Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls Best Barbarian Build & Gear? Thundergod Barb Lightning Build Guide

[@oboy03]

I used to watch this video when I was still tweaking my barb. Now, watching it again, I realized I already exceeded his stats. This video has been my stepping stone, thanks.

[@nosferatu7562]

I am trying to build my own Thunder barb. I am currently using Thunderfury and Doombringer with lightning damage. It was nice seeing your video. It will help me with my own build.

[@schwing76]

just tried out this build, worked great moved up six levels and went from T1 to T3 in no time thanks. great vids!!!!

[@Fluvanna]

Hey Rhykker ^-^ Just started getting into D3 big time and your guides have helped quite a bit. So thank you for taking the time to put them together! But I'm sure you may have noticed by now, seeing as how this guide was made in April, but Weapons Master only applies to your Main Hand. So the left weapon when looking right at the character screen, or when putting yourself in the toons shoes, the Right Hand Weapon.

[@TheRealLink]

Just was searching for Barbarian things and came across your videos / build. Wow! Nice guide and coherent explanation.

[@lightstealer18]

I find your videos very helpful. Really well put together, clear and detailed. Keep them coming!

[@jeffscott3294]

I just found a fulminator (1 handed sword) the other day which has "Lighting damage has a chance to turn enemies into lightning rods, causing them to pulse 325% weapon damage as Lightning every second to nearby enemies" as a special effect and my friend found a "shard of hate" which does 250% bonus elemental aoe damage based on the type of elemental damage you dealt. 2 EXTREMELY good weapons for this build

[@azraelian3098]

your might weapon is in off hand, so it actually does not generate fury, weapon master only applies to main hand

[@lawman30rpd]

Hey Rhykker, I took the opportunity to put this guide to use on my barb once I hit lvl 40. Why 40? Because my lv 70 crusader picked up a rare 2H mace with a MINUS 30 LVL REQUIREMENT! It is flat out broken. I chanted it till I got a socket, slapped a green gem in there, runed my skills as suggested in the guide, and then chanted my other gear to either increase lighting or whirlwind damage and the end result is that I get to level on Torment 4 now! It is awesome and the levels fly by! Thanks for the great guide and I hope to see more!

[@Kiddomike]

I just tried this build. It has made my barbarian gameplay more enjoyable after the nerf.

[@Rhykker]

Cheers!

[@W3llDunn]

Man thank you for this, you upgraded me 2 torments with this, really enjoy your diablo content.

[@RazzerKrull]

this build is the most fun i've ever had as a barb. thank you!

[@OnyxZephyr333]

Solid guide. Love everything about it. I will most certainly be on the lookout for the gear to make this work.

[@BackFromUranus]

i started using this build a few weeks ago and i'm fairly impressed with it. i obviously made a few changes, adjusting it to my playing style, but the one i enjoyed the most was using thunderfury in my main hand and odinson in the other... now i can spam chain lightning like crazy and since i have about 55% crit chance unbuffed and 80% lightning damage increase i can dish out a good amount of destruction and mayhem.

[@wallaceluna6241]

When he pulls up the map when he's doing the decaying crypt how does he already have the map layout? When the dungeon is fresh....

[@danzin4930]

Question He says how critical damage is very important but what about increase strength through either gems or enchanting items?

[@joshuapoole6962]

Rhykker is the WW toilet build still viable or has that skill set been removed ... don't play my barb anymore ... thanks =)

[@Crnicelad]

Doesnt weapons master only apply for the mainhand weapon? At least thats what I came up with when I tryed swapping my weapons back and forth. (P.S. did some more testing, it does affect both weapons but you cannot stack 1 type 2 times)

[@Tech-wf6bl]

Correct only main hand.

[@BrokeToSemibroke]

weapon master effect separately exists on main and off hands. Its effect will not stack or combine. The main hand's weapon master effect persists when using main hand, and the off hand's weapon master effect when using off hand. Ex. using axe main hand, mace off hand; Hammer of the ancient with mainhand will have axe weapon mastery and the next HOTA with off hand will have 5% crit chance mace mastery.

[@Mytea1]

I liked your build really much. It was understandable and high of video editing knowledge. It wasn't boring and I liked to listen to you. This build works quite well, but I hope to get these items, too. :) The question I was asking myself was if you would give me your battletag to play with you sometimes. :D

[@Rhykker]

Thanks! My friends list is full, but join our community group, Rhykker's Raiders, to see when I'm online :)

[@carlgunther3228]

Great build! What are all the items that can have elemental damage affects on them?

[@SaltyBeagleYT]

Awesome video! It would be great if you could provide a quick talent calculator / quick gem, stat overview as well.

[@AMFCentral]

Dude this build has helped a lot, with battle rage activated I have nearly 100k more dmg than I did before this build. Thanks a lot.

[@Rhykker]

Cheers!

[@Iam1Martin]

you said : "Crit % > Attack Speed > Crit Dmg" right? but does that work all the time, or is there soft caps for that? ==> really what I'm getting at is : is there an app we can use to check what would actually be better (like in WoW where we had the app from Elitist Jerks i believe and where you could pull your character's data from WoW Armory and then analyse it (with the app) and the app would tell you how to better your character, by changing enchantments, gear or gems? Lookin for general rules of thumbs :) Thanks !

[@DimkaSulegnaa]

This may not be in regards to the cool build you have for the video, but thanks to a legendary and the change to the Ancients, I've been running a pseudo minion build with my barbarian. The Haunt of Vaxo combined with the Call of the Ancients give you five minions (not counting followers and whatever else) to add to the DPS and aggro. The Shadow Clones also can do random skills that the barb has like Hammer of the Ancients, Weapon Throw and other nonsense. It's really potent against the majority of enemies in T1.

[@ScumbagCurnow]

thunderfury & fulminator, I've got the amulet that gives 20% lightning damage and negates all lightning damage and makes it heal you which seems appropriate for thundergod. trag'oul coils are bracers which come with up to 20% lightning damage and make healing wells replenish all resource and reduce cooldowns by 54. For clearing reapers wraps will probably be better since they can also get up to 20% elemental and you get resource from healthglobes. Stone of Jordan with lightning an crit would be dreamy too.

[@Rhykker]

Great tips! Oh man, a lightning SoJ.... *drools*

[@TheHarmonator]

Nice tutorial Bro, Can't wait to take it for a spin.

[@davidalsbury2711]

I'm confused; what rune makes whirlwind a lightning skill? Or, for that matter, what weapon throw rune features lightning?

[@gabrielsebastian2936]

Good job! Keep going with videos! With this build,some minors modifications at gear(crt chanse 60% and crt dmg 480%) t5 its a walk in the park.Rarely i have problems.One question i have : what paragon lvl its indicated for torment 6?

[@michaeldaly710]

Rhykker, Thanks for doing these, they're very informative! My friends leveled me to 70 yesterday, and ran me through 2 T8 Grifts, and a few regular rifts for some gear. I'm now Paragon lvl 80, but I'm just wondering if you've done a video on how to craft yourself enough to start grinding rifts, or the best way to acquire the gear above, not just how to prioritize the stats...? Thank you!

[@Rhykker]

+michael daly Cheers Michael! Just look up my Ultimate Guide :)

[@Spore6001]

I'm currently using this build and it's sweet, and I reckon duel wielding two Odyn Sons would be awesome. Is it a world drop? Or is there a specific place I can start?

[@zigui98]

is that a transmog or any cosmetic stuff or just the natural look of ur gear?

[@ceniux1022]

how did you get lightning on skills?

[@blinkintervention2110]

Hey bro im new to Diablo 3 just bought the game 2 weeks ago. I got a Barb level 60 now. Is this build still best or really good this patch? Would you recommend a different barbarian build otherwise from your channel? Thanks man

[@JonxNgo]

I just got RoS on console and was pretty lost with all the changes since I used the cookie cutter ww build in original. Thanks for the video, it's making ww fun again!

[@RavenReforged]

Where did you put the defensive and utility paragon points?

[@mkherro]

what did you put for your other paragon points? you only showed your offence page

[@ThEcHuNkYmOnKeY100]

how do you make whirlwind deal lightning damage?

[@JamieOliveTree]

Nice guide, however, do you have monk guide?

[@freephonenetc8947]

Would this work for my PS3 one?

[@Xolcor]

Gotta say, I'm quite intrigued by this. At the moment I'm using a somewhat similar build, but more geared for survival then anything. I'm DWing an axe and sword, also gemmed for crit damage, and geared for high crit chance, but thats mostly to proc the WW rune which heals you for every crit you do. I also use battle rage to boost my crit chance, but I never thought of that idea for overpower, I may use that! I can reliably solo torment 3 but this is definitely a build I'd like to try, thanks for the video!

[@PureBrawler]

This might not go perfectly with a Lightning Build, but I found the boots "Fire Walker" to go extremely well with WW. It's an extra 100% weapon damage per second.

[@apexskills5548]

got D3 UEE on my X1 and this is my fav build just got Odyn Son and my ring of royal grandeur and owning Torment 3 solo :) thanks...any tips for getting the belt?

[@joshuamurphy2132]

What patch is this.... Does it work on PS3

[@Semtex1164]

You should try out Reaper's wrap, and roll the +% fire damage to lightning (they are craftable so easy to obtain) + health globe give you back +30% of your primary resource meaning almost endless fury

[@Rhykker]

Nice, thanks for the tips!

[@AllStarHockey1331]

***** The +% lightning from wraps would be good, but that primary resource from health globe wouldn't be much of a difference since you already stated you never really run out of fury.

[@ohyeahyeah3988]

is it worth duel wielding swords/maces/ext for a barbarian if so what can you tell me the diff from a 2 hander?

[@OlivierMurathenri]

0:53 maphack? Since you enter in Dungeon and there is still mob. How can you see the whole map? Simple question :)

[@IHateYourComments]

wrong. He went down a level, not up. He had already been on that level

[@justahobo2823]

your videos are amazing man and very helpful , thank you mate

[@zemekiel]

This build still feasible in 2.3? I just got RoS (havent played since before RoS), and got lvl 70 last night, looking for a proper build to go forward. Or should I wait trying this build until I get the specific gear? Oh, and another question: Is it better with 1-handers than 2-handers? (2x green gem) Is there a lvl 70 version of Skorn, in that case I guess that would be better?

[@Rhykker]

+zemekiel Yep still feasible! It is better with a 2-hander as that uses less resource but hits harder. There is a level 70 version of all items :)

[@splinterda]

does this build work good with the current patch? i need a decent build, since iam doing torment 1..only.. thx for your help :)

[@911Turbojoe]

Like all your guides very nice, very easy told, very effective! Keep on anf thx.

[@imajorityi]

Im going to give this a shot. Good vid man!

[@Rhykker]

Thanks!

[@dieseluk2k]

Frenzy - Maniac HotA - Thunderstrike Furious charge - Relentless assault Avalanche - Tectonic rift Warcry - Charge! WotB - Insanity Passives Earthen might, Brawler, and Relentless. The 4th passive is optional but I like to use Bloodthirst, Animosity or Unforgiving Drop warcry before battle and gain 5 stack frenzy hit HotA a couple of times then avalanche, try it and love it.

[@lightsaint00]

Can you make a list of the items? Thanks

[@Nr1Jew]

wow.. really nice work mate, must be alot of work to come up with that build? or was it because of the legendary? :) anyways, keep up the good work;)

[@Rhykker]

Hahah when you're familiar with the skills and runes, you can remember which go well together. But I went lightning because of those items, yes :) Thanks!

[@Goosebeans]

Unless it's recently changed, I don't believe you get the Weapon Master bonus for the offhand. You can test this by swapping the mace to offhand and Mighty Weapon to mainhand and see if your crit chance drops.

[@Rhykker]

Derp, you are correct. My bad.

[@pottl92]

the swords thunderfury and/or fulminator would work great for this built.wyrdward the ring sound also nice for higher hp enemys.

[@B0sser]

My build did look alot like your build but you gave me tips on the electric and armor stuff now no one can stop me >;) thxx man you deserve a homemade cookie sir :)

[@83dawi]

How do you add the lighting effects to the runes?

[@ddtdragonrider]

I play Hardcore mostly and have switched to this build i used the hallowed set axe/mightweapon till i found a windfury and fulminator, running high crit and crit damage around 500k damage before buffs i am able to eat T1 up can even hang with a rift group in T2 this is an amazing build as all you see is 900k + crits rolling off mob packs. some increased attack speed has made it easier on boss's and elites with weapon throw crits go around 3mil. per hit.

[@Oboetoke]

I just found a thundergod belt last night from a chest! I am so happy :))

[@RetroArcadeFan1]

I like your vids! You still have the D3 clan?

[@EOC12]

Gonna give this a try tonight. although im not quite lvl 70 yet, Maybe I should wait?

[@jakearcouette1455]

awesome... Ive been running a build like this for awhile now. Couple upgrades that would benefit u alot other than the obvious stone of jordan... countess julias cameo (amulet) and ice climbers (boots) These 2 items allow u to ignore the ice traps and arcane shooter things.. These effects can be problematic for melee and with these items u boost your survivability a great deal. They will indirectly increase your damage as well allowing you greater uptime on your target. Avalanche volcano might b a better option for u then earthquake. I realize thts fire damage but with the way that it works u can get a cast off every 10-15 seconds in combat, 4400% damage every 10-15 seconds is better then 2600% modified by your lightning damage every 30 seconds

[@marcellabrie5841]

What is the top diff. for this build?

[@mon0theist_tv]

I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get the same skills, then I realized I forgot about elective mode Is there an updated version of this for 2.4.1?

[@4LB4TR0SS]

Hi, I was using it (worked really well) but I found Maximus on the way and 2 other good items with fire damage on them... (Also got some perfect rares with +skill damage that fit and have just got 2 pieces of Immortal set and Captain Crimson -with Ring of Grandeur for the bonus). I tweaked the build a little into a MoltenGod barb build (just swamped runes all to fire, same skill set, changed few passives more at my liking). I loose sustainability and crits a bit but I win in raw/direct damage. I'm clearing T1 fingers in the nose. My question is, will this build fall off in later T4-5-6 ? (Compared to the above lightning build).

[@phillipjessett95]

This build is ok for a starter Barbarian but you really want to be looking into either the Earth gear set or the Raekor set for high end t4-t6 running. At the moment raekor set is a charge build that has been topping greater rift charts for quite a while now. You might want to give a look into a raekor build. However the raekor build is very gear reliant to be viable.

[@xJaGG3d]

The Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker would be amazing for this build, seeing as it has a chance to chain lightning with 300% weapon damage, and then spreading to 5 nearby enemies, slowing them and blinding them. It would do roughly 45 MILLION damage and if they didn't die from that you have 5 seconds to do it again.

[@duckystealth1847]

Watching help me a ton, thanks

[@Jacob4628]

It's sad that "Weapon Master" passive only gives bonus on the weapon type in your MAIN hand :(

[@rubypad9045]

dude.... what are the names of the armor and weapons you use? i want to know so i can see what to aim for :P

[@jonsaunders397]

Just a note to anyone who wants to try something like this while leveling or without allot of crit, put a red gem into your main hand weapon and it will help with your damage allot

[@OneKnight1234]

I haven't got RoS yet but I will eventually. Fab class is of course barbarian. My question is if you know of a decent leveling build from 60-70 and once at max level, a good high damage build I could go for and stats to gem for that build and what kind of gear I should go for and all that? Just asking thanks :)

[@OneKnight1234]

Fav*

[@deadlymartian5027]

Is this build still good enough? im level 55 now and plan on using it when i reach 70

[@XronFoun]

Nice build. Totaly works nice and smooth.

[@Rhykker]

Cheers!

[@dimosthenisdimopoulos2592]

You could also add Thunderfury Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.

[@frozenpaiin1405]

Great vid dude! Now i can finally handle t2

[@Rhykker]

Cheers!

[@S8in1337]

I just came for the audible chocolate coming from this guy...

[@Rhykker]

Hahah, thanks.

[@Adam-ei4oj]

he does have a nice voice

[@chuatiowshen2155]

dude i love your build !

[@sluggermcjagger2816]

If i got good gear it would be good at t4+?

[@imbatrancelol]

Awesome video! Good work! Thank you!

[@Rhykker]

Thanks!

[@Nin13666]

Has this been viable in levels higher than T1?

[@nathansimer5821]

Great vid. Very well done

[@Rhykker]

Thanks!

[@OnionRingsGaming]

( I am not advertising ) I made my own video of this build to try and help spread the word, I credited you and told them to check you out cus you have some really good content.

[@derekryan2040]

yep. fulminator, shard of hate, odyn son, and thunderfuryi run with odyn son and fulminator on my lightning barb. it's very effective

[@ScaryGaryEarly]

Awesome video, Monk next please!

[@Rhykker]

Cheers! Looking into monk

[@SharkiceLP]

can you do a dh guide video?

[@techogecko3]

I imagine the legendary Shard of Hate would help with the build. I'm using it right now on my Barb.

[@RC-go2kl]

Good vid!

[@marcing.6054]

this build is awesome thanks man :D

[@Rhykker]

Cheers!

[@vpetronzio]

where do i put my para atts?

[@beastn408]

that voice though oh baby....you can read me bed time story's i wouldn't mind

[@MrShadowofthewind]

So how much crit chance should you be around ? (i am still level 60 not 70, dont have reaper of souls yet)

[@MrTaco-vm4sx]

Around 30% is good but try to get it to 50% :)

[@BrokeToSemibroke]

Lightning build good, but post cindercoat + IK/ Raekor set, fire build is better in my opinion (HOTA-Smash, Sprint-Marathon, Overpower-Revel, Avalanche-Volcano, Battle shout-Bloodshed, Call of ancients-Fury if IK/ Furious charge if raekor). WW takes forever to kill single target, and doesnt give enuf life/ fury spent, while HOTA is good at that. But, for starter barbs, lightning definitely takes less itemizations.

[@aKaStar3]

Is this build still viable for T6 and GR30+? Also, which leg gems works best with it?

[@Rhykker]

To make it T6 viable, you need to include the Raekor's set and Charge. I will have a Raekor's guide coming in the future.

[@aKaStar3]

***** Actually I made a mix of Invoker, immortal king and raekor, getting the 3set piece bonus of each set with royal grandeur, ~1million dps and 12mil toughness, doing T4 now but with a little tweaking I think it's very possible to do T6 without raekor, never liked that build anyway ^^ Again, which gems do you think would work best? Currently I use the wraeth of lighning and gogor of swiftness.

[@3tr3nity]

Can you please share your Paragon Build up. Please and Thank you Thanks for the Video

[@Yinsight]

I didnt try this build, yet, but I used to play a WW and frenzy fire build, because I think fire favors WW more. Add Maximus weapon and its pure carnage. The Undisputed champion belt is also cool. I quited the build because i think WW spam is boring as hell :/

[@Robbie-wr6ft]

where do you get the odyn son

[@iownyounoobs]

i play diablo 3 on the ps3 and what i find that works really well is crit chance, im somewhere above 50% i believe, something like over 500% crit damage, and lifesteal. even 5% lifesteal is more than enough to sustain. i can handle myself in inferno master 5 without many problems.

[@randrickangelicasean]

How are you using battlerage and war cry?

[@ArturoPladeado]

options > Gameplay > Elective Mode

[@D3rO]

hey can u tell me why i don`t have the same specs on my runes ? Cuz i tried to make that build and i don`t have all specs that u have. Cheers , and btw a really good build.

[@MrNixey]

Level 70 yet?

[@D3rO]

Jamie N Yep 70 and 77 paragon :) and i don`t have the same specs on runes and i don`t understand why:))

[@MrNixey]

Do you by any chance have elective mode unchecked in Options>Gameplay?

[@D3rO]

Jamie N nope it is checked....

[@MrNixey]

Zaharia Alex Okay, what do you mean by "specs" on the runes