Barbarian HotA Build with Immortal King

Empowered by the Immortal King set, this Barbarian build emphasizes melee devastation and pulverizes his enemies to the ground with Hammer of the Ancients, while maintaining a vast array of buffs and warriors at his side. This agile, face-to-face burst damage build is geared towards Greater Rift solo progression, but we also have a speed farming variant of it.

The basic skill setup of the IK HotA Barbarian is displayed below. Read the dedicated Skills page for detailed information on choices, alternatives and build customization.

Active Skills
Furious Charge Merciless Assault Hammer of the Ancients Smash 1 Battle Rage Bloodshed 2 Threatening Shout Falter 3 Wrath of the Berserker Insanity 4 Call of the Ancients Together as One
Passive Skills
Berserker Rage Rampage Ruthless Nerves of Steel

The required gear setup for IK HotA Barbarian is listed below. Check the Gear page for detailed information on choices, alternatives, gemming, Kanai's Cube and Paragon distribution.

• Helm: Immortal King's Triumph
• Shoulders: Fury of the Ancients
• Gloves: Immortal King's Irons
• Chest: Immortal King's Eternal Reign
• Belt: Immortal King's Tribal Binding
• Pants: Immortal King's Stature
• Boots: Immortal King's Stride
• Bracers: Bracers of the First Men
• Amulet: The Traveler's Pledge
• Ring 1: The Compass Rose
• Ring 2: Convention of Elements
• Weapon 1: Remorseless
• Weapon 2: Echoing Fury

The former Season 28 theme, the Altar of Rites, has been revised and re-added to Diablo 3 as a permanent character progression mechanic. — For virtually all builds and players of all skill levels — from casual to advanced — we recommend progressing through the Altar tree using the path outlined below. The suggested path is geared towards maximum quality of life first, then amplifying damage, and then mopping up the tree with defensive and edge case utility nodes.

Note that while they require reaching them with a Seal, Legendary Potion Powers are not part of the Seal cost system; Potions unlock with a separate resource called Primordial Ashes, obtained from salvaging Legendary or Set items of Primal (red bordered) quality. Upgrade them as soon as possible, and in the order shown below (courtesy of Caleko's Altar of Rites planner).

You can read more on the Altar of Rites, Seals and Legendary Potion Powers in our dedicated Altar of Rites Mechanics guide.

• Legendary Gem 1: Bane of the Trapped
• Legendary Gem 2: Bane of the Stricken
• Legendary Gem 3: Esoteric Alteration or Pain Enhancer

• Weapon Slot: The Gavel of Judgment
• Armor Slot: Mortick's Brace
• Jewelry Slot: Band of Might

We recommend the Scoundrel for GR solo progression, and the Enchantress in speed GR and T16 farming. Check our Follower guide for advice on their skills and gearing. For your legendary potion, we recommend Bottomless Potion of the Leech.

This Season revives the Pandemonium Kill Streak buff from Season 19. Each stack grants a bonus to movement speed and damage, capping at +50% movement speed and +100% damage at 1000 kills. Hitting specific kill thresholds unleashes powerful effects. Read more in our dedicated Season of the Eternal Conflict Mechanics Guide!

While speedfarming sees limited use from this theme, Greater Rift pushing benefits significantly. Effects like Geysers (150), Meteors (400), and Angels (500) can clear elites and Rift Guardians instantly. Players may reset streaks after 150 kills to repeatedly trigger Geysers or push for 500+ kills near boss fights, often using Nemesis Bracers to spawn extra enemies.

Because the most potent effects (Geysers, Meteors, Angels) can obliterate Rift Guardians instantly up to GR150, players can retool builds for efficiency and comfort. Here’s how:

Since you can rely on killstreak procs to clear the Rift Guardian, Bane of the Stricken can be safely omitted in favor of:

• Another generic damage-scaling legendary gem ( Bane of the Trapped for builds with any form of crowd control and/or melee range, Zei's Stone of Vengeance for far ranged builds, Taeguk for channeling builds, Simplicity's Strength for primary attack-focused builds, Enforcer for pet-oriented builds, etc.)
• A survivability-oriented legendary gem ( Esoteric Alteration, Molten Wildebeest's Gizzard), or additional utility ( Gogok of Swiftness for CDR-reliant builds, Pain Enhancer for attack speed-heavy builds, or Wreath of Lightning for extra movement speed).

Adjust your equipment to items that favor durability, health sustain, and ease of movement. Consider adjusting non-essential skills for the build to ones that pull, reposition, or otherwise displace enemies to facilitate large pulls of enemy packs. In more concrete terms, this means:

• For class-specific items, Barbarians should consider Band of Might if it's absent from the build; this is a powerful damage reduction item that incentivizes you to be mindful of mobility (through Furious Charge and Leap) and utility (through Ground Stomp) — both of which synergize well with the killstreak theme.
• For additional defense, other helpful cross-class jewelry includes Unity and the Endless Walk set ( The Traveler's Pledge and The Compass Rose).
• Situational items that can bolster your defenses include Stone Gauntlets (the drawbacks of which are negated via CC-immunity effects like Wrath of the Berserker, Ice Climbers, or Altar of Rites CC-immunity node), Aquila Cuirass (for low Fury-spending builds), and truly edge-case inclusions like Justice Lantern and String of Ears.
• For situational items that improve your utility, strongly consider Nemesis Bracers as the extra elites equal both killstreak upkeep and GR progression. When soloing, they should be equipped by your follower; in groups, at least one party member should commit to wearing them. Edge cases will see the inclusion of Warzechian Armguards or Krelm's Buff Belt (more speed for easier scouting and pulls), and Chilanik's Chain (for a group-wide boon). To facilitate large pulls, consider using a Follower equipped with The Ess of Johan, a proc-based analogue to an enemy-pulling skill (albeit outside your control).
• Skill-wise, make sure to include at least one movement skill tool ( Furious Charge, Leap or Sprint) and/or an enemy-pulling tool like Ground Stomp Wrenching Smash or Ancient Spear Rage Flip. Take a look if you can include passives like Boon of Bul-Kathos (for solo) or Inspiring Presence (for groups).