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Whirlwind Barbarian Guide

Season 8D

Last Updated:August 10, 2024|Change Log

In this guide we cover the iconic Whirlwind Barbarian, also known as the WW Barb. Though this build is not the fastest for everything, it is very well rounded.

With the main source of our damage being Physical Damage from Whirlwind and Magic Damage coming from Berserk, the majority of the game is unlocked to us.

Common places to farm in with this build are The Chaos Sanctuary, The Pit, or Travincal for the Council Members that drop an abundance of items. There are plenty of gear options for this build, but it is quite item dependent from the start.

The Mercenary is a great asset for this build, breaking Physical Immunity from monsters with Decrepify from The Reaper's Toll.

Ideal Standard Setup
Ideal Standard Setup

Whirlwind

Berserk

Grim Ward

Battle Orders

This build guide assumes you have a Character at Level 75 before transitioning to it. Check out our Barbarian Leveling Guide and our General Leveling Strategies to reach Level 75.

Chill Gameplay ✔
Can Be Very Tanky

Plenty Of Gearing Options ✔
Easy To Learn Difficult To Master ✔

❌ Gear Dependent
❌ Repetitive Gameplay
❌ Can Feel A Bit Clunky
❌ Slow Against Physical Immunes

Sunder Charm Setup

Patch 2.5 introduces a new way of breaking Immunities: Sunder Charms. Any enemy that would be Immune to your damage type is instead reduced to 95% Resistance, before any other Resistance reductions apply. (e.g. Conviction, Lower Resist) The Charm also reduces YOUR Resistance against the sundered damage type! Check out our post on Sunder Charms to learn more about these new Charms. The following setup uses Bone Break, allowing you to farm anywhere you want.

Sunder Charm Setup
Sunder Charm Setup

Gear Changes

To optimize this Sunder Charm you need Grim Ward and a source of Decrepify. Equip The Reaper's Toll on your Mercenary.

Counteract the negative effect of Bone Break with Crown of Ages.

Terror Zones

The new Terror Zone mechanic combined with Sunder Charms open up a wide range of farmable areas. The following list highlights the best and worst Terror Zones for this build on the Starter or Budget setup. With the Sunder Charm Setup, more Terror Zones become accessible. Learn more about Terror Zones here and see how they stack up in our Terror Zone Tier List.

Best

Travincal - Quick Access, Council Members
Frigid Highlands - No Immunities, Quick Access, Eldritch
Nihlathak's Temple ONLY - No Immunities, Quick Access, Pindleskin
Pit - No Immunities, Many Elite Groups
Tristram - No Immunities, Quick Access, Many Elite Groups

Worst

The Tower Cellar - Trash Mobility, Immunities
Arcane Sanctuary - Trash Mobility, Immunities
Blood Moor + Den of Evil - Low Density, Few Elite Groups
Burial Grounds + Crypt + Mausoleum - Low Density, Few Elite Groups, Trash Mobility, Slow Access
Act 2 Sewers - Trash Mobility, Few Elite Groups, High Physical Damage

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. finditem
2. Grim Ward
3. Battle Command
4. Battle Cry
5. increasedspeed
6. naturalresistance
7. leap
8. leapattack

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Whirlwind
2. blade Mastery
3. Battle Orders
4. Find Potion
5. Berserk

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Damage

Utility

Attributes

Note: This section provides you with the standard Stat Point allocation. Build Variants can require a different allocation!

Strength

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Strength your gear provides when equipped.

Dexterity

Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Dexterity your gear provides when equipped.

Vitality

Allocate any remaining Stat Points into Vitality after meeting Strength, Dexterity and Energy requirements.

Energy

Do not allocate any Stat Points into Energy. Mana costs are covered by “x% Mana Stolen per Hit” or “+x Mana after each Kill” on gear.

Essentials

Gear Options

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Playstyle

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Starter
Standard
2 Handed
Magic Find
Immortal King
Uber
Hardcore

Setup

The Whirlwind Barbarian relies heavily on Physical Damage and Attack Rating. Every increase in these stats you can manage is going to help. The most important thing is the Weapon. Obedience is a strong Runeword that is easily farmed, as well as the new Unbending Will Phase Blade.

A source of % Mana stolen per hit makes this build a lot more comfortable to play. In addition, Increased Attack Speed, Damage, Attack Rating, and Resistances are important. Make sure to cap out your Resistances because you are taking hits when spinning through packs of enemies. Smoke helps you in that task.

Mercenary

To keep your Mercenary alive, equip him with a Body Armor and Helmet with Resistances and Life. Insight is a pretty easy Runeword to find and farm that gives a great amount of damage and Quality of Life with Meditation. Hire the Might Aura Mercenary, to gain extra Physical Damage.

Skills

The Weapon Mastery depends on the Weapon used. In this example, we use Polearm Mastery for Obedience.

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. finditem
2. Grim Ward
3. increasedspeed
4. naturalresistance
5. leap
6. leapattack

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Whirlwind
2. Polearm Mastery (Depends on your Weapon)
3. Battle Orders
4. Berserk

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Standard variant of the Whirlwind Barbarian uses dual Grief Phase Blade providing up to +800 Damage. Absolutely nothing comes close for raw damage with these weapons.
Using Fortitude over Enigma is an option to increase your damage, sacrificing the mobility of Teleport. Highlord's Wrath and Gore Rider are great for additional x% Deadly Strike, increasing your chance of critical strikes, while Laying of Hands are great for the +x% Damage to Demons. Use Bone Break instead of Sharp Grand Charm of Maiming to enable farming of any monster.

Mercenary

Might Aura Desert Mercenary provides us with a significant boost to our Physical Damage attacks.
The Reaper’s Toll has a chance to cast Decrepify on striking, which slows your enemies down, increases any Physical Damage dealt to them, and even breaks Physical Immunities. Andariel's Visage and Fortitude Sacred Armor fill in everything else he needs, from damage to survivability.

Skills

The Weapon Mastery always depends on the Weapon used. In this case we use blade Mastery:

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. finditem
2. Grim Ward
3. Battle Command
4. Battle Cry
5. increasedspeed
6. naturalresistance
7. leap
8. leapattack

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Whirlwind
2. blade Mastery
3. Battle Orders
4. Find Potion
5. Berserk

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

With this variant you are using a 2 Handed Weapon with massive damage like Breath of the Dying War Pike.
Using Fortitude over Enigma is an option to increase your damage, sacrificing the mobility of Teleport. Highlord's Wrath and Gore Rider are great for additional x% Deadly Strike, increasing your chance of critical strikes, while Laying of Hands are great for the +x% Damage to Demons. Use Bone Break instead of Sharp Grand Charm of Maiming to enable farming of any monster.

Mercenary

Might Aura Desert Mercenary provides us with a significant boost to our Physical Damage attacks.
The Reaper’s Toll has a chance to cast Decrepify on striking, which slows your enemies down, increases any Physical Damage dealt to them, and even breaks Physical Immunities. Andariel's Visage and Fortitude Sacred Armor fill in everything else he needs, from damage to survivability.

Skills

Weapon Mastery always depends on the Weapon used. In this case, we use Spear Mastery:

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. finditem
2. Grim Ward
3. Battle Command
4. Battle Cry
5. increasedspeed
6. naturalresistance
7. leap
8. leapattack

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Whirlwind
2. Spear Mastery
3. Battle Orders
4. Find Potion
5. Berserk

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

Magic Find Whirlwind Barbarian uses Grief Phase Blade for damage and Last Wish Phase Blade with x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (MF) among its other solid stats. This is capable of most content with its damage and survivability.
Note: If you need to get back to town, we use the Scroll of Town Portal on the Belt. Use Fine Small Charm of Good Luck to increase your Magic Find even further.

Mercenary

For this variant we use the Act 5 Mercenary because we already have Might from Last Wish Phase Blade. The advantage is his fast Attack Speed that allows him to proc Decrepify from Lawbringer Phase Blade and x% Chance of Crushing Blow from Guillaume's Face. Survivability mainly comes from Fade provided by Treachery Sacred Armor.

Skills

This Skill Tree works the same as the Standard Weapon Mastery always depends on the Weapon used. In this case we use blade Mastery:

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. finditem
2. Grim Ward
3. Battle Command
4. Battle Cry
5. increasedspeed
6. naturalresistance
7. leap
8. leapattack

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Whirlwind
2. blade Mastery
3. Battle Orders
4. Find Potion
5. Berserk

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Elite Set Immortal King has been used for Whirlwind Barbs for ages. It is fairly cheap with the most expensive items being Immortal King's Soul Cage.
It is not the best setup out there but it is very well rounded and your character glows, what more could you ask for! We have a decent amount of damage, + to Skills, and survivability with everything that the full set grants us. Use Bone Break instead of Sharp Grand Charm of Maiming to enable farming of any monster.

Mercenary

Might Aura Desert Mercenary provides us with a significant boost to our Physical Damage attacks.
The Reaper’s Toll has a chance to cast Decrepify on striking, which slows your enemies down, increases any Physical Damage dealt to them, and even breaks Physical Immunities. Andariel's Visage and Fortitude Sacred Armor fill in everything else he needs, from damage to survivability.

Skills

The Skill Tree has some changes to it with the main Weapon Mastery always depends on the Weapon used. In this case, we use Mace Mastery:

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. finditem
2. Grim Ward
3. Battle Command
4. Battle Cry
5. increasedspeed
6. naturalresistance
7. leap
8. leapattack

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Whirlwind
2. Mace Mastery
3. Battle Orders
4. Find Potion
5. Berserk

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Uber Variant has lots of Damage Reduction (50%), Resistances, and Life. Prior to entering any of the Uber fights we proc Fade by standing in the fire next to the River of Flame Waypoint.
Use Whirlwind in small triangles to dish out the most DPS. The most impactful items for this build are Arreat's Face, Thundergod's Vigor for Absorb, Stormshield, and Blood Crafted Ring to fill the rest. Dracul’s Grasp and Last Wish allows you to cast Life Tap on striking, adding another layer of Life recovery. Use Bone Break instead of Sharp Grand Charm of Maiming to enable farming of any monster.

Mercenary

For this variant we use the Act 5 Mercenary because we already have Might from Last Wish Phase Blade. The advantage here is that his fast Attack Speed allows him to proc Decrepify from Lawbringer Phase Blade and x% Chance of Crushing Blow from Guillaume's Face. Survivability mainly comes from Fade provided by Treachery Sacred Armor. DON'T expect your Mercenary to survive Uber Tristram!

Skills

Weapon Mastery always depends on the Weapon used. In this case we use blade Mastery:

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. finditem
2. Grim Ward
3. Battle Command
4. increasedspeed
5. naturalresistance
6. leap
7. leapattack

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Whirlwind
2. blade Mastery
3. Battle Orders
4. Battle Cry
5. Berserk

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This variant is what you want for survivability. We focus on having the maximum amount of Damage Reduction (50%) while stacking over capped resistances and Life. We also aim for 75% Chance to Block by adding enough Dexterity to reach this.
The most impactful items for this setup are Stormshield, Crown of Ages, Thundergod's Vigor and sometimes Verdungo's Hearty Cord. Dwarf Star or Wisp Projector can also be used for more Absorb. Don’t go too overboard with Defenses though. We all know Offense is the best Defense. Use Bone Break instead of Sharp Grand Charm of Maiming to enable farming of any monster.

Mercenary

We recommend the Might Aura Desert Mercenary as it provides us with a significant boost to our Physical Damage attacks.
The Reaper’s Toll has a chance to cast Decrepify on striking, which slows your enemies down, increases any Physical Damage dealt to them, and even breaks Physical Immunities. Andariel's Visage and Fortitude Sacred Armor fill in everything else he needs, from damage to survivability.

Skills

Weapon Mastery always depends on the Weapon used. In this case we use blade Mastery:

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. finditem
2. Grim Ward
3. Battle Command
4. Battle Cry
5. increasedspeed
6. naturalresistance
7. leap
8. leapattack

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Whirlwind
2. blade Mastery
3. Battle Orders
4. Find Potion
5. Berserk

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Put enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear, Dexterity to reach 75% Chance to Block, and the remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Summary

  • Put enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to wear gear and any remaining Stat Points into Vitality.
  • Keep your Battle Command, Battle Orders, and Shout buffs up at all times.
  • Use Teleport and Leap Attack to move around obstacles.
  • Utilize Grim Ward in confined areas to deal additional damage.
  • Position yourself well during combat staying and beware of Mana Burn monsters, dangerous amounts of mobs, enemy movements Auras.
  • Small triangles for big single target DPS and large sweeping movements against danger.
  • Always remember that you CANNOT use Potions while spinning!
  • Have fun!

We hope you enjoy the build! We also hope that you are immune to being dizzy because this build is all about spinning to win! It can be very satisfying to both phase in and out of mobs while dealing damage to them.

Good luck!

Credits

Reviewed and Updated by Teo1904
Original Author BTNeandertha1

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