Diablo III- Skills Article XXI: The Barbarian, Rage Skill- Earthquake

Earthquake (Cooldown 120 Seconds, 50 Fury): Deal 2000% weapon damage as Fire damage over 8 seconds to all enemies within 18 yards.

Perhaps the ultimate in raw damage skills, the Barbarian’s Earthquake has some astonishing numbers attached to it.  Devastating in close combat, this skill can slay all but the toughest enemies on its own- provided you have a way to pin them in it.  This is why it has a huge cooldown as well as a large Fury cost- and it really deserves them.  When not being reserved for boss fights, Earthquake can, with the aid of Wrenching Smash or some good tactics, take out entire screens full of enemies in less than half its actual duration.  Combine this with Stuns for moments of frightful destruction.

Giant’s Stride (Cooldown 120 Seconds, 50 Fury): Deal 2000% weapon damage as Fire damage over 8 seconds to all enemies within 18 yards, and 65% weapon damage as Fire damage in a small area around each step you take during that time.

Giant’s Stride is really quite unimpressive compared to Earthquake, but it’s hard to deny the utility of an 8-second trail of damage following you wherever you go.  Besides, it’s not negligible damage- it’s just that Earthquake deals so -much- damage....  You shouldn’t need it for most situations, but if you’re fighting a boss- especially one that likes to run away from damage- this effect can be useful.

Chilling Earth (Cooldown 120 Seconds, 50 Fury): Deal 2000% weapon damage as Cold damage over 8 seconds and apply an 80% reduction in movement for the same duration to all enemies within 18 yards.

Chilling Earth is an excellent utility addition to Earthquake, helping to keep things inside it long enough to kill them.  In the event your Earthquake damage is not enough on its own to kill something (which should not be the case when you aren’t fighting a boss or an unique monster), the chill will help keep things in place for you and your allies to add to the massive drubbing they’re taking.

The Mountain’s Call (Cooldown 105 Seconds): Deal 2000% weapon damage as Fire damage over 8 seconds to all enemies within 18 yards.

Some people will say that Earthquake is strong enough as it is.  For these people, there’s The Mountain’s Call, which leaves the Earthquake itself alone.  In exchange, the rune lets you use Earthquake more often.... and for free.  This is, naturally, a devastatingly powerful benefit to give to such a strong skill, and well worth using.

Aftershocks (Cooldown 120 Seconds, 50 Fury): Deal 2000% weapon damage as Fire damage over 8 seconds to all enemies within 18 yards.  For several seconds afterwards, the area will suffer additional tremors that deal 65% weapon damage as Fire damage.

Aftershocks is just what it says- just in case almost certain death isn’t enough to destroy what you stand in the middle of your little fissure, Aftershocks will keep the damage coming.  This is amazing when you can pin down a powerful enemy in the area for longer than Earthquake lasts.  Otherwise, it’s more of a nifty addon to punish things for walking through earthquake country on their way to try and stab you.

Path of Fire (Cooldown 120 Seconds, 50 Fury): Deal 2000% weapon damage as Fire damage over 8 seconds to all enemies within 18 yards.  For the duration, project secondary tremors ahead of you up to 12 yards that deal 65% weapon damage as Fire damage.

Path of Fire rounds out the Earthquake runes by doing basically the opposite of Giant’s Stride- rather than marking a trail where you’ve been in additional fire damage, it lays out an area of fire damage ahead of you for you to walk into.  This is -kind- of awesome, but it’s a lot less situation-responsive than Giant’s Stride, and makes it a lot harder to keep anything that wants to eat your face in its area of effect.  Still useful, just... not compared to its competition.