need help on pvp decision

[ktl1206]

hey guys, i was just wonderin which would be a better overall pvp build for a new barb:

1. a polearm barb w/ a botd ghost spear or great poleaxe OR
2. a more traditional s/s barb w/ botd cb and stormshield

basically i wanna know which build can beat the most opponents...and if u can, id like to know ideal setups for whichever build u would recommend...any input would be greatly appreciated =)

[Torkahl]

hey guys, i was just wonderin which would be a better overall pvp build for a new barb:

1. a polearm barb w/ a botd ghost spear or great poleaxe OR
2. a more traditional s/s barb w/ botd cb and stormshield

basically i wanna know which build can beat the most opponents...and if u can, id like to know ideal setups for whichever build u would recommend...any input would be greatly appreciated =)
First and foremost, I think this alone should answer your question.

Spears and Polearms cant block

[ktl1206]

i know im kinda noob so that doesnt completely answer my question bro...cuz i was wonderin if the big difference in dmg makes a polearm worht it...

[JEDi-MiNDTRiCKS]

No it doesn't, blocking is so much more important if you're going up against melee chars. but a pole barb with eth botd would be better for casters imo if thats all you plan on fighting. All around pvp though, you are going to need block and s/s barb is easy to use.

[ktl1206]

cool, thx bro...waht else would i be usin ideally??enigma??steelrends or dracs??war travs or gore riders??verdugos??

[Halciet]

For a dueling ssww barb, it'd be BotD berserker (that's the best one-hander...if you've got a sword fetish, like everyone seems to have, then cb), verdungo's, stormehield and arreat's with ed/str jewels, gores, enigma in light armor, steelrends, 39x 3/xx/xx charms and one annihilus. As for jewelry, most duelers need AR now, so angelic ammy and 2x angelic ring are usually best.

-Hal

[xtc_sazabi]

Go Go Berserker Axes. My Botd axe is way better than my CB was, because now when i want to put my shield down, i use DOOM and Botd together. Against casters i find it alot of fun, and they get REALLY annoyed. =P

[BT-LightDash]

honestly speaking i would say polearm > axe/shield
take a look at my thread
blocking honestly isnt as crucial as compared to 1.09
most pvp players u will face are casters
only few good melee range u will face is c/c assns using dragon claw and/or whirlwind which dosent matter since polearm whirlwind will own them with the range of 5[u must know how to whirlwind though u can pratice it]
against smiter shield is useless since it ignores blocking and u are better off with a range of 5 and more damage like i said

All these are just my opinion so no offense to anyone =)

edit: axe/shield might be better off against bowazons assuming no use of enigma by the barb

[Taz]

honestly speaking i would say polearm > axe/shield
take a look at my thread
blocking honestly isnt as crucial as compared to 1.09
most pvp players u will face are casters
only few good melee range u will face is c/c assns using dragon claw and/or whirlwind which dosent matter since polearm whirlwind will own them with the range of 5[u must know how to whirlwind though u can pratice it]
against smiter shield is useless since it ignores blocking and u are better off with a range of 5 and more damage like i said

All these are just my opinion so no offense to anyone =)

edit: axe/shield might be better off against bowazons assuming no use of enigma by the barb
Agreed blocking is close to useless now unless vs other barbs. Pdr too lost his imporance.

[ktl1206]

thx guys..thx a bunch...but aiye hal...how come the zerker is better than a cb??is it based on the ever so slightly better attack speed or what??and also...is the question on whether or not to use polearm or weapon/shield just a preference because it seems that everyone has very mixed opinions that shields are VERY important or NOT AT ALL important

[Halciet]

Well, the berserker is mainly better as a one-hander for two reasons: one, it has a higher damage rate; the max on a perfect, superior BotD cb is 499 or so, while a berserker is around 549, meaning you can easily get several hundred more damage with a berserker.

Likewise, for normal swing-type skills like Conc and Berserk, weapon speed is calculated differently, so being at 0 as compared to 5 is actually a very large difference. A cb taes 147% ias to get to 9 frames, for example, while a berserker only takes 125, saving you 22%.

The berserker also features much lower requirements (ethereal BotD only needs 101 str), and has the same range as the cb. Plus, axes can hold almost any runeword in the game and are the only class usable in the blood recipe.

As for shields: they are VERY important in melee dueling against anything like smiters, other barbs, most amazons, zealots, and ww/wb druids. They don't do anything (besides add another slot for resists/stats/mods/sockets) against classes like necros and sorcs though.

-Hal

[BT-LightDash]

Well, the berserker is mainly better as a one-hander for two reasons: one, it has a higher damage rate; the max on a perfect, superior BotD cb is 499 or so, while a berserker is around 549, meaning you can easily get several hundred more damage with a berserker.

Likewise, for normal swing-type skills like Conc and Berserk, weapon speed is calculated differently, so being at 0 as compared to 5 is actually a very large difference. A cb taes 147% ias to get to 9 frames, for example, while a berserker only takes 125, saving you 22%.

The berserker also features much lower requirements (ethereal BotD only needs 101 str), and has the same range as the cb. Plus, axes can hold almost any runeword in the game and are the only class usable in the blood recipe.

As for shields: they are VERY important in melee dueling against anything like smiters, other barbs, most amazons, zealots, and ww/wb druids. They don't do anything (besides add another slot for resists/stats/mods/sockets) against classes like necros and sorcs though.

-Hal


actually like i said in the above post shield wont help at all against smiters[unless u need shield for dr but dosent really matter]
zealots and ww/wb bears[including smiters] are np range 5 whirlwind with higher damage will own them
as for against barbs if u do have a low ping and is REAL good at whirlwind u can beat barbs with shield due to range[range of 5 vs 3] and this takes skills
[your oppoent will be on walk mode to maintain 75% block while u can be on run mode since u don't use shield]


only real threat will be a good bowazon
[again assuming you dont use teleport]

[Halciet]

A high defense/max block will be able to get right up to you despite your range, however (especially conc, since it isn't interruptable).

But wait, smite ignores blocking? I thought smite just ignored defense?

-Hal

[ktl1206]

thx a bunch guys...i guess imma have to go shoppin now =)...aiye hal...u think u could give me a standard skill+stat distribution w/ the botd zerker/ss build u suggested?

[Jackson]

You can't block smite. Smite is also Ignore Target's Defense.

[Halciet]

ktl:

I think the typical wwss pvp build is max ww, bo, shout, mastery, a point in inc speed/nat resist/bcomm/berserk and all pre-reqs, and the the rest of your points in ironskin. Then you keep your str and dex as low as you can while having enough to wear your equipment and maintain max block, and then pour the rest into vit; with enigma, storm, and a BotD berseker, you won't need more than 101 str base, since you can put on the axe then, which will give you enough for enigma in an archon, which will give you enough for storm, which will give you more than enough for whatever else you use (i myself went with 81 base str, since I had a 20 stat annihilus). That's how l2aider built his, and he's the best dueler I've ever seen.

-Hal

[ktl1206]

cool bro...is it cool if i pmed u in a week or so to get a couple details on some questions i got?thanks in advance

[Halciet]

cool bro...is it cool if i pmed u in a week or so to get a couple details on some questions i got?thanks in advance

Of course man, I'm always happy to answer barb questions. PM box might get full though, since I get a lot of questions in general, so if it doesn't go through, try email, icq, or aol.

-Hal

[ktl1206]

thx hal...then can u pm me w/ all those things...like ur aim sn and email...and all that good stuff??and acc name too

[Taz]

A high defense/max block will be able to get right up to you despite your range, however (especially conc, since it isn't interruptable).

But wait, smite ignores blocking? I thought smite just ignored defense?

-Hal
Making advantage of the 5 - 3 range difference in bvb is like walking on the edge expecially if u are in run mode: one fault and u`re toasted.
It also requires a lot of skill and most important NO LAG which makes is a preety ilusorious tactic imo.
Anyway i`d prefer a pvp polearm barb since most duellers are casters and there r quite a few situations when blocking is of use : wwss barbs and...yes ama`s (i`ve seen vey few arround).

[Halciet]

thx hal...then can u pm me w/ all those things...like ur aim sn and email...and all that good stuff??and acc name too

You can find the info just below my avatar, or in the conclusion section of my guide; I would PM, but my box gets flooded pretty fast and the boards are usually pretty unstable, so it's difficult to get in and clean it out, lol.

-Hal

[dr1zzt]

enigma sucks for ww/conc bvb imho.