Best Barbarian Skills

The Barbarian’s specialization in melee combat shows in their Skills, as all of their damaging attack are either done at melee range, or close the gap between them and their enemies. While Skill tiers such as Core and Weapon Mastery focus on offensive moves, they can gain some supportive abilities and even tank with Skills from the Defensive and Brawling tiers.

Their Mount Skill is Bounding Slam. It allows them to leap from their mount and pummel the ground twice, dealing 112% damage and Stunning enemies.

Tips

All damaging Skills deal Physical damage.
Many of the Barbarian’s Skills will allow you to choose what weapon you wield while using it.
- This can be chosen in the Skills tab.
Some Skills will require you to use a specific weapon, so be mindful of those if you wish to focus on a specific weapon type.
For Skills that allow you to execute with different weapon types, make sure to choose which weapon you want. The weapon will be auto by default, meaning that the Skill can be used with the weapon you don’t want.
All Skills (besides the ones in the Ultimate tier) will have an Enhancement and two Upgrades.
- Only one Upgrade per Skill can be chosen, and the Enhancement must be learned first.

Once you reach level 50 in Diablo 4, it’s time to figure out your Build, and the first step in that is determining what Skills you want to focus on. Your Skills will determine which weapons and armor you will want to go for, as well as what your rotation and approach will be, so picking the right set can be important.

While some Skills will be for specific Builds (and will often become their focus), other Skills are a staple for just about every Barbarian.

Best Basic Skills

Lunging Strike

Best Build: Rend Build, Walking Arsenal Build, and Upheaval Build
This move will be used to act as a gap closer and to reposition yourself when needed. It will also grant you Fury and heal you.

Best Core Skills

Rend

Best Build: Rend Build
This will be one of your primary Skills for this Build, and will cause any enemy it hits to Bleed. With enhancements, it will also extend the duration of Vulnerable on enemies, and well as do more damage to Vulnerable enemies.

Hammer of the Ancients

Best Build: Hammer of the Ancients Build
This will be the primary Skill for this Build. This will essentially act as a large AoE attack.

Upheaval

Best Build: Walking Arsenal Build and Upheaval Build
This will be the primary Skill for the Upheaval Build, and one of the many attacks used in the Walking Arsenal Build. It is a powerful AoE attack that can also Stun enemies.

Double Swing

Best Build: Double Swing Build
This will be the primary Skill for this Build. Not only will it damage everyone in front of you, bit it will summon Dust Devils (with the Windlasher Aspect equipped), and will help keep your Berserk up.

Best Defensive Skills

War Cry

Best Build: Hammer of the Ancients Build
This shout will provide a boost of damage for this Build, as well as an easy way to gain Berserking.

Ground Stomp

Best Build: Double Swing Build
This move combos well with Double Swing, as Ground Stomp will Stun enemies, allowing Double Swing to refund some Fury when used.

Challenging Shout

Best Build: Hammer of the Ancients Build, Upheaval Build, Double Swing Build
A great shout for AoE focused Builds, this will not only group enemies up, but will give a huge boost in survivability.

Rallying Cry

Best Build: All
A staple for all Barbarians, this shout will give you Movement Speed, Fury regen, and Unstoppable.

Best Brawling Skills

Charge

Best Build: All
A staple for all Barbarians, this gives you a great source of mobility, as well as making you Unstoppable.

Best Weapon Mastery Skills

Rupture

Best Build: Rend Build
One of the primary Skills for this Build. It deals massive damage to Bleeding enemies, and will increase your Attack Speed, allowing you to quickly make enemies Bleed again afterwards.

Death Blow

Best Build: Walking Arsenal Build
One of the many attacks used in this Build, this Skill is a great finisher, and will give you Berserking, as well as your 2-Handed Slashing Weapon Buff from Walking Arsenal.

Best Ultimate Skills

Iron Maelstrom

Best Build: Walking Arsenal Build
The primary Skill for this Build. This massive AoE attack allows you to take advantage of all of your weapons.

Wrath of the Berserker

Best Build: All except the Walking Arsenal Build
The Standard Ultimate for just about every Build, this loaded buff gives you Berserking, Unstoppable, Movement Speed, and Fury regen, all in one.

Full Barbarian Skill List

As the name implies, these are your most basic Skills that will allow you to generate Fury. These attacks can also apply debuffs to enemies.

Name	Max Rank	Weapon Used	Description	Enhancement	Upgrade 1 (Battle)	Upgrade 2 (Combat)
Flay	5	Slashing	Flay the enemy dealing 5% damage. Inflicts 40% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds	Flay has a 15% chance to make the enemy Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Double this chance when using a Two-Handed Weapon.	When Flay deals direct damage to an enemy, they take 10% increased Bleeding damage for the next 3 seconds.	When Flay deals direct damage to an enemy, you gain 3% damage reduction and 4 Thorns for 3 seconds. This stacks up to 4 times.
Bash	5	Any	Bash the enemy with your Weapon, dealing 30% 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.	Damaging a Stunned enemy with Bash grants you 20% Base Life as Fortify. Double this amount when using a Two-Handed Weapon.	Damaging a Stunned enemy with Bash generates and additional 3 Fury, or 4 if using a Two-Handed Weapon.	After Critically Striking 4 times with Bash using a Two-Handed Weapon, your next Core or Mastery Skill will Overpower.
Lunging Strike	5	Any	Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 33% damage.	Lunging Strike deals 30% increased damage and heals you for 2% Maximum Life when it damages a Healthy enemy.	Lunging Strike also inflicts 20% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.	Critical Strikes with Lunging Strike grant you Berserking for 1.5 seconds.
Frenzy	5	Dual Wield	Unleash a rapid flurry of blows, dealing 22% damage with each pair of hits. If Frenzy hits an enemy, its Attack Speed is increased by 20% for 3 seconds, up to 60%.	While Frenzy is granting 60% bonus Attack Speed, it also generates 2 additional Fury.	While Berserking, your other Skills gain 5% Attack Speed for each stack of Frenzy you have.	You gain 8% Damage Reduction for each stack of Frenzy you currently have.

These Skills will be the Barbarian’s primary damage dealer. While costing a lot of Fury, they will deal much more damage than Basic Skills.

Name	Skill/Passive	Max Rank	Weapon Used	Description	Enhancement	Upgrade 1 (Violent)	Upgrade 2 (Furious)
Rend	Skill	5	Slashing	Cleave enemies in front of you, dealing 12% damage and inflicting 96% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.	Dealing direct damage with Rend extends the duration of Vulnerable on enemies by 2 seconds.	Rend deals 12% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.	Direct damage with Rend grants 4 Fury per enemy hit, up to a maximum of 20 Fury.
Hammer of the Ancients	Skill	5	2-Handed Bludgeoning	Slam your hammer down with the fury of the Ancients, dealing 50% damage to a concentrated area.	Gain 3% more Fury for 5 seconds for each enemy damaged by Hammer of the Ancients, stacking up to 10 times.	After Overpowering with Hammer of the Ancients, you deal 30% more damage for 5 seconds.	Hammer of the Ancients deals 1% additional damage for each point of Fury you had when using it.
Upheaval	Skill	5	2-Handed	Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% damage.	Upheaval has a 20% chance to Stun all enemies it damages for 2.5 seconds.	If Upheaval deals damage to at least 2 enemies or a boss, you gain Berserking for 2 seconds, increased to 3 seconds if it damages at least 4 enemies.	Dealing direct damage to an enemy with a Skill that is not Upheaval causes your next cast of Upheaval to deal 5% increased damage, stacking up to 10 times.
Whirlwind	Skill	5	Any	Rapidly attack surrounding enemies for 16% damage.	Gain 1 Fury each time Whirlwind deals direct damage to an enemy, or 4 Fury against Elite enemies.	After using Whirlwind for 2 seconds, Whirlwind deals 30% increased damage until it is canceled.	While using a Slashing weapon, Whirlwind also inflicts 40% of its Base damage as Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
Double Swing	Skill	5	Dual Wield	Sweep your weapons from opposite directions, dealing 50% damage with each weapon. Enemies caught in the center are damaged by both.	If Double Swing damages a Stunned or Knocked Down enemy, gain 25 Fury.	Hitting an enemy with both hits of Double Swing makes them Vulnerable for 2 seconds.	Casting Double Swing while Berserking grants 2 additional seconds of Berserking.
Pressure Point	Passive	3	–	Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.	–	–	–
Endless Fury	Passive	3	–	Basic Skills generate 5% more Fury when using Two-Handed Weapons.	–	–	–

These Skills will boost the defensive capabilities of the Barbarian. None of these Skills use your weapons.

Name	Skill/Passive	Max Rank	Description	Enhancement	Upgrade 1 (Tactical)	Upgrade 2 (Strategic)
Ground Stomp	Skill	5	Smash the ground, dealing 10% damage and Stunning surrounding enemies for 3 seconds.	Increase Ground Stomp’s duration by 1 second.	Ground Stomp generates 40 Fury.	Reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate skill by 1 second for each enemy damaged by Ground Stomp.
Challenging Shout	Skill	5	Taunt nearby enemies and gain 40% Damage Reduction for 6 seconds.	While Challenging Shout is active, gain 20% bonus Maximum Life.	While Challenging Shout is active you gain 3 Fury each time you take damage.	While Challenging Shout is active, gain Thorns equal to 30% of your Maximum Life.
Iron Skin	Skill	5	Steel yourself, gaining a Barrier that absorbs 50% of your missing Life for 5 seconds.	Iron Skin’s Barrier absorbs 20% more of your Missing Life.	While Iron Skin is active, Heal for 10% of the Barrier’s original amount per second.	Iron Skin also grants 15% Base Life as Fortify. Double this amount if cast while below 50% Life.
Rallying Cry	Skill	5	Bellow a rallying cry, increasing your Movement Speed by 30% and Resource Generation by 40% for 6 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3 seconds.	Rallying Cry grants you Unstoppable while active.	Rallying Cry generates 20 Fury and grants you an additional 20% Resource Generation.	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.
Imposing Presence	Passive	3	Gain 5% additional Maximum Life.	–	–	–
Martial Vigor (requires 1 point in Imposing Presence)	Passive	3	Damage Reduction against Elites is increased by 3%.	–	–	–
Outburst	Passive	3	Gain 2 Thorns. Also gain 1 Thorns for each 4 bonus Maximum Life you have.	–	–	–
Tough As Nails (requires 1 point in Outburst)	Passive	3	Increase your Thorns by 3%. When enemies hit you, they take an additional 10% of your Thorns as Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.	–	–	–

These Skills will give the Barbarian various forms of utility. None of these Skills use your weapons.

Name	Skill/Passive	Max Rank	Description	Enhancement	Upgrade 1 (Mighty)	Upgrade 2 (Power)
War Cry	Skill	5	Bellow a mighty war cry, increasing your damage dealt by 15% for 6.0 seconds, and nearby allies for 4.0 seconds.	War Cry grants you Berserking for 4 seconds.	War Cry grants 15% Base Life as Fortify.	If at least 6 enemies are Nearby when War Cry is cast, your damage bonus is increased by 10%.
Kick	Skill	5	Throw a powerful kick that deals 18% damage and Knocks Back enemies in front of you. Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain take an additional 70% damage and are Stunned for 3 seconds.	Damaging enemies with Kick makes them Vulnerable for 4 seconds.	Kicked enemies deal 54% damage to enemies they collide with while being Knocked Back. Enemies damaged this way are Knocked Down for 2 seconds.	If Kick damages an enemy, it consumes all of your Fury and deals an additional 20% damage per 10 Fury spent. Kick no longer Knocks Back enemies.
Leap	Skill	5	Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 63% damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact.	If Leap doesn’t damage any enemies, its Cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.	Enemies damaged by Leap are slowed by 70% for 5 seconds.	If Leap damages at least one enemy, gain 40 Fury.
Charge	Skill	5	Become Unstoppable and rush forward, pushing enemies with you then swinging through them for 250% damage and Knocking them Back.	Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain by Charge take 150% damage and are Stunned for 3 seconds.	Damaging enemies with Charge makes them Vulnerable for 4 seconds.	Reduce Charge’s Cooldown by 3 seconds if it Knocks Back an enemy, up to 9 seconds for three enemies. Charge’s Cooldown will go down by 6 seconds if hitting a boss.
Swiftness	Passive	3	Movement Speed is increased by 4%.	–	–	–
Quick Impulses (requires 1 point in Swiftness)	Passive	3	Reduce the duration of Control Impairing Effects by 6%.	–	–	–
Aggressive Resistance	Passive	3	Gain 4% Damage Reduction while Berserking.	–	–	–
Prolific Fury (requires 1 point in Aggressive Resistance)	Passive	3	While Berserking, Fury Generation is increased by 6%.	–	–	–
Battle Fervor (requires 1 point in Aggressive Resistance)	Passive	3	When a Brawling Skill damages at least one enemy, gain Berserking for 1 second.	–	–	–
Booming Voice	Passive	3	Shout Skill durations are increased by 8%.	–	–	–
Guttural Yell (requires 1 point in Booming Voice)	Passive	3	Your Shout Skills cause enemies to deal 4% less damage for 5 seconds.	–	–	–
Raid Leader (requires 1 point in Booming Voice)	Passive	3	Your Shouts also Heal allies for 1% of their Maximum Life per second.	–	–	–

These cooldown-based attacks allow the Barbarian to deal large damage.

Name	Skill/Passive	Max Rank	Weapon Used	Description	Enhancement	Upgrade 1 (Warrior)	Upgrade 2 (Fighter)
Rupture	Skill	5	Slashing	Skewer enemies in front of you, dealing 13% damage, then rip your weapon out, damaging enemies for their total Bleeding amount and removing all Bleeding damage from them.	Ripping your weapon out of enemies during Rupture causes an explosion that deals 70% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.	Hitting enemies with Rupture increases your Attack Speed by 30% for 5 seconds.	Hitting at least 1 enemy with Rupture Heals you for 18% of your Maximum Life.
Death Blow	Skill	5	Any	Attempt a killing strike, dealing 120% damage to enemies in front of you. If this kills an enemy, the Cooldown is reset.	Death Blow deals 150% increased damage to Bosses.	If Death Blow damages at least one enemy, gain Berserking for 3 seconds.	If Death Blow damages at least one enemy, gain 20 Fury.
Steel Grasp	Skill	5	Any	Throw out a trio of chains that deal 23% damage and Pull In enemies.	Steel Grasp also makes enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.	Steel Grasp gains 1 additional Charge.	If Steel Grasp damages an enemy, gain Berserking for 2 seconds.
Pit Fighter	Passive	3	–	You deal 3% increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2% Distant Damage Reduction.	–	–	–
No Mercy (requires 1 point in Pit Fighter)	Passive	3	–	You deal 3% increased Critical Strike chance against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.	–	–	–
Slaying Strike (requires 1 point in Pit Fighter)	Passive	3	–	You deal 8% increased damage against Injured enemies.	–	–	–
Expose Vulnerability (requires 1 point in No Mercy or Slaying Strike)	Passive	3	–	Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery Skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1 seconds.	–	–	–
Hamstring	Passive	3	–	Your Bleeding effects Slow Healthy enemies by 20%.	–	–	–
Cut to the Bone (requires 1 point in Hamstring)	Passive	3	–	Your Bleeding effects deal 5% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.	–	–	–
Thick Skin	Passive	3	–	Each time you take direct damage gain 0.4% Base Life as Fortify.	–	–	–
Counteroffensive (requires 1 point in Thick Skin)	Passive	3	–	While you have Fortify for over 50% of your Maximum Life, you deal 4% increased damage.	–	–	–
Defensive Stance (requires 1 point in Thick Skin)	Passive	3	–	Increase the Damage Reduction gained while you are Fortified by an additional 2%.	–	–	–

These are high impact Skills with long cooldowns. Unlike the other Skills, these have a two-step linear upgrade path. You can only choose one Skill from this tree. However, you are free to pick as many Passives you want, just like in all of the previous tiers.

Name	Skill/Passive	Max Rank	Weapon Used	Description	Upgrade 1	Upgrade 2
Wrath of the Berserker	Skill	1	None	Explode into rage, Knocking Back surrounding enemies and gaining Berserking and Unstoppable for 5 seconds. For the next 10 seconds, dealing direct damage with Basic Skills grants Berserking for 5 seconds.	While Wrath of the Berserker is active, gain 20% increased Movement Speed and increase Fury Generation by 30%.	While Wrath of the Berserker is active, every 50 Fury you spend increases Berserk’s damage bonus by 25%.
Iron Maelstrom	Skill	1	All	Activate three times to attach a chains to each of your weapons and perform an attack: First, your Two-Handed Bludgeoning weapon slams into the ground, dealing 60% damage and Stunning them for 2 seconds. Next, your Two-Handed Slashing weapon swipes in front of you, dealing 20% damage and 120% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Finally, your Dual Wield weapons swing around you, dealing 33% damage per hit.	Iron Maelstrom gains 30% increased Critical Strike Chance and deals 40% increased Critical Strike Damage.	Dealing direct damage to an enemy after swapping weapons reduces Iron Maelstrom’s Cooldown by 1 second.
Call of the Ancients	Skill	1	None	Call upon 3 Ancients to aid you in battle for 6 seconds. Korlic leaps at enemies, dealing 104% damage and swings his Weapon in a frenzy, dealing 39% damage per hit. Talic spins in a whirlwind rapidly attacking enemies for 65% damage. Madawc upheaves the ground dealing 195% damage.	While Call of the Ancients is active, gain 20% increased Attack Speed and 10% increased damage.	Each of the Ancients gains additional power: Korlic: You gain 10 Fury each time Korlic damages an enemy with his 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.
Wallop	Passive	3	–	Your Skills using Bludgeoning Weapons deal 5% increased damage if the enemy is Stunned or Vulnerable.	–	–
Concussion (requires 1 point in Wallop)	Passive	3	–	Lucky Hit: Skills using Bludgeoning Weapons have up to a 10% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds, or up to a 15% chance when using a Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapon.	–	–
Heavy Handed	Passive	3	–	While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5% increased Critical Strike Damage.	–	–
Brute Force (requires 1 point in Wallop or Heavy Handed)	Passive	3	–	Your Overpowers deal 8% increased damage when using a Two-Handed Weapon.	–	–
Duelist	Passive	3	–	Attack Speed is increased by 3% while using One-Handed weapons.	–	–
Tempered Fury	Passive	3	–	Increase your Maximum Fury by 3.	–	–
Invigorating Fury (requires 1 point in Tempered Fury)	Passive	3	–	Heal for 3% of your Maximum Life for each 100 Fury spent.	–	–
Furious Impulse (requires 1 point in Tempered Fury)	Passive	3	–	Each time you swap Weapons, gain 2 Fury.	–	–

These are powerful passives that will likely define your Barbarian’s overall playstyle. Only one of these passives can be chosen.

Name	Max Rank	Description
Unconstrained	1	Increase Berserk’s maximum duration by 5 seconds and increase its damage bonus by 100%.
Walking Arsenal	1	Dealing direct damage with a Two-Handed Bludgeoning, Two-Handed Slashing or Dual Wielded weapons grants 10% increased damage for 10 seconds. While all three damage bonuses are active you gain an additional 20% increased damage and Attack Speed.
Unbridled Rage	1	Core Skills deal 135% increased damage, but cost 100% more Fury.
Gushing Wounds	1	When causing an enemy to Bleed, you have a chance equal to your Critical Strike Chance to increase the Bleed amount by 140% of your Critical Strike Damage bonus. Overpowering a Bleeding enemy creates an explosion that deals 85% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.