Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian – Lvl 50 Barbarian Build Guide: In this Diablo 4 Barbarian Class Build, I’ll show you how to play a Lvl 50 – Berserking Whirlwind Barbarian, which continues our beginner Diablo 4 Build for the Barbarian. This build annihilates hordes of enemies by swinging a polearm on top of them, if you’ve been looking for something that makes you stronger while fighting more enemies, then this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Build guide is for you!
Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build – Vortex
This build takes from where the Beginner Whirlwind Barbarian Build left and uses the additional skill points to boost your damage output, fury generation, HP regeneration and overall speed. You’ll also be adding the Charge skill for an additional Unstoppable alternative, and swapping the Weapon Expertise and Technique. You won’t be changing any other regular active skills, and just focus on Passives to further increase our efficiency, trying to achieve almost 100% uptime.
![Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build - Combat](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-5-640x361.jpg)
The build combines many different mechanics into one, to create the ultimate Whirlwind.
The idea is to use your shouts to boost your fury generation, increase your damage and set up Berserking. Once those effects are active, you’ll start using Whirlwind, which will apply Vulnerable, Bleeding and slow into enemies. Many effects on this build are triggered by lucky hit chance, which is increased by the Polearm Weapon Expertise. The longer you use Whirlwind, the higher critical chance you’ll have, so you’ll want to keep spinning for as long as possible with this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build.
Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build – Skill Distribution
As you progress towards Lvl 50 there’ll be three main aspects that you’ll want to resolve regarding your build: Fury Generation, Damage Output and Survivability. Enemies will become much stronger at Tier 3, but with the correct Skills and Legendary Aspects, I was able to finish the Cathedral of Light Dungeon (Lvl 50 – Tier III) at lvl 46, and even after that, I was able to clear Nightmare Sigil Dungeons 4 or 5 levels above me without issues.
![Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build - Skill Tree](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-7-640x361.jpg)
Increasing Damage
For starters, using our whirlwind will constantly apply “Vulnerable” thanks to Pressure Point Lucky Hit and “Bleeding” into thanks to Furious Whirlwind.
The Hamstring passive will add slow to your bleeding effects, which mark them as “Crowed Controlled” adding even more equipment options, and the Cut to the Bone passive will increase bleeding effects on vulnerable enemies, which is great for this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build.
Finally, the No Mercy passive will increase critical chance against slowed enemies, while the Heavy Handed passive will increase our critical strike damage while using Two-Handed weapons.
Increasing Survivability
Monsters hit much harder as you progress towards higher levels. The Imposing Presence passive increases your health by a massive 15% when maxed out. This works great in combination with the Raid Leader passive, which heals 3% of your maximum life per second and the Invigorating Fury passive, which heals you by 9% of maximum life for each 100 fury spent, allowing you to stay at maximum health most of the time.
Swiftness gives you a flat 15% speed increase, making it a great option to both escape and engage enemies faster.
LEVEL 50 Barbarian SKILLS | |
Skill | Points Spent |
Lunging Strike | 1 |
Enhanced Lunging Strike | 1 |
Battle Lunging Strike | 1 |
Whirlwind | 5 |
Enhanced Whirlwind | 1 |
Furious Whirlwind | 1 |
Pressure Point | 3 |
Imposing Presence | 3 |
Rallying Cry | 1 |
Enhanced Rallying Cry | 1 |
Tactical Rallying Cry | 1 |
Swiftness | 3 |
War Cry | 1 |
Enhanced War Cry | 1 |
Power War Cry | 1 |
Booming Voice | 3 |
Raid Leader | 3 |
Charge | 1 |
Aggressive Resistance | 1 |
Prolific Fury | 3 |
Pit Fighter | 3 |
No Mercy | 3 |
Slaying Strike | 1 |
Hamstring | 1 |
Cut to the Bone | 3 |
Heavy Handed | 3 |
Tempered Fury | 1 |
Invigorating Fury | 3 |
Wrath of the Berserker | 1 |
Prime Wrath of the Berserker | 1 |
Supreme Wrath of the Berserker | 1 |
Unconstrained | 1 |
Weapon Expertise and Technique
You’ll want to use a Polearm for this build. The Polearm Expertise increase lucky hit chance by 10% and your damage by 10% while you are healthy (which is most of the time).
For your Technique, you’ll want to take The One-Handed Weapon Technique, which provides a lucky hit chance to generate 5 fury when hitting a crowd controlled enemy.
![Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build - Technique](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-8-640x606.jpg)
![](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-9-602x640.jpg)
These expertises synergize perfectly with our build, as we’ll be getting increased Lucky hit chance. This, in combination with our increased attack speed, will result in fury generation when hitting crowd controlled enemies.
Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build – Equipment, Gems and Aspects
While the Skills provide a lot of value on their own, it’s Legendary Aspects which really make the difference when it comes to polishing your Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build. The Barbarian has 12 Equipment slots, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed on what you should keep or replace while leveling up, as you’ll be constantly updating your gear.
The best way to overcome this, is by using the build and get a feeling of what you are lacking. If you are running out of Fury very fast, then focus on first getting aspects that boost Fury Generation, like the Aspect of Echoing Fury. If you find yourself dying too often, then go for Iron Blood Aspect, and so on.
Codex of Power Aspects
As previously stated, you’ll be constantly updating your gear as you increase in level. If you only rely on extraction you’ll find yourself out of options very fast and some Aspects are very important to keep the build going. For this reason, I strongly recommend that you clear the Dungeons associated to the following Legendaries to unlock its codex of power, which will grant you a reliable way to imprint them while leveling up
Resource
- Aspect of the Umbral – Champion’s Demise, Dry Steppes: Perfect for generating fury.
- Aspect of Echoing Fury – Sirocco Caverns, Kehjistan: Generates Fury per second while shouts are active . You should use this before getting the Bold Chieftain’s Aspect)
Utility
- Aspect of Anemia – Kor Dragan Barracks, Fractured Peaks: Has a lucky hit chance to stun bleeding enemies for 2 seconds. Works great against elites.
Mobility
- Wind Striker Aspect – Shivta Ruins, Kehjistan: Increases Movement speed after a critical strike.
Offensive
- Aspect of the Dire Whirlwind – Garan Hold, Scosglen: This is a key part of this build and should be slotted into one of your two-handed weapons. If you don’t have it, try to get it as soon as possible.
- Aspect of Berserk Ripping – Mournfield, Dry Steppes : This greatly increase your bleeding while Berserking.
- Edgemaster’s Aspect – Oldstones, Scosglen: This Aspect works amazing well once you’ve figured out your fury generation, but don’t use it before that with this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build.
Defensive
- Aspect of Disobedience – Halls of the Damned, Kehjistan: This is skill works amazingly well with Whirlwind, allowing you to stack up a lot of armor very fast. This should also be one of your first priorities while completing your Codex of Power
- Aspect of the Protector – Lost Archives, Fractured Peaks: This gives you a barrier whenever you damage an elite. The barrier is amazing and a must-have for most builds.
- Iron Blood Aspect – Forgotten Ruins, Kehjistan: This is great to deal with a big pack of enemies, providing damage reduction in proportion to the amount of bleeding enemies near you.
![Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build - Dire Whirlwind](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-1.jpg)
Lucky Drop Legendary Aspects and Unique Glove
The following aspects cannot be obtained by completing Dungeons, and can only be extracted from Legendary Equipment that you find during your play through and then imprinted into your own equipment. Don’t hesitate to use them, as you’ll keep finding them as you play
Great
- Bold Chieftain’s Aspect (Resource) : This is by far the best Legendary Aspect for this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build, as it allows you to maintain almost 100% shout time, meaning that your fury generation will always be at max. The build still works without this, but you should definitively add it as soon as you find it.
- Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind (Utility): This is one of the best aspects for this build, allowing you to hit everything at the same, greatly increasing efficiency.
- Aspect of Burning Rage (Offensive): This will constantly cast a Fire AoE around you while Berskerer, which synergizes great with this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build. (This Aspect has fixed damage, so if you got it early, you’ll want to renew it later on to keep up with damage)
- Dust Devil’s Aspect (Offensive): This aspect summons dust whirlwinds that move randomly and deal periodic AoE damage. (This Aspect has fixed damage, so if you got it early, you’ll want to renew it later on to keep up with damage)
- Aspect of Limitless Rage: While not amazing early on, this skill will become better and better as you progress further into the game, as you’ll generate more fury than you can spend.
- Skullbreaker’s Aspect: This skill is also amazing when combined with Aspect of Berserk Ripping.
- The Gohr’s Devastating (Unique Gloves): If you are lucky enough to find them, these gloves are incredible for this build. The unique effect will create an explosion that decimates everything around you when you finish your Whirlwind, and they provide everything we want for this build: Whirlwind Rank Level, Lucky Hit Chance, Fury Generation and attack speed.
Good
- Aspect of Berserk Fury (Resource): This is not really necessary as you already have Aspect of Echoing Fury, but if you are still having issues with Fury it’ll solve the problem.
![](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-6.jpg)
Where to Slot Aspects
Most aspects can be slotted into multiple equipment pieces, so here is a guideline of what I used during my gameplay:
- Two Handed Weapon 1: Aspect of the Dire Whirlwind (Garan Hold in Scosglen).
- Two Handed Weapon 2: Edgemaster’s Aspect (Oldstones in Scosglen)
- One Handed Weapon 1: Aspect of Berserk Ripping (Mournfield in Dry Steppes)
- Helmet: Aspect of Anemia (Kor Dragan Barracks in Fractured Peaks)
- Chest: Aspect of Disobedience (Halls of the Damned in Kehjistan)
- Gloves: Aspect of Berserk Ripping (Mournfield in Dry Steppes)
- Waist: Aspect of the Protector (Lost Archives in Fractured Peaks)
- Boots: Wind Striker Aspect (Shivta Ruins in Kehjistan)
- Amulet: Iron Blood Aspect (Forgotten Ruins in Kehjistan). The 50% increase also increases maximum reduction
- Ring 1: Bold Chieftain’s Aspect (Lucky Drop)
- Ring 2: Dust Devil’s Aspect (Lucky Drop)
Equipment Affixes
The amount of damage you deal is strictly related with your equipment, as it proportionally increases your damage. Thanks to the bleeding and slow, you’ll be able to stack up more affixes than other builds, so use this to your advantage. When comparing an item, try to calculate the combined % of damage increase you are getting from all affixes, instead of just looking into DPS.
You should search for the following affixes, depending on what you are lacking:
Resource
- Shout Skill Cooldown Reduction (chest)
- Cooldown Reduction
Damage
- Damage with Two-Handed Weapons (Chest)
- +Rank Whirlwind and Shouts.
- Damage to Close Enemies
- Vulnerable Damage
- Damage to Bleeding Enemies
- Core Skill Damage
- Critical Strike Damage
- Damage with Two-Handed Slashing Weapons
- Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
- Damage Over Time
- Damage while Berserking
Defense
- Damage reduction from close enemies
- Maximum Life
- Damage Reduction
![](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-2-284x640.jpg)
![](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-3-290x640.jpg)
Gems
For gems, you’ll want to slot:
- Weapon: You can use either Emeralds or Sapphires
- Armor: You should use Rubies to boost your maximum life
- Jewelry: Try to compensate for any resistances that you are lacking. If you feel strong enough, just use Skulls to further boost your armor, which will work great with Aspect of Disobedience
Paragon and Glyphs for Barbarian Build
When you reach lvl 50 you’ll unlock the first Paragon Board, and you’ll start earning Paragon Points. On the first Board for this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build you should first focus on the right part to get the “Brawn” rare node which further increases your damage and gives you maximum life. From there, continue up and get the “Socket” and the two other rare nodes.
If you happen to find it, you should slot the “Wrath” Glyph into the socket providing more Critical Strike Damage, and try to allocate at least 25 Dexterity around it. This will activate the additional bonus, providing Fury when you critical strike.
Try to get as many “Strength” nodes as possible, but also make sure to fulfill the socketed glyph requirements on its radius to acquire its Additional Bonuses.
Once you reach the top, you will have to decide what Paragon Board to go for. I recommend the “Carnage” board, as its legendary node will further enhance your Berserking bonuses.
![](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-4.jpg)
Final Tips
Unlike War cry and Rallying Cry, Casting Wrath of the Berserker will interrupt your Whirlwind. To make the most of it, cast it and then perform a single Lunging Strike into any enemy. This will set the Berserking timer to 10 seconds, and you won’t have to restart it. After you do that, you’ll be able to use whirlwind without interruptions.
When fighting bosses with this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build, try to quickly move in circles while passing through them. This will allow you to avoid most attacks.
Make sure to cast your shouts when many enemies are present, as this will greatly reduce their cooldown, thanks to Bold Chieftain’s Aspect. You can also use equipment with “cooldown reduction” affixes to compensate for this if you don’t have the Aspect yet.
You’ll want to level up your One-handed Sword Weapon Expertise to max. To achieve this, simply equip a One-Handed sword and swap your Whirlwind Arsenal Skill to Dual-Wield. Now head into the battlefield and play as you would usually play until you max out the expertise.
![](https://fextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/whirlwind-tier3-barbarian-build-10-640x361.jpg)
While the Codex of Power is very reliable, it will always imprint the lowest version of the Legendary Aspect. Make sure to check the Legendary drops you find, as these might be the same as you are using but with better rolls.
Rallying Cry has a short cooldown, so don’t hesitate to use it to increase movement speed while exploring dungeons with this Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build. You can also use charge as it’ll rush forward at great speed, allowing you to save precious time
Be sure to check out our Diablo 4 Wiki for any other questions you have about the game and the Builds page if you are looking for more Diablo IV Builds, as well as our Getting Started Guide and Best Class to Play if you are looking for more Diablo 4 content!
3 responses to “Diablo 4 Whirlwind Barbarian – Vortex”
You have Aspect of Berserk Ripping twice: 1H Weapon and Gloves.
I’m new to Diablo and dont know which skill the single handed sword is mapped to and which skill the polearm is mapped. Is pole for lunging strike and dual wielding swords for whirlwind?
Do you have a update of this build, because of the nerf?
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