This is a Build used specifically for leveling your Barbarian. It centers around doing AoE damage to clear enemies quickly while leveling and getting gear for your main Build.
Leveling builds are a great way to expedite your character to finish the campaign and reach level 50. From there, you can work on setting your Barbarian up with optimal armor and weapons for your preferred Build to prepare for the more challenging levels.
Skills
- Raise Skeleton – use this to raise a small army that will help you on your leveling journey.
- Blood Mist – gives you Immunity for dangerous situations.
- Iron Maiden – helps with keeping you Essence high.
- Blood Surge – your primary form of damage. Deals AoE damage while also healing you.
- Corpse Tendrils – will gather all enemies together, as well as Crowd Controlling them.
- Bone Storm – gives a boost to both damage and survivability.
Passives
Once you unlock your Key Passive, you’ll want to get Rathma’s Vigor, as it will boost the power of your Blood Surge.
Passive to pick up while leveling:
- Gruesome Mending, Drain Vitality, Necrotic Carapace, and Stand Alone will increase survivability.
- Imperfectly Balanced, Fueled by Death, Death’s Embrace, Amplify Damage, Coalesced Blood, Tides of Blood, Inspiring Leader, and Memento Mori will boost your damage.
- Death’s Approach and Reaper’s Pursuit will help with mobility.
- Unliving Energy, Hewed Flesh, and Grim Harvest will help with Essence and Corpse generation.
Book of the Dead
You will want to make the following choices in your Book of the Dead as you level:
- Skirmisher Skeletal Warriors (Sacrifice) – gives a boost to your Critical Strike Chance.
- Cold Skeletal Mages (1st Upgrade) – gives you another form of Essence generation, as well as freezing enemies.
- Iron Golem (Sacrifice) – gives a boost to your Critical Strike Damage.
What’s Next
Once you reach level 50, you can start working towards an endgame Build: these Builds focus on being able to survive and clear endgame content. You can either make adjustments to this Build to make one focused around Blood Surge, or you can respec your character entirely to start working towards a completely different Build you like.
