Diablo Immortal: The Best Single Target Barbarian

Hammer of the Ancients (HOTA) Barbarian Guide

The Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian uses the Frenzy primary skill along with Hammer of the Ancients, Wrath of the Berserker, Chain Spear, and Undying Rage. Wrath of the Berserker will be permanent on this build which gives a constant movement speed increase and burns nearby enemies with the recommended legendary items. Chain Spear will summon a Spirit of the Ancient to repeatedly cast Chain Spear, deals damage to enemies, and draws enemies into your Hammer of the Ancients. Undying Rage is also recommended because it's one of the strongest defensives in the game. You can opt to use Sunder for a 30% damage increase for 6 seconds instead of Undying Rage for more damage in safe content.

Paragons & Legendary Skills: Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian Build

1. Vanquisher is the best damage paragon for this build because it increases your damage and attack speed on kills.

2. Gladiator is the best PvP paragon tree for this build because it gives another cheat death.

3. Vanquisher is the best paragon tree for increased magic find and has increased damage and attack speed on kills.

4. Harbinger can be used in Erebban for a life shield, for movement speed, and for moving unhindered through enemies.

5. Survivor is the recommended paragon for Vanguard because it gives a cheat death that works in Vanguard.

6. The best paragon legendary skill for this build is Death's Release which causes explosions with your continual damage.

7. Below you can find an image for the best paragon for damage and the second image is the best paragon for PvP.

Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian Skills and Equipment:

Skills

1. Frenzy (primary skill)

2. Hammer of the Ancients

3. Wrath of the Berserker

4. Chain Spear

5. Undying Rage (defensive) or Sunder (when you don't need a defensive)

Main Hand

Stonefall - Hammer of the Ancients now deals increased damage.

Off-Hand

Flickertonne - Hammer of the Ancients now charges up for increased damage each time you use a different attack.

Main Hand 2

Riddlerue - When Frenzy deals a critical hit your attack speed is increased for a short duration.

Off-Hand 2

Sundered Legacy - Wrath of the Berserker now burns enemies, increases movement speed, and has a reduced cooldown.

Helmet

Lasting Hate - Wrath of the Berserker now also has a greatly increased duration.

Shoulders

Loathsome Lamina - Wrath of the Berserker now also grants a shield (use this with the Vithu's Urges two set bonus).

The Coming Storm - Wrath of the Berserker now has a reduced cooldown (use this if you don't have Vithu's Urges two set).

Chest

Shackled Fate - Chain Spear now summons a Spirit of the Ancients that repeatedly casts Chain Spear.

Legs

Buried Talons - Chain Spear now also increases your damage for a duration when it hits an enemy.

Recommended Sets

1. Isatar's Imbued (4 Set) - Increases your movement speed and increases your damage based off your movement speed.

2. Vithu's Urges (2 Set) - This set increases your beneficial effects durations by 30%. This means Chain Spear and Wrath of Berserker can be up at all times with just the increase to Wrath of the Berserker duration from the helmet slot essence.

3. Untouchable Mountebank (2 Set) - Great for PvP for a large life shield which improves your defenses.

Best Curses

1. Lashed - Using your primary attack gives a chance to generate three crackling whips that damage enemies.

2. Atrophied - Continual damage causes a dark field to appear under enemies that deals damage over time.

Best 5 Star Legendary Gems

1. Roiling Consequence - Increases your critical hit chance and causes critical hits to burn enemies.

2. Golden Firmament - Causes a ranged wind damage attack and increases your evasion rating.

3. Maw of the Deep - Used at a high rank to deal damage, gain a damage buff, draw in enemies, and stun enemies.

4. Starfire Shard - Useful for PvP to deal damage and stun enemies inside the Maw of the Deep legendary gem effect.

5. Frozen Heart (can be switched to for PvP) - Gives a life shield for a medium duration and chills enemies.

6. Void Spark - Deals AoE damage that's extremely effective in dungeons and the new PvP map.

7. Blood-Soaked Jade - Gives a damage increase and a significant boost to movement speed. It's one of the best 5 star gems at high ranks for increased damage and one of the weakest 5 star gems for increased damage at lower ranks.

Best 2 Star Legendary Gems

1. Pain Clasp - Gives high increased damage against enemies with a continual damage effect on them.

2. Viper's Bite - Poisons enemies on cooldown and triggers the damage increase on the Pain Clasp legendary gem.

3. Mother's Lament - Increases your critical hit chance and causes a blood spike that makes enemies bleed.

4. Power & Command - Alternates between increased skill damage and increased primary damage and sometimes dispels.

5. Igneous Scorn (PvM) - Can be combined with Roiling Consequence and Mother's Lament to damage on critical hits.

Note: Igneous Scorn is the lowest priority 2 star gem on the list and should eventually be replaced with a 5 star gem.

Best Starter 1 Star Legendary Gems

1. Everlasting Torment - Deals damage over time on crits which triggers the damage increase on Pain Clasp.

2. Entropic Well - An excellent 1 star legendary gem that increases your skill damage and attack speed.

3. Berserker's Eye - Increases your damage and critical hit chance but also increases your damage taken.

Note: Entropic Well and Berserker's Eye should be replaced first once you can afford higher resonance 5 star gems.

Best Familiars

1. Legendary Duskprowler - Look for a Duskprowler with 170+ Resilience and Savior which provides a cheat death. The 170+ Resilience lowers the cooldown of Savior but can be skipped to make it more affordable.

2. Any Savior Familiar - Look for any familiar with great skills and Savior which gives a cheat death. Savior can be used to buy time for your other cheat deaths like the Undying Rage Barbarian skill and the Gladiator paragon.

3. Rare Duskprowler - Relentless Strikes is the next best skill and gives a chance to cast the Duskprowler shield twice in 3 seconds. Innervate which gives a chance at resetting the player's skill cooldown, Steel Hide which gives a chance to block, Precision which gives the shield critical hit chance, and Tenacity which lowers the cooldown of the shield are also desirable.

4. Magic Duskprowler - Duskprowler shields are hard to replace so a rare ability or magic Duskprowler is the budget option.

Regular Gems

Prioritize Tourmalines for added damage in red sockets and Citrines for Potency which increases harmful effects duration in yellow sockets. You should also socket your highest refinement Aquamarines and Sapphires in blue sockets which give increased armor and armor penetration. You can optionally combine all of your Rubies which give life and Topazes which give resistances into one Ruby and one Topaz and use one of each in your equipment for higher refinement. Gems give refinement based on their quality and refinement increases the main stats of the piece of equipment.

Gem Notes

The new Colossus Engine legendary gem isn't included in the recommendations because it would take about rank 8 until it would be an upgrade over other more easily accessible options. The Pain Clasp legendary gem increases your damage when there is a continual damage effect on the target and Viper's Bite and Everlasting Torment both deal continual damage. Everlasting Torment works better than Seeping Bile at triggering the damage increase on Pain Clasp on this build because Seeping Bile has a 4% proc rate and this build has a slow attack speed. Golden Firmament is a fairly new strong 5 star gem that has wind damage, evasion rating, and triggers Firestorm for more wind damage when paired with the burning damage from Wrath of the Berserker with the Sundered Legacy essence. Roiling Consequence and Mother's Lament give increased critical hit chance and pair well with Everlasting Torment and Igneous Scorn which both deal damage on critical hits. You should also consider rolling critical hit damage on every piece of gear with Reforge Stones when using Roiling Consequence and Mother's Lament. Igneous Scorn and Everlasting Torment should eventually be replaced with leveled 5 star legendary gem for higher damage and resonance. One of your lowest priority gems like Igneous Scorn or Everlasting Torment should also be switched to Frozen Heart in PvP for a large life shield and to chill enemies.

That's all for the Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian Guide. You can view a PvP Barb Guide here Demoralize Barbarian.