So yesterday I finally decided to figure out this whirlwind barb thing everyone’s yelling about in Diablo 3. Honestly, I kept getting wrecked playing higher levels and saw folks spinning around killing everything like a lawnmower through tall grass. Time to join them, I guess.
The Gear Mess I Started With
Dug through my stash first. Had some ancient stuff, but mostly junk. Threw on whatever had “Strength” and “Critical Hit Chance” cause that seemed important. For weapons? Grabbed two huge two-handers ’cause bigger swords gotta be better, right? Boy, was I wrong.
Jumped into a Nephalem Rift at Torment 10 and immediately got my ass handed to me. Could barely spin for two seconds before I ran out of Fury. Felt like a dumbass just standing there waiting to die. Got stomped by some puny Fallen grunts. Embarrassing.
Actually Reading Stuff (Kinda)
Alright, fine. Went back to town, took a breath, and actually glanced at the popular builds online. Not gonna lie, skimmed most of it. But three things stuck out:
- You need these specific weapons: Something called Bul-Kathos weapons? Yeah, didn’t have those. Supposedly they give Fury back while spinning. Makes sense why I dried up instantly.
- Weapons gotta be one-handed?! All this time thinking two big swords… nope. Apparently gotta use two smaller, faster one-handers specifically for the set bonus.
- Sets matter way more than I thought: Saw pictures of people glowing in green gear. The Wrath of the Wastes set. Of course I wasn’t wearing any. Had mismatched blues and yellows like a total noob.
The Long Grind For Gear
Spent hours farming Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts on lower difficulties I could survive. Felt slow as hell. Gamble with Kadala? Yeah, spent mountains of Blood Shards trying to get those damn green armor pieces. She mostly gave me pants. So many pants.
Slowly, painfully, one piece at a time, the set came together. Found one measly Bul-Kathos sword. Used a normal yellow weapon in the other hand cause it was all I had. Finally had the full 6-piece bonus! Could actually spin longer! Progress! Still died a lot, but hey, spinning is winning.
Learning the Weird Rotation
Here’s the thing no one tells you: You don’t just spin. It’s more like:
- Run around shouting a lot to make enemies angry and suck them together? (Strange, but works).
- Smash the ground to make this red zone that hurts them? (Apparently important damage boost).
- Spin constantly to hurt things inside that red zone.
- Get hit? Yeah, constantly get hit to keep your Fury up? That seemed crazy risky. Some passive skill made that work somehow.
Practiced in safer zones just running around and spinning without stopping. Got dizzy IRL. Seriously. Felt weirdly fragile too – surviving meant spinning through packs, not standing still.
Finally Feeling Powerful
Found the second Bul-Kathos weapon later. Game changer! Now the Fury never really runs out unless there’s absolutely nothing to hit. Upgraded to Torment 16 rifts. Suddenly, I WAS the lawnmower! Elite packs? Gone in seconds. Trash mobs? Obliterated by walking near them. Ran through dungeons faster than ever. Loot just exploded everywhere. Such a satisfying, brain-off kind of destruction now that it finally clicked.
It took way longer than it should have because I was stubborn. Gear matters way more than I realized. Having the right gear makes this build stupid fun and stupid powerful. Still get smacked hard sometimes if I mess up the cooldowns or hit empty spaces, but man… when you’re spinning through a massive pile of demons and they just melt? Totally worth the grind and the early humiliation.