Diablo 4: Best Tank Class & Builds

Learn more about the tank classes and how you can use them to defeat the toughest of enemies!

Barbarian and Druid standing with title text infront.
Learn about the Best Tank Class and Builds in Diablo 4

Diablo 4 has five different classes to choose from, each of which encourages a different playstyle. However, if you want to choose the best tank class in Diablo 4, you should go for either Barbarian or Druid and in this article, we will explain why.


Key Takeaways

  • You should choose a tank class in Diablo 4 because of its insane toughness and survivability. Moreover, they have a great defense and equally amazing attack damage.
  • Barbarian is one of the best tank classes in Diablo 4, thanks to its high DPS and health resilience. You can even carry four powerful weapons when playing Barbarian, which cannot be done in any other class.
  • Furthermore, the tanky build for Barbarian includes:
    Lunging Strike, Upheaval, Rallying Cry, Charge, Steel Grasp, Wrath of Berserker. Make sure to rank these to the max for the best experience.
  • The passive skills in this Barbarian build will include:
    Tough as Nails, Imposing Presence, Guttural Yell, Thick Skin, and Counteroffensive.
  • Druid is a very underrated tank class that should be given more praise. They can shapeshift into menacing and powerful Werebears with high attack damage. 
  • The best tank build for the Druid class will include the following skills:
    Storm Strike, Pulverize, Earthen Bulwark, Wolves, Hurricane, and Grizzly Rage. Again, be sure to rank up their levels to have the most efficient build.
  • Moreover, the passive skills included in this build consist of Circle of Life, Bad Omen, Mending, and Call of the Wind.

Whether you will play the game solo or decide to play co-op, you would want to choose a hero with excellent survivability and toughness. For that reason, Barbarian and Druid classes are an amazing choice. In addition to their amazing defense, they can inflict insane amounts of damage while barely getting scratched.

Apart from the health and strength benefits, the Barbarian and Druid classes also have a particularly wide-ranging skill tree that can allow for different tank builds. Moreover, the combination of dealing heavy damage while not losing a lot of health makes tank classes an amazing choice for players.

Barbarian

Barbarian people standing infront, one male and one female.
Choosing your Barbarian character. ~Image captured by Gamesual

A tank class that we would 100% recommend, the Barbarian, is also amongst the most picked class in Diablo 4. The Barbarian class is perfect for someone who wants to fight in the face of the enemy, with its high DPS (Damage per second) and amazing health resilience.

In addition, an exclusive mechanic for the Barbarian class is the Weapon expertise, which is unlocked at level 5. Each weapon has a unique technique which is ranked between 0 to 10.

Increasing the technique rank will give you certain damage buffs against certain enemies. For example, the two-handed Axe will provide extra damage to vulnerable enemies at higher ranks. Moreover, you can only rank up your weapons by using them in combat. The more you use, the more the damage buff.

Furthermore, Barbarians are the only class to equip four weapons at a time. They allow you to have two two-handed weapons and two one-handed weapons equipped at a time. However, you will use each depending on the skill you use.

highlighted 4 weapon slots in weapons menu in diablo 4.
Four weapon slots for Barbarian. ~Image captured by Gamesual

Barbarian Tank Build

The Barbarian allows various powerful builds, and we will discuss our tankiest build. This is a very defensive build, which will allow you to survive through more difficult bosses with ease. You must get high-level skills to enhance the tank build fully.

Active Skills

Lunging Strike: In this skill, the barbarian Swings forward to deal damage to the enemy. It is best to upgrade to enhanced and combat Lunging strike. Thanks to that, it will now do 30% extra damage while also healing you 2% of your max life when fighting a healthy enemy.

Upheaval: This powerful skill is closest to a ranged attack with the Barbarian. It tears into the ground and generates a shockwave and debris, which damages enemies. It is perfect for crowd control.

Rallying Cry: This active skill will generate a deep roar, increasing the movement speed of both you and your nearby allies. In addition to that, it will also boost your resource generation.

Charge: This brawling skill will make you unstoppable and inflict knockback on all enemies in your way. This skill has no cooldown, making it perfect for our best tank build in Diablo 4.

Steel Grasp: This weapon mastery skill will unleash a trio of chains that will inflict damage while pulling on the targets. Upgrading it to an Enhanced steel grasp will also make enemies vulnerable for 2.5 seconds.  

Wrath of Berserker: This ultimate skill will transform the barbarian into an iron giant. This will also make you unstoppable and berserk for 10 seconds. In addition to that, this skill enhances your movement speed and damage done.

The table below summarizes the active skills you need to pick for the best tank class in Diablo 4. You may be interested in multiple other builds, depending on your playstyle. You can check out the top 3 barbarian builds in Diablo 4.

Skill Name Type of Skill
Lunging Strike Basic Skill
Upheaval Core Skill
Rallying Cry Defensive Skill
Charge Brawling Skill
Steel Grasp Weapon Mastery Skill
Wrath of Berserker Ultimate Skill
Slamming on ground and pushing shockwave infront to kill enemies. As best tank build in diablo 4
Upheaval skill used in Best Tank builds in Diablo 4. ~Image captured by Gamesual.

Passive Skills

Tough as Nails: This passive talent will increase your thorns by 3%. This means it will damage all enemies that hit you as bleeding damage.

Imposing Presence: The imposing presence will give you an extra 15% of your maximum life, making it perfect for a tank build for the barbarian.

Guttural Yell: The Guttural yell is perfect for a tank build because it will reduce enemies’ attack damage by 10% for 10 seconds. Stopping others from hurting you is the perfect skill for a tank build.  

Thick skin: This passive skill will increase your survivability by increasing your base life whenever you take direct damage. The amount of health regained will depend on the rank of this skill.

Counteroffensive: This skill will give you a 12% damage buff if you have Fortify for more than half of your health. Making you more dangerous and challenging to defeat.

Druid

choosing starting character as Druid, as best tank class in Diablo 4
Choosing starting character as Druid. ~Image captured by Gamesual

The Druid, an underrated and lesser-picked class, should never be underestimated. Druids are essentially shapeshifters who can turn into agile werewolves or menacing bears. They provide high damage and are an excellent tank class you should consider.

Although this class starts weak and a bit slow, it is indeed one of the most powerful classes after you rank up and unlock some fantastic skills. In addition, if you want to focus on a tanky build, you can do that by concentrating on Bear skills.

A unique mechanic for the Druid is Spirit Boons, which can only be unlocked by Druids at level 15. Spirit offerings will start dropping after you kill enemies, which you will be able to collect. This will allow you to save up offerings and give them to any of the four Spirits in Tur Dulra.

The four spirit categories include the Wolf, the Snake, the Deer, and the Eagle. Each spirit will give you different buffs, including thorns, increased health, and critical damage. All you need to do is roam around, kill many enemies, and start collecting Spirit offerings.

Spirit boons option in for druid in diablo 4
Spirit Boons for Druid in Diablo 4. ~Image captured by Gamesual

Druid Tank Build

Druid has amazing capabilities and can have the best tank built in Diablo 4. A complete tank build would be the Bear build, which has amazing defensive abilities.

Active Skills

Storm Strike: This skill is a melee attack that bounces electric shocks between 3 enemies. Moreover, you’ll receive a 25% damage reduction till 3 seconds when you hit an enemy with a Storm strike. This has no cooldown, so you can spam it for however long.

Pulverize: This skill will shapeshift you into a werebear and produce shockwaves by slamming the ground. It is perfect for crowd control and is much more effective if you upgrade it to the raging Pulverize.

Earthen Bulwark: This defensive skill will protect you by summoning rocks around you, absorbing 63% of your base life (after a full upgrade). Even though this skill lasts only 3 seconds, it is ample time to reposition and heal yourself.

Wolves: This is a companion skill, meaning you will spawn wolf companions who attack enemies. They will lunge at the enemy to bite them and deal damage.

Hurricane: This skill will cast a hurricane around you, which will not only slow down enemy attacks but also deal considerable damage to them. It lasts for 8 seconds and has a cooldown time of 20 seconds.

Grizzly Rage: This ultimate will transform you into a werebear and grant you insane aggressive and defensive advantages. Moreover, you will regenerate spirit a little faster, lasting only 10 seconds.

The table below summarizes the Active skills you need to equip to make the best tank class in Diablo 4.

Skill Name Type of Skill
Storm Strike Basic Skill
Pulverize Core Skill
Earthen Bulwark Defensive Skill
Wolves Companion Skill
Hurricane Wrath Skill
Grizzly Rage Ultimate Skill
a Werebear shapeshifted from Druid in Diablo 4
Druid shapeshifted into a Werebear. ~Image captured by Gamesual

Passive Skills

Circle of Life: This passive skill is one of the best and a must-have due to its insane healing powers. It allows you to heal 3% of your maximum life when you consume spirit.

Bad Omen: When fully upgraded to this skill, it will give you a 30% chance of spawning a lightning bolt whenever you hit a vulnerable, stunned, or immobilized enemy.

Mending: This passive skill is insanely useful because it gives you 5% additional healing from all sources if you are in werebear form. A tanky build surely needs good healing to improve survivability.

Call of the Wind: This passive skill is particularly amazing because it enhances the power of your companions. After upgrading this skill to the max, it will provide your companions with a 30% damage bonus.

You can find other amazing builds for Druid for a different playstyle that suits you.

All in all, whatever class you choose depends on your playstyle and preference. But if you want to perfect the best tank build in Diablo 4, choosing the Barbarian or Druid class will be the best option. Moreover, whether you choose a tank class or not, having the right build is also essential.

Also, you can quickly improve your gameplay and strategies by reading more in-depth articles on our website:

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