Concentration Barb looking for dps!

[Stomoxys]

Sup fellow Barbs,

i've levelled a Concentration Barb following Hal's manual (somewhere on this forum), and altho i like his capability to tank, the damageoutput is extremely low. Main reason is that i have nice gear for tanking, and 20 points in BO and Shout, + the defense from concentration is a nice bonus, but the weapon i use plainly sucks (butchers pupil). I'm currently boosting weaponmastery (axe) with the remaining skillpoints i get in Hell difficulty, but i find my merc outdamaging me :).

So, i'm looking for a way to pimp my barb so it does at least a little damage while taking the big hits. Hal's guide recommends using Crescent Moon runeword in a 3s elite Axe, but i havent found one yet. When i did some mephi runs with my sorc today, i found a Runemaster (ettin axe) with 5 sockets. It felt like a gift from the skies :).

Oh btw i'm using stormshield and a 1h axe.

Anyway, my questions to you experts are as following:
- Is the Runemaster a valid option;
- If yes, how should i socket it?
- How hard is it to get hands on a nice 3s elite axe with decent damage?
- What is your experience with a concentrate build? Is the dps always that bad?

Thanks in advance,

kind regards,

Krusky (*Stomoxys)

[Cubbie]

I´m in no way an expert, only tried once the same in SP.
AFAIK Conc barbs havn´t earned their fame for their damage output but for the tanking abilities they have. The max speed of Concentrate (9 fps) is quite slow for a single attack.
Hal propably suggested Crescent Moon for some group damage with the CtC Static wich would be nice.
No idea what to socket in the Runemaster Ettin. I´m not this deep in runes by now. Lo and Ber would propably help for DS an CB but if you got this runes you could easily make some more nasty high runeword : )

Cheers

[stephan]

The problem with Concentrators is that they attack with the speed of a Berzerker while doing about the same damage as a Frenzier. Sure, they are safe, but there are ways for a barb to be safe without giving up that much damage.

At least use a 2-hander. Concentrate with max block is a little overkill.

[Stomoxys]

cheers for the feedback so far.

Afaik its not possible to do a runeword in an already magic/rare/unique item, so i'd be looking for seperare j00ls and runes then.

I understand the last comment as well. I'll look for a decent 2hander then. Any suggestions?

[Barrynor]

Since you've already chosen axes, I'd suggest Hellslayer untill you find something decent. Its a tad slow, but it does deliver a punch, and the added vit is always nice. Plus, you don't get interrupted anyway.

[Cubbie]

If you should be in need of a Hellslayer send me a pm and I can give it to you for free : )

[Halciet]

I would avoid using a 2h weapon, as the swing-speed penalty tied to 2h weapons becomes even more noticeable when paired with the slow rate on conc. Even with something as fast as IK Maul, you're still lucky to hit 12 frames with one, which leaves gaps in the amount of time you are covered by the conc defense boost.

That being said, Cresent Moon does make a nice weapon for the static. Your best bet for a cheap damage weapon, however, would be to just run a vendor over and over until you get a cruel berserker axe of x. That's what I used for a looooooong time until I got BotD.

Shields are beneficial in that they give you 75% reduction from physical attacks right off the bat, another slot for socketing, another slot for resists and other mods, a healthy chunk of armor to boost you up more, and force you to use a 1h weapon, which increases attack speed.

What level are you/how far are you in the game (i.e., Act x, y Difficulty)?

-Hal

[Aldeth the Foppish Idiot]

I'm certainly not going to disagree with anything Hal said - heck it is HIS build, so no one knows it better than him! I have made conc barbs in the past, following Hal's guide, and I've always used a shield.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. A conc barb is not the character you use if you go for speed. The advantages of the conc barb are to limit the number of creatures attacking you at once, and kill small numbers of foes fairly quickly. There are very few options out there when it comes to weapon damage that will allow you one-hit kills in hell difficulty.

Having said all that, you should be able to do a heck of a lot better than Butcher's Pupil if you're in hell difficulty. Hal's suggestion of cruel berserker axe of x (I'd recommend quickness) would work. Another choice featured in Hal's guide is a blood weapon. While the deadly strike on Butcher's Pupil is nice - that combined with a high level in Axe Mastery should greatly increase the frequency that you get double damage - the mod that would also help you out a lot is crushing blow. The problem is that CB is a difficult to mod to get a hold of unless you're looking at the top end rune words. About the only rune word I can think of that has CB, works in axes, and doesn't require high runes is strength. The problem with strength is it doesn't have much besides CB, so you can probably do better than that.

[Stomoxys]

Thanks for all feedback again, nice to see the "man with the plan" responding to this as well :)

To answer your question - i have been able to get a boost until Baal in hell difficulty, so basically i've done everything i could. The only problem is that i used to solo EVERYTHING that i needed to solo, without any real difficulty. I think my conc barb is one of the few that was able to solo duriel on both normal and nightmare difficulty :).

Crescent Moon really seems like a nice option, the only problem is to get the right elite axe with 3 sockets, i guess. I've never considered to do the "cruel" shizzle at the vendor but i dont think i have the patience for that.

I had already put the barb on a nice shelf next to the other idle characters :) but i'll give him a second chance, that is, when i get a nice weapon for him.