Looking to dive into and start the push for my barb to 99. Finally got my dream pally to ding 99!

For barb I had some advice to go with this guide: https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=12286444

My only question is would there be any updates from all my barb experts to this guide that was written over a decade ago? Would love to hear any advice on zerker and pushing to 99 with a zerk build.

Best advice would be to stay very far away from this guide.
It’s not even because it’s old… even if we go back in the days, most info written in there is just plain wrong.

That said… I just want to make sure that you understand that playing as a zerker will make your push to 99 much longer and harder.

Barb is already the worst class to lvl up, but if you don’t care and want to avoid all the better options (throw, ww and hybrids) then I don’t mind helping you figure out what would be best for you with your challenging goal.

Hey Sin,

Thanks for your input as always! The dream pally went amazing! I love that build! I guess i'll lean into a throw barb them... Let's build that sucker and how would you rank that in the experience of pushing to 99?

Zerker is not a density destroyer at all.
It’s normally used to target snipe elites on mf builds.
But if mf is not the goal, this gives us more flexibility.

I would maintain the same playstyle:
Isolate elites with howl
Zerk them down quickly, avoid killing trash mobs
Don’t hork

Not horking means you don’t have to care about shattering corpses, nor removing them by using redemption. So at least this part will make your life easier.

Grief PB 400dmg 15/3, any ias will do (need 42 ias, you’ll be using HL and LoH).

Phoenix Mon
Extra dmg, redemption will provide sustain as you can’t leech from berserk.

Enigma ofc
HL
LoH
Gores

Then ask yourself… do you mind always having to press W before teleing?
Using 2x wiz on swap can make you easily reach 105fcr with a single fcr piece.
But you may prefer to play with 40fcr without swapping, by using arach + either a 20fcr circ or 2x fcr rings (cham in helm in this case)

So… option 1:
105 fcr swap
Guillaume ber
Dungoes or SoE
Raven + fcr ring

Option 2:
40 fcr no swap
Guillaume cham
Arach
2x fcr rings

Option 3:
40 fcr no swap
Fcr circ
Arach
Raven + melee ring or wisp or dwarf

This is pretty much how I would build if I was forced to lvl up as a non-horking zerker.



Well, throw, ww or throw/ww hybrid are really similar in terms of xp/min.

I’m going to bed now, but we can discuss any of those builds later.

Ima leave my throw ias calc here, it’s helpful if you want to theorycraft a build

https://sins-of-the-sun.github.io/double-throw-ias-calc/

This post was edited by SinsOfTheSun on Feb 10 2026 10:35pm

OO i am thinking of going Throw now! I want to see what you feel is a great throw barb! I was just thinking zerk because i did roll a 400/40 grief, but it seems throw is the way to go now. I guess it is more about if I can leverage a perfect grief for my barb is it worth to build around that? WW just seems to clunky to play?

This post was edited by rzzi on Feb 10 2026 10:38pm

Throw barb for sure. Yes meta prebuff. Beast death on switch for ww boses

Standard, easy to play, no prebuff, 100% pierce, easy/cheap items to get:
eWarshrike + eLacerator
70 ias from off-weapon
LoH + HL + 30ias rare circ
Faith merc (needs lvl 14-15 fana)
https://sins-of-the-sun.github.io/double-throw-ias-calc/?mhWSM=-20&ohWSM=-10&mhIAS=30&ohIAS=30&offWeaponIAS=70&fanaticism=33&frenzy=0&markOfTheBear=0&burstOfSpeed=0&holyFreeze=0&decrepify=0&chilled=0&slowPercent=0

You could replace warshrike in the build above by a 40ias Winged Harpoon, but then you also need to use a magic 3os circ for a 3rd 15ias jewel to maintain max speed.
This would give you more dmg per hit, but then you lose pierce chance which most likely result in less overall dps.
So, if you want to upgrade from this standard build, you need to either prebuff MotB from meta, or use frenzy (and keep refreshing it).
You also kinda need to use razor and wisdom to keep 100% pierce (so you lose 40fcr from those 2 slots).

TBH, the first build above is the best ‘bang for your buck’, but it can be improved, if you don’t mind spending a lot more and dealing with some gear swaps each 3 mins or keeping frenzy stacks active each 20s.

Here’s an example of max speed reached with a 30ias Balrog Spear + Lacerator
Prebuff MotB with Beast on swap and then replace Meta with Wisdom
Same faith merc as above
https://sins-of-the-sun.github.io/double-throw-ias-calc/?mhWSM=10&ohWSM=-10&mhIAS=30&ohIAS=30&offWeaponIAS=40&fanaticism=33&frenzy=0&markOfTheBear=1&burstOfSpeed=0&holyFreeze=0&decrepify=0&chilled=0&slowPercent=0

Here’s an example of 8 fpa reached with a 20ias Ghost Glaive + Lacerator
No prebuff, no swap
Same faith merc
Razor + 30ias circ, so you end up with 83% pierce
https://sins-of-the-sun.github.io/double-throw-ias-calc/?mhWSM=20&ohWSM=-10&mhIAS=20&ohIAS=30&offWeaponIAS=70&fanaticism=33&frenzy=0&markOfTheBear=0&burstOfSpeed=0&holyFreeze=0&decrepify=0&chilled=0&slowPercent=0

Here’s an example of 8 fpa reached with a 40ias Balrog Spear + Lacerator
Using frenzy lvl 10 (1 hard point, max increase stamina for longer duration)
Pride might merc
Wisdom + Razor, no prebuff
https://sins-of-the-sun.github.io/double-throw-ias-calc/?mhWSM=10&ohWSM=-10&mhIAS=40&ohIAS=30&offWeaponIAS=40&fanaticism=0&frenzy=34&markOfTheBear=0&burstOfSpeed=0&holyFreeze=0&decrepify=0&chilled=0&slowPercent=0

There are so many ways to build a throw barb.
There is no perfect build, increasing your dmg always comes with either losing some pierce, fcr/mobility or some QoL (requiring to prebuff MotB or keep frenzy active). Some setups reach higher dps when dropping from 7fpa to 8fpa.

Is throw really better than WW?
If played well, yes. (Slightly)
You need good positioning to constantly pierce through at least 2-3 mobs, else WW is simply more dps.

There’s also the option to go throw/WW hybrid. That’s my personal preference. I like the more varying playstyle. You get 2 different arsenal, 1 for density destroying, 1 for high single target dps, so it’s fixing the opposite problem of both pure throw and pure ww builds. And you can achieve that while barely loosing dmg on both kits.
Here’s how I build it:
eWarshrike + eLacerator
eDeath + Beast on swap
Meta in a nice barb helm (keep it on, no swap needed)
LoH + HL
Pride might merc
You reach max WW speed, and 8fpa throw
https://sins-of-the-sun.github.io/double-throw-ias-calc/?mhWSM=-20&ohWSM=-10&mhIAS=30&ohIAS=30&offWeaponIAS=40&fanaticism=0&frenzy=0&markOfTheBear=1&burstOfSpeed=0&holyFreeze=0&decrepify=0&chilled=0&slowPercent=0
The throw dps is higher than the first standard build I talked about (even if it's 8fpa instead of 7, that due to pride+might instead of faith)
And the WW dps is just as good as a pure WW barb due to the ultra high CB%, as you only swap to this side to deal with tanky uniques/bosses on p8.

This post was edited by SinsOfTheSun on Feb 11 2026 09:48am