Do you want to one-shot elites and enhance your bleeds? Then this Rend Rupture build is for you. In this Barbarian guide, we’ll walk you through skills, the best choices for the class’s unique mechanic, items, gear, and many more to ensure you craft the powerful build that will shred your enemies. Let’s get started!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Rend Rupter Barbarian Overview
As we’ve already mentioned, this build, which can also be called Pure Bleed Barbarian, uses resources to increase bleeds and quickly kill elites with Rupture. Additionally, Vulnerable, Crowd Control and Berserking can further enhance the build’s damage.
The Rend Rupter build would be a good choice for leveling as it’s safe and scales very well into the endgame because it’s the “proactive” version of bleeds. Before reaching level 18, your primary damage-dealing skills will be Flay and Rend. Aside from that, a plethora of defensive and utility options are available.
This Diablo 4 Barbarian build allows you to easily engage in fights against tough bosses and weave out of them at early levels without taking a lot of risks. In later levels, this build’s high resistances, Fury generation in burst windows, and high Vulnerable uptime make it an excellent choice for killing bosses and elites by using extra Fury during Call of the Ancients to stack up on as much bleed as possible on the target before wiping it out with a well-executed Rupture.
The build is quite powerful against hard bosses in the first 20 levels, all thanks to an evasive playstyle. However, it’s not as effective in the open world because you have nothing to fight monsters with. So, to get through the first 18 levels, you can use skills such as Combat Flay and Strategic Challenging Shout.
But once you pass that mark, hit level 25, and get points in your Ultimate and Weapon Mastery, you will have everything you need to make the build work to the fullest. After that, you’ll be able to easily kill bosses and elites, but still, the build might not be great for taking down small groups of weaker enemies.
Thus, here’s the full list of strengths and weaknesses of this Rend Rupter Barbarian build:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
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Playing Rend Rupter Barbarian
As was mentioned above, the build needs a setup and is most effective when used to suddenly attack a cluster of enemies. Rupture and Rend allow you to deal damage outside of the burst windows, but if you want to eliminate up to three elites, you need to use cooldowns carefully.
The common rotation includes stacking bleeds on Vulnerable targets and trying to keep Vulnerable by spamming Rend and gaining Lucky Hits with Weapon Mastery. When bleeds are stacked, they deal massive damage with Rupture.
Here’s a breakdown of the common rotation:
- Flay: use this base Fury generator every 3 seconds to keep Battle Flay up on the target when you fight elites
- Steel Grasp: the skill has dual purposes: drawing in foes and applying Vulnerable. Use it only when you have 50 Fury (at least) to get a few Rends and increase Vulnerable uptime
- Rend: when you don’t have Rallying Cry and Call of the Ancients, use Rend whenever possible. This can help you keep Vulnerable uptime near 100% with Enhanced Rend. If Vulnerable is lost, use Flay until your Fury is maxed out, or you get a Vulnerable boost. Then, use your Fury on Rend.
- Rupture: this is the main damage source. Use it regularly if you need to heal with Fighter’s Rupture. When not in a burst window, use it when it’s ready. If you’re using a lot of Fury, use Rupture within 5-6 seconds after your first Rend. Since Rend bleed only lasts for 5 seconds, you can’t add more bleed damage after that. You can only extend the bleed’s full effect. Use Rupture during a Vulnerable Window to maximize damage.
- Call of the Ancients: use it on cooldown against powerful enemies like elites and bosses. Its single-target damage is good, but its real value is in generating Fury, which lets you use Rend freely.
- Rallying Cry: it serves two purposes: it makes you Unstoppable, and it gives you extra Fury, especially when Call of the Ancients is not available.
Best Leveling Skills for Rend Rupter Barbarian
Before you reach level 50, you need to earn Skill points that help you level up from level 2 to level 49. To get these 48 points, you just need to play the game, especially the campaign. Moreover, you can earn additional 10 points through the Renown system by getting 900 Renown points from all 5 zones. These points are available for all characters on the account. To gain them, you can focus on Strongholds, Dungeons, and Side Quests. With that out of the way, let’s see what abilities on Diablo 4 Barbarian skill tree you should use.
Flay (1/5)
Modifiers:
- Enhanced Flay: Flay has a 15% chance to make the enemy Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Double this chance when using a Two-Handed weapon.
- Battle Flay:When Flay deals direct damage to an enemy, they take 10%[x] increased Bleeding damage from you for the next 3 seconds.
Flay will be the main source of the Fury generator. Another reason to invest your point into it is Enhanced Flay, which adds a little more Vulnerable uptime, and Battle Flay, which provides more damage.
Points Recommendation: Put one point in this skill and unlock two modifiers quickly.
Rend (5/5)
Modifiers:
- Enhanced Rend: Dealing direct damage with Rend extends the duration of Vulnerable on enemies by 2seconds.
- Furious Rend: Direct damage with Rend grants 4 Fury per enemy hit, up to a maximum of 20 Fury.
Rend is used to apply bleeds to a group of foes and serves as your main damage skill. Enhanced Rend will allow you to increase the Vulnerable uptime on targets, while Furious Rend is a great quality-of-life modifier for early levels as you can struggle with generating a lot of Fury. The latter can then be changed to Violent Rend for more damage.
Points Recommendation: Invest one point here as soon as you can to get access to all modifiers. Then, it might take a while before you put more points in Rend, as you’ll be investing in Defensive skills and movements. Whenever you have a point but don’t have the skill to get, put it in this skill, and once you have all the skills, spend points on Rend to get it to level 5.
Rallying Cry (1/5)
Modifiers:
- Enhanced Rallying Cry: Rallying Cry grants you Unstoppable while active.
- Strategic Rallying Cry:Rallying Cry grants you 10% Base Life (166)as Fortify. While Rallying Cry is active, you gain an additional 2% Base Life (33) as Fortify each time you take or deal direct damage.
Rallying Cry is good for getting Unstoppable, generating Fury, and gaining Fortify, so it’s worth spending the point on it.
Points Recommendation: Put one point in Rallying Cry and two of the aforementioned modifiers as soon as possible.
Iron Skin (1/5)
Modifiers:
- Enhanced Iron Skin: Iron Skin’s Barrier absorbs 0.2% more of your Maximum Life.
- TacticalIron Skin: While Iron Skin is active, Heal for 10% of the Barrier’s original amount as Life per second.
This skill is a great option you can use for defense. With it, you’ll be able to find more openings to deal damage. Plus, it’s effective against elites and bosses at the early stages of leveling.
In addition, the Tactical Iron Skin modifier is the first sustain tool in this build besides potions, which can be very helpful at the beginning.
Points Recommendation: Spend one point on this skill and its modifiers. Once you unlock World Tier 3, you can start playing without it.
Swiftness (3/3)
Movement speed is extremely important in the game, as you’re constantly running. So, enhancing it with Swiftness should be a priority. After maxing this out, you can also take Leap or invest one more point in Rend.
Points Recommendation: Put three points in Swiftness as soon as possible.
Rupture (5/5)
Modifiers:
- Enhanced Rupture: Ripping your weapon out of enemies during Rupture causes an explosion that deals 6%Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
- Fighter’s Rupture: Hitting at least 1 enemy with Rupture Heals you for 15% of your Maximum Life (249).
With Rupture, you can directly damage targets instead of just waiting for them to die out. Use Rupture after you’ve stacked up a few bleeds, not immediately. Use Flay 3-6 times, then Rupture.
Enhanced Rupture provides a bit more area damage. It’s not much, but it’s something. Fighter’s Rupture gives you an additional way to maintain your energy. It gives Rupture an extra function, particularly when you’re not in a burst phase.
Points Recommendation: Add one point here and then get the modifiers right after. Don’t rush to add more points in Rupture. When you choose to add more points is up to you, but many passives are more beneficial than slightly reducing Rupture‘s time.
Steel Grasp (1/5)
Modifiers:
- Enhanced Steel Grasp: Steel Grasp also makes enemies Vulnerablefor 2.5 seconds.
The skill allows you to inflict Vulnerable on multiple enemies and increase its duration with Rend. Later, when you take Call of the Ancients, you will have to choose between Steel Grasp and Iron Skin, depending on what you need more. The former adds more damage, the latter is useful when you die a lot.
Points Recommendation: Invest one point in this skill and its first modifier. The build can play Diablo 4 Berserking variation with a particular Legendary Aspect and a Legendary Paragon node. For that, you will need Fighter’s Steel Grasp.
Hamstring (1/3)
Hamstring is useful for getting stagger on bosses and keeping distance from enemies. Each new bleed you apply moves the boss’s stagger bar forward, which can be handy for tough bosses. Hamstring also helps you get Cut to the Bone, which is necessary for this build and works well with No Mercy.
Points Recommendation: One point put in it will be enough.
Call of the Ancients (1/5)
Modifiers:
- Prime Call of the Ancients: While Call of the Ancients is active, gain 20%[+] bonus Attack Speed and 10%[x]increased damage.
- Supreme Call of the Ancients: Each of the Ancients gains additional power:
Korlic: You gain 10 Fury each time Korlic damages an enemy with his Frenzy.
Talic: Enemies are Slowed by 50% for 1second when damaged by his Whirlwind.
Madawc: 30% chance to Stun enemies for 3seconds when using his Upheaval.
This is one of the best Ultimates in the game. Use it as soon as you face bosses and elites to watch how three Ancients kill your enemies. However, it won’t be very helpful against a group of weaker foes as Ancient will constantly focus their attention on different targets.
The Supreme Call of the Ancients modifier grants good crowd control and helps generate Fury, therefore enhancing the power of the burst windows.
Points Recommendation: Spend one point on this skill as soon as possible.
Cut to the Bone (3/3)
It’s a great upgrade to the build’s damage and yet another reason to keep Vulnerable up on the targets.
Points Recommendation: Allocate three points to it.
Heavy Handed (3/3)
Heavy Handed is a straightforward passive skill to use. As you mainly use Two-Handed weapons to deliver damage through Rend and Rupture, it directly boosts your critical strike damage. This pairs well with the capstone talent.
Points Recommendation: Invest two points in this passive, then get capstone talent and after that, max it out.
Gushing Wounds (1/1)
Since Gushing Wounds effectively doubles the damage dealt, it makes critical strike chance and critical strike damage crucial Barbarian stats for this build.
Points Recommendation: Put a point in it as soon as possible. After you do that, you will have all Barbarian Primary Skills unlocked, so you can finish upgrading Rend and Rupture. Moreover, you should consider allocating your points to the following passives.
Imposing Presence (3/3)
Being a great upgrade to your health, Imposing Presence gives you more tankiness and scales well with your % life healing.
Points Recommendation: Max it out when you feel the need to get more health.
Pit Fighter (3/3)
Since we have to get close to our enemies in a fight, Pit Fighter would be a great upgrade that also provides damage resistance from distant foes.
Points Recommendation: Put one point in it, then take No Mercy, and after you’re done with it, max Pit Fighter out.
No Mercy (3/3)
When an enemy is bleeding, you can slow them down with Hamstring. That way, it’s quite simple to proc No Mercy, which greatly improves the Critical Strike chance. In short, this is a great DPS increase.
Points Recommendation: Max it out as soon as you can.
Thick Skin (1/3)
This one is needed to get access to other talents, however, it’s a nice addition that grants Fortify.
Points Recommendation: Put only one point here.
Counteroffensive (2/3)
Thanks to Rallying Cry, you gain a lot of Fortify, and this talent makes it more efficient, as your damage will be increased while you’re Fortified.
Points Recommendation: Use the last two points of this 48-point build to get this talent.
10-Point Additions For Rend Rupture Barbarian Build
As we’ve mentioned above, you can earn an extra 10 points through the Renown system. So, if you have them before level 50, you can spend them on additional Diablo 4 Barbarian skills that are not essential but still enhance your build.
One of the skills you can put points in is actually an existing one – Counteroffensive. You can invest one point in it to max it out and use it to the fullest. Besides that, here are the skills you should focus on.
Defensive Stance (3/3)
This will help you tank more hits, which allows Fortify to last longer.
Points Recommendation: Max it out as soon as possible.
Martial Vigor (3/3)
Martial Vigor is a great way to get even more tankier when you fight elites and bosses, which you will do a lot.
Points Recommendation: Put three points in it as soon as you can or earlier if you feel like you need it.
Quick Impulses (3/3)
Since there are a lot of things that can stun you, you might want to avoid such situations, and here’s where Quick Impulses come in handy.
Points Recommendation: Max it out to make leveling easier.
Optimal Weapons Techniques Choices
Weapon Expertise is a unique set of passives available to Barbarians from level 1. You should match your D4 Barbarian build with the best weapon you want to use, as each weapon class provides a passive bonus. Thus, the best weapon type to use for this build is:
- Two-Handed Sword Expertise: 20% of direct damage you deal is inflicted as Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Level 10 : You deal 30% increased damage for 5 seconds after killing an enemy.
At level 15, you will get Weapon Technique Slot, in which you can pick one Weapon Expertise to always be active without the Level 10 additional passive. The best Weapon Expertise for this slot are:
- Two-Handed Axe Expertise: 15% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
- Polearm Expertise: 10% increased Lucky hit Chance. There are three possible itemization paths for this build; two of them heavily rely on “Lucky Strike” effects, and there aren’t many methods to increase the chance of them procing, so this expertise is good to have
Best Paragon Choices for Levels 50-75
Starting from level 50, for every quarter of a level, you will gain 1 Paragon point. Thus, for every level you reach, you will get 4 Paragon Points. As a result, you will acquire 100 points for every 25 levels, meaning by the time you hit level 100, you will have 200 Paragon points.
Moreover, you can earn additional 20 points through Renown progression for every zone on the map. Therefore, your total amount of points will equal 220.
Once you get the Starter board, pick up the following Rare nodes:
Due to the randomness with which Glyphs drop, you won’t have control over what you get. But once you have a choice, here are the Glyphs you should try for this build:
When you reach the Board Attachment Gate at the top of your Starter Paragon board, your next destination should be Hemorrhage. Take note of your Legendary and Glyph slots and any key Rare choices you want to have. Choose a direction that gets you to your preferred Rare and Legendary nodes soonest, as the boards can be rotated.
For Rend Rupture Barbarian, adjust your board so the Lacerator node is to the right of your Board Attachment Gate and Poison Conditioned is to the left. Go towards Lacerator and then Hemorrhage. This route will give you your first legendary power: You deal 12% more damage to enemies affected by your Bleeding for 3 or more seconds.
On the Hemorrhage board, make sure to get the following Rare nodes:
- Hemorrhage – Damage over time, damage. Bonus: More damage if requirements are met.
- Flayer – Damage over time, damage. Bonus: More damage if requirements are met.
- Butcher – Damage over time, damage. Bonus: More damage if requirements are met.
If you want a third Paragon Board (which can be done before level 75 but needs quick navigation of the first two boards), choose Blood Rage for more damage or Warbinger for more Fortified. Warbinger, combined with an increase in Willpower, can substitute for Rallying Cry, letting you get a new skill, like stun or some mobility. Blood Rage offers a 10% chance to grant you Berserking for 5 seconds when bleeding enemies die. This chance is low, but the duration is long enough to develop a Berserking Diablo 4 Barbarian Bleed build with Steel Grasp and other legendary aspects. Even though you don’t want to focus on this talent, it’s worth picking up for the damage boost against multiple enemies.
Leveling Gear for Rend Rupture Barbarian
Most of your gear will come from random drops, but you still have many choices. You can also decide if a new item is actually an upgrade based on its other features. Sometimes, you might get a Legendary Aspect drop that’s perfect for a different build. If that happens, you might want to think about switching Diablo IV Barbarian builds while leveling up, as it’s affordable to change your spec at this point.
Best Legendary Aspects for Rend Rupture Build
One of the ways to get Legendary Aspects is dungeons, and the good news is that the first three zones – Fractured Peaks, Dry Steppes, and Scosglen – feature dungeons that offer pretty good Aspects. Here they are:
| Legendary Aspect | Zone | Dungeon |
|---|---|---|
|
Dry Steppes |
Dark Ravine |
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Fractured Peaks |
Maulwood |
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Fractured Peaks |
Kor Dragan Barracks |
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Scosglen |
Underroot |
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Dry Steppes |
Buried Halls |
|
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Fractured Peaks |
Caldera Gate |
The first two Aspects are the best choices for this build, so farm them first.
Aspect of Might offers a convenient way to enhance your tankiness early in the game. It provides significant damage reduction at the cost of casting Flay frequently, which you’re already doing to keep Battle Flay active.
Slaking Aspect substantially reduces the Fury cost, which amplifies the burst window as you can cast Rend on enemies more frequently.
The other choices are there to increase Fury generation, provide defense, or even introduce crowd control with the Aspect of Anemia. This will interact with numerous legendary powers as you progress further in the game.
There are also Uniques, which are rare types of Diablo 4 Barbarian legendaries. If you find those, make sure to keep the following items:
- Harlequin Crest: gain 10-20% Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +4 Ranks to all Skills.
- Fields of Crimson: While using this weapon, damaging at least one enemy with Rupture creates a pool of blood that inflicts Bleeding damage over 6 seconds. Enemies standing in the pool take 10% increased Bleed damage.
Rage of Harrogath: Lucky Hit: Up to 20-40% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Non-Ultimate Skills by 1.5 seconds when you inflict Bleeding on elites.
Selecting the Best Weapons For Rend Rupture Barbarian
Weapons are important in the game, and their Inherent Physical Characteristics that are native to the weapon type allow you to have the best weapon for a particular build.
In this case, you don’t have to think a lot about selecting the best weapon for this build, as the Diablo 4 Arsenal Selection System’s Expertise and Weapon Technique are far more crucial than the fixed characteristics of the weapon. With that in mind and taking your skills into account, the best Diablo 4 Barbarian weapons to play with are Swords or Axes.
For Rend Rupture Barbarian, you should use a Two-Handed Sword assigned to Rend and Rupture.
As for the One-Handed Weapon, you can assign Flay to it (as well as Axes). Thus, you will have more Fury per second. However, if you want to inflict more damage with this skill, assign a Two-Handed Sword to it. A two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapon is not used for this build.
Best Rend Rupture Barbarian Item Affixes
Here’s the list of the best item affixes you should focus on for your Rend Rupture build:
- +X Rank(s) to Rend/Rupture
- +X% Damage to Slowed/Stunned/Crowd Controlled/Bleeding/Vulnerable Enemies
- +X% Critical Strike Chance/Damage on Bleeding/Vulnerable Enemies
- +X% Damage to Near Target
- +X% Dexterity/Strength
- +X% Fury Cost Reduction (Barbarian Only)
Moreover, there are magic properties that can be very helpful for this build but not as important. So, here’s what would be nice to have if you found them:
- +X% Physical Damage
- +X% Lucky Hit Chance
- +X% Resistance to All Elements
- +X% Damage Dealt is Converted to Life
Remember, you can always remove the unwanted affix through Enchanting, but be aware that there’s a random element to this skill. As you will be upgrading and replacing most of your items during leveling, it’s not recommended to use this option. But you’re free to opt for this if you have a piece of Jewelry you don’t want to replace often.
Top Gems for Rend Rupture
Gems are placed into special sockets and provide all sorts of bonuses based on what piece they are. Once you hit level 20, you’ll be able to combine Gems to upgrade them.
With that being said, here are the optimal Gems for this build:
| Slot | Gem Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Amethyst | +x% Damage Over Time |
| Armor | Ruby | +% Maximum Life |
| Jewelry | Diamond | +% Resistance to all Elements |
| Jewelry (Optional) | Skull | +x Armor |
Conclusion
Now you know how to assemble the perfect Rend Rupture Barbarian build, which is unstoppable when it comes to defeating bosses and elites. However, the crafting and leveling processes require a lot of time and effort, which might worsen your experience. But we have a solution.
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