My pretty succesful WereHowler

[JuniorHigh]

This is the char I've built and he does pretty good at mostly everything. He can run Baal, Meph runs, anything. He doesn't get stuck versus immunes since... well, physical immunes all over the game are skippable, but there is a good set up versus them if necessary.

Skills

20 Howl
20 Taunt
20 Battle Cry
20 War Cry
20 Battle Orders
1 Battle Command

1 Mace Mastery
1 Throw Mastery
1 Nat Resists
1 Inc Speed

1 to all prereqs

Stats

I went full Vita here, except for 5 points in Strength and 5 points in Dex just to have some moving room with equipment.

Equipment

Weapon: 2x Wizspikes
Switch: Upped Ribcracker (deciding what to socket it with... I think Ber?)
Helm: WolfHowl
Armor: MP Nigma
Gloves: Frostburns
Belt: Currently Gloom's Trap
Boots: Waterwalks
Rings: Magic 113 mana ring, Magic 19 str, 20 mana ring
Amulet: Magic 3 Warcries, 10% FCR amulet

What does it do?

Against mobs and masses of enemies, he's a Singer. War Cry being spammed generally takes down any PI mob without any trouble. I can't say I've been hit by Lister in the whole game.

But what about bosses? Singers die against bosses.

Battle Cry, turn into a Wolf, Feral Rage ***. The CB on Ribcracker does the rest.

And Physical Immunes?

If you NEED ZOMG to kill a PI for whatever reason, grab your trusty Lacerator and Blackoak Shield Luna from the stash, chuck until you amplify, then War Cry their *** out.

So... what did you do?

I've made a variation of the traditional singer build, normally unable of handling bosses or PIs, and still made it viable. With this guy, I never run out of mana (thanks to my merc's Insight), my merc seldom dies (thanks to a huge level of BO) and I seldomly get my 5k life scathed (thanks to War Cry.)

It's both safe and powerful.

Can it MF?

Yes, but not the way you think.

Since the build counts with a high level of + War Cry skills, it is quite possible to grab a +3 Find Item barb helm (preferably with 3 Ptopazes), grab two Ali Babas with Ists and start Horking the bodies of, say, Cows. A Heart Carver could also do the job but it lacks MF.

When getting run, or supporting a party, this set up can help with the overall loot, as your main objective is to BO and BC.

[Von Lazuli]

Acctually, that seems a brilliant use of the skills on Wolf Howl, my only suggestion is probably one of fancy and one which would make the build vastly more expensive, but I would have to advise dual Hoto and Arachnids. It still gives you the 105 FCR break, but it comes with 7 more skills... and 70-90 less resists... hmm... ok... I retract that.

As for what to socket in your staff... well, a 15IAS jewel or Shael moves you up one frame... If that seems worth it, I don't know...

Put a point in Find Item my friend! It is easier than swapping helms all the time.

Laz

[JuniorHigh]

Yeah, the resists are the only reason why I'm not using Spirit or HotO. Wizardspike gives me a lofty gold 75, thus allowing me not to worry about most elemental attacks.

HOWEVER, I do still take some pain from Poison, for whatever reason. Tomb Vipers I presume.

I WOULD put a few points in FI or FP if I wasn't so tight up with skill points to fully synergize War Cry... I swear, fully synergized War cry DOES lay some pain on enemies and shortens the time per mob bunch. Just singing, I can tackle Cows so easily. It's fun.

[sirwhere]

You can do a variation on this. Since howl synergizes with berserk, put 1 pt some weapon mastery, 10 pts berserk (use less battle orders) and put a grief or ebotd 2-hander on weapon switch.

But the wolf idea is neat too :)

[JuniorHigh]

(use less battle orders)

Stopped reading right there.

Battle Orders makes or breaks the build. For War Crying, you need at least 1.5k mana to keep on spamming it forever.

1 pt Berserk is much better IMO. Didn't go that route because I didn't want to spend Strength into a big Zerking weapon like Btree Stump.

[Cubbie]

Congrats to this innovative use of Wolfhowl : )
Too sad one can´t warcry in wolfform.

[sirwhere]

1 pt Berserk is much better IMO. Didn't go that route because I didn't want to spend Strength into a big Zerking weapon like Btree Stump.

Bloodtree stump isn't a good weapon for zerking. A grief flamberge and rhyme shield are preferable. If bother to put like 60 into str, you can even try and lift a phoenix monarch and grief zerkaxe.

[NewForumBloke]

A grief flamberge and rhyme shield are preferable.

You must mean Zweihander. I dont know of anyone who would drop 'Greif' Runes into Flamberge... doesnt even have that satisfying sound when you say it... Zweihander.. its like music


If bother to put like 60 into str, you can even try and lift a phoenix monarch and grief zerkaxe.

1.) The only time he switches from war cry to wolf is to deal with a boss or with pi. The ed on Pheonix wont shine there what so ever IMO, and the redemtion is more than likely wasted. Besides, if he loses the Ribby, his only really viable source of cb would be coming from Gores.
2.) Greif Pb is faster than the zerk, as well as Industructable. I think it would be a better pvm choice.

JuniorHigh-

wow man, congrats on a really cool build! I have to say, this is really interesting. Here's a few ideas for improvemental ideas, take em or leave em lol.

Instead of Waterwalks, what about Gores? Using Gores would give you more CB than a Ber rune would, and would even give you some tiny DS. This would even open up that spot in Ribby for the next frame of Feral with Wolf mode on.

As for jewelery, id suggest something like that sexy warcry ammy of urs, and possibly 2x Ravens if you find your ar a bit lacking when striking bosses, or of course the more expensive suggestion of 2x Sojs (its going to be said, so i might was well say it lol). I suppose you could always try to find some 100+ ar/stat/mana/res rings that could give a more balanced feel opening the way to weild your pi switch better.

I will say, i applaude you on the idea of using Lacerator for your pi wep. You could also use a Azurewrath sheal'd (if you would be willing to spend the stats to have it just for pi's) and for the sheild you can use whistans for block or the one you currently use for the extra ele dmg.

Whew, i think thats all i can think of atm, congrats man, really like it!

-BLoke :smug:

[JuniorHigh]

If I had a Grief PB, I'd make a Zerker. Nay, I'd trade it for runes, make a Grief CB and THEN be a Zerker.

JuniorHigh-

wow man, congrats on a really cool build! I have to say, this is really interesting. Here's a few ideas for improvemental ideas, take em or leave em lol.

Instead of Waterwalks, what about Gores? Using Gores would give you more CB than a Ber rune would, and would even give you some tiny DS. This would even open up that spot in Ribby for the next frame of Feral with Wolf mode on.

As for jewelery, id suggest something like that sexy warcry ammy of urs, and possibly 2x Ravens if you find your ar a bit lacking when striking bosses, or of course the more expensive suggestion of 2x Sojs (its going to be said, so i might was well say it lol). I suppose you could always try to find some 100+ ar/stat/mana/res rings that could give a more balanced feel opening the way to weild your pi switch better.

I will say, i applaude you on the idea of using Lacerator for your pi wep. You could also use a Azurewrath sheal'd (if you would be willing to spend the stats to have it just for pi's) and for the sheild you can use whistans for block or the one you currently use for the extra ele dmg.

Whew, i think thats all i can think of atm, congrats man, really like it!

-BLoke :smug:


Well, first of all, Waterwalks and Blackoak Shield Luna are there for the extra Dex for Wizardspike and Lacerator respectively.

Also, dual Ravenfrosts wouldn't be a great idea... I never miss an attack due to level 31 Battle Cry. The Gores would be great, but then again, I'd need to put 15 into Dex... which isn't that bad really. They are a good idea.

[NewForumBloke]

Ah, didnt think about that huge battle cry. I dunno though, i think i would take the hit to life and dex for the gores, meh, its worth possibly a try?

[Garisdacar]

do you actually summon the dire wolves ever? lol

[Garisdacar]

btw have you considered nosferatu's coil instead of your gloam trap belt? another +15 to str (helpful if you switch to gores), plus the 10 ias you need to hit the 7fps breakpoint with ribcracker.

I'm thinking of trying this one out for my 2nd or 3rd barb, but i dont' have an Enigma (or am likely to be able to afford one anytime soon), what would be a good replacement? i'm thinking maybe aldur's (for +20 str and +15 dex) or spirit forge. or should i just put the points in str?

[Cubbie]

Like WW, off-weapon IAS does nothing for werewolves : (

[sirwhere]

1. You must mean Zweihander. I dont know of anyone who would drop 'Greif' Runes into Flamberge... doesnt even have that satisfying sound when you say it... Zweihander.. its like music

2. The only time he switches from war cry to wolf is to deal with a boss or with pi. The ed on Pheonix wont shine there what so ever IMO, and the redemtion is more than likely wasted. Besides, if he loses the Ribby, his only really viable source of cb would be coming from Gores

1. Well, I really meant flamberge becase zweis require 95 dex. But well, there are a couple of choices for low reqs grief weapons. Still, not many can beat the cool look of a 2h sword.

2. Remember, the grief/phoenix idea is coupled to some points in berzerk and weapon mastery. To have a max warcry, you cannot dump all into berzerk/mastery, meaning your %enhanced damage will be a bit low. Under these conditions, phoenix is pretty good. Also, with a good berserk, crushing blow will be secondary.

[Garisdacar]

Like WW, off-weapon IAS does nothing for werewolves : (

hmm obv i need to do a bit more research before trying to build a WW =)

[droc]

JuniorHigh, i really am intrigued by the build. ive always wanted to make a singer, but ya, i hear they cant make a dend on any act bosses hp. i think the wolfhowl/ribcracker idea is sweet and i am going to try a 'WolfHowler' myself (his name is BoyWhoCriesWolf :wink3: on west ladder. i was wondering if u thought about shaeling the ribcracker (or is BASE weap speed the only thing taken into account?) and wearing gores to hit the 7 fpa bp and give u 65% cb. also, can u afford to ditch the wizzies for hotos due to the decrease in mana and the increase in mana cost of WC? i think this guy would be an awesome addition to a smiter helping out with uber trist using WC and Howl to keep everything under control

[Garisdacar]

Like WW, off-weapon IAS does nothing for werewolves : (

like he said, shael'ing the ribcracker is the only way to increase your attack speed in wolf form. and yeah, my outline (haven't built it yet) calls for gore riders and a lot more points in strength as i don't have an enigma yet =(

[chien]

Anyone else try this build? Looks like a fun WC barb variant :) Why 1 point in throwing mastery? because of lacerator for amp? 1 point in mace mastery because of using ribcracker? I might try without these 2 extra points as high level battlecry already lower monsters' def a lot.

Chien

Or, it is not necessary to have CB yourself? Just give merc CB gears (G-face, obidience, infinity...) for boss?

[Garisdacar]

i've got this build on the back burner, have most of the gear i need but haven't leveled up a barb far enough to try it yet. too many other builds to make =) but i'll get to this one eventually.

[chien]

LoL. To use wolfhowl for wc barb get style points :) However, I just want to know if it is necessary (or faster) for boss killing vs. let merc do his job :)

Chien

[Nest]

Like WW, off-weapon IAS does nothing for werewolves : (

That's only true after you have reached higher numbers of on-weapon ias and, to a lesser extent, when using fast base weapons.

An upped ribcracker is a slower base weapon than the regular ribcracker and can still gain a frame per attack from off-weapon ias, even when shaeled/jeweled (20/25 ias for an 8frame attack respectively).

Eth upped ribby needs 30 ias to reach 10 frames.

Source is the german weaponspeed calc and my experience with an untwinked werebear.


PS: I like the original poster's concept very much, like others this might dispell the problems I'd seen with a regular singer.

[chien]

I agree, the poster's idea is kinda fun. The question is : how effective it is compared to giving CB to your merc?

Chien

[Garisdacar]

That's only true after you have reached higher numbers of on-weapon ias and, to a lesser extent, when using fast base weapons.

An upped ribcracker is a slower base weapon than the regular ribcracker and can still gain a frame per attack from off-weapon ias, even when shaeled/jeweled (20/25 ias for an 8frame attack respectively).

Eth upped ribby needs 30 ias to reach 10 frames.

Source is the german weaponspeed calc and my experience with an untwinked werebear.


huh i'll have to experiment with that. i've never built a were-character at all. so you're saying that with like 60%ias off-weapon, you'd reach a higher breakpoint than with just the ribcracker alone?

[chien]

Also, I found another problem. Unless you stack resist, when switch to ribby, the resist will suffer (lost 100 resist all from dual wizzy). Hmm...

Chien

[JuniorHigh]

Hey guys! I left Diablo a while back due to lack of enchantment and I decided to return to make a Hurler Barb.

Just to clear some doubts, reaching max IAS was never an objective, but a fun thing to do along the build of course. Lots of people like a singer barb for support and this guy can do that as well as grind. Which is pretty cool. He's a killer against cows.

The resist issue is an issue. Period. Ways to ameliorate it would be getting Mara's, or good charms.

Most singers have a couple of waste points and spending one in Mace Mastery for great benefit is not a bad idea.

[Garisdacar]

Acctually, that seems a brilliant use of the skills on Wolf Howl, my only suggestion is probably one of fancy and one which would make the build vastly more expensive, but I would have to advise dual Hoto and Arachnids. It still gives you the 105 FCR break, but it comes with 7 more skills... and 70-90 less resists... hmm... ok... I retract that.

Laz

i think this guy might have had the right idea, if you can get those 70-90 resists in charms/amulet/etc, you are going to stand a much better chance of surviving the weapon switch. and the +7 skills for your shouts has to be a good thing.

[chien]

I know. It is not hard to stack resist. However, I think it is hard to squeeze more points in mace/throw mastery. As you need lots of points to max Wcries synergies. I think with high level battle cry, you should be able hit the boss without problem. I thought I can put many life/mana charms instead of resist charms :) As 2x wizzy or 1xwizzy+hoto plus the nature resist, barb torch, and anni, you already max resist.

Chien

[JuniorHigh]

If I don't do something, that is dying. It's seriously a challenge for my barb. Short of OK in the mini dungeons sniping me down like crazy, it's pretty impossible for my barb to die with his incredible resists, 6k life and teleport.

I Werewolf just in case I need to finish a boss, that's why the resist issue doesn't come up that much.

[chien]

I see your points. I just think the elemental damage from Diablo/meph/baal still hurt. Lost 150 resist all (if using dual wizzy) is not fun. I am still wondering "merc" vs "me" which is better for boss. Of course, it won't be wolfbarb without wolfhowl :P My planing gears:
Helm: Shako/Wolfhowl
Ammy: +3 WC
Armor: nigma
Belt: ?? not sure yet
Weapon 1: Dual wizzy or 1 wizzy+1 Hoto
Weapon 2: Heart carver + Ali baba? for horking or Ribby for boss?
Boot: Skilkweave now
Glove: Magifist or Forstburn
Rings: FCR/mana/life or resist if need to stack them

Have lots of life/mana charms now (of course, 1 anni and 1 torch).

Just curious, what is your resist when you do weapon switch to ribby?

Chien

[Garisdacar]

i'm still in teh planning stages for this build, but i was wondering: how necessary is the enigma? if you went with chains of honor that's +65 to resists even after weapon switch, but only 20 to str instead of like 50 from nig....which you can make up with rings/amulet. you lose teleport, is that really super-necessary? i've played for so long without owning an enigma....

[chien]

I think so. With nigma, you can tele right in the center of the pack. It make your life easier. Plus, if you want to do key runs with him, you will need nigma for sure. No really "absolute" necessary but it will make him much much more efficient. My barb is lvl75 now. He is using shako for now. I'll test it after I have few more lvl up.

Chien

[chien]

Update the progress:
Ok, I level my Wolf-WC hybrid to lvl82 now. First of all, here are what he is using now:

Helm: Wolfhowl (Shako before that)
Ammy: +3 WC, +xx to energy
Armor: nigma
Weapon switch one: 1x Wizzy + 1x low Hoto (50+40 FCR)
Weapon switch two: Shealed Ribby (not upgraded)
Ring1 : Ravenfrost (for CBF)
Ring2: Dwarfstar (fire absorption).
Belt: T-god (light absorption)
Boot: Hotspur (fire resist, max fire resist).
Glove: Magifist (20 FCR).
Inventory: Anni, Torch, many mana/life GC/LC/SC, 2 WC skillers.

Maxed: War Cries, Battle Cries, Howl. 1 shout/15 BO/1 BC, and trying to max Taunt now (1 stoneskine/1 natural resist).

With Shako:
+8 All (hoto, anni, nigma, shako)
+3 Barb (torch)
+5 Warcries tree (ammy, 2 skillers)

With Wolfhowl:
+6 All (Hoto, anni, nigma)
+3 Barb (torch)
+8 Warcries tree (ammy, 2 skillers, +3 wolfhowl)

When using wolfhowl, the resist after switching to ribby are 4x F, 7 L, 7 C, and 7 P. At level 82, my current WC damage is about 1.3k (lvl38 with wolfhowl or lvl37 with shako after BC). I have few test drive with this guy to Baal/andy/meph runs, with ~4.5k life in wolf form, it seemed to be ok even with less resist than I like (maxed in WC mode). My experiences after few runs, it definitely kill boss faster with CB from ribby. However, I feel the damage is a bit too low for non-upgraded ribby. It took a while to finish the last bit of baal’s life. I have 2 options:
1. Upgrade the ribby (but it will make it slower).
2. Give my merc better weapon (insight in elite polearm).

A small annoying thing with baal is that his blue attack will push you back and he teles a lot. In wolf form, you can’t tele :( You have to chase him a lot. BTW, the poison attack from andy is kinda annoying with low poison resist.

Overall, I have positive experiences so far.

Chien

PS: I am using holyfreeze Act2 merc with a crappy insight now. I'll try to upgrade his weapon :)
PS2: Should I use Gore instead?

Chien

[Garisdacar]

well i finally got my werehowler, Edhelred, up to lvl 79. i can see that switching in and out of wereform is gonna take some getting used to, i'm gonna have to hot key the skills on that side instead of trying to use the mouse scroller wheel.

anyway, i have a question for anyone else out there who has done this build, what should i put in the sockets on the wizspikes and wolfhowl helm? at first i was thinking an Eth rune in the helm for mana regen, but i don't really think i need it with 1.5k mana, frostburns, glooms trap, dual wizspikes, and insight on my merc. don't need a -15req jewel in it either since i have a bunch of +str/+mana charms. and my resistances are perfect without any charms (except when i switch to ribcracker, of course). should i just try to find some decent fhr jewels? or, i'm thinking of putting a cham in the helm so i can free up that ring slot i have devoted to ravenfrost, but then i need like 10 more dex to use the wizspikes.

[Garisdacar]

i went with a shael in the wolfhowl and two 7fhr jewels in the wizspikes.

also i don't own a lacerator or whatever, so what i've done for physical immunes that i have to kill is switch my amulet (+3war cries, +13 energy) for an Atma's Scarab, then flip into wereform and feral rage with that on until the amp damage kicks in, then i can either keep going in feral rage or switch out of wereform and war cry away. i've found this to actually work pretty well, i just carry the scarab with me and no running back to stash for the weapons.

[Stonefury]

How are you going nearly full vita and still getting the 129 str needed for wolfhowl?

[Garisdacar]

enigma. +.75str/level i think it is. plus torch and annihilus, i also have a 15str/10fcr ring i think. but enigma is the real reason. after BO i have just over 5k life.

[lumpor]

Damn, this was a very interesting build. I want to hear more from it, or see videos or something

Garis you use the mouse wheel to switch skills? That's like so annoying. It's easy to roll it too much or to little.

[Garisdacar]

my microsoft blue mouse ticks as it rolls, it's not a smooth roller. so i can easily just go up one or two skills at a time. i use f1 and f2 hotkeys on my laptop for war cry and werewolf shift though, with feral rage is my left click attack on that weapon switch.

it is a really fun build, kind of tough to get up to lvl 30 if you're not uber rushing him or something, but after that it really takes off and is tons of fun. it's crazy that he just stands there and yells and everything in a small circle around him is stunned and dies. so cool.