Death Blow Barbarian Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4)

Build Introduction

This is your comprehensive guide to building the Death Blow Barbarian! A powerful execution-style skill that deals huge damage, costs no resources, and brings down any demon in your path. This build requires a bit of setup to get the most out of your Death Blow but brings the reward of extremely high damage, and the ability to nearly one-shot most enemies, even bosses, that dare stand in your way.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

Amazing Single Target DPS
Death Blow renews cooldown on kills
Big Critical hits

Weaknesses

Has trouble with large packs of enemies
Fickle rotation for optimal Death Blows
Positioning is key

To see how this build compares to the other builds on our site, you can check out our build tier lists.

Build Requirements

Required Uniques

Overkill

Rage of Harrogath

Ring of Red Furor

Required Aspects (Non-codex)

Weapon Master’s Aspect

Skill Bar and Skill Points

Skill Bar Setup for the Death Blow Build (Order does not matter)

Death Blow War Cry Rallying Cry Rend Wrath of the Berserker Whirlwind

Follow the points allocated in the image above for the complete 58-point build. The additional 10 skill points are completed using the Renown system.

Arsenal System and Weapon Selection

For this build, we be choosing Two-Handed Axe for our Technique due to its increase in damage to Vulnerable enemies.

Barbarians have a unique mechanic where they can assign specific weapons to specific skills. In order to take advantage of Earthstriker’s Aspect we’ll be assigning our skills in the following ways.

Whirlwind – Dual-Wield Weapons
Rend – 2-Handed Slashing Weapon
Death Blow – 2-Handed Bludgeoning Weapon

Paragon Board

We recommend using the following Legendary nodes and Rare Glyphs to truly take this build into the endgame. Note that each Rare Glyph’s information and radius listed below is for the Level 21 version.

Starting Board

Death Blow Barbarian Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4) - Icy Veins (17)

Warbringer

Rotate this board three times before attaching it.

Death Blow Barbarian Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4) - Icy Veins (18)

Carnage

Rotate this board twice before attaching it.

Death Blow Barbarian Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4) - Icy Veins (19)

Blood Rage

Attach Blood Rage to the Northern gate of the Carnage Board. Do not rotate this board.

Death Blow Barbarian Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4) - Icy Veins (20)

Flawless Technique

Attach Flawless Technique to Eastern Gate of Blood Rage. Rotate this board once before attaching it.

Death Blow Barbarian Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4) - Icy Veins (21)

Decimator

Attach Decimator to the Western Gate of Carnage. Rotate this board three times before attaching it.

Death Blow Barbarian Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4) - Icy Veins (22)

Hemorrhage

Attach Hemorrhage to the Southern Gate of Carnage. Rotate this board three times before attaching it.

Death Blow Barbarian Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4) - Icy Veins (23)

To view the paragon boards in their entirety, CLICK HERE!

Gear, Gems, Elixirs, and Stats

The Season of Loot Reborn brings us an incredible shift in how gear and itemization are done. It is a major and will affect the game beyond Season 4’s confines. For further details, make sure to read our Tempering and Masterworking section below.

Legendary Aspects

Below you will find all of the best-in-slot Aspects found on Legendary items that are important for this build. Remember that with Patch 1.4.0 all Legendary powers can be added into your Codex once you salvage or extract the item. You can still find some aspects through dungeons as you could in previous seasons but now you have the option to upgrade these affixes if you find a higher roll of that affix. Let us go over what aspects you will need.

Slot	Gems	Legendary Aspect / Unique	Aspect / Unique Effect
Helm	Royal Ruby	Juggernaut’s Aspect	– Gain [X] Armor, but your Evade has a 100% increased Cooldown
Chest	Royal Ruby	Rage of Harrogath	– Lucky Hit: Inflicting Bleeding on an enemy has up to a [20-40%] chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Skills by 1 second
Gloves	N/A	Edgemaster’s Aspect	– Skills deal up to [5-20%] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when you cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full primary resource
Pants	Royal Ruby	Tibault’s Will	– You deal [10-20%] increased damage while Unstoppable and for 5 seconds after. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource
Boots	N/A	Weapon Master’s Aspect	– Your Weapon Mastery skills have an additional charge. Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy with a Weapon Mastery Skill has up to a [37-55%] chance to Stun them for 2 seconds.
Amulet	Royal Diamond	Aspect of Encroaching Wrath	– After spending 100 Fury, your next Weapon Mastery skill within 5 seconds deals [40-70%] increased damage
Ring 1	Royal Diamond	Aspect of Accursed Touch	– Lucky Hit: Up to a [20-35%] chance to inflict Vampiric Curse on enemies. Enemies with Vampiric Curse are also Vulnerable. Vampiric Curse’s stored souls deal [20-50%] increased damage.
Ring 2	Royal Diamond	Ring of Red Furor	– After spending 100 Fury within 3 seconds, your next cast of Hammer of the Ancients, Upheaval, or Death Blow within 5 seconds is a guaranteed Critical Strike and deals [10-30%] bonus Critical Strike Damage
2-Handed Bludgeoning Weapon	Royal Ruby	Overkill	– Death Blow creates a shockwave dealing [24-38%] of its base damage to enemies. Enemies who die to this effect also reset Death Blow‘s cooldown.
2-Handed Slashing Weapon	Royal Ruby	Accelerating Aspect	– Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by [10-25%] for 5 seconds.
Dual Wield Weapon 1	Royal Ruby	Earthstriker’s Aspect	– After swapping weapons 8 times, your next non-basic skill Overpower and deal [15-30%] increased Overpower damage
Dual Wield Weapon 2	Royal Ruby	Aspect of Elements	– Gain + [20-30%] increased damage to a set of two types for 7 seconds. This effect alternates between 2 sets: Fire, Lightning, and Physical. Cold, Poison, and Shadow

Gems

Listed below are the best gems to socket into gear for each slot type.

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Royal Ruby for increased Overpower damage	Royal Ruby for increased maximum life	Royal Diamond for all resistances

For your jewelry, it may be necessary to change the Royal Diamond for another gem of a specific type such as Royal Sapphire to ensure all of your resistances are capped at 70%

Which Elixir Should You Use?

Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs that increase stats, and experience gain for 30 minutes. Make sure to forage plants and pick up the necessary crafting materials during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Use Elixir of Advantage at the highest level you can craft due to its increase to your attack speed.

Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80, and 90, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Below are the affixes to prioritize on gear. Each line of affixes is listed in order of importance. Tempering Manuals and their recommended affixes are provided in the second column, and the bolded yellow affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades. To masterwork, you will need rare materials that only drop from The Pit. Be sure to check our Tempering guide, our Masterworking guide, as well as our guide about The Pit for more details about these topics.

Slot	Gear Affixes	Tempering Affixes
Helm	1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Strength 3. Ranks to Death Blow	1. Maximum Life Worldly Endurance 2. Stun Duration Barbarian Control
Chest	1. Strength 2. Maximum Life 3. Needed Resistance	1. Maximum Life Worldly Endurance 2. Stun Duration Barbarian Control
Gloves	1. Strength 2. Attack Speed 3. Maximum Life	1. Damage While Berserking Berserking Finesse 2. Stun Duration Barbarian Control
Pants	1. Strength 2. Maximum Life 3. Needed Resistance	1. Maximum Life Worldly Endurance 2. Stun Duration Barbarian Control
Boots	1. Movement Speed 2. Strength 3. Fury Per Second	1. Movement Speed Natural Motion 2. Stun Duration Barbarian Control
Amulet	1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Maximum Life 3. Ranks to Brute Force	1. Death Blow Damage Demolition Finesse 2. Death Blow Cooldown Reduction Weapon Mastery Efficiency
Rings	1. Critical Strike Chance 2. Attack Speed 3. Fury On Kill	1. Death Blow Damage Demolition Finesse 2. Death Blow Cooldown Reduction Weapon Mastery Efficiency
2-Handed Bludgeoning Weapon	1. Strength 2. Critical Strike Damage 3. Maximum Life	1. Death Blow Damage Demolition Finesse 2. Whirlwind Size Berserking Augments
2-Handed Slashing Weapon	1. Strength 2. Critical Strike Damage 3. Maximum Life	1. Death Blow Damage Demolition Finesse 2. Whirlwind Size Berserking Augments
Dual-Wield Weapon 1	1. Strength 2. Critical Strike Damage 3. Maximum Life	1. Damage While Berserking Berserking Finesse 2. Whirlwind Size Berserking Augments
Dual-Wield Weapon 2	1. Strength 2. Critical Strike Damage 3. Maximum Life	1. Death Blow Damage Demolition Finesse 2. Rend Size Bleed Augments

Rotation and Playstyle

This is a setu- based build to get the most out of Death Blow in order to cut down demons in our path. Let’s review our skills and where we’re using them.

Use Rallying Cry and War Cry to generate resources and for their buffs
Cast Whirlwind and channel it for a few seconds
Cast Rend in between whirlwinds to change weapons
Once you have a guaranteed overpower ready to go, unleash Death Blow to decimate anything in front of you
Use Wrath of the Berserker against Bosses and Elites to further enhance your Death Blow damage

Uniques and Uber Uniques

Below you will find information on Uniques and Uber Uniques that are useful for this build. Moreover, if you are interested in target farming Uber Uniques, check out our How to Farm Uber Uniques guide.

Unique Items

Below, you will find the unique items useful to this build.

Rage of Harrogath – This powerful chest will provide us with a ton of cooldown reduction to help our Death Blow come up as often as possible as well as helping our survival.
Tibault’s Will – Despite the nerfs in Patch 1.4.0 these pants remain powerful with a large bonus to our damage, additional they come with a damage reduction affix. Something that comes at a premium in Season 4
Overkill – A core item for this build. Almost a MUST HAVE. It adds a shockwave to our Death Blow as well as providing ranks to it and tons of damage allowing us to reset it much easier.
Ring of Red Furor – A powerful ring to help us guarantee overpowers for our Death Blow so we can ensure we kill with it

Uber Uniques

Here you will find the uber unique items that are useful to this build. If an Uber unique is NOT listed here, it is not useful to this build and does not provide any meaningful increase or effect.

The Grandfather – The most powerful two-handed sword in the game. If you find yourself lucky enough to grab this legendary item, equip it replacing Accelerating Aspect. The massive bonus to your critical hits will make your Death Blow a force to be reckoned with
Ring of Starless Skies – This ring will give us a crazy amount of control over our resources while we channel Whirlwind and alternate it with Rend so we can get a huge bonus for that big inevitable Death Blow! If you’re lucky enough to snag one, replace Smiting Aspect. If you pair it with Ring of Red Furor simply drop both aspects on your rings and wear those two unique rings instead.

Season 4: Loot Reborn

Unlike past seasons there is no overarching theme for season 4 as Blizzard are focused on the absolutely massive loot overhaul which is sure to change the game in big ways. There will also be a reputation to be gained with the new Ironwolves during Helltides and this faction grants several tempering manuals and even a resplendent spark! Below are the changes relevant to this build:

Barbarian’s innate 10% Damage Reduction has been removed
Tibault’s Will damage bonus reduced from 20-40% to 10-20% and damage bonus persists for 1 second longer after being Unstoppable
Aspect of Retribution – Chance to Stun increased from 8% to 10% and now also increases damage to Stunned and Knocked Down enemies
Aspect of Inner Calm Changed to now provide 5-10% increased damage at all times with the bonus being tripled if you stand still for 3 seconds
Two-Handed Axe Weapon Technique has had its damage bonus reduced from 15% to 10%
Crusher Overpower damage reduced from 30%x to 20%x
Dominate Overpower damage per 5 Willpower reduced from 39.9% to 14.9% at glyph level 21. Bonus changed from After not Overpowering for 30 seconds, your next attack will Overpower to Every 30 seconds, your next attack will Overpower
Earthstriker’s Aspect Bonus Overpower damage reduced from 35-50% to 15-30%
Rage of Harrogath – Changed. Now Lucky Hit: Inflicting Bleeding on an enemy has a 20-40% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your skills by 1 second

Advanced Information

Below, you will find every additional piece of information you need to know for a more in-depth look at this build.

Build Mechanics

This build requires a bit finesse to get the most out of it. We will be engaging enemies primarily with Whirlwind which is assigned to our dual-wield weapons. One of them must be a slashing weapon for Furious Whirlwind and the other should be a one-handed mace for Wallop.

Spin for a few seconds, 1-2 at most, and then apply Rend to your enemies and go back to Whirlwind. Doing this will alternate your weapons providing you stacks of Earthstriker’s Aspect. Through all of this we should also have spent enough Fury to proc our Ring of Red Furor ensuring our next Death Blow will crit.

Once we have the guaranteed crit and overpower, we unleash Death Blow on our foes and it should be plenty strong enough to crush most enemies resetting it to use again to mop up whatever is left if anything survives.

Paragon

We recommend using these Legendary nodes and Rare Glyphs to truly take this build into the endgame. Note that each Rare Glyph’s information listed below is for the Level 21 version.

Rare Glyphs and Legendary Nodes	Effects
Exploit	– For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal + [8%] increased damage to Vulnerable targets. – Additional Bonus once 25 Dexterity points are purchased within the glyph’s range: When an enemy is damaged by you, they become Vulnerable for 3 seconds. This cannot happen more than once every 20 seconds per enemy.
Territorial	– For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal + [10%] increased damage to Close targets – Additional Bonus once 25 Dexterity points are purchased within the glyph’s range: You gain 15% Damage Reduction against Close enemies
Ire	– For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal + [5.3%] increased damage while Berserking – Additional Bonus once 40 Strength points are purchased within the glyph’s range: While Berserking, you take 10% reduced damage from Elites
Crusher	– For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal + [5.3%] increased damage while wielding a Mace – While wielding a Mace, you deal x20% increased Overpower damage
Dominate	– For every 5 Willpower purchased within range, you deal + [14.85%] increased Overpower damage – Additional Bonus once 25 Willpower points are purchased within the glyph’s range: Every 30 seconds, your next attack will Overpower
Undaunted	– For every 5 Willpower purchased within range, you deal + [8%] increased damage while Fortified – Additional Bonus once 25 Willpower points are purchased within the glyph’s range: You gain 10% Damage Reduction the more Fortify you have
Might	– Grants + [125%] bonus to all Magic Nodes within range – Additional Bonus once 40 Strength points are purchased within the glyph’s range: You deal x8% increased damage while wielding Two-Handed Weapons
Carnage	– While Berserking, Critical Strikes increase your Attack Speed +2%, up to +16% for 6 seconds
Blood Rage	– Killing a Bleeding enemy has 10% chance to grant Berserking for 5 seconds. Your damage is increased by x10% of your Damage While Berserking bonus, up to a maximum of x30%
Decimator	– Each time you make an enemy Vulnerable, your damage is increased by 10% for 5 seconds. Overpowering a Vulnerable enemy grants an additional x10% bonus for 5 seconds

Let’s break down each of these beneficial nodes and where our Paragon Points are positioned in each of the Paragon Boards we use. This part of the build is presented in order of importance. If you do not have enough Paragon Points for use in your Paragon Tree, just slowly work towards each step.

Important Notes

Make sure you select the correct Legendary Boards and rotate them into the correct orientation to match the images shown above.
Attach the boards in the order shown as bonus requirements of Rare Nodes increase with their placement order.
Additional bonuses on Rare Glyphs may not be obtainable until they gain the increased radius at level 15.