Whirlwind Barbarian Build (2024)

Last updated on Sep 30, 2021 at 11:00by MrLlamaSC9 comments

The Whirlwind Barbarian is an iconic build that revolves around Whirlwind, a skill that allows the Barbarian to move and attacksimultaneously. Ever gear-dependent, as are most Barbarian builds, Whirlwindis popular due to being one of the only Barbarian skills to deal area of effectdamage. Players looking for a build that is both competitive in PvE and PvP maycertainly find the WW Barb to their liking.

One of the strongest points for using Whirlwind is that it is one of the fewBarbarian skills that can deal area of effect damage. This allows for theBarbarian to fight larger masses of monsters at once instead of focusing onisolating targets or fighting off smaller groups. The Whirlwind Barbarianstruggles a bit while undergeared but, once decent Attack Rating and damage havebeen acquired, it quickly becomes a powerful build capable of beating any areain the game.

You can check the viability of this build in PvM by consulting our PvM Tier List.

The following section shows the default skill build for the WhirlwindBarbarian. For a detailed breakdown of all core and optional skills as well asthe recommended order for allocating skill points, refer to theSkills page of this guide.

1. 1 point to all prerequisites
2. 20 points to Whirlwind — Main damage skill, required
3. 1 point to Leap Attack — Useful for movement, required
4. 20 points to Weapon Mastery of choice (for instance, Sword Mastery) — Passively increases damage, Attack Rating, and Critical Strike
5. 1 point to Increased Speed — Helps you move faster, required
6. 1 point to Natural Resistance — Massive boost to Resistances, required
7. 1 point to Battle Command — Increases the level of all skills, required
8. 20 points to Battle Orders — Massive Life and Mana increase, required
9. 1+ points to Shout — Increases Defense, required

You can read more details about the Stats and Attribute requirements forthis build on ourSkills page.

The following section shows some of the most important items for the Whirlwind Barbarian. For a detailed per-slot breakdown of all WW Barbitems and alternative builds, refer to theGear page of this guide.

• Weapon: Grief
• Weapon Offhand: Breath of the Dying, Death, Grief, or Beast
• Weapon Swap: Two +3 Warcries javelins
• Body Armor: Fortitude or Enigma
• Helm: Arreat's Face
• Gloves: Steelrend or Laying of Hands
• Boots: Gore Rider
• Belt: Verdungo's Hearty Cord
• Ring 1: Raven Frost
• Ring 2: Raven Frost or Rare ring with Life, Resistances, and useful stats
• Amulet: Highlord's Wrath
• Charm 1: Barbarian Hellfire Torch
• Charm 2: Annihilus
• Charm 3: Small Charms with Maximum Damage, Attack Rating, and Life (such Charms are commonly known as 3/20/20s)
• Charm 4: Small Charms with Life, Resistances, Mana, or Faster Hit Recovery, depending on needs

We also have a video guide that goes over the build, if you prefer thatinstead of or in addition to our written guide.

In Diablo 2, stats that affect action speed (known as frames) forattacking, casting, blocking, and recovering from a hit can almost never betaken literally. For example, gaining 10% Increased Attack Speed from an itemwill not necessarily translate into 10% faster attacks. To achieve fasteractions, certain breakpoints must be reached, which vary for every class. Thetables below list how much of a given stat is required to actually improve theaction speed of the class for the stated action.

An Offensive ( Might) Act 2 Nightmare Mercenary is best to increaseyour Physical damage. An Offensive ( Blessed Aim) Act 2 Hell Mercenarycould also work for increased chance to hit your shots.

• Weapon: Ethereal Insight or The Reaper's Toll
• Body Armor: Ethereal Fortitude
• Helm: Ethereal Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ral Rune

The following section features a generic Barbarian skill point progressionmeant to make leveling towards becoming a Whirlwind Barbarian smoother.

1. 1 points to Bash
2. 4 points to Mace Mastery
3. 6 points to Double Swing from level 6 to 11
4. 1 point to Double Throw at level 12
5. All remaining points to Mace Mastery (or Weapon Mastery of your choice) until level 24
6. All remaining points to Frenzy until ready to respec into Whirlwind at level 30

For more comprehensive leveling advice, please refer to our Barbarian Fastest Leveling Build.