The natural support abilities from the Barbarian in Diablo 2: Resurrected are so strong that they carried over to Diablo 3. The class is widely regarded as the best support in the game and anybody who plays him differently can be sure to receive a sidewise glance or two from their party members.
But this isn't a fair assessment. The book isn't written on the Barbarian, who has plenty of offensive and defensive capabilities that, when combined, can beat all five acts of Diablo 2: Resurrected with the Whirlwind build. Putting it together can be complicated, but once it is in place, party members won't look at him sideways (or even make eye contact with him) ever again.
Updated on November 15th, 2021 by Hodey Johns: This build, after lots of testing since the release of the game, remains the best build for a primarily Whirlwind-based Barbarian. Its increased ability to move in the late game opens the character up to some unconventional and personalized Runewords that many other classes don't have. However, many players have a tough time leveling this Barbarian up to the maximum level. Without a bulletproof game plan, the Barbarian sinks into its old support ways and, when playing solo, that's an ugly sight. This guide has been updated with a section that advises players on how to level up without falling apart.
Skills
Howl | 1 |
Taunt | 1 |
Battle Cry | 1 |
Shout | 20 |
Battle Orders | 20 |
Sword Mastery | 20 |
Iron Skin | 11 |
Natural Resistance | 11 |
Leap | 1 |
Leap Attack | 1 |
Bash | 1 |
Stun | 1 |
Concentrate | 1 |
Whirlwind | 20 |
There are two maxed-out warcries in this build. Even though these are ordinarily used for support, they also have some of the best skills of any class during the endgame. This build is perhaps the only one in the game that can survive taking group damage without a shield, but it requires Shout and Battle Orders to do so.
Our friends over at Icy Veins have a skill calculator (as seen here) for those who would like to customize the skills for themselves!
Attributes
Strength | 185 |
Dexterity | 136 |
Vitality | All the rest |
Energy | None |
The Phase Sword is the ideal base for the Grief Runeword and thankfully, its strength requirement is even less than what a Barbarian starts with, though players will need 185 strength for the Steelrend Ogre Gauntlets. The dexterity requirement is moderately high for the Phase Sword, so put 136 points into it. Like most Barbarian builds, energy is functionally meaningless. Go ahead and pour almost everything into vitality to survive the blows the Whirlwind Barbarian needs to weather.
Equipment
Weapon | Grief |
Offhand | Grief |
Head | Arreat's Face |
Body | Enigma |
Hands | Steelrend |
Feet | Gore Rider |
Waist | Verdungo's Hearty Cord |
Neck | Highlord's Wrath |
Finger 1 | Raven Frost |
Finger 2 | Wraith Hold |
Unique Charms | Gheed's Fortune, Hellfire Torch, Annihilus |
Grand Charms | Fanatic Grand Charms of Vita |
Small Charms | Shimmering/Stalwart Small Charms of Vita |
The Whirlwind Barbarian is and always will be a niche build because of how many different statistics it must focus on. Thankfully, some of the best Runewords and gear in the game help out with exactly what the Barbarian needs. Barbarians need defense, attack rating, and life in spades if they can survive running into the center of combat to use their Whirlwind skill without a shield. Make sure to get enough Shimmering Small Charms until magic resistances hit 75% (Natural Resistance should help with this).
Mercenary
Mercenary | Act 2 Offensive Desert Mercenary |
Weapon | The Reaper's Toll |
Head | Andariel's Visage |
Body | Fortitude |
Because the Offensive Desert Mercenary in Act 2 will provide a Might Aura, there's no other option for getting the most out of the character's mercenary. With some appropriate gear, it will act as a second Barbarian alongside the player's Barbarian, benefitting from the warcries and stats that the Whirlwind Barbarian provides.
Leveling With The Build
Anybody who wants to survive against the game's hardest bosses will need every tool available. Unfortunately, not every tool can be available against these bosses until very far into the game. Gamers that hope to survive have to decide which skills and stats they need to focus on before progressing toward the end.
Skill Order
It's tempting to get all twenty points in Whirlwind right away, but that's a surefire way to become a glass cannon. Bosses, magic-users, and ranged attackers will make this feel much more like glass and less like a cannon. Get about five points in Whirlwind before getting a single point in all of the other skills.
This will greatly help with survivability and give the player a large arsenal of skills to use, especially when needing to escape trouble with Leap. After that, go ahead and max out Whirlwind, then take turns leveling Shout, Battle Orders, Sword Mastery, Iron Skin, and Natural Resistance until those are at their recommended levels.
Stat Priorities
There's a simple formula to make this easy. Get three points in strength and two points in vitality, then, after hitting the magical 186 in strength, put three points in dexterity and two points in Vitality until dexterity hits 136. After that, it's vitality the rest of the way.
For equipment, Barbarians have the advantage of Natural Resistance but will still need a touch of help from armor and items to get to 75% resistance. Remember that Natural Resistance does not apply to magic, so really be sure to keep items that resist magic in particular. After that, anything that boosts Combat skills or all Barbarian skills will be handy until getting access to Runewords and end of game equipment. Then pick up a few pro tips to help after hitting the endgame and this build will absolutely glide.
Diablo 2: Resurrected was released on September 23rd, 2021, and is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.