Barbarian HotA Build with Immortal King (Patch 2.7.3 / Season 26)

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.

Speed Farming Variation

HotA Raekor Barbarian Build

This HotA IK Barbarian Build used to have a Raekor variation, but it eventually grew into a competitive build of its own, before turning into a Boulder Toss Raekor build, which you can access using the link below.

Boulder Toss Raekor Barbarian Build

Quick Reference

3.1.

Skill Setup

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.

Skills and Runes Page

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

(diablo3.com link)

3.2.

Gear Setup

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.

Gear and Stats Page

3.3.

Legendary Gems

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

3.4.

Kanai's Cube

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

3.5.

Follower and Potion

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.

Changelog

13 Apr. 2022 (gear page): Guide reviewed for Season 26.
13 Apr. 2022 (this page): Guide reviewed for Season 26.
13 Apr. 2022 (skills page): Guide reviewed for Season 26.
09 Dec. 2021 (skills page): Reviewed for Season 25.
09 Dec. 2021 (gear page): Added Season 25 Soul Shard recommendations.
09 Dec. 2021 (this page): Added Season 25 Soul Shard recommendations.
22 Jul. 2021 (gear page): Added S24 Ethereal recommendation.
22 Jul. 2021 (skills page): Added skill variation recommendation.
22 Jul. 2021 (this page): Added S24 Ethereal recommendation.
30 Mar. 2021 (this page): Added follower recommendation.
30 Mar. 2021 (skills page): No changes required for Season 23.
30 Mar. 2021 (gear page): Added follower recommendation.
18 Nov. 2020 (this page): Added S22 Cube recommendation.
18 Nov. 2020 (skills page): No changes required to skills for Season 22.
18 Nov. 2020 (gear page): Added S22 Cube recommendation.
30 Jun. 2020 (this page): No changes required for Season 21.
30 Jun. 2020 (skills page): No changes required for Season 21.
30 Jun. 2020 (gear page): No changes required for Season 21.
12 Mar. 2020 (skills page): No changes necessary for Season 20.
12 Mar. 2020 (this page): No changes necessary for Season 20.
12 Mar. 2020 (gear page): No changes necessary for Season 20.
19 Nov. 2019 (skills page): Revised and update for Season 19.
19 Nov. 2019 (gear page): Revised and update for Season 19.
19 Nov. 2019 (this page): Revised and update for Season 19.
28 Aug. 2019 (this page): Revised recommendations for the Raekor and speedfarming versions of the build.
22 Aug. 2019 (skills page): Skill selection was clarified for Season 18.
22 Aug. 2019 (gear page): Item recommendations were revised for Season 18.
22 Aug. 2019 (this page): Item recommendations were revised for Season 18.
13 May 2019 (this page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 17.
13 May 2019 (gear page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 17.
13 May 2019 (skills page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 17.
27 Jan. 2019 (this page): Introduced minor improvements to the guide and adjusted the Raekor variant according to the meta.
27 Jan. 2019 (skills page): Minor revision to the passive selection options.
17 Jan. 2019 (this page): Guide was revised with additional recommendations for Season 16.
17 Jan. 2019 (gear page): Added suggestions for the baseline Ring of Royal Grandeur for Seasonal characters.
16 Jan. 2019 (skills page): Information was reviewed and approved for Season 16 with no changes required.
20 Sep. 2018 (this page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 15.
14 Jun. 2018 (this page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 14.
16 Nov. 2017 (this page): Added the Raekor build variation for GR progress.
31 Oct. 2017 (gear page): Changed the weapon recommendation to a dual setup with The Istvan's Paired Blades replacing The Gavel of Judgment (which is now cubed).
31 Oct. 2017 (this page): Overhaul of the guide to reflect the 2.6.1 buffs that made this build the best build of the season for Barbarians.
26 Jun. 2017 (this page): Guide updated for 2.6 and moved to new format.

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Farming Guides

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Seasonal Leveling

Tier Lists and Rankings

How To Farm Legendary and Set Items

Conquest Guides

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Sprinter Conquest Guide

Boss Mode Conquest Guide

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This build is presented to you by Deadset, one of the very few professional Diablo 3 players. Deadset regularly publishes video guides on Youtube and streams on Twitch, where you can see how this and other builds play out in practice.

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Barbarian HotA Build with Immortal King

Introduction