Introduction

This season, the Diablo IV Barbarian has one of the smoothest leveling experiences the class has had in a long time—arguably the easiest season-start leveling Barbarian has seen across all seasons so far.

In this guide, I’ll break down the leveling process from Level 1 to 70, covering:

Recommended skill progression
Important gear affixes
Practical gameplay tips for early progression

Level 1–20

At this stage, gear affixes are usually weak and inconsistent, so the best approach is to rely mainly on Basic Skills.

Core Skills

Frenzy
Lunging Strike
Rallying Cry

Frenzy

Recommended upgrades

Sub-upgrade: additional Frenzy stacks / enhanced attack speed
Main branch: Throwing

Frenzy is your primary damage skill during the early game.

With the new expansion branch, Frenzy can gain ranged functionality, allowing Barbarian to fight more safely at range when needed.

More importantly, Frenzy grants a large amount of Attack Speed, which makes early leveling feel extremely smooth.

Lunging Strike

Recommended upgrades

Sub-upgrade: increased area + Berserking
Main branch: Piercing

Lunging Strike is mainly a utility skill, so one point is enough.

Thanks to the new DLC branch, you can now dash forward even without a target, which makes it excellent for early-game mobility and map traversal.

It can also occasionally trigger Berserking, giving a nice boost to damage while leveling.

Rallying Cry

Recommended upgrades

Sub-upgrade: Fortify + stronger effect
Main branch: Madawc

At this stage, Rallying Cry functions as a secondary damage tool.

Since both Frenzy and Lunging Strike are Basic Skills, they generate plenty of Fury, which allows you to cast Rallying Cry frequently and trigger the Madawc branch for extra damage.

It also provides:

Fortify
A large Movement Speed bonus

That makes it extremely valuable for early leveling.

Level 1–20 Rotation

Use Lunging Strike to move quickly through the map
When you reach enemies, hold down Frenzy as your main damage source
Whenever you have enough Fury, use Rallying Cry for the extra Madawc damage

Level 20–70

Once you reach around level 20, the build transitions into a much faster Whirlwind leveling setup.

Core Skills

Whirlwind
Ground Stomp
Rallying Cry
Challenging Shout
War Cry
Call of the Ancients

Whirlwind

Recommended upgrades

Sub-upgrade: Movement Speed + channeling damage bonus
Main branch: Dust Devils

Whirlwind becomes your primary damage skill.

With the Dust Devils branch, it deals excellent AoE damage while allowing you to move while attacking, which is perfect for leveling.

Its only drawback is high Fury consumption, so your gear needs to support resource generation.

Ground Stomp

Recommended upgrades

Sub-upgrade: extra charge + increased area
Main branch: Battering Ram

The main purpose of Ground Stomp is to provide Fury generation.

It also contributes a small amount of additional damage.

Rallying Cry

Recommended upgrades

Sub-upgrade: Fortify + stronger effect
Main branch: Deafening

At this stage, Rallying Cry mainly provides:

Movement Speed
Fury generation

These bonuses allow you to keep Whirlwind running almost continuously.

Challenging Shout

Recommended upgrades

Sub-upgrade: longer duration + Fury generation
Main branch: Furious

Challenging Shout is mainly taken for its Furious branch, which adds Burning damage and amplifies the damage of your other skills.

Most importantly, it can be used without interrupting Whirlwind channeling.

War Cry

Recommended upgrades

Sub-upgrade: stronger effect + increased duration
Main branch: Mighty Roar

War Cry serves a similar purpose to Challenging Shout—it is mainly used to increase your burst damage.

Call of the Ancients

Recommended upgrades

Attack Speed + damage bonuses
Main branch: Korlic / Talic / Madawc synergy branch

Be sure to choose the branch that provides the strongest buff uptime.

At this point, Call of the Ancients is not used for direct damage.

Instead, it has a relatively short cooldown, allowing near-permanent uptime on:

Attack Speed bonuses
Damage bonuses

These buffs significantly improve Whirlwind damage.

Level 20–70 Rotation

Open with Ground Stomp to generate Fury
Cast Call of the Ancients for damage buffs
Hold down Whirlwind
Keep Rallying Cry active at all times

Against Elites or Bosses, use:

War Cry
Challenging Shout

to maximize burst damage.

Level 1–70 Important Tips

Prioritize Resource Affixes

During leveling, resource sustain is extremely important.

Look for gear with:

Fury per Second
Resource Generation
Fury on Kill
Lucky Hit: chance to restore Primary Resource

Best gear slots

Helm / Chest / Pants / Boots → Fury sustain affixes
Weapons → Fury on kill / Lucky Hit resource generation

Rallying Cry Has No Cooldown Now

Rallying Cry no longer has a cooldown, but it now costs Fury.

That means you should not spam it blindly.

Instead:

Watch your buff bar
Recast it only when the buff is about to expire

This greatly improves Fury efficiency.

Early Vulnerable Is Hard to Get

In the early game, Vulnerable uptime is limited.

A very strong solution is using the Seh rune.

It summons wolves, which apply Vulnerable very consistently and provides a major early damage boost.

Skill Point Priority

Always max your main damage skill first.

Only invest extra points into utility or support skills after your primary damage source is fully upgraded.