Barbarians in Diablo 4 are able to tank, buff and dish out good DPS as long as they have good Resource generation. In this Diablo 4 Barbarian Leveling build, we will be focused on delivering massive Hammer of the Ancients hits towards hoards of demons while having great Crowd Control, constant Vulnerability application, and Fury generation.
Even after level 50+ where Paragon system is unlocked, the basis of this build is still extremely viable and is one of the best endgame content pusher builds there is! Therefore transitioning from Diablo 4 early game to late game with the Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian Leveling build will not be an issue.
Skills Overview
Lunging Strike
Our bread and butter Basic Skill. It gives us unlimited dashes as long as enemies are targeted, resulting in great mobility. Enhancing this skill tree gives us more sustain and Berserker uptime from critical hits.
Hammer of the Ancients
This skill is where pretty much all of our damage will come from. We want this skill 5/5 asap, enhancement trees included. The enhancement skill (Furious Hammer of the Ancients) is why we always want our Fury to be full before casting. The more Fury that is stored, the harder this skill hits.
Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry will help us maintain our Fury generation, which is extremely important for this and any Barbarian build in general. Additionally, this skill can be enhanced to give Unstoppable for a limited time - which is vital in getting out of sticky situations (Unstoppable gives immunity to CC).
Steel Grasp
Steel Grasp will be our mob grouping skill, which can be enhanced to also dish Vulnerability applications and Berserking uptime. Leveling up this skill reduces CD of its charges.
Ground Stomp
Ground Stomp stuns enemies and its enhanced version reduces our Ultimate cooldown considerably - depending on how many enemies are hit.
Call of the Ancients
Call of the Ancients is the Ultimate of choice as the Fury it generates is unparalleled. During its uptime, we also receive damage buffs as well.
Playstyle and Rotation
Steel Grasp > Ground Stomp > Hammer of the Ancients
The playstyle of this Diablo 4 Barbarian Leveling build is relatively simple. We want to gather up as many enemies in on one spot, then stun with Ground Stomp for extra Crit Chance and Damage from passives. Proceed to watch them get obliterated in one hit. Not only is this efficient, but it is also euphoric to turn demons into mash potatoes with high damage numbers.
Rallying Cry will be used if Fury is too low or we need an escape card just in case things get too dicey. Call of the Ancients will be used when we want to go ham on bosses/big groups of enemies as our Fury generation will go through the roofs during its duration.
Skills Leveling Guide
This is just a guideline of what skills I recommend to invest skills into. The player is always free to experiment with different skill trees.
| Skill Points 1-10 | Skill Points 11-20 | Skill Points 21-30 | Skill Points 31-40 | Skill Points 41-50 | Skill Points 51-58 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunging Strike 1/5 | Hammer of the Ancients 3/5 | Pit Fighter 2/3 | Prolific Fury 1/3 | Expose Vulnerability 3/3 | Counteroffensive 3/3 |
| Enhanced Lunging Strike | Hammer of the Ancients 4/5 | Pit Fighter 3/3 | Prolific Fury 2/3 | Heavy Handed 1/3 | Imposing Presence 1/3 |
| Hammer of the Ancients 1/5 | Hammer of the Ancients 5/5 | No Mercy 1/3 | Prolific Fury 3/3 | Heavy Handed 2/3 | Martial Vigor 1/3 |
| Enhanced Hammer of the Ancients | Swiftness 1/3 | Call of the Ancients | Unbridled Rage | Heavy Handed 3/3 | Martial Vigor 2/3 |
| Furious Hammer of the Ancients | Swiftness 2/3 | Prime Call of the Ancients | Wallop 2/3 | Thick skinned 1/3 | Martial Vigor 3/3 |
| Hammer of the Ancients 2/5 | Swiftness 3/3 | Supreme Call of the Ancients | Wallop 3/3 | Defensive Stance 1/3 | Concussion 1/3 |
| Ground Stomp 1/5 | Steel Grasp 1/5 | Enhanced Ground Stomp | No Mercy 2/3 | Defensive Stance 2/3 | Concussion 2/3 |
| Rallying Cry 1/5 | Enhanced Steel Grasp | Strategic Ground Stomp | No Mercy 3/3 | Defensive Stance 3/3 | Concussion 3/3 |
| Enhanced Rallying Cry | Fighter's Steel Grasp | Wallop 1/3 | Expose Vulnerability 1/3 | Counteroffensive 1/3 | |
| Tactical Rallying Cry | Pit Fighter 1/3 | Aggressive Resistance 1/3 | Expose Vulnerability 2/3 | Counteroffensive 2/3 |
Aspects
Aspects are extremely powerful gear modifiers available only on Legendary and Unique items.
Most Aspects can be earned as first-time clear rewards for completing Dungeons throughout the world of Sanctuary. These Aspects are stored in your Codex of Power – you have full access to them and can imprint them onto your Rare gear at the Occultist.
There are also other Aspects that are more scarce and can be found only on Legendary drops in the world. These Drop Only Aspects can be extracted from their host items and saved in the stash to be later imprinted onto another Rare piece of gear.
Since this is a Diablo 4 Barbarian Leveling build, in the list below we will include mostly Aspects that you are guaranteed to get through Codex of Power system. In few cases, we will add mentions of the Drop Only Aspects as alternatives.
Note: (x) means this value is a random roll. However imprinting from Codex of Power always gives the lowest possible rolls.
Helm
 | Aspect of Numbing Wrath Each point of Fury generated while at Maximum Fury grants x Fortify. (Barbarian Only) Location: Heathen's Keep in Hawezar. An EXTREMELY important Aspect if as this will be your main source of Fortify. |
Chest
| Aspect of the Protector Damaging an Elite enemy grants you a Barrier absorbing up to x damage for 10 seconds. This effect can only happen once every 30 seconds. Location: Lost Archives in Fractured Peaks. Great early game survivability tool. Comes in clutch if healing runs low. |
| Aspect of the Crowded Sage You Heal for x Life per second for each Close enemy, up to x Life per second. Location: Drop Only. Great early game Aspect, grants nigh invincibility against hordes of demons - which will happen often. |
Gloves
 | Rapid Aspect Basic Skills gain x Attack Speed. Location: Buried Halls in Dry Steppes. More Basic Attack speed helps Fury management and slightly more comfortable skill rotations. |
Pants
| Aspect of Might Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for x seconds. Location: Dark Ravine in Dry Steppes. Almost permanent moderate Damage Reduction because of easy condition proc. Free survivability, 'nuff said. |
Boots
 | Ghostwalker Aspect While Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after, you gain x increased Movement Speed and can move freely through enemies. Location: Champion's Demise in Dry Steppes. Great Movement Aspect that allows easier escapes against hordes of enemies while giving a considerable Movement Speed buff. |
Amulet
| Aspect of Disobedience You gain [x] increased Armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage, stacking up to [x]. Location: Halls of the Damned in Kehjistan. More Armor is never bad, especially when stacking this much. Time to shell up! |
Rings
 | Aspect of Unrelenting Fury Killing an enemy with a Core Skill refunds x of its base Fury cost. Can only happen once per Skill cast. Location: Hallowed Ossuary in Fractured Peaks. Good aspect to help maintain Fury. Condition isn't hard to proc under normal circumstances. |
| Aspect of the Umbral Restore x of your Primary Resource when you Crowd Control an enemy. Location: Champion's Demise in Dry Steppes. Great Fury management tool when fighting against Hordes of demons. Steel Grasp's pull counts as CC, and obviously Ground Stomp as well. |
Two Handed Weapons
| Edgemaster's Aspect A Skills deal up to [x] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. Location: Oldstones in Scosglen. Great Aspect that basically grants free damage due to the nature of this build. |
| Aspect of Retribution Distant enemies have a 8% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal [x] increased damage to Stunned enemies. Location: Abandoned Mineworks in Kehjistan. Massive DPS increase when targeting Stunned enemies. Bask in the art of high numbers. |
| Aspect of Limitless Rage Each point of Fury you generate while at Maximum Fury grants your next Core Skill [x] increased damage, up to [x]. Location: Drop Only. An excellent Offensive Aspect that goes very well with our build. Its condition to proc is not an issue as we always want our Fury full. If your manage to find it, move your Edgemaster's Aspect to your Gloves. |
One Handed Weapons
| Aspect of the Expectant Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by [x], up to [x]. Location: Underroot in Scosglen. More damage for Hammer of the Ancients. Can be paired with Attack Speed Aspects to proc the full bonus easier. |
| Aspect of Ancestral Force Hammer of the Ancients quakes outwards, dealing [x] of its damage to enemies. Location: Sunken Ruins in Scosglen. Important! This Aspect enhances our AoE Damage. Despite having a low multiplier in a One Handed slot, the surrounding damage from its AoE will still be able to vaporize surrounding mobs. |
Item Sub-Stats
During early levels, sub-stats on items do not matter too much as they will be replaced often with the items that simply have the highest Item Power. At higher levels, items do reach breakpoints where their sub-stat values can roll higher and that's when the players have to start hunting certain specific Stats.
These sub-stats are highly recommend when looking at equipment for Hammer of the Ancients Diablo 4 Barbarian Leveling build.
| Equipment Slot | Great Sub-Stats | Good Sub-Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Helm | Cooldown Reduction, Max Fury, Total Armor, Strength | Steel Grasp Rank, All Stats, Life on Kill |
| Chest | Damage Reduction, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant, Damage Reduction while Fortified | Total Armor, Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Bleeding, Rallying Cry Rank, Max Life |
| Gloves | Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed, Hammer of the Ancients Rank, | Lucky Hit Chance, All Stats, Dexterity |
| Pants | Damage Reduction, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant, Damage Reduction while Fortified | Total Armor, Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Bleeding, Max Life, Damage Reduction while Injured |
| Boots | Movement Speed, Fury Cost Reduction, Damage Reduction while Injured | All Stats, Dexterity, Dodge Chance, Dodge Chance against Distant enemies |
| Amulet | Fury Cost Reduction, Counteroffensive Rank, No-Mercy Rank, Cooldown Reduction, Movement Speed | Defensive Skills Ranks, Damage Reduction, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant, Damage Reduction while Fortified, Damage Reduction while Injured |
| Rings | Critical Strike Chance, Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Maximum Fury | Max Life, Resource Generation, Fortify Generation, Physical Damage, Lucky Hit Chance |
| Weapons (All) | Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Core Skill damage, Strength | Damage to Close enemies, Damage while Berserking, All Stats |
Gems
Gems provide rather substantial stat bonuses for your equipment. Gem slots on equipment can range from 0-2 and is randomized on drop, however don't fret! One can head to the Jeweler to use Scattered Prisms and Gold to add extra Gem slots to your equipment.
Scattered Prisms can be found by doing World Bosses, Events, and general demon-slaying tasks. This resource is usually not an issue.
Below is the list of reccomended Gems for this Diablo 4 Barbarian Leveling build, depending on the equipment slot:
- Weapons = Emeralds
- Armor = Sapphire | Rubies
- Accessories = Skulls
Expertise
This system is unlocked by reaching level 15 and completing the corresponding Priority Quest. The Expertize system may look confusing at first, but it is relatively simple.
When casting skills, we have the option to choose what weapons we are using for them. The game usually has this on auto - we can view this by pressing "S" on the keyboard (default settings) and hovering over a Skill. If the user wants to manually set a weapon type for a certain Skill, click to assign a new weapon to be used when casting the skill if applicable.
To rank up a specific expertise, we need to use those weapons in our Skill slots. The benefits of ranking up expertise levels is that when we use X weapon, X benefit occurs. The benefits can be seen by hovering over said weapon. Additional bonuses are acquired at rank 10.
The Technique slot is what we're looking out after. By equipping a Weapon Technique in the Technique slot, the bonus applied for said weapon will be present in all weapons instead. Below are the recommended Weapon Techniques:
Note: The Rank 10 additional bonus however, does NOT apply to all weapons when applying a rank 10 weapon technique on the technique slot.
- Two-Handed Axe Expertise = More damage against Vulnerable enemies
- Two-Handed Sword Expertise = Deals Bleeding damage towards enemies.
- One-Handed Sword Expertise = More Fury Generation
