In this guide, I will show you the Double Swing Thorns Barbarian Build in Diablo 4 Season 2. However, we will need more Uber Uniques. While the Thorns build is already fine just with a Melted Heart of Selig, we definitely need the Harlequin Crest here, and if possible, also Doombringer and Grandfather.

If you have plenty of Diablo 4 Gold, let’s take a look at everything in detail.

Skill Tree

Here you can see the skill tree. Basically, it looks similar to the other Thorns Barbarian, but instead of using Steel Grasp, we now play Double Swing. The Double Swing Barbarian already dominated the PVP battlefield in Diablo 4 Season 1, and this build basically combines the advantages of both Double Swing and Thorns. We play the 3 shouts and the ultimate Wrath of the Berserker. The expertise is a Two-Handed Axe Mastery.

Paragon System

The paragan system is very straightforward. We take different types of damage reduction in a lot of life and since we rely on the legendary node, Blood Rage. We also want a lot of Berserking Damage. so the multiplicative damage bonus scales are very high. I’m playing the new glyph here, otherwise I’d put Marshal into the Carnage board and redistribute the superfluous attribute points to add Flawless Technique.

There you can get even more damage reduction against close enemies or more alive. Since the boards are arranged in a cross, you can also easily create variants here. For example, if you play against builds that deal damage over time, it might be clever to use the Hemorrhage Board instead of Bone Breaker. there you can get damage reduction against DoT and against bleeding enemies.

Vampiric Powers

The vampiric powers are similar to the other Thorns bar. I can replace Hemomancy or Metamorphosis by Resilience without changing the packs on the equipment. The same applies to Jagged Spikes. I can also replace it with Moonrise. So you can vary a bit here.

Equipment And Sideboard

Now, the equipment. We’ll definitely play a Harlequin Crest. It’s kind of must-have if you want to mess with the best. We play Razorplate, but we should also have a defensive chest armor in the sideboard. I use it in the Diablo 4 Abattoir of Zir Dungeon, for example, and in PVP against builds that deal massive damage. The Disobedience aspect is actually superfluous. For PVP, we already get to 9,200 armor without it.

Then gloves with Double Swing levels, attack speed, and crit chance. Attack speed after dodging is rolled by a Rogue. Here, I play the Accelerating aspect.

Next, I’ve got some defensive pants with armor, life, and damage reduction, and ideally, also dodge chance so that the dodge and attack speed after dodging triggers more often. Dodge chance and attack speed after dodging are especially important in duels against other barbs. You just stand on the spot and hit each other, and both the dodging of some attacks and the speed boost afterwards give you some good advantages.

I’ve got two different pairs of boots. This one with dodge chance I also use against other barbs where I don’t need resistances and still benefit from the damage reduction when injured. But I also have some triple resist boots with running speed, which I use when I need the resistances. Of course, as on my Double Swing build, I use the Exploiter's Aspect.

Here on the Two-Handed weapon, I play the Aspect of Elements. It’s very strong. Priority affixes are strength, berserking, damage, all stats, and damage versus close. We play Doombringer and the One-Handed Mace with Inner Calm, which is again great versus barbs. But the Needleflare Aspect is still in the sideboard. I play it in PVE or sometimes against opponents who run away a lot.

Then there is Grandfather, but I think this weapon is not that important. So when missing, don’t worry. We want to have the Assimilation Aspect on a ring. Best in slot fixes are Critical Strike chance, resource generation, life, and berserking damage. With the amulet, I have two settings. Against other barbs, I play my defensive amulet with an Throns aspect. Against sorceresses and Rogues, however, I also like to use Selig.

Gameplay

Let’s move on to the playstyle. The build offers the same advantages as the Thorns barb, but here we have the double swing as an additional argument, so we simply knock out a lot more damage. Many Barb builds are tanky enough to withstand the pure Thorns damage, but adding double swing, you can crack them.

When playing against Mages and Rogues, I like to use the Melted Heart of Selig so I have better protection against damage over time and also against high damage peaks from a ball lightning attack. I only use the double swing in between and play the same way as with the other build.

After all, Fury is also a shield. When playing Selig and Lunging Strike plus Thorns, it’s just enough for most Rogues and Mages. I keep Lunging Strike pressed and click Double Swing in between, keeping an eye on my resources. If they go down too far, I wait with my Double Swing.

Against barbarians, I play Dutch boots and a defensive amulet. In principle, I can also defeat sorceresses and Rogues with this setup, but I’m not as safe as with my other setup. A ball lightning source with high damage or a hunter with lots of poison plus rapid fire can surprise me. But what can be really dangerous is a good Firewall Sorceress. So, this build is much stronger than the pure Thorns build in both PvE and PvP. Like before, we have the most Thorns when Challenging Shout and Berserking are active.

Have a lot of fun trying it out.