21.06.2023
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Whirlwind Barbarian build in Diablo 4
As everyone knows, all dogs go to heaven and all Diablo 4 players go to... hell, yeah right! And it's especially so for those of us who have already reached the high-end content. This blog post will deal with one of the best high-end builds in the game right now: the amazing Whirlwind Barbarian. Although it looks like something you can see on a circus poster, in reality this build is no laughing matter. It's real deal, rough and tough, and quite deadly for anyone in the way. Similar to the Red Cyclon Zangief from Street Fighter, you will wreck havoc to all the surroundings without ever stopping spinning. Pain and damage are guaranteed for everyone who's unwise enough to approach. Does it all sound appealing to you? If so, let's get right into the build's details!
Who is this build for?
Let's start with figuring out if this humble guide is worth your time. Just like any other build in the game, the Whirlwind Barbarian is good for particular purposes. While it might excel in some aspects it can also suck big time in others.
Most Diablo 4-themed websites rate the Whirlwind build as exceptionally good for the endgame and we wholly agree with that. We'll also add that it's perfect for beginners who have, probably, never experienced Diablo-like games' most challenging content. In DIablo 4 it includes Nightmare Dungeons, for example. What makes it so accessible is the core ability: whirlwind. You will do lots of damage by just channeling it and moving around while it's active. This doesn't sound difficult, does it?
However, the build is not limited to that and we'll talk about the rotation of it in more detail later. But what you should know now is that there's plenty of utility for you to get yourself out of the direst situations as well as to help your teammates do the same. Hence the Whirlwind Barbarian should be seen as a strong team player too.
Speed-farming stuff is also a breeze with the Whirlwind as, again, you've got plenty of mobility and utility. And you don't have to rely on complex rotations or combos to deliver lots of AOE damage. Whirlwind takes care of it all.
There are some cons for this build, however. You shouldn't use it as your leveling setup as it noticeably loses to Rend and HotA Barbs in effectiveness and survivability when you're not geared well enough. And you never are during leveling. Honestly, Barbarian has a hard time dealing with leveling up as it is. You should make sure to have the right build for it not to end up dying all the time and having no fun with it at all. It's not what you want, is it?
Okay, so to sum up. Here are pros and cons of the build:
Pros
- Strong in endgame (like dungeons)
- Makes speedfarming easy
- Accessible to new players
- Great for teamplay
Cons
- Not the best pick for leveling
So the pros greatly outweigh the cons. If you've already finished the story, going full whirlwind is a no-brainer. It's the perfect first build to try as a barbarian upon reaching the endgame.
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What is the idea of this build?
The summary of what you are supposed to do as a Whirlwind Barbarian is as follows:
- Activate these 3 buffs: Rallying Cry (+ movement speed & resource generation), War Cry (+ damage), and Challenging Shout (+ damage reduction & taunt)
- Use Wrath of the Berserker to apply Berserking (+ movement speed & damage) and Unstoppable (avoid control) effects
- Start spinning with your Whirlwind. Make sure to apply the buffs before it to deal as much damage as possible without interrupting the channelling
So your skill set should look like this:
- War Cry
- Rallying Cry
- Challenging Shout
- Wrath of the Berserker
- Iron Skin OR Lunging Strike
- Whirlwind
The choice between Iron Skin or Lunging Strike should depend on what you feel your particular character needs more: if you think that you need more resilience since you lose HP fast, go for the Iron Strike. Some experts say that it's the preferable option. However, we'd say that it's up to you as you might be sure that you lack attack options and fury generation – in this case, the Lunging Strike is your better pick between these two.
Speaking of attack options, you will indeed have few of them since the main idea of the build, as its name suggests, is spinning. You are not expected to use complicated combos to deliver this build's potential. No, far from that! Just spinning around the area, dealing damage and generating fury that you spend on renewing your buffs upon cooldown – this is the core concept here. Some would say that it doesn't sound fun. And indeed there are builds that require more involvement on your side. But if you're not among players who are up for extra challenge, this is your build for sure.
Here's a lovely brief video guide about the build and the abilities in particular:
What weapons should I use?
The best 2 picks for your Arsenal system would be 2-handed swords and 2-handed axes. The swords inflict bleeding by default and have lots of Crit Damage options. Those are reasons to rely on swords as your primary weapon and that's exactly what you're expected to do in the Whirlwind build. 2-handed axes should be used for your technique slot as with them you will greatly increase your damage against vulnerable enemies (+15% is no joke!).
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What items does this build use?
Oh boy, this is always a tough question in Diablo 4. There are so many items and so many aspects. First of all, here are the Codex of Power's aspects that will be of particular use to you (source is given in the parentheses):
- Aspect of Berserk Ripping (Mournfield, Dry Steppes)
- Aspect of Disobedience (Halls of the Damned, Kehjistan)
- Aspect of Echoing Fury (Siroccos Caverns, Kehjistan)
- Aspect of Numbing Wrath (Heathen's Keep, Hawezar)
- Aspect of the Dire Whirldwind (Garan Hold, Scosglen)
- Aspect of the Protector (Lost Archives, Fractured Peaks)
- Edgemaster's Aspect (Oldstones, Scosglen)
- Ghostwalker Aspect (Broken Bulwark, Scosglen)
They are more or less easy to obtain since there's not too much randomness involved. Well, obviously, collecting crafting materials is RNG-related but not to a horrible extent so it's bearable. Anyway, there are more aspects to look for – to be more precise, the legendary ones which are way more rare. Here's what to keep an eye for:
- Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind
- Bold Chieftain's Aspect
- Conceited Aspect
- Offensive Aspect of Limitless Rage
- Resource Aspect of Echoing Fury
Here's how you get the Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind for example:
There are also a couple of unique items that you should consider collecting for your endgame purposes. They are really hard to find so don't treat it as a to-do list that you'll be done with over a weekend. But then again, nothing is ever easy about endgame. So here's the list:
- Gohr's Devastating Grips (gloves)
- Harlequin Crest (helm)
- Rage of Harrogath (chest)
- The Grandfaster (2-handed sword)
In general, aim for increasing your shout uptime, additional movement speed, and Fury store. These 3 things should remain your focus during your endgame gearing as they are directly related to how much damage you make. Here's an in-depth video about Barbarian item stats:
What should I choose in the Paragon Board?
Let's take a look at the route you should take in your paragon boards. There are total 6 of them that you're gonna need to make your build complete, however, if you can get more paragon bonuses than this, you're welcome to do that.
Board 1:
- +5 Strength x3
- +5% Physical damage
- Rare Node: Brawn (+10% Physical damage)
- +2% Max life
- +5% Physical damage
- +5 Strength
- +5 Willpower
- +5 Dexterity
- +5 Strength (above Dexterity)
- Glyph Socket (Territorial)
- +5 Dexterity x2
- +50 Armor
- Rare Node: Iron Strength (+100 Armor)
- Go back to the Glyph node and a Strength common node below it and pick another +5 Strength node to the left of it
- +5 Dexterity x2
- +5 Willpower
- +7 Dexterity x2
- +5% Physical damage x2
- Rare Node: Raw Power (+10% Physical damage)
- +5% Physical damage
- +5 Intelligence
- +5 Willpower x2
Phew, that's a long one. The idea is to pick all the important stats for your class and build from particular clusters. As you see, we have 2 Physical damage clusters in the first board. We won't give you a step-by-step list of paragon board bonuses for the other 5 boards, as it will make our blog post gigantic. We will, however, give you the general idea of what to do with each of those boards.
- Board 2: Warbringer. Physical damage cluster, Maximum fury cluster, Warbringer legendary node, Socket Exploit;
- Board 3: Decimator. Vilnerable Damage cluster x2, Damage reduction cluster, Socket Imbiber;
- Board 4: Flawless Technique. Critical strike damage cluster, Damage reduction cluster, Socket Disembowel;
- Board 5: Bone Breaker. Damage reduction cluster, Socket Wrath;
- Board 6: Weapons Master. Physical damage cluster, Armor cluster, Elite damage cluster, Socket Marshal
If you want to see what it all looks like, check out this video which describes the paragon board build in detail:
There are, of course, variations of this build in terms of how you should arrange your paragon boards. Some players recommend the build we've given above as an endgame option only. And before you have enough good gear to do some truly challenging endgame activities, you should consider building your barbarian in a slightly different way. Perhaps there are other solid options indeed but we can't collect all of them here, so if you decide to digress from the steps given above, no problem with that! This is your champion after all and if you think that you should make something about it more comfortable for yourself, then you should indeed!
Need pro's advice?
If you can't find your way through these multitudes of Paragon nodes or need any other help with building your barbarian, consider consulting with our pro during a coaching session! Not only will our pro tell you how you should build your character, but also they will show you how to use your barb to the fullest! View our Diablo 4 coaching!
What about glyphs?
We've already mentioned glyphs in passing in the previous section. Glyphs are special bonuses that you can get from your paragon boards. Each board usually has one such glyph socket. Let's get to know 6 of your glyphs better:
- Exploit. +1.5% Damage to Vulnerable targets for each 5 Dexterity nodes purchased within this node's range ("range" here and below refers to the range in paragon boards which is a red circle around glyph sockets). Make enemies Vulnerable for 3 sec by attacking them (cooldown 20 sec).
- Wrath. +2.3% Critical Damage for your core abilities for each 5 Dexterity nodes within the range. Generate 3 Fury with your Crit Strikes made with core skills.
- Marshal. +25% bonus to all Magic nodes within the range. Reduce active cooldowns of your other Shout skills by 1.2 sec after casting a Shout skill.
- Territorial. +3% Damage to Close targets for each 5 Dexterity node within the range. Get 10% Damage Reduction against Close enemies.
- Disembowel. +3% Bleeding damage for each 5 Willpower node within the range. Reduce active cooldowns of your non-ultimate skills by 1 sec after killing a bleeding enemy (not guaranteed, you just get a chance to do it).
- Imbiber. +4% Damage while Healthy for every 5 Willpower node within the range. Get 30% increase to your Potion Healing.
The order is important since that's how you should have them. It's important not only for the final picture but also for your progress towards it as you will have some of these glyphs sooner than others and, consequently, will have to play with them longer than with those that are closer to the end of the list.
***
That's all the basic information that you should have about this Barbarian build. It's not little, so you'll have to spend some time wrapping your head around it, but it's well worth your time since you will have a better idea of what your champion can do well and how you do it.
However, you might not want to spend all your spare time on trying to make some sense out of all this – that's understandable. It's possible to just hire someone to build your character for you – and you'll just play it without getting too much into detail. That someone can be us as we have a great team of Diablo 4 pros that have built lots of champions like this before. The Whirlwind Barbarian is a quite popular build so it won't be a difficult task for us. If you want to save lots of time and get a powerful spinning machine of destruction – go ahead, get in touch of us to learn more or just view the dedicated boost service page!
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