The Earthquake Barbarian Build in Diablo IV offers a dynamic and high-damage playstyle, perfect for those who enjoy dominating enemies with immense AoE (Area of Effect) damage. This build leverages the Hammer of the Ancients (HotA) in combination with Mantle of the Mountain's Fury for devastating Earthquake explosions. This guide will break down how to optimize your Earthquake Barbarian for endgame content such as Tormented difficulty and The Pit, allowing you to smash your way through mobs and bosses with ease.

Pros and Cons of the Earthquake Barbarian Build

Pros:

Devastating AoE Damage: Perfect for clearing mobs and large packs of enemies quickly.

Fury Generation: High Fury generation allows for constant usage of powerful abilities.

Synergy with Shouts: Buffs to survivability and damage output, making you resilient in combat.

Easy to Play: Great for players who want a straightforward, powerful build with high mobility.

Cons:

Weak Against Singular Targets: Struggles with bosses or elite enemies due to the AoE nature of the abilities.

Positioning Challenges: Requires skill and positioning to ensure full damage is dealt to single targets.

Cooldown Management: Earthquake's cooldown is short but can still feel restrictive in high-pressure situations.

Mobility Reliance: Dependent on mobility to engage enemies, which can be limited during intense boss fights.

Core Mechanics of the Earthquake Barbarian Build

Primary Ability: Hammer of the Ancients (HotA)

HotA is the centerpiece of this build. When used with Mantle of the Mountain's Fury, HotA triggers Earthquake explosions, dealing massive AoE damage. This is your main source of destruction, especially in group battles.

Leap with Bul-Kathos Aspect

Using Leap in combination with the Bul-Kathos Aspect causes the skill to trigger Earthquakes when you land. This provides additional AoE damage, particularly when jumping into dense mob groups or elite packs.

Call of the Ancients (Ultimate)

The Call of the Ancients ultimate summons three powerful Ancients to aid you in battle. By modifying this skill with Arreat's Bearing, Korlic's Leap can transform into an Earthquake as well, adding even more damage to your toolkit.

Essential Skills for the Earthquake Barbarian Build

Basic Skills:

Bash → Upgrade to Enhanced Bash: This is the foundational skill to build up to the necessary core abilities.

Core Skills:

Hammer of the Ancients → The centerpiece of your build. This skill, combined with the Mantle of the Mountain's Fury chest armor, allows Earthquakes to explode with massive damage.

Defensive Skills:

Rallying Cry → Upgrade to Strategic Rallying Cry for enhanced movement speed and resource management.

Challenging Shout → Upgrade to Tactical Challenging Shout for added damage reduction and crowd control.

Brawling Skills:

War Cry → Upgrade to Power War Cry for Berserking, increasing both damage and survivability.

Leap → With the Bul-Kathos Aspect, Leap becomes essential for causing Earthquakes where you land, especially useful for AoE damage.

Weapon Mastery:

No core abilities to be selected here; focus on unlocking beneficial passives that back up the build.

Ultimate Skill:

Call of the Ancients → This skill summons three Ancients to fight by your side. With Arreat's Bearing, Korlic's Leap becomes an Earthquake, dramatically boosting damage output.

Key Passives:

Unconstrained: Always be in a Berserk state when life is below 65%, gaining a 60% damage bonus and 30% damage reduction.

Skill Rotation and Gameplay Loop

The Earthquake Barbarian's gameplay revolves around managing multiple cooldowns and using your abilities in quick succession:

Use Leap to trigger Earthquake on landing.

Activate all shouts to boost survivability and damage output.

Use Hammer of the Ancients to cause further Earthquakes and AoE damage.

Summon Call of the Ancients to maximize damage with the added benefit of Arreat's Bearing and the extra Earthquake trigger.

Repeat this cycle while making sure to keep your Fury generation in check.

Mobbing vs. Bossing

Mobbing:

As a mob clearing machine, the Earthquake Barbarian shines here. Most enemies will die within seconds of being hit by the LeapQuake attack. If some mobs survive, use Hammer of the Ancients with Mantle of the Mountain's Fury to trigger explosive Earthquakes, ensuring every enemy is wiped out.

Bossing:

The challenge arises when facing bosses or elite enemies. Earthquake's AoE nature means it's hard to deal full damage to singular targets unless positioned perfectly. To mitigate this:

Positioning: Ensure your character is in the right spot to guarantee full damage from HotA and Earthquake.

Call of the Ancients: This ultimate skill provides massive bonuses and strong support from your Ancients. With Arreat's Bearing, Talic and Korlic enhance your damage.

Use Overpower: Overpower is crucial for extra damage, especially in long boss fights.

Earthquake Barbarian Leveling Progression

The primary goal when leveling is to reach the Core skill (Hammer of the Ancients) as quickly as possible. Start by allocating points to basic skills like Bash and Combat Bash until you can fully upgrade Leap and Hammer of the Ancients.

You will have a total of 71 skill points-59 from leveling to 60 and 12 from Renown. Focus on unlocking Leap and Hammer of the Ancients first, then proceed to upgrade your defensive and utility skills as needed.

Gear and Equipment for the Earthquake Barbarian Build

Essentials Gear:

Mantle of the Mountain's Fury (Chest Armor) - This piece is crucial for adding Earthquake explosions to your Hammer of the Ancients.

Bul-Kathos Aspect - A necessary aspect for your Leap skill to trigger Earthquakes.

Arreat's Bearing - Modifies Call of the Ancients for additional Earthquake potential from Korlic's Leap.

Stat Priorities:

Strength and Fury Generation: Increase your damage output and the frequency of your powerful abilities.

Damage Reduction and Cooldown Reduction: Improve your survivability and ability to chain Earthquake abilities more frequently.

Critical Hit Chance and Critical Damage: Boost your damage potential in both AoE and single-target scenarios.

Conclusion

The Earthquake Barbarian Build is a powerful and versatile choice for Diablo 4's endgame content, excelling at clearing mobs and dishing out impressive damage. While mastering positioning and cooldown management is crucial for handling single targets effectively, the right combination of gear, passives, and skill rotation ensures you can conquer Sanctuary with ease. Whether you're farming mobs or challenging powerful bosses, this explosive build will keep you on top. Equip yourself with powerful Diablo 4 gold and Diablo 4 items to enhance your build and dominate the battlefield like never before!

MMOexp Diablo 4 Team