Best Bash Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 4: Skills, itemization, and glyphs

There was a lot of discussion about Bash Barbarian recently in Diablo 4 Season 4. Some patch notes had fans worried that it was getting nerfed right to the ground. However, this was not the case, and Bash is still multiplicative damage, instead of additive damage - that’s a good thing, by the way. That means this build is not only viable, but it’s also one of the best builds you can run in the game right now.

One of its only downsides is it requires some very specific setups. You must Temper the right ability onto your gear. You also need specific Affixes - not from your normal Codex of Power entries. You also need a handful of specific pieces of gear. It might not be as brainless as Minion Necromancer, but Bash Barbarian delivers both incredible fun and damage.

How to play Bash Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 4

Be it a single target or AOE, nothing evades the wrath of Bash in Diablo 4 (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Bash Barbarian isn’t too hard to play in Diablo 4 Season 4, provided you’re set up correctly for it. The lineup of skills isn’t too different from what you’d expect of any other build. Like other builds, you’re going to run shouts: Rallying Cry, War Cry, Challenging Shout. You can pair that with Wrath of the Berserker for when you’re in a pinch, and Charge to get you into the thick of combat.

Our combat skill though, is just the basic, regular Bash ability for this Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 4. That’s right, a basic skill is going to carry us to victory in every single fight. However, you must make some adjustments to it first. You will need a particular Tempering ability: Bash Cleaves for +% Damage. You’ll also need some particular Affixes, but we'll go over that in a bit. Here’s your talent loadout:

Talents to pick

Bash: 5/5 (Enhanced)
Imposing Presence: 3/3
Martial Vigor: 3/3
Rallying Cry: 1/5 (Enhanced, Strategic)
Challenging Shout (Enhanced)
Outburst: 1/3
Tough as Nails: 1/3
War Cry: 1/5 (Enhanced, Power)
Booming Voice: 3/3
Guttural Yell: 3/3
Aggressive Resistance: 3/3
Battle Fervor: 3/3
Charge: 1/5 (Enhanced, Power)
Pit Fighter: 3/3
No Mercy: 1/3
Thick Skin: 1/3
Counteroffensive: 3/3
Wallop: 3/3
Concussion: 3/3
Wrath of the Berserker (Prime, Supreme)
Heavy Handed: 3/3
Unconstrained: 1/1

Ideal itemization for Bash Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 4

Helm	N/A (Requires Tuskhelm of Joritz the Mighty)	N/A
Chest	Strength, Maximum Life, Lightning Resistance, Total Armor, Ranks of Concussion	Iron Blood Aspect
Gloves	N/A (Requires Paingorger's Gauntlets)	N/A
Pants	Strength, Ranks of Bash, Poison Resistance, Total Armor, Ranks of Concussion	Aspect of Might
Boots	Strength, Movement Speed, Brawling Ranks, Movement Speed, Stun Duration	Hectic Aspect
Amulet	Cooldown Reduction, Critical Strike Chance, Movement Speed, Damage to Close Enemies, Movement Speed	Aspect of Adaptability
Rings	Strength, Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed, Damage to Close Enemies, Brawling Cooldown Reduction	Bold Chieftain's / Accursed Touch
Weapons	Strength, Critical Strike Damage, Maximum Life, Damage to Close Enemies, Bash Cleaves for +% Damage (Temper)	Edgemaster's, Inner Calm, Moonrise, Rapid

Perhaps the most important part of the build itemization for Bash Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 4 is the Tempering ability Bash Cleaves for +% Damage. You need that to make Bash worth using. Don’t start this build without it, or you’re going to be single-targeting for a potentially long time.

You will also need a pair of uniques to make this build take off: Tuskhelm of Joritz the Mighty, and Paingorger’s Gauntlets. The Tuskhelm can aggravate it if you are already in a berserk state, which increases damage, Fury generation, and cooldown reduction.

Paingorger’s Gauntlets marks enemies when you hit them with a non-Basic skill. Then, you use a Basic skill that first hits the marked enemy and the basic skill’s damage is echoed to all other marked enemies. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to farm Uniques.

Two of your Affixes, Moonrise and Accursed Touch cannot be found in the regular Codex of Power. You have to, instead, destroy legendaries until you find those powers. There’s no shortage of legendaries these days though, so don’t stress about it too much. Once you're set-up, you're free to smash through enemies, pop your shouts, and cleave the forces of Hell into tiny bits with Bash.

Check out our other Diablo 4 guides

Season 4 preview || Uber Uniques Tier List || Best Uniques for Barbarians || Best Class in Season 4 || 5 Strongest Builds to Try ||