Reasurring Question

[WaRRioR.21]

Ok, i just started playing D2 again, and have always had a passion for barbs. So i decided to go and try to make a PvP WW Barb. I have around 140 strength w/o items (little to high) around 80 base dex... like 250 base vit, and base energy (dunno what it is) Im currently lvl 73. Now thing is, i recently traded almost everything i had for a EBOTD Colossus Blade... I was hella happy after I got this, becuase ive played D2 before and never DREAMED of having something this good. Now... here are my questions.

1) Are WW Barbs any good in PvP? I glanced at the guides sticky and theres not that many WW Barbs.

2) Did i screw up on my stats? Im planning on getting an SS, but dont know how much dex i needed, so i went a lil shallow. My srength is a lil high i know... and is my vit low?

3) I looked at 1 of the WW Barb guides, and it mentioned a BOTD Zerker Axe... did i screw up going all out for a BOTD CB?

Ok i know this is weird, but i really wanted to make a good PvP Barb. And i need some reasurrance im making him right. Hopefully ill be able to get Arreats, Enigma, and a SS soon. Anything I did wrong?

[Halciet]

1. There arn't a lot of whirlwind guides since all whirlwind builds are more or less the same. If you look at the stickies, you'll see that they're all for different build types; there are more whirlwind ones than anything else.

Whirlwind is our best pvp skill, and the only really viable one we have.

2. Kind've. People usually go with base-81 strength or so. Stormshield requires 222 dex at level 99 to hit max block.

3. Unfortunately yes. The berserker axe is a much better weapon than the CB (lower requirements, more damage, more speed for normal swing skills, same range).

You'll be alright at pvp, but if you want to be seriously competitive, you might want to rebuild with more efficient stat placement :)

-Hal

[WaRRioR.21]

Alright, when i get everything I need ill re-make my barb. Do you think itd be possible to trade my CB for a Berserk if i throw in some other stuff?

Whats a good vitality to be at around lvl 70?

[DontFlameMe]

1. If you know what you're doing, WW Barb can kill any class (check out the "Barb Fights on Video" thread).

2. Yeah your stats are a bit off. Usually people will collect all their permanent endgame items and charms, and put the very minimum amount of Strength required. EX: I have Dracul's (50 Str required, Barb base Str 30). Wearing a 20 stat Anni will allow me to wear my Dracul's (+15 Str), which then allows me to wear my War Traveler (+10 Str). I am at 75 Str now. Add my 20 stat Barb Torch
and I go to 95 Str. Now I only have to add 8 points to Str to be able to equip Enigma, which then allows me to put on the rest of my items due to its Str bonus. Some people simply get these leftover points from charms, but I like having the surety that I will never mistakenly replace a charm and be at risk of body popping. Just remember that as long as you can put your items on one at a time without having to add charms and such to your inventory, your body won't pop.

3. Pay no attention to the Hal behind the curtain!! I, the great and powerful Barb of Oz, say that a CB will work just as well as a BA, plus it looks cooler! So unless you are the type that contemplates suicide when they put one more point in Dex than they needed, or one of these "omgineedtobe1337usingonlyzerkerallotherwepsux0rste hh4x" guys, it doesn't matter whether you use CB or BA, both will get the job done.

So basically, yeah your build is a bit off stat point wise, but don't go thinking that you'll suck at PvP with a CB. I use one, and I am able to kill about 80% of the people I come across. The other 20% are, as I call them, Spammerdins and Teleburn Sorcs: both these chars have insane FCR and are able to tele around and spam their spells so fast that you're dead before you even get a swing off. Good luck with making your char...I hope to be able to duel you soon :thumbsup:

EDIT: When you first start using Stormshield, mouse over your Defense on the char screen. It should say something like: Chance that "X Monster" will hit you: "X %". Chance to Block: "X %". Make sure this Chance to Block is at 75%, if it's not, add to Dex. IIRC, 2 Dex points = 1% Block. Once this is at 75%, each time you level, just add 2 points in Dex and the rest in Vita. I find this better than just putting the 222 Dex in right off the bat, as those points are kinda wasted until you reach lv 99.

[Mastashanglang]

1. If you know what you're doing, WW Barb can kill any class (check out the "Barb Fights on Video" thread).

2. Yeah your stats are a bit off. Usually people will collect all their permanent endgame items and charms, and put the very minimum amount of Strength required. EX: I have Dracul's (50 Str required, Barb base Str 30). Wearing a 20 stat Anni will allow me to wear my Dracul's (+15 Str), which then allows me to wear my War Traveler (+10 Str). I am at 75 Str now. Add my 20 stat Barb Torch
and I go to 95 Str. Now I only have to add 8 points to Str to be able to equip Enigma, which then allows me to put on the rest of my items due to its Str bonus. Some people simply get these leftover points from charms, but I like having the surety that I will never mistakenly replace a charm and be at risk of body popping. Just remember that as long as you can put your items on one at a time without having to add charms and such to your inventory, your body won't pop.

3. Pay no attention to the Hal behind the curtain!! I, the great and powerful Barb of Oz, say that a CB will work just as well as a BA, plus it looks cooler! So unless you are the type that contemplates suicide when they put one more point in Dex than they needed, or one of these "omgineedtobe1337usingonlyzerkerallotherwepsux0rste hh4x" guys, it doesn't matter whether you use CB or BA, both will get the job done.

So basically, yeah your build is a bit off stat point wise, but don't go thinking that you'll suck at PvP with a CB. I use one, and I am able to kill about 80% of the people I come across. The other 20% are, as I call them, Spammerdins and Teleburn Sorcs: both these chars have insane FCR and are able to tele around and spam their spells so fast that you're dead before you even get a swing off. Good luck with making your char...I hope to be able to duel you soon :thumbsup:

EDIT: When you first start using Stormshield, mouse over your Defense on the char screen. It should say something like: Chance that "X Monster" will hit you: "X %". Chance to Block: "X %". Make sure this Chance to Block is at 75%, if it's not, add to Dex. IIRC, 2 Dex points = 1% Block. Once this is at 75%, each time you level, just add 2 points in Dex and the rest in Vita. I find this better than just putting the 222 Dex in right off the bat, as those points are kinda wasted until you reach lv 99.

i have a hammerdin with 130 FCR which is good for 9 frames and its not really that fast. a 200 FCR fire sorc is fast. desynch pallys are good. i use my 9 frame fcr to my advantage by "walking" around and spamming hammers instead of teleing.. and it works muahahaha!
for ww to reach the last breakpoints you need i think 35 WIAS or higher. the extra damage from the BA is worth it. just read the guides coz they'ss point you in the right direction. i used to love barbs but now i've got 2 Barb torches lyin around...

[WaRRioR.21]

Yea, i do like the CB cuz it looks sweet, and axe looks just... not cool. Ill stick with the CB.

Im gonna play my off barb, until i get everything I need and then make another barb. I have another question...


I played D2 along time ago, and had a Trapsin that i fooled around with duels in. I had a setup like DontFlameMe. All my items gave me strengths. But one time, i went to pick up my stuff, and i couldnt becuase i couldnt equip something becuase i didnt have enough dex. So i rejoined and i lost 2 bartucs. So ive always worried about doing that, having some items give me enough strength to use another item. It might of been that i misplaced a charm, but i cant remember.

But if i have a setup like DontFlameMe (which is exacly how i want mine), i cant have that happen right?

[WaRRioR.21]

Ok so this is all i know I need....

1x EBOTD Collossus Blade
1x Stormshield
1x Arreats

Thats all i know on the account of gear, what kinda of, gloves, boots, rings, belt, and ammy do i need? Also whats more important, Arreats or SS. I got a Pul today and can trade it for a SS, or for Arreats and some Warcry Javs (friends giving me them so i dont care if Pul is worth more)

For my skills

20WW
20Sword Mastery
20Battle Orders
1Berserk
1Concentrate
1Leap
1Iron Skin
1Increased Speed
1Natural Resistance
1Battle Command
1Shout

After this, i still have leftovers if i go higher lvls, what should i start increasing?

[DontFlameMe]

1. Add the rest into either Iron Skin, or Natural Resistance. Iron Skin is preferred, since you should get full resists from a few charms and a PDiamond in SS.

2. I would say get Arreat's first, as you can WW with the CB 2-handed in PvM very well until you get SS.

3. The setup I use is as follows:
Helm: Arreat's (PTopaz in socket for MF)
Amulet: Highlord's
Weapon: EBoTD CB
Armor: Enigma Archon
Shield: SS (PDiamond in socket for Resists)
Gloves: Dracul's
Rings: Bul-Kathos/Raven
Belt: Verdungo's
Boots: War Traveler
Switch Items: 2x Ali Baba (Ists in sockets for MF)
Charms: 18/18 Anni, 17/12 Torch, "Steel GC of Life, Steel GC of Balance (FHR to reach breakpoint), Gheed's for MF, various MF SCs". If you will be primarily dueling, replace everything in the quotes with Sharp or Fine SCs of Vita (commonly called 3/20/20's), Resist charms as needed, and a 225 Poison damage SC (Pestilent SC of Anthrax, IIRC).

There are many other combinations to use, depending on what exactly you want to do. As I am a mixed MF/PvP Berserker, I use the War Travelers. They also help reaching Str req's with less points. Gore Riders also work very well. Dracul's are extremely nice for Conc Barbs, and WW Barbs too, if you can get over the fact that the Life Tap won't go off when using WW. If you want to save the sockets in your Helm/Shield for something other than Um runes, you can use a Metalgrid instead of Highlords. SS, Arreat's, and Enigma are pretty much standards for any Barb, as is Verdungo's. Some people like to change out their rings and amulet for Angelic pieces when dueling, due to the incredible boost in AR. Look around and see what other people have to say about their setups, and put together whatever you see as best. Good luck :thumbsup:

EDIT: To prevent body popping (losing items), simply make sure that you can take off all your items and put them back on one at a time without replacing any charms, etc. from your inventory (order doesnt matter, but in my setup its: Dracul's, War Traveler, Enigma, everything else). Also be sure that when you are building your character, you have all your endgame charms in your inventory before you start adding Str to meet req's, as it's quite a letdown to add 20 to Str, only to realize that you forgot your Anni is sitting in your stash :lol:

[Halciet]

*sigh*

And once again, superior efficiency is abandoned in favor of "looking cool," which is totally subjective in and of itself (I personally think the CB looks ridiculous).

Yes, the CB will get things done, but the berserker axe is still a far superior weapon, especially for PvP. If you ever plan to fight casters, you'll want to go dual weapons, which means BotD + Beast, and you can't put Beast in a sword :)

So more damage, lower requirements, better base speed for normal swing attacks, and the ability to make the Beast runeword. Yeah. Pay full attention to the Hal behind the curtain, since he knows what he's talking about in the old "swords vs axes" argument ;D

War Travs are fine, though I would go with Gore Riders for PvP. Open Wounds is what brings in the wins :D

-Hal

[DontFlameMe]

Well as I said before, if you're the type that simply can't live without having the absolute top-end elite equipment, then the axes win out. I just don't have the same viewpoints myself, being a casual player who doesn't care whether his Arreat's Face is 3% or 6% LL, as long as it's an Arreat's Face. And I would say also, why go through the trouble of getting a BoTD Zerker, when you already have a CB. Just my opinion though. In the end (and I think Hal will agree with me on this) it's all about what YOU want in YOUR character :D

[WaRRioR.21]

What is Beast? Its a runeword?

[Halciet]

Yep. You can look it up the exact stats on the Arreat Summit, but the main features are that it grants you the fanaticism aura (raising you damage and accuracy with your main-hand weapon), has Open Wounds, and by dual wielding, you get more hit attempts, which is why people use it against casters (since you can't block spells anyways).

And I agree with Flame, it's all about what you prefer. Totally not trying to rag on him or anything whatsoever, as he has great insight. It's just that pvp is a highly competitive field, and thus you generally want to use the absolute best that you can; in that instance, I would strongly suggest moving to axes, as the berserker axe is the better weapon statistically. I similarly think that stressing over things like what % leech your arreat's has is overboard; the only reason I argue for axes is that they are just such a superior weapon for pvp.

If you're just wanting to do some slight pvp on the side, feel free to stick with the CB, as it's more than sufficient for PvM.

-Hal

[WaRRioR.21]

Ok well maybe ill switch to axe, but would i be able to trade my EBOTD CB + something else for a EBOTDZ?

[DontFlameMe]

It all depends whether you get lucky or not. Some people will just do a straight away trade, Zerker for CB. Others will make crazy demands like CB + HR's for their Zerker. You would also have better luck if your CB is a fairly high dmg % (380+).

[newerest]

DontFlameMe: The difference of 3% life leech in hell can mean taking back like 100-200 more life per hit.

IMO, Ebotdz > Ebotdcb, hands down. But, since you seem to be making just a normal WW barb (BvB), I would keep the cb, but if the chance arises to get the zerker, get it.