The Frenzy Thorns Barbarian is one of the class’ most powerful builds in Diablo 4 Season 6. Here’s how to get it up and running.
Diablo 4 has enabled a plethora of new builds thanks to the arrival of Vessel of Hatred and the simultaneous launch of Season 6. Each of the game’s five classes got some new skills and a Key Passive for the Barbarian is the lynchpin to this one.
The Frenzy Thorns Barbarian has bumped all the way up to the top of our tier list of builds for the class. Nobody will want to get too close to you with the unique damage method it employs.
If you’re looking to set up a Frenzy Thorns Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 6, this guide will break down the best gear and skills to get it going.
It can be easy to dismiss the Frenzy Thorns Barbarian as a build that just relies on letting enemies whale on you. However, thanks to the new Barbed Carapace Key Passive introduced in Diablo 4 Season 6, we now have a more active way of dealing your Thorns damage to monsters and bosses.
Of course, you’ll still need to build up some pretty solid defenses because Barbed Carapace gives you a close-range aura of damage meaning you’ll be in the thick of mobs. Passives like Outburst give you a bonus to Thorns for stacking sources of Fortify which creates a synergistic loop of defensive buffs and offensive output.
When you’ve increased your Thorns to their absolute limit, you’ll use Steel Grasp to yank in enemies and watch them die for existing too close to you.
Best Frenzy Thorns Barbarian skills
With the new level cap of 60 and the Skill Points afforded by grinding renown, you should have a total of 72 to invest in your Frenzy Thorns Barbarian build for Diablo 4. These are the ones we recommend.
Active Skills
| Active Skill | Upgrades | Points Allocated |
| Bash | Enhanced, Combat | 1 |
| Hammer of the Ancients | Enhanced, Violent | 1 |
| Challenging Shout | Enhanced, Strategic | 1 |
| War Cry | Enhanced, Power | 5 |
| Steel Grasp | Enhanced, Fighter’s | 1 |
| Wrath of the Berserker | Prime, Supreme | 5 |
Passive Skills
| Passive Skill | Points Allocated |
| Warpath | 3 |
| Endless Fury | 1 |
| Tough as Nails | 3 |
| Martial Vigour | 3 |
| Imposing Presence | 3 |
| Belligerence | 3 |
| Outburst | 1 |
| Raid Leader | 3 |
| Booming Voice | 3 |
| Guttural Yell | 3 |
| Aggressive Resistance | 3 |
| Prolific Fury | 1 |
| Pit Fighter | 3 |
| Slaying Strike | 3 |
| Thick Skin | 3 |
| Counteroffensive | 3 |
| Irrepressible | 3 |
| Barbed Carapace | Key Passive |
Best Arsenal setup for Frenzy Thorns Barbarian
The Barbarian’s Arsenal mechanic allows you to assign different weapons to different skills. It’s especially useful for proccing buffs from Passive Skills or Legendary Aspects that reward you for ‘Swapping Weapons’.
Using a particular type of weapon will upgrade a passive boost that affects that weapon for up to 10 levels. For this build, you’ll assign Bash and Hammer of the Ancients to a Two-Handed Mace as both skills require that weapon. You’ll gain a chance to generate an extra five Fury on hit, or 10 Fury if you are Berserking.
You can add a specific weapon type to the Technique Slot and apply its buff to all of your weapons. For the Frenzy Thorns Barbarian, we suggest the Two-Handed Axe which causes all your attacks to deal increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Best Frenzy Thorns Barbarian skill rotation
This is the best rotation for an endgame Frenzy Thorns Barbarian in Diablo 4.
- Wrath of the Berserker
- Challenging Shout
- War Cry
- Steel Grasp
- Bash
- Hammer of the Ancients
You’ll want to begin every encounter by popping your Wrath of the Berserker and Shout skills because activating them in the middle of a mob will push enemies away and out of range of your Thorns aura. Thanks to some handy cooldown reductions, you should be able to cycle these almost constantly so you’re always taking advantage of their buffs and increases to Thorns damage.
Once the Shouts are online, use Steel Grasp to pull surrounding enemies into your Thorns aura and make them vulnerable. Thanks to your Barbed Carapace Key Passive, you’ll be dealing constant damage to them based on how many Thorns you have stacked.
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As the enemy’s health is being whittled away, spam your Combat Bash which will give you a guaranteed Overpower after four Critical Strikes with the skill. Once you’ve stored your Overpower, lay the smackdown with your Violent Hammer of The Ancients, and thanks to the Overpower, you’ll now deal 40% more damage for five seconds. Yes, that includes your Thorns damage.
Best Frenzy Thorns Barbarian Legendary Aspects
As you’re building up to your optimized Frenzy Thorns Barbarian build for Diablo 4 and waiting for key Uniques to drop, focus on tracking down these important Legendary Aspects for the build.
| Aspect | Power | Dungeon | Region | Obol Gamble |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needleflare Aspect | Thorns damage dealt has a [25-45%] chance to deal damage to all enemies around you and your minions. | Yshari Sanctum | Khejistan | One-Handed |
| Aspect of Bul-Kathos | Leap creates an Earthquake that deals [27-43] Physical damage over 4 seconds. While standing in Earthquakes, you gain [10-30]% increased Damage Reduction | Light’s Refuge | Hawezar | Pants |
| Hectic Aspect | After casting 5 Basic Skills, one of your active Cooldowns is reduced by [1-2.5] seconds | Salvage from found Gear | – | Boots |
| Bold Chieftain’s Aspect | Whenever you cast a Shout Skill, its Cooldown is reduced by [10.0-30.0] seconds per Nearby enemy, up to a maximum of 6 seconds. | Salvage from found Gear | – | Rings |
| Rapid Aspect | Basic Skills gain [15-35%] [+]Attack Speed | Buried Halls | Dry Steppes | One – Handed |
Best Frenzy Thorns Barbarian Paragon Boards and Glyphs
Once you hit Level 60, Skill points become a thing of the past, and Paragon Points take over.
This system makes you pick upgrades from themed boards loaded with buffs. Each path is unique, but the upside is you can tweak your Upheaval Barbarian build with specific Boards and Glyphs to boost your build exactly how you want in Diablo 4.
Paragon Board progression
For your Frenzy Thorns Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 6, you should unlock the following Paragon Boards in the indicated order:
- Starting Board
- Blood Rage
- Decimator
- Bone Breaker
- Force of Nature
Best Glyphs
The Paragon Glyphs below are the best ones available for this particular build. We’ve outlined which Glyphs to slot into which of the above Boards.
- Ire Level 100 (Starting Board)
- Revenge Level 100 (Blood Rage)
- Challenger Level 100 (Decimator)
- Territorial Level 100 (Bone Breaker)
- Rumble Level 100 (Force of Nature)
Best Mercenaries for Frenzy Thorns Barbarian
Vessel of Hatred introduced Mercenaries to Diablo 4 and they’ve become an integral part of build crafting. Like most Barbarians, the Frenzy Thorns build benefits the most from having Raheir as your Hired Mercenary.
Raheir’s Ground Slam and Bastion combos offer both offensive and defensive buffs with the added bonus of Slowing enemies so they have a tougher time escaping your Thorns aura.
As a Reinforcement, Aldkin is the best option for this build. Bind his Field of Languish to Steel Grasp to Slow and reduce the damage of enemies you pull inward.
Best Frenzy Thorns Barbarian gear and Runewords
Like most endgame builds, the Frenzy Thorns Barbarian in Diablo 4 does rely on some Uniques for true optimization. You should also note that while certain Aspects related to Earthquakes rely on Skills that aren’t equipped in the Action Bar, their real benefit comes from proccing Earthquakes with the LithTec Runeword combo.
| Item | Socket | Item type | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ugly Bastard Helm | 2 Rubies | Helm | Casting Wrath of the Berserker causes you to explode, dealing [150 – 450] Fire damage. While Berserking, all damage you would deal is converted into Fire. You deal [10 – 30]%[x] increased Fire damage. |
| Razorplate | 2 Rubies | Chest | Thorns has a 10% chance to deal [100-200]% increased damage.This Armor also adds up to 4,108 Thorns depending on Affixes. |
| Runic Gloves of Earthquakes | – | Gloves | Ground Stomp creates an Earthquake damaging enemies for [X] Physical Damage over 4 seconds.While standing in Earthquakes, you deal [10-25%] increased damage. |
| Runic Leggings of Bul-Kathos | 2 Rubies | Pants | Leap creates an Earthquake that deals [27-43] Physical damage over 4 seconds.While standing in Earthquakes, you gain [10-30]% increased Damage Reduction |
| Hectic Runic Cleats | – | Boots | After casting 5 Basic Skills, one of your active Cooldowns is reduced by [1-2.5] seconds |
| Needleflare Bonebreaker | YulXal – Cast a skill with a cooldown to gain 20% Maximum Life for six seconds. | Two-Handed Mace | Thorns damage dealt has a [25-45%] chance to deal damage to all enemies around you and your minions. |
| Doombringer | Sapphire | Left Hand | Lucky Hit: Up to a 25% chance to deal [X] Shadow damage to surrounding enemies and reduce their damage dealt by 20% for 5 seconds. |
| Shard of Verathiel | Sapphire | Right Hand | Basic Skills deal [50 – 200]%[x] increased damage but additionally cost 25 Primary Resource. |
| Ancient’s Oath | LithTec – Spawn an Earthquake whenever you stand still for 3 seconds in combat. | Right Hand 2 | Steel Grasp launches 2 additional chains. Enemies hit by Steel Grasp take [40 – 60]%[x] increased damage from you for 5 seconds. |
| Ocelot’s Eye of Inner Calm | Diamond | Amulet | Deal 5-13%[x] increased damage. Triple this bonus after standing still for 3 seconds. |
| Ring of Starless Skies | Diamond | Ring | Spending your Primary Resource reduces the Resource cost of your Skills and increases your damage by 10%[x] for 3 seconds, up to 50%[x]. |
| Bold Chieftain’s Band | Diamond | Ring | Whenever you cast a Shout Skill, its Cooldown is reduced by [10.0-30.0] seconds per Nearby enemy, up to a maximum of 6 seconds. |
Best Upheaval Barbarian PVP build for Diablo 4 Season 6
There’s some good and bad news in regards to using the above Frenzy Thorns Barbarian build in Diablo 4’s PVP. The good news is, the setup above is the best possible version to bring into PVP. The bad news is that it’s wildly inconsistent depending on which characters you go up against.
Any opponent using a melee-oriented build is going to struggle against you because they are severely punished just for being in range to attack. If you come up against long-ranged casters or projectile-focused Rogues, you’re in a bit of trouble because they innately avoid your primary source of damage. If you’re struggling in PVP, it might be best to try the Bash Barbarian.
Now that you know how to craft this top-tier Barbarian build, make sure to check out our guides for the Druid, Sorcerer, Rogue, Necromancer, and Spirtiborn. There’s also our Diablo 4 Class tier list so you can see where this build fits in the current meta.