Diablo 4 Season 16 Barbarian changes could give Double Swing a second chance
Double Swing gets twice the damage, but Charge and Rend builds face more complicated changes.
Barbarian is getting really interesting changes for Diablo 4 Season 16. These are only PTR numbers, so it could still change before the season really launches, but so far, 
Double Swing seems to be getting a second chance.
Blizzard also decided to adjust 
Frenzy and buff a few weapon bonuses, and they reworked a couple of Legendary Aspects.
Sadly, some skills were nerfed. 
Battering Ram Variant, for example, loses half its burning damage.
Double Swing Gets Twice the Damage
Double Swing receives the most straightforward buff in this patch. Its damage increases from 75% to 150% per swing, while its 
Slice and Dice Variant loses its cast-speed penalty.
That is a really good improvement for a skill that is currently far from being at the top of the Tier List.
The damage increase gives Double Swing a much better starting point for Season 16, and it could maybe come back up and compete against builds like 
Whirlwind.
However, it also depends on how it interacts with the rest of the class changes and the new seasonal systems. A simple damage increase is often not enough to make a build work in late endgame.
We will not know if it can compete with the strongest builds until we can test it on the PTR.
Other Barbarian Changes for Season 16
Double Swing feels like the most important changes, but that is not the only skill that received some adjustments for next season.
Frenzy's variants 
Throwing and 
Raging both received some buffs as well. And talking about Throwing, the 
Hooves of the Mountain God will now work with this variant as well.
Barbarian's Weapon expertise got a few changes:
One-Handed Axe Expertise
Removed Injured requirement from base effect.
One-Handed Mace Expertise
Damage bonus now also affects Bosses.
Lucky Hit no longer requires hitting a stunned enemy.
One-Handed Sword Expertise
Lucky Hit no longer requires hitting a Crowd Controlled enemy.
And when it comes to Aspects, Uniques, and Talismans, it is mostly number changes, and the majority of them are buffs with increased damage. Some of the Barbarian's Talisman set affixes were modified:
Arms of Arreat Horadric Seal Affix
Before: +7-10% Damage when swapping weapons.
After: +7-10%[x] Vulnerable Damage.
Bul-Kathos Pride Horadric Seal Affix
Before: +5-12% Damage while Call of the Ancients is active.
After: +7-10%[x] Direct Damage.
Berserker's Crucible Horadric Seal Affix
Before: +7-10% Damage while Berserking.
After: +7-10%[x] Elite damage.
And we can close the Barbarian topic with a few bug fixes that should make the class feel much better overall. 
Rend was the most affected by bugs, so if you played a Rend build, you might feel the difference in damage:
Fixed an issue where
Ring of Red Furor didn't fully function in combination with resource cost reduction effects.Fixed an issue where the
Raid Leader's Aspect wasn't properly healing allies when using the 
War Cry Shout skill.Fixed an issue where
Rend skill with 
Scorching upgrade deals more damage than expected when 
Ring of the Ravenous is equipped.Fixed an issue where
Rend could receive the Vulnerable Damage Bonus effect twice. Fixed an issue where the Damage over time applied by
Raging variant didn't stack appropriately.
Barbarian
Barbarian Skills
Frenzy
Throwing Variant: Increased Iron Shrapnel chance from 30% to 50%.
Raging Variant: Increased fiery explosion chance from Lucky Hit from 75% to 100%, and explosion now triggers on the target instead of the player.
Double Swing
Damage increased from 75% to 150% per swing.
Slice and Dice Variant: Removed Cast Speed penalty.
War Cry
Added diminishing returns to each rank, up to a maximum of 15%.
Charge
Battering Ram Variant: Burning damage decreased from 252% to 126%.
Barbarian Weapon Expertise
One-Handed Axe Expertise
Removed Injured requirement from base effect.
One-Handed Mace Expertise
Damage bonus now also affects Bosses.
Lucky Hit no longer requires hitting a stunned enemy.
One-Handed Sword Expertise
Lucky Hit no longer requires hitting a Crowd Controlled enemy.
Barbarian Paragon
Ambidextrous Glyph
Damage increased from 8%[x] to 15%[x].
Barbarian Legendary Aspects
Limitless Rage Aspect
Now only works from Fury generated from Basic Skills.
Increased damage bonus from 0.15-0.2%[x] to 0.5-0.75%[x].
Aspect of Incendiary Fissures
Damage increased from 40-60%[x] to 80-120%[x].
Barbarian Unique Items
Hooves of the Mountain God
Now works with Frenzy – Throwing Variant.
Barbarian Talisman
Arms of Arreat Horadric Seal Affix
Before: +7-10% Damage when swapping weapons.
After: +7-10%[x] Vulnerable Damage.
Bul-Kathos Pride Horadric Seal Affix
Before: +5-12% Damage while Call of the Ancients is active.
After: +7-10%[x] Direct Damage.
Berserker’s Crucible Horadric Seal Affix
Before: +7-10% Damage while Berserking.
After: +7-10%[x] Elite damage.
Sescheron's Fury
3-Piece Set Bonus increased from 30% to 40%.
Barbarian Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where Ring of Red Furor didn't fully function in combination with resource cost reduction effects.
Fixed an issue where the Raid Leader's Aspect wasn't properly healing allies when using the War Cry Shout skill.
Fixed an issue where Rend skill with Scorching upgrade deals more damage than expected when Ring of The Ravenous is equipped.
Fixed an issue where Rend could receive the Vulnerable Damage Bonus effect twice.
Fixed an issue where the Damage over time applied by Challenging Shout's Raging variant didn't stack appropriately.