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Hammer of the Ancients (HotA) is, by far, the most powerful Barbarian skill in Diablo 4. It’s so potent that the skill has gone through several balance changes, counting as either nerfs or buffs. Yet, it still manages to come out on top nearly every season. We’re here to hammer in the point once more why these following HotA Barbarian builds are the way to go for the Barbarian, particularly in Diablo 4 Season 3.
Best HotA Barbarian Leveling Build
Consider this as some kind of transition piece because you usually still have resource issues at this point in the game until you start finding some specialized Aspects or Uniques.
With that said, it’s really not much different from the endgame HotA build, so you can gradually ease into that one. The best part is transitioning to an endgame build is cheaper here compared to other classes. Oh well, Barbarians are known for keeping things simple. Here’s the build:
| Skill Bar | 1. Lunging Strike 2. Hammer of the Ancients 3. Leap 4. Death Blow 5. Rallying Cry 6. Wrath of the Berserker |
| Passives/Other Skills | –Combat Lunging Strike –Furious Hammer of the Ancients –Tactical Rallying Cry –Power Leap –Warrior’s Death Blow –Hamstring (3/3) –Endless Fury (3/3) –Imposing Presence (3/3) –Aggressive Resistance (1/3) –Prolific Fury (3/3) –Swiftness (3/3) –Pit Fighter (3/3) –Slaying Strike (1/3) –Expose Vulnerability (3/3) –Wallop (3/3) –Heavy Handed (3/3) –Supremer Wrath of the Berserker –Tempered Fury (1/3) –Furious Impulse (3/3) –Walking Arsenal |
| Weapon Techniques | –Two-Handed Axe Expertise |
| Gear | –Two-Handed Mace (HotA) –Two-Handed Sword (Lunging Strike) –2x One-Handed Axe –Royal Ruby (Armor) –Royal Emerald/Sapphires (Weapons) –Armor is up to you, but pick ones with +Strength, Cooldown Reduction, +Attack Speed, +Damage to Close Enemies, +Critical Strike Chance, +Movement Speed, +Core Skill Damage, +Total Armor, +HotA, +Death Blow |
| Aspects | –Aspect of Ancestral Force –Edgemaster’s Aspect –Aspect of Unrelenting Fury –Aspect of the Relentless Armsmaster –Relentless Berserker’s Asapect |
| Governing Stones | –Lightning Bolt (with Safeguard, Tactical, & Duration Support) –Reconstruct (with Swift, Resource, & Fortify Support) |
Leveling Playstyle
If you’ve been playing HotA Barbarian builds long before Diablo 4 Season 3, then you’re already familiar with the mechanics here.
The combo revolves around buffing up your Barbarian before landing down a heavy and meaty HotA and using Death Blow to gain additional Berserking and finish off stragglers.
- Use Lunging Strike or Leap at the enemy to close the gap.
- Interchangeably use Lunging Strike, HotA, and Death Blow using three different weapons to activate Walking Arsenal.
- Afterward, cast Rallying Cry and then whack enemy clusters with Hammer of the Ancients.
- If any stragglers are still standing, hit them with Death Blow.
- For enemies with low enough health, just use Death Blow.
- If you find yourself low in Fury or against bosses, use Wrath of the Berserker before diving into the fight.
Best HotA Barbarian Endgame Build
This will be your goal eventually. HotA has always performed well in the endgame, and it’s even something you can use against Uber bosses. It has great solo and area damage with a playstyle you’re familiar with if you leveled up using the build above.
The key difference is that this build is a lot more expensive, and it’s difficult to gear up. However, the results will speak for themselves, particularly the tens of millions of damage you’ll be dealing regularly.
| Skill Bar | 1. Charge 2. Hammer of the Ancients 3. Rallying Cry 4. Challenging Shout 5. War Cry 6. Wrath of the Berserker |
| Passives/Other Skills | –Furious Hammer of the Ancients –Tactical Rallying Cry –Enhanced Challenging Shout –Enhanced War Cry –Power Charge –Endless Fury (3/3) –Imposing Presence (3/3) –Martial Vigor (3/3) –Aggressive Resistance (3/3) -Prolific Fury (3/3) -Battle Fervor (3/3) -Swiftness (3/3) -Pit Fighter (3/3) -Thick Skin (1/3) -Counteroffensive (3/3) -Wallop (3/3) -Brute Force (3/3) -Supreme Wrath of the Berserker –Tempered Fury (1/3) –Furious Impulse (3/3) –Unbridled Rage |
| Weapon Techniques | –Two-Handed Axe Expertise |
| Gear | –Two-Handed Mace (HotA) –Two-Handed Sword –2x One-Handed Mace –Royal Ruby (Armor & Weapons) –Resistance Jewels (Amulet & Rings) –Tuskhelm of Joritz the Mighty –Tibault’s Will –Banished Lord’s Talisman –Ring of Red Furor –Other armor is up to you, but pick ones with +Strength, Cooldown Reduction, +Attack Speed, +Damage to Close Enemies, +Critical Strike Chance, +Movement Speed, +Core Skill Damage, +Total Armor, +HotA, +Maximum Life, +Fury, +Resource Generation, +Damage while Berserking |
| Aspects | –Aspect of Ancestral Force –Edgemaster’s Aspect –Aspect of Unrelenting Fury –Aspect of the Relentless Armsmaster –Relentless Berserker’s Asapect –Aspect of Echoing Fury –Aspect of Disobedience –Ghostwalker Aspect –Aspect of Limitless Rage |
| Governing Stones | –Lightning Bolt (with Arcing, Breaking, & Efficiency Support) –Flash of Adrenaline (with Duration, Tactical, & Safeguard Support) |
| Paragon Board | –Starting board (Ire Glyph) –Bonebreaker (Crusher Glyph) –Warbringer (Exploit Glyph) –Carnage (Might Glyph) –Blood Rage node –Decimator (Dominate Glyph) |
Endgame Playstyle
It’s more complicated compared to the leveling HotA Barbarian builds’ playstyle; however, the idea is still the same. You maximize all the damage buffs before landing down a HotA.
This can be trickier without the proper equipment since we dropped Lunging Strike for Charge, but that setup can also work. You just have to deviate a bit from the ideal skill rotation below.
- Use Charge into an enemy cluster to close the gap.
- Activate Wrath of the Berserker, then whack enemies with Hammer of the Ancients.
- Use Charge again or War Cry situationally to keep Berserking active.
- Cast Rallying Cry to top up Fury and just keep attacking with HotA.
- Cast Challenging Shout for tough enemy packs and bosses.
- Rinse and repeat.
Do that as many times as it takes until the screen is clear, which usually won’t take more than a couple of HotA strikes. That’s how you smash your way into the Diablo 4 Season 3 endgame with our HotA Barbarian build.
