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“Survive” is one way to put it. But that may not be the most accurate term. Pro players have a way to take on the Challenge Rifts in Diablo Immortal, at high levels, and come out victorious on the other side. It just requires using a very particular PvE Barbarian build.
Due to several factors, like gear, skills, reforging, and upgrades, it is impossible to list the exact quantities for many of the numbers detailed here. Any variable number has been replaced with an ‘X’ to signify its potential to change.
*Article updated 1/17/2023 to reflect appropriate related guides
Skill Selection
The clear the rift, players are going to require a combination of single target and group damage. Whirlwind and Ground Stomp take care of the mobs, while elements of the Frenzy build deal with the final boss.
Gear
The bulk of gamers will be hunting down their ideal pieces of legendary gear after taking the time to beat the game. But don’t forget to track down the set bonus pieces after choosing them from the list. A complete set gives three additional effects, on par with the legendary bonuses from the regular gear.
Primary Gear
Every skill finds some kind of upgrade with legendary gear. Mobs will fall even faster when up against the new earthquake effect from Ground Stomp and the wider radius from Eager Maelstrom. An increased dodge chance from Sprint may sound slight, but it alone is responsible for keeping the Barbarian alive through the run.
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Set Items
Grace Of The Flagellant is often used for straight-up channeling builds. Given the use of Whirlwind in this build, it is effective, yet the latter two effects are both effective against single targets when using Frenzy in addition to their power against groups.
Reforge Bonuses
Even for paid players, reforge attribute bonuses can be guided, but are not guaranteed completely. With enough rerolls, any player can eventually get the exact attribute they want, but this will take time and luck, even for those who have the money. Therefore, several different attributes have been listed within the same family, in order of preference.
Family Bonus
Whirlwind will be chopping down small minions left and right, so expect at least a few Hydras in every run. These will further help improve Challenge Rift times by taking out stragglers that don’t get caught in Whirlwind’s trap.
Attributes
Although it can be tempting to try and some hits better with the Barbarian, consider that, with enough offense, no enemy can survive through the Whirlwind to reach the character. Therefore, in a rare instance, the offensive power makes more sense than defensive protection for high-level Challenge Rift runs.
Gems
There are two kinds of gems to consider for this build: the legendary gems and the regular gems. Players of all income levels will be using this guide, so there are three charts for legendary gems to choose from. Probability demands that even paying for an advantage will still make it tough to get the right gems, so feel free to mix and match from the charts based on the character’s most valuable stats.
Legendary Gems
To clear rifts with the Barbarian, it’s going to take all the tanking gems possible. There are several 5-Star gems that help the Barbarian whether tons of hits, helping the class last until they get to the final boss.
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The increase in Resonance from 1-Star to 2-Star makes any gem in this category better than the starter ones. Still, if gamers get lucky enough to mix and match a few gems, these will all help take out opponents in a more expeditious fashion.
1-Star gems have a good mix of offense and defense, so grab a few of each. Some of these, like the Respite Stone and Chained Death, are particularly valuable in certain stages of the Challenge Rift.
Regular Gem Preference
Given the choice between tanking and damage, elect for extra damage every time, allowing the best defense to be a good offense.
Diablo Immortal is available now for mobile and PC.
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