The best builds in Diablo 4 are those where certain skills are enhanced with all possible buffs. However, for barbarians, this has been the same skill for several seasons, perhaps with some variations. Now the muscle-bound players are complaining and say that the other abilities deserve some love too.
What skills are those?
- Dust Devils have been the top choice for damage in the best builds for barbarians for many months.
- This is not even a skill, but a secondary ability triggered by other skills like Whirlwind. The Whirlwind Barbarian is even one of the strongest builds ever in Season 8.
- The second ability that keeps being used is Earthquake – and it is rarely triggered directly, but usually as an effect of other skills or even simply through rune words.
This is what barbarians say: On Reddit, barbarian players are now complaining about this very fact. For several seasons, builds around Dust Devils and Earthquake have been the dominating builds for barbarians in the top tier.
At times, the builds have been absolutely absurd. In Season 6, an expert defeated bosses hands-free with Dust Devils and Earthquake and simply watched AFK as they died. The players explain: There are five unique multipliers for Earthquake alone. Whirlwind has none.
Moreover, barbarians are unplayable without their shouts; they must always be part of the kit, otherwise one can forget about it. The actual primary skills like Whirlwind, Iron Maelstrom, or Upheaval are useless and, if anything, triggers for something else.
Barbarians used to do “more”, other classes face similar issues
Players remember that barbarians used to have more build variance. In the early seasons, for example, “Hammer of the Ancients” or short: HotA builds, or Death Blow were prominently featured. Hammer of the Ancients caused millions in damage in Season 2.
Other classes are facing similar issues. In several comments, players compare the barbarian to druids, where many builds revolve around rabies infections. However, druids generally have a harder time.
In recent seasons, Blizzard has mostly spent a lot of time fixing issues and ironing out bugs. Only now, as mentioned in a recent interview, do they have time to try new things. New aspects may therefore soon come into play, as players wish.
However, some mechanic will likely continue to outshine all others in one season for a while. After all, there will always be something that is mathematically the best, and many players will rely on that. Although Blizzard announced to handle overpowering mechanics and builds differently in the future – the upcoming patch 2.2.1 will bring many buffs.
