Diablo 4 is upon us, and it's time to build a Barbarian. Whether it's Bleed, Whirlwind, or Double Swing, there's plenty of space for AoE in every Barbarian build. Some choices for skills and gear are better than others, but no matter what weapon they wield, the more area-of-effect damage they have the better.
The Barbarian doesn't have very many ranged abilities to begin with because they're a melee class, and when it comes to area-of-effect skills they can't compete with Sorcerers or Druids. So the AoE skills a player chooses aren't just for good, gory fun. They're an essential ability for survival when the Barbarian has a lot of enemies to deal with at once, and that happens a lot because this is Diablo 4.
8 Whirlwind
This is one of the earliest AoE abilities that Barbarians can access in the skill tree, and it's also one of the best overall. It isn't specific to the type of weapon, like some AoE skills, but works with anything the Barbarian happens to be carrying in their four-weapon Arsenal.
Just like the name describes, the Whirlwind ability means the Barbarian spins in a circle, damaging every enemy within the weapon's radius. This is a channeled ability that costs 20 Fury per second, so keep that in mind when holding that hotkey down. Enhance this ability so it generates extra Fury.
7 Hammer Of The Ancients
Another great ability that's right next to Whirlwind in the second wheel of the Skill Tree, and it's better for Barbarians that prefer bludgeoning weapons. The catch with this ability is that a hammer or mace is required to use this skill to deal 50% to all enemies in a small radius around the character.
This ability also has an Enhancement to generate more Fury, another nice perk if the player decides to spend a point or two on it. It costs 35 Fury every time it's used.
6 Rend
Rend is the Diablo version of the Cleave ability that players who know their melee-fighter lore have seen in other games. It covers the space in front of the Barbarian and cleaves all of the enemies in front of the character.
This is an essential skill to choose for those players that are using the Bleed build. It not only does immediate damage but it has a damage-over-time effect as well. Enemies that get hit with Rend suffer from 19% bleeding over the next five seconds.
5 Ground Stomp
The classic version of the Stun or Stomp that's seen in other games also has the effect of stunning all of the enemies around the character for 3 seconds and doesn't do 9% of the usual weapon damage to them, too.
That makes Ground Stomp a nice triple-threat ability. It has the AoE that players know and love, plus a nice crowd-control effect combined with damage dealing. Enhanced versions increase the duration of the stun effect and give increased Fury generation.
4 War Cry
Another AOE ability that's similar is a rallying cry, but that doesn't increase a Barbarian's damage output to the same extent as this one. War Cry is found on the fourth wheel of the Barbarian Skill Tree, so it's a skill that Barbarians won't be able to access this AoE ability until mid-level.
This bellowing cry increases not only the Barbarian's damage by 15% for about 6 seconds but also for their allies. Players that are working on a PvP build or that plan on doing a lot of events and dungeons should invest in War Cry.
3 Leap
Not only is this a great AoE ability, but it's also just a lot of fun. The Barbarian leaps forward into the fray and when they hit the ground, they deal 32% percent of their usual damage and knock back all enemies in a nearby radius.
For those Barbarians that already have points in Hammer of the Ancients of Ground Stomp, this might seem redundant, so try Charge instead. This is another AoE ability that allows the Barbarian to plow through their enemies and deal more than 25% of weapon damage as they do so.
2 Call Of The Ancients
This is an Ultimate skill, which is usually reserved for later in the game when characters are grinding through higher levels, and it has some impressive abilities. The Barbarian can call three ancient warriors to fight at their side, all of which have badass AoE abilities.
Korlic jumps at enemies at cleaves them, dealing 104% damage, Talic uses whirlwind to clear a path, and Madwc rips open the ground and damages enemies standing on it. Enhance this skill so it does more damage and gives the three Ancients extra abilities.
1 Iron Maelstrom
Another Ultimate ability, and it cycles through each weapon the Barbarian carries. In Diablo 4, this means that the Barbarian carries four weapons, and this one allows them to use their dual-wield, slashing, and bludgeoning skills in the same attack.
The two-handed hammer or mace goes first, slamming into the ground, doing 60% damage, and stunning all of the affected enemies by 2 seconds. Then the slashing weapon takes over and swipes forward in a cleaving motion, dealing 20% damage and inflicting bleeding damage. Finish this bloody mess off with the dual-wielding weapons swinging in a radius around the character and dealing 32% damage on impact.
Diablo 4 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.