Best Diablo 4 Earthquake Barbarian build in Season 7
Blizzard EntertainmentDiablo 4’s Earthquake Barbarian is the class’ best build in Season 7 without a doubt. Here’s how to set it up.
Diablo 4 has undergone some massive changes with the advent of Season 7 and they’ve made the Earthquake Barbarian an absolute powerhouse. While there were some issues with a key Unique for the build early on, Blizzard was quick to address that in a hotfix.
That fix has brought the playstyle fully online and it has rocketed to the top of our Barbarian build tierlist. If you have a soft spot for the class, this is the best way to play it.
Of course, to get the most out of the Earthquake Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 7, you need to know how to get it running. This guide will go over the best skills, gear, and other additions for your character.
Blizzard EntertainmentThe Earthquake Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 7 is an endgame build that requires the acquisition of a number of key pieces but once you get it going, it will annihilate hoards of enemies with shocking efficiency. Primarily through the use of Earthquakes but if you’ve been paying attention, you probably already suspected that.
Through a combination of Legendary Aspects, Runewords, and gear, you’ll be generating so many Earthquakes you won’t know what to do with them. We mean that rhetorically of course because you’ll know exactly what to do with them.
The lynchpin of this build is the Mantle of Mountain’s Fury Unique Chest armor which not only boosts the damage of your Earthquakes, it also allows the Hammer of the Ancients Skill to explode them for insane amounts of damage. We’d say it’s a whirlwind of destruction, but that’s another build.
Best Earthquake Barbarian skills
With the new level cap of 60 and the Skill Points afforded by grinding renown, you should have a total of 72 to invest in your Earthquake Barbarian build for Diablo 4. These are the ones we recommend.
Active skills
| Active Skill | Upgrades | Points Allocated |
| Bash * | Enhanced, Combat | 1 |
| Hammer of the Ancients | Enhanced, Furious | 5 |
| Ground Stomp | Enhanced, Tactical | 5 |
| Rallying Cry | Enhanced, Strategic | 1 |
| War Cry | Enhanced, Power | 1 |
| Leap | Enhanced, Power | 5 |
| Call of the Ancients | Prime, Supreme | 5 |
* Bash is required to progress the Skill Tree but is not commonly slotted in your Action Bar, except in specific circumstances outlined in the skill rotation below.
Passive skills
| Passive Skill | Points Allocated |
| Warpath | 1 |
| Martial Vigor | 3 |
| Imposing Presence | 3 |
| Martial Vigour | 3 |
| Booming Voice | 3 |
| Aggressive Resistance | 3 |
| Battle Fervor | 1 |
| Pit Fighter | 3 |
| No Mercy | 3 |
| Slaying Strike | 3 |
| Thick Skin | 1 |
| Counteroffensive | 3 |
| Heavy Hitter | 3 |
| Heavy Handed | 3 |
| Wallop | 3 |
| Unconstrained | Key Passive |
Best Earthquake Barbarian skill rotation
This is the best rotation for an endgame Earthquake Barbarian in Diablo 4 Season 7. Employ your skills in the following order:
- Rallying Cry
- War Cry
- Leap
- Ground Stomp
- Hammer of the Ancients
- Call of the Ancients
- Bash*
Open encounters with your Shout skills to gain offensive and defensive buffs. Rallying cry will kick off resource generation while affording you Unstoppable and Fortify while War Cry initiates Berserking which gives a major increase to your damage.
Leap into the fray (literally). Using the Leap skill will begin spawning Earthquakes thanks to the Tec Rune and the Aspect of Bul-Kathos. Ground Stomp will also spawn Earthquakes as well as slowing your enemies for crowd control bonuses.
Once you’ve peppered the field with Earthquakes, use Hammer of the Ancients to detonate them for massive damage. For small mobs, usually one or two Earthquakes are enough to deal with them. For Elites and Bosses, it may be better to spawn as many as possible for a single devastating detonation.
Call of the Ancients can be used whenever cooldown permits for a damage bonus and extra buffs but save it for opportune moments in boss fights. When your Shout skills have come off their cooldown, keep them online wherever possible.
Bash is usually sidelined but should replace Ground Stomp when pushing higher Pit levels thanks to its ability to guarantee Overpowers. The extra damage is integral to shaving down your total time.
Best Earthquake Barbarian Legendary Aspects
Tracking down these Legendary Aspects will be handy while you wait to get the Unique gear you need to run the endgame Earthquake Barbarian build for Diablo 4 Season 7.
| Aspect | Power | Dungeon | Region | Obol Gamble |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspect of Bul-Kathos | Leap creates an Earthquake that deals 27 [27-43] Physical damage over 4 seconds. While standing in Earthquakes, you gain 10% [10-30]% increased Damage Reduction | Light’s Refuge | Hawezar | Pants |
| Earthquake Aspect | Ground Stomp creates an Earthquake damaging enemies for [X] Physical Damage over 4 seconds. While standing in Earthquakes, you deal [10-25%] increased damage. | – | – | One-Handed |
| Aspect of Giant Strides | Reduce the Cooldown of Leap by [1.3-3.5] seconds per enemy hit, up to a maximum of 7 seconds. Hitting a Boss with Leap provides the maximum reduction | – | – | Rings |
| Bold Chieftain’s Aspect | Whenever you cast a Shout Skill, its Cooldown is reduced by [10.0-30.0] seconds per Nearby enemy, up to a maximum of 6 seconds. | – | – | Rings |
| Aspect of Incendiary Fissures | Your Earthquakes deal [40 – 60]%[x] increased damage and their damage is converted into Fire. | – | – | One-Handed |
Best Earthquake Barbarian Paragon Boards & Glyphs
BlizzardOnce you hit Level 60, Skill points become a thing of the past, and Paragon Points take over.
This system makes you pick upgrades from themed boards loaded with buffs. Each path is unique, but the upside is you can tweak your Earthquake Barbarian build with specific Boards and Glyphs to boost your setup exactly how you want in Diablo 4.
Paragon Board progression
For your Earthquake Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 7, you should unlock the following Paragon Boards in the indicated order:
- Starting Board
- Blood Rage
- Decimator
- Force of Nature
- Weapons Master
Best Glyphs
The Paragon Glyphs below are the best ones available for this particular build. We’ve outlined which Glyphs to slot into which of the above Boards.
- Wrath Level 100 (Starting Board)
- Rumble Level 100 (Blood Rage)
- Territorial Level 100 (Decimator)
- Ire Level 100 (Force of Nature)
- Challenger Level 100 (Weapons Master)
Best Mercenaries for Earthquake Barbarian
For an endgame Earthquake Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 7, you’ll want to set Subo and Raheir as your Mercenary combo for some crowd control and damage buffs.
Subo should occupy your Hired Mercenary slot thanks to his Seeker ability which gives you increased resource generation for killing a marked enemy. He also has native sources of Stun and Slow thanks to his basic attacks and Coverfire ability.
Raheir is your Reinforcement Mercenary and you should use his Crater ability as a means of pulling in enemies to your Earthquakes so you can detonate them.
Best Earthquake Barbarian Witchcraft Powers
Diablo 4 Season 7 introduces Witchcraft Powers and you can take advantage of them to supercharge your Earthquake Barbarian. You can equip a total of six Witchcraft Powers and each can be improved to a max level that varies from power to power.
We’ve outlined the best ones for this build below as well as their max level bonuses.
| Witchcraft Power | Effect |
| Piranhado | When an enemy is afflicted by both a Hex and an Aura Effect, a Piranhado is summoned pulling enemies towards it and dealing X Physical damage over 12 seconds. May occur once every 20 seconds. Max level: Piranhado now seeks enemies. |
| Shaken Soul | Eldritch Effects apply Vulnerable to enemies for X seconds. Max level: Damage from Psyche and Growth & Decay Effects will also apply Vulnerable at half the duration. |
| Soul Harvest | Feed upon the life force of nearby enemies whenever you use a skill with a cooldown, increasing your primary stat by 3% per monster for X seconds. Max level: Soul Harvest does not lose duration so long as enemies are nearby. |
| Aura of Siphoning | Conjure an aura of decay that deals 80% Poison damage to enemies every second. Max level: Each time Aura of Siphoning deals damage, you are healed for 1% of Maximum Life. |
| Aura Specialization | The size of your Aura Effects are increased by X%. Max level: Increase Critical Strike Damage by 50% against enemies inside your Aura Effects. |
| Hex of Whispers | Dealing damage to an enemy afflicts them with Hex of Whispers that deals X Shadow damage the next time damage is dealt. Afterwards, Hex of Whispers will jump to another enemy up to a maximum of 6 times. Hex of Whispers may only be applied once every 5 seconds. Max level: After bouncing onto 6 enemies, the Hex bounces back to you granting 15% Fortify and removing all crowd control and negative status effects. |
Witchcraft powers also interact and synergize with Occult Gems which are slotted into Jewellery such as Rings and Amulets. The Occult Gems for the Earthquake Barbarian are detailed below in the gear section.
Blizzard EntertainmentBest Earthquake Barbarian Gear, Runewords & Occult Gems
The Earthquake Barbarian build in Diablo 4 Season 7 does require a few Uniques as well as Aspects that you’ll need to farm via item extracts. It can be a bit of a chore to set up but with the recommended gear, Runewords, and Occult Gems outlined below, this build will tear up the endgame.
| Item | Socket | Item type | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlequin Crest | 2 Rubies | Helm | Gain 20% Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +4 Ranks to all Skills. |
| Mantle of Mountain’s Fury | 2 Rubies | Chest | Hammer of the Ancients also forms a seismic line that deals its damage and Slows enemies hit by [60 – 80]% for 4 seconds. Earthquakes it passes through explode for their total damage and are consumed. |
| Fists of Fate | – | Gloves | Your attacks randomly deal 1% to [200 – 300]% of their normal damage. |
| Arreat’s Bearing | 2 Rubies | Pants | Ancients you summon are empowered: Korlic creates an Earthquake that deals [158 – 202] Physical damage over 4 seconds when he leaps. Talic leaves behind Dust Devils that deal [315 – 405] damage while he whirlwinds. Madawc ignites the ground Burning enemies for an additional [158 – 202] damage over 4 seconds when he upheaves the ground. |
| Runic Cleats of Concussive Strikes | – | Boots | Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy has up to a 20% chance to Daze them for 2 seconds. You deal 5-25% increased damage to Dazed enemies. |
| Bonebreaker of Earthquakes | YulTec – Spawn an Earthquake whenever you use a skill with a cooldown. | Two-Handed Mace | Ground Stomp creates an Earthquake damaging enemies for [X] Physical Damage over 4 seconds. While standing in Earthquakes, you deal [10-25%] increased damage. |
| Executioner’s Obsidian Blade | Sapphire | Left Hand | Your Overpowers will spawn an Earthquake every 4 seconds that deals [300 – 602] Physical damage over 4 seconds. Your Earthquake damage is increased by 15%[x] for every 100 Strength you have. |
| Vehement Brawler’s Obsidian Blade | Sapphire | Right Hand | Casting an Ultimate Skill increases your damage by [10 – 30]%[x] for 8 seconds. Gain 2 additional Ultimate Skill Ranks. |
| Warcrest of Incendiary Fissures | LithXal – Gain 20% Maximum Life for 6 seconds whenever you stand still for 3 seconds in combat. | Polearm | Your Earthquakes deal [40-60%] increased damage and their damage is converted into Fire. |
| Ocelot’s Eye of Bul-Kathos | Dust Stone Occult Gem – For each of your Auras and Hexes an enemy is afflicted by, they take 2.5% increased damage from you. | Amulet | Leap creates an Earthquake that deals 27 [27-43] Physical damage over 4 seconds. While standing in Earthquakes, you gain 10% [10-30]% increased Damage Reduction |
| Soulwatch Hoop of Giant Strides | Friend of the Bog Occult Gem – While you have three or more Growth & Decay Witch Powers slotted, you gain 8% Primary Stat, 10% Maximum Life, and are always Unhindered. | Ring | Reduce the Cooldown of Leap by [1.3-3.5] seconds per enemy hit, up to a maximum of 7 seconds. Hitting a Boss with Leap provides the maximum reduction |
| Bold Chieftain Band | Toadling’s Wish Occult Gem – Your Common Growth & Decay Witch Powers are 35%[+] more potent. | Ring | Whenever you cast a Shout Skill, its Cooldown is reduced by [10.0-30.0] seconds per Nearby enemy, up to a maximum of 6 seconds. |
All Occult Gems slotted into Jewellery sockets also provide a bonus of +160 Armor and 8% Resistance to All Elements each.
Best Earthquake Barbarian PVP build for Diablo 4 Season 7
The best part about this Earthquake Barbarian build for Diablo 4 Season 7 is that it transfers very well into the game’s PVP with absolutely no changes.
Thanks to its incredible damage output and the spread of the Earthquakes you can produce, it’s hard for opponents to escape their detonations. The only trouble you may run into is enemies who know the makeup of the build and are hesitant to get into range.
Now that you know how to craft this top-tier Barbarian build, make sure to check out our guides for the Druid, Sorcerer, Rogue, Necromancer, and Spirtiborn. There’s also our Diablo 4 Class tier list so you can see where this build fits in the current meta.