Diablo 2 Barbarian: Best builds in Resurrected Season 9

When it comes to tanking in Diablo 2 Resurrected, there’s no better option than the mighty Barbarian. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the possible builds for this frontline class to end all frontline classes.

The Barbarian is the most physically imposing class in Diablo 2 Resurrected. No other character is as focused on pure damage as the towering Barbarian. A warrior from the highlands of Harogoth who are committed to taking the fight directly to Diablo and his demonic hordes. 

The game’s resident blue-faced killing machine can cut through hordes of enemies with ease. However, optimizing your power with a specific build will only make clearing dungeons faster. Here are the best Barbarian builds to try in Diablo 2 Resurrected. 

Is the Barbarian right for you?

If you’re wondering if the Barbarian is right for you, you first have to ask yourself: do I like laying the smacketh down? If the answer is yes, then you’ve definitely come to the right place.

Forget magic and spells and that fancy stuff, we’re here for one thing, and one thing only: getting up close and personal, and that’s what this class is best at. If leaving your enemies no place to run and no place to hide sounds like a good time, the Barbarian just might be for you.

Diablo 2 Barbarian: Best builds

Whirlwind Barbarian

Perhaps the most famous incarnation of the Barbarian is the Whirlwind Barb. This build was created back before synergies, and as such is one of the most common builds you’ll see in D2.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying out though, quite the opposite! It has a ton of advantages over the other builds, for instance, it’s strong in PvE and PvP, and any Weapon Mastery is viable for a Whirlwind Barbarian (except Throwing Mastery obviously).

Finally, as we mentioned it requires no synergies to Whirlwind, so your character can be customized however you want once the main skills are maxed. Here’s what you’ll need to pull off the Whirlwind Barb for yourself.

Stat Point Distribution

• • Strength: Enough to wear endgame gear. Be sure to calculate ahead of time!

• • Dexterity: If you want to use a shield, enough for max block. Otherwise, enough for equipment.

• • Vitality: Whatever’s left over from Strength/Dexterity.

• • Energy: Although Whirlwind required the most Mana out of the Barbarian’s combat skills, most players just leave it at base, and instead rely on mana leech, items, and skills that increase mana (like Battle Orders).

Skill Point Distribution

• • 20 Whirlwind

• • 20 Weapon Mastery

• • 20 Battle Orders

• • 20 Shout

• • 1 Berserk

• • 1 Battle Command

• • 1 Increased Speed

• • 1 Iron Skin

• • 1 Natural Resistance

Frenzy Barbarian

Those skeletons won’t know what hit them with the Frenzy build.

Frenzy is another highly popular build for the Barbarian in Diablo 2. Frenzy Barbs wield two weapons at once with deadly efficiency, dealing massive amounts of damage with each attack.

The potential to deal large amounts of damage to multiple enemies at once is the main draw of this build for sure. But, in contrast to the Whirlwind build, single-target combat is much easier.

On the flip side, it doesn’t lend itself to dueling other players very well, and you can’t take on as many enemies at once as with the Whirlwind build. You’ll have to be a bit more strategic to avoid getting surrounded and hit from multiple angles. A problem you don’t have to worry about with Whirlwind.

Stat Point Distribution

• • Strength: High enough to equip whatever gear you want to use.

• • Dexterity: High enough to equip your desired weapons.

• • Vitality: Put everything else into Vitality!

• • Energy: This should be left right where it is, no changes are needed.

Skill Point Distribution

• • Frenzy (20)

• • Weapon Mastery (20)

• • Battle Orders (20)

• • Double Swing (20)

• • Taunt (20)

• • Berserk (1)

• • Howl (1)

• • Shout (1)

• • Battle Command (1)

• • Natural Resistance (1)

• • Iron Skin (1)

• • Bash (1)

• • Double Throw (1)

• •  Stun (1)

• •  Concentrate (1)

Berserker

Mephisto himself would have a hard time standing against a maxed-out Berserker build.

Last (for our short guide) but certainly not least is the Berserker build, a name that just brings Barbarian play to mind. As the name suggests, this is the ultimate damage build in Diablo 2, but it comes at the price of having basically no Defense to speak of.

You can either rock this build with a shield and a one-handed weapon or go all-in with no shield and a high-level 2-handed weapon to really crank that DPS up.

In order to avoid getting murdered, and instead do the murdering yourself, the two-handed build will require a bit of practice with using Howl, Warcry, Taunt, and Leap Attack for protection.

Stat Point Distribution

• • Strength: Enough to wear endgame gear. As always, a good idea to calculate ahead of time.

• • Dexterity
    • • Shielded: enough for max block.
    • • Non-shielded: nothing (if using 2-handed maces) or just enough for equipment (other 2-handed weapons)

• • Vitality: Everything else, ESPECIALLY for no-shield builds.

• • Energy: Not really needed for Berserker build.

Skill Point Distribution

Shielded

• • 20 Berserk

• • 20 Weapon Mastery

• • 20 Battle Orders

• • 20 Shout

• • 20 Howl

• • 1 Whirlwind

• • 1 Battle Command

• • 1 Increased Speed

• • 1 Iron Skin

• • 1 Natural Resistance

You’ll want to max out your important skills in the following order as you level up:

1. 1. Berserk

1. 1. Battle Orders

1. 1. Shout

Non-Shielded

• • 20 Berserk

• • 20 War Cry

• • 20 Battle Orders

• • 20 Howl

• • 20 Weapon Mastery

• • 1 Battle Command

• • 1 Taunt

• • 1 Battle Cry

• • 1 Increased Speed

• • 1 Natural Resistance

• • 1 Iron Skin

For Non-Shield builds, you’ll want to put several points into Howl early on to get some practice using it to deal with mobs and enemies as you level up. This will be crucial to stay alive as you get closer and closer to the endgame.

Remember there are various character classes in Diablo 2, including the Druid, the Necromancer, and the Sorceress. You can also learn more about the Horadric Cube and Runewords.