Frenzy HotNS Barbarian Greater Rift Speed Farming Variation

The HotNS Frenzy Barbarian is a capable build for Greater Rift Speed Farming, lagging only slightly behind the more dominant Whirlwind/Rend Build. The build variation suffers from the minor inconvenience of being a predominantly single target build, but with the correct playstyle (mostly ignoring trash and focusing down elite after elite), it handles the task with ease.

During lower tier Greater Rift farming, the balance between defense, damage and utility can be shifted to favor the latter two aspects of character building.

Active Skills
Frenzy Berserk Furious Charge Cold Rush 1 War Cry Veteran's Warning 2 Threatening Shout Falter 3 Battle Rage Bloodshed 4 Wrath of the Berserker Insanity
Passive Skills
Berserker Rage Rampage Boon of Bul-Kathos Brawler

When you are Speed Farming Greater Rifts, your playstyle should at least partially reflect the circumstances by focusing on massive pulls, generic bonuses against enemies and chaining pylon effects.

During speed farming, you are allowed much more liberal use of Wrath of the Berserker; you can pop it as soon as you enter the Rift and keep it up pretty much indefinitely thanks to the powers of In-geom. Aside from WotB, keep up your usual build rotation of War Cry, Threatening Shout and Battle Rage up at all times as your staple buffs and debuffs over the enemy hordes. The remainder of the core rotation executes identically to the progression build; you will be using Furious Charge to jump from pack to pack (with some notable rune alterations — see below), and quickly whittling down priority targets with Frenzy. Due to the single target nature and In-geom proc dependency of this build, always keep in mind to focus on elites and very dense trash packs, largely ignoring stragglers on your way as they will only slow down your runs.

Parts of the skill and passive selection will overlap with the base Greater Rift progression build, but others will have to change according to the task at hand. Ability to cross over great distances faster and more efficiently take precedence.

• Frenzy is still your main damage dealer, but since you will be dropping progression-oriented weaponry like Azurewrath (and losing the elemental damage bonus as consequence) for In-geom (see gearing section below) you can change from the Cold rune Berserk to any one you like. For the sake of consistency, we have kept to the Cold rune Berserk and have specced out the build for Cold damage, though it should be noted that you receive all rune effects regardless, due to The Undisputed Champion.
• Furious Charge retains its role as a movement skill. You have some freedom of choice when it comes to the rune; if you do not trust your dominance over the current content to ensure an uninterrupted streak of In-geom procs, you can stick to the self-sufficient cooldown-resetting powers of the rune Merciless Assault. Otherwise, we suggest that you alter to the rune Cold Rush for an instant proc of the Savages 2-piece set bonus, so you immediately deal the full damage of your Frenzy slashes; In-geom should cover for your reliably available mobility.
• Battle Rage Bloodshed, Threatening Shout Falter and War Cry Impunity are all kept as valuable and consistent buffs to your damage and survivability.
• Wrath of the Berserker Insanity is still part of your skill lineup, and will have much higher uptime due to In-geom. Of course, that depends on the gear setup — there are speed farming variants for relatively higher GRs that omit In-geom and play around the WotB downtime.
• You will retain the vast majority of your passive lineup from the solo GR progression build. Boon of Bul-Kathos is still quite useful for WotB uptime even with In-geom present, while Rampage and Berserker Rage are consistent and straightforward damage buffs for a generator build in speed farming.
• You will maintain a large part of your progression passive lineup, with Rampage providing a massive damage and toughness multiplicative increase (due to Strength scaling), Berserker Rage providing consistent DPS boost because of your full Fury reserve, and Boon of Bul-Kathos cutting your ever so valuable Wrath of the Berserker cooldown shorter. Since you will not be running a setup with an axe in your main-hand, you should alter the Weapons Master passive to Brawler for a better damage bonus.

Most of the gear from the Greater Rift progression build will still make sense for speed farming, but a few variations will be necessary in order to maximize your productivity and momentum during regular Rift clears.

The Horde of the Ninety Savages set is still worn almost in its entirety, and it is recommended that you use 2 pieces of the craftable Aughild's Authority set, in order to capitalize on your elite fighting prowess and snowball your performance throughout the rift; the loss of life sustain items should be negligible during speed GR farming. Of course, this necessitates the use of Ring of Royal Grandeur in your jewelry Cube slot to complete the 6-piece HotNS bonus.

During Greater Rift speed farming, the timing and positioning-reliant bonuses of the Endless Walk set are greatly diminished in usefulness. You can still use this jewelry split, but will be slower and only suitable when you explore the upper GR limits of your speed farming. In their place, we suggest wearing a combination of Squirt's Necklace, Convention of Elements and a Band of Might. Squirt's Necklace is a glass cannon staple which doubles your damage with a separate multiplier, but has considerable drawbacks — requirement not to get hit and a penalty of increased damage taken if you do. You will offset these drawbacks with the shield of Molten Wildebeest's Gizzard lvl 25 bonus, and the combination of control you apply to the enemies plus your tremendous kill speed in GRs. Convention of Elements rotates through the elemental damage bonuses available to your class and dictates your playstyle around the spike of damage during your chosen element, where you should ideally pop the Wrath of the Berserker activation. Band of Might is a massive source of damage reduction with the trivial requirement of using Furious Charge on a regular (sub-8 seconds) basis.

In order to ensure very high uptime of Wrath of the Berserker during speed farming, you should drop the usual suspects for solo GR progression — Azurewrath or The Burning Axe of Sankis — and use an In-geom. The cooldown reduction upon elite kill powers of this legendary sword directly correspond to the elite hunting playstyle of the build. Note that if you decide to test the upper GR speed farming limits of the build, you can drop In-geom and play around the WotB downtime, switching to the Endless Walk set and arming yourself with an Echoing Fury — Oathkeeper combo.

To help you with farming the gear you need for your builds, we have two very useful guides that you can access by clicking the links below: a Salvage Guide to help you quickly check whether or not you can safely salvage a piece of gear and a Legendary Farming Guide to help you efficiently farm legendaries and set items.

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.

Both Simplicity's Strength and Bane of the Trapped remain universally desired damage amplification gems for the build.

When using Squirt's Necklace, you will have to introduce a shielding layer of protection in order to maximize its bonus. The most convenient way for most builds to do so, including this one, is to socket a Molten Wildebeest's Gizzard as a legendary gem. Its level 25 bonus provides a Life Regeneration-scaling absorption shield after not taking damage for 4 seconds, and is rather easy to keep up with the crowd control capabilities of this build. If you are playing an Endless Walk version of this build, simply swap this slot out for the other speed farming staple, Bane of the Powerful.

For more information about gems, please refer to our guide on gems.

Both Bastion's Revered and Depth Diggers remain very valuable to the build, as they provide a significant chunk of the damage scaling ( Frenzy-specific and Primary skills overall, respectively).

In order to maintain the 6-piece bonus of the Horde of the Ninety Savages set and the 3-piece Aughild's Authority set bonuses, you will need to slot a Ring of Royal Grandeur in the jewelry Cube slot.

The Kanai's Cube can be used for much more than simply extracting Legendary powers from items. Please refer to our Kanai's Cube guide for more information.

The recommended follower for this build during speed Greater Rift farming is the Enchantress due to her utility-laden arsenal of skills, and especially her cooldown reduction bonus, which assists your significant CDR needs during farming. Her balance of increasing survivability while also improving damage makes her an excellent choice during speed farming of any kind.

For more information regarding followers, we advise you to read our Follower Guide, which contains detailed advice for choosing the skills and the gear of your follower.

You have two viable potion options for this build; either lean into extra health sustain with Bottomless Potion of the Leech for its Life per Hit bonuses, or try to compensate for your lack of permanent CC immunity due to lesser WotB uptime with Bottomless Potion of the Unfettered.

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).