Learn about Skill, Passives, Gameplay & Hardcore in this Immortal King Hammer for the Ancients (HotA) Barbarian Build Guide for Diablo 3.
Skills
- We take Hammer of the Ancients Smash as our main damage dealer. This skill has 1% increased Critical Hit Chance for every 5 Fury we have. As we are mostly at maximum Fury with Fury of the Ancients and The Gavel of Judgment we get around 130% more Critical Chance, adding up to almost 100% Critical Hit Chance with proper gear.
- We need both Call of the Ancients and Wrath of the Berserker to proc the legendary effect of Remorseless and our Immortal King's Call (6) Bonus. Together as One rune provides permanent 50% damage mitigation while Wrath of the Berserker provides a massive stat boosts and Crowd Control immunity.
- Next we need a skill to proc Band of Might. Here we can choose Furious Charge with the Merciless Assault rune to move around quickly.
- Battle Rage Bloodshed is a powerful damage choice as we are melee class and basically always critically hit with our Hammer of the Ancients Smash.
- Lastly we use Ancient Spear Rage Flip to gather enemies and drag them alone for massive Area Damage and a Conduit Pylon to finish them all off together.
Passives
- Rampage is the strongest Barbarian passive there is with its 25% buff to total Strength. It provides a massive boost to both offense and defense (Armor).
- Berserker Rage as we are almost always at maximum Fury with Ancients' Fury and The Gavel of Judgment.
- Other damage options include Brawler, Ruthless or Nerves of Steel as a defensive touch.
Gameplay
Always start by casting your Wrath of the Berserker, Call of the Ancients Together as One as well as your Battle Rage Bloodshed. For solo gameplay you group up the monsters with your Ancient Spear Rage Flip while you move around with Furious Charge Merciless Assault and also proc your Band of Might in the process.
Keep Wrath of the Berserker and Call of the Ancients Together as One up at all times. Gather the enemies and stop moving around to get the offensive buff from the Endless Walk set. Then attack with your main damage attack Hammer of the Ancients, ideally timed with your Fire Convention of Elements rotation for maximum damage output. Make sure to keep attacking to get plenty cooldown resets from Immortal King's Call (4) Bonus to keep up Wrath of the Berserker and Call of the Ancients.
Hardcore
This build is very good for Hardcore as it is super tanky with all the damage reducing buffs up. You have Band of Might, Call of the Ancients Together as One and Wrath of the Berserker Striding Giant from your Mortick's Brace for some insane damage reduction.
Just to be extra safe add the Nerves of Steel passive for a cheat death.
Check out our dedicated Hardcore Survival Guide to learn more about how to succeed in this game mode!