About this video

• Video Title: Hammer of the Ancients Build Guide – Massive Crits & Fast Clears | Diablo 4 Season 9
• Channel: Cliptis
• Speakers: None listed
• Duration: 28:16

Overview

This video provides a comprehensive build guide for the "Hammer of the Ancients" (HOTA) build in Diablo 4 Season 9. The creator walks through the skill tree, paragon board, gear, gems, runes, powers, expertise, mercenaries, and consumables, explaining the choices and their impact on the build's effectiveness, focusing on achieving massive critical strikes and fast clear speeds.

Key takeaways

• Core Skill: The build centers around "Hammer of the Ancients" (HOTA), designed for high critical strike damage and rapid clearing of content, including high-level pits.
• Fury Management: Effective fury generation and management are crucial for maximizing HOTA's damage, as its effectiveness scales with available fury. Key skills and gear affixes focus on sustaining fury.
• Critical Strike Synergy: The build aims for near-100% critical strike chance through various mechanics, amplifying damage significantly.
• Synergistic Gear and Aspects: Specific unique items, legendary aspects, and gear affixes are recommended to enhance HOTA's damage, fury generation, and overall performance.
• Paragon Board Strategy: The paragon board is detailed to provide multipliers and damage bonuses, with specific glyphs and nodes highlighted for their importance.
• Gameplay Loop: The video explains the optimal rotation of skills and shouts to maximize damage output and maintain key buffs like berserking.
• Gems and Runes: Recommendations are provided for gem and rune choices, emphasizing their placement in weapons for maximum benefit.
• Mercenary and Consumables: The guide also covers mercenary choices and recommended incenses and elixirs to further optimize the build.

The build achieves a high critical strike chance through a combination of factors:

• Hammer of the Ancients Skill: The "Furious Hammer of the Ancients" skill grants 5% critical strike damage and critical strike chance for every 10 fury when cast. The build aims to have enough fury generation to reach 100% critical strike chance with this skill.
• Ring of Red Fur: This ring provides an additional 100% critical strike chance after spending 100 fury within 5 seconds, guaranteeing critical strikes for the next skill. Since HOTA costs significant fury, this ensures every swing is a critical strike.
• Fists of Fate Gloves: These gloves offer a good source of attack speed and lucky hit chance, which contributes to making enemies vulnerable, and indirectly supports the critical strike synergy by ensuring HOTA hits are consistent.

The video mentions the following gear pieces and aspects:

Unique Items:

• Crown of the Ancestors (Head)
• Mantle of Mountain Fury (Chest)
• Fists of Fate (Gloves)
• Ariat's Carapace (Pants)
• Relentless Berserker's (Boots)
• The Grandfather (Slashing Weapon)
• Ring of Red Fur (Ring)
• Bold Chieftain (Ring)
• Banish Lord's Talisman (Amulet)

Legendary Aspects:

• Aspect of Earthshaker (Weapon - Bludgeoning)
• Ancestral Force (Weapon - Dual Wield)
• Bethman's Brawler (Weapon - Other)
• Relentless Berserker's (Boots) - Also mentioned as a unique, suggesting it might have an inherent aspect or be a unique with a powerful affix.
• Marshall (Paragon Board/General) - Though listed under Paragon, its effect on cooldowns is crucial.
• Revenge (Paragon Board/General) - Though listed under Paragon, its damage multiplier is key.
• Weapon Master (Paragon Board/General) - Though listed under Paragon, its damage bonus is key.
• Decimator (Paragon Board/General) - Though listed under Paragon, its damage bonus is key.
• Might (Paragon Board/General) - Though listed under Paragon, its damage bonus is key.
• Warbringer (Paragon Board/General) - Though listed under Paragon, its fortify generation is key.
• Challenger (Paragon Board/General) - Though listed under Paragon, its damage bonus is key.

Other Gear Slots/Components:

• Off-hand Weapon: The specific type is not detailed, but it's implied to be used for its affixes and potentially the "Ancestral Force" aspect.
• Gems: Critical Strike gems (in weapons), Rubies (in armor).
• Tempers: Critical Strike Damage, Chance for Hammer of the Ancients to deal double damage, Overpower Damage, Wallop.
• Runes: Igni tech, Pac.
• Incense: Soothing Spices, Buzz, Ancient's\.
• Elixirs: Elixir of Resourcefulness, Elixir of Fortitude, Elixir of Advantage.

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The build ensures enough fury generation through several mechanics:

• Call of the Ancients: This skill is crucial. When summoned, "Kro, the Barbarian" generates 10 fury each time he damages an enemy with Frenzy. This provides a consistent source of fury.
• Rallying Cry: Maxing out Rallying Cry provides a significant increase in fury generation (76% increased) and an additional 20% fury generation.
• Proflific Fury (Skill Tree): This passive grants more fury generation while berserking.
• Wrath (Paragon Board): Critically striking an enemy generates 3 fury, which is then multiplied by other fury generation bonuses.
• Ring of Red Fur: After spending 100 fury, the next skill is guaranteed to crit and deal increased damage. This encourages spending fury, which then feeds back into generation.
• Banish Lord's Talisman (Amulet): After spending 275 primary resources (fury), the next core skill is guaranteed to overpower. The build is designed so that HOTA's cost, when multiplied by Crown of the Ancestors, reaches approximately 150 per swing, allowing for consistent fury spending to proc this effect.
• Chance to Restore Primary Resources (Weapon Affix): This affix is highlighted as a "game changer" for many barbarian builds, as it can refill the fury bar significantly.
• Nebelous (Rune): While primarily for damage reduction, its synergy with the overall build contributes to sustained combat, allowing for consistent fury generation.
• Pac (Rune): When 100% of maximum fury is spent, the ultimate skill's cooldown is reduced by 1 second. This rapid fury expenditure leads to quick cooldown reduction of ultimate skills, which in turn can further aid in fury generation through other mechanics.
• Aspect of the Ancients (from Call of the Ancients): The Call of the Ancients skill itself generates fury when it hits monsters.
• Hammer of the Ancients Skill Stacks: Each time Hammer of the Ancients is cast, it grants fury generation that stacks up to 10 times, with the amount dependent on the number of enemies hit.
• Jewel Guardians (from Idle from Below Jewel): These can occasionally spawn and contribute to fury generation due to hitting more targets.