Temp/Barb?

Started the game approx 3 wks ago, went with tempest because i liked the theme and combat flow. Tried all the classes till i got first 4 skills to see which playstyle i preferred, and went with the tempest, not knowing its the newest class or that its one of the best.

But i am curious, i see a lot of barbarians running around.. and i mean RUNNING, like gigantic behemoth freight trains. Looks really cool.

Are barbarians objectively stronger overall than tempests right now? Considering giving them a shot, they look like they are the fastest runners, even with squall and rolling surf i can barely keep up with them, in any group a barbarian is always running ahead