Welcome to the Bash Barbarian Specialized Build Guide! This build returns in Season 5 after previously getting a major buff with the addition of Tempered affixes. In the case of Bash, this means that it gets an extra cleave animation for some area of effect increase, as well as a damage multiplier on top of it. It also benefits greatly from Aspects like Adaptability and Moonrise. The bad news is: both of these are not immediately available from the Codex of Power, and the required Temper is not unlocked until later in the endgame. It also relies pretty heavily on certain Unique items, such as Shard of Verathiel, that give it a large amount of its power. Once everything is obtained though, Bash becomes a true powerhouse that is capable of taking on all the game has to offer.
Our Specialized Builds are Endgame builds with specific requirements and purposes. In order to play them, you are expected to already have specific items and effects available. To get there, we recommend you use one of our existing lvl 50-100 Endgame Build Guides.
Requirements for this build to function:
- Temper Manuals:
- Furious Augments.
- Certain Legendary Aspects, primarily:
- Adaptability.
- Moonrise.
- Starlight (before Ring of Starless Skies).
- Passive Skills:
- Invigorating Fury (before Ring of Starless Skies).
- Uniques:
- Paingorger's Gauntlets.
- Shard of Verathiel.
- Crown of Lucion.
Gear, Skill Tree, and Paragon
[Pit 61 - 100]
[Mythic / Pit 101+]
This is a well-rounded setup for all content that relies on huge damage multipliers from Paingorger's Gauntlets, Shard of Verathiel, and Crown of Lucion. The gameplay revolves around using Combat Bash to trigger the multiplicative damage boost provided by Violent Hammer of the Ancients.
NOTE: Crown of Lucion currently has a bugged interaction with Bash! The damage increase from this item is not functioning. Only use this setup if you enjoy the massive healing that it provides. Otherwise, try the Tuskhelm or Mythic variants.
Gear
- Starlight and points in Invigorating Fury are required to make this build work. This combination allows us to ignore the downside of Crown of Lucion and also gives us a ton of sustained healing.
- Anger Management is our source of permanent Berserking.
Skills
- Bash is the primary damage dealer and should be set to be used with a Two-Handed Mace.
- Violent Hammer of the Ancients is used for the bonus damage it provides when it Overpowers. This is guaranteed by Critically Striking with Combat Bash, and should only be used when this counter reaches 4. Outside of that, it also is our primary way to activate Paingorger's Gauntlets. This skill is automatically set to use a Two-Handed Mace.
- Iron Skin grants a huge damage reduction bonus, Unstoppable and passive healing when active. Its uptime is improved by tempering Iron Skin Cooldown Reduction on gear.
- War Cry and Challenging Shout can be used off cooldown or situationally for their damage and defensive boosting capabilities.
- If Invigorating Fury ranks are too low on gear, points may be required on the passive tree. Steal points from Heavy Handed or Slaying Strike.
Paragon
See below for the selected Paragon Boards, Paragon point allocation, and the correct Glyphs you should use for the Bash Barbarian. Note: The Paragon Boards below are the final setup with no steps.
Level 15 Glyphs required: Exploit, Ire, Might, Territorial, Undaunted, Wrath
This is generally the setup to use before switching to the Mythic variant. It is very well-rounded, both offensively and defensively, and doesn't have the Fury issues that Crown of Lucion might struggle with early on.
Gear
- Tuskhelm of Joritz the Mighty is a solid choice for this setup. When combined with Anger Management, its Unique effect will always be active.
- Elements is a great pick for an extra offensive Aspect, but there are other options: Bold Chieftain's or Conceited are also good choices.
Skills
- Bash is the primary damage dealer and should be set to be used with a Two-Handed Mace.
- Violent Hammer of the Ancients is used for the bonus damage it provides when it Overpowers. This is guaranteed by Critically Striking with Combat Bash, and should only be used when this counter reaches 4. Outside of that, it also is our primary way to activate Paingorger's Gauntlets. This skill is automatically set to use a Two-Handed Mace.
- Iron Skin grants a huge damage reduction bonus, Unstoppable and passive healing when active. Its uptime is improved by tempering Iron Skin Cooldown Reduction on gear.
- War Cry and Challenging Shout can be used off cooldown or situationally for their damage and defensive boosting capabilities.
- Call of the Ancients or Wrath of the Berserker are both good here; the choice can ultimately come down to which Cooldown Reduction rolls are tempered on Rings and Amulet.
Paragon
See below for the selected Paragon Boards, Paragon point allocation, and the correct Glyphs you should use for the Bash Barbarian. Note: The Paragon Boards below are the final setup with no steps.
Level 15 Glyphs required: Exploit, Ire, Might, Territorial, Undaunted, Wrath
This version has all of the relevant Mythic Uniques and is ideal for all high-end content. It boasts incredible durability and respectable damage output against small groups of enemies, as well as single targets.
Gear
- Tyrael's Might solves all of our Resistance issues on its own and gives a huge chunk of damage reduction. The divine barrage is also a great supplementary damage source.
- Harlequin Crest gives more damage reduction and solves Armor, while also giving a nice boost to Bash and War Cry.
- Ring of Starless Skies lets us spam Bash even with little investment into Resource Generation and gives a massive damage multiplier on top of it.
- The Grandfather is also good for this setup, but is optional.
- Replace Inner Calm, but move this Aspect to replace Elements.
Skills
- These don't change much, but we no longer need points in Invigorating Fury.
- Call of the Ancients is the preferred Ultimate since we aren't dumping Fury as often.
Paragon
See below for the selected Paragon Boards, Paragon point allocation, and the correct Glyphs you should use for the Bash Barbarian. Note: The Paragon Boards below are the final setup with no steps.
Level 15 Glyphs required: Exploit, Ire, Might, Territorial, Undaunted, Wrath
Season 5 - Infernal Hordes
In Season 5, the Season Theme brings your hero back into the bowels of Hell, in the Infernal Hordes endgame activity. You're first introduced to Hellbreach Dungeons, miniature Horde-like micro-dungeons that teach you the new mechanics and rewards systems. As you slay more powerful Demons and Bosses, you're rewarded with the new Reputation progression that comes with amazing rewards. These include Crafting Materials, unlocking Season's Journey tiers and even the coveted Resplendent Spark, needed to craft a mythic unique.
Follow the seasonal questline until you unlock the Reputation system, check which rewards suit you most and then follow your regular leveling path. To learn more, check out our full Season 5 guide for more information.
Gameplay
- Initiate fights with Shouts active, and optionally use Hammer of the Ancients to activate Paingorger's Gauntlets. This usually isn't required for trash mobs, but should be done when facing groups of Elites.
- Once buffs are up, proceed to just Bash everything in sight.
- Continue to use Hammer of the Ancients occasionally to apply the Paingorger's Gauntlets debuff as needed.
- Ideally, Hammer of the Ancients should be used when Combat Bash is also fully stacked to gain its large generic damage multiplier.
- Use Iron Skin off cooldown for big damage reduction, healing and Unstoppable.
- Continue to use Shouts off cooldown or as needed; cast Challenging Shout specifically when there is a lot of danger on screen.
- Use Wrath of the Berserker or Call of the Ancients (depending on which one was chosen) for a huge power spike, especially against Bosses.
Gear and Stat Requirements
These builds require specific Aspects, Uniques, Uber Uniques, and Affixes on your gear to perform their primary function. Only deviate from the list below after you have fully learned the intended gameplay style and strategies.
- Legendary Aspects:
- Moonrise:
- Priority for all variants.
- Adaptability:
- Priority for all variants.
- Rapid:
- Used in all variants.
- Inner Calm:
- Used in all variants.
- Anger Management:
- Used in all variants.
- Hectic:
- Used in all variants.
- Iron Warrior:
- Used in all variants.
- Might:
- Used before acquiring Tyrael's Might.
- Starlight:
- Used until replaced by Ring of Starless Skies.
- Moonrise:
- Uniques:
- Paingorger's Gauntlets
- Used in all variants.
- Shard of Verathiel:
- Used in all variants.
- Crown of Lucion:
- Used before acquiring Harlequin Crest.
- Ring of Starless Skies:
- Replaces Starlight.
- Tyrael's Might:
- Replaces... the other Might.
- Paingorger's Gauntlets
- Other:
- Most importantly: this build requires the Furious Augments Temper Manual in order to temper "Bash Cleaves" on weapons. Without it, the damage and area of effect are significantly worse. It is not recommended to play the build without first unlocking this.
FAQ & Mechanics
Bash + Dual-Wielding?
Video Guide
Coming Soon!
Credits
Written by snail
Reviewed by snail