Net & Steam), XBOX, & PlayStation). After extensive testing, I bring you a Claw & Petrify Druidwith a ULT Spam Synergy for the Archetype. The build’s relatively easy to gear up & get things going but requires 1 non-codex aspect. 4 out of the 5 Uniques are also Duriel Drops. As usual, I’ll evolve & keep my builds updated. This is one such build for the Druid Class called Storm Lord 4.0.
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 a link to a new build calculator/planner (MOBALYTICS) that I’ll be using from now on as well which seems amazing.
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 Latest & older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord 4.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
(active) Claw – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and shred an enemy, dealing 20% (X-?) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Generates: 9 Spirit
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Claw – Claw’s Attack Speed is increased by +10%.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Wild Claw – Claw has a 10% chance to attack twice.
(active – auto-cast by Greatstaff of the Crone) Storm Strike – Electricity gathers around your weapon, dealing 20% (X-?) damage to your target and chaining to up to 3 surrounding enemies, dealing 20% less damage each time it chains. You gain 25% Damage Reduction for 3 seconds after dealing damage with Storm Strike. Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Lightning Generates: 15 Spirit
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Storm Strike Storm Strike has a 15% chance to Immobilize all enemies hit for 2.5 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Storm Strike Storm Strike has a 50% chance to make enemies Vulnerablefor 3 seconds.
Spirit /Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 ) we’re not using an Active Core Skill
(active)
(1st upgrade)
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive) Predatory Instinct – Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
(upgrade – did NOT take) Iron Fur
(upgrade – did NOT take) Digitigrate Gait
(passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points
Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Cooldown: 16 seconds | Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark – Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Maximum Life as Fortify.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Debilitating Roar – Shapeshift into a Werebear and bellow a mighty roar, reducing Nearby enemies’ damage dealt by 70% for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 22 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Debilitating Roar – Debilitating Roar also Fortifies you for 22% Maximum Life.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Debilitating Roar – Debilitating Roar also heals you for 4% of your maximum Life each second for its duration.
(passive) Ancestral Fortitude Increase your Non-Physical Resistances by 5%/10%/15%.
(upgrade) Vigilance You gain 5%/10%/15% Damage Reduction for 6 seconds after using a Defensive Skill.
CompanionSkills (Required Points: 11 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Vine Creeper Passive: A vine creeper periodically emerges from the ground every 7 seconds and applies 36% (X) Poisoning damage over 6 seconds to an enemy in the area. Active: Vines strangle all surrounding enemies, Immobilizing them for 2 seconds and Poisoning them for 30% damage over 2 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% | Cooldown: 20 seconds Type: Companion ; Damage: Poison
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Vine Creeper – Vine Creeper’s Immobilize duration is increased by 1 second.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Brutal Vine Creeper – Your chance to Critically Strike Chance is increased by +20% against enemies strangled by Vine Creeper.
(passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points
WrathSkills (Required Points: 16 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Hurricane – Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% | Cooldown: 20 seconds Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
(1st upgrade)Enhanced Hurricane – Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Savage Hurricane – Enemies affected by Hurricane deal 20% less damage.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Elemental Exposure – Lucky Hit: Your Storm Skills have up to 20% chance to make enemies Vulnerablefor 1/2/3 second(s).
(upgrade) Endless Tempest – Increase the duration of Hurricane and Cataclysm by 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative). This node is ONLY required to unlock Bad Omen
(upgrade) Bad Omen –Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance when dealing damage to a Vulnerable, Immobilized or Stunned enemy that a Lightning Strike also hits dealing 55% (X-?) damage.
(upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Charged Atmosphere – Charged Atmosphere Every 18/15/12 seconds, a Lightning Strike hits a nearby enemy dealing 45% (X-?) damage. This node is required to unlock BOTH Bad Omen & Electric Shock
(upgrade – did NOT take) Electric Shock –
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Neurotoxin – Poisoned enemies are slowed by 8%/16%/24%.
(upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Toxic Claws – Critical Strikes with Werewolf skills deal 8%/15%/23% of their base damage as Poison damage over 4 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23)
(active) Petrify – Petrify all Nearby enemies in stone, Stunning them for 3.75 seconds. You deal 25% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage to enemies affected by Petrify. Against Bosses,the Critical Strike Damage bonus is increased to 50% (multiplicative) and its duration is increased to 7.5 seconds. Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical Cooldown: 60 seconds
(1st upgrade) Prime Petrify – Petrify’s duration is increased by 1 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – did NOT pick as it’s not needed) Supreme Petrify – Killing an enemy affected by Petrify grants 25 Spirit.
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Natural Disaster
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Resonance
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Quickshift – After Shapeshifting into a different form, your next skill deals 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
(upgrade) Heightened Senses – Upon shapeshifting into a Werewolf or Werebear, gain 4%/8%/12% damage reduction against Elites for 5 seconds.
(upgrade – did NOT take) Natural Fortitude
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points
Key Passive / Capstone (Required Points: 33 )
(passive) Nature’s Fury – Casting an Earth Skill has a 30% chance to trigger a free Storm Skill of the same category. In addition, casting a Storm Skill has a 30% chance to trigger a free Earth Skill of the same category.
Seasonal Mechanic (Vampiric Powers):
In Season 2 (Season of Blood), the seasonal Mechanics involves slotting in up to 5 (out of 22) Vampiric Powers at once. Each power requires a certain number of pacts to be applied to your armor. There are 3 types of Pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, Eternity. Pacts can be applied to Armor as follows: Helmet & Boots up can have to 3, Pants up to 4, while Chest Armor and Gloves can have up to 5 pacts applied to them. That Makes a Total of 20 and is enough for any possible combination of 5 powers. Below you can find Information of the total pacts this build needs + the 5 powers we’ve used.
Metamorphosis = ferocity 2, divinity 2, eternity 2 Evading making us unstoppable is great! This helps triggering Tibault’s Will‘s unique special/effect. Also causes Vampiric Curse (read below why it’s needed)
Prey on the Weak = ferocity 2 it’s good bit of extra dps but also good synergy with Flickerstep builds so we don’t require Accursed Touch as evading through enemies will keep the curse on them (due to Metamorphosis).
Moonrise = eternity 1 TOP synergy for this build. Why? Well each basic attack is actually two, BUT it can also end up being 3 due to our Key Passive so the bonus DMG to basic attacks really adds up.
Anticipation = divinity 1 -20% cooldown time for our Petrify is great!
Sanguine Brace = divinity 1 + eternity 1 a very good fit for classes that can keep the fortify up (like a Druid) for that extra +8% crit chance is great here.
Alternative: Hemomancy = eternity 3 this one helps with trash mobs clear and also heals us a bit every 4 seconds. Very good on Overworld content like Helltide or Blood Harvest.
Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):
The Spirit Boons system lets you pick 1 spirit Boon per bond out of 4 categories. Eventually you unlock the option to specialize into a certain bond which will let you get 2 Boons from that category. I advise using the following 2 + 1 +1 +1 for now.
Eagle Category: take those two
Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance.
Avian Wrath: +30% Critical Strike Damage.
Deer Category: take this one
Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
Snake Category: take this one Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills (Earth & Storm) have up to a 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.
Alternative Option 1) Masochistic: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skillsheal you for 3% of your maximum Life.
Alternative Option 2) Overload:Lucky Hit:Lightning Damage has up to a 20% chance to cause the target to emit a static discharge, dealing 63.53% damage to surrounding enemies.
Wolf Category: There are also two decent picks here. I personally think Energize is the best fit since Calamity‘s duration increase only counts Petrify/Cataclysm‘s base duration when counting those 25%. Pick based on whether you need more Poison Creeper Active Skill spamming or longer Ultimates.
option 1) Packleader: Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a 20% chance to reset the Cooldown of your Companion Skills.
option 2) Calamity: Extend the duration of Ultimate Skills by 25%.
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following:
Top Pick Uniques for the Build
Flickerstep (Boots) [bread and butter of this build]
Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown by 0.8 Seconds
Each enemy you Evade through reduces your active Ultimate Cooldown by 2-4 seconds, up to 10 seconds.
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Movement Speed +[10 – 18] All Stats + [7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies +[31.5 – 52.5]% Ultimate Skill Damage
“Considered a failure by their creator, it wasn’t until the assassination of an “untouchable” Caldeum noble that these boots’ true power was understood.” – Barrett’s Book of Implements
Greatstaff of the Crone (Staff)
+[17.5%] Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Claw is now a Storm Skill and also casts Storm Strike at [120 – 150]% normal damage.
+[16.5 – 23.5]% Damage to Close Enemies +[9.5 – 16.5]% Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies +[7 – 14]% Non-Physical Damage +[X – 9] Ranks of Claw
“She has existed in Scosglen since before Fiacla-Géar walked the land. Her purpose is a mystery to us all. However, approach her with deference; she may grant you her counsel.” – Airidah, to Donan
Godslayer Crown (Helm)
When you Stun, Freeze, or Immobilize an Elite enemy, or damage a Boss, it pulls in nearby enemies. You deal x[30-60]%increased damage to them for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 12 seconds.
+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction +[X – Y] Maximum Life +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 12]% Crowd Control Duration
“The Sahptev faithful believe in a thousand and one gods. If it takes me as many lifetimes, I will find and kill them all.” – Gaspar Stilbian, Veradani Outcast
Alternative Helm Choice 1: Right now this seems like a very good option for any build and if you’re lucky enough to get I Strongly advise trying it. I personally felt that my DPS fell too much while wearing it so I went back to a Godslayer Crown. Harlequin Crest (Helm)
Gain [20%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[4] Ranks to All Skills.
+[N] Maximum Life +X% Cooldown Reduction +12% Resource Generation +[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
Alternative Helm Choice 2: This seems like a very good poison + X’Fal’s Corroded Signet Syenrgy for this build and if you’re lucky enough to get I advise trying it and deciding if you like it or not. The lifesteal also seems like an amazing basic attack build syenrgy too. Andariel’s Visage (Helm)
Lucky Hit: Up to a [15 – 20]% chance to trigger a poison nova that applies XPoisoning damage over 5 seconds to enemies in the area.
+18 All Stats +10% Attack Speed +2% Life Steal (fully upgraded goes to +3%) +60% Poison Resistance (fully upgraded goes to +90%)
The horrific whispers of the Maiden of Anguish flicker through your mind, pushing you ever closer to madness…
X’Fal’s Corroded Signet (Ring)
+X% Resistance to All Elements +Y% Fire Resistance
Lucky Hit: Your damage over time effects have up to a 50% chance to erupt, dealing [X-Y] damage of the same type to Nearby enemies.
+[20 – 28] All Stats +[14 – 28]% Damage Over Time +[3.2 – 6]% Lucky Hit Chance +[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction
Skulking in the shadows of the Realm of Destruction, the Scarred Baron plots the downfall of the mortal who banished him there.
Tibault’s Will (Pants) (this one’s very good to use if you don’t feel like your survivability sucks or for overworld and other easier content as well as to swap to for boss fights)
While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores 20% Resource You deal x[20-40]%increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 secondsafter. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource.
+[2 – 3] Potion Capacity +[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 13] Maximum Resource
“The younger apprentices think wearing heavy plate in the swamps is foolish. They fail to understand that our armor is our legacy, and without it we are nothing.” – Crusader Pembroke
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. (if you don’t have any use Topaz for a bit) Armor: Ruby or Saphire/Topaz (dmg reduction can help you If needed in higher tier NM dungeons). Jewelry: Skull (ideally) OR Diamond if not capped on resists. Unless you need specific resistance more.
XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)
• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage • Armor: +N% Barrier Generation • Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements
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 Latest & Older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord 4.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Helm:Aspect of The ProtectorOR Exploiter’s Aspect/Godslayer Crown OR an Alternative Helm Pick (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Amulet: Rapid Aspect
Chest: Aspect of Disobedience
Pants: Aspect of Might or Vigorous Aspect / Tibault’s Will (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Gloves: Symbiotic Aspect
Boots: Ghostwalker Aspect / Flickerstep
Ring 1: Runeworker’s Conduit Aspect
Ring 2: Overcharged Aspect / X’Fal’s Corroded Signet
Main Hand Weapon: Aspect of Control
Off-hand Weapon: Aspect of Three Curses
2-H Weapon: Conceited Aspect or Edgemaster’s Aspect (I actually Don’t recommend playing this build before getting at least the unique staff in the first place. However, if you insist on using this build before the staff drops then I recommend ideally using a 1h + Off-hand combo before you get Greatstaff of the Crone. Why? Because it means a LOT of potential Cooldown reduction lost (up to 2x 10.3% at max item power) and this build is heavily dependent on CDR even with Flickerstep equipped. However, if you want to use a Legendary Staff or Hammer for a bit, then make sure you use a very high rolled Conceited Aspect or Edgemaster’s Aspect on the the 2h weapon)
Paragon Boards:
Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. I’ve made two version: 1 for before the Abattoire of Lord Zir (December 5th) Patch and 1 for after the Abattoire patch. On the link you’ll see what the boards will look like at lvl 100 with ALL paragon points spent and fully min-maxed to get the most out of every board BUT it’s base on my gear’s attributes bonuses (INT, DEX, WIL) so you may need to reorder some of the floating nodes to make sure you get the double bonus requirements of all rare nodes. Leveling in Season 2 is fast so I no longer will provide a version with less points spent.
MAX LEVEL & MAX Paragon points spent Before Abattoire Patch : Click THIS LINK
MAX LEVEL & MAX Paragon points spent After Abattoire Patch: Click THIS LINK
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (in order of priority):
I’ve shortlisted various 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, Total Armor
Priority 2: Maximum Life, Basic Skill Attack Speed
Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats)
Priority 4: +N% X Resistance(es)
Chest:
Priority 1: Total Armor, Damage Reduction while Fortified,
Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies
Priority 3:Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Damage Reduction while Fortified
Priority 4: Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned, Critical Chance Against Injured
2-H Weapon (1H+off-hand setup is preferred until the unique Staff Drops): Same priorities as 1H Main Hand Weapon (scroll up a bit and read)
This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Attack Speed
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Basic Skills
Damage with Basic/Nature/Earth/Shapeshifting/WerewolfSkills
Basic Skill Damage
+ X Ranks to Defensive/Wrath Skills
+ X Ranks to Y Active Skill (not really recomended for this build)
Cooldown Reduction
+ Maximum Life
+ All Stats
+ Willpower, + Dexterity, + Intelligence
Vulnerable Damage / Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Lucky Hit Chance
Movement Speed
Damage Reduction while from Close Enemies
Damage Reduction while Fortified
Damage Reduction while Injured
Damage Reduction from Poisoned Enemies
Resistance to All Elements
Total Armor / Total Armor in Werewolf Form
+ X% Damage
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Damage while Healthy
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Physical/Earth Skill Damage Bonus
Higher Priority
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Earth/Nature/Shapeshifting/Werewolf Skill Damage
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource
Fortify Generation
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life
Barrier Generation
Lower Priority
Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):
For all of my Diablo IV Latest Season 2 & Older (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 theStorm Lord 4.0Druid 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):
Blood LancerNecro BUILD for Diablo IV [Top Overpower Synergy]
(use your foes’ Blood to conjure up deadly Lances and impale the enemies with them)
♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦
Diablo IV Season 2 (Season of the Blood) started on October 17th, 2023 for Players on PC (Battle.Net & Steam), XBOX, & PlayStation). After extensive testing, I bring you aNecromancer with a TOP Overpower Synergy for the Archetype. The build’s easy to gear up & get things going but requires 1 non-codex aspect. 3 out of 4 Uniques are relatively easy to get from Uber Bosses too. As usual, I’ll evolve & keep my builds updated. This is one such build for the Necromancer Class called Blood Lancer.
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 a link to a new build calculator/planner (MOBALYTICS) that I’ll be using from now on as well which seems amazing.
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 Latest & older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Blood Lancer) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Reap – Sweep an ethereal scythe in front of you, dealing 13% (X-?) damage. Hitting an enemy with Reap increases your damage Reduction by 15% for 2 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 17% | Generates: 4 Essence per enemy hit Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Basic, Darkness
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Reap – If an enemy hit by Reap dies within 2 seconds, you gain 30% attack speed for 3 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)Acolyte’s Reap – Reap forms a Corpse under the first enemy hit. Can only occur every 4 seconds.
(active) Blood Lance – Throw a blood lance that lingers in an enemy for 3 seconds, dealing 80% (X-?) damage to the enemy and all other lanced enemies. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Essence Cost: 15 Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core, Blood
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Lance – Blood Lance Pierces through enemies who are currently lanced, dealing 10% reduced damage to subsequent enemies after the first.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supernatural Blood Lance – After casting Blood Lance 6 times, your next cast of Blood Lance is guaranteed to Overpower and spawns a Blood Orb under the first enemy hit.
(passive) Hewed Flesh – Lucky Hit: Your damage has up to a 4%/8%/12% chance to create a corpse at the target’s location.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here)Unliving Energy – Your maximum Essence is increased by 3/6/9.
(upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here unless you wear Blood Moon Breeches, then take the 1 point from Decrepify and put it here to get rank 3) Imperfectly Balanced – Your Core Skills cost 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) more Essence, but deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points
Macabre Skills (Required Points: 6 )
(active) Corpse Explosion – Detonate a Corpse, dealing 50% (X-XX) damage to nearby enemies. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse – Corpse Explosion’s radius is increased by 15%.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Plagued Corpse Explosion – Corpse Explosion deals 8% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Slowed, Stunned or Vulnerable. These damage bonuses can stack.
(active) Blood Mist – Disperse into a bloody mist, becoming Immune for 3 seconds. Your Movement Speed is reduced by 20% and you periodically deal 2% (X-?) damage to enemies, healing for 0.5% of your Maximum Life. Lucky Hit Chance: 9% | Cooldown: 24 Seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Macabre, Blood
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Mist – Casting a Skill that Overpowers reduces the cooldown of Blood Mist by 2 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Ghastly Blood Mist – Blood Mist leaves behind a Corpse every 1 second.
(passive) Grim Harvest – Consuming a Corpse generates 2/4/6 Essence.
(upgrade) Fueled by Death – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage for 4 seconds after consuming a Corpse.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Macabre passives to save points
Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here, remove it when/if you equip Blood Moon Breeches) Decrepify – Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Decrepify are Slowed by 40% and deal 20% less damage for 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical ; Tags: Curse, Corruption
(1st upgrade) did not take an upgrade
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) did not take an upgrade
(passive)Death’s Reach – You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Distant enemies.
(passive) Amplify Damage – You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Cursed enemies.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Corruption passives to save points
Summoning Skills (Required Points: 16 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Corpse Tendrils – Veins burst out of a Corpse, pulling in enemies, Stunning them for 3 seconds, and dealing 20% (X-?) damage to them. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% | Cooldown: 11.0 Seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse Tendrils – Enemies who are in range of Corpse Tendrils are Slowed by 50% before being pulled.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Blighted Corpse Tendrils – Corpse Tendrils has a 35% chance when damaging enemies to drop a Blood Orb.
(passive – only put 1 point into this) Gruesome Mending – While below 50% Life, you receive +10%/+20%/+30% more Healing from all sources.
(upgrade) Coalesced Blood – While Healthy your Blood Skills deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage. Note: Need to invest into this node to unlock BOTH Tides of Blood & Drain Vitality
(upgrade) Transfusion – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
(upgrade) Drain Vitality – Lucky Hit: Hitting enemies with Blood Skills has up to 30% chance to Fortify you for 2%/5%/8% Base Life.
(upgrade) Tides of Blood – Your Blood Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Overpower damage. This bonus is doubled while you are Healthy.
(passive) Necrotic Carapace – When a Corpse is formed from your Skills or your Minions, Fortify for 2%/4%/6% Base Life.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Summoning passives to save points
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 ) (NOT using an Ultimate skill)
(active)
(1st upgrade)
(2nd upgrade)
(passive) Stand Alone – Increases Damage Reduction by 6%/12%/18%,, reduced by 2% for each active Minion.
(upgrade) Memento Mori – Sacrificing both Skeletal Warriors and Skeletal Mages increases their Sacrifice bonuses by 20%/40%/60%.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in any other Ultimate passives to save points
Specializations (Required Points: 33 )
(passive) Rathma’s Vigor – After being Healthy for 12 seconds, your next Blood Skill Overpowers. This timer is reduced by 2 seconds each time Blood Orbs Heal or Overheal you for an amount greater than or equal to your Base Life.
Seasonal Mechanic (Vampiric Powers):
In Season 2 (Season of Blood), the seasonal Mechanics involves slotting in up to 5 (out of 22) Vampiric Powers at once. Each power requires a certain number of pacts to be applied to your armor. There are 3 types of Pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, Eternity. Pacts can be applied to Armor as follows: Helmet & Boots up can have to 3, Pants up to 4, while Chest Armor and Gloves can have up to 5 pacts applied to them. That Makes a Total of 20 and is enough for any possible combination of 5 powers. Below you can find Information of the total pacts this build needs + the 5 powers we’ve used.
This build is all about creating as many corpses as possible and consuming them with Corpse Explosion directly or with the auto-cast via Ring of the Sacrilegious Soul. For that we don’t need minions. There’s room for a basic skill on the skillbar and many may not want it and might rather prefer to use something else there (like maybe Bone Storm for DMG reduction)there so it’s up to you to decide on this one. I love using Reap at the beginning of a fight as it’s a guaranteed corpse every (5 seconds) that can be used to start the fight off with a Decrepify, followed by a Corpse Tendrils for the pull + spawning Blood Orbs.
I’d advise taking ZERO Minions for this build. So you’ll & Sacrifice the Skeletal Warriors & Mages + the Golem:
Skeletal Skirmishers: Sacrificeso that we get extraCrit Chance
Description: Your critical strike chance is increased by 5%, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors.
Bone Mages: Sacrifice is amazing to get our Overpowerdamage multiplied by x40%. This is a HUGE boost as the majority of the Overpower for this build is additive.
Description: Your Overpower damage is increased by 40% (multiplicative)
Iron Golem: Sacrifice so that we get extra Crit Damage
Description: You deal 30% (multiplicative) increased critical strike damage, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following:
Top Pick Uniques for the Build
Black River (Scythe)
[0.06] Life On Kill
Corpse Explosion consumes up to 4 additional Corpses around the initial Corpse, dealing x[122-130%] increased damage and with a +[21-25%] larger radius per additional Corpse.
+[38 – 52] Intelligence +[1 – 2] Ranks of the Hewed Flesh Passive (goes to 2-3 when fully upgraded) +[1 – 2] Ranks of All Corpse Skills (goes to 2-3 when fully upgraded) +1 Ranks of the Fueled by Death Passive (goes to 2 when fully upgraded)
“The scrolls describe a river of tar that separated the living from the land of the dead. Any unfortunate soul who tried to cross would be dragged down into oblivion.” – Notes of Scholar Kamien
Godslayer Crown (Helm)
When you Stun, Freeze, or Immobilize an Elite enemy, or damage a Boss, it pulls in nearby enemies. You deal x[30-60]%increased damage to them for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 12 seconds.
+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction +[X – Y] Maximum Life +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 12]% Crowd Control Duration
“The Sahptev faithful believe in a thousand and one gods. If it takes me as many lifetimes, I will find and kill them all.” – Gaspar Stilbian, Veradani Outcast
Alternative Helm Choice: Harlequin Crest (Helm) Right now this seems like a very good option for any build and if you’re lucky enough to get I Strongly advise trying it.
Gain [5-8%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[4] Ranks to All Skills.
[N] Maximum Life X% Cooldown Reduction +12% Resource Generation +[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
Ring of the Sacrilegious Soul (Ring)
+X% Resistance to All Elements +Y% Poison Resistance
You automatically activate the following equippedSkills on Corpses around you: Raise Skeleton every [2 – 1] seconds. Corpse Explosion every [2 – 1] seconds. Corpse Tendrils every [16 – 8] seconds.
+[X – Y] Maximum Life +[1 – 2] Ranks of All Corpse Skills (goes to 2-3 when fully upgraded) +[4.8 – 9]% Lucky Hit Chance +[3 – 9] Maximum Essence
The mere proximity of a practitioner of such dark arts can rouse the dead and disturb those souls who have earned their rest.
Blood Moon Breeches (Pants) While Injured, Your Potion Also Grants 30% Movement Speed for 2 Seconds
Your Minions have a 3-7% chance to curse enemies. Enemies affected by at least 1 of your curses take x[70]% (multiplicative) increased Overpower damage from you.
+[4.4 – 8.6]% Damage Reduction from Enemies Affected by Curse Skills +[X – Y] Maximum Life +1 Ranks of the Amplify Damage Passive (goes to +2 when fully upgraded) +[1 – 2] Ranks of All Curse Skills (goes to 2-3 when fully upgraded)
A naturally occurring curiosity, the blood moon persists as a sign of woe for the most superstitious Zakarum faithful. Children born under it are often considered cursed and cast out, lest it spread.
Alternative Legs Armor Choice: Tibault’s Will (Pants) (this one’s very good to use if you don’t have Blood Moon Breeches as well as to swap to for boss fights)
While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores 20% Resource You deal x[20-40]%increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 secondsafter. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource.
+[2 – 3] Potion Capacity +[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 13] Maximum Resource
“The younger apprentices think wearing heavy plate in the swamps is foolish. They fail to understand that our armor is our legacy, and without it we are nothing.” – Crusader Pembroke
Banished Lord’s Talisman (Amulet)
+[X]% Resistance to All Elements
After you spend 300 of your Primary Resource, your next Core Skill is guaranteed to Overpower. Your Critical Strikes that Overpower deal x[80-120]%increased damage.
+[5 – 12]% Resource Generation +[21 – 42] Overpower Damage +[1.8 – 5]% Critical Strike Chance +1 Ranks of All Core Skills (note: this goes to +2 when fully upgrade to 5/5)
“His name has been lost to history, but to have been exiled from a land as cursed as Hawezar, his deeds must have been truly depraved.” – Scholar’s Notes
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. Armor: Ruby or Sapphire/Topaz (dmg reduction can help you if needed in higher tier NM dungeons). 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
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 Latest & Older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Blood Lancer) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Helm:Aspect of The Protector/Godslayer Crown OR the Alternative Helm Pick (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Amulet: Aspect of Disobedience/ Banished Lord’s Talisman
Chest: Aspect of the Embalmer
Pants: Aspect of Might / Blood Moon Breeches OR the Alternative Pants Pick (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Gloves: Aspect of Gore Quills
Boots: Ghostwalker Aspect
Ring 1: Cadaverous Aspect
Ring 2: Aspect of Untimely Death / Ring of the Sacrilegious Soul
Main Hand Weapon: Aspect of Hungry Blood / Black River
Off-hand Weapon: Sacrificial Aspect (I recommend using an orb/focus off-hand instead of shield AFTER you get a Black River, before that you could use a shield for Survivability and just use Sacrificial Aspect on the weapon)
2-H Weapon: Aspect of Untimely Death / Sacrificial Aspect (I recommend using a Aspect of Untimely Deathif you decide to use a 2H weapon before a Black River drops. You will need to move Sacrificial Aspect on another slot then)
Paragon Boards:
Use the link below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. On the link you’ll see what the boards will look like at lvl 100 with ALL paragon points spent and fully min-maxed to get the most out of every board BUT it’s base on my gear’s attributes bonuses (INT, DEX, WIL) so you may need to reorder some of the floating nodes to make sure you get the double bonus requirements of all rare nodes. Leveling in Season 2 is fast so I no longer will provide a version with less points spent.
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (in order of priority):
I’ve shortlisted various 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, Total Armor
Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), +N% X Resistance(es), Basic Skill Attack Speed
Priority 4: Maximum Essence
Chest:
Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified
Priority 2: Maximum Life, +N% X Resistance (es), Damage Reduction
Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Total Armor
Priority 3: Vulnerable Damage, Core Skill Damage, Damage to Injured/Close/Distant
Priority 4: Physical Damage, Damage for 4 seconds after picking up a Blood Orb
Main Hand Weapon: Until the Black River Unique 1H Scythe drops. I recommend using a 2H greatsword, BUT if you want to go 1H+off-hand: Same priorities as the 2h Weapon, also ideally you’ll get a good high roll of +ALL Stats on the Wep and maybe try to also roll it on the off-hand.
Priority 2: (All Stats or INT), Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Close/Distant Enemies,
Priority 3:Damage to Injured Enemies
Priority 4: Damage to Stunned/Crowd Controlled
This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:
Overpower Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Corpse/Blood Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core Skills
Damage with Core/Corpse/Blood Skills
Damage Against Close Enemies
+ X Ranks to Core/Corpse/Curse Skills
+ X Ranks to Blood Lance
Cooldown Reduction
+ Maximum Life
+ All Stats
+ Intelligence, + Willpower, + Dexterity
Vulnerable Damage / Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Resource/Essence Cost Reduction
Movement Speed
Damage Reduction while from Close Enemies
Damage Reduction from Distant Enemies
Damage Reduction while Injured
Attack Speed
Resistance to All Elements / to XYZ type
Total Armor
+ X% Damage
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Damage while Healthy
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Physical/Corpse/Blood Skill Damage Bonus
Energy Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Lucky Hit Chance
Damage to Crowd Controlled enemies
Higher Priority
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Corpse/Blood Skill Damage
Barrier Generation
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Lower Priority
Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):
For all of my Diablo IV Latest Season 2 & Older (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 theBlood LancerNecromancer 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):
Twisted ShadeRogue BUILD for Diablo IV S2 [Top Melee Synergy]
(Swift Death awaits in the shadows those who dare come close enough)
♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦
Diablo IV Season 2 (Season of the Blood) started on October 17th, 2023 for Players on PC (Battle.Net & Steam), XBOX, & PlayStation). After extensive testing, I bring you a Melee Rogue with a TOP Synergy for the archetype. The build’s easy to gear up & get things going but requires 1 non-codex aspect. 3 out of 4 Uniques are relatively easy to get from Uber Bosses too. As usual, I’ll evolve & keep my builds updated. This is one such build for the Rogue Class called Twisted Shade.
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 a link to a new build calculator/planner (MOBALYTICS) that I’ll be using from now on as well which seems amazing.
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 Latest & older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Twisted Shade) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Puncture – Throw blades a short distance, dealing 21% (X – ?) damage. Every 3rd cast Slows enemies by 2 seconds. Critical Strikes will always Slow. Requires Dual Wielded Weapons. Lucky Hit Chance: 35% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic, Ranged, Marksman
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Puncture – Gain 2 Energy when Puncture damages a Crowd Controlled enemy.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fundamental Puncture – Puncture now throws 3 blades in a spread, each dealing 35% of its Base damage. Hitting an enemy with at least 2 blades at once makes them Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Advanced Twisting Blades – When your Twisting Blades return, your active Cooldowns are reduced by 0.1 second per enemy they passed through, up to 2 seconds.
(passive)Sturdy – You gain 4%/8%/12% Close Damage Reduction.
(upgrade) Siphoning Strikes – Heal for 1%/2%/3% of your Maximum Life when you Critically Strike Close enemies.
(passive)Stutter Step – Critically Striking an enemy grants +5%/+10%/+15% Movement Speed for 4 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points
AgilitySkills (Required Points: 6 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Shadow Step – Become Unstoppable and quickly move through the shadows and stab your victim from behind for 72% (X – ?) damage. Gain 50% increased Movement Speed for 2 seconds afterwards. Requires Dual Wielded weapons Charges Cooldown: 9 seconds ; Skill Use Cooldown: 0 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 100% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Agility, Melee, Imbueable, Cutthroat
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Shadow Step – Damaging an enemy with Shadow Step increases your Critical Strike Chance against them by +8% for 3 seconds
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Methodical Shadow Step – Enemies damaged by Shadow Step are Stunned for 2 seconds.
(passive) Weapon Mastery – Gain a bonus when attacking based on weapon type: Daggers: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy enemies. Swords: 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage. Bows: 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerableenemies. Crossbows: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.
(passive) Rugged – Gain 5%/10%/15% Damage Reduction against Damage Over Time effects.
(upgrade) Reactive Defense – Gain 6%/12%/18% Damage Reduction while inflicted with Control Impairing Effects
(passive) Rapid Gambits – Your Evade Cooldown is reduced by 0.5/1/1.5 seconds when you Daze an enemy.
(passive) did not pick other Agility passives to save points
Subterfuge Skills (Required Points: 11 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Concealment – Vanish from sight, gaining an advanced form of Stealth for 5 seconds tat will not be removed by taking damage. Concealment also makes you Unstoppable, grants +30% Movement Speed, and allows you to move freely through enemies for its duration. Using an attack Skill during Concealment will break Concealment Cooldown: 20 seconds. Tags: Subterfuge
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Concealment – You gain 40 Energy when you enter Stealth.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Countering Concealment – The Skill that breaks Concealment will always be a guaranteed Critical Strike.
(passive)Exploit – You deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy and Injured enemies.
(upgrade) Malice – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here)Agile – Using a Cooldown increases your Dodge Chance by 3%/6%/9% for 2 seconds.
(upgrade) Mending Obscurity – While Stealthed, you Heal for 1%/2%/3% Maximum Life per second.Malice – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
(passive) did not pick other Subterfuge passives to save points
Imbuements Skills (Required Points: 16 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Shadow Imbuement – Imbue your weapons with festering shadows. Enemies struck by your next 2 Imbueable Skills deal damage and infect enemies for 6 seconds. Infected enemies explode on death, dealing 40% (X) damage to all surrounding enemies. If the infection expires before the enemy dies, it will deal 40% (X) damage to only that enemy. Cooldown: 9 seconds | Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Imbuements
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Shadow Imbuement – You have +15% increased Critical Strike Chance against Injured enemies infected by Shadow Imbuement.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mixed Shadow Imbuement – Enemies damaged by Shadow Imbued Skills take 12% (multiplicative) increased Non-Physical damage from you for 8 seconds.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Shadow Crash – Lucky Hit: Shadow damage has up to a 10% chance to Stun for 0.5/1/1.5 seconds.
(passive – did NOT put any points here) Consuming Shadows – Each time you kill an enemy with Shadow Damage, you generate 10/20/30 Energy.
(passive) did not pick other Imbuements passives to save points
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )
(active) Shadow Clone – Your shadow mimicks your actions for 15 seconds. The shadow deals 60% of your damage. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Ultimate
(1st upgrade) Prime Shadow Clone – You are Unstoppable for 5 seconds after casting Shadow Clone.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supreme Shadow Clone – Your Shadow Clone deals an additional 20% of your damage.
(passive) did not pick any Ultimate passives to save points
Key Passive / Capstone (Required Points: 33 )
(passive) Close Quarters Combat – Damaging a close enemy with Marksman or Cutthroat Skills each grant a +10% Attack Speed bonus for 8 seconds.
While both Attack Speed bonuses are active, you deal increased damage equal to 40% (multiplicative) of your Damage vs Crowd Controlled bonus.–
Seasonal Mechanic (Vampiric Powers):
In Season 2 (Season of Blood), the seasonal Mechanics involves slotting in up to 5 (out of 22) Vampiric Powers at once. Each power requires a certain number of pacts to be applied to your armor. There are 3 types of Pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, Eternity. Pacts can be applied to Armor as follows: Helmet & Boots up can have to 3, Pants up to 4, while Chest Armor and Gloves can have up to 5 pacts applied to them. That Makes a Total of 20 and is enough for any possible combination of 5 powers. Below you can find Information of the total pacts this build needs + the 5 powers we’ve used.
The 3 Specializations are the Rogues’ Class Mechanics:
Combo Points – Your Basic Skills now generate Combo Points. Core Skills consume Combo Points for additional effects.
Inner Sight – Attack marked enemies to fill up your Inner Sight gauge. When it’s full, gain unlimited Energy for 4 seconds.
Preparation – Every 100 Energy you spend reduces your Ultimate Skill’s Cooldown by 4 seconds. Using an Ultimate Skill resets the Cooldowns of your other Skills..
I prefer and advise using Combo Points for this build, especially if you already are using the Condemnation dagger (it would be pointless to use that dagger without that specialization). Also, try to use Twisting Blades with full Combo Points as much as possible, especially vs Bosses and Elites.
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following:
Top Pick Uniques for the Build
Condemnation (Dagger)
+[20%] Damage to Close Enemies
Your Core Skills deal x[20 – 40]% increased damage when spending 3 Combo Points. Your Basic Skills using this weapon have a [30%] chance to generate 3 Combo Points.
“I’ve never seen such ruthless butchery. He deserves to be be shipped off to die in the swamps with the rest of the godless murderers.” – Witness to the murder of Sergeant Walcot
Godslayer Crown (Helm)
When you Stun, Freeze, or Immobilize an Elite enemy, or damage a Boss, it pulls in nearby enemies. You deal x[30-60]%increased damage to them for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 12 seconds.
+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction +[X – Y] Maximum Life +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 12]% Crowd Control Duration
“The Sahptev faithful believe in a thousand and one gods. If it takes me as many lifetimes, I will find and kill them all.” – Gaspar Stilbian, Veradani Outcast
Alternative Choice: Harlequin Crest (Helm) Right now this seems like a very good option for any build and if you’re lucky enough to get I Strongly advise trying it.
Gain [5-8%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[4] Ranks to All Skills.
[N] Maximum Life X% Cooldown Reduction +12% Resource Generation +[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
Tibault’s Will (Pants)
While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores 20% Resource You deal x[20-40]%increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 secondsafter. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource.
+[2 – 3] Potion Capacity +[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 13] Maximum Resource
“The younger apprentices think wearing heavy plate in the swamps is foolish. They fail to understand that our armor is our legacy, and without it we are nothing.” – Crusader Pembroke
Grasp of Shadow (Gloves)
Lucky Hit: Damaging a Vulnerable enemy with a Marksman or Cutthroat Skill has up to a [24 – 34]% chance to summon a Shadow Clone that mimics your attack.
+[4.4 – 10]% Attack Speed +[28 – 42] Dexterity +[31.5 – 52.5]% Shadow Clone Damage +[3 – 4] Ranks of All Core Skills (note: you get +5 to 6 ranks when fully upgraded)
Dark wisps creep hungrily across these gloves, like an assassin’s blade seeking a life to steal on a moonless night.
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. Armor: Ruby or Sapphire/Topaz (dmg reduction can help you needed in higher tier NM dungeons). 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
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 Latest & Older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Twisted Shade) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Helm:Aspect of The Protector/Godslayer Crown OR the Alternative Helm Pick (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Amulet: Aspect of Disobedience
Chest: Aspect of Might
Pants: Aspect of Lethal Dusk / Tibault’s Will
Gloves: Exploiter’s Aspect / Grasp of Shadow
Boots: Mangler’s Aspect
Ring 1: Accelerating Aspect
Ring 2: Aspect of Inner Calm
Main Hand Weapon: Aspect of The Expectant I recommend using a sword as the 1h weapon
Off-hand Weapon: Rapid Aspect / Condemnation (I recommend using another sword until the Unique Dagger Condemnation drops)
2-H Weapon: Bladedancer’s Aspect (I recommend using a Crossbow as the 2H weapon)
Paragon Boards:
Use the link below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. On the link you’ll see what the boards will look like at lvl 100 with ALL paragon points spent and fully min-maxed to get the most out of every board BUT it’s base on my gear’s attributes bonuses (DEX, STR, INT) so you may need to reorder some of the floating nodes to make sure you get the double bonus requirements of all rare nodes. Leveling in Season 2 is fast so I no longer will provide a version with less points spent.
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (in order of priority):
I’ve shortlisted various 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
Priority 3: Basic Skill Attack Speed
Priority 4: Core Stats (Dex, Str, Int, All Stats), Total Armor
Chest:
Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies,
Priority 2: Maximum Life, +N% X Resistance, Damage Reduction
Priority 3: Core Stats (Dex, Int, Str, All Stats), Total Armor
Priority 1: + X ranks of Twisting Blades, Critical Strike Chance
Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Attack Speed
Priority 3: Critical Strike Damage to Injured, Critical Strike Chance Against Injured
Priority 4: Core Stats (Dex, Int, Str, All Stats)
Pants:
Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Injured
Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction
Priority 3: Core Stats (Dex, Int, Str, All Stats)
Priority 4: Total Armor
Boots:
Priority 1: Movement Speed, Damage Reduction while Injured
Priority 2:+N% X Resistance
Priority 3: Core Stats (Dex, Int, Str, All Stats)
Priority 4: Energy Cost Reduction
Amulet:
Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Movement Speed
Priority 2: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies,
Priority 3: Imbuement Skill Damage, Cutthroat Skill Damage, Damage with Dual-Wielded, +X Ranks of a Passive you like, Damage Reduction While Injured, Damage Reduction
Priority 3: Vulnerable Damage, Core Skill Damage, Damage to Injured/Close
Priority 4: Physical/Cutthroat Damage
Main Hand Weapon: See the 2H Weapon Rolls List. Ideally, you’ll get a good high roll of +ALL Stats on the 2h Wep so that you won’t need to roll it on the 1h wep. It’s best to use a sword.
Off-hand Weapon: same stats preferred as main-hand & 2h Wep BUT eventually you’ll use a Unique Dagger here
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Cutthroat/Imbued/Dual-Wielded Skill Damage
Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned
Barrier Generation
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Lower Priority
Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):
For all of my Diablo IV Latest Season 2 & Older (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 theTwisted ShadeRogue 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):
BIG GRIZZ 4.0Druid BUILD for Diablo IV S2 [Top Werebear Synegy]
(BIG GRIZZ IS BACK and it’s still got that BIG GRIZZ energy, it’s angrier than ever before, yet still feels beary tanky)
♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦
Diablo IV Season 2 (Season of the Blood) started on October 17th, 2023 for Players on PC (Battle.Net & Steam), XBOX, & PlayStation). After extensive testing, I bring you a Werebear Druid with the TOP Synergy for the archetype. The build’s easy to gear up & get things going but requires 1 non-codex aspect. 2 out of 4 Uniques are relatively easy to get from Uber Bosses too. As usual, I’ll evolve & keep my builds updated. This is one such build for the Druid Class called BIG Grizz 4.0.
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 a link to a new build calculator/planner that I’ll be using from now on as well which seems amazing.
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 Latest & older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (BIG Grizz 4.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Maul – Shapeshift into a Werebear and maul enemies in front of you, dealing 21% (X-?) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 30% Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Generates: 11 Spirit
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Maul – If an enemy is hit by Maul, then Fortify for 2% of your Maximum Life.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Maul – Increases the range and radius of Maul by 25%.
(active) Pulverize – Shapeshift into a Werebear and slam the ground, dealing 50% (X-?) damage to nearby enemies. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% | Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Spirit Cost: 35
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Pulverize – Your next Pulverize will Overpower every 12 seconds while you remain Healthy.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Primal Pulverize – Enemies hit with Pulverize deal 20% reduced damage for 4 seconds.
(passive) Predatory Instinct – Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
(upgrade) Iron Fur – You gain 3%/6%/9% Damage Reduction while in Werebear form. This bonus persists for 3 seconds after leaving Werebear form.
(upgrade – did NOT take cuz it’s a Werewolf synergy) Digitigrate Gait
(passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points
Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Cooldown: 16 seconds | Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark – Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Maximum Life as Fortify.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Debilitating Roar – Shapeshift into a Werebear and bellow a mighty roar, reducing Nearby enemies’ damage dealt by 70% for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 22 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Debilitating Roar – Debilitating Roar also Fortifies you for 22% Maximum Life.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Debilitating Roar – Debilitating Roar also heals you for 4% of your maximum Life each second for its duration.
(passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points
CompanionSkills (Required Points: 11 ) I did NOT take a companion
(active) DID NOT TAKE a Companion active due to using already full skillbar
(1st upgrade)
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points
WrathSkills (Required Points: 16 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Trample – Shapeshift into a Werebear , become Unstoppable, and charge forward, dealing 25% (X-?) damage and Knocking Back enemies. Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain take an additional 45% (X-?) damage and are Stunned for 3 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Cooldown: 14 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical
(1st upgrade)Enhanced Trample– Trample deals 150% bonus damage. This bonus is reduced by 50% (multiplicative) for each enemy hit after the first.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Savage Trample– Casting Trample grants 40 Spirit.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Crushing Earth– Earth Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized or Knocked Back enemies.
(upgrade) Stone Guard – While Fortified for over 50% of your maximum Life, your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage.
(upgrade) Safeguard – Critical Strikes with Earth Skills Fortify you for 2%/4%/7% Maximum Life.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Mending – While in Werebear form, you receive +5%/+10%/+15% additional healing from all sources.
(upgrade) Provocation – When you remain in Werebear form for at least 24/20/16 seconds, your next Skill will Overpower.
(passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23)
(active) Grizzly Rage – Shapeshift into a Dire Werebear for 10 seconds gaining 20% (multiplicative) bonus damage and 20% damage reduction. Damage bonus is increased by 3% each second while in this form. Kills extend the duration by 1 second up to 10 additional seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
(1st upgrade) Prime Grizzly Rage– Grizzly Rage grants you Unstoppable for 6 seconds.
(2nd upgrade) Supreme Grizzly Rage– Gain 8% Maximum Life as Fortify per second while Grizzly Rage is active.
(upgrade) Natural Disaster – Your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerableenemies. Your Storm Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Resonance
(passive) Defensive Posture – Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Thick Hide
(upgrade) Nature’s Resolve – 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Maximum Life.
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Unrestrained
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Quickshift – After Shapeshifting into a different form, your next skill deals 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
(upgrade) Heightened Senses – Upon shapeshifting into a Werewolf or Werebear, gain 4%/8%/12% damage reduction against Elites for 5 seconds.
(upgrade) Natural Fortitude – Shapeshifting Fortifies you for 1%/3%/4% Maximum Life.
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points
Key Passive / Capstone (Required Points: 33 )
(passive) Ursine Strength – Gain 20% (multiplicative) additional maximum Life while in Werebear form and for 3 seconds after leaving Werebear form. While Healthy, deal 25% (multiplicative) increased damage, and 25% (multiplicative) increased Overpower damage.
Seasonal Mechanic (Vampiric Powers):
In Season 2 (Season of Blood), the seasonal Mechanics involves slotting in up to 5 (out of 22) Vampiric Powers at once. Each power requires a certain number of pacts to be applied to your armor. There are 3 types of Pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, Eternity. Pacts can be applied to Armor as follows: Helmet & Boots up can have to 3, Pants up to 4, while Chest Armor and Gloves can have up to 5 pacts applied to them. That Makes a Total of 20 and is enough for any possible combination of 5 powers. Below you can find Information of the total pacts this build needs + the 5 powers we’ve used.
The Spirit Boons system lets you pick 1 spirit Boon per bond out of 4 categories. Eventually you unlock the option to specialize into a certain bond which will let you get 2 Boons from that category. I advise using the following 2 + 1 +1 +1 for now.
Eagle Category: take those two
Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance.
Avian Wrath: +30% Critical Strike Damage.
Deer Category: take this one
Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
Snake Category: IMPORTANT TO NOTE that the best pick for mobbing is terrible for single target here! That best pick is Obsidian Slam: Every 20th kill will case your next Earth Skillto Overpower. As it’s obvious, while it’s a 1on1 fight it’s practically useless. Thus, you may temporarily swap it out for 99% of the boss fights that won’t have constant minions/summons, especially for uber bosses. As replacement, there are two decent picks here so choose whichever you like based on whether you need more survivability or ultimate CDR
option 1) Masochistic: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skillsheal you for 3% of your maximum Life.
option 2) Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills (Earth & Storm) have up to a 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.
Wolf Category: There are also two decent picks here. I personally think Energize is the best fit since Bolster‘s Survivability is no longer needed and Calamity‘s duration increase only counts Grizzly Rage‘s base duration and not the bonus from the aspect when counting those 25%. Pick based on whether you need more spirit regen or longer Ultimates.
option 1) Energize: Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore 10 Spirit.
option 2) Calamity: Extend the duration of Ultimate Skills by 25%.
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques 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 below it & the notes under the Aspects list for more info:
Top Pick Uniques for the Build
Insatiable Fury (Chest Armor)
Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +3 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Physical Damage +[84 – 126%] Overpower Damage +[4.9 – 10.5]% Damage Reduction while Fortified +[25.5 – 46.5]% Total Armor while in Werebear Form
When the Days of Ash began, the great druid Nafain reminded his disciples that nothing, not even the loss of their humanity, was too great a sacrifice to protect Túr Dúlra from Astaroth’s flames.
Vasily’s Prayer (Helm)This one’s currently broken and the Fortify it gives does not scale with level/item power so it’s only half good/half worth it.
Your Earth Skills are now alsoWerebear Skills and Fortify you for N.
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage while Shapeshifted +[42 – 63%] Overpower Damage +[X – Y] Maximum Life +[19 – 40]% Lightning Resistance
“Roots from the Great Oak growing at the seaward statue of Vasily will, on rare occasions, be found twisted back upon themselves, suffused with ferocious magic.” – Barrett’s Book of Implements
Alternative Choice 1: Harlequin Crest (Helm) Right now this seems like a very good option considering how broken Vasily’s Prayer is. It’s acceptable to loose the ability to cast Earthen Bulwark during grizzly rage if it means using a helmet with stats and bonuses that the Shako/Harlequin Crest provides.
Gain [5-8%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[4] Ranks to All Skills.
[N] Maximum Life X% Cooldown Reduction +12% Resource Generation +[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
Alternative Choice 2: Godslayer Crown (Helm) Right now this also seems like a very good option considering how broken Vasily’s Prayer is. It’s acceptable to loose the ability to cast Earthen Bulwark during grizzly rage if it means using a helmet with stats, CC and massive DPS boost that the Godslayer Crown provides.
When you Stun, Freeze, or Immobilize an Elite enemy, or damage a Boss, it pulls in nearby enemies. You deal x[30-60]%increased damage to them for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 12 seconds.
+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction +[X – Y] Maximum Life +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 12]% Crowd Control Duration
“The Sahptev faithful believe in a thousand and one gods. If it takes me as many lifetimes, I will find and kill them all.” – Gaspar Stilbian, Veradani Outcast
Banished Lord’s Talisman (Amulet)
+[X]% Resistance to All Elements
After you spend 300 of your Primary Resource, your next Core Skill is guaranteed to Overpower. Your Critical Strikes that Overpower deal x[80-120]%increased damage.
+[5 – 12]% Resource Generation +[21 – 42] Overpower Damage +[1.8 – 5]% Critical Strike Chance +1 Ranks of All Core Skills (note: this goes to +2 when fully upgrade to 5/5)
Tibault’s Will (Pants)
While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores 20% Resource You deal x[20-40]%increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 secondsafter. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource.
+[2 – 3] Potion Capacity +[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies +[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage +[5 – 13] Maximum Resource
“The younger apprentices think wearing heavy plate in the swamps is foolish. They fail to understand that our armor is our legacy, and without it we are nothing.” – Crusader Pembroke
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. (if you don’t have any use Emerald for a bit) Armor: Ruby or Saphire/Topaz (dmg reduction can help you needed in higher tier NM dungeons). 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
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 Latest & Older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (BIG Grizz 4.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Helm:Aspect of Disobedience/Vasily’s Prayer OR 1 of the Alternative Helm Picks (see notes in the Unique Items section)
Amulet: Aspect of Retaliation / Banished Lord’s Talisman
Chest: Aspect of Might / Insatiable Fury
Pants: Aspect of Mending Stone / Tibault’s Will goes here
Gloves: Aspect of the Rampaging Werebeast
Boots: Ballistic Aspect
Ring 1: Aspect of The Ursine Horror
Ring 2: Raw Might Aspect
Main Hand Weapon: I recommend using a 2h Hammer
Off-hand Totem: I recommend using a 2h Hammer
2-H Weapon: Shockwave Aspect (I recommend using a 2H Hammer as a weapon. With a 1h weapon + off-hand totem you can get quite a bit less dps but more utility (cooldown reduction, spirit cost reduction, etc.) so if you decide to do that a 1h Mace/Hammer will be the best choice)
Paragon Boards:
Use the link below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. On the link you’ll see what the boards will look like at lvl 100 with ALL paragon points spent and fully min-maxed to get the most out of every board BUT it’s base on my gear’s attributes bonuses (WIL, DEX, INT) so you may need to reorder some of the floating nodes to make sure you get the double bonus requirements of all rare nodes. Leveling in Season 2 is fast so I no longer will provide a version with less points spent.
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (in order of priority):
I’ve shortlisted various 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, Basic Skill Attack Speed
Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Total Armor
Priority 4: Maximum Spirit
Chest:
Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified, Overpower Damage with Werebear Skills
Priority 2: Maximum Life, + X% Damage, Damage Reduction
Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), +x Ranks to Debilitating Roar/Earthen Bulwark, Total Armor
Priority 1: + X ranks of Pulverize, Overpower Damage, Critical Strike Chance
Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Attack Speed
Priority 3: Earth Skill Cooldown Reduction, Lucky Hit Chance, Earth Critical Strike Damage, Critical Strike Damage with Werebear Skills
Priority 4: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Pants:
Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified
Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction while Injured
Priority 3: + X ranks of Trample, Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Total Armor while in Werebear Form
Priority 4: Total Armor, Damage Reduction
Boots:
Priority 1: Movement Speed, Damage Reduction while Injured
Priority 2: Spirit Cost Reduction
Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Total Armor while in Werebear Form
Priority 4: Total Armor while in Werewolf Form
Amulet:
Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, +X Ranks of Wrath Skills, Movement Speed
Priority 2: Maximum Life, +X Ranks of a Passive you like, Storm Skill Cooldown Reduction
Priority 3:Damage while Shapeshifted, Werewolf/Storm Skill Damage, +X% Damage, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/While Injured/While Fortified, Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned
Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Damage to Close Enemies
Priority 3:Critical Strike Damage with Werewolf Skills, Lightning Critical Strike Damage, Damage to Poisoned Enemies
Priority 4: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats)
This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:
Overpower / Overpower with Werebear Skills
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Earth/Nature/Shapeshifting/Werebear Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Basic Skills
Damage with Core/Basic/Nature/Earth/Shapeshifting/Werebear Skills
Damage Against Close Enemies
+ X Ranks to Core/Defensive/Wrath Skills
+ X Ranks to Pulverizee/Debilitating Roar/Earthen Bulwark/Trample
Cooldown Reduction
+ Maximum Life
+ All Stats
+ Willpower, + Dexterity, + Intelligence
Vulnerable Damage / Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Resource/Spirit Cost Reduction
Attack Speed
Damage Reduction while from Close Enemies
Damage Reduction while Fortified
Damage Reduction while Injured
Movement Speed
Resistance to All Elements
Total Armor / Total Armor in Werebear Form
+ X% Damage
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Damage while Healthy
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Physical/Earth Skill Damage Bonus
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Lucky Hit Chance
Higher Priority
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Earth/Nature/Shapeshifting/Werebear Skill Damage
Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned
Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource
Fortify Generation
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life
Barrier Generation
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
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 Latest Season 2 & Older (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 theBIG Grizz 4.0Druid 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):
Shadow HunterRogue BUILD for Diablo IV [S Tier Grade]
(Emerge from the Shadows to Penetrate your foes while splitting your shots to clear big groups at once)
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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 already 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 Rogue Class called Shadow Hunter.
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 (Shadow Hunter) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Forceful Arrow – Fire a powerful arrow at an enemy, dealing 20% (X – ?) damage. Every 3rd cast makes the enemy Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Requires a Ranged Weapon Lucky Hit Chance: 50% | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic, Ranged, Marksman
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Forceful Arrow – Every 3rd cast of Forceful Arrow additionally has a +15% increased Critical Strike Chance.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Primary Forceful Arrow – Forceful Arrow pierces through Vulnerable enemies.
(active) Penetrating Shot – Fire an arrow that pierces through all enemies in a line, dealing 70% (X – ?) damage. Combo Points increase damage and improve Lucky Hit Chance* (LHC): 1: 91% damage & 10% LHC* 2: 112% damage & 20% LHC* 3: 133% damage & 30% LHC* Requires a Ranged Weapon Energy Cost: 35 | Lucky Hit Chance: 50% | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core, Ranged, Imbueable, Marksman
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Penetrating Shot – Penetrating Shot deals 20% (multiplicative) increased damage per enemy it pierces.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Improved Penetrating Shot – If Penetrating Shot damages at least 3 enemies, your next Penetrating Shot has a +20% increased Critical Strike Chance.
(passive)Sturdy – You gain 4%/8%/12% Close Damage Reduction.
(upgrade) Siphoning Strikes – Heal for 1%/2%/3% of your Maximum Life when you Critically Strike Close enemies.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points
AgilitySkills (Required Points: 6 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Shadow Step – Become Unstoppable and quickly move through the shadows and stab your victim from behind for 72% (X – ?) damage. Gain 50% increased Movement Speed for 2 seconds afterwards. Requires Dual Wielded weapons Cooldown: 9 seconds | Lucky Hit Chance: 100% | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Agility, Melee, Imbueable, Cutthroat
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Shadow Step – Damaging an enemy with Shadow Step increases your Critical Strike Chance against them by +8% for 3 seconds
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Disciplined Shadow Step – Shadow Step’s Cooldown is reduced by 3 seconds if it damages an enemy you haven’t hit in the last 4 seconds.
(passive) Weapon Mastery – Gain a bonus when attacking based on weapon type: Daggers: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy enemies. Swords: 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage. Bows: 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerableenemies. Crossbows: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.
(passive) Rugged – Gain 5%/10%/15% Damage Reduction against Damage Over Time effects.
(upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Reactive Defense – Gain 4.5%/9%/13.5% Damage Reduction while inflicted with Control Impairing Effects
(passive) did not pick other Agility passives to save points
Subterfuge Skills (Required Points: 11 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Vanish from sight, gaining an advanced form of Stealth for 4 seconds tat will no be removed by taking damage. Concealment also makes you Unstoppable, grants +30% Movement Speed, and allows you to move freely through enemies for its duration. Using an attack Skill during Concealment will break Concealment . Cooldown: 20 seconds. Tags: Subterfuge
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Stealth – You gain 40 Energy when you enter Stealth.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Countering Stealth – The Skill that breaks Concealment will always be a guaranteed Critical Strike.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Dark Shroud – Surround yourself with up to 5 protective shadows. Gain 8% Damage Reduction per active shadow. Each time you take direct damage, that damage is reduced and a shadow is consumed Cooldown: 20 seconds. Tags: Subterfuge
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Dark Shroud – Dark Shroud’s shadows have a 8% chance to not be consumed
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Countering Dark Shroud – While you have at least 2 active shadow from Dark Shroud, gain +10% Critical Strike Chance.
(passive)Exploit – You deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy and Injured enemies.
(upgrade) Malice – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
(passive) did not pick other Subterfuge passives to save points
Imbuements Skills (Required Points: 16 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Shadow Imbuement – Imbue your weapons with festering shadows. Enemies struck by your next 2 Imbueable Skills deal damage and infect enemies for 6 seconds. Infected enemies explode on death, dealing 40% (X) damage to all surrounding enemies. If the infection expires before the enemy dies, it will deal 40% (X) damage to only that enemy. Cooldown: 9 seconds | Lucky Hit Chance: 33% | Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Imbuements
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Shadow Imbuement – You have +25% increased Critical Strike Chance against Injured enemies infected by Shadow Imbuement.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Blended Shadow Imbuement – Shadow Imbue’s primary explosion makes enemies Vulnerablefor 2 seconds.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Shadow Crash – Lucky Hit: Shadow damage has up to a 10% chance to Stun for 0.5/1/1.5 seconds.
(passive) Consuming Shadows – Each time you kill an enemy with Shadow Damage, you generate 10/20/30 Energy.
(passive) did not pick other Imbuements passives to save points
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )
(active) Death Trap – Place a trap that arms after 1.25 seconds. It activates when an enemy moves near, dealing 250% (X – ?) damage to enemies in the area. Cooldown: 50 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 4% | Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Ultimate, Trap
(1st upgrade) Prime Death Trap – Enemies are Pulled into Death Trap when it activates.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supreme Death Trap – If Death Trap kills an enemy, its Cooldown is reduced by 10 seconds.
(passive) Innervation – Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance to gain 8 Energy.
(upgrade) Second Wind– did NOT put point into this
(upgrade) Alchemist’s Fortune – Non-Physical damage you deal has a +5%/+10%/+15% increased Lucky Hit Chance.
(passive) Aftermath – After using an Ultimate Skill, restore 25/50/75 Energy.
(passive) Trap Mastery – When Poison Trap or Death Trap activates, you gain +4%/+8%/+12% increased Critical Strike Chance against Vulnerable and Crowd Controlled enemies for 4 seconds.
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points
Key Passive / Capstone (Required Points: 33 )
(passive) Precision – Critical Strikes with Marksman Skills grant you Precision.
You gain 4% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage per stack of Precision, up to a maximum of 20% (multiplicative).
When you reach maximum Precision, your next Marksman Skill is a guaranteed Critical Strike that deals 40% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage, then consumes all stacks of Precision.
Class Mechanic (Specializations):
The 3 Specializations are the Rogues’ Class Mechanics:
Combo Points – Your Basic Skills now generate Combo Points. Core Skills consume Combo Points for additional effects.
Inner Sight – Attack marked enemies to fill up your Inner Sight gauge. When it’s full, gain unlimited Energy for 4 seconds.
Preparation – Every 100 Energy you spend reduces your Ultimate Skill’s Cooldown by 4 seconds. Using an Ultimate Skill resets the Cooldowns of your other Skills..
I prefer and advise using Combo Points for this build, especially if you already are using the Condemnation dagger (it would be pointless to use that dagger without that specialization). Also, try to use Penetrating Shot with full Combo Points as much as possible, especially vs Bosses and Elites.
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques 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 below it & the notes under the Aspects list for more info:
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
Condemnation (Dagger)
+[20%] Damage to Close Enemies
Your Core Skills deal x[20 – 40]% increased damage when spending 3 Combo Points. Your Basic Skills using this weapon have a [30%] chance to generate 3 Combo Points.
“I’ve never seen such ruthless butchery. He deserves to be be shipped off to die in the swamps with the rest of the godless murderers.” – Witness to the murder of Sergeant Walcot
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 is what this build needs most Armor: Ruby or Topaz (dmg reduction 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
+15%/+5%/+8% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)
XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)
• Weapon: +N Life On Kill • Armor: +N% Healing Received • Jewelry: +N Armor
+12%/+250/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)
XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)
• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage • Armor: +N% Maximum Life • Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance
+24%/+4.0%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)
XYZ Topaz (Requires Level XY)
• Weapon: +N% Basic Skill Damage • Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Control Impaired • Jewelry: N% Lightning Resistance
+20%/10%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)
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 (Shadow Hunter) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Helm:Umbrous Aspect/Harlequin Crest (see notes below)
Amulet: Enshrouding Aspect
Chest: Aspect of The Protector
Pants: Aspect of Disobedience
Gloves: Aspect of Inner Calm
Boots: Eluding Aspect
Ring 1: Accelerating Aspect
Ring 2: Aspect of The Expectant
Main Hand Weapon: Trickshot Aspect
Off-hand Weapon: Vengeful Aspect / Condemnation (see notes below)
2-H Weapon: Rapid Aspect (I recommend using a Crossbow in the 2h Weapon slot and using Swords in the 1h Weapon slots, until you equip the Condemnation unique dagger in one of the 1h weapon slots, of course)
NOTES: How to re-arrangeif using any of the Uniques:
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of The Protectorgets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Condemnation (Dagger): Vengeful Aspectgets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Dagger.
NOTE 2: Keep in mind that, in order to get the most out of the Condemnation Unique dagger, I STRONGLY recommend using Puncture (with the triple shot upgrade) and leaning towards Close Enemies over Distant enemies bonuses (if you need to pick between them in the first place).
Obviously crit dmg, vulnerable dmg, core skill dmg, and Crit Dmg with Imbued skills (and even vs injured enemies) may be better than either dmg vs close or distant but when using Puncture the synergy is better when adopting point blank shotgun playstyle.
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 86 with 166 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 on paragon points.
166/223 ParagonPts. (~LVL 86 with renown & altar pts): Click THIS LINK
MAX LEVEL & MAX Paragon points spent (223/223): Click THIS LINK
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):
I’ve shortlisted 36 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, Basic Skill Attack Speed
Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Str, All Stats), Maximum Energy
Priority 4: Total Armor
Amulet:
Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, +X Ranks of Imbuement Skills, Movement Speed
Priority 2: Maximum Life, +X Ranks of a Passive you like, Imbuement Skill Cooldown Reduction
Priority 3: Imbuement Skill DMG, +X% Damage, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/While Injured,
Priority 4: Energy Cost Reduction
Chest:
Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies
Priority 2: Maximum Life, + X% Damage
Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Str, All Stats), Total Armor
Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Damage to Distant/Close Enemies (depending on preferred playstyle)
Priority 3: Critical Strike Damage with Imbued Skills
Priority 4: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Str, All Stats)
Off-hand Weapon: See the 1H Weapon Rolls List
2-H Weapon: See the 1H Weapon Rolls List
This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:
+ X% Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Shadow/Imbued Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core Skills
Damage with Core Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Imbuement Skills
+ X Ranks to Penetrating Shot/Concealment/Dark Shroud/Shadow Step
Damage vs Injured Enemies
+ Intelligence, + Dexterity, + Strength
+ All Stats
+ Maximum Life
Energy Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Resource/Energy Cost Reduction
Cooldown Reduction
Attack Speed
Physical/Shadow/Imbued Skill Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Shadow/Imbued Skill Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Damage Against Close/Distant Enemies
+ % Physical/Shadow Damage to Elites
Vulnerable Damage
Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Against Crowd Controlled 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
Barrier Generation
Movement Speed
Higher Priority
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
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 theShadow HunterRogue 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):
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.)
♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦
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.
(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.
(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
DefensiveSkills (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 orVulnerable.
(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:
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
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 SkillOverpowerafter critically striking 4 times with a 2H Bludgeoning
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques 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 below it & the notes under the Aspects list for more info:
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.
“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)
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)
+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-arrangeif using any of the Uniques:
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of Might OR Aspect of The Protectorgets 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 Expectantgets 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 theUnique 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 ParagonPts. (~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,
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
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This concludes theHammer TimeBarbarian 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):
Mistplosion 2.0Necromancer BUILD for Diablo IV [A+ Tier Grade]
(Turn to Mist & turn your fallen foes’ corpses into an explosive bloody spectacle. Death is Your Fuel!)
♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦
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 Necromancer Class called Mistplosion 2.0.
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 (Mistplosion 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Reap – Sweep an ethereal scythe in front of you, dealing 12% (X-?) damage. Hitting an enemy with Reap increases your damage Reduction by 15% for 2 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 17% Generates: 4 Essence per enemy hit | Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Basic, Darkness
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Reap – If an enemy hit by Reap dies within 2 seconds, you gain 30% attack speed for 3 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – don’t need any of the 2 but temporary you can use ) Acolyte’s Reap – Reap forms a Corpse under the first enemy hit. Can only occur every 5 seconds.
(active) Blood Surge – Draw blood from enemies, dealing 20% (X-?) damage, and expel a blood nova, dealing 50% (X-?) damage. Blood Surge’s nova damage is increased by 10% (multiplicative) per enemy drained, up to 50% (multiplicative). Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Essence Cost: 30 | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core, Blood
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Surge – Blood Surge heals you for 2.5% of your maximum Life when drawing blood from enemies. If 4 or more enemies are drawn from, then Heal for an additional 1.0% of your Maximum Life.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Paranormal Blood Surge – If an enemy is damaged by Blood Surge’s nova while you are Healthy, then gain 1 stack of Overwhelming Blood. When you have 5 stacks of Overwhelming Blood, your next Blood Surge Overpowers.
(passive) Hewed Flesh – Lucky Hit: Your damage has up to a 4%/8%/12% chance to create a corpse at the target’s location.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Core passives to save points
Macabre Skills (Required Points: 6 )
(active) Corpse Explosion – Detonate a Corpse, dealing 75% (X-XX) damage to nearby enemies. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse – Corpse Explosion’s radius is increased by 15%.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Plagued Corpse Explosion – Corpse Explosion deals 8% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Slowed, Stunned or Vulnerable. These damage bonuses can stack.
(active) Blood Mist – Disperse into a bloody mist, becoming Immune for 3 seconds. Your Movement Speed is reduced by 20.00% and you periodically deal 2% (X-?) damage to enemies, healing for 0.5% of your Maximum Life. Lucky Hit Chance: 9% Cooldown: 20 Seconds. | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Macabre, Blood
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Mist – Casting a Skill that Overpowers reduces the cooldown of Blood Mist by 2 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Ghastly Blood Mist – Blood Mist leaves behind a Corpse every 1 second.
(passive) Grim Harvest – Consuming a Corpse generates 3/6/9 Essence.
(upgrade) Fueled by Death – You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage for 4 seconds after consuming a Corpse.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Macabre passives to save points
Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 )
(active) DID NOT TAKE a Corruption active due to using 2 minions on the skillbar
(1st upgrade)
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive)Death’s Embrace – Enemies in melee range take 2%/4%/6% (multiplicative) more damage from you and deal 3%/6%/9% less damage to you.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Corruption passives to save points
Summoning Skills (Required Points: 16 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here)Corpse Tendrils – Veins burst out of a Corpse, pulling in enemies, Stunning them for 3 seconds, and dealing 20% (X-?) damage to them. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Cooldown: 11.0 Seconds. | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse Tendrils – Enemies who are in range of Corpse Tendrils are Slowed by 50% before being pulled.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Plagued Corpse Tendrils Enemies damaged by Corpse Tendrils are made Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
(passive – only put 1 point into this) Gruesome Mending – While below 50% Life, you receive +10%/+20%/+30% more Healing from all sources.
(upgrade) Coalesced Blood – While Healthy your Blood Skills deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage. Note: Need to invest into this node to unlock BOTH Tides of Blood & Drain Vitality
(upgrade) Transfusion – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
(upgrade) Drain Vitality – Lucky Hit: Hitting enemies with Blood Skills has up to 25% chance to Fortify you for 2%/5%/8% Base Life.
(upgrade) Tides of Blood – Your Blood Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Overpower damage. This bonus is doubled while you are Healthy.
(passive) Necrotic Carapace – When a Corpse is formed from your Skills or your Minions, Fortify for 2%/4%/6% Base Life.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Summoning passives to save points
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )
(active) Bone Storm – A swirling storm of bones surrounds you and your Golem, dealing 180% (X-?) to surrounding enemies over 10 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Cooldown: 60 Seconds. | Damage: Physical ; Tags: Ultimate, Bone
(1st upgrade) Prime Bone Storm – Your Damage Reduction is increased by 15% while Bone Storm is active.
(2nd upgrade) Supreme Bone Storm – Your Critical Strike Chance is increased by +20% while Bone Storm is active.
(passive) Stand Alone – Increases Damage Reduction by 6%/12%/18%,, reduced by 2% for each active Minion.
(upgrade) Memento Mori – Sacrificing both Skeletal Warriors and Skeletal Mages increases their Sacrifice bonuses by 20%/40%/60%.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in any other Ultimate passives to save points
Specializations (Required Points: 33 )
(passive) Rathma’s Vigor – Increase your maximum Life by 10% (multiplicative). After being Healthy for 15 seconds, your next Blood Skill Overpowers.
Book of the Dead (Class Mechanic):
This build is all about creating as many corpses as possible and consuming them with Corpse Explosion directly or with the auto-cast via Blood Mist. For that we don’t need minions. There’s room for a basic skill on the skillbar and many may not want it and might rather prefer to use Decrepify there so it’s up to you to decide on this one. I love using Reap at the beginning of a fight as it’s a guaranteed corpse every (5 seconds) that can be used to start the fight off with a Corpse Tendrils for the crit chance buff & crit damage taken debuff + Vulnerable debuff.
I’d advise taking ZERO Minions for this build. So you’ll & Sacrifice the Skeletal Warriors & Mages + the Golem:
Skeletal Skirmishers: Sacrificeso that we get extraCrit Chance
Description: Your critical strike chance is increased by 5%, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors.
Bone Mages: Sacrifice is amazing to get our Overpowerdamage multiplied by x40%. This is a HUGE boost as the majority of the Overpower for this build is additive.
Description: Your Overpower damage is increased by 40% (multiplicative)
Iron Golem: Sacrifice so that we get extra Crit Damage
Description: You deal 30% (multiplicative) increased critical strike damage, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following two but check the notes under the Aspects list for more picks:
Black River (Scythe)
[0.06] Life On Kill Corpse Explosion consumes up to 4 additional Corpses around the initial Corpse, dealing x[122-130%] increased damage and with a +[21-25%] larger radius per additional Corpse.
[49 – 63] Intelligence +[21 – 35]% Damage to Healthy Enemies +1 Ranks of the Fueled by Death Passive +[2 – 4] Ranks of Corpse Explosion + X% Damage to Distant Enemies
“The scrolls describe a river of tar that separated the living from the land of the dead. Any unfortunate soul who tried to cross would be dragged down into oblivion.” – Notes of Scholar Kamien
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
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. 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)
+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 (Mistplosion 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Helm:Exploiter’s Aspect/Harlequin Crest (see notes below)
Amulet: Aspect of Grasping Veins
Chest: Aspect of The Protector
Pants: Aspect of the Embalmer
Gloves: Blood-bathed Aspect
Boots: Aspect of Explosive Mist
Ring 1: Cadaverous Aspect
Ring 2: Sacrificial Aspect
1H Weapon: Smiting Aspect / Black River (see notes below)
Off-hand: Aspect of Untimely Death
2-H Weapon: Aspect of Grasping Veins OR Cadaverous Aspect OR Sacrificial Aspect BUT I do NOT recommend using a 2-hander as the whole build is centered around the Black River but until you get it you can use a 2-hander and loose one of the offensive aspects
NOTES: How to re-arrangeif using any of the Uniques:
- Smiting Aspect stays in the 1-h Weapon slot ONLY until you get the Black River Unique 1-h Scythe.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Exploiter’s Aspect gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
ALTERNATIVE PICKS (if you decide to use them):
- For Temerity (Pants): Aspect of The Protector gets removed from the Chest Slot, then Aspect of the Embalmer goes intothe now empty Chest slot to make room for the Unique Pants.
- For Mother's Embrace (Ring) in the build, you will need to sacrifice one more aspect and it may be hurting the build to loose any of the remaining aspects once you have the Helmet and 1-h Weapon slots filled up with Uniques. Up to you to decide which on is okay to sacrifice for that Unique ring.
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 91 with 185 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 on paragon points.
185/223 ParagonPts. (~LVL 91 with renown & altar pts): Click THIS LINK
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):
I’ve shortlisted 42 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
Priority 3: Total Armor or Maximum Essence (both are kind of equal priority)
Priority 4: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats)
Amulet:
Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Movement Speed
Priority 2: Maximum Life, +X Ranks of All Corpse/ Macabre Skills, +X% Core Skill Damage, +X% Blood Skill Damage
Priority 3: +X% Damage, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/While Injured,
Priority 4: Essence Cost Reduction
Chest:
Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/while Fortified
Priority 2: Maximum Life, + X% Damage
Priority 3: Blood Skill Damage, Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Total Armor
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
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)
Attack Speed
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 theMistplosion 2.0 Necromancer 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):
BIG GRIZZ 3.0Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [A Tier Grade]
(this build’s got that BIG GRIZZ energy & uses two defensive skills, making it beary tanky)
♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦
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 Druid Class called BIG GRIZZ 3.0.
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 (BIG GRIZZ 3.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Storm Strike – Electricity gathers around your weapon, dealing 20% (X-?) damage to your target and chaining to up to 3 surrounding enemies, dealing 20% less damage each time it chains. You gain 25% Damage Reduction for 3 seconds after dealing damage with Storm Strike. Lucky Hit Chance: 25% | Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Lightning Generates: 15 Spirit
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Storm Strike – Storm Strike has a 15% chance to Immobilize all enemies hit for 2.5 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Storm Strike – Storm Strike has a 50% chance to make enemies Vulnerablefor 3 seconds.
(active) Pulverize – Shapeshift into a Werebear and slam the ground, dealing 50% (X-?) damage to nearby enemies. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% | Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Spirit Cost: 35
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Pulverize – Your next Pulverize will Overpower every 12 seconds while you remain Healthy.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Primal Pulverize – Enemies hit with Pulverize deal 20% reduced damage for 4 seconds.
(passive) Predatory Instinct – Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
(upgrade – did NOT take to save points) Iron Fur
(upgrade – did NOT take cuz it’s a Werewolf synergy) Digitigrate Gait
(passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points
Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Cooldown: 16 seconds | Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark – Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Base Life as Fortify.
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Blood Howl– Shapeshift into a Werewolf and howl furiously, Healing you for 20% of your Maximum Life. Cooldown: 15 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting
(1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Howl– Kills reduce the Cooldown of Blood Howl by 1 second.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) InnateBlood Howl–Blood Howl also generates 20 Spirit.
(passive) Ancestral Fortitude – Increase your Non-Physical Resistances by 5%/10%/15%.
(upgrade – ONLY put 2 pointshere due to not enough points left) Vigilance – You gain 5%/10%/15% Damage Reduction for 6 seconds after using a Defensive Skill.
(passive) did not pick other Defensive passives to save points
CompanionSkills (Required Points: 11 ) I did NOT take a companion
(active) DID NOT TAKE a Companion active due to using already full skillbar
(1st upgrade)
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points
WrathSkills (Required Points: 16 )
(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Hurricane – Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Cooldown: 20 seconds | Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
(1st upgrade)Enhanced Hurricane – Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
(2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)Savage Hurricane – Enemies affected by Hurricane deal 20% less damage.
(passive) Crushing Earth – Earth Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized or Knocked Back enemies.
(upgrade) Stone Guard – While Fortified for over 50% of your maximum Life, your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage.
(upgrade) Safeguard – Critical Strikes with Earth Skills Fortifiy you for 2%/4%/7% Base Life.
(passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering
Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )
(active) Petrify – Petrify all Nearby enemies in stone, Stunning them for 3 seconds. You deal 25% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage to enemies affected by Petrify. Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical Cooldown: 60 seconds
(1st upgrade) Prime Petrify – Petrify’s duration is increased by 1 seconds.
(2nd upgrade) Supreme Petrify – Killing an enemy affected by Petrify grants 25 Spirit.
(upgrade) Natural Disaster – Your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerableenemies. Your Storm Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life – Nature Magic skills that consume Spirit restore 1%/2%/3% of your maximum Life.
(upgrade) Resonance – Nature Magic Skills deal 2%/4%/6% (multiplicative) increased damage. Triple this bonus if an Earth Skill is the next Skill cast after a Storm Skill, or a Storm Skill is the next Skill cast after an Earth Skill.
(passive) Defensive Posture – Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Thick Hide
(upgrade) Nature’s Resolve – 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Base Life.
(upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Unrestrained
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points
Specializations (Required Points: 33 )
(passive) Earthen Might – Lucky Hit: Damaging enemies with Earth Skills has up to a 5% chance to grant Earthen Might, which does: Restore all of your Spirit Cause your attacks to be guaranteed Critical Strikes for 5 seconds
This chance is increased by: 10% for Critical Strikes 10% if the target is Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):
The Spirit Boons system lets you pick 1 spirit Boon per bond out of 4 categories. Eventually you unlock the option to specialize into a certain bond which will let you get 2 Boons from that category. I advise using the following 2 + 1 +1 +1 for now.
Eagle Category: take those two
Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance.
Avian Wrath+30% Critical Strike Damage.
Deer Category: take this one
Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
Snake Category: two decent picks here so choose whichever you like based on whether you need more survivability or ultimate CDR
option 1) Masochistic: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skillsheal you for 3% of your maximum Life.
option 2) Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills (Earth & Storm) have up to a 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.
Wolf Category: There are also two decent picks here. Pick based on whether you need more spirit generation or more survivability.
option 1) Energize: Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore 10 Spirit.
option 2) Bolster: Fortify for 10% of your Maximum Life when you use a Defensive Skill
Note: Obsidian Slam on the Snake Category is also a very interesting synergy with this build worth considering for mobbing but won’t be great on Boss fights.
Unique Items
In Diablo IV 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 Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following two but check the notes under the Aspects list for more picks:
Insatiable Fury (Chest Armor)
Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.
When the Days of Ash began, the great druid Nafain reminded his disciples that nothing, not even the loss of their humanity, was too great a sacrifice to protect Túr Dúlra from Astaroth’s flames.
Vasily’s Prayer (Helm)This one’s currently broken and the Fortify it gives does not scale with level/item power so it’s only half good/half worth it.
Your Earth Skills are now alsoWerebear Skills and Fortify you for N.
+[7 – 14]% Damage while Shapeshifted [24.5 – 45.5]% Lightning Resistance [0.12 – 0.26] Maximum Life [12 – 20] Spirit On Kill
“Roots from the Great Oak growing at the seaward statue of Vasily will, on rare occasions, be found twisted back upon themselves, suffused with ferocious magic.” – Barrett’s Book of Implements
Harlequin Crest (Helm) Right now this seems like a very good option considering how broken Vasily’s Prayer is.
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
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, Saphire, or Skull. Armor: Ruby. Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all. Alternatively, Skull.
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)
+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 (BIG GRIZZ 3.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.
Helm:Aspect of Mending Stone / Harlequin Crest OR Vasily’s Prayer (see notes below)
Amulet: Ballistic Aspect
Chest: Exploiter’s Aspect /Insatiable Fury (see notes below)
Pants: Skinwalker’s Aspect
Gloves: Aspect of The Ursine Horror
Boots: Stormshifter’s Aspect
Ring 1: Shockwave Aspect
Ring 2: Aspect of Natural Balance
1H Weapon: Nighthowler’s Aspect
Off-hand: Aspect of Retaliation
2-H Weapon: Nighthowler’s Aspect OR Aspect of Retaliation OR Aspect of Natural Balance BUT I do NOT recommend using a 2-hander
NOTES: How to re-arrangeif using any of the Uniques:
- Exploiter’s Aspect stays in the Chest slot ONLY until you get the Insatiable Fury Unique Chest Armor. For after that just discard it from the build.
- For Vasily's Prayer (Helm): Aspect of Mending Stone gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of Mending Stone get removed from the Helm to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Eyes in the Dark (Pants): Aspect of Control gets removed from the Ring 1 slot to make room for the Unique Ring.
ALTERNATIVE: ALTERNATIVE: If you decide to use Mother's Embrace (Ring) in the build, you will need to sacrifice one more aspect and it may be hurting the build to loose any of the remaining aspects once you have the Helmet and Chest slots filled up with Uniques. Up to you to decide which on is okay to sacrifice for that Unique ring.
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 88 with 175 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 on paragon points but i did leave the last 1 up to you to spend.
175/223 ParagonPts. (~LVL 88 with renown & altar pts): Click THIS LINK
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):
I’ve shortlisted 45 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
Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority)
+ X% Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Earth Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Damage with Core/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Wrath/Nature Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Wrath/Defensive/Nature/Storm Skills
+ X Ranks to Pulverize
Overpower Damage
+ Intelligence, + Dexterity, + Willpower
+ All Stats
+ Maximum Life
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Resource/Spirit Cost Reduction
Cooldown Reduction
Earth/Storm Skills Cooldown Reduction
Physical/Earth Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Earth Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Earth Damage
+ % Physical/Earth Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Earth 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 Vulnerable Enemies
Damage while Shapeshifted
Damage while in Werebear Form
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Movement 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)
Attack Speed
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 BIG GRIZZ 3.0 Druid 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):
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.
(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.
(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
DefensiveSkills (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,
(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:
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 Gear:
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:
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
An unbroken lineage of unwavering strength.
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)
+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)
NOTE1: 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:
NOTE2: 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.
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 StompBarbarianBuild 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):