Damage engine and purpose
Immortal King keeps Ancients permanent; Fury spending reduces Berserker cooldown. Istvan weapons, Gavel and First Men concentrate damage into rapid Fire hammers.
Item, skill and rune names use their English game spelling for unambiguous lookup. Explanations, rotation and limitations are fully translated.
Six skills and runes
| Skill · rune | Function |
|---|---|
| Hammer of the Ancients · Smash | Main damage; retain high Fury while striking. |
| Furious Charge · Merciless Assault | Move, hit and refresh the linked ring or set effect. |
| War Cry · Veteran's Warning | Maintain the defensive party buff. |
| Battle Rage · Bloodshed | Activate the persistent buff before attacking. |
| Call of the Ancients · Together as One | Permanent companions and the Immortal King condition. |
| Wrath of the Berserker · Insanity | Offensive and defensive power window. |
Four passive skills
Bloodthirst / Rampage / Ruthless / Berserker Rage
Complete equipment slots
| Slot | Equipped items |
|---|---|
| Head | Immortal King's Triumph |
| Shoulders | Fury of the Ancients |
| Amulet | The Traveler's Pledge |
| Torso | Immortal King's Eternal Reign |
| Wrists | Strongarm Bracers |
| Hands | Immortal King's Irons |
| Waist | Immortal King's Tribal Binding |
| Legs | Immortal King's Stature |
| Feet | Immortal King's Stride |
| Rings | The Compass Rose + Convention of Elements |
| Weapon | Little Rogue |
| Offhand | The Slanderer |
Kanai’s Cube: separate powers
| Category | Extracted effect |
|---|---|
| Weapon Power | The Gavel of Judgment |
| Armor Power | Bracers of the First Men |
| Jewelry Power | Band of Might |
Legendary and normal gems
Legendary gems: Bane of the Trapped / Bane of the Stricken / Pain Enhancer.
Normally use an Emerald in weapon sockets; choose the helm socket for cooldown or Life needs. Match armour sockets to missing main stat or toughness. Seasonal Soul Shards replace helm or weapon gems only in the explicitly identified seasons.
Stats, cooldowns and optimisation
Strength, Fire and HotA damage; critical stats and cooldowns for Berserker. Preserve high current Fury for HotA rather than emptying the bar before every swing.
Complete the required legendary powers, correct runes and full set bonuses first. Cooldown reduction combines multiplicatively; do not simply add percentage rolls. Weigh a boss gem against a farming gem according to actual boss-fight length.
Rotation: preparation, damage, refresh
Step 1
Activate Ancients, War Cry and Battle Rage; land Charge to enable Band of Might.
Step 2
Activate Berserker, hammer useful density and maintain high Fury.
Step 3
Refresh Charge before the ring buff expires; group strong targets for the Fire cycle.
Patch boundaries and verifiable context
The specific bar and Istvan equipment survive from November 2017. Later numerical set changes altered strength without changing this core loop.
Season 16 grants Grandeur additionally; this complete IK blueprint does not require it. In Season 17 an active IK set prevents the LoN theme bonus.
Check before the next equipment change
Count set pieces before replacing a free armour slot. Equipping and cubing an identical legendary power does not double it. Solo Unity requires a follower wearing the other ring with immortality equipped.
This archive describes the period configuration. A current item database may show new numbers under the same name; those live tooltips do not prove historical multipliers. Old seasonal powers cannot be replayed on current non-seasonal characters.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Your checklist
Saved locally on this device, shared between both languages. This counter measures guide tasks, not game progress.
Sources & editorial reference date
Independently written guidance. Linked sources support verification of game systems, versions and described changes. Editorial reference date: 2026-10-23.
- DiabloFans: dated loadout s12-barb www.diablofans.com