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The Barbarian’s relentless rage gives Diablo’s minions night terrors. The splash of demonic limbs whirling across their frightened gaze… the sizzle of a fiery earthquake under their shivering toes… the Barbarian’s ferocity is unmatched. We reveal one strategy your Barbarian can honor in pursuit of Inferno obliteration.
Note: This guide is based off of Patch 1.0.3 (the most current patch while writing this article). Recommended skills and stat allocations may chance in future patches.
Recommend Inferno Build
Note: Make sure elective mode is toggled on so you are not limited to one skill per category. To do this go to Options, select Gameplay, and toggle on Elective Mode.
Frenzy – When you build up five stacks of frenzy, you will be swinging 75 percent faster. With a fast attacking one hander equipped, you will be replenishing a high amount of life and fury during combat. The Sidearm rune provides a 25 percent change to hurl an axe at your surrounding foes and will trigger quite often. This rune promotes Frenzy to a very high damage attack with an incredible attack speed buff. Bind this to your left mouse click.
Revenge – This crushing attack is a high damage and healing skill. But it has a chance to become active each time you’re hit. The Provocation rune doubles the frequency of its active state increasing you chances to use Revenge to 30 percent. Use it when it is available since it costs no fury and will reactivate. You will heal five percent of your maximum life for each opponent you slice into. Allocate this skill to your right click for its very frequent usage.
Overpower – This skill is an integral part of this build, acting as additional high area damage and healing spell when imbued with the Revel rune. It will strike all enemies within nine yards and heal you eight percent of your maximum life for each enemy struck. It is free to cast and, in most cases, more dependable than Revenge since it requires no condition. The cool down is 15 seconds, but is lowered by one second each time you land a critical hit in combat. High critical hit chance is important to keep Overpower thriving.
War Cry – This shout is an essential buff for your survival in Inferno. Your armor will increase by 20 percent for 60 seconds, so reapply this as often as needed. The Impunity rune will increase your resistances by 50 percent, allowing you to more easily defend against the magic-enhanced champion and elite packs.
Threatening Shout – For every buff we depend on, there is a debuff to dish out. Enhanced with the Intimidate rune, this shout will decrease enemy damage by 20 percent and movement speed by 30 percent. It is important to reapply this every 15 seconds. This will greatly decrease the effectiveness of your foes.
Wrath of the Berserker – This fury spender is a powerful transformation for 15 seconds and can be cast every two minutes. Your critical hit chance, attack speed, dodge chance, and movement speed are significantly increased. It also breaks you free of jailer and lends you immunity to immobilizing effects. The Insanity rune will buff your damage by 100 percent as well. Save your Super Saiyan mode for combatting elites and boss encounters.
Passive Abilities
Ruthless – The bonuses from this passive are both offensive and defensive in nature. When active, your critical hit chance is increased by five percent and critical hit damage by 50 percent. Decreasing Overpower’s cool down is necessary, since it is your greatest healing spell.
Superstition – Reducing all non-Physical damage by 20 percent becomes extremely important during the late Inferno acts. Plague, molten, and the like become very difficult to survive without this passive. It also has a chance to generate some extra fury when you are attacked at range, which aids to our next passive.
Berserker Rage – With our only fury spender being Wrath of the Berserker, the 25 percent damage increase from this passive is almost always active. Use this offensive passive only if you meet the armor cap noted in the Stat section below. Otherwise, Nerves of Steel should be promoted to this slot which provides a nice passive armor boost.
Companion
The Enchantress really shines in Inferno. The Barbarian acts as her personal bodyguard, allowing her to cast powerful spells on the enemy and share great enhancements with the warrior. Spells you should select are in bold:
[Charm] [Focused Push] – Charm targets a single opponent and compels it to perform acts of treason against its fellow demons. This can occur every 25 seconds and can slightly turn the heat down during a champion pack encounter. Focused Push is more negative than positive for the Barb because it knocks back the enemies, decreasing your up close and personal time. Remember, we rely on Revenge triggers and life on hit to survive.
[Reflects Missiles] [Powered Armor]– The Powered Armor bonus will provide a 15 percent armor buff and slow attackers by 30 percent. This is just what the Witch Doctor ordered for our ruthless fighter. Reflect Missiles is a very inconsistent defensive shield compared to this aura.
[Disorient] [Erosion] – Disorient provides a small window to leech life and reposition ourselves mid-fight. This will not occur often, but it does increase your survivability. Erosion is also good as a frequent damage boost to the corroding fiends.
