Diablo hasn't had a typical healer in generations and that tradition remains true in Diablo 4. Yet support heroes are as vital to this game as any other, perhaps even more. Groups that want to go for record clears or deal with World Bosses effectively will almost require a support Barbarian to compete at a high level.
For this reason, crafting a Support Barbarian build in Diablo 4 should be something that every Barbarian has ready to go. Even if players are more sold on a Whirlwind or tank build for their solo experience, when it comes time to group play, having a support build ready to go is amazing. This particular build is terrible for a solo experience, but it's top-tier with teammates in the mix.
Updated on June 30th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: This guide has been updated for the huge rebalance patch in 1.0.3. Many guides have remained untouched because most skills got a simple numerical buff or nerf to bring them in line with the rest of the skills in the game. Especially with Vulnerable builds becoming so powerful, this was an appropriate rebalance. However, not every skill received a small buff or nerf. Some of these were significant enough to change builds for and this build was one of those. Some of these buffs weren't to damage but to cooldown or resource reduction which alters the skill rotation entirely. The old build might still be better than it was before but this new guide gets the absolute most out of the class.
Skill Tree
Skill | Points |
Flay | 4 |
Enhanced Flay | 1 |
Combat Flay | 1 |
Rallying Cry | 5 |
Enhanced Rallying Cry | 1 |
Strategic Rallying Cry | 1 |
Challenging Shout | 5 |
Enhanced Challenging Shout | 1 |
Strategic Challenging Shout | 1 |
Outburst | 3 |
Tough as Nails | 3 |
War Cry | 5 |
Enhanced War Cry | 1 |
Mighty War Cry | 1 |
Booming Voice | 3 |
Guttural Yell | 3 |
Raid Leader | 3 |
Steel Grasp | 5 |
Enhanced Steel Grasp | 1 |
Warrior's Steel Grasp | 1 |
Thick Skin | 3 |
Defensive Stance | 3 |
Call of the Ancients | 1 |
Prime Call of the Ancients | 1 |
Supreme Call of the Ancients | 1 |
At the maximum level and with all the Renown gathered, players will have 58 skill points to invest. The general concept of the build is to crowd control, tank, and, of course, support allies with all three shout skills. The build does not have any skills that use Fury, so resource generation can be safely ignored.
Thorns will do a good amount of return damage to opponents that are taunted or decide to attack the Barbarian after being grabbed with Steel Grasp. But the real highlight of the build is to invest in Raid Leader which turns the Barbarian into the closest thing the game has to a healer. With all three shouts going, that will heal allies by 9% of their maximum health per second, effectively replacing the reliance on Healing Potions for the task.
Paragon Boards
Board | Paragon/Legendary Nodes | Glyph |
Start | Tenacity, Iron Strength | Marshal |
Decimator | Restorative, Decimator, Brawn | Territorial |
Hemorrhage | Grit, Hemorrhage, Poison Conditioned | Undaunted |
Bone Breaker | Bulwark, Tenacity, Vigor | Brawl |
Blood Rage | Grit, Fire Conditioned, Craving | Imbiber |
The paragon boards and glyphs can be a bit tough to figure out. It's a matter of adjusting the boards so that they snake properly. Few players will get to the maximum 200 paragon points but those that do will find that their powers are enhanced by enormous magnitudes.
Listing all nodes would be tedious and impossible to read, but if gamers move between the major nodes listed, it shouldn't be an issue. Make sure to purchase all relevant stat bonus nodes inside the designated glyph areas.
The Marshal glyph is critical to the build as it has the shout skills reduce each other's cooldowns. This allows the Barbarian to get on a cycle where a shout is always ready to cast for a nice rotation. After that, it's all about seeking out glyphs that all life and fortification; the only way the support Barbarians can fail is if the support Barbarian is dead.
To reiterate, this sacrifices all solo capability for group support. Always use a savvy leveling build to farm items and get experience and then switch over to using the Support Barbarian build later.
Gear
Slot | Aspect/Piece |
Helm | Harlequin Crest |
Chest | Razorplate |
Gloves | Needleflare Aspect |
Pants | Aspect of Numbing Wrath |
Boots | Weapon Master's Aspect |
Amulet | Melted Heart of Selig |
Ring | Bold Chieftain's Aspect |
Ring | Assimilation Aspect |
Two-Handed Slashing | Ancient's Oath |
With the new aspect system, gamers have a ton of freedom to take the piece of gear they find with the best stats and then add their favorite effect to it. Increasing potion efficiency helps out a bit but these aspects are game-changing. Note that some of these aspects can be swapped in and out on other pieces of gear; which piece has which aspect is not important.
The Melted Heart of Selig is unique to the Barbarian class and should be considered core for the build. It takes some incoming damage and deducts Fury instead. Since the build doesn't use Fury, this is a direct upgrade to tankiness with no downside. Aspect of Numbing Wrath is also critical for the build as it gives the Support Barbarian free Fortification for extra Fury generated, helping the Barbarian tank. Players who want to take on more of a starring role should try out an excellent Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian build.
Technique
- Two-Handed Sword Expertise
World Tiers can get out of control when it comes to difficulty. Thankfully, techniques are a simple way to keep pace with the escalating challenge. The Two-Handed Sword Expertise is as good as any other bonus since it beefs up the Support Barbarian's Bleed capabilities. It should be noted, however, that no technique is core to this build.
Since the primary damage source for the build is return damage (Thorns), feel free to use the most powerful weapons available. Or use this build in a group as an opportunity to rack up expertise points with other weapons. Since Ancients' Oath is the weapon used for Steel Grasp, though, Two-Handed Sword Expertise is perhaps the wisest investment in the long run.
Diablo 4 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.