Barbarians are stronger than ever in Diablo 4 Season 13 with a selection of fantastic endgame builds to choose from. While some of these are certainly stronger than others, I think they are all more than capable of carrying you from level cap, into the highest tiers of Torment difficulty. One build in particular, I’ve seen more than any other while I’ve played other classes, and that has to be the Whirlwind Barbarian.
Below we’ll go over briefly what makes these builds work/fun to play, what talents and upgrades you need, and other useful information. Diablo 4 Season 13 really opened up the game for all classes, and Barbarians are certainly no exception in the endgame.
What are the best Barbarian builds to play in Diablo 4 Season 13?
1) Whirlwind Barbarian
When it comes to the top builds for Diablo 4 Season 13 Barbarians, it has to be Whirlwind Barbarian. It is constant, non-stop damage, it’s easy to play, but it is a little intensive on your resources. Whirlwind Barb draws enemies in, spams the screen with Dust Devils, and has a nice, simple rotation.
You do want to have quite a few really great pieces of gear though, such as Gohr’s Devastating Grips, Tibault’s Will, Ramaladni’s Magnum Opus, Grandfather, and Heir of Perdition. Thankfully, you can find these on our up-to-date Boss Loot Table. Just Whirlwind all the time, pop War Cry, Challenging Shout, and Call of the Ancients for anything moderately challenging, and use Iron Skin off cooldown.
- Whirlwind: Channel Damage Bonus, Cost Damage Bonus, Tornado
- Rallying Cry: Potency, Duration Bonus, Booming
- Iron Skin: Maximum Life, Movement Speed, Juggernaut
- Challenging Shout: Damage Bonus, Duration Bonus, Bawl
- War Cry: Ferocity, Duration Increase, Mighty Roar
- Call of the Ancients: Attack Speed and Damage Bonus, Damage Bonus, Highlander
2) Minion Barbarian
When it comes to Barbarian, one new build that I’m genuinely glad is powerful is Minion Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 13. We’ve mentioned it before as a new Meta build to try, and it turns out, it’s actually really powerful! It’s a build that uses the many new talent upgrades that summon the Ancients, instead of just relying on one button that conjures up these ferocious spirits of Barbarians past.
You spam Leap to get around, and use Rallying Cry, Call of the Ancients, War Cry, and Challenging Shout to summon minions! It also uses the power of Arreat’s Bearing, which while not new, was redesigned with this build in mind. It’s easy to play, and it’s fun! It’s closer to Warlock though, rather than Necromancer, because your allies aren’t permanent. They are, however, powerful, and pop up often.
- Leap: Arsenal Bonus, Pull, Mosh
- Rallying Cry: Potency, Fortify, Madawc
- War Cry: Ferocity, Duration Increase, Korlic
- Challenging Shout: Damage Bonus, Weaken, Talic
- Call of the Ancients: Ancient Attack Speed, Damage Bonus, The Chosen
- Iron Skin: Maximum Life, Weaken, Retaliation
3) Frenzy Barbarian
While I love Frenzy Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 13, because it’s powerful, easy to play, and just feels good, it’s probably the most gear-dependant build I’ve ever seen. There are so many Uniques you must have, and Mythic Uniques that you should have. I think, for that reason, it’s great for people that want to play an alt, because ideally you want to have: Heir of Perdition, Tyrael’s Might, The Grandfather, Ring of Starless Skies, Shard of Verathiel, and Banished Lord’s Talisman.
However, it’s still a very fun, powerful build. You spend your time using Frenzy to deal damage, and thanks to one of its upgrades, it’s also now a ranged skill. You can buff yourself with the usual suspects (Iron Skin, Rallying Cry, War Cry, Challenging Shout, Call of the Ancients). With the right Legendary Aspects, and the Sescheron’s Fury Unique Charm Set, you can obliterate anything in your path.
- Frenzy: Frenzy Stacks, Ferocity, Throwing
- Iron Skin: Resolve, Weaken, Juggernaut
- Rallying Cry: Potency, Fortify, Booming
- War Cry: Slow, Duration Increase, Mighty Roar
- Challenging Shout: Damage Bonus, Duration Bonus, Bawl
- Call of the Ancients: Attack Speed and Damage Bonus, Damage Bonus, Highlander
4) Mighty Maelstrom Barbarian
Mighty Maelstrom Barbarian uses both the Mighty Throw and Iron Maelstrom skills to shred enemies. From what I understand, it’s a build that just began popping off here in Season 13, and is likely an evolution of previous Iron Maelstrom builds. It uses plenty of Uniques like Banished Lord’s Talisman, but more importantly than that, it requires the Apogeic Furor Legendary Aspect. It reduces your cooldowns anytime you cast an Ultimate Skill.
Since we use Mightiest (Mighty Throw) upgrade, it is now an Ultimate Skill with a 6 second cooldown. Popping it with Apogeic Furor will just eliminate the cooldown, simply by using it. Between this, and Iron Maelstrom’s Mastered Weapon ability, you’re free to eliminate all foes with ease. Just swap between the skills to reset cooldowns and spam abilities!
- Mighty Throw: Ferocity, Barrier, Mightiest
- Iron Maelstrom: Weaken, Global Cooldown Reduction, Mastered Weapon
- Iron Skin: Resolve, Weaken, Juggernaut
- Rallying Cry: Potency, Fortify, Booming
- War Cry: Slow, Vulnerable, Mighty Roar
- Challenging Shout: Weaken, Damage Bonus, Bawl
5) Rend Barbarian
Rend has always been one of my favorite ways to play Barbarian, and it’s really amped up its power in Diablo 4 Season 13. Sadly, part of that is thanks to it using a gigantic pile of Uniques and Mythic Uniques (Heir of Perdition, Tibault’s Will, The Open Eye of Gorgorra, Ring of the Ravenous, Ring of Starless Skies, Shattered Vow). It is really awesome to execute enemies with Shattered Vow, thanks to the power of DOT affects.
This is a new way to play Rend Barbarian, though. Now it’s a ranged attack (Scorching upgrade), and you use that, in conjunction with other DOT amplifiers (EG: Wanton Rupture Legendary Aspect, Ring of the Ravenous), and then let Shattered Vow crack enemies open. Though it is gear reliant, it’s still quite powerful.
- Rend: Vulnerable Damage Bonus, Cast Speed, Scorching
- Iron Skin: Maximum Life, Movement Speed, Juggernaut
- Rallying Cry: Potency, Fortify, Booming
- War Cry: Ferocity, Duration INcrease, Mighty Roar
- Challenging Shout: Damage Bonus, Duration Bonus, Bawl
- Call of the Ancients: Attack Speed and Damage Bonus, Damage Bonus, Highlander
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Edited by Jason Parker