One D&D Beast Barbarian Build Guide
Learn the best build for the Path of the Beast Barbarian with step by step leveling guides and easy to navigate sections so you only read what you need!
This Beast Barbarian One D&D guide covers everything you need to build your character from level 1 to 20. We rank each subclass feature, provide a quick level-up guide for easy reference, suggest the best feats and species, and highlight top magic weapons to enhance your build. Whether you’re new to Dungeons & Dragons or optimizing for high-level play, this guide has you covered.
Join the discussion on Reddit!
Table of Contents
- Why Beast Barbarian?
- Beast Barbarian Abilities Ranked
- Quick Level Up Guide
- Best Magic Items For Beast Barbarian
- The Ultimate One D&D Barbarian Guide
- Beast Barbarian Build
Article Disclaimers
For all D&D guides on Nat1gaming, they only use the main sourcebooks (2024 Player’s Handbook, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything) as well as Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos (mostly for Silvery Barbs) as those tend to be the most commonly used books at tables. Always be sure that if you’re following a guide that you’re adhering to your tables rules about what sourcebooks you are allowed to follow. Furthermore, be sure that you’re using the most current edition of the rules, especially as some 2024 Player’s Handbook rules are updates on Tasha’s or Xanathar’s rulings.
Any spell, class, feature, or other game item that is linkable on this website is covered by the 5th edition Open Games License and will be in the Player’s Handbook, but not everything in the Player’s Handbook will be linked to. All other materials that aren’t linked to are from other sourcebooks or aren’t allowed to be linked to per the 5th Edition Open Games License, so please refer to the appropriate sourcebooks for that information.
For the purposes of this guide, it will be assumed that you would not be multiclassing. While multiclassing can be excellent for many of these, this is for those who want to play the build all the way through in the same class. Guides that use multiclassing will be separate from these.
Why Beast Barbarian?
Are you looking for the ferocity of a beast, but not looking to be a Wild Shaping Druid? Then look no further than Beast Barbarian. While it is, admittedly, one of the weaker Barbarian subclasses, you get a lot of choices in how you want to play with the Beast Barbarian as both your third level and sixth level features are modular making for a surprisingly thoughtful play experience in a class generally thought of as brainless!
That said, I would like to put in a disclaimer that you are likely picking this class up to use the cool Claw attacks that they get. If you aren’t that interested in the Claws, this may not be the class for you!
Quick Level Up Guide
| Level | Class Features/Feat | Notes |
| 1 | Rage, Unarmored Defense, Weapon Mastery | Rages Per Day: 2 Rage Damage Bonus: +2 |
| 2 | Danger Sense, Reckless Attack | Rages Per Day: 2 Rage Damage Bonus: +2 |
| 3 | Beast Form of the Beast Primal Knowledge – Intimidation | Rages Per Day: 3 Rage Damage Bonus: +2 |
| 4 | Feat: Mage Slayer (STR) | Rages Per Day: 3 Rage Damage Bonus: +2 |
| 5 | Extra Attack, Fast Movement | Rages Per Day: 3 Rage Damage Bonus: +2 |
| 6 | Bestial Soul | Rages Per Day: 4 Rage Damage Bonus: +2 |
| 7 | Feral Instinct, Instinctive Pounce | Rages Per Day: 4 Rage Damage Bonus: +2 |
| 8 | Feat: STR to 20 | Rages Per Day: 4 Rage Damage Bonus: +2 |
| 9 | Brutal Strike | Rages Per Day: 4 Rage Damage Bonus: +3 |
| 10 | Infectious Fury Primal Knowledge – Survival | Rages Per Day: 4 Rage Damage Bonus: +3 |
| 11 | Relentless Rage | Rages Per Day: 4 Rage Damage Bonus: +3 |
| 12 | Feat: Constitution to 18 | Rages Per Day: 5 Rage Damage Bonus: +3 |
| 13 | Improved Brutal Strike | Rages Per Day: 5 Rage Damage Bonus: +3 |
| 14 | Call of the Hunt | Rages Per Day: 5 Rage Damage Bonus: +3 |
| 15 | Persistent Rage | Rages Per Day: 5 Rage Damage Bonus: +3 |
| 16 | Feat: Constitution to 20 | Rages Per Day: 5 Rage Damage Bonus: +4 |
| 17 | Improved Brutal Strike | Rages Per Day: 6 Rage Damage Bonus: +4 |
| 18 | Indomitable Might | Rages Per Day: 6 Rage Damage Bonus: +4 |
| 19 | Epic Boon: Boon of Combat Prowess | Rages Per Day: 6 Rage Damage Bonus: +4 |
| 20 | Primal Champion | Rages Per Day: Unlimited Rage Damage Bonus: +4 |
Beast Barbarian Guide
Species: Goliath (Hill Giant)
Attributes:
| POINT BUY | |
| STRENGTH | 15 (+2 background) = 17 |
| DEXTERITY | 14 |
| CONSTITUTION | 15 (+1 background) = 16 |
| INTELLIGENCE | 8 |
| WISDOM | 10 |
| CHARISMA | 8 |
Class: Barbarian
Class Features: Rage, Unarmored Defense
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics and Perception
Background: Farmer (Tough)
Starting Equipment: Greataxe, 4 Handaxes, Explorer’s Pack, and 15gp + 50gp from background
Beast Barbarian Abilities
Form of the Beast (Level 3) – C- Tier – This is a solid ability as you have some versatility in how you fight, but this does not scale particularly well as you progress into later levels. This only really becomes an issue once you pass level 10, but will still be a bit of a pain until then.
Bestial Soul (Level 6) – C- Tier* – This ability is pretty good for travel and it can be useful in combat, but this is really just an ability for traveling.
Infectious Fury (Level 10) – D Tier – This can be powerful if the enemy fails their saving throw, but you can only do this proficiency bonus times per day making this not the most useful as you’ll realistically only successfully make this work a few times a day.
Call the Hunt (Level 14) – C+ Tier – Getting temporary health and a global damage buff is solid, especially as you can functionally get this every fight, but both halves of this are so small that the benefits can feel somewhat marginal.
Click here for more Tier List Rankings or the Tier List Breakdown.
Barbarian Class Features
Level 1
Starting Proficiencies – A- Tier – Solid proficiencies you’ll be happy to have. You’re only missing Heavy Armor which is unfortunate (obviously doesn’t work with Rage anyway, but more so if it did), but it’s not the end of the world.
Rage – A Tier – The iconic ability of the Barbarians. It is easier to keep up than it used to be and has a very strong effect. Excellent for anyone looking to tussle on the front lines.
Unarmored Defense – D Tier – Unfortunately, just wearing Medium Armor is going to be better than this most of the time. However, this may be stronger in the early game or with the assistance of particular items.
Weapon Mastery – B- Tier – Weapon Masteries are overall pretty good and add a decent amount of power and versatility to your weapons.
Level 2
Danger Sense – C Tier – Weaker than Evasion, but still a reasonably good way to dodge some nasty spells or abilities.
Reckless Attack – B- Tier – This ability has a high risk and reward, but when used properly, this can be a pretty devastating way to force through damage.
Level 3
Primal Knowledge – C- Tier – Getting a skill proficiency is always nice, but the rest of this ability feels like flavor text.
Level 5
Extra Attack – A+ Tier – Extra Attack is probably the most important ability on any martial class.
Fast Movement – C Tier – Extra movement is always nice, but this is not going to be particularly relevant often.
Level 7
Feral Instinct – A Tier – Acting before your enemies is really strong, and this helps you do that.
Instinctive Pounce – C Tier – This can be a useful repositioning tool, but it’s not likely to come up often.
Level 9
Brutal Strike – C Tier – Giving up advantage for some mediocre CC and a smidgen more damage is not that exciting of a prospect, especially when enemies will have a very easy time hitting you after the fact. The push ability can definitely be useful, but 15 feet may actually be a little too much forced movement if your allies can’t plan around it properly.
Level 11
Relentless Rage – A+ Tier – An extremely powerful ability, nearly S Tier. Being able to continue fighting when you shouldn’t be able to and healing a decent amount of health can make putting you down to 0 feel near impossible.
Level 13
Improved Brutal Strike – B Tier – Unlike the first set of abilities, these abilities are much more enticing to give up advantage for.
Level 15
Persistent Rage – B- Tier – Regaining all uses of Rage is definitely nice, but in the average adventuring day or even campaign, you are unlikely to need this as long as you have taken a short rest or two. This ability does gain more stock if your DM likes throwing a lot of encounters at you per day though!
Level 17
Improved Brutal Strike – A Tier – Getting 2d10 additional damage by giving up advantage is akin to how Great Weapon Master and Sharpshooter used to work, but you also get to use two Brutal Strike abilities with each attack! This is very powerful and would easily be an S Tier ability if enemies didn’t have advantage to hit you after using this.
Level 18
Indomitable Might – D Tier – This will be helpful when enemies try to grapple you as you’ll almost certainly autopass the save, but useless otherwise. Is it even bad if an enemy manages to grapple you?
Level 20
Primal Champion – A Tier – This buff is the equivalent of four ability score improvements so it’s obviously great!
Beast Barbarian Species
Aasimar – A+ Tier – A generically strong species that gives you a lot of things for Barbarians. First off, Necrotic and Radiant resistance obviously works well with Rage to give you a really wide spectrum of damage resistances, Darkvision is great to have, you get a bit of healing which Barbarians don’t typically get, you get Light for free, and a cool form to transform into with 3 reasonable options.
Dragonborn – B Tier – A decent species in general as you get a damage resistance (depending on which origin you pick, I would probably pick Fire), Darkvision, a bit of flight at level 5, and a breath weapon (the element depending on which origin you pick) that can be useful in a pinch. While a solid species, it does get mostly overshadowed by Aasimar who just offer more overall.
Dwarf – C+ Tier – Long range Darkvision, Tremorsense for scouting, and extra health is definitely nice. Resistance to poison damage and advantage to save against the poisoned condition is alright, but pretty rare so it’s not going to come up that often.
Elf – B Tier – Darkvision is always great, an extra skill proficiency, as well as advantage on saving throws against being Charmed (even if that isn’t common as that can cause you to lose Rage), but the real treat is being able to pick your lineage which all comes with things you’d be happy to have as a Barbarian. I would say the Wood Elf lineage is probably the most appealing for Barbarians, but all would be solid.
Gnome – C+ Tier – Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws is excellent, especially for Barbarians as these spells/effects can cause you to lose your Rage, but nothing here is appealing for Barbarians.
Goliath – A+ Tier – Large Form and Powerful Build aren’t exciting for really any class (maybe a bit better on Barbarians, but that’s debatable), but getting a higher base speed and one of the many excellent Giant Ancestry abilities is awesome, especially Hill Giant for Topple which all martial classes love.
Halfling – C- Tier – Brave is awesome for Barbarians as Frightened is particularly debilitating and Luck is a fun feature, but it’s really just Brave that’s appealing for Barbarians.
Human – A- Tier – A free Heroic Inspiration every day, a free skill, and a free Origin feat is great for any class. This is a smidgen weaker for Barbarians than other classes as you aren’t as reliant on a particular Origin feat compared to other classes.
Orc – B+ Tier – The archetypal species for a Barbarian as all the abilities here are very strong for Barbarians. Bonus Action Dash lets you get into the fight easier so you don’t miss out on damage which is great. Not going unconscious once per day also help tremendously when you’re going to be typically taking quite the beating in combat. Finally, long range Darkvision is generically good for any class making this a great choice.
Tiefling – D Tier – Damage resistances and Darkvision are always great, but the spells package is just worse than what Elves could give you.
Beast Barbarian Backgrounds
Acolyte – D Tier – While you do get a solid feat and proficiency in Insight, the rest of what Acolyte gives doesn’t really mesh well with what Barbarians are typically looking to do.
Artisan – B- Tier – Good ability scores, solid proficiencies, but a really weak Origin feat. Not a bad option, but the feat definitely hurts.
Charlatan – D+ Tier – The feat is solid and being able to bump both Dexterity and Constitution is solid, but everything else is pretty mediocre and not being able to boost Strength is really rough.
Criminal – C+ Tier – An excellent feat and decent ability scores, but the proficiencies aren’t great and not being able to boost Strength hurts.
Entertainer – A- Tier – The best Origin feat and nearly ideal ability scores (you’d prefer Constitution over Dexterity, but not the end of the world) are obviously great, but the proficiencies aren’t the best. Still an excellent option for Barbarians.
Farmer – A Tier – Excellent Origin feat, excellent ability scores, and decent proficiencies. This is my general go to choice for Barbarians.
Guard – A- Tier – This is an excellent feat, excellent skill proficiencies, and solid ability scores. Not being able to bolster Dexterity nor Constitution does hurt a bit, but it’s not a huge deal.
Guide – B+ Tier – Good ability scores, the Feat is great and the skill proficiencies are also great. The only issue is not being able to boost Strength is really rough.
Hermit – C- Tier – Medium ability scores, medium feat, and not great proficiencies culminate to not so great of a choice.
Merchant – C- Tier – Constitution is the only reasonable ability score, and while the Feat is solid, the rest of the package is not great for Barbarians.
Noble – C Tier – Being able to boost Strength is great and the feat is decent, but the proficiencies in general aren’t ideal.
Sage – C- Tier – Not ideal ability scores (Constitution is great, Wisdom is not so great) and the skill proficiencies aren’t good for Barbarians, but the Feat is great.
Sailor – B- Tier – Good ability scores and good proficiencies, but the Origin feat is pretty bad which is awkward.
Scribe – D Tier – Not great abilities, mediocre feat, but solid skill proficiencies.
Soldier – B Tier – The best possible ability scores and proficiencies, but the worst Origin feat which is awkward.
Wayfarer – D+ Tier – You only get Dexterity as an ability score, the feat is solid, and the skill proficiencies are alright, but not getting Strength nor Constitution as ability scores is super rough.
Beast Barbarian Skills
Animal Handling – C Tier – Your Wisdom should be decent inherently, and if you don’t have a Druid or Ranger on your team, you may be the one who has to do these checks. That said, Animal Handling isn’t a common check in general so it’s not that important to have.
Athletics – A- Tier – While not a common skill check in general, this is nearly mandatory on every Barbarian for the times you do need to use it as you want to be excellent at it.
Intimidation – A- Tier – Now that Barbarians can use Strength for Intimidation starting at level 3, this is a great proficiency to have as your Charisma caster may not have this specifically (I in particular like Deception and Persuasion more personally).
Nature – B- Tier – A solid proficiency if you don’t have someone who has proficiency in this as Barbarians are like the tertiary nature class.
Perception – A Tier – Simply one of the best proficiencies around if you can get it and have decent Wisdom.
Survival – B Tier – I think this generally a bit better than Nature, but what I said for Nature makes sense for this as well.
Beast Barbarian Feats
While not every feat can be mentioned as that would be an oppressively long list, the ones I would at all consider would be here (all the Origin feats included as any of the backgrounds could be potential choices). Feats left off the list are not ones I would normally not consider for any Barbarian build, but a full reference on the all the feats in the Player’s Handbook and their associated rankings, check the link below.
Origin Feats
While your Origin feat is tied to your background, it’s good to know how good each feat is to help consider which background you may want or if you decided to pick Human as your species. Past level one, I would functionally never consider taking an origin feat (though it is allowed).
Alert – A Tier – While an excellent feat, it’s not a huge deal if Barbarians in particular go first as they are just damage dealers versus battlefield controllers.
Crafter – F Tier – The feat is just bad unless there’s something big about it I’m missing.
Healer – C+ Tier – It’s an alright feat, but a bit better on Barbarians in particular as you are pretty mobile and should have alright Wisdom anyway, but you may not have inherent proficiency in Medicine which will make this less appealing. If you chose Hermit as your background or Medicine as your skill proficiency as a Human, then you can get the most out of this.
Lucky – C Tier – A decent feat in general, fine for any class or build.
Magic Initiate (Cleric) – B- Tier – Guidance is an excellent cantrip to have and you can never have too many Guidance on your team (plus you get another cantrip which can be an attack cantrip to give you a decent ranged option). Getting long distance healing in the form of Healing Word is nice, but you only get to do it once per day as a Barbarian.
Magic Initiate (Druid) – B- Tier – Like Cleric, Guidance and Healing Word are great to have, and if you are feeling spicy, you can take something like Entangle or Goodberry instead. While your second cantrip option is less consequential (probably an attack cantrip for a decent ranged option, but a utility option can be reasonable as well), but if you are playing with spells from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Magic Stone can be a good pickup to synergize with your team if they are about that lifestyle.
Magic Initiate (Wizard) – C+ Tier – These cantrips can give you a decent ranged option for Barbarians compared to the other initiate feats which is nice and you can pick up a pretty strong combat spell like Shield or Silvery Barbs which can be useful, even if it’s once per day.
Musician – A Tier – A generically excellent feat for any class.
Savage Attacker – D Tier – This is at its best for martial characters, but a pretty weak feat in general.
Skilled – C+ Tier – A reasonable feat for nearly any class (save Bard or Rogue who doesn’t really need it).
Tavern Brawler – D- Tier – Barbarians probably aren’t using unarmed strikes much, and if they were, you would be doing so to make grappling possible, not to just push someone 5 feet.
Tough – A- Tier – Extra health is always great, especially on a class that’s going to be used predominately as a damage sponge.
General Feats
Charger – B- Tier – While you’ll only get to use this so many times per fight, Barbarians are definitely used to charging headlong into battle so this is very reasonable.
Crusher – B Tier – While your best weapon is probably not a bludgeoning weapon (the Maul is fine, but not my first pick), Crusher is still a great feat as pushing people around is always great.
Dual Wielder – B Tier – While not typical and Barbarian bonus actions are a little tight because of Rage (and other subclass abilities), Barbarians can reasonably dual wield in this new addition if you have two Light Weapons. Furthermore, getting more attacks does make Reckless Attack more appealing, especially when you get Brutal Strike in the mix as giving up advantage on one of four attacks is obviously less painful than giving it up on half of your attacks for the turn. The only real downside of this feat is that it buffs Dexterity where you would probably still want to be Strength based (you don’t have to be per say, but it’s obviously way more common). If you do end up picking this up, I would highly recommend grabbing Defensive Duelist as well which is an excellent feat for dual wielders.
Fey-Touched – C Tier – Don’t get me wrong, I love having access to Misty Step (and Silvery Barbs presumably), but this feat isn’t amazing on non-casters as you’re limited to once per day and Barbarians are pretty mobile in general. Not a bad feat, but not one I’m usually looking to take.
Grappler – A- Tier – While I would usually have Monks be the grappler for the team, Barbarians can do it really well too if you’re into that. The main downsides of taking this is you can’t use a Greataxe (you’d go for Battleaxe instead which has the Versatile property so you can swing with one or two hands) and you have to go for an Unarmed Strike rather than weapon attack, but beyond that, this is an excellent direction to take your Barbarian if that’s what you want.
Great Weapon Master – A+ Tier – A staple for any Barbarian using a two handed, heavy weapon. Not as strong as the 2014 iteration for Barbarians, but not much weaker either.
Inspiring Leader – C Tier – This is an excellent feat, I would just hope that the Barbarian wouldn’t need to take it. If you have to, there are worse options since every team should probably have one person with Inspiring Leader, but hopefully a Wisdom caster can grab this instead.
Mage Slayer – A+ Tier – Getting a functional charge of Legendary Resistance is awesome and especially good for Barbarians who can lose their Rage to many spells or abilities.
Medium Armor Master – C Tier – I am not generally a fan of this feat, but if anyone is going to want an increase in Strength and also has 16 Dexterity, it would probably be Barbarians. I wouldn’t look to go for this, but if you have a high enough Dexterity, it’s probably worth it.
Piercer – C+ Tier – If you’re using a Piercing weapon, this is a reasonable pickup as it will increase your damage potential, but not to any substantial degree. Still a fine choice.
Polearm Master – A Tier – While Polearms aren’t going to give you as much damage as a Greataxe on average, if you can consistently get the Reaction attack, they will likely be the highest damage weapon a Barbarian can get (especially since Barbarians only use their Reaction for opportunity attacks most of the time).
Resilient – C+ Tier – Resilient (WIS) is always a fine pick up on any character, Barbarians get a little more out of it as you don’t want to lose your Rage.
Sentinel – B+ Tier – While this unfortunately doesn’t work as well with Polearm Master anymore, Sentinel is still a great feat that can really let you feel like the team’s tank, especially if you’re a more defensively oriented Barbarian like Ancestral Guardian, Wild Heart, or World Tree.
Shield Master – B Tier – This feat is pretty awkward as most Barbarians are not going to be interested in using a Shield, but if you are, then this is a must have for you. Increasing Strength and getting two excellent abilities definitely makes using a shield tempting.
Skill Expert – C- Tier – A fine feat for most classes, I would be surprised if the Barbarian is being relegated to the skills guy though (barring you’re the only one who’s good at a particular skill and it comes up often).
Slasher – B- Tier – Increasing Strength, two fine abilities, and working with Barbarian’s most common damage type makes this a solid option.
Speedy – C Tier – If you want to increase your Constitution and need even more speed than you already had, this is a reasonable option. If you have the Grappler feat though, I would put this more in B Tier as being able to cart enemies or even allies further in combat is definitely appealing.
Best Magic Items For Beast Barbarian
Here’s a list of magic items you may want to look for/ask your DM about specifically for this subclass – magic items that literally anybody would want (like the Bag of Holding) won’t be mentioned. For a full tier list ranking of the available magic items, check out the link below!
As a note for Beast Barbarians specifically, remember that natural weapons do not count as unarmed strikes unfortunately.
Common
Silvered Weapon – C Tier – Far from a necessity on this build, it’s just a no opportunity cost add on to your weapon.
Uncommon
Boots of Striding and Springing – A Tier – Additional movement speed to ensure you get to your chosen opponent on turn one is definitely useful.
+1 Weapon – A Tier – If you’re using a weapon, getting an upgraded one is a pretty big priority.
Weapon of Warning – A Tier – Arguably better than a +1 weapon if you value having a higher initiative compared to better attacks.
Gauntlets of Ogre Power – B Tier* – This can be useful pre-level 4, but will be unnecessary once you hit level 4.
Rare
+1 Armor – A Tier – An obviously good pickup for any character that can wear armor.
Boots of Speed – A Tier – Likely an upgrade to Boots of Striding and Springing for you, but not a necessity if you already have those.
+2 Weapon – A Tier – You’re always looking for your best possible weapon as a martial character!
Sun Blade – A Tier – If you were planning on using a Longsword and can find this, you may as well use this instead.
Belt of Giant Strength (Hill) – B Tier – Even for a minor boost to Strength, you’d still be happy to have this.
Mantle of Spell Resistance – B Tier – Losing your Rage because you failed your saving throw against a Hypnotic Pattern or something similar is always a feel bad.
Very Rare
+2 Armor – A Tier – The more AC, the better.
Belt of Giant Strength (Fire) – A Tier – This is a solid boost to your Strength making you hit harder and more accurately.
+3 Weapon – A Tier – The best possible weapon beyond some dope magic weapon!
Manual of Gainful Exercise – A Tier – Anything that can increase your Strength is going to be good!
+3 Shield – A Tier – The more AC, the less damage you take.
Legendary
+3 Armor – A Tier – As much AC as possible!
Vorpal Sword – B Tier – No harm in having a better sword.
Beast Barbarian Multiclassing
Not every potential multiclass is going to be mentioned as most don’t synergize well with Barbarians, just the ones I would consider. For a more thorough breakdown on multiclassing, check out the link below.
Fighter – A+ Tier – Getting a Fighting Style at level one is definitely appealing, but you’d go for two levels to get Action Surge as well. Great for any class, but Barbarians in particular would always be happy to pick Action Surge up.
Rogue – C Tier – Barbarians can get Sneak Attack really easily with Reckless Attack, but it’s such a minor damage boost unless you’re willing to go at least 3 levels into Rogue to at least get a 2d6 Sneak Attack bonus and a subclass. Not bad, but it’s definitely unclear if that’s worth it.
