Diablo Immortal: Best Whirlwind 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

The Barbarian in Diablo history has always been a cross between a mobile tank and a stout support hero. The Whirlwind build has always been there, but it has been more of a means of leveling up than an endgame build. Thankfully, the landscape has shifted in the Barbarian's favor in Diablo Immortal.

After a few challenge rifts, it becomes clear that the Whirlwind Barbarian is one of the premier damage-dealing classes in Diablo Immortal. To make it effective, players will need to embrace a build that keeps enemies close by and doesn't struggle against the final bosses.

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 Whirlwind Barbarian Build Collage

Slot	Skill	Description
Primary Skill	Lacerate	Launch a series of attacks that deal X to X damage with each hit. Every third hit heals you for X% of damage done.
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	Wrath of the Berserker	Enter a berserker rage that increases your attack speed by X% and movement speed by X% for X seconds.
Skill	Hammer of the Ancients	Call forth a massive hammer which smashes enemies in front of you for X damage and shakes the earth itself, dealing X additional damage over X seconds.
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.

For enemies that may try to run away, Whirlwind Barbarians have to complement the build with skills that both slow opponents and speed themselves up. With this guide, Sprint can potentially have a 100% uptime and become permanent.

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	Ydama's Cyclone	Whirlwind damage increased by X%.
Legs	Swiftwing	Sprint now also increases movement speed of nearby allies.
Main Hand	North Wind	Whirlwind now also inflicts a stacking Chill.
Off Hand	The Remembered	Hammer of the Ancients now summons a Spirit of the Ancients who stuns all nearby enemies and then fights beside you for a while.

The Gathering is the most core item to this build, as it essentially forbids opponents from being able to escape once they are initially hit by Whirlwind. For PvE encounters and bosses, Wrath of the Berserker is going to be necessary to win long battles against single targets, so invest in that as well.

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.

The Grace Of The Flagellant set was made for builds like this that rely on channeled abilities. The damage is as rapid as can be, so the two effects after the initial one that occur after dealing damage are sure to happen frequently and dependably.

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.

The Whirlwind Barbarian is one of the best builds in the game for killing large groups of mobs. Expect at least a few Hydras in every rift clear to help out.

Attributes

Preference	Attribute
First	All skill damage increased by X%.
Second	Critical Hit damage increased by X%.
Third	Damage done to enemies below 30% Life increased by X%.

Although the Whirlwind skill nearly replaces the primary attack, it is still considered a skill, so any bonuses to skill damage will be put to good use. Critical hit damage and finishing off low-health demons will also help improve clearing times.

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%.
Echoing Shade	Your attacks have a X% chance to summon a shadow clone for X seconds that gains some of your abilities.
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.
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.
Zwenson's Haunting	When you defeat an enemy, summon a dark beast to attack nearby enemies, dealing X% base damage +X to all nearby enemies. Cannot occur more than once every X seconds.

For those who are wealthy and lucky enough, 5-Star gems have plenty of benefits for the Whirlwind build, helping out with tanking and damage alike. Because most monsters won't try to run away, any tanking assistance is put to good use.

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 only thing putting 2-Star Gems behind the 5-Star gems is their Resonance scores. These effects are every bit as powerful, especially with Fervent Fang and Lightning Core amplifying damage and movement that this build has plenty of.

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.
Trickshot Gem	Your Channeled skills consume energy X% slower.

The Trickshot Gem should only be replaced if the player has six or more 2-Star or better gems. Extra time using Whirlwind is an obvious boon to the Whirlwind build. These 1-Star gems are also loaded with tankiness and immobilize effects the Barbarian will take advantage of.