The Barbarian is the class that is by far the toughest class to level in Diablo 4, thanks to its lower damage profile than the Rogue and Sorc, especially in the early game. However, the Barbarian has a few synergies that you may not expect, especially regarding vulnerability up time. The result is that you will have a 20% DPS buff applied for a strong amount of time, which keeps you more on pace with Rogue early-game builds. Add in your survivability, and you’ll find the follow Diablo 4 Barbarian leveling build smooth sailing. With no further ado, let’s take a look.

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Here is a look at a D4 Barbarian leveling build you can try for boss and pack clearing.

Diablo 4 Barbarian leveling build¶

So, the core theme of the Diablo 4 Barbarian leveling build focuses on applying Vulnerability on enemies, and then extended its duration the best you can. This allows you to maintain a consistent and steady DPS boost on your targets. This makes it very strong against bosses, which is where the Barbarian has the roughest time fighting as you progress the story in the Veteran world tier.

You also get fairly decent AOE as well. It doesn’t have pack one-shot potential, at least until Deathblow, but, it will suffice.

The general leveling build you want to do with your skills is as follows.

1. Frenzy
2. Enhanced Frenzy
3. Battle Frenzy
4. Double Swing
5. Enhanced Double Swing
6. Violent Double Swing
7. Rend
8. Enhanced Rend
9. Rallying Cry
10. Enhanced Rally Cry
11. Tactical Rally Cry
12. Charge
13. Enhanced Charge
14. Mighty Charge
15. Frenzy
16. Frenzy
17. Deathblow
18. Enhanced Deathblow
19. Warrior’s Deathblow
20. Frenzy
21. Frenzy
22. Deathblow
23. Deathblow

Now that you’ve reached this point, you will now have access to an ultimate ability. You can now re-roll to a more relevant build, especially if you have Legendaries to help your mobbing or single-target damage. From here, you should find the game is not too difficult, as the Barbarian will now be on the path of destruction and coming online.

If you want a snippet into potential builds you can run, then feel free to check out our Diablo 4 beta builds page, which has a look at the Barb bleed build and Upheaval build in particular. Or feel free to experiment still!

Rotation and Playstyle¶

Rotation: You want to build your fury meter to max, then do a Double Swing, into Rend, attack for two seconds, then Rend again to maintain the Vulnerability, and repeat until you accidentally drop the Vulnerability stacks. You also have your Charge skill, which is another way to get two seconds on vulnerability on both packs and bosses. It’s also handy in case you need to dodge mechanics that may kill you, apply vulnerability and spend any remaining Fury you may have on Rend’s extension, rather than the Double Swing rotation starter.

This will be your general playstyle till about level 25, when you get access to ultimate skills. At this stage, you will have a huge cooldown to assist you with single target bossing, helping to get through the Barb’s early game struggle points

Gear and Stats¶

Your general priority of stats for this build is to look for the following

1. Vulnerable damage
2. Damage with Basic
3. Damage with Core
4. Defensive stats like armor, damage reduction, life
5. Cooldown reduction

The idea here is that your build relies on Vulnerability for increased damage, and this is where you really want to maximize your damage potential. This is followed closely by basic skill damage, as you will largely be using Frenzy has your main damage output tool, with your core skills being vulnerability procs and extenders. Core Skill damage comes in at third largely because you will be using core skills every two seconds once your main fury rotation is online, and Rend does decent damage anyway. The other thing you want is strength, thanks to its damage increase and armor contribution, helping you to become tankier. Everything else after that is an addition. Cooldown reduction matters very little for your Charge or Iron Skin skill, unless you have lots of it.

+ Skill Stats: The other stats you want to look for are the skill stats. If you can get bonus Rend, Double Swing, Weapon Mastery, or Defensive, then you will have a much better time earlier in the build. This is especially so if you get access to Deathblow before you’re supposed to unlock it, as it means your mobbing becomes incredibly easier against the most basic packs in the world and in dungeons.

This concludes the Diablo 4 Barbarian Leveling build. You now know what you need to take down enemies in mobs and bosses, especially if you’re trying the Barbarian in Veteran World Tier. Note that this is made during the beta, and so, may feel different come live. It is something we will keep an eye on, though.

Read More:

• Best Diablo 4 Barbarian Builds for Server Slam.
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• Best Diablo 4 Sorcerer Builds