One Diablo 4 Class Gets the Short End of the Stick in Season 9

Not all classes are created equal in Diablo 4‘s Season 9 meta, and there are some clear winners and losers of this seasonal update. While classes like Spiritborn, Necromancer, and Sorcerer top the Diablo 4 Season 9 meta, others have slid down in the rankings due to various reasons. While most Diablo 4 players can find viable builds regardless of which class they want to play, those looking to optimize their endgame runs of the Pit or Tormented Bosses may want to avoid the Barbarian during the Sins of the Horadrim season.

Diablo 4‘s Barbarian has been one of the most inconsistent classes to play from season to season, going from top of the meta one season to bottom of the barrel the next. As the Barbarians’ skills and gear have gotten reworked over the seasons, the class’s meta builds have varied drastically, so players who played an S-tier Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian in Season 3 will find that the same build is no longer as viable as it once was. However, the Barbarian was hit with nerfs especially hard going into Season 9, leaving Barbarian fans with very few options for meta builds.

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Diablo 4 Season 9’s Best DPS Build Comes at a High Price

Diablo 4 Season 9 has some standout builds due to its Horadric Spells and skill buffs, but one of the best may require some heavy player investment.

Diablo 4’s Overpower Damage Nerf Hits Barbarians the Hardest

It seems that Diablo 4‘s Barbarian builds tend to live or die by how powerful Overpower damage is during any given season. This damage type has been one of the trickiest for Blizzard to balance, as it constantly sees reworks in seasonal patches. With the launch of Diablo 4 Season 9, Overpower damage no longer receives an additive portion of damage based on the player’s Life and Fortify amounts, instead only dealing up to 50%[x] when triggered.

This Diablo 4 Season 9 nerf to Overpower has hit Barbarian builds hard due to the nature of the class’s emphasis on skills that increase Fortify or guarantee Overpower to maximize Overpower damage output. Now that Overpower damage no longer includes the additive Life and Fortify amounts in its damage calculations, builds that seek to Fortify the Barbarian through the Class’s Shouts and deal Overpower damage through skills like Hammer of the Ancients have lost most of their bite. As a result, what were considered some of the best Barbarian builds in Diablo 4 in the past have been relegated to bottom-tier options for endgame content.

Barbarians Still Have a Few Decent Build Options in Season 9

While Barbarians may struggle to keep up with some of Diablo 4 Season 9’s endgame meta classes like the Spiritborn, it’s not all doom and gloom for fans of the class. There are still some solid builds Barbarian players can utilize during the Sins of the Horadrim season that take advantage of the class’s new seasonal unique.

Lunging Strike Barbarian
Bash Barbarian

With Overpower damage being a shell of its former self, Barbarians can get a lot of mileage out of Cleaving enemies to deal damage across a wide area. Previously, Diablo 4 Barbarians would need a skill like Rend to Cleave enemies, but the new Hooves of the Mountain God unique added in Season 9 comes with the unique affix that adds the ability to Cleave to all the Barbarian’s Basic skills. As such, builds with Lunging Strike or Bash as the focal point can shine with the ability to mow down enemy groups with Cleave.

Bash Barbarians have historically been one of the class’s better builds, but adding the Hooves of the Mountain God takes it to the next level. Lunging Strike, on the other hand, gains a whole new utility as it can stack Bleed damage on top of being able to Cleave groups of enemies, which can take advantage of the Rage of Harrogath unique chest armor to reduce the cooldowns of the Barbarian’s skills when inflicting Bleed via a Lucky Hit chance. Although being able to Cleave enemies doesn’t fully make up for the nerf to Overpower damage, it’s at least some consolation after the majority of Barbarian builds have fallen off the charts in Season 9.