The Barbarian’s Whirlwind build is the standout for the class and remains a great choice in Diablo 4 Season 6 and in the Vessel of Hatred DLC.
The latest iteration of this build relies on taking advantage of the drastically improved Dust Devils. Over the course of the game’s various Seasonal updates, they’ve become a potent damage dealer and this version of the Barbarian is perfect evidence of that.
If you want to make the most of the Whirlwind Barbarian build in Diablo 4, then this guide is for you. If you’re still not sold on this build, check out our best Barbarian builds guide.
The best current version of Diablo 4’s Whirlwind Barbarian build is sometimes called the ‘Twister Whirlwind’ build. This is because, contrary to the skill it is named for, its primary source of damage actually comes from the swirling Dust Devils that are unique to the class.
Whirlwind is the primary method to generate these Dust Devils thanks to the Dust Devil’s Aspect which spawns them while the skill is active. To up the amount of Whirlwinds you spawn, the Aspect of Fierce Winds increases their size and damage while also spawning more for every Shout skill you use.
The recently introduced Force of Nature Legendary Paragon Node offers another source of Dust Devils whenever you spawn an Earthquake. Mix them all together and your character becomes an avatar of primal destruction that leaves a cataclysm of disasters in their wake. As the old adage goes; when using the Whirlwind Barbarian, your primary aim is ‘spin to win’.
Best Whirlwind Barbarian Skills
With the new level cap of 60 and the Skill Points afforded by grinding renown, you should have a total of 72 to invest in your Whirlwind Barbarian build for Diablo 4. These are the ones we reccomend.
Active Skills
Skills with a * are not added to the Skill Bar and are only needed to progress through the Skill Tree.
| Active Skill | Upgrades | Points allocated |
|---|---|---|
| Lunging Strike * | Enhanced | 1 |
| Whirlwind | Enhanced, Furious | 1 |
| Ground Stomp | Enhanced, Tactical | 5 |
| Rallying Cry | Enhanced, Tactical | 1 |
| Challenging Shout | Enhanced, Tactical | 1 |
| War Cry | Enhanced, Power | 5 |
| Call of the Ancients | Prime, Supreme | 5 |
Passive Skills
| Passive Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Pressure Point | 1 |
| Imposing Pressence | 3 |
| Martial Vigor | 3 |
| Booming Voice | 3 |
| Guttural Yell | 3 |
| Raid Leader | 3 |
| Swiftness | 3 |
| Aggressive Resistance | 3 |
| Pit Fighter | 3 |
| No Mercy | 3 |
| Slaying Strike | 3 |
| Thick Skin | 1 |
| Counteroffensive | 3 |
| Wallop | 3 |
| Concussion | 3 |
| Unconstrained | Key Passive |
Best Arsenal setup for Whirlwind Barbarian
Some Skills offer benefits when assigned to specific weapons and Legendary Aspects that boost power after swapping weapons.
These mechanics require Barbarians to assign different abilities to different weapons using the Skill Assignment pane. This is done by opening the character window, navigating to the Abilities tab, and selecting Skill Assignment.
You can assign one Weapon Technique which grants a permanent passive buff, regardless of the weapons you are using.
In this Whirlwind Barbarian build, we prioritize maxing out particular weapons strategically to maximize damage and utility.
- One-Handed Sword Expertise: Helps manage Fury consumption.
- One-Handed Mace Expertise: Provides a damage boost against Stunned enemies and adds an extra source of Berserking.
- Technique Slot: Two-Handed Axe: Increases damage to Vulnerable enemies.
In the Technique Slot, go for the Two-Handed Axe, which increases our damage against Vulnerable enemies – a key factor in clearing tougher content. However, remember that the Technique Slot doesn’t grant secondary bonuses from rank 10 expertise.
Best Whirlwind Barbarian Skill rotation
This is the best rotation for an endgame Whirlwind Barbarian in Diablo 4:
- Rallying Cry
- War Cry
- Challenging Shout
- Whirlwind
- Ground Stomp
- Call of the Ancients
Begin every encounter by popping all three of your Shout Skills. Not only will they spawn Dust Devils to kick the fight off, the combination of their various buffs will generate Fury, increase your survivability, and maximize your damage output.
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From here, you press and hold Whirlwind until everything is dead. Okay, there’s a little more to it than that. Thanks to the many moving parts you’ll have set up in this build, Whirlwind has a nearly infinite up time and is constantly spawning Dust Devils which chew through enemy health bars. The fact that it inflicts bleeding also procs a range of Passive Skills and Aspect effects.
You can use Ground Stomp for a spike in damage and the Earthquake it creates spawns even more Dust Devils thanks to some synergy between the Aspect of Earthquakes and the Force of Nature Legendary Paragon Node. Certain equipment and passive Skills also reduce your cooldowns meaning that your Shouts and Call of the Ancients are usually ready to go right when you need to pop them again.
Best Whirlwind Barbarian Legendary Aspects
Here are the best Legendary Aspects for Whirlwind Barbarians in Diablo 4:
| Aspect | Power | Dungeon | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dust Devil’s | leaves behind Dust Devils that deal damage to enemies in their path. | Extract from Legendary item | All |
| Fierce Winds | Your Shout Skills create 3 Dust Devils that deal damage to enemies along their path.Your Dust Devils are [5 – 25]% bigger and deal 1%[x] increased damage for each 1% their size is increased | Extract from Legendary item | All |
| Vocalized Empowerment | Your Shout skills generate Primary Resource. | Sirocco Caverns | Kehjistan |
| Numbing Wrath | Each point of Fury generated while at Maximum Fury Grants Fortify. | Heathen’s Keep | Hawezar |
| Iron Blood | Gain damage reduction for each nearby Bleeding enemy. | Forgotten Ruins | Kehjistan |
| Relentless Berserker’s | Extend Berserking duration each time you damage an enemy with a Core Skill. | Hakan’s Refuge | Kehjistan |
| Wind Striker | Critical Strikes grant Movement Speed. | Shivta Ruins | Kehjistan |
| Berserk Ripping | Inflict Bleeding while Berserking. | Mournfield | Dry Steppes |
| Edgemaster’s | Deal increased damage based on available Primary Resource. | Oldstones | Scosglen |
| Dire Whirlwind | Whirlwind’s Critical Strike Chance increases with time. | Garan Hold | Scosglen |
| Brawler’s | Gain increased damage for each enemy hit with Kick. | Haunted Refuge | Hawezar |
| Bold Chieftain’s | Shout Skills reduce cooldown. | Extract from Legendary item | All |
| Starlight | Earn Primary Resource for life healed. | Extract from Legendary item | All |
Best Whirlwind Barbarian Paragon Boards and Glyphs
Once you hit Level 60, Skill points become a thing of the past, and Paragon Points take over.
This system makes you pick upgrades from themed boards loaded with buffs. Each path is unique, but the upside is you can tweak your Whirlwind Barbarian build with specific Boards and Glyphs to boost your build exactly how you want in Diablo 4.
Paragon Board progression
For your Whirlwind Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 6, you should unlock the following Paragon Boards in the indicated order:
- Starting Board
- Blood Rage
- Force of Nature
- Warbringer
- Carnage
Best Glyphs
The Paragon Glyphs below are the best ones available for this particular build. We’ve outlined which Glyphs to slot into which of the above Boards.
- Territorial Level 100 (Starting Board)
- Twister Level 100 (Blood Rage)
- Ambidextrous Level 100 (Force of Nature)
- Rumble Level 100 (Warbringer)
- Challenger Level 100 (Carnage)
Best Mercenaries for Whirlwind Barbarian
For an endgame Whirlwind Barbarian build in Diablo 4, Raheir and Aldkin make an unbeatable Mercenary duo by offering both strong defense and clutch crowd control.
Raheir, as your hired Mercenary, shines defensively, with skills like Valiance and Bastion that shield you from heavy hits and grant Unstoppable, a must-have in tough battles. On top of that, Bastion pairs with Ground Slam to trigger powerful offensive buffs through Inspiration, boosting your damage output.
For reinforcement, Aldkin is your go-to for dangerous encounters. His Field of Languish acts as a reliable panic button, slowing enemies and reducing their damage, which is especially useful when you’re overwhelmed or facing tough elite packs.
Best Whirlwind Barbarian gear and Runewords
The Whirlwind Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 6 relies on a few Uniques as well as Aspects you’ll need to farm via item extracts. It can be a bit of a chore to set up but with the recommended gear and Runeword combinations below, this build should sing in the endgame.
| Item | Socket | Item type | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ugly Bastard | 2 Rubies | Helm | Casting Wrath of the Berserker causes you to explode, dealing [150 – 450] Fire damage. While Berserking, all damage you would deal is converted into Fire. You deal [10 – 30]%[x] increased Fire damage. |
| Rage of Harrogath | 2 Rubies | Chest | Lucky Hit: Inflicting Bleeding on an enemy has up to a [20-60]% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Skills by 1.0 second. |
| Fists of Fate | – | Gloves | Your attacks randomly deal 1% to [200-300]% of their normal damage. |
| Arreat’s Bearing | 2 Rubies | Pants | Ancients you summon are empowered:Korlic creates an Earthquake that deals [158 – 202] Physical damage over 4 seconds when he leaps.Talic leaves behind Dust Devils that deal [315 – 405] damage while he whirlwinds.Madawc ignites the ground Burning enemies for an additional [158 – 202] damage over 4 seconds when he upheaves the ground. |
| Ghostwalker Runic Cleats | – | Boots | While Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after, you gain [10- 30%] [+] increased Movement Speed and are Unhindered. |
| Bonebreaker of Earthquakes | BacWat – Invoke the Necromancer’s Horrid Decrepify Skill whenever you move five meters. | Two-Handed Mace | Ground Stomp creates an Earthquake damaging enemies for [X] Physical Damage over 4 seconds. While standing in Earthquakes, you deal [20-50%] increased damage |
| Ramaladni’s Magnum Opus | Emerald | Left Hand | Skills using this weapon deal [0.20 – 0.50]% increased damage per point of Fury you have, but you lose 10 Fury every second. |
| Skullsplitter of Anger Management | Emerald | Right Hand | While above [55 – 40] Fury, you are Berserk, but lose 2 Fury per second. |
| The Grandfather | XolTec – Invoke the Barbarian’s Earthquake whenever you proc BacWat | Right Hand 2 | Increases your Critical Strike Damage by 100%[x]. The other properties on this weapon can roll higher than normal. |
| Ocelot’s Eye of Fierce Winds | Skull | Amulet | Your Shout Skills create 3 Dust Devils that deal damage to enemies along their path.Your Dust Devils are [8 – 38]% bigger and deal 1%[x] increased damage for each 1% their size is increased |
| Ring of Starless Skies | Skull | Ring | Spending your Primary Resource reduces the Resources cost of your Skills and increases your damage by 10%[x] for 3 seconds, up to 50%[x]. |
| Bold Chieftain Band | Skull | Ring | Whenever you cast a Shout Skill, its Cooldown is reduced by [10.0-30.0] seconds per Nearby enemy, up to a maximum of 6 seconds. |
Best Whirlwind Twister Barbarian PvP build in Season 6
The endgame build for Whirlwind Barbarian works well for PvP in Diablo 4.
It’s got sturdy defenses, making it an impenetrable force for most classes and builds. We strongly recommend you invest in improving your Fury supply to avoid running out in the middle of combat.Now that you know how to craft this top-tier Necromancer build, make sure to check out our guides for the Druid, Sorcerer, Rogue, Barbarian, and Spirtiborn. There’s also our Diablo 4 Class tier list so you can see where this build fits in the current meta.