dual wield barbarian builds?

[Rancidzz]

Well first off hello everyone, this is my first post on these boards so i hope to get to know you all better as time goes on :smiley: I just yesterday started playing diablo 2 again after a long time away from the game and I dont remember much about the different builds for the barbarian so I hope someone here can help me out a bit. Before i quit i had a lv 80 something barbarian and 60 something necro, but alas i was just a young lad then and that was a looong time ago so i have forgotten a lot about the different builds of each class. The question i have is what skill should i be mainly using? ive been using double swing since lv 6 (im now lv 14) and its been working awesome, but what about when im a higher lv? Frenzy and berserk both look good, but the 0 defense for those 2 seconds or so while using berserk kinda makes me have second thoughts about using the skill (i believe the time goes down with points put into it?) Also, what about whirlwind? seems kinda dangerous to use in hardcore to me, but its been a while so might as well ask lol. battle orders was sexy back in the day so am figuring it still is and probably should max that baby out eventually. anyways, i would be very thankful if anyone could help me out here on a build or at least point me in the right direction.

btw i have no one to talk to in the game because none of my friends play anymore, so if anyone wants someone to talk i can help lol, though i do play on west, not east (get horrible lag, probably because im on the west coast)

thanks.

[Sasuke42]

concentrate is my favorite barb attack. Its uninteruptible, increases your defense, AND it gains damage from BO. Then for those times when Iron Maiden becomes a problem, 1 point in berzerk can save you a lot of headaches (not to mention deeds screens), OR you can add 20 points to berzerk for the +20% magic damage (at slvl 20 berzerk) it adds to your concentrate. In short, concentrate is an amazing skill ever since the synergies came into play. I strongly recommend it to anyone new to the game/patch playing a barb.

edit: If you want to stay dual weild frenzy is your best bet... I meant to add this in in my original post but I'm drinking right now so don't blame me, blame the alcohol :-P. You'll still need 1 point in berzerk for Chaos Sanctuary/Hell WSK though.

[STINGER]

All these work to varrying degree however getting the weapons for them to rock may take time.

Frenzy
Zerk
Concentrate
Whirl

Whirlwind is actually very safe in HC as long as you have good AR, leech and fast weapons, even dual weilding is just fine, and you get basically 1.5 hits dual compared to each 1 hit if one handed, so 50% more damage if weapons are equal.

For an untwinked build, meaning no items to start with I would suggest Concentrate for several reasons. One is the Defense or the build allowing you to take less damage while taking longer to kill if you have substandard weapons. Although weapon speed is very nice with all Barbs, the Concentration Barb has less issues with it as his attack is uninterruptable and his big time D. With frenzy weapon speed is pretty critical.

Now, that doesnt mean you cant go Frenzy, as a matter of fact if you find Cleglaws Glooves and (2) Clegs Swords you can beat NM with that easily! Dual weilding does pose a bit of a resist issue, you can add to Natural resists to help, but in the end they end up wasted points as you find better gear.

All Barbs have Zerk and his Crys to get through certian issues like Iron Maiden so make sure you get 1 point Zerk and 1 point in things like Battle Cry, Taunt and Howl and use them in those tough spots. Battle Cry is a BIG skill, it is a skill all untwinked Barbs shot be using a great deal as it is simply Godly!


In general, Barbs are still kings at living. They arent as impressive a killer as many other classes, but a properly played Barb will live a long life and kill jsut fine and beat this game. Doesnt take a Barb expert to do it, just takes good judgment and evaluating situations, like when to flee/fight and learning what things are most likely to kill you like Dolls and FEs and Iron Maiden.


http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=231548

In most cases these Barb builds although usually focussing on SC can be adjsuted for HC pretty easily, its usually a matter of more life, more reisits, and maybe investing a few points differently. As for a Frenzy Barb.....

http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=182586

You might read that to help.

I would go Frenzy/1 point DS/Bo/Shout/Mastery and I would indeed invest in War Cry, its a darn fine skill, its not a must, but it does work well. This build has alot of key smashing going on but its HC proven with War Cry helping to keep you alive. Get the 1 points in Taunt/Howl/Battel Cry and OF COURSE Battle Command and then the find items/potions ones is up to you, but they can score.

Me, I would go

Frenzy Max
Bo Max
Shout Max
Mastery Max
1 DS
Warcry Rest

Get Mastery last once you find good weapons, nothing sucks more when you have no gear than finding a decent couple fo Swords, then deciding to go Swords and investing in that Mastery and then all the sudden you find a just excellent Axe! Battle Cry will go a long way in helping you with the lower AR from having no Mastery, and look for items like Hsarus belt/boots, Maybe Sigs Helm/Glooves, Angelics Ring/Ammy or AR/something decent charms to boost your AR.

Crushing Blow and Deadly Strike are KING for attackers so look for it! Crushing can make crappy weapons kill fast and good weapons just sick! Keep in mind a Dragon Talon Sin with Goblin Toes upped once can kill Diablo Clone if she has a decent amount of CB and AR, and boots do like no "base" damage compared to a Barb weapon. Crushing Blow is KING.....

[Rancidzz]

thanks for the replies, they've helped GREATLY. At this time im using a crystal sword, which is lower in damage than other weps ive found but has 5% life steal on it and after doing trist runs i got the gnasher, which is only 4-9 damage, but adds 8 strength and has 50% chance of open wound and 20% chance of crushing blow i believe. how good are these weps for being untwinked and about how long (in lv's) will they still be good for me?

thanks

[AgentMarth]

thanks for the replies, they've helped GREATLY. At this time im using a crystal sword, which is lower in damage than other weps ive found but has 5% life steal on it and after doing trist runs i got the gnasher, which is only 4-9 damage, but adds 8 strength and has 50% chance of open wound and 20% chance of crushing blow i believe. how good are these weps for being untwinked and about how long (in lv's) will they still be good for me?

thanks

The Cyrstal Sword will only last you so long, I would recommend making a "Steel" weapon or "Strength" weapon as soon as you can.

IMO, the Gnasher was a great find, you can always use the cube recipe to upgrade it to exceptional at the proper time, and use it till later. The 20% CB helps a good deal against bosses, and the OW does decent enough damage too, and stops monster regen. Hell, if you were a Paladin with Smite, you could easily use the Gnasher to take down Hell Baal.

[ZappaFan]

I've made more Frenzier's than anything by far. One of the safest and ultimately easiest ones to make is a dual Light Sabre wielding Frenzier (socket both with amn for real nice dual leech). Light Sabre used to be a fairly elite weapon, but since Azurwrath came out they've fallen out of favor quite a bit, and can be gotten for pretty doggone cheap. 50% total Lightning absorb, along with a Dwarf Star ring and decent resists and you never have to fear Lightning or Fire damage unless you're really drunk or stupid (or some combination thereof).

Stinger provided a really good summation on stat point strategy. One thing I'll add is that you'll probably find that you'll stick with double swing as your main attack until you get Frenzy built up to at least 6 or so. I keep both of them hot keyed until Frenzy gets up into double digits generally, then I un-hot key DS and go Frenzy exclusively. Hoard those stat points as much as you can as you approach lvl 24 so that every level you get you can put one in both BO and Frenzy as you level. Seems like by the time I hit 30 or so even level I gain I can put a point in both. I think about the only thing I put more than 1 point in until I hit 24 is Shout, which I'll usually put 2 or 3 in early on iirc.

Not mentioned specifically, perhaps it's a given, but keep frenzy on your right-click, it makes controlling him a lot easier. You can keep your right click pressed down and just sweep your mouse over a monster and you'll auto stop and attack. Trying to left click on monsters to attack when you're all frenzied up and zipping all over the place is a pain. I keep Berzerk permanently on my left click so it's always at the ready for PI's, or if I get IM'd. You have enough Lightning/magic damage with a LS that you can actually keep frenzying one directly and be doing some decent damage, but this also makes it easy to switch back and forth between the two when you're taking down a PI.

I love Frenziers. I've made no-dex versions, high-dex versions, and stuff in between. They're always fun, always a little bit "life on the edge" so to speak.

[STINGER]

I run Frnzy the same way as Zappa, Frenzy on right, Zerk on left!

Also keep in mind that as you are growing and have poor gear you can do alot of kool things even as far as having a big 2hander on switch to go to after powering up for some fast hitting Zerk, so dont be so quick to discard one of those ETH or Non-Eth weapons that may not be very speedy.

I also almost exclusively use Goblin Toe boots on my frenzy builds. Not only are they easy to find, the crushing rocks and they dont have an IAS boost. This helps me control my guy and slow him down a bit in full Frenzy. It is common to get dysenched under Frenzy and I liek to avoid that!

Anything with Crushing + fast attacking can kill just about anything even in Hell! Now, a low damage CB weapon isnt giving you any real leech so keep that in mind, but if I didint find more suitable items I wouldnt hesitate keeping a low damage CB weapon in one slot and a bigger damage leeching weapon in the other.

BTW, I didnt really go into items, but if you get to the point you want to trade for stuff and all you have is gems to offer see about getting Butchers Pupil....indestrictable and excellent mods. They will Work in hell just not impressive! Another Elite Axe that is usually easy to trade fosr is this one.....

Razor's Edge
Tomahawk

One-Hand Damage: (90-107) To (159-188) (124.5-147.5 Avg)
Required Level: 67
Required Strength: 125
Required Dexterity: 67
Durability: 28
Weapon Speed: [0]
+175-225% Enhanced Damage (varies)
+40% Increased Attack Speed
-33% Target Defense
50% Deadly Strike
50% Chance of Open Wounds
(Only Spawns In Patch 1.10 or later)

Mods rock, speed rocks, damage is solid and the speed rocks....not easy to beat however the range is only 1 which is a slight downside!

One of the best ways to do frenzy is with Maces but they are more difficult to obtain, seem to be less frequently dropped, as a matter of fact I have still never personally found either of the new Scourges. But if you can ever get dual Stormlashes, or Oath Scourges you will have some nice weapons.

Light Sabers, or LS + Azurewrath is definetly a good way to go also.

Crescent Moon Phase Blades seem to work well with frenzy also. They are pretty easy to build.....

Crescent Moon
3 Socket Axes/Swords/Polearms
Shael + Um + Tir
10% Chance To Cast Level 17 Chain Lightning On Striking
7% Chance To Cast Level 13 Static Field On Striking
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+180-220% Enhanced Damage (varies)
Ignore Target's Defense
-35% To Enemy Lightning Resistance
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+9-11 Magic Absorb (varies)
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30 Charges)

Kingslayer works but you have to repair it but now you can use runes to do it if oyu save them, forget which one is for armor and which is for weapons. Runewords are not cheap to repair.

I still say look for these early.....beat NM easy!



Cleglaw's Tooth
Long Sword
One-Hand Damage: 3 to 19 (11 Avg)
One-Hand Damage: 3 to (20-142) (11.5-72.5 Avg)
Required Level: 4
Required Strength: 55
Required Dexterity: 39
Durability: 44
Base Weapon Speed: [-10]
50% Deadly Strike
30% Bonus to Attack rating
+ (1.25 Per Character Level) +1-123 To Maximum Damage (Based On Character Level) (2 Items)
Partial Set Bonus
+50 Defense (2 Items)

Complete Set Bonus
+100 Defense
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
6% Mana Stolen Per Hit
20% Increased Attack Speed

Cleglaw's Pincers
Chain Gloves
Defense: 8-9 (varies)
Required Level: 4
Required Strength: 25
Durability: 16
Slows Target by 25%
Knockback
+ (10 Per Character Level) 10-990 Attack Rating (Based On Character Level) (2 Items)

Knockback can bother some people but its not the final build!

[Rancidzz]

thanks again guys, the info is helping tremendously and my barb has been advancing very much to my liking. he is now lv 17 and one andy run away from 18 and i have been pleased with the equipment ive gotten. from lv 8-12 i did trist runs and got the gnasher, from 12-15 i did countess runs and got a nice ring and ammy and after only 3 andy runs ive gotten a nice pair of boots, a better ammy, and Cleglaw's Pincers (i always loved getting green items when i use to play and this is my first since my return so i was very excited.) I was lv 17 when i fought andy the first time and if it wasn't for her size (or the antidotes i used lol) i probably wouldn't even realized she was a boss, it was that easy. however, i have a another question. when you say upgrade the gnasher to exceptional in the horadric cube, what do you mean by that? i haven't found any runes as of yet, so socketing new weps isn't quite possible as of now, but ill work on that. would be nice though to get cleglaw's tooth now that i have the gloves to the set, so hopefully i find one sometime :thumbsup:

[STINGER]

Clegs Sword drops regularly!

http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/

Hit link above and go to Horadric Cube......you should save that link and check it all out.

[AgentMarth]

Just to mention, along with CM in a PB (Um can be tricky) I found that I like to have a Lawbringer in the other hand, its a good endgame choice. The ED may not really be there on Law, but the added elemental/Magic damage, Sanctuary aura, and Decrp are ever so nice.

Hehe, I had fun with mine, I for fun tried to put ALOT of frw on him, even got a Harmony Merc, speedy!

[Ckern]

I'm not very experienced when it comes to Barbs... but, I have read that battle cry is extremely helpful, and underused. However, what about war cry? Specifically for HC, stun the crap out of everything... much like a stun/bear. Lastly, will battle cry and war cry work in conjunction? Or will they overwrite each other?

[NightShade]

Warcry is great if you have the fcr, though it is rather slow
Battle cry is so much win it's not even funny.

If you wanted to have some disgustingly powerful wepon on switch (Upped snap, upped driver) you can get up to 10 fpa, or 2.5 attacks per second with it. Useful if you happen to use lay on hands vs bosses + treachery armour. Use your CB to get the boss down as low as you can and then smack him upside the head.

[Arusha]

hey dude, if your on west and need nething help or itemwise let me know *atarh ingame
i've got a spare lightsabre if you'd like it though itll be a while until you can use it
im usually in channel op hc. where everyone is welcome as long as your not a pker and if you don't constantly ask for help especially if no one knows you
but i'm happy to assist you anytime *atarh

[Ckern]

So one of my questions wasn't answered. Will warcry overwrite battlecry... or will they stack?

[ZappaFan]

So one of my questions wasn't answered. Will warcry overwrite battlecry... or will they stack?

They do not cancel each other out. I use both liberally. BC works on everything, Warcry doesn't work on Champions or Unique monsters.

[AgentMarth]

Yes, even a level one Warcry can help you to run away from a hot pack, although don't forget about Howl. BC is fun on a Singer maxed out for the -100% or more def, not to mention -50% damage.

They do not cancel each other out. I use both liberally. BC works on everything, Warcry doesn't work on Champions or Unique monsters.

If I remember correctly, Warcry does work on Champions and Uniques (Not act bosses though) just not at full effectiveness. I'm pretty sure I have stunned Lister before, although not as much as the rest of his pack, nor as long, but still can't say for sure. Champ pack I know for sure, since i've stunned some Champ Frenzytuars knowing they would screw me if they got to whacking. Although, proper confirmation is always best, or just try it for yourself.

Just don't forget, don't use Warcry on a FELE monster, as you set off the FELE explosion each time you do, just like any stun. It can easily be fatal.

[ZappaFan]

Quoting Ash's really nice Frenzier guide linked earlier:

War Cry has reduced effectiveness vs. champions and uniques and will not stun Act Bosses but its usefulness vs. groups of enemies is unparalleled, and for a barbarian not using whirlwind it will become an integral part of dealing with these groups.

So there ya go. :) I use it all the time and thought it wasn't working on Champions & Uniques (didn't seem like it was anyway). I use it a lot on a non-FELE Unique's to keep the minions at bay while I work on killing him.

Yes, even a level one Warcry can help you to run away from a hot pack, although don't forget about Howl. BC is fun on a Singer maxed out for the -100% or more def, not to mention -50% damage.



If I remember correctly, Warcry does work on Champions and Uniques (Not act bosses though) just not at full effectiveness. I'm pretty sure I have stunned Lister before, although not as much as the rest of his pack, nor as long, but still can't say for sure. Champ pack I know for sure, since i've stunned some Champ Frenzytuars knowing they would screw me if they got to whacking. Although, proper confirmation is always best, or just try it for yourself.

Just don't forget, don't use Warcry on a FELE monster, as you set off the FELE explosion each time you do, just like any stun. It can easily be fatal.

[Ckern]

Gotcha, thanks.

[Rancidzz]

Thank Arusha for the offer, I will probably contact you in game and ask you questions over the course of the next few weeks, and as for the lightsabre, I may take you up on that offer, but not right now. Im only lv 19 and haven't got to play at all the last few days because of job training (5 1/2 hour days with some reaaalllly obnoxious people) but if I do make it to the required lv for the sword, I just may have to accept it hehe.