+ Access to a Comical Amount of Build Options If you’re willing to put up with the extra deaths and melee monotony, though, you will be rewarded with a monster of a character. Look, leveling a Barbarian is going to be rough. They also have the defensive tools needed to soak a lot of damage, which really helps squishier ranged and caster classes reach their full potential. Their powerful buff abilities allow them to make everyone near them just a little better. Barbarians may be gear dependent, but no other class utilizes every aspect of that gear quite as well as they do.įor what it’s worth, Barbarians are also an essential class for endgame multiplayer groups. Furthermore, their unique Expertise/Arsenal systems allow you to make the most out of the weapons you use most as well as the ones you’re not currently using. Their extra weapon slots enable them to raise their stats to absurd levels and acquire “extra” Legendary abilities. Once you start filling your inventory spots with Legendary gear (or better), Barbarians become an entirely different class.

Things really do open up for Barbarians in the late game, though. You’re not forced to pick them, but they’re a borderline necessity early on. Making the Barbarian more mobile requires you to invest in specific skills. The same is true for the class’ mobility issues. There are skills that help mitigate that mechanic, but it is something you’ll have to be aware of. Because Barbarians’ primary resource (Fury) doesn’t recharge in the ways that other classes’ resources do, you can’t really sit on it like you can for other classes. Mobility and resource management can also be problems for Barbarians early on. They don’t really have access to a “cheese” ability that helps them avoid certain early hurdles as other classes do. Barbarians require a lot of Strength and HP to survive the game’s early challenges. You’re very dependent on acquiring better gear not just for the occasional early Legendary ability but for the raw stats needed to do pretty much anything. Simply put, leveling as a Barbarian can be a real nightmare. That’s pretty much exactly where Barbarians are at in the early days of Diablo 4.

While some recent buffs enhanced their global capabilities, it was clear that Barbarians were going to need more gear and skills than the beta gave us access to in order to really shine.

Barbarians had it pretty rough during Diablo 4’s betas.

Diablo 4 hero classes