Exploring the Earthquake Barbarian Build in Diablo 4: A Guide to Massive Damage and Synergy
With the Diablo 4 PTR (Public Test Realm) kicking off soon, many players are eagerly anticipating new builds and balancing changes that could redefine the meta. One build that stands out is the Earthquake Barbarian, which is set to undergo several buffs and reworks in the upcoming patch. This build, which focuses on maximizing Earthquake and Hoda (the Barbarian's ultimate), promises to deliver absurdly high damage numbers, potentially reaching billions or even trillions of damage per second (DPS). Let’s take a deep dive into this exciting build, its core mechanics, synergies, and the changes coming to make it one of the  Diablo IV Items most powerful Barbarian setups in the game.
Core Changes for the Earthquake Barbarian Build
The upcoming changes to the Earthquake Barbarian build are a game-changer, with several crucial buffs and new synergies. First and foremost, Earthquake itself is receiving significant boosts in scaling, allowing for massive damage numbers, especially when combined with strength-focused items and the right Paragon board setup. The Earthquake damage scaling is now multiplicative with strength, with every 100 points of strength increasing Earthquake damage by 25%. Given that Barbarians can easily push their strength to 2,000 or even 3,000, this change significantly enhances the build's potential.
Another game-changing addition is a new chest piece that synergizes between Hoda and Earthquake. The chest grants a bonus that effectively allows Earthquake to trigger instantaneously when you cast Hoda, further boosting the already immense damage output of this combination. In addition to this, the TCH Rune is getting a significant upgrade, with its damage being doubled and the requirements to activate it being halved, making it a much stronger option for dealing massive AoE (Area of Effect) damage.
The Synergy Between Earthquake and Hoda
One of the key components of this build is the synergy between Hoda and Earthquake. Hoda, the Barbarian’s ultimate ability, already deals substantial damage, but with the new changes, it will trigger Earthquake damage instantly, multiplying the output significantly. When you cast Hoda, it’ll trigger Earthquake, and with the right gear and Paragon board setup, it can spawn multiple Earthquakes in quick succession.
The combination of Hoda triggering Earthquake on a two-hander weapon creates an explosive synergy, with Incendiary Fissures (a new Earthquake damage modifier) adding another 50% damage. As a result, this build can generate incredible DPS, especially when the right cooldown reductions and skill rotations are in place.
The new Decisive Resolution aspect further adds to this synergy, granting another 1.3x damage multiplier after casting ultimate skills. This means that every time you activate Hoda, the Earthquake damage will be increased even further, stacking with other multipliers from gear, Paragon boards, and other skill effects.
Cooldown Reduction for Maximum Efficiency
One of the crucial elements for maximizing the Earthquake Barbarian’s damage output is reducing cooldowns to an extreme degree. The build focuses heavily on cooldown reduction to ensure that both Hoda and Earthquake can be used as frequently as possible. The goal is to chain cooldowns, ensuring that you can keep triggering Earthquake damage while maintaining a constant offensive presence.
The Yal Rune, which gives 50 Offering whenever you cast a skill on cooldown, plays a critical role here. By using this rune, you can activate multiple Earthquakes per second, as every shout and skill on cooldown will spawn an Earthquake. Additionally, skills like Ground Stomp and Call of the Ancients have a built-in cooldown reduction mechanic, allowing you to trigger more Earthquakes without waiting for cooldowns to reset.
The ground stomp is particularly effective because it not only triggers Earthquake damage but also reduces the cooldowns of your other key abilities. As a result, you can chain more Earthquakes and keep triggering Hoda to consume those Earthquake effects immediately, multiplying your damage output exponentially.
You can also use Leap instead of Ground Stomp in certain setups. While Ground Stomp offers more synergy with cooldown reduction and ultimate resets, Leap provides its own benefits, like increased mobility and additional chances to trigger Earthquakes.
Damage Scaling and Paragon Board Synergy
The key to maximizing the damage of the Earthquake Barbarian is stacking as many damage multipliers as possible. Strength-based items, such as amulets, are essential for boosting the Earthquake damage, as the strength scaling directly impacts the amount of damage you deal with each Earthquake. For example, Hardened Crest increases your Earthquake damage based on the amount of strength you have, while also providing cooldown reduction, allowing you to maintain a high frequency of Earthquake triggers.
Additionally, the Paragon board plays a pivotal role in maximizing damage. You want to focus on the Force of Nature and Marshall nodes, as these increase your damage multiplier for close damage. Close damage is especially important for this build because you’ll be in close proximity to enemies at all times, ensuring you benefit from the damage boosts provided by these nodes.
The Heavy Hitter aspect is another crucial element of the Paragon board, further enhancing the damage of Earthquake. Heavy Hitter buffs the Earthquake damage multiplicatively, giving it a significant boost when combined with other scaling effects like Executioner, which increases the damage output of your core abilities. For a Barbarian, this combination of heavy damage multipliers creates a powerful synergy, allowing you to deal staggering amounts of damage with each Earthquake.
Future Prospects and Testing
As of now, the Earthquake Barbarian is already showing immense promise in the PTR, with test numbers suggesting that the build could push well beyond Pit 100 (the highest difficulty in Diablo 4), with some estimates reaching Pit 130 or even higher. The ability to generate multiple Earthquakes per second and trigger instantaneously with Hoda is expected to create DPS numbers in the billions, potentially even reaching the trillions with full optimization.
While the build is already impressive, there are still some unknowns, such as the exact interaction with the new chest piece and whether or not Earthquakes can critically strike or deal overpower damage. These factors will likely have a major impact on the build's overall potential. Additionally, players will need to fine-tune their cooldown reduction, strength scaling, and Paragon board setups to achieve the optimal DPS output.
Conclusion
The Earthquake Barbarian build in Diablo 4 is shaping up to be one of the most powerful and exciting builds to play in the upcoming patch. With its ability to chain multiple Earthquakes per second, benefit from significant damage multipliers, and trigger massive damage instantly with Hoda, this build is set to redefine Barbarian gameplay in Diablo 4.
The upcoming changes to Earthquake and the various synergies with Hoda, strength-based items, and cooldown reduction create a build that can deliver unparalleled damage in both solo and group content. As players continue to test this build on the PTR, the community will likely discover even more optimizations, ensuring that the Earthquake Barbarian remains a powerhouse for seasons to come.
If you're a Barbarian enthusiast or just love builds that revolve around insane damage output, the Earthquake Barbarian is definitely a build you’ll want to try out. As Diablo 4 continues to evolve, builds like this one showcase the game's depth and the exciting potential for even more over-the-top gameplay in future patches. Happy testing, and may your Earthquakes shake the heavens!
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