Are you looking for the best Barbarian build in Diablo 2 Resurrected? When it comes to picking the strongest Diablo 2 Resurrected class, the Barbarian is certainly part of the conversation thanks to the formidable Whirlwind build. Once assembled correctly, the Barbarian can become an unstoppable spinning wheel of death, capable of slicing through hordes of enemies that stand in his path.
Unlike the best Diablo 2 Resurrected Sorceress build, the Barbarian’s high health pool means he’s able to take lots of incoming damage without having to worry about dying. This is the main reason why the Whirlwind build is so powerful – once you group multiple enemies together, you can blast through them instantly with the press of a button.
It’s been quite a while since Diablo 2 graced modern computers, so if you need a refresher before Resurrected launches, check out our Diablo 2 Resurrected beginner’s guide to ease your way back into the RPG game. If you’re looking for a powerful character to get through the campaign on every difficulty level, the Barbarian Whirlwind build could be for you.
Activision Blizzard is facing a lawsuit filed in July by the state of California (since expanded for QA and customer service contractors) alleging years of discrimination and harassment. Since then, CEO Bobby Kotick has called the company’s initial response “tone deaf”, employees have staged a walkout, Blizzard president J Allen Brack has left, and the ABK Workers Alliance has demanded change at the company. The lawsuit is ongoing; follow the latest developments here. In September, an agency of the US federal government opened an investigation into Activision Blizzard’s response to sexual misconduct and discrimination complaints from its employees, as part of which Kotick has reportedly been subpoenaed. The company is also facing a separate unfair labour practice suit alleging “worker intimidation and union busting” filed by a workers’ union, also in September. In another, separate development, Activision Blizzard reached an agreement with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission “to settle claims and to further strengthen policies and programs to prevent harassment and discrimination”. In a subsequent letter to employees, the company has announced an end to forced arbitration, a $250 million initiative to improve diversity, and a major pay cut for Kotick.
DIABLO 2 RESURRECTED BARBARIAN ‘WHIRLWIND’ BUILD
This build is fairly simple to play as the Whirlwind ability does a lot of the hard work for you, though you still need to strategise before heading into battle. Battle Orders and Shout are abilities that use up a lot of skill points, providing you with massive defensive buffs to ensure you can tank plenty of incoming damage. Be sure to activate both of these abilities before a fight to improve your stats drastically. We’ve also put a lot of points into passive skills like Sword Mastery, Natural Resistance, and Iron Skin to take our Barbarian beyond the limits of stat points.
To get the most out of the Whirlwind ability, you need to use this skill in short bursts. Whirlwind hits enemies on specific frames – using this ability in bursts ensures you’re dealing the maximum amount of damage possible thanks to its short animation. It’s also important to attack in a triangular pattern when slicing through several enemies. The triangle shape is the most optimal pattern as enemies struggle to escape the danger zone.
WHIRLWIND STATS
The majority of our stat points go towards increasing the Barbarian’s vitality, not strength, contrary to popular belief. While you can go the max strength route on normal difficulty, this isn’t viable on the harder difficulties as you won’t have enough health to survive. To wield the indestructible Phase Blades, we’re going to need 136 points in dexterity. Don’t put any points into energy, as you can always refill your mana using potions.
WHIRLWIND SKILLS
Here are all of the skills you need to level up for the Diablo 2 Resurrected Whirlwind build:
- Whirlwind – 20
- Battle Orders – 20
- Shout – 20
- Sword Mastery – 20
- Iron Skin – 5
- Natural Resistance – 5
- Increased Speed – 5
- Battle Command – 1
- Berserk – 1
Whirlwind Equipment
- Weapons – Phase Blade equipped with Grief (Eth, Tir, Lo, Mal, and Ral runes)
- Helm – Guillaume’s Face
- Armor – Dusk Shroud equipped with Enigma (Jah, Ith, and Ber runes)
- Belt – String of Ears
- Rings – Raven Frost and Wraith Hold
- Amulet – Highlord’s Wrath
- Gloves – Laying of Hands
- Boots – Gore Rider
- Charms – Hellfire Torch, Annihilus, and any charms that add maximum damage or attack rating stats
The bulk of this equipment helps to further the Barbarian’s goal of dealing damage primarily with Whirlwind. Highlord’s Wrath increases the Barbarian’s attack speed and adds a 36% chance to land a deadly strike, dealing twice the amount of damage in one blow; mighty impressive for an amulet. The Raven Frost ring adds hundreds to our attack rating to deal more damage and prevents the Barbarian from being frozen, whereas the Wraith Hold ring adds 4% lifesteal to every attack.
Whirlwind Hireling
Similarly to the best Diablo 2 Resurrected Paladin build, we’re going to recruit the mercenary from act two. With the below items equipped, the mercenary becomes a valuable member of the party as it can finally hold its own. The mercenary’s attack can occasionally cast Decrepify, giving Whirlwind an additional damage boost.
- Weapon – The Reaper’s Toll equipped with the Ohm rune
- Armor – Mage Plate equipped with Treachery (Shael, Thul, and Lem runes)
- Helm – Vampire Gaze equipped with Cham
That’s all you need to know to build the best Barbarian build in Diablo 2 Resurrected. Gathering all of the experience points and fancy pieces of equipment for this build is no easy task, but no one ever said building the best melee class in the game was going to be easy. Don’t forget to check out our Diablo 2 Resurrected Horadric Cube recipes guide if you ever need to discover what the magical device can do.
Loving the new game? Check our guides to the best Diablo 4 builds and Diablo 4 classes.