Diablo 4 Earthquake Barbarian Build Guide (Patch Fix)
Overview of the Build
The key to this build is the Mantles of the Mountain’s Fury item, which makes your Hammer of the Ancients form a line. As it moves, it triggers Earthquakes that explode in its wake for massive damage. Now that the bug has been fixed, the earthquakes are working as intended, and the damage is off the charts. By using a combination of strong synergy with gear, skills, and the Paragon board, this build lets you zoom through dungeons, stacking massive earthquake damage and causing explosions that obliterate everything.
Gameplay Loop
1. Start with Shouts: Use your shouts to buff yourself and the enemies, especially to activate Berserking.
2. Drop Earthquakes: Use skills that generate earthquakes, which will stack damage as you move forward.
3. Hammer of the Ancients: Slam down with Hammer of the Ancients, sending earthquakes in a line, which explode for massive damage.
4. Run Through and Repeat: Keep running forward while earthquakes explode behind you, dealing trillions of damage.
This loop allows for a constant barrage of earthquake explosions that chain together for catastrophic damage.
Essential Skills and How to Use Them
Main Skills:
· Hammer of the Ancients: This skill is the heart of your damage output. After activating, it sends a line of earthquakes forward. You’ll want to slam your hammer as often as possible, utilizing the explosion mechanic.
· Whirlwind: Use Whirlwind to generate Earthquakes as you attack. This skill creates synergy with your Mantles of the Mountain's Fury, making earthquakes explode as you whirl through enemies.
· Ground Stomp: Activate Ground Stomp to create earthquakes, boosting your overall damage output.
· Rallying Cry: Previously a mainstay, Rallying Cry has been replaced with more useful skills that complement your fortify needs and damage reduction.
Additional Skills:
· War Cry: Increases your damage output and berserk duration.
· Challenging Shout: Helps reduce incoming damage and adds to your overall survivability.
· Leap (Optional): Can be used for mobility but is not necessary for the optimal earthquake explosion setup.
Gear Breakdown
Helm: Ugly Bastard's Helmet
This is a must-have piece of gear. The helmet increases your fire damage by 100%, which is fantastic because your earthquakes will soon be doing fire damage due to the Incendiary Fissure aspect. The extra fire damage works perfectly with the Mantles of the Mountain’s Fury.
Chest and Boots: Strength and Movement Speed
Maximize your Strength on all gear, as it directly increases your earthquake damage. For boots, look for Concussive Strike, which boosts your damage further by stunning enemies. Movement speed is critical here because you’re going to be zooming through the map as you unleash destruction.
Weapon: Double Damage and Earthquake Aspects
Your weapon should have the Earthquake Aspect, which boosts earthquake damage significantly. Additionally, look for Damage While Berserking, and prioritize Strength and Critical Strike Damage. Make sure you have Chance to Restore Fury, as Fury generation is important for keeping your skills up.
Rings: Critical Strike, Strength, and Resists
Look for Strength and Critical Strike Chance on your rings. For the second ring, Damage While Berserking is a must to further increase your damage. Also, ensure you have Resistance to All Elements to enhance your survivability.
Amulet: Increased Strength and Wrath of the Berserker Cooldown
Your amulet should focus on Strength, as well as Wrath of the Berserker Cooldown Reduction, to keep your damage boost active.
Paragon and Glyphs
The Paragon board is where the majority of your damage amplification happens. Focus on:
· Rumble Glyph: Strengthen your earthquake damage with Strength nodes. The more Strength you stack, the higher your damage will go.
· Blood Rage Glyph: Further increases your Berserking damage.
· Executioner Aspect: Increases damage based on your Strength. Combine this with the Earthquake and Weapon Mastery boards to get the most out of your strength scaling.
Ensure you have the Challenger Glyph for Strength and the Irog Glyph to get Fury back when swapping weapons.
Game Strategy and Tips
1. Earthquake Stacking: Try to stack your earthquakes on top of each other to maximize damage. You can drop multiple earthquakes in quick succession to trigger massive explosions, making your enemies melt in seconds.
2. Weapon Swapping: Weapon swapping is essential for maximizing Berserking uptime. With the Battlemat Aspect, swapping weapons grants a 32% damage boost, which is critical for maintaining consistent high damage output.
3. Fury Management: Fury generation is key to keeping your attacks going. Make sure to use Ground Stomp and Shouts to keep your Fury topped off.
4. Maintain Fortify: Since you no longer have Rallying Cry to fortify, you’ll need to focus on Hex of Whispers for fortification and Cycle for healing, ensuring you stay alive while dealing heavy damage.
Endgame Content
With this build, you should have no problem tackling high-level content. I’ve personally pushed content up to Level 115, and while my gear isn’t fully optimized (only 70-80% glyphs), the build still delivers insane results. When your gear is fully optimized and you hit 12/12 Masterworks, the potential for damage output is off the charts.
Final Thoughts
This is the updated Earthquake Barbarian Build after the patch fix, and it is a complete game-changer. The synergy between Mantles of the Mountain’s Fury, Hammer of the Ancients, and Earthquake creates an insane damage output, making the Barbarian one of the most powerful and fun classes to play in Diablo 4. The gear, skills, and Paragon board all come together for an unstoppable force that leaves a trail of destruction in your wake. If you’re looking for a high-damage Barbarian that can clear dungeons quickly while having an active gameplay loop, this is the build for you. Additionally, to further enhance your experience, consider checking out MMOEXP for cheap Diablo 4 Items that can complement your build. Go out there and start smashing through your enemies, and let me know how you fare!