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D4 Barbarian Build

D4 Hardcore Upheaval Barbarian

This D4 Hardcore Barbarian build is the king of simplicity and survivability. We prioritize tankiness and mobility while taking Upheaval as a ranged option.  We have the options to get out of any sticky situation while killing mobs and bosses quickly. This guide will cover everything you need to know about making a Diablo 4 HC Upheaval Barbarian build. Use the Build Index to jump right to the information you’re looking for!

HC Upheaval BARBARIAN BUILD INDEX

D4 Upheaval Build

HARDCORE UPHEAVAL BARB PROS / CONS

  • SURVIVABILITY
  • TANKY
  • MOBILE
  • Slightly less damage for more Survivability

D4 HC Upheaval BARB VIDEO GUIDE

Something about the the Diablo 4 HC Upheaval Barbarian confusing you? Don’t sweat it, listen to me explain every piece of the build in this detailed YouTube guide!

HC Upheaval BARBARIAN SKILLS & PASSIVES

BASIC ABILITY

The first ability for your D4 HC Upheaval barbarian will be Lunging Strike. It is used to generate resources by lunging toward the enemy and striking it for damage. Enhanced Lunging Strike deals extra damage and adds life leech when damaging healthy enemies (a healthy enemy is one that is above 80% health). Battle Lunging Strike inflicts bleed damage which is important for our hardcore build.

Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike
Basic
Generate Fury: 9
Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon
Enhanced Lunging Strike
Enhanced Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike deals x30% increased damage and Heals you for 2% Maximum Life 2 when it damages a Healthy enemy.
Battle Lunging Strike
Battle Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike also inflicts 20% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.

CORE ABILITY

The core ability you will use is Upheaval. It is important to have a ranged attack option early on in hardcore. Save the melee quick clear speed builds for later on when you are fully geared.

Enhanced Upheaval adds a chance to stun to your upheaval. We are taking Furious Upheaval over Violent Upheaval for the increased damage potential and also because we are not prioritizing berserking early on.

As far as passives go for the Core Cluster, we will eventually take Pressure Point. Check out the skill point order section to see when we put points into passives.

Upheaval
Upheaval
Core
Fury Cost: 40
Lucky Hit Chance: 25%
Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires a Two-Handed weapon
Enhanced Upheaval
Enhanced Upheaval
Upheaval has a 20% chance to Stun all enemies it damages for 2.5 seconds.
Furious Upheaval
Furious Upheaval
Dealing direct damage to an enemy with a Skill that is not Upheaval causes your next cast of Upheaval to deal x3% increased damage, stacking up to 10 times.
Pressure Point
Pressure Point
Lucky Hit: Your Core skills have up to a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.

DEFENSIVE ABILITY

Defensive abilities will aid your HC Upheaval Barbarian in your quest to… not die. Rallying Cry with Enhanced Rallying Cry is great to break from stuns, snares and other crowd control abilities that are likely to kill you.  Strategic Rallying Cry adds to fortify which will help our overall survivability.

We will also take Challenging shout. The damage reduction and life/fury generation is important for our survival in large packs and boss fights.

The passives we will take in the Defensive Cluster will be Imposing Presence and Martial Vigor.

Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry
DefensiveShout
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Bellow a rallying cry, increasing your Movement Speed by +30% and Resource Generation by x40% for 6.48 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3.24 seconds.
Physical Damage
Enhanced Rallying Cry
Enhanced Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry grants you Unstoppable while active.
Strategic Rallying Cry
Strategic Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry grants you 10% Base Life 10 as Fortify. While Rallying Cry is active, you gain an additional 2% Base Life 10 as Fortify each time you take or deal direct damage.
Imposing Presence
Imposing Presence
Gain x5% additional Maximum Life.
Martial Vigor
Martial Vigor
Damage Reduction against Elites is increased by 3%.

BRAWLING ABILITY

The D4 HC Upheaval barbarian’s brawling ability will add to our mobility. Leap is a great option for strategically moving into a pack of mobs or getting away from certain situations.  We will also take Enhanced and Might Leap. The slowing of enemies when we land will help our CC which ultimately helps our survivability.

The Brawling Passives we will use are Booming Voice and Guttural Yell. If you are playing in a party, Raid Leader may be a good option as well.

Leap
Leap
Brawling
Cooldown: 17 seconds
Lucky Hit Chance: 66%
Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 32.5% damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon
Enhanced Leap
Enhanced Leap
If Leap doesn’t damage any enemies, its Cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
Mighty Leap
Mighty Leap
Enemies damaged by Leap are Slowed by 50% for 5 seconds.

Booming Voice
Booming Voice
Your Shout Skill effect durations are increased by x18%.

Guttural Yell
Guttural Yell
Your Shout Skills cause enemies to deal 4% less damage for 5 seconds.

WEAPON MASTERY

The D4 HC Upheaval barbarian wont use an active skill in the weapon mastery cluster. We will be using many passives in this cluster though. We choose to take an extra shout for survivability over the skills in weapon mastery.

There are a lot of passives we take in the Weapon Mastery Cluster. The passives will help with both survivability and clear speed by increasing damage. The passives we take are: Pit Fighter, No Mercy, Expose Vulnerability, Hamstring, Cut to the Bone, Thick Skin, and Defensive Stance.

Pit Fighter
Pit Fighter
You deal x3% increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2% Distant Damage Reduction.
No Mercy
No Mercy
You have +3% increased Critical Strike changes against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
Defensive Stance
Defensive Stance
Increase the Damage Reduction gained while you are Fortified by an additional 2%.
Hamstring
Hamstring
Your Bleeding effects Slow enemies by 10%.
Cut to the Bone
Cut to the Bone
Your Bleeding effects deal x6% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Thick Skin
Thick Skin
Each time you take direct damage gain 0.36% Base Life 10 as Fortify.

ULTIMATE ABILITY

Only one Ultimate ability can be slotted and we will take Call of the Ancients with Prime Call of the Ancients and Supreme Call of the Ancients. Call of the Ancients is going to be a great hardcore skill because we can continue being mobile while we let Korlic, Talic, and Madawc mow down our enemies.

The passives we will take in the Ultimate Cluster are Heavy Handed and Brute Force.

Call of the Ancients
Call of the Ancients
Ultimate
Cooldown: 50 seconds
Lucky Hit Chance: 30%
Call upon 3 Ancients to aid you in battle for 6 seconds.
  • Korlic leaps at enemies, dealing 104% damage and swings his weapon in a frenzy, dealing 39% damage per hit.
  • Talic spins in a whirlwind rapidly attacking enemies for 65% damage.
  • Madawc upheaves the ground, dealing 195% damage.
Prime Call of the Ancients
Prime Call of the Ancients
While Call of the Ancients is active, gain +10% bonus Attack Speed at x10% increased damage.
Supreme Call of the Ancients
Supreme Call of the Ancients
Each of the Ancients gains additional power:
  • Korlic: You gain 10 Fury each time Korlic damages an enemy with his Frenzy.
  • Talic: Enemies are Slowed by 50% for 1 when damaged by his Whirlwind.
  • Madawc: 30% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds when using his Upheaval.
Heavy Handed
Heavy Handed
While using Two-Handed weapons you deal x5% increased Critical Strike Damage.
Brute Force
Brute Force
Your Overpowers deal x15% increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon.

KEY PASSIVES

For our Key Passive, we will take Unbridled Rage for the insane extra Upheaval damage.

Unbridled Rage
Unbridled Rage
Core Skills deal x135% increased damage, but cost x100% more Fury.

HC Upheaval BARB BUILD SKILL POINT ORDER

You get one point every time you level. So at level 2 on your first character you will be spending point #1. At level 5 you will be spending point #4. 

When you earn your first renown you will have the same number of skill points as levels. 

Beyond that you will have to do some quick math to know how many points you’ve earned from renown and how many points you have earned from levels to know which part of this you are on.

HC Upheaval BARB CLASS MECHANIC

ARSENAL SYSTEM

Focus on 2H Sword for our skills for the bleed proc. Early game survival is more difficult without good gear. HC Barbs will need to be mobile and bleed damage is a good way to get extra damage while mobile.

POINTS 1 - 9

Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike
Basic
Generate Fury: 9
Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon
Enhanced Lunging Strike
Enhanced Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike deals x30% increased damage and Heals you for 2% Maximum Life 2 when it damages a Healthy enemy.
Upheaval
Upheaval
Core
Fury Cost: 40
Lucky Hit Chance: 25%
Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires a Two-Handed weapon
Enhanced Upheaval
Enhanced Upheaval
Upheaval has a 20% chance to Stun all enemies it damages for 2.5 seconds.
Furious Upheaval
Furious Upheaval
Dealing direct damage to an enemy with a Skill that is not Upheaval causes your next cast of Upheaval to deal x3% increased damage, stacking up to 10 times.
Battle Lunging Strike
Battle Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike also inflicts 20% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry
DefensiveShout
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Bellow a rallying cry, increasing your Movement Speed by +30% and Resource Generation by x40% for 6.48 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3.24 seconds.
Physical Damage
Enhanced Rallying Cry
Enhanced Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry grants you Unstoppable while active.
Challenging Shout
Challenging Shout
DefensiveShout
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Taunt Nearby enemies and gain 40% Damage
Reduction for 6.48 seconds.

POINTS 10 - 19

Upheaval
Upheaval
Core
Fury Cost: 40
Lucky Hit Chance: 25%
Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires a Two-Handed weapon
Upheaval
Upheaval
Core
Fury Cost: 40
Lucky Hit Chance: 25%
Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires a Two-Handed weapon
Leap
Leap
Brawling
Cooldown: 17 seconds
Lucky Hit Chance: 66%
Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 32.5% damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon
Strategic Rallying Cry
Strategic Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry grants you 10% Base Life 10 as Fortify. While Rallying Cry is active, you gain an additional 2% Base Life 10 as Fortify each time you take or deal direct damage.
Enhanced Challenging Shout
Enhanced Challenging Shout
While Challenging Shout is actie, gain x20% bonus Maximum Life.
Tactical Challenging Shout
Tactical Challenging Shout
While Challenging Shout is active, you gain 3 Fury each time you take damage.
Upheaval
Upheaval
Core
Fury Cost: 40
Lucky Hit Chance: 25%
Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires a Two-Handed weapon
Upheaval
Upheaval
Core
Fury Cost: 40
Lucky Hit Chance: 25%
Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires a Two-Handed weapon
Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike
Basic
Generate Fury: 9
Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon
Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike
Basic
Generate Fury: 9
Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon

POINTS 20 - 29

Enhanced Leap
Enhanced Leap
If Leap doesn’t damage any enemies, its Cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
Mighty Leap
Mighty Leap
Enemies damaged by Leap are Slowed by 50% for 5 seconds.
Imposing Presence
Imposing Presence
Gain x5% additional Maximum Life.
Martial Vigor
Martial Vigor
Damage Reduction against Elites is increased by 3%.
Call of the Ancients
Call of the Ancients
Ultimate
Cooldown: 50 seconds
Lucky Hit Chance: 30%
Call upon 3 Ancients to aid you in battle for 6 seconds.
  • Korlic leaps at enemies, dealing 104% damage and swings his weapon in a frenzy, dealing 39% damage per hit.
  • Talic spins in a whirlwind rapidly attacking enemies for 65% damage.
  • Madawc upheaves the ground, dealing 195% damage.
Prime Call of the Ancients
Prime Call of the Ancients
While Call of the Ancients is active, gain +10% bonus Attack Speed at x10% increased damage.
Supreme Call of the Ancients
Supreme Call of the Ancients
Each of the Ancients gains additional power:
  • Korlic: You gain 10 Fury each time Korlic damages an enemy with his Frenzy.
  • Talic: Enemies are Slowed by 50% for 1 when damaged by his Whirlwind.
  • Madawc: 30% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds when using his Upheaval.
Hamstring
Hamstring
Your Bleeding effects Slow enemies by 10%.
Pit Fighter
Pit Fighter
You deal x3% increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2% Distant Damage Reduction.
Thick Skin
Thick Skin
Each time you take direct damage gain 0.36% Base Life 10 as Fortify.

POINTS 30 - 39

Defensive Stance
Defensive Stance
Increase the Damage Reduction gained while you are Fortified by an additional 2%.
No Mercy
No Mercy
You have +3% increased Critical Strike changes against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
Booming Voice
Booming Voice
Your Shout Skill effect durations are increased by x18%.
Cut to the Bone
Cut to the Bone
Your Bleeding effects deal x6% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Thick Skin
Thick Skin
Each time you take direct damage gain 0.36% Base Life 10 as Fortify.
Unbridled Rage
Unbridled Rage
Core Skills deal x135% increased damage, but cost x100% more Fury.
Thick Skin
Thick Skin
Each time you take direct damage gain 0.36% Base Life 10 as Fortify.
Defensive Stance
Defensive Stance
Increase the Damage Reduction gained while you are Fortified by an additional 2%.
Defensive Stance
Defensive Stance
Increase the Damage Reduction gained while you are Fortified by an additional 2%.
Pressure Point
Pressure Point
Lucky Hit: Your Core skills have up to a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.

POINTS 40 - 49

Pressure Point
Pressure Point
Lucky Hit: Your Core skills have up to a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
Pressure Point
Pressure Point
Lucky Hit: Your Core skills have up to a 10% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
Martial Vigor
Martial Vigor
Damage Reduction against Elites is increased by 3%.
Imposing Presence
Imposing Presence
Gain x5% additional Maximum Life.
Martial Vigor
Martial Vigor
Damage Reduction against Elites is increased by 3%.
Imposing Presence
Imposing Presence
Gain x5% additional Maximum Life.
Cut to the Bone
Cut to the Bone
Your Bleeding effects deal x6% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike
Basic
Generate Fury: 9
Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon
Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike
Basic
Generate Fury: 9
Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon
Expose Vulnerability
Expose Vulnerability
Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1 second.

POINTS 50 - 58

Expose Vulnerability
Expose Vulnerability
Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1 second.
No Mercy
No Mercy
You have +3% increased Critical Strike changes against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
No Mercy
No Mercy
You have +3% increased Critical Strike changes against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
Booming Voice
Booming Voice
Your Shout Skill effect durations are increased by x18%.
Guttural Yell
Guttural Yell
Your Shout Skills cause enemies to deal 4% less damage for 5 seconds.
Heavy Handed
Heavy Handed
While using Two-Handed weapons you deal x5% increased Critical Strike Damage.
Brute Force
Brute Force
Your Overpowers deal x15% increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon.
Cut to the Bone
Cut to the Bone
Your Bleeding effects deal x6% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Brute Force
Brute Force
Your Overpowers deal x15% increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon.

D4 HC UPHEAVAL BARBARIAN ROTATION

1

Lunging Strike
Lunging Strike
Basic
Generate Fury: 9
Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon

Use Lunging Strike to generate fury and close gaps or position yourself

2

Upheaval
Upheaval
Core
Fury Cost: 40
Lucky Hit Chance: 25%
Tear into the ground with your weapon and fling debris forward, dealing 70% damage.
Physical Damage
Requires a Two-Handed weapon

Upheaval to spend your fury and attack from a distance

3

Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry
DefensiveShout
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Bellow a rallying cry, increasing your Movement Speed by +30% and Resource Generation by x40% for 6.48 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3.24 seconds.
Physical Damage

Rallying Cry will be used to get out of CC or movement speed to get away

4

Challenging Shout
Challenging Shout
DefensiveShout
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Taunt Nearby enemies and gain 40% Damage
Reduction for 6.48 seconds.

Challenging Shout is great damage reduction, increased life, and fury generation at the click of the button. We use challenging shout on cool down when entering a large pack or expecting big damage from a boss.

5

Call of the Ancients
Call of the Ancients
Ultimate
Cooldown: 50 seconds
Lucky Hit Chance: 30%
Call upon 3 Ancients to aid you in battle for 6 seconds.
  • Korlic leaps at enemies, dealing 104% damage and swings his weapon in a frenzy, dealing 39% damage per hit.
  • Talic spins in a whirlwind rapidly attacking enemies for 65% damage.
  • Madawc upheaves the ground, dealing 195% damage.

If you’re fighting a boss or elite, pop your Call of the Ancients to help with your kill speed. Can also be used to help clear mobs while kiting

6

Leap
Leap
Brawling
Cooldown: 17 seconds
Lucky Hit Chance: 66%
Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 32.5% damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact.
Physical Damage
Requires any complete Arsenal weapon

Leap is used to get in and out of combat strategically

D4 HC UPHEAVAL BARBARIAN LEGENDARY ASPECTS

The best aspects will be listed below for the HC Upheaval barbarian, broken into their different types. You can only benefit from one aspect at a time.

CODEX OF POWER

These Legendary Aspects can be target farmed by simply completing the Dungeon they are located in or progressing in the campaign. Once completed the aspect will appear in your codex of power for you to use as any time you want.

These are the Codex of Power Aspects that I plan on using early on with this build. 

FRACTURED PEAKS

Aspect of the Protector
Aspect of the Protector
Defensive
Damaging an Elite enemy grants you a Barrier absorbing up to x damage for 10 seconds. This effect can only happen once every 30 seconds.
Unlocked by completing Lost Archives in Fractured Peaks
Every class

Eluding Aspect
Eluding Aspect
Utility
Becoming Injured while Crowd Controlled grants you Unstoppable for 4 seconds. This effect has a 40-20 second Cooldown.
Unlocked by completing Caldera Gate in Fractured Peaks
Every class

Aspect of Anemia
Aspect of Anemia
Utility
Lucky Hit: Direct damage against Bleeding enemies has up to a 20-30% chance to Stun them for 2 seconds.
Unlocked by completing Kor Dragan Barracks in Fractured Peaks
Barbarian

SCOSGLEN

Ghostwalker Aspect
Ghostwalker Aspect
Mobility
While Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after, you gain 10-25% increased Movement Speed and move freely through enemies.
Progress Campaign in Scosglen
Unlocked by completing Broken Bulwark in Scosglen
Every class

Aspect of the Expectant
Aspect of the Expectant
Offensive
Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by 5-10% up to 30%.
Unlocked by completing Underroot in Scosglen
Every class

Edgemaster’s Aspect
Edgemaster’s Aspect
Offensive
Skills deal up to 10-20% increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource.
Unlocked by completing Oldstones in Scosglen
Every class

DRY STEPPES

Aspect of Might
Aspect of Might
Offensive
Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for 2-6 seconds.
Progress Campaign in Dry Steppes to unlock
Unlocked by completing Dark Ravine in Dry Steppes
Every class

Rapid Aspect
Rapid Aspect
Offensive
Basic Skills gain 15-30% Attack Speed.
Unlocked by completing Buried Halls in Dry Steppes
Every class

HAWEZAR

Aspect of Bul-Kathos
Aspect of Bul-Kathos
Defensive
Leap creates an Earthquake that deals x Physical damage over 5-15% seconds. While standing in Earthquakes, you gain 1 increased Damage Reduction.
Unlocked by completing Light’s Refuge in Hawezar
Barbarian

Aspect of Ancestral Echoes
Aspect of Ancestral Echoes
Offensive
Lucky Hit: While Call of the Ancients is on your Action Bar, damaging enemies with Leap, Upheaval, or Whirlwind has up to a 50-60% chance to summon an Ancient to perform the same Skill.
Unlocked by completing Ancient Reservoir in Hawezar
Barbarian

KEHJISTAN

Aspect of Retribution
Aspect of Retribution
Offensive
Distant enemies have a 8% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal 10-20% increased damage to Stunned enemies.
Unlocked by completing Abandoned Mineworks in Kehjistan
Every class

LEGENDARY ITEMS

These are the legendary aspect that can only be found as a drop in the game. You must kill enemies and bosses until you get these legendary items to drop.

UNIQUE ITEMS

These are the unique items you should look out for. These won’t start dropping until you reach Tier 3 Difficulty, known as Nightmare.

D4 Whirlwind Barbarian Build

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