Barb as magic finder?

[Cubbie]

Hi,
i´m looking for a mf char. I read that barbs could do this quite well. Since I really prefer melee chars over others I would like to give this a try instead of a sorc.
Browsing through some guides this seems to be possible. Since I´m quite a barb newb I would appreciate any hints or advise on this topic.
thx :smiley:

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

Barbs can MF anywhere in the game, if you equip them right. But a MF barb is very item dependent. If you want to do boss runs, you'll probably want Enigma hands down. A zerker/howl barb with Enigma can rock all the bosses and be a great MFer. A generalized WWer can MF areas (like Pits for example).

Personally I love my MF Horker. I kill Hell Council over and over. They drop very nicely and drop great runes, gems, uniques, sets, etc. Plus, I get insane gold too. My merc does the killing. My barb is just loaded with MF and goldfind.

Think about where you want to play, how you want to kill, and how much MF you really want to get into. Lots of ways to do this.

Cheers,

[Cubbie]

thx for the answer MalVeauX.
Since I´m still starting out, I think of a generalized WWer build, maybe Conc/WW hybrid. How would a IK Barb do? Not much MF at the start, but by the time I will get some charms. Or would there be better equipment for a MF WWer?
And no, I don`t have the higher runes for some good BotD or this kind of runeword by now ; )

Cheers

[MalVeauX]

thx for the answer MalVeauX.
Since I´m still starting out, I think of a generalized WWer build, maybe Conc/WW hybrid. How would a IK Barb do? Not much MF at the start, but by the time I will get some charms. Or would there be better equipment for a MF WWer?
And no, I don`t have the higher runes for some good BotD or this kind of runeword by now ; )

Cheers

IK will do fine. Anything will work really.

I'll just stress that you'll likely be doing most of your MFing in areas. Boss runs will take you forever to do and likely not yield much since you'll be slow running. To give you an idea, if you were to use this Barb with no MF on him, and just focus on survival and killing speed, you could then easily smash through the Act1 pits and Act2 Ancient Tunnels and find lots of socketed elite armors, gems, runes, socketed/eth/etc weapons all of which can be worth loads and in turn trade them for the items you really want.

Cheers,

[Aldeth the Foppish Idiot]

Actually, I think an IK barb isn't that bad of a MF character - I'm assuming you'll throw ptopazes into the helm and body armor. I have an IK barb setup this way, and he does quite well for himself. The IK set also gives a good bonus to find item - so you can get a second try on a lot of creatures with a decent chance of success. I do agree however, that you'll be more adept at running the pits than boss runs - not that you won't be able to do them, you just won't do boss runs quickly. If that doesn't bother you, you could really mf anywhere.

[Cubbie]

thx for all your replies. : ) this really helped me in my decision and that it will be possible. i know i will be slow on bosses, but that´s the price then. and walking can also be rewarding i think. anyway Cadawg should be a better magic finder then my beloved feral/fury wolf ; )

being a barb newb i got more questions.
- would you recommend a standard build like ww/bo/shout/mastery or would a conc hybrid also be viable for some versatility? manaburn kills just like iron maiden.
- any tips for the use of ww? i never did it before.

[Moe the Barkeep]

Heya,

Barbs can MF anywhere in the game, if you equip them right. But a MF barb is very item dependent. If you want to do boss runs, you'll probably want Enigma hands down. A zerker/howl barb with Enigma can rock all the bosses and be a great MFer. A generalized WWer can MF areas (like Pits for example).

Personally I love my MF Horker. I kill Hell Council over and over. They drop very nicely and drop great runes, gems, uniques, sets, etc. Plus, I get insane gold too. My merc does the killing. My barb is just loaded with MF and goldfind.

Think about where you want to play, how you want to kill, and how much MF you really want to get into. Lots of ways to do this.

Cheers,


My NL Mfer is a barb, he is awesome, but you are very correct, without the correct gear he is a slow killer. (slow meaning getting to bosses and places you need to MF)

[Cubbie]

Hey,
just want to share my happiness with you. :grin:

After two weeks my IK barb is quite complete and I really enjoy him. Since I´m a slow player anyway and like to clear areas it fits me very well. And one never knows where the items drop...
The IK set is really strong, probably one of the cheapest setups for a hell viable melee char. The barb has many support skills that help in some of the more dangerous areas. So far most of hell is quite easy except that parts that give all melee builds some headaches. But even there he has still some good survivability.

ATM he runs with about 200 mf (370 on switch for find item wich is a very cool skill) with full battle gear to speed up killing and for safety.
I´m still amazed how strong this setup is.

Thanks for all your effort that convinced me to try this out.:thumbsup:

I´m happy

Cheers

[cblack]

hey,

I got IK set - stuck 2 Perfect Topaz in helm, just need to get 2 more P topaz.

1 for Ik armour.

1 for my mercs steal skull.

I also have skulders ire P topaz that i stole from my sorc.

+ gheeds, nagel rings, a couple MF charms and Ali baba on switch.

im trying it now :thumbsup:

[callsignapollo]

I have a guide, still on the front page I believe. It's called The_Tyrannicides. I think that is is sortof what you're talking about. You can comment me there if you have any questions. I think you should check it out.

Ask if you want suggestions for cheaper items to use. There are alternatives to the ones I list.:thumbsup:

[Cubbie]

@ callsignapollo - Thx for your comment. I read your guide and really like that idea. It´s a very good and complete guide for a mf horker, that malveaux also mentioned I think.
My basic idea was to build up a melee char for magic find, cause I enjoy playing melee most. That way I won´t get bored when doing mf.
This is suboptimal I know, but I´m quite happy with it.
Btw I´m playing on a Mac too. Unfortunately its a slow G3 : )

@cblack - glad you like this too : ) If your in worry of getting ptopazes pm me. Think I saved some.

Cheers