The Upheaval Barbarian is a powerful and versatile build that can damage large groups of enemies with a single swing of the mighty Hellhammer. This build is ideal for clearing dungeons, world bosses, elite packs, and nuking single targets with Critical Overpower. In this article, I will show you how to build the Upheaval Barbarian, including the skills and Diablo 4 items you need.
Skills
The Upheaval Barbarian uses the following skills:
• Upheaval: This is your main damage dealer and the core of the build. Upheaval unleashes a shockwave that damages and knocks back enemies in a cone in front of you. The damage of Upheaval is based on your weapon damage, so you want to use the highest DPS two-handed weapon you can find. The Upheaval also benefits from Critical Strike and Overpower, the two main stats you want to stack on this build. Critical Strike increases your chance to deal double damage, while Overpower increases your damage by a percentage based on your Fury. Thanks to the legendary Ring of Red Furor power, you can guarantee a Critical Strike and an Overpower by using two Upheavals in a row. The Upheaval also has a large area of effect, making it great for clearing trash mobs and hitting multiple enemies simultaneously.
• Lunging Strike: This is your secondary damage dealer and your main Fury generator. Lunging Strike allows you to dash to an enemy and strike them with your weapon, dealing damage and generating Fury. Lunging Strike also has a chance to apply Bleed to the target, which synergizes well with the Evernight rune and the Bleeding Support construct stone. You can use Lunging Strike to close the gap between you and your enemies and keep your Fury high for Upheaval and Overpower.
• Rallying Cry: This is your offensive buff and your secondary Fury generator. Rallying Cry increases your damage and Critical Strike chance for a short duration and generates some Fury. You want to use Rallying Cry before unleashing your Upheavals to maximize your damage output and Critical Strike chance. Rallying Cry also affects your allies, so you can use it to boost your team's damage as well.
• Leap: This is your mobility and defensive skill. Leap allows you to jump to a location, dealing damage and stunning enemies where you land. You can use Leap to escape from danger, to reposition yourself, or to engage enemies from a distance. Leap also grants you some Armor and Resistance for a short duration, which can help you survive in tough situations. Leap also has a low cooldown, so you can use it frequently.
• Death Blow: This is your finisher and your Berserk trigger. Death Blow deals massive damage to an enemy below a certain health threshold, instantly killing them. Death Blow also makes you go Berserk, increasing your damage, attack speed, and movement speed for a short duration. You want to use Death Blow to execute low-health enemies, especially elites and bosses, and to activate your Berserk mode. Berserk also synergizes well with the Metamorphosis rune and the Flash of Adrenaline construct stone, which grants you additional effects when you go Berserk.
• Evade: This is your utility and defensive skill. Evade allows you to roll in a direction, dodging attacks and projectiles. You can use Evade to avoid damage, to reposition yourself, or to generate some Fury with the Metamorphosis rune. Evade also makes enemies vulnerable for a short duration, increasing the damage they take from all sources. You want to use Evade to make your enemies more susceptible to your Upheavals and boost your damage with the Diablo 4 Metamorphosis Vampiric Power and the Flash of Adrenaline construct stone.
Items
The Upheaval Barbarian uses the following items:
• Hellhammer: This is your main and best weapon for this build. Hellhammer is a unique two-handed mace that greatly increases Upheaval's damage and area of effect. Hellhammer also has a chance to stun enemies hit by Upheaval, which can help you control the battlefield and prevent enemies from attacking you. Hellhammer also has high base damage, which is important for Upheaval's damage calculation.
• Ring of Red Furor: This is your main and best ring for this build. Ring of Red Furor is a unique ring that grants you a buff when you use Upheaval, increasing your Critical Strike and Overpower chance for your next Upheaval. This means that if you use two Upheavals in a row, the second one will always be a Critical Strike and an Overpower, which will deal massive damage and possibly reset the cooldown of Upheaval.
• The Stone of Jordan: A ring reduces the Fury cost of your skills by 20%.
• The Seneschal's Aspect: makes your Upheaval overpower enemies every 25 seconds, dealing 300% increased damage and stunning them for 2 seconds.
• Stones, Gems, and Glyphs: You will want to use stones, gems, and glyphs that boost your damage, critical Strike, and overpower.
Some examples of good stones are:
The Ruby increases your damage by 20%.
The Emerald increases your critical strike damage by 50%.
The Diamond increases your overpower chance by 10%.
Some examples of good gems are:
The Flawless Royal Ruby increases your damage by 40%.
The Flawless Royal Emerald increases your critical strike damage by 100%.
The Flawless Royal Diamond increases your overpower chance by 20%.
Some examples of good glyphs are:
The Glyph of Power increases your damage by 10%.
The Glyph of Precision increases your critical strike chance by 5%.
The Glyph of Fury increases your Fury generation by 10%.
Skill Tree and Paragon Points
You will want to invest your skill points and paragon points into the branches and nodes that enhance your Upheaval, Charge, Whirlwind, and berserk skills.
Some examples of good branches and nodes are:
The Berserker branch increases your damage, Fury, and berserk duration.
The Overpower node increases your damage and critical strike chance when you overpower an enemy.
The Upheaval node increases the damage and area of effect of Upheaval.
The Charge node increases the damage and Fury gain of Charge.
The Whirlwind node increases the damage and attack speed of the Whirlwind.
Leveling Potential and Alternatives
The Upheaval Barbarian is a fantastic leveling build in Diablo 4. You can start using Upheaval at level 20 and Charge at level 10. You can also use Lunging Strike as an alternative to Charge, which lets you leap to an enemy and deal damage. You can use Leap as an alternative to Whirlwind, which lets you jump to a location and deal damage. You can use War Cry as an alternative to Rallying Cry, which grants you and your allies 25% increased damage and 25% increased armor for 8 seconds. You can use Wrath of the Berserker as an alternative to Call of the Ancients, which increases your damage, attack speed, movement speed, and critical strike chance by 50% for 15 seconds.
Conclusion
The Upheaval Barbarian is a fun and powerful build that can obliterate enemies with a single swing of the Hellhammer. This build is based on maximizing your damage, Critical Strike, and Overpower with skills, aspects, items, runes, and construct stones that synergize well with each other. This build is also versatile and adaptable, as you can switch some of your skills and construct stones to suit different situations and playstyles. If you are looking for a build that can unleash the Fury of the Barbarian, then the Upheaval Barbarian is the build for you.