Rob has been playing Blizzard games since 2005, especially the Warcraft & Diablo series. Determination, efficiency and reliability represent this EU-Player both ingame and in real life. He has been a long term non-seasonal player from the origins of Diablo 3. His current focus has shifted to seasonal gameplay, pushing the group leaderboard ranks early in the season. While Rob has an arsenal of experience with all classes, you'll usually find him leaping into battle with his beloved Barbarian or pushing the current META to new heights! The Barbarian is a staple class in the Diablo franchise and returns for glory in Diablo 4. They use overwhelming strength and a mastery of weapons to turn battlefields into wastelands. This overview covers their Strengths & Weaknesses, Skills, Passives, Legendaries and much more. Let's jump in and learn about the true god of weapons!
All information in this article is from the Press Preview Access of Diablo 4. The content presented here is subject to change, and will be updated as we learn more.
Class Identity
The Barbarian has unparalleled strength and expertly wields an entire arsenal in battle, with a weapon for every occasion. He bellows intimidating war cries and unleashes ground-shaking slams to send approaching hordes reeling. Barbarians are fun to play with fast-paced action and many customization options. Their skills are fueled by Fury, a resource that generates while in battle and depletes slowly outside of it. All Barbarian skills deal Physical damage by default.
Strengths
- Tremendous Damage. Barbarian Core Skills are devastating, especially when supported by their additional skills and buffs.
- Berserking. The Barbarian is the only class in Diablo 4 with the amazing Berserking buff, which gives them 25% increased damage and 30% Movement Speed.
- Quick Movement. The Barbarian has multiple movement skills and various ways to boost their base Movement Speed through actives and passives.
- Can DPS at Range or while Moving. With skills like Upheaval, Whirlwind, and Call of the Ancients, the Barbarian has many DPS options for different scenarios.
- Very Tanky. Challenging Shout and many bonuses like Fortify make Barbarians very hard to bring down.
Weaknesses
- Fury Dependent. Fury depletes over time while out of combat and the powerful Core Skills consume it quickly.
- Long Cooldowns. All your Shouts and Ultimate Skills have long cooldowns. While there are ways to reduce these, they still significantly stall your damage potential in longer fights.
- Close Combat. Most Barbarian builds are melee based and some Elite and Boss abilities can be hard to dodge while close by.
- All Alone. Other than Call of the Ancients, Barbarians can't summon pets to DPS or tank for them.
- Slow Early Game. A fully powered up Barbarian is one of the scariest opponents you'll ever face, but in the early game they're slow mostly due to poor resource generation.
Equipment
The Barbarian has the unique ability to equip FOUR WEAPONS at the same time:
- 2x Two-Handed Weapons (Bludgeoning Maces and Slashing Swords/Polearms/Axes), and
- Duel Wielded One-Handed Weapons (Slashing Swords/Axes/Maces)
They can swap between them depending on the ability used, and the Barbarian's Arsenal System lets you can choose which Weapon applies to each ability.
The rolled affixes of each Weapon are always applied, however the raw Damage per Second (DPS) of a skill is determined only by the attacking Weapon in the Arsenal System. In other words: your main weapon does your damage, and the others are "stat sticks".
There is one final advantage to holding this many items: more Legendaries! Having these extra powers equipped can prove quite useful and may give the Barbarian an advantage as Diablo 4 expands its itemization pool.
Skill Tree & Passives
Skill points are unlocked by level-ups and the Renown system. As you spend more points, you unlock more and more categories of skills. Each active skill can be leveled up to 5 times or more with items, increasing their power (usually +10% of the base value) or reducing their cooldown by 5% with each additional rank. After unlocking a skill, you can enhance it with another point and then choose one out of two upgrades to specialize it further.
In addition, there are passives found all over the tree, attached as optional choices to certain skill clusters. They grant small bonuses to damage, defense or utility under certain conditions and help to round out your build by shifting it further in the direction you want to take. All passives have 3 ranks and usually scale linearly.
Check out our Skill Tree Overview to learn more details.
Basic Skills
Basic skills are weak and are used to generate Fury. and apply debuffs like Vulnerable with Flay. When you run out of resources, they are useful to finish off small enemies or to add extra damage against an Elite or Boss while you prepare one of your stronger Fury-spending attacks.
Flay
| Tags: Basic Fury Generation: 9 Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage Type: Physical Description: Flay the enemy dealing {5%} damage. Inflicts {38%} Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Enhancement: When Flay deals direct damage to an enemy, they take {x10%} increased Bleeding damage for the next 3 seconds. Upgrade 1 (Combat): When Flay deals direct damage you gain {1%} damage reduction and 4 Thorns for 3 seconds. This stacks up to 5 times. Upgrade 2 (Battle): Flay has a {10%} chance to make enemy Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Double this chance when using a Two-Handed Weapon. Impression: This is one of the hardest hitting Basic Skills. It has a Damage over Time effect (DoT) that can be used to trigger other beneficiary effect and has a {x10%} increased Bleeding damage already. On top of that Flay has a decent chance to make enemies Vulnerable unlocking even more damage potential. |
Bash
| Tags: Basic Fury Generation: 10 Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage Type: Physical Description: Bash the enemy with your Weapon, dealing {31%} damage. After bashing enemies {4} times, your next Bash will Stun for {1.25} seconds, this increases to {2} seconds if using a Two-Handed Weapon. Enhancement: Damaging a Stunned enemy with Bash grants you {5%} Base Life as Fortify. Double this amount when using a Two-Handed Weapon. Upgrade 1 (Combat): After Critically Striking {4} times with Bash using a Two-Handed Weapon your next Core or Weapon Mastery skill will Overpower. Upgrade 2 (Battle): Damaging a Stunned enemy with Bash generates an additional {3} Fury, or {4} Fury if using a Two-Handed Weapon. |
Lunging Strike
| Tags: Basic Fury Generation: 9 Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage Type: Physical Description: Lunge forward and strike an enemy for {31%} damage. Enhancement: Lunging Strike deals {x30%} increased damage and Heals you for {2%} Maximum Life when it damages a Healthy enemy. Upgrade 1 (Combat): Critical Strikes with Lunging Strike grant you Berserking for {1.5} seconds. Upgrade 2 (Battle): Lunging Strike also inflicts {21%} Bleeding damage over {5} seconds. |
Frenzy
| Tags: Basic Fury Generation: 5 Lucky Hit Chance: 30% Requirement: Dual Wielded Weapons Damage Type: Physical Description: Unleash a rapid flurry of blows, dealing {21%} damage with each pair of hits. If Frenzy hits an enemy, its Attack Speed is increased by {+20%} for {3} seconds, up to {+60%}. Enhancement: While Frenzy is granting {+60%} bonus Attack Speed, it also generates {1} additional Fury. Upgrade 1 (Combat): You gain {x8%} damage reduction for each stack of Frenzy you currently have. Upgrade 2 (Battle): While Berserking, your other skills gain {5%} Attack Speed for each stack of Frenzy you have. |
Core Skills
These skills are primary damage dealers of most Barbarian builds. They spend lots of Fury but deal much higher damage and hit more targets than Basic Skills. In addition, Core Skills can be amplified by multiple Legendary effects.
Rend
| Tags: Core Fury Cost: 35 Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Requirement: Slashing Weapon Damage Type: Physical Description: Cleave enemies in front of you, dealing {13%} damage and inflicting {101%} Bleeding damage over {5} seconds. Enhancement: Dealing direct damage with Rend extends the duration of Vulnerable on enemies by {2} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Violent): Rend deals {x12%} increased Bleeding damage to enemies that are already Bleeding. Upgrade 2 (Furious): Direct damage with Rend grants {4} Fury per enemy hit, up to a maximum of {20} Fury. |
Hammer of the Ancients
| Tags: Core Fury Cost: 35 Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Requirement: Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapon Damage Type: Physical Description: Slam your hammer down with the fury of the Ancients, dealing {59%} damage to a concentrated area Enhancement: Gain {3%} more Fury for {5} seconds for each enemy damaged by Hammer of the Ancients stacking up to {10} times. Upgrade 1 (Violent): After Overpowering with Hammer of the Ancients you deal {30%} more damage for {2.5} seconds. Upgrade 2 (Furious): Hammer of the Ancients deals {1%} additional damage for each point of Fury you had when using it. |
Upheaval
| Tags: Core Fury Cost: 40 Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Requirement: Two-Handed Weapon Damage Type: Physical Description: Tear into the ground with your Weapon and fling debris forward, dealing {73%} damage. Enhancement: Upheaval has a {20%} chance to Stun all enemies it damage for {2.5} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Violent): If Upheaval deals damage to {2} or more enemies you gain Berserking for {2} seconds, or {3} seconds if it deals damage to {4} or more enemies. Upgrade 2 (Furious): Dealing direct damage to an enemy with a Skill that is not Upheaval causes your next cast of Upheaval to deal {x8%} increased damage, stacking up to {10} times. |
Whirlwind
| Tags: Core Fury Cost: 20 per second Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Requirement: - Damage Type: Physical Description: Rapidly attack surrounding enemies for {12%} damage. Enhancement: Gain {1} Fury each time Whirlwind deals direct damage to an enemy, or {3} Fury against Elite enemies. Upgrade 1 (Violent): After using Whirlwind for {2} seconds, Whirlwind deals {x30%} increased damage until it is cancelled. Upgrade 2 (Furious): While using a Slashing weapon, Whirlwind also inflicts {26%} Bleeding damage over {5} seconds. |
Double Swing
| Tags: Core Fury Cost: 25 Lucky Hit Chance: 30% Requirement: Dual Wielded Weapons Damage Type: Physical Description: Sweep your Weapons from opposite directions, dealing {38%} damage with each Weapon. Enemies caught in the center are damaged by both. Enhancement: If Double Swing damages a Stunned or Knocked Down enemy, gain {25} Fury. Upgrade 1 (Violent): Hitting an enemy with both hits of Double Swing makes them Vulnerable for {1} second. Upgrade 2 (Furious): Casting Double Swing while Berserking grants {2} additional seconds of Berserking. |
Core Cluster Passives
| Pressure Point Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to 10%/20%/30% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds. |
| Endless Fury Basic Skills generate x5%/x10%/x15% more Fury when using Two-Handed Weapons. |
Defensive Skills
These skills significantly boost your defensive capabilities. Many of them also allow you to control enemies and increase your Thorns damage.
Rallying Cry
| Tags: Defensive, Shout Cooldown: 25.0 seconds Damage Type: Physical Description: Bellow a rallying cry, granting allies {+30%} increased Movement Speed, and {x50%} increased Resource Generation for {6} seconds. Enhancement: Rallying Cry grants Unstoppable while active. Upgrade 1 (Tactical): Rallying Cry grants {25} Fury. You gain {+50%} increased Resource Generation from Rallying Cry. Upgrade 2 (Strategic): Rallying Cry grants {10%} Base Life as Fortify. While Rallying Cry is active you gain an additional {2%} Base Life as Fortify each time you take or deal direct damage. |
Iron Skin
| Tags: Defensive Cooldown: 14.0 seconds Damage Type: Physical Description: Steel yourself, gaining a Barrier that absorbs {50%} of your missing Life for {5} seconds. Enhancement: Iron Skin absorbs {+10%} more Missing Life. Upgrade 1 (Tactical): While Iron Skin is active, restore Life equal to {10%} of Barrier's original amount per second. Upgrade 2 (Strategic): Iron Skin aslo grants {9%} Base Life as Fortify. Double this amount if cast while below {50%} Life. |
Challenging Shout
| Tags: Defensive Cooldown: 25.0 seconds Description: Taunt nearby enemies and gain {x40%} Damage Reduction for {8} seconds. Enhancement: While Challenging Shout is active, gain {x20%} bonus Maximum Life. Upgrade 1 (Tactical): While Challenging Shout is active you gain {3} Fury each time you take damage. Upgrade 2 (Strategic): While Challenging Shout is active, gain Thorns equal to {+50%} of your Maximum Life. |
Ground Stomp
| Tags: Defensive Cooldown: 16.0 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage Type: Physical Description: Smash the ground, dealing {10%} damage and Stunning surrounding enemies for {3} seconds. Enhancement: Increase Ground Stomp's duration by {1} second. Upgrade 1 (Tactical): Ground Stomp generates {25} Fury. Upgrade 2 (Strategic): Reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate skill by {1} second for each enemy damaged by Ground Stomp. |
Defensive Cluster Passives
| Imposing Presence Gain x5%/x10%/x15% additional Maximum Life. |
| Martial Vigor Damage Reduction against Elites is increased by x4%/x8%/x12%. Requires 1 point in Imposing Presence. |
| Outburst Gain 2/4/6 Thorns. Also gain 2 Thorns for each 2 bonus Maximum Life you have. |
| Tough as Nails Increase your Thorns by +20%/+40%/+60%. Requires 1 point in Outburst. |
Brawling Skills
This cluster of skills adds various utility choices to your setup. Generally you want to choose one of these depending on your build and playstyle to assist you either offensively, defensively, or both.
War Cry
| Tags: Brawling, Shout Cooldown: 25.0 seconds Description: Bellow a mighty war cry. You and nearby allies deal {x15%} increased damage for {8} seconds. Enhancement: War Cry grants you Berserking for {3} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Mighty): War Cry grants {28%} Base Life as Fortify. Upgrade 2 (Powerful): If at least {4} enemies are nearby when War Cry is cast, its damage bonus is increased by {15%}. |
Kick
| Tags: Brawling, Shout Cooldown: 25.0 seconds Damage Type: Physical Description: Throw a powerful kick that deals {19%} damage and Knocks Back enemies in front of you. Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain take an additional {57%} damage and are Stunned for {3} seconds. Enhancement: Kick makes enemies it damages Vulnerable for {4} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Mighty): Kicked enemies deal {54.00%} damage to enemies they collide with while being Knocked Back. Enemies damaged this way are Knocked Down for {2} seconds. Upgrade 2 (Powerful): If Kick damages an enemy, it consumes all of your Fury and deals an additional {41.79%} damage per {10} Fury spent. Kick no longer Knocks Back enemies. |
Leap
| Tags: Brawling, Shout Cooldown: 25.0 seconds Damage Type: Physical Description: Leap forward and then slam down, dealing {34%} damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact. Enhancement: If Leap doesn't damage any enemies, its Cooldown is reduced by {4} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Mighty): Enemies damaged by Leap are slowed by {50%} for {5} seconds. Upgrade 2 (Powerful): If Leap damages at least one enemy, gain {40} Fury. |
Charge
| Tags: Brawling, Shout Cooldown: 25.0 seconds Damage Type: Physical Description: Become Unstoppable and rush forward, pushing enemies with you then swinging through them for {26%} damage and Knocking them Back. Enhancement: Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain by Charge take {16%} damage and are Stunned for {3} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Mighty): Damaging enemies with Charge makes them Vulnerable for {2} seconds. Upgrade 2 (Powerful): Reduce Charge's Cooldown by {3} seconds if it Knocks Back an enemy into terrain. |
Brawling Cluster Passives
| Swiftness Movement Speed is increased by +4%/+8%/+12%. |
| Quick Impulses Reduce the duration of Control Impairing Effects by x6%/x12%/x18%. Requires 1 point in Swiftness. |
| Aggressive Resistance Gain x4%/x8%/x12% Damage Reduction while Berserking. |
| Prolific Fury While Berserking, Fury Generation is increased by x6%/x12%/x18. Requires 1 point in Aggressive Resistance. |
| Battle Frenzy When a Brawling Skill damages at least one enemy, gain Berserking for 1/2/3 seconds. Requires 1 point in Aggressive Resistance. |
| Booming Voice Shout Skill durations are increased by x10%/x20%/x30%. |
| Guttural Yell Your Shout Skills cause enemies to deal x8%/x16%/x24% less damage for 5 seconds. Requires 1 point in Booming Voice. |
| Raid Leader Your Shout also Heal allies for 1%/2%/3% of their Maximum Life per second. Requires 1 point in Booming Voice. |
Weapon Mastery Skills
These skills allow you to master your Weapons, dealing devastating damage with cooldown based attacks.
Rupture
| Tags: Weapon Mastery Cooldown: 15.0 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage Type: Physical Description: Skewer enemies in front of you, dealing {14%} damage, then rip your Weapon out, damaging enemies for their total Bleeding amount and removing all Bleeding damage from them. Enhancement: If an enemy dies while being skewered by Rupture, then reset its Cooldown. Enemies who survive take {x20%} increased Bleeding damage for the next {8} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Tactical): Killing enemies with Rupture increases your Attack Speed by {+20%} for {4} seconds. Upgrade 2 (Strategic): Enemies killed by Rupture Heal you for {15%} of your Maximum Life. |
Death Blow
| Tags: Weapon Mastery Cooldown: 15.0 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Requirement: Slashing Weapon Damage Type: Physical Description: Attempt a killing strike, dealing {126%} damage to enemies in front of you. If this kills an enemy the Cooldown is reset. Enhancement: Death Blow deals {x100%} increased damage to bosses. Upgrade 1 (Tactical): If Death Blow damages at least one enemy, gain Berserking for {3} seconds. Upgrade 2 (Strategic): If Death Blow damages at least one enemy, gain {20} Fury. |
Steel Grasp
| Tags: Weapon Mastery Cooldown: 11.0 seconds Charges: 2 Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage Type: Physical Description: Throw out a trio of chains that deal {24%} damage and Pull In enemies. Enhancement: Steel Grasp also makes enemies Vulnerable for {2.5} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Tactical): Steel Grasp gains {1} additional Charge. Upgrade 2 (Strategic): If Steel Grasp damages an enemy, gain Berserking for {2} seconds. |
Weapon Mastery Passives
| Pit Fighter You deal x3%/x6%/x9% increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction. |
| No Mercy You deal x5%/x9%/x13% increased damage against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies. Requires 1 point in Pit Fighter. |
| Slaying Strike You deal x8%/x15%/x23% increased damage against Injured enemies. Requires 1 point in Pit Fighter. |
| Expose Vulnerability Dealing direct damage with Weapon Mastery skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1.5/3/4.5 seconds. Requires 1 point in No Mercy or Slaying Strike. |
| Hamstring Your Bleeding effects Slow enemies by 10%/20%/30%. |
| Cut to the Bone Your Bleeding effects deal x6%/x12%/x18% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. Requires 1 point in Hamstring. |
| Thick Skin Each time you take direct damage gain 0.4%/0.7%/1.1% Base Life as Fortify. |
| Counteroffensive While Fortified for over 50% of your Maximum Life, you deal x5%/x10%/x15% increased damage. Requires 1 point in Thick Skin. |
| Defensive Posture Increase the Damage Reduction gained while you are Fortified by an additional +3%/+6%/+9%. Requires 1 point in Thick Skin. |
Ultimate Skills
Ultimates are high-impact abilities with a long cooldown and need to be built around to be effective, so not every build runs with one of them. Only one can be chosen and only have a single rank with a two-step linear upgrade path that offers no extra choices.
Wrath of the Berserker
| Tags: Ultimate Cooldown: 60.0 seconds Description: Gain Berserking and Unstoppable for {5} seconds. For the next {10} seconds dealing direct damage with Basic Skills grants Berserking for {5} seconds. Upgrade 1 (Supreme): While Wrath of the Berserker is active, gain {+20%} increased Movement Speed and increase Fury Generation by {x30%}. Upgrade 2 (Prime): While Wrath of the Berserker is active, every {50} Fury you spend increases Berserk's damage bonus by {x25%}. |
Iron Maelstrom
| Tags: Ultimate Cooldown: 60.0 seconds Damage Type: Physical Description: Activate to attach a chain to your Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapon and slam the ground, dealing {63%} damage and Stunning them for {2} seconds. Reactivate a second time to attach a chain to your Two-Handed Slashing Weapon and swipe it in front of you, dealing {21%} damage and {126%} Bleeding damage over {5} seconds. Reactivate a final time to attach a chain to your Dual Wield Weapons and swing them around you, dealing {34%} damage per hit. Upgrade 1 (Supreme): Iron Maelstrom gains {+10%} increased Critical Strike Chance and deals {x20%} increased Critical Strike Damage. Upgrade 2 (Prime): Dealing direct damage to an enemy after swapping Weapons reduces Iron Maelstrom's Cooldown by {1} second. |
Call of the Ancients
| Tags: Ultimate Cooldown: 50.0 seconds Damage Type: Physical Description: Call upon 3 Ancients to aid you in battle for {6} seconds. Korlic leaps at enemies, dealing {80.00%} damage and swings his Weapon in a frenzy, dealing {30.00%} damage per hit. Talic spins in whirlwind rapidly attacking enemies for {50.00%} damage. Madawc upheaves the ground dealing {150.00%} damage. Upgrade 1 (Prime): While Call of the Ancients is active gain {+10%} increased Attack Speed and {x10%} increased damage. Upgrade 2 (Supreme): Each of the Ancients gains additional power: Korlic: You gain {10} Fury each time Korlic damages an enemy with Frenzy. Talic: Enemies are Slowed by {50%} for {1} second when damaged by his Whirlwind. Madawc: {30%} chance to Stun enemies for {3} seconds when using his Upheaval. |
Ultimate Cluster Passives
| Wallop Your Skills using Bludgeoning Weapons deal x5%x10%/x15% increased damage if the enemy is Stunned or Vulnerable. |
| Concussion Lucky Hit: Skills using Bludgeoning Weapons have up to a 10%/20%/30% chance to Stun enemies for {3} seconds, or up to a 15%/30%/45% chance when using a Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapon. Requires 1 point in Wallop. |
| Heavy Handed While using Two-Handed Weapons you deal x5%/x10%/x15% increased Critical Strike Damage. |
| Brute Force Your Overpower deals x15%/x30%/x45% increased damage when using a Two-Handed Weapon. Requires 1 point in Wallop or Heavy Handed. |
| Duelist Attack Speed is increased by +3%/+6%/+9% while using One-Handed Weapons. |
| Tempered Fury Increase your Maximum Fury by 3/6/9. |
| Invigorating Fury Heals you for 2%/4%/6% of your Maximum Life for each 100 Fury spent. Requires 1 point in Tempered Fury. |
| Furious Impulse Each time you swap Weapons, gain 2/4/6 Fury. Requires 1 point in Tempered Fury. |
Ultimate Passives
These passives are located at the very bottom of the Skill Tree and couldn't be reached in the preview version. They are extremely powerful and define the overall playstyle of your build. Similar to Ultimate Skills, only one of them can be chosen!
| Unconstrained Increase Berserk's maximum duration by 5 seconds and increase its damage bonus by x25%. |
| Walking Arsenal Dealing direct damage with a Two-Handed Bludgeoning, Two-Handed Slashing or Dual Wielded Weapons grants x10% increased damage for 6 seconds. While all three damage bonuses are active you gain an additional x15% increased damage. |
| Unbridled Rage Core Skills deal x135% increased damage, but cost x100% more. |
| Gushing Wounds Killing a Bleeding enemy creates an explosion that inflicts 12% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. |
Unique Class Mechanic - The Arsenal System
The Arsenal System is the unique Barbarian class mechanic in Diablo 4. It allows them to use a specific Weapon for every attack skill that grants different bonuses.
Check out our Barbarian Arsenal System post for more details on this system.
Attributes
The four core attributes provide the following to the Barbarian:
- Strength: Skill Damage (10% per 100), Armor (1 each)
- Intelligence: All Resistances (5% per 100)
- Willpower: Resource Generation (10% per 100), Healing Received (10% per 100), Overpower Damage (25% per 100)
- Dexterity: Critical Strike Chance (2% per 100), Dodge Chance (2.5% per 100)
Strength is considered the main attribute as it multiplies all your damage done. Dexterity and Willpower are also useful for their offensive and defensive bonuses, while Intelligence does next to nothing. Some items can roll bonuses to attributes and later on Paragon boards allow stacking the right stats for your character. In addition, you may find hidden Altars of Lilith in the open world that unlock a permanent bonus for all of your characters.
Check out our Stat Overview to learn more.
Legendary Aspects
Legendary aspects offer another important avenue of build customization. They can be either found as a Legendary item drop or imprinted on a rare item at the Occultist. Aspects with dynamic values are +100% effective on Two-Handed Weapons and +50% effective on Amulets.
Check out our Legendary Aspects Overview to learn more details.
Codex of Power
The Codex of Power is a collection of Legendary Powers that the Occultist can freely craft on any rare or legendary item for a cost. Each power has to be unlocked by completing a specific Dungeon once and always comes with their minimum value if they have a dynamic value. As of right now, most maximum values are unknown and left out from this list. Certain effects with flat damage, Life or Barrier values scale either with character level or item power.
Listed below are all the Barbarian Legendary Aspects. Check out our Codex of Power Overview to see those available to all classes.
Allowed item types: Helm, Chest, Pants, Amulet (+50% Effectiveness)
- Bul-Kathos: Leap creates an Earthquake that deals 156 Physical damage over 4 seconds. While standing in Earthquakes, you gain 5% increased Damage Reduction.
- Numbing Wrath: Each point of Fury generated while at maximum Fury grant 1.2 Fortify.
- Tempering Blows: After Swapping Weapons 6 times, gain 44 Fortify.
- Iron Warrior: Iron Skin also makes you Unstoppable.
Allowed item types: Gloves, 1H Weapon, 2H Weapon (+100% Effectiveness), Ring, Amulet (+50% Effectiveness)
- Ancestral Echoes: Lucky Hit: Damaging enemies with Leap, Upheaval, or Whirlwind has up to a 40% chance to summon an Ancient to perform the same Skill. Can only happen once every 5 seconds.
- Ancestral Force: Hammer of the Ancients quakes outwards, dealing 32% of its damage to enemies.
- Berserk Ripping: Whenever you deal direct damage while Berserking, inflict 22% if the base damage dealt as additional Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
- Brawler's: Enemies damaged by Kick or Charge will explode if they are killed within the next 2 seconds, dealing 400 damage to nearby enemies
- Death Wish: Gain 44 Thorns while Berserking.
- Quickening Pulse: Lucky Strike: Up to a 20% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your non-Ultimate Skills by 1.5 seconds when you inflict Bleeding on Elites
- The Dire Whirlwind: Whirlwind's Critical Strike Chance is increased by 5% for each second it is channeled, up to 20%.
- Veteran Brawler: Each time a Core Skill deals direct damage to an enemy, your next Charge or Leap deals x15% increased damage, up to 225%.
- Windstriker: After swapping weapons 6 times, gain +20% increased Attack Speed for 4 seconds.
Allowed item types: Helm, Ring, Amulet (+50% Effectiveness)
- Echoing Fury: Your Shout skills generate 2.0 Fury per seconds while active.
- Slaking: Lucky Hit: You have up to a 30% chance to gain 20 Fury when Rend deals direct damage to at least one Bleeding enemy.
- The Relentless Armsmaster: Gain x20% increased Fury Generation while all damage bonuses from Walking Arsenal are active.
- Unrelenting Fury: Killing an enemy with a Core Skills refunds 10.0% of its base Fury cost. Can only happen once per Skill cast.
Allowed item types: Helm, Chest, Boots, Gloves, Amulet (+50% Effectiveness)
- Anemia: Lucky Hit: Direct damage against Bleeding enemies has up to a 31% chance to Stun them for 2 seconds.
- Relentless Berserker's: Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy with a Core Skill has up to a 22% chance to extend the duration of Berserking by 1 second. Double this duration if it was a Critical Strike.
Allowed item types: Boots, Amulet (+50% Effectiveness)
- Perpetual Stomping: Damaging an enemy with Kick or Ground Stomp resets Leap's Cooldown.
Drop-only
These aspects cannot be crafted from the Codex of Power and instead must be found as a Legendary drop. A list will follow once there is more information.
- Grasping Whirlwind: Whirlwind periodically pulls enemies towards you.
Unique Items
We have only seen 2 unique items for Barbarian:
The Butcher's Cleaver
| Item Type: Axe Unique Effect: Immobilize your target for [1.0-3.0] seconds when you Critically Strike. Stats: [2.0-4.5]% Attack Speed, +[6.5-11.5]% Damage to Healthy Enemies, +[4.5-7.5]% Damage While Healthy, Lucky Hit: 5% Chance to heal [35-57] Description: A nightmarish amalgam of blood, bone and steel, this axe is as horrific, and as deadly, as its creator. |
Melted Heart of Selig
| Item Type: Amulet Unique Effect: Gain +100% bonus maximum resource. In addition, when you take damage, drain [3.0-6.0] resource for every 1% of Life you would have lost instead. Stats: [4.5-8.0]% Damage Reduction, +[4.5-8.0]% Cooldown Reduction, +[3.0-6.0]% Critical Strike Chance, +[6-10] All Stats Description: Do not allow your passions to become obsessions. Fuel the fire that burns within you, but it is madness to allow yourself to become ash to please an uncaring universe. - Last words of Master Selig |
Most likely more uniques will unlock at a higher level than what was available in the preview version.
Video Guide
Barbarian Summary
- Barbarians are powerful, mobile and tanky, but fight alone, have to be in close quarters, and struggle with resource generation early on.
- They deal Physical damage with melee attacks.
- Fury is their primary resource. It degenerates slowly and has to be earned in battle to unleash powerful attacks.
- With Four Weapons equipped at the same time, they have advantages from Weapon swaps, extra stats and additional Legendary Powers.
- Core Skills deal massive damage at the cost of significant Fury.
- Barbarians bring incredible utility from their shouts, making them a strong choice for every group.
- The Arsenal System is the unique Barbarian class mechanic in Diablo 4. It allows them to use a specific Weapon for every attack skill that grants different bonuses.
Credits
Written by Rob.
Reviewed by Raxxanterax, Echohack.
Changelog
Article Created from the Press Release Version of Diablo 4. 
