Hi everyone, I’ve been trying to find an answer to this but can’t find any topics that are recent and I’m unsure if the question was asked before or after nerfs happened so wanted to make a new thread.
As the title states: could any experienced barbs please suggest which build to transition into between HOTA or WW for 50-100.
Things to keep in mind: I’m on a HC character so survivability is crucial and any examples of what each build excels at would be very much appreciated. Thank you!!
I would say if your goal is to reach lvl100, WW will be better. WW is better at clearing mobs and speed farming/dungeon clearing. HOTA is more like for NMD pushing and endgame content.
You want HoTA man. WW requires way too many aspects / uniques to work as efficiently as HoTA that only really requires 1
So from the two conflicting replies what I’m gathering is HOTA is more accessible but once I actually get everything for WW that ends up being the better option for efficient leveling?
I dunno man, I’m inclined to disagree about WW being better in the long run. Yes, it’s a really smooth speed farming build… however the comment about it being more dependent on specific aspects is correct. So it will take you longer to get it off the ground. HotA really doesn’t need much to get going.
I find HotA to be more fun and I think it’s more powerful overall. It just has its frustrations. You could just spin through mobs without aiming… where with HotA you do have to try to consolidate the enemies. Your hammers will take up a ton of your fury so if you miss or hit a less than ideal part of the pack, it’ll impact you more. Where with WW it won’t matter, it’s more care free in a way.
But still, I’d say HotA is more fun and engaging. Also extremely effective and versatile. You can really balance between single target and AOE very well with HotA.
Also, probably not a thing for you in hardcore, but HotA in PvP is IMO the top spec in the game.
Awesome, thanks so much! Looks like I’ll be going HotA first for sure. And yeah will definitely not be touching pvp in HC but I’m loving the class so far so I’ll end up making one on eternal realm eventually.
HOTA is definitely a better build for endgame. Just that WW is able clear dungeon faster. Faster clear speed = faster to level up.
Almost a guarantee at this point HoTA is getting a PvP nerf though.
I used WW for a while. I had the correct gear and aspects but still had fury issues. It just got a little too annoying for me to always be empty and have to wait on my shouts. It slowed me down. Hota works for me because I just keep going forever.
Doubt it cause then it would effect their pve they alrrady said balancing wont be thru pvp
I’m playing a HoTA build that routinely hits for 400k+ At level 61.
If you like seeing big ole critts, it’s the way to go.
Honestly neither. Both HOTA and WW require insane amounts of fury gain to feel good playing, which you won’t have at level 50. You’re probably better off playing rend bleed until WT4 at least.
One thing that no one has mentioned yet is that WW has better uptime on your shouts since it uses rage of harrogath. Being hardcore you might want the increased uptime of challenging shout. That being said you typically have to stay in combat longer as WW in harder content since you need to spin on top of mobs. It really is personal preference. I ran WW until around level 85 and then I made the swap to hota once I found some good pieces for it.
hota does need some specific stat rolls on gear and paragon. If you don’t have max fury rolls on your helmet and rings as well as the max fury rolls in your paragon then you’ll be missing up to a 119% damage multiplier on HOTA… Overall i’d say WW takes a little longer to get up and running but the playstyle is easier, hota doesn’t need as much but you’ll be missing a huge chunk of damage if you don’t run the right stats.
I like to think of HOTA as the tal rasha wizard in D3 where you aren’t as fast and don’t have great aoe clear but you can take on mobs much higher level. I’m easily clearing nightmare dungeons that are 10-15 levels higher than my character and still one/two shotting elites. Since you’re hardcore, pushing the monster levels higher for more exp to compensate for the slowness might not be a great idea.
I like this build because of the yuge crits.
Play whatever you like though, that’s always the best policy.
Rend, Rupture, Iron Maelstrom - I’m level 54 and nothing is causing me any problems and I have crappy gear right now.
Nothing will cause you problems if you’re on WT1…
Rupture isnt disabled?
While HOTA may be the superior NM dungeon push build, it depends on what you plan on doing in D4. If you really plan to push NM 100 then sure HOTA.
Personally I enjoy speed farming Helltides and lower NMs for glyph XP so WW is superior to me.
I’ve had WW barb but changed it into HoTA barb and I’m happier. No more falling asleep before my monitor.
Welcome to Diablo 4 and thanks for playing 100 hours, now please choose from 1 of 3 endgame builds our community has exploited to the best of their ability if your focus is pressing/holding one button down for the rest of your playthrough.