Barbarian Build Guide for Diablo 2 Resurrected Whirlwind Barbarian. This is anEnd Game Barbarian Buildthat can get you throughNightmareand evenHellDifficulty in Diablo 2 Resurrected. If you are looking for anEnd Game Barbarian Whirlwind Build, then this Guide is for you.
Diablo 2 Resurrected Barbarian Build | Whirlwind Barbarian
The Whirlwind Barbarian cuts through his enemies dealing damage in a large AoE. You’ll be usingWhirlwindas your main and only attack skill in combination with someShouts.
This Diablo 2 Barbarian Build is intended to be used forNightmareandHelldifficulties starting around Lvl 40. you may start the game with this build, but I personally recommend you use ourFrenzy Barbarian Buildinstead, and then respec into this one. If you are already playing and want to respec into this build though, the easiest way to do it is by claiming theDen of Evilreward fromAkaraat the Rogue Encampment. You’ll get 3 respecs (1 for each difficulty) and you’ll need to be on the same difficulty to reclaim them.
Barbarian Build Guide Stats | Whirlwind Barbarian
Like most Builds in Diablo 2 Resurrected, ourStatsdistribution will focus on assigning enough points into Strength and Dexterity to meet equipment requirements, and then assigning everything else into Vitality to gain as much Life as possible.
Having aHellfire Torchand anAnnihiluswill greatly reduce your stat investment into Strength. These unique charms provide between +10-20 to all Attributes and +10-20 to all Elemental Resistances. Having both in your inventory will save you between 20 and 40 stats points that you can spend into Vitality greatly increasing your health pool. The additional passive resistances will also allow you to depend less on +All Resistances equipment, opening up more options.
If you don’t have a Hellfire Torch or an Annihilus yet, I strongly recommend that you get them as soon as you can. Perfect rolled ones are very expensive, but you can get bad rolled ones for very affordable prices. Make sure to get a low roll when you are starting off and then upgrade it when you have enough money.
Barbarian Build Guide Skills | Whirlwind Barbarian
The Whirlwind Barbarian mainly focuses around theWhirlwind Skill, but you’ll also need to spend some points intoShoutsto buff yourself. You’ll use the following Skills when playing this Diablo 2 Resurrected Barbarian Build:
WhirlwindThis whole build is designed around this ability, which makes your character move to the selected point while spinning and dealing very high damage around a small AoE. This build is very fun, but you might need some practice to get used to how the skill works, as it might be a little clunky at times.
To best use this skill, you’ll want to focus on big packs of monsters. Once they are close together, click past them and your character will spin forward. You can go back and forth until all enemies are dead.
attempt to keep your whirlwinds as short as possible, as this maximize the damage output and reduces the time you’re locked into the animation. The best way to achieve this is by moving in a small triangular shape on top of your enemies.
It’s also important to note that you won’t be able to perform any actions or use potions while using Whirlwind, so you’ll want to make sure to practice the distance of your whirlwinds or they might get you killed.
Whirlwind consumes a lot of mana and puts you in close contact with monsters, so mana and life stealing equipment is essential to make it work on Nightmare and Hell difficulties.
Whirlwind does not work with: “On Attack”, “On Striking”, or “When You Kill an Enemy” mods, but you’ll still be able to inflict passive modifiers such as Open Wounds, Crushing Blow or Deadly Strike. In addition, Whirlwind only benefits from Increased Attack Speed mods of your weapons and ignores the rest of your equipment.
Whirlwind damage starts at lvl 1 with -50% damage, meaning that you’ll deal half your damage when using the ability. This reverts at level 8, at which point you’ll start gaining positive damage values for each point assigned into the skill.
Sword Mastery
This skill passively increase your Damage and Attack Rating while using Sword type weapons. It also provides a chance to inflict a Critical Strike.
I personally like to use Swords for this build, but you can also useAxesorMaces, so assign your points according to the weapon that you are using.
If you plan to use theImmortal King Set, then you should go withMaces.
This skill passively increases your defense rating, which makes your character a lot harder to hit. Remember that you need to walk at all times to be able to take advantage of your defense values, so get in the habit of doing this.
Increased Speed
This skill passively increases your Walk/Run speed, allowing you to quickly reach enemies even while walking. Again, you need to walk to make use of your defensive values, so this is helpful to save you time in getting where you are going.
Natural Resistances
Elemental Resistances are one of the most important stats, and Natural Resistance passively increases all of them making it one of the best Barbarian Skills. Since a good part of your Resistances will come from your equipment you’ll only probably need 1 point, but if you are lacking Resistances, don’t hesitate to spend points here to compensate for that.
This skill greatly increases the defense value of all your party members, allowing you to avoid even more attacks. you may never have enough defense when playing a melee build, so this is important to keep you alive.
Battle CommandWhen used, this shout temporally increases all your skills by +1, making your other skills even better. verify to use it before the rest of your shouts for maximum impact, and make sure to swap to your second weapon set when using shouts.
Battle Orders
The Barbarian gets the highest amount of health between all characters per each point spend into Vitality. This shout greatly increases your Life, Mana and Stamina by a percentage, allowing you to reach incredible amounts of health.
Level 40 Barbarian Skill Distribution
Since this guide begins at Lvl 40, you’ll want to first focus on your Whirlwind and Weapon Mastery, and then work towards completing your shouts and Iron Skin.
You should have around 43 skill points at lvl 40 (39 from levels, and 4 from Quests). You should have your Skills placed in the following manner:
LEVEL 40 BARBARIAN SKILLS
Points Spent
Bash (Pre-Requisite)
Leap (Pre-Requisite)
Stun (Pre-Requisite)
Leap Attack (Pre-Requisite)
Concentrate (Pre-Requisite)
Increased Stamina (Pre-Requisite)
Natural Resistance
Howl (Pre-Requisite)
Battle Command
Level 90 Barbarian Skill Distribution
At level 90 you should have 101 skill points to distribute, 89 from Levels and 12 from Quests, and they should look like this:
LEVEL 90 BARBARIAN SKILLS
Budget Equipment | Whirlwind Barbarian
It’s important to note that, since this is a melee build, you’ll need to have a decent amount of equipment to make it viable in the end-game. This is because your damage and chance to hit will highly depend on your equipment instead of your skill points.
The Barbarian is able to wield one weapon on each hand, opening up a lot of options. You’ll first want to focus on getting a good Weapon that has high damage, and then focus on the rest of your equipment.
When you are starting off you’ll obviously have less gear, so here are some cheapRunewordsand Unique items that you can use while you search for better gear.
Both previously mentioned runewords can be farmed from Hell Countess.
When it comes to gloves you’ll want to focus on defensive stats such as Life and Resistances.
For the belt you’ll want something with Life and Resistances.
You’ll want to search for Faster Run/Walk speed on your boots as well as Resistances and Life.
You’ll want to search for rings that have life, stats and resistances.
Try to find an amulet that provides Stats, Health, resistances or +Barbarian Skills
For charm’s you’ll mainly want to look for +Life, +Resistances, +Attack Rating, +Damage, and +CombatSkills
TheImmortal King Setis a great option for this build as well. You’ll need to spend a lot of points into strength to equip all pieces, and should go forMace Masteryinstead of Sword Mastery.
Once the set is fully equipped, theImmortal King’s Stone Crusherwill gain a massive amount of elemental damage that works great with whirlwind. The rest of the set will cover your resistances and provide you attack rating covering the most important areas.
Optional Equipment | Whirlwind Barbarian
Once you are reaching max level you’ll want to start searching for the following equipment to complete your character.
Arreat’s Face (Unique): This is the best Barbarian helmet, providing a massive increase to skills, Attack Rating, Faster Hit Recovery, All Resistances, Strength, Dexterity and Life leech. you may add a socket and insert aUm runefor even more resistances.
2xGrief (Runeword): There are a couple of different options when it comes to weapons, and they mostly depend on you preferences and economy, but for clearing end game content I feel like2x Griefis the best way to go. Grief provides a massive amount of flat damage, as well as Increased Attack Speed,Deadly Strikeand Damage vs Demons. I highly recommend you craft them onPhase Bladesto maximize efficiency.
2xHeart of the Oak(Runeword): These Runewords will provide you a massive +6 to skills allowing you to cast much better shouts. If you are runningEnigma, it’ll also decrease the casting time forTeleportthanks to the additional Faster Cast Rate.
Laying of Hands (Unique): These gloves greatly increase your Fire Resistance and provide a massive damage bonus against Demons.
String of Ears(Unique): This belt provides a massive amount of damage reduction as well as Life Leech, which allows you to maintain your health while fighting.
Gore Rider (Unique): These boots provide +30% faster Run/Walk as well asOpen Wounds,Crushing BlowandDeadly Strikemaking them the best option for this build.
For charm’s you’ll mainly want to look for +Life, +Resistances, +Attack Rating, +Damage, and +Combat Skills
What Mercenary to Select & Gear to Use
You’ll want to get theAct 2 Holy Freeze or Might Mercenary(from Act 2 Nightmare) for this build. TheHoly FreezeAura is great for dealing with large crowds of enemies while theMight Aurawill greatly increase your damage.
When it comes to equipment, the best weapon would beThe Reaper’s Toll (Unique), which allows your Mercenary to apply theDecrepify Curseon enemies. For armor you want to get theFortitude Runewordand for the helmetAndarie’s Visage.
Final Tips
Remember to keep your shouts active at all times as they provide a lot of life, mana, damage and defense. You’ll want to use Battle Command first, as it increase the effect of the rest of your shouts.
This build can be very mana hungry, so verify to carry a couple of mana potions. If you run out of mana you won’t be able to attack.
If you click on enemies while standing next to them your character will perform a normal attack, so always aim behind them.
If you are having trouble hitting enemies, try to increase your attack rating with Charms.
Stay tuned for moreDiablo 2 Build Guides, and be sure to check out ourDiablo 2 Resurrected Wikifor more information about the game!
