Double Swing Barbarian Endgame Build for Diablo 4 (Season 1)

Build Introduction

This is your comprehensive guide for building a master of stuns who expertly eliminates his enemies with both weapons, delivering them to the afterlife with a single strike. Welcome to our Double Swing Endgame build. This build dives head first into packs of enemies and tactically stuns them before delivering a killing blow with Double Swing. The non-stop action of stunning and crashing into the demons of hell pumps up your damage and leaves a wake of destruction behind you.

Our guide will cover all basic mechanics and deep dive into the optimal setup for skills, Paragon, and gear for the build.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

Amazing Single Target and Group DPS
Double Swing Fury cost is eliminated
Huge Critical hits
Good mobility

Weaknesses

Skills must be aimed
Skill rotation is very important

To see how this build compares to the other builds on our site, you can check out our build tier lists.

Build Requirements

This build has several Legendary Aspects that are required before it will function properly. For the Legendary Aspects you will need the following at a minimum to make the build work at its most basic level. These Aspects are all non-codex, which means you will need to find them on a Legendary Item then imprint them onto specific gear.

Required Aspects (Non-codex)

To even begin this build, we recommend you have these Aspects ready for imprinting at a minimum. For the build it become fully functional, we recommend you have all the Legendary Aspects listed further in this guide for the build to work optimally.

Season of the Malignant

Season 1 Patch Updates

This build was created within the current Season and utilizes the current in-game information and Aspects. We will note any future changes to this build here.

Patch 1.1.1

The second major update for Season 1, Patch 1.1.1 released on August 8th 2023, brings some positive changes to Barbarian. This includes adjustments to Basic Generator Skills, Key Passives, Skill passives and Legendary Aspects. The changes that directly affect this build are listed below.

Lunging Strike – Fury gained increased from 10 to 12.
Double Swing -Damage increased from 40% to 50%.
Aggressive Resistance – Damage reduction increased from 3% to 4%.
Enhanced Charge – ‍Damage increased from 30% to 60%.
‍Mighty Charge – Vulnerable duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds.
Walking Arsenal ‍- Bonus damage duration increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
Earthquake Aspect – Damage bonus in Earthquakes increased from 5-15% to 15-25%.

Malignant Hearts

The theme for Season 1 introduces a new form of legendary gem called Malignant Hearts. There are three types of hearts that need to be socketed into matching colored sockets on all equipped jewelry and one type of heart that can be placed into any socket. For more information about the Malignant Hearts theme for Season 1 check out our Malignant Hearts guide.

Listed below are the Malignant Hearts that are useful for this build, ranked by importance. Stats displayed reflect what a Level 20 character would receive as a drop. Note that this list is based on our early opinions on the Malignant Hearts, and we will update it as and when it is necessary.

Video Guide

Please note that since this written build guide is ever-evolving and videos cannot easily be updated, the below video should serve as more of a guideline, whereas the written guide will always have the most accurate information.

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

Follow the points allocated in the image above for the complete 58 point build. The additional 10 skill points are completed using the Renown system.

Priority Skills	Cluster
Lunging Strike Level 1, Enhanced Lunging Strike, Combat Lunging Strike	Basic Skill
Double Swing Level 5, Enhanced Double Swing, Furious Double Swing, Endless Fury Level 1	Core Skill
Ground Stomp Level 5, Enhanced Ground Stomp, Strategic Ground Stomp	Defensive Skill
Charge Level 5, Enhanced Charge, Power Charge, Aggressive Resistance Level 3, Prolific Fury Level 3	Brawling Skill
Steel Grasp Level 1, Enhanced Steel Grasp, Fighter’s Steel Grasp, Thick Skin Level 1, Defensive Stance Level 3, Counteroffensive Level 3, Pit Fighter Level 3, No Mercy Level 3	Weapon Mastery Skill
Iron Maelstrom, Prime Iron Maelstrom, Supreme Iron Maelstrom, Duelist Level 3, Wallop Level 1, Concussion Level 3,	Ultimate Skill
Walking Arsenal	Key Passives

Weapon Expertise – The Barbarian Specialization

Weapon Expertise is a set of benefits tied to which weapons you use as a Barbarian. To unlock your Expertise, simply hit Level 5 and the tab below will be made available. By using a certain weapon type, you will begin to gain ranks with that weapon as you fight. The ranks are from 0 to 10 and will level up moderately quickly as your character gains experience. Once your expertise hit rank 10, you will be maxed out on the benefit for using that weapon with your skills. As a reminder, to swap your assigned weapon to the skill you are using, go to your Skill selection list (not Skill Tree) and you will see how to switch it. For mouse and keyboard users, you can access this by pressing the middle mouse button. At Level 15, you will unlock the Masters of Battle quest. This quest will be available in the township of ‘Ked Bardu’ from the Forgemaster Gerti. Upon completing this quest, you will unlock the Technique slots as seen below. This will offer you an additional permanent bonus from one of the weapons regardless of whether you have it equipped to a skill or not.

For the Double Swing build, we will be focusing on the Technique of a One-Handed Mace. This boosts our damage to Stunned enemies, increasing our overall damage as we continually keep our enemies stunned.

Paragon

We recommend using these Legendary nodes and Rare Glyphs to truly take this build into the endgame. Note that each Rare Glyph’s information listed below is for the Level 21 version.

Rare Node	Effect
Exploit	– For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal + [3.85%] increased damage to Vulnerable targets. – Additional Bonus unlocked after 25 Dexterity points are purchased in the glyph’s range: When an enemy is damaged by you, they become Vulnerable for 3 seconds. This cannot happen more than once every 20 seconds per enemy.
Territorial	– For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal +[9.6]% increased damage to Close targets. – Additional Bonus unlocked after 25 Dexterity points are purchased in the glyph’s range: You gain 10% Damage Reduction against Close enemies.
Ambidextrous	– Grants +[125]% to all Magic Nodes within range. – Additional Bonus unlocked after 40 Strength points are purchased in the glyph’s range: You deal +[8]% increased damage while wielding One-handed weapons.
Might	– Grants + [120%] bonus to all Magic nodes within range. – Additional Bonus unlocked after 40 Strength points are purchased in the glyph’s range: You deal x8% increased damage while wielding Two-Handed weapons.
Wrath	For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, Core Skills deal + [7.2%] increased Critical Strike Damage. Additional Bonus unlocked after 25 Dexterity points are purchased in the glyph’s range: Skill that Critical Strike generate 3 Fury.
Bloodfeeder	– For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal + [8%] increased damage to Bleeding targets. – Additional Bonus unlocked after 25 Dexterity points are purchased in the glyph’s range: You have +5% increased Critical Strike Chance against Bleeding enemies.
Ire	– For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal +[8%] increased damage while Berserking. – Additional Bonus unlocked after 40 Strength points are purchased in the glyph’s range: While Berserking, you take 10% reduced damage from Elites.

Let’s break down each of these beneficial nodes and where our Paragon Points are positioned in each of the paragon boards we use. This part of the build is presented in order of importance. If you do not have enough Paragon Points to use in your Paragon Tree, just slowly work towards each step.

Starting Board

Take the pathway up the right hand side of the board towards the open Glyph slot.
Along route pick up the Rare Node Brawn, this will boost our flat damage and offer us an increase to Maximum Life.
Insert the Glyph Bloodfeeder, and take the Dexterity nodes shown to get the bonus. This will help us with our Weapon Mastery skills, but also gives us bonus Physical Damage.
Inside the Gylph radius we will take the Rare Nodes Raw Power for the damage boost.
Finally, path towards the connection point at the top of the board and attach our next Paragon Board, Decimator.

Decimator (2nd Board)

Path towards the open Glyph slots and pick up the Rare Node Destroyer along the way.
Now go straight to the open Glyph slot and insert Ambidextrous. This Glyph will boost the Magic Nodes in our Glyph radius and help increase our one-handed attacks. It is Strength based so be sure to take the Strength nodes shown above.
Next we will take both Rare Nodes inside the Glyph radius, Demolish and Arrogance, both of these nodes will give us advantages against Vulnerable enemies. Be sure to take the correct Magic Nodes.
Head towards the right hand side of the board and pick up the Rare Node Pillage, this node will give us another increase in damage to Vulnerable Enemies.
Complete both pathways to the connection points shown in the image above.
Finally, use the right hand connection point to attach the next Paragon Board Carnage.

Carnage (3rd Board)

Take the pathway towards the Glyph slot and insert Might into the Glyph slot. This Glyph will boost the Magic Nodes within the radius and grants us more Two-handed weapon damage.
Inside the Glyph radius take both Rare Nodes, Brash and Fierce, these Nodes will grant you an increased Berserking Damage and give you an increased Damage Reduction for Vulnerable Enemies.
Now path towards the top connection point, branching off to pick up the Rare Node Enraged.
Complete the path upwards to the attachment point and attach the next board, Flawless Technique.

Flawless Technique (4th Board)

Head up towards the Open Glyph slot and pick up Rare Node Havoc, this will give us increases to both our Critical Strike Damage and Physical Damage.
. Insert Ire into the slot and take the needed Strength to ensure its bonus.
Now take both Rare Nodes inside the Glyph radius, Brash and Heavy Blows. These will help our defenses against Close Enemies and our offensive Critical Strike Damage with 1-handed weapons.
Now continue to the right hand connection point and attach the Weapons Master Paragon Board.

Weapons Master (5th Board)

Follow the pathway to the center of the board and take the Rare Node Brute. This Node will increase our Physical Damage and Attack Speed.
Now go back and insert Territorial into the open Glyph slot. This Glyph will increase our offenses and defenses to Close Enemies.
Be sure to take the correct nodes in the image above, including the Dexterity for the bonus.
Take the Rare Node inside the glyph radius, Raw Power for the Physical Damage increase.
Now that this board is complete, go back to the upper connection point on the Decimator Paragon Board and attach Bone Breaker.

Bone Breaker (6th Board)

Select the Nodes towards the open Glyph slot and insert Exploit, this will increase our damage to Vulnerable Enemies. Be sure to take the needed Dexterity Nodes within the Glyph Radius.
Next, take the Rare Node Vigor for the Damage Reduction against Healthy Enemies and a small damage increase.
Now head to the left hand side of the board and attach our final Paragon Board Warbringer.

Warbringer (7th board)

Select the nodes towards the open Glyph slot, and insert Wrath for the boost to Critical Strike and Fury gains on Critical Strikes.
Take the needed Dexterity nodes to boost your damage output.
Lastly, take the Rare Node Raw Power, this will increase our Physical Damage.
This completes the Paragon Tree for this build.

Paragon board images courtesy of d4builds.gg.

Build Mechanics and Playstyle

The playstyle for this build is designed behind two major components; Stunned Enemies and Berserking. These two elements drive our skill rotations and help us prep enemies for a killing strike with Double Swing. Your goal is simply to round up enemies and apply stun. Once they are stunned, Enhanced Double Swing will remove the our Fury cost for Double Swing by allowing us to gain Fury when we strike a stunned enemy. Double Swing will benefit from countless buffs and quickly strike down any stunned targets using a single or multiple blows for heavier targets. Let’s take a look at the different methods that allow us to apply Stun to our enemies.

Lunging Strike has a chance to Stun due to the Concussion passive, this is also our trigger to enter a Berseking state.
Charge can be used to target an enemy into a wall or obstacle using the Enhanced Charge and offer us an additional 60% damage increase to that target.
Ground Stomp offers an immediate Stun to any enemies in the area.
Iron Maelstrom‘s first strike Stuns all enemies in a huge area around the player.
Weapon Master’s Aspect – this Aspect allows our Weapon Mastery Skills, Steel Grasp, to have a chance to Stun.
Aspect of Anemia – gives us another chance to Stun bleeding enemies. This works in tandem with the Aspect of Berserk Ripping.
Aspect of Retribution is our final element to Stun ranged enemies but also increase our damage to stunned targets.

With so many options to stun enemies, stunning your targets will come naturally and the playstyle will feel smoother the more you play it. Let’s take a look at our next component, Berserking, which boosts our damage and keeps our mobility high.

Berserking

Berserking gives us a base increase of 25% damage and 30% movement speed. We also benefit from the passive Aggressive Resistance for an increase in our Damage Reduction. We also use the Aspect of Berserk Fury to keep our Fury high. These benefits are easily triggers by both our basic attack, Combat Lunging Strike, as well as Fighter’s Steel Grasp. These two skills are an easy way to trigger a Berserking state, and then we can renew it through the use of Furious Double Swing which as stated above should be at a cost of zero Fury.

Gear Choice and Stat Priority

As you begin to farm in World Tier 3 and 4, Rare and Legendary item drops will begin to appear with some regularity depending on your luck. We recommend saving the targeted Legendary items that have the needed Legendary aspects listed below. We also recommended to keep multiple copies of the build’s Aspects in your Stash for future upgrades.

As for the Rare items, you will need to inspect each one for targeted affixes for use in each specific slot and do your best to match the recommended rolls. We have listed our targeted affixes in order of importance. Check the chart below and make note of what affixes you are searching for when you see a Rare gear piece drop.

Gear Slot	Targeted Affixes
Helm	1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Ranks of Steel Grasp 3. Crowd Control Duration 4. Strength 5. Damage while Berserking
Chest	1. Damage Reduction 2. Damage Reduction while Fortified 3. Damage Reduction from Close Enemies 4. Maximum Life 5. Rank up Ground Stomp 6. Ultimate Skill Damage
Gloves	1. Critical Strike Chance 2. Ranks of Double Swing 3. Attack Speed 4. Strength 5. Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Pants	1. Damage Reduction 2. Damage Reduction while Fortified 3. Damage Reduction while Injured 4. Damage Reduction from Close Enemies 5. Maximum Life
Boots	1. Movement Speed 2. Damage Reduction while Injured 3. Fury Cost Reduction 4. Strength 5. Movement Speed for 4 seconds After Killing an Elite
Amulet	1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Rank Up Counteroffensive 3. Crowd Control Duration 4. Damage Reduction while Injured 5. Movement Speed 6. Fury Cost Reduction
Rings	1. Vulnerable Damage 2. Critical Strike Chance 3. Critical Strike Damage 4. Resource Generation
Weapons	1. Vulnerable Damage 2. Critical Strike Damage 3. Strength 4. Damage to Close Enemies 5. Damage to Bleeding Enemies 6. All Stats

Please note that these affixes are the recommended picks for this Double Swing build, but that is simply our opinion. Other affixes could certainly work instead of the ones listed above, but may not be optimal. Also, there are several very specific affixes that are required to make the build work, they are as follows:

Crowd Control Duration
Rank ups to selected Skills
Cooldown

A final point on acquiring the right Affixes and Legendary Aspects, use your Obols to target farm them. Obols are awarded from many different activities in the game, you will always stockpiling them until you hit your maximum. Instead of just randomly spending them on a random pick, use them to target what you might be missing from this build. It is a great way to target a specific slot of loot and find what you need.

If you are interested in checking out a new tool for gambling Obols check out this link below from Icy Veins.

Obol Gambling Optimization Tool

Legendary Aspects

Listed below are all the best-in-slot Aspects found on Legendary items that are important for the Double Swing Barbarian build. Aspects from the Codex of Power can be used if you cannot find the proper Legendary drops, but they have weaker effects. Extract Aspects from lower level Legendary items and imprint them onto better Rare items with preferred stats. The endgame itemization goal will be to imprint Aspects with the best values Ancestral Rare items with Item Power above or as close to 800, then upgrade them through the Blacksmith. Each aspect is listed with its matching gear slot. Do your best to keep each aspect in the slot it was posted with.

Gear Slot	Legendary Aspect	Legendary Aspect Power
Helm	Weapon Master’s Aspect	Your Weapon Mastery Skills have an additional Charge. Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy with a Weapon Mastery Skill has up to a [37-55%] chance to Stun them for 2 seconds.
Chest	Aspect of Numbing Wrath	Each point of Fury generated while at Maximum Fury grants [X] Fortify.
Gloves	Aspect of Anemia	Lucky Hit: Direct damage against Bleeding enemies has up to a [20-30%] chance to Stun them for 2 seconds.
Pants	Aspect of Might	Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2.0-6.0] seconds.
Boots	Exploiter’s Aspect	You have 20% increased Crowd Control Duration. While enemies are Unstoppable, you deal [20-40%].
Amulets (50% bonus)	Earthquake Aspect	Ground Stomp creates an Earthquake damaging enemies for [X] Physical Damage over 4 seconds. While standing in Earthquake, you deal [5-15%] increased damage.
Ring	Aspect of Berserk Fury	You gain [3-6] Fury per second while Berserking.
Ring	Aspect of Limitless Rage	Each point of Fury you generate while at Maximum Fury grants your next Core Skill [1-2]% increased damage, up to [15-30]%.
Bludgeoning Weapon (200% bonus)	Aspect of Retribution	Distant enemies have a 8% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal [10-20]%[x] increased damage to Stunned enemies.
Slashing Weapon (200% bonus)	Accelerating Aspect	Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by [15-25]% for 5 seconds.
Dual-Wield Weapon 1	Edgemaster’s Aspect	Skills deal up to [10- 20%] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource.
Dual-Wield Weapon 2	Aspect of Berserk Ripping	Whenever you deal direct damage while Berserking, inflict [20-30%] of the Base damage dealt as additional Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.

Gems

Listed below are the best gems to socket into gear for each slot type.

Weapon: Royal Emerald for critical strike damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Armor: Royal Sapphire for damage reduction while Fortified.
Jewelry: Exclusively using our Malignant Hearts for these slots.

Elixirs and Health Pots

Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs that increase stats, and experience gain for 30 minutes. Make sure to forage plants and pick up the necessary crafting materials during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Use an Elixir providing any Resistance you need most, or the Assault Elixir to increase Attack Speed.

Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.

Changelog

August 19th 2023: Build Creation Season 1.