Diablo Immortal: Best PvE Challenge Rift Barbarian Build

This article is part of a directory: Complete Guide To Diablo Immortal: Tips, Tricks, Builds, and More

Table of contents

Diablo Immortal Barbarian Guides
Barbarian Breakdown	Best Legendary Weapons	Frenzy Build	Challenge Rift Build
Best Skills	Best Legendary Armor	Whirlwind Build	PvP Build

Considering how rifts have functioned in Diablo, getting hit and "tanking" has classically not been an option. Barbarians have been typically forced to try and do some kind of ranged build or stick to supporting allies. But Diablo Immortal has a way for Barbarians to survive.

"Survive" is one way to put it. But that may not be the most accurate term. Pro players have a way to take on the Challenge Rifts in Diablo Immortal, at high levels, and come out victorious on the other side. It just requires using a very particular PvE Barbarian build.

Due to several factors, like gear, skills, reforging, and upgrades, it is impossible to list the exact quantities for many of the numbers detailed here. Any variable number has been replaced with an 'X' to signify its potential to change.

*Article updated 1/17/2023 to reflect appropriate related guides

Skill Selection

Diablo Immortal Best PvE Challenge Rift Barbarian Build Collage

Slot	Skill	Description
Primary Skill	Frenzy	Launch a frenzied attack for X damage. Each hit increases Frenzy's attack speed by X% for X sec, stacking up to X times.
Skill	Wrath of the Berserker	Enter a berserker rage that increases your attack speed by X% and movement speed by X% for X seconds.
Skill	Sprint	Increase your movement speed by X% for X seconds. While active, you may move unhindered through enemies and you are immune to movement impairing effects.
Skill	Whirlwind	Become a whirlwind of steel, continually striking all nearby enemies for X damage while moving at X% reduced speed. Using Whirlwind slowly consumes its energy, which recovers while Whirlwind is not in use.
Skill	Ground Stomp	Stomp the ground, Stunning nearby enemies for up to X seconds and dealing X damage. Charging longer increases range and duration up to X seconds.

The clear the rift, players are going to require a combination of single target and group damage. Whirlwind and Ground Stomp take care of the mobs, while elements of the Frenzy build deal with the final boss.

Gear

Diablo Immortal Group Of Each Class In A Cathedral

The bulk of gamers will be hunting down their ideal pieces of legendary gear after taking the time to beat the game. But don't forget to track down the set bonus pieces after choosing them from the list. A complete set gives three additional effects, on par with the legendary bonuses from the regular gear.

Primary Gear

Slot	Piece	Legendary Effect
Head	Lasting Hate	Wrath of the Berserker duration increased by X%.
Chest	The Gathering	Whirlwind pulls in all enemies it damages.
Shoulders	Broken Grasp	Sprint also increases your dodge chance by X%.
Legs	Shattered Ground	Ground Stomp now produces an earthquake, continually damaging enemies in the area but no longer stunning them.
Main Hand	Eager Maelstrom	Whirlwind radius increased, but Whirlwind movement speed decreased.
Off Hand	Broken Soul	Wrath of the Berserker now increases Critical Hit Chance instead of Attack Speed.

Every skill finds some kind of upgrade with legendary gear. Mobs will fall even faster when up against the new earthquake effect from Ground Stomp and the wider radius from Eager Maelstrom. An increased dodge chance from Sprint may sound slight, but it alone is responsible for keeping the Barbarian alive through the run.

Set Items

Set Bonus	2/6 Effect	4/6 Effect	6/6 Effect
Grace Of The Flagellant	All continual damage, Channeled damage, and persistent ground damage increased by X%.	Each time you damage an individual enemy X times, you will do X additional damage to that enemy.	Each time you deal damage, you have a X% chance to unleash a lightning strike, dealing X damage to all nearby enemies and Stunning them for X seconds. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds.

Grace Of The Flagellant is often used for straight-up channeling builds. Given the use of Whirlwind in this build, it is effective, yet the latter two effects are both effective against single targets when using Frenzy in addition to their power against groups.

Reforge Bonuses

Diablo Immortal looking At Reforge Stones From The Vendor

Even for paid players, reforge attribute bonuses can be guided, but are not guaranteed completely. With enough rerolls, any player can eventually get the exact attribute they want, but this will take time and luck, even for those who have the money. Therefore, several different attributes have been listed within the same family, in order of preference.

Family Bonus

Family	Family Attribute
Wildfire	You have a X% chance when you defeat an enemy to summon a fireball-spitting Hydra.

Whirlwind will be chopping down small minions left and right, so expect at least a few Hydras in every run. These will further help improve Challenge Rift times by taking out stragglers that don't get caught in Whirlwind's trap.

Attributes

Preference	Attribute
First	Primary attack damage increased by X%.
Second	All skill damage increased by X%.
Third	Critical Hit damage increased by X%.

Although it can be tempting to try and some hits better with the Barbarian, consider that, with enough offense, no enemy can survive through the Whirlwind to reach the character. Therefore, in a rare instance, the offensive power makes more sense than defensive protection for high-level Challenge Rift runs.

Gems

There are two kinds of gems to consider for this build: the legendary gems and the regular gems. Players of all income levels will be using this guide, so there are three charts for legendary gems to choose from. Probability demands that even paying for an advantage will still make it tough to get the right gems, so feel free to mix and match from the charts based on the character's most valuable stats.

Legendary Gems

5-Star Gem	Effect
Blessing of the Worthy	When you take damage, you have X% chance to unleash retribution on all nearby enemies, dealing damage equal to X% of your maximum Life. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds.
Blood-Soaked Jade	Increases all damage you deal by up to X% and your Movement Speed by X%, with less damage bonus the lower your Life, to a minimum of X%.
Phoenix Ashes	Prevents fatal damage, and then grants a shield for X seconds that absorbs damage equal to X% of your base damage. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds.
Howler's Call	Your Primary Attack has a X% chance to summon a charging spirit wolf that inflicts X% base damage +X to all enemies in its path. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds.
Seeping Bile	Your attacks have a X% chance to poison enemies, inflicting X% base damage +X every second for X seconds. This poison spreads to nearby enemies if the victim dies. Cannot affect the same target more often than once every X seconds.
Bottled Hope	Using a skill to grant a buff increases the target's damage done and movement speed by X% for X seconds. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds per target.

To clear rifts with the Barbarian, it's going to take all the tanking gems possible. There are several 5-Star gems that help the Barbarian whether tons of hits, helping the class last until they get to the final boss.

2-Star Gem	Effect
Battleguard	Decreases all melee damage you take by X% from enemies within X yards.
Fervent Fang	Each time you deal damage to an enemy, that enemy now takes X% increased from your attacks, up to a maximum increase of X% at X stacks.
Lightning Core	Your Primary Attacks and movement slowly charge you up with electricity. When fully charged, your next Primary Attack will release chain lightning, dealing X% base damage +X to nearby enemies. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds.
Power And Command	Power and Command alternate states every X seconds. Power increases your Primary Attack damage by X%. Command increases all other skill damage by X%.
The Hunger	Heal X% base damage +X Life each time you defeat an enemy. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds
Cutthroat's Grin	Gain X% increase Critical Hit Chance when attacking from behind.

The increase in Resonance from 1-Star to 2-Star makes any gem in this category better than the starter ones. Still, if gamers get lucky enough to mix and match a few gems, these will all help take out opponents in a more expeditious fashion.

1-Star Gem	Effect
Chained Death	Increases damage done by your attacks by X% per target hit, up to a maximum of X% with X targets.
Everlasting Torment	Your critical hits inflict agony, dealing X% Base damage +X every second for X seconds. Each enemy can only be affected by this once every X seconds.
Pain of Subjugation	You deal X% increased damage to enemies suffering loss of control.
Respite Stone	Decreases all damage you take by X% for every X% your Life is below maximum, up to maximum damage decrease of X%.
The Black Rose	Each time you are attacked, you have a X% chance to summon vines that Immobilize the attacker for X seconds. Each enemy cannot be affected by this more than once every X seconds.
Zod Stone	Increases the duration of your Ultimate Skills by X%.

1-Star gems have a good mix of offense and defense, so grab a few of each. Some of these, like the Respite Stone and Chained Death, are particularly valuable in certain stages of the Challenge Rift.