Diablo 4 Season 4: Best Barbarian Leveling Builds

If you are looking for a more single-target-oriented Barbarian build, then Double Swing might be the best leveling option. Double Swing is a skill that hits enemies in front of you with both of your weapons, and with the right aspects, it can do some devastating damage even early on. While this build will not clear entire packs of small enemies with a single button, you are going to have absolutely no issues with some of the stronger Elites and Bosses in the game. While you definitely can scale this build even during the leveling process, it does not actually require anything for it to fully function. This build might be on the slower side compared to the rest of the options on this list, but there is nothing quite like obliterating a Boss in just a few seconds.

A new Tempering affix was also added in Season 4 that will increase the size of Double Swing, which can fix one of it's biggest issues - being able to clear big packs of monsters. Once you apply that affix to one of your weapons, this build becomes even more powerful.

The Rend Barbarian build is our recommendation for players who enjoy the hit-and-run playstyle of applying bleeds and moving to the next pack of monsters. Rend is similar in some ways to the Double Swing build; it can absolutely destroy Elites and Bosses while struggling a bit with wide open areas because of the lack of AoE. The first few levels can feel a little clunky to play, but once this build gets going, everything you apply your bleeds to is going to die in mere seconds. This build does not require any specific aspects while leveling up, as most of its power comes from your skill tree. Damage-over-time effect builds are also naturally more survivable, as you can just apply your dots and move around until they expire.

This build is going to be even stronger in Season 4, as there is a new Tempered Manual affix that can be applied to your weapon, significantly increasing the size of Rend. This enhancement makes it much more effective for clearing big packs of monsters.

In terms of the fun factor, there is nothing quite like playing a Whirlwind Barbarian. Jumping into packs of monsters, holding down the button, and spinning through everything in a ball of death has been the most iconic way of playing the Barbarian class for the last 20 years. While Whirlwind is not going to be the best build for the later stages of Season 4, you can absolutely take it while leveling and reach World Tier 3 and 4 without any issues whatsoever. One of the main problems of the build is that it requires a ton of resource generation in order for it to work, so you are going to need to hunt down some aspects while leveling up. Once all of this is set, however, you can hold down your Whirlwind button and spin all the way to the endgame.

The new Tempering manuals that are being added in Season 4 have a good amount of options for resource generation and there is even one that increases the size of your Whirlwind. Fixing these issues is going to make the build a lot stronger and much more fun to play during 'Loot Reborn'. 

The Hammer of the Ancients build for Barbarians is not only one of the most fun ways to experience the class, but it's also among the best leveling and endgame builds available. The skill might feel a little awkward to play at the beginning, but once you grab the Ancestral Force aspect, which increases its AoE, it quickly becomes one of the most enjoyable builds in the game. Who doesn't enjoy smacking enemies with a huge hammer? Another amazing aspect of this build is that it can easily transition into the end-game, as Hammer of the Ancients has a ton of items and aspects that can synergize well. The only issues with the build come from the fact that it can lack survivability, and it's very aspect-dependent in order to scale properly.

Furious Hammer of the Ancients was changed in Season 4 to increase your critical strike chance instead of giving you increased damage, which is a needed nerf but far from anything that will make it unplayable. There is also a new Tempering affix that can increase the size of Hammer of the Ancients, which will help with clearing packs of enemies.

The Charge Barbarian is one of the newer builds in the game, which starting becoming meta after the huge buffs it received at the start of Season 3. This build relies on using the Aspect of Ancestral Charge, which creates spirits around you each time you Charge, making a wide wall of damage that also pushes enemies. This deals massive damage and you are going to be able to clear the entire screen of monsters each time your Charge comes out of cooldown. It does require a specific Aspect in order for it to work, but if you manage to find it while leveling, we highly recommend switching to this build.

Charge received a good amount of nerfs going into Season 4, but since the build was one of the strongest options in the game, this will just move it closer to the baseline of the rest of the builds. Season 4 also brings 2 new Tempering affixes, which increase the damage and reduce the cooldown of your Charge. Both of these will significantly increase the effectiveness of the build, making it much more fun to play.