Best Diablo 4 Season 1 Barbarian Build: Abilities, Malignant Hearts, and Paragon Board

The Barbarian class got hit pretty hard for Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant, with nerfs and debuffs. This fact has driven players to drop their current Barbarian build and move on to one of the better classes. Not all hope is lost, though. Here is the best Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 1.

Best Barbarian Build for Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant

For this build, you want to focus on using Rupture through your higher levels along with Rend. This Bleeding Build has the speed you need for Diablo 4 and the area of effect that can help wipe out waves of enemies. It is arguably the most substantial way to make your Barbarian with the nerfs the class has received, so feel free to use this guide from level 1 to the paragon board.

1. Flay
2. Enhanced Flay
3. Rend
4. Rend Level 2
5. Rend Level 3
6. Rend Level 4
7. Rend Level 5
8. Enhanced Rend
9. Furious Rend
10. Rallying Cry
11. Enhanced Rallying Cry
12. Tactical Rallying Cry
13. War Cry
14. Enhanced War Cry
15. Mighty War Cry
16. Booming Voice
17. Booming Voice Level 2
18. Booming Voice Level 3
19. Raid Leader
20. Raid Leader Level 2
21. Rupture
22. Rupture Level 2
23. Rupture Level 3
24. Rupture Level 4
25. Rupture Level 5
26. Enhanced Rupture
27. Warrior’s Rupture
28. Hamstring
29. Cut to the Bone
30. Cut to the Bone Level 2
31. Cut to the Bone Level 3
32. Aggressive Resistance
33. Prolific Fury
34. Prolific Fury Level 2
35. Prolific Fury Level 3
36. Heavy Handed
37. Heavy-Handed Level 2
38. Heavy-Handed Level 3
39. Wrath of the Berserker
40. Prime Wrath of the Berserker
41. Supreme Wrath of the Berserker
42. Challenging Shout
43. Enhanced Challenging Shout
44. Tactical Challenging Shout
45. Guttural Yell
46. Thick Skin
47. Counteroffensive
48. Pit Fighter
49. Pit Fighter Level 2
50. Pit Fighter Level 3

Related: Diablo 4 Malignant Invokers Explained: Brutal, Devious, and Vicious Crafting and Rewards

Best Paragon Boards for Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 1

Paragon Boards are excellent for fine-tuning your Barbarian build and growing its maximum potential. While there are a ton of Paragon Boards to choose from, a handful should be your primary focus for this Bleeding build. Here are the best Paragon Boards for Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 1 and the buff nodes in each.

• Starting Board – Damage, defense, and life.
• Blood Rage Board – Damage to bleeding enemies, Damage reduction from enemies that are bleeding, and fire resistance.
• Decimator Board – Vulnerable damage, physical damage, life.
• Warbringer Board – Resistance to all elements, damage, and fire Resistance.
• Flawless Technique Board – Critical strike damage with one-handed, damage with one-handed, cold resistance.

Best Malignant Hearts for Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 1

Diablo, 4 Season of the Malignant, added a new helpful item called Malignant Hearts. There are four different Malignant Heart types: Vicious (red, offensive), Brutal (blue, defensive), Devious (purple, utility), and Wrathful (grey, powerful effects.) Players can add Malignant Hearts to jewelry sockets that match the corresponding color of the Heart. When players add a Malignant heart, their characters gain a powerful buff.

While this Barbarian Build can benefit from any Malignant Heart, there are a few that you should prioritize to make this specific build the best it can be. Find them out below.

• Revenge (Brutal, Defensive, World Tier 3) – 10 to 20% of incoming damage is instead suppressed. When you use a Defensive, Subterfuge, or a Macabre skill, all suppressed damage is amplified by 250% and explodes, dealing up to 1360 to 2040 fire damage to nearby enemies.
• Ignoring Pain (Wrathful, Super-World Tier 4) – Incoming damage has a 5 to 15% chance of being ignored and instead healing you for 17 to 68.
• Focused Rage (Vicious, offensive) – After spending 100 to 60 Fury within 2 seconds, your following non-basic skills’ critical strike chance is increased by 20 to 30%.
• Punishing Speed (Devious, utility) – Your skills have a 20 to 30% chance to knock down all enemies for 1.25 seconds when that skill’s attack speed is higher than 20 to 35%.

Following this Barbarian leveling guide will help make the worst class in Diablo 4 Season 1 pretty sustainable and powerful.