Whirlwind Barbarian Build BiS Gear and Runes for Diablo 2 Resurrected
Below, we detail which items and stats you should prioritize for your Whirlwind Barbarian and Mercenary in Diablo 2.
Damage Build
This is a standard high damage build for the Barbarian.
- 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
Immortal King Build
This is a build taking advantage of the full Immortal King Set. Great Set for a decent price.
- Weapon:
Immortal King's Stone Crusher - Weapon Swap: Two +3 Warcries Spears
- Body Armor:
Immortal King's Soul Cage - Helm: Immortal King's Will
- Gloves: Immortal King's Forge
- Boots: Immortal King's Pillar
- Belt:
Immortal King's Detail - Ring 1: Raven Frost
- Ring 2: Raven Frost or Angelic Halo
- Amulet: Highlord's Wrath or Angelic Wings
- 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
Budget Build Items
This is a variety of cheap gear sets to get you started.
- Weapon: Oath, Kingslayer, Obedience,
Bonehew, Insight, or Black - Body Armor:
Duriel's Shell, Duress, Treachery, 
The Spirit Shroud, or 
Shaftstop - Helm: Arreat's Face,
Rockstopper, Immortal King's Will, 
Guillaume's Face, or 
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest - Gloves: Laying of Hands,
Bloodfist, or Sander's Taboo - Boots: Gore Rider,
Waterwalk, 
Infernostride, or 
Hsarus' Iron Heel - Belt:
String of Ears, 
Goldwrap, or Nightsmoke - Ring 1: Raven Frost
- Ring 2: Angelic Halo
- Amulet: Angelic Wings
- Charm 1: Any Hellfire Torch for stats, even if it is not Barbarian-specific
- Charm 2: Annihilus
- Charm 3: Any Charm with Maximum Damage, Attack Rating, and Life
- Charm 4: Any Barbarian Skill Grand Charm
- Charm 5: Small Charms with Life, Resistances, Mana, or Faster Hit Recovery, depending on needs
Mercenary
You can either hire a Defensive (Holy Freeze) or Offensive (Might) Desert Guard Mercenary in Act 2, Nightmare difficulty, depending on whether you want to slow monsters for added safety or improve the overall damage of your Mercenary.
Mercenary Gear
Optimal Mercenary Gear
This is one of the best Mercenary gear setups across many characters, including the WW Barb.
- Weapon: Ethereal Insight Infinity
- Body Armor: Ethereal Fortitude
- Helm: Andariel's Visage socketed with a
Ral Rune
Budget Mercenary Gear
This is a cheap gear set to get your Mercenary some easy Damage and Survivability.
- Weapon: Obedience
- Body Armor: Treachery
- Helm:
Vampire Gaze
Changelog
- 23 Sep. 2025: Updated through Patch 2.8.
- 04 May 2025: Guide reviewed.
- 20 Sep. 2021: Page added.
MrLlamaSC is a professional twitch broadcaster that has been streaming since 2014. His content focuses on Diablo 2 where he speedruns, creates guides, completes crazy challenges, and more! With roughly 30,000 hours in the game he is a D2 Master and has great knowledge of so many areas in the game.
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