Hardcore Barbarian Progress (Paragon 1040) in Season 23.
Hello! We’re going to make this a simple post to add a few tips on how we solo speed run through Greater Rift 75 - 85. GR90+ slows down for us in a new season. We will be using the Wrath of the Wastes set.
There are two things we need to make this work at the basic level for running smoothly.
- Cooldown Reduction
- Pickup Radius
After Enchanting and having the Enchantress as our Follower with the Prophetic Harmony skill, we have around 60% Cooldown Reduction. We also have 21 Pickup Radius on our Barbarian gear.
Tweet (Latest Screenshot): https://twitter.com/sherwinjtb/status/1384266429541666830?s=20
The new update/patch allows us to equip our Follower with more items. Make sure they can’t die with a Smoking Thurible (Enchantress Focus) equipped. They also need Nemesis Bracers to spawn an Enemy Champion every time we activate a Shrine or Pylon.
The Legendary gems we use are the following:
- Esoteric Alteration
- Gogok of Swiftness
- Bane of the Stricken
The Flawless Imperial gems are here:
- Diamond in Helm
- Ruby in Chest Armor and Pants
- Emerald in Weapons
This is our Barbarian skills:
Left Click = Rend (Bloodbath)
Right Click = Whirlwind (Blood Funnel)
Action Bar 1 = Ignore Pain (Bravado)
Action Bar 2 = Overpower (Crushing Advance)
Action Bar 3 = Battle Rage (Ferocity)
Action Bar 4 = Wrath of the Berserker (Striding Giant)
Passive 1 = Pound of Flesh
Passive 2 = Nerves of Steel
Passive 3 = Weapons Master
Passive 4 = Boon of Bul-Kathos
Cube Weapon = Ambo’s Pride
Cube Armor = Lamentation / Pride of Cassius
Cube Jewelry = Ring of Royal Grandeur
There are many alternative builds to make this work, but this is our favourite or most common use case for speed runs. Most of the run is simply holding Right Click because the Left Click is optional. Action Bar is important too.
This is our Barbarian gear:
Shoulders = Mantle of Channeling
Mighty Belt = Pride of Cassius / Lamentation
Amulet = The Flavor of Time
Ring 1 = Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac
Ring 2 = Convention of Elements
Bracers = Mortick’s Brace
Weapons = Bul-Kathos’s Oath set
Main Set = Wrath of the Wastes
Notice that we can either wear or cube the Mighty Belt (Pride of Cassius or Lamentation) for our custom build. We are also wearing the Wrath of the Wastes set; however, the Shoulders are excluded for Mantle of Channeling.
Bonus points for Enchanting:
- Critical Hit Chance
- Area Damage
- Physical Damage
- Rend Damage
- Resistances
Although the bonus points above are great, Strength and Vitality is a must for any new season. This is our go to for basic Toughness and survival tactics. Critical Hit Chance would be the most useful bonus and is needed for Blood Funnel.
Good luck and have fun Guardians! 
Edit: Pound of Flesh can be replaced by Rampage/Ruthless for more Damage.
Update:
Out of the many solo runs completed, Greater Rift 85 is the most effortless difficulty before we get serious. Keep reading for some more insight, but here is a video I uploaded on Twitter for Greater Rift 90 as a demonstration in the link below:
Diablo 3 Video: Season 23 Paragon 1546 (Whirlwind Barbarian) - Hardcore
The three Legendary Gems have slightly changed to:
- Esoteric Alteration
- Taeguk
- Bane of the Trapped
With almost 57% Cooldown Reduction, we’re able to go without Gogok of Swiftness.
Flawless Diamond is still in the Helm, Rubies are still used in Chest Armor and Pants for Strength, and Emeralds as always for Critical Hit Damage in weapons. Gem of Ease in weapons don’t help much unless you’re still gaining experience below Level 70. Boon of the Hoarder is useful in Torment Difficulties, but not Greater Rifts.
I also refuse to wear Band of Might because it takes away our smooth playing style. However, the bonus to Toughness is very helpful. Still prefer to wear Pride of Cassius though.
Since the new patch to allow our Followers to be equipped, it’s much easier to play around with gear. For instance, Nemesis Bracers on Follower and Mortick’s Brace on our Barbarian. Just make sure they cannot die. The Flavor of Time also Emanates.
We’re able to Solo Greater Rift 90 under 2 minutes with as little as 13k Strength. Really depends on the Enchantments or status of gear. Work on Critical Hit Chance/Damage. Area Damage is good too, but not required at this stage. Don’t forget Physical Damage and Rend Damage. The problem with going all out on Damage is lower Cooldown Reduction. We need speed and this is achieved by keeping our skills active. Pickup Radius is juicy, but having more Damage still performs better.
Ruthless and Rampage works pretty well together as Passive Skills. If I could be bothered crafting a Hellfire Amulet for Pound of Flesh, that would be awesome. The other Passive Skills includes Weapons Master and Boon of Bul-Kathos. We no longer need Nerves of Steel as our Follower has a cheat death skill now (Fate’s Lapse on Enchantress Follower).
Anyway, here’s the skills used in the video linked above:
Kanai’s Cube:
Ambo’s Pride
Lamentation
Ring of Royal Grandeur (wearing Mantle of Channeling)
Rend (Bloodbath)
Whirlwind (Blood Funnel)
Ignore Pain (Bravado)
Sprint (Run Like the Wind)
Battle Rage (Ferocity)
Wrath of the Berserker (Striding Giant)
It’s actually more fun to play with Whirlwind (Hurricane). All we have to do is change the rune of Battle Rage into Swords to Ploughshares. It all works out. Came to the conclusion that most runs under 3 minutes are efficient. Good luck!