3sock 279ed Tombreaver just dropped, where do I go from here?

[zapotek]

Hi I need an opinion on something pretty major.
I play HCLadder on Europe and have been slowly building enough wealth to gather all the IK set pieces with a 5%BK, Highlords and ravenfrost. Also got a 37/15 and a 28/15 jewel for the maul which I havent put in yet. And I have a 39ed jewel too.

Anyways so I was a couple of minutes ago mfing in the maosoleum with my sorceress who is my only charachter sofar(was going to start up the ik barb tomorrow with a friend)) and this unique cryptic axe drops...

It was not eth but the mods where pretty much as good as it gets:
279ed/212ed+349ar vs undead/69%mf/3 sock/ all res 36%/+10life each kill

Now im not sure at all what to do. Is this tombreaver worth building a polearm barb around even though it is not eth? How would an Ik barb compare to it damage wise? IK looks pretty solid with the full set bonuses.
I understand that tombreaver is super rare and IK is pretty common but I really was all into this IK barb I had planned out. Would it be a bad idea to trade away this hard to find drop for charms etc for my IK barb or is that stupid when I have a chance to get a pretty unique charachter? Polearm barb all the way now? What could I expect from a tombreaver barb vs Ik barb? To trade away or not... And if trading away, what charms should I ask for? how much is the reaver worth?

Please someone with some experience about barb builds please give me a suggestion to how to best go from here. Like I said, my friend and I planned to start new charachters soon and I need to make a decision. Am I stupid to trade away this weapon and build my Ik barb or do I switch gears?

edit: Just wanted to say that I have read the Rikstakers Whirlwind guide which gives a figure of 1576 - 7401 damage at 400% ed which my tombreaver migh get with the 39ed jewel, the 37/15 and another 39-40ed jewel which should be possible to trade for. I also already ahve a 7/15 string and souldrainers so I only lack goreriders, Leviathan and arreat for the recommended Reaver build. Have a stormshield I could trade away to get those.
But would this barb perform much better then the Ik one?

[rikstaker]

Eventhough the full set bonus from IK is hard to ignore,particularly ar/resists since you play hardcore, I'd still go with the reaver setup.It has some good resists as well ,will net you more physical damage & the range advantage is worthwile.Another nifty feature is the returned monsters(works even if you kill with ww),these dudes can surely take some heat off you & waheed, though their intelligence is pathetic.Moreover, with IK out of the way, you have more flexibility, you can look for more dr gear-shaft/levi? & strike a good balance with resists,as both are important in hardcore.Just make sure you manage a good ll% & you are good to go.:thumbsup:

[zapotek]

thanks alot for the input, just the right guy to give it also :grin: your guide was great.
But man, I still cant convince myself 100% to go for the reaverbuild. I just had everything so planned out for this IK barb, shaeled ribby at 31, double baranar stars at lvl65 etc. My masterplan, my masterplan noooooooo!!!!! :rolleyes:

That is of course though just VERY minor things that are just temporary. I love the look of a polearm barb, one of my favorite charachters I haev ever had was a polebarb back in classic. I would also be pretty unique and the idea of the revives with battle orders sounds like a great way to improve his suvivability.
The thing that keeps me :scratch: ing is the reavers dex requirement mostly. It would be impossible for me to get enough dex without any hard stat point investment. Although I would plan the build with an anni in mind even though I dont have one yet so I could get around with 20(anni)+20(arreats)+20(raven) less stat points.
However this would also as far as I understand it make the charachter bugged for the purpose of other players being able to see his weapon.
And also the Tombreavers ridiculous lvl req. Since I dont power level with constant baal running it would take me some time. lol I actually still after all these years find it fun to quest through... lol come on now, who would pass up the chance to fight against Witchdoctors Endugu right???? :P

hehe atm the reaverbarb looks like what I will go for but but but somewere in the background I can hear my sorceress screaming for me to trade for a TR armor and amu which I think the reaver could score. Darn I need a few hours still to work this out.

[rikstaker]

Dont worry about twink gear,slap on a shaeled hwanins bill-kicks *** through nightmare,gets useless by end of act 1 hell.

And ohh, did I mention you can wear strings(which is just too useflul for a polebarb).

I dont mind a few points in dex,doesnt make much of a difference,attain a higher bo with +to skills gear or wc charms to compensate.