Dungeons and Dragons (5th Edition): How to Build a Barbarian – A Combat Guide

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Dungeons and Dragons has been keeping fantasy role-playing alive for over 40 years. Now on its 5th edition, D&D has undergone some significant changes over the past decades. With the game having experienced a massive resurgence in the past years, more players than ever are now delving into this highly popular role-playing game.

With that in mind, here is a detailed build for one of the top tier classes from within the game.

Overview

Dungeons and Dragons is a highly complex game. The game allows players to assume fantastical roles and to explore interesting, exotic places. To some, the game is an improvisational exercise. It allows for players to role-play their greatest fantasies with their closest friends. To others, D&D is all about raiding dungeons and slaying monsters. Sword and shield in hand, these players seek out to create incredible stories of their own through conquest and glory. If you want to learn how to make the most out of your character in combat, then look no further. Here is a top tier build for one of D&D’s strongest characters.

If you would like to learn how to build some of D&D’s other classes, check out our guides down below.

Warlock

Fighter

Paladin

Bard

Monk

Wizard

Barbarian

The barbarian is a fairly strong class. If built properly, the barbarian can be an exceptional tank. Simultaneously, the class can offer significant damage output and greater mobility than most characters. The real strength of this class, however, is its ability to sustain damage and protect its allies.

There are different ways to build the barbarian. For instance, the “Berserker” archetype is a great choice for players looking to up their damage output. The “Frenzy” ability offered by the archetype grants players an extra attack as a bonus action during their rage. Beyond that, the barbarian’s “Fast Movement” ability makes the class well equipped for dashing into the enemy’s back line and pressuring their weaker members.

While this barbarian build can deal some significant damage, there are other classes that can do just a little more in the damage department. The barbarian, however, also has other strengths.

The barbarian uniquely has the largest hit die out of all of D&D’s many classes. Beyond that, the barbarian can halve physical damage during a rage. Consequently, the barbarian is a class built for tanking damage. The “Ancestral Guardian” barbarian archetype rather uniquely offers a great set of skills to bolster the barbarian’s ability to utilize their heartiness to their team’s benefit. So, the “Ancestral Guardian” archetype will be the primary focus for this build.

When it comes to this build, the name of the game is to tank. The barbarian’s job is to protect their allies and to sustain a brunt of the oncoming force’s attacks. Consequently, the barbarian needs to be able to draw aggro from enemies, sustain in battle and keep their allies unscathed.

If the goliath race does not fit your fancy, the dwarf and half-orc race also mesh well with this build. The half-orc race is better for slightly higher damage output because of the “Savage Attacks” ability. However, the hill dwarf race has a “Dwarven Toughness” ability that can boost your maximum health by up to 20 points. It is important to remember, however, that dwarves have reduced movement. Consequently, you will not be as capable of reaching allies in need if you choose the dwarf race.

The ancestral guardian primal path is a wonderful choice for tanking barbarians, as the archetype is almost entirely built to reduce damage received by your allies. This can make an enormous difference on the battlefield. However, the totem warrior primal path can also be effective for tanking barbarians if you choose the Bear totem.

You will gain resistance to all damage types except psychic damage when raging, which will help provide additional sustain in battle. However, the totem warrior primal path offers little else that would significantly aid a tanking barbarian. Consequently, the ancestral guardian path is going to be your best bet.

Concerning chosen feats, the feats listed above are focused on increasing the barbarians damage output, sustain and ability to reduce damage to allies. All of these features are important for a tanking barbarian.

You will not have as high of an armor class without a shield. That being said, using a pole arm will greatly increase your ability to stand your ground and protect your allies. Your damage output will be significant. However, the real advantage here is that your threat range is higher with a pole arm. Thanks to our selection of feats, you will drop an enemy’s movement to zero whenever you strike them with a reaction attack while they are entering or leaving your increased threat range. This is a great way to act as an offensive line of sorts for your team.

Warning: Concerning your ability scores, the graph above is using the standard 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 ability allocation that players can use if they do not wish to roll their stats. That being said, your dungeon master will likely have you role for your stats rather than allocate your ability points manually. 

If you are rolling your stats, just make sure to prioritize constitution and strength above all others. Strength is secondary to the build, while all of your mental ability scores are dump stats. If you want to balance your build more in favor of damage than your ability to tank, then focus on strength before constitution.

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