IK Baba viable?

[HarbyHarby]

Dislacimer: I fully understand that full IK baba is not meant to be an unstoppable killing machine (like a baba decked in rw's).

So, I have an ez-mode fully decked hammerdin as well as a sorc for my mf needs and I was thinking of making a baba. I dont want one dual wielding ebotds and whatnot but something cheap (see: full IK). I like the idea of oldschool WW instead of frenzy as well. The real question, will he able to do some decent damage in hell (see: solo it) or I'll be pulling my hair off and swear at him ? :D

I just want something that will be challenging, wont be overly too easy or too hard to play and be somewhat fun :D Plus I dont want to spend a fortune on rw's. Will an IK WW baba offer the above?

Thanks in advance :)

[Jarath]

I always found the IK barb kill speed a little on the slow side, even with the crushing blow from the maul. Without +AR/Damage charms I also found I missed quite often, meaning I needed to chug mana pots after a few WWs. I think they're still fun to play and look hella-cool in black sacred armour but after playing a fully decked hammerdin you might become frustrated with the kill speed.

[Elyxthaxzus]

Always loved my IK barb, never had mana issues, and his survivability, with the exception of IM, is excellent.

the key is getting his stats where they need to be (AR.....AR....AR). Any IK guide will tell you that AR is always an issue with an IK barb, and you need to adjust your other gear for it. But on the whole, very fun class to play

And i dont think i would compare any class to a hammerdin... it's well known that a hammerdin is OP, and wont ever be fixed (due to game age). EZ-mode play is what a hammerdins about. IK barb's are a blast, but they take practice to play, and you need to really understand WW and how its works. I highly suggest you read Rik's linked guide on the whirlwindarian on this site. It's not specifically tuned to Ik barbs, but other then the AP issue, everything else is relevant, especially his notes about WW and how it works.

The prev poster is spot on tho about comparisons...dont look to your IK barb as similar to a hammerdin or sorc....very different. read Rik's guide closely about how WW works and PRACTICE it...i cant emphasize this enough. there's a groove to WW that you have to get down...once you got it down it rocks. Don't rush your barb through the game..i usually walk nightmare and hell..if thats a little too much for ya, at least walk hell, and at least spend enough time in NM to get the hang of WW down.

WW can be a tricky beast...everything rik says in his guide is spot on...you can WW down the middle of a pack and only get 1 or 2 hits in, but if you WW the edge of that same pack you can get 5-6 hits in...avoid increased speed at all costs, and really push your weapon to max speed...the IK mace is really nice for this, 2 ias gems and ur gtg. Practice WW trajectories...small triangles for 1 or 2 mobs, large receding lines for bigger groups. The Triangle needs to be big enough so that the mob is on the inside of the triangle, at the edge of your weapon range, not in the middle of it.

a receding line is when you click a long WW across the edge of a group of mobs at a slight angle so that when you finish the line, your a little farther back from the group then you were before. This sort of keeps a steady retreating pace from the group, and allows you to stay on the edge of it. Don't go through the middle of the group, its weird i know, especially if your used to dropping your hammerdin in the middle of the pack, but a WW barb spends more time on the outside, whittling the pack away. Once you get used to the basics there (line and triangle) you start to alternate and switch and adjust.

I'd highly recommend reapers toll for your merc...the amp makes a big diff in hell. But its all in Rik's guide.

[HarbyHarby]

Awesome, thanks for the input!

And no, I dont expect an IK baba to be even remotely close to a hammerdin :P I'm not seeking to make another ez-mode killing machine but something will be somewhat difficult and interest etc etc. And since I never played a baba before I thought I might as well try one. And since IK looks awesome and its dirt cheap I thought I might as well give it a try :)

P.S. From my understanding these are the standard skills to go with?


Skills:
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

20pts Battle Orders
20pts Mace Mastery
20pts Whirlwind
20pts Shout
1pt Bash (Prereq)
1pt Berserk
1pt Leap (Prereq)
1pt Stun (Prereq)
1pt Concentrate (Prereq)
1pt Leap Attack
1pt Howl (Prereq)
1pt Battle Command
1pt Natural Resistances
1pt Increase Stamina
1pt Increase Run/Walk Speed
Rest Iron Skin

[Omikron8]

put 1 in find item for mf

[Elyxthaxzus]

ya find item rocks :) i usually have warcry weapons on switch, but when MFing being able to DW ali babas is pretty nice with find item.

And i would say that you don't need 1pt in fast run/walk, which means you probably also dont need the increased stamina, unless you want it. A barbs run speed directly impacts how long the mobs are in his WW aoe...the faster you run, the faster you'll whirl by, and WW hits are based on weapon speed + wias, and the resulting speed is put into how many attacks you can do over time...obviously the longer time a mobs in your WW, the more rolls you get, and if you whip by them with 75% run increase, your losing allot of chances to hit. I'd skip the increased run/walk...your gonna get plenty from the IK's set anyways, probably too much.That's the only downside to IK set IMO.

[Jarath]

Oh I wouldn't dream of directly comparing anything to a hammerdin, let alone an IK barb but I think those of us who have played "EZ mode" hammerdins for any length of time will admit that they get very comfortable and coming back down to earth with a "regular" class can be a bit of a shock.

(Well at least it was like that for me :D).

[Omikron8]

all blizzard would have to do is remove the conc benefit to blessed hammer and remove the ignore immunities effect and we would see way less hammerdins around

blizzard removed the conc effect from BH around patch 1.03 or so but everyone whined so they put it back in

[Garisdacar]

i have a WW IK barb, he's actually a lot better than i thought he would be from reading how much IK set sucks. i was lucky enough to trade for a +2 barb amulet with 25+str and gamble a 8ll ring with 20 str and 100+AR, so that i think really helped my build. the key i think is to put 40ed jewels in the armor and helm, that's something i did early on and it's really helped me out. in fact, as i was running through the chaos sanctuary for the first time in Hell, the SoJ counter went off and DClone walked the earth....i went back to act 1, found him, and killed him in about 5 minutes or less! without ever dying. that's when the build really impressed me.

[Ed from Russia]

An IK Barb is fine, but in my xp your main concerns are AR and mana.

Switch your Highlords for a Crescent Moon. The 11-15% mana leech will do wonders for you: unlimited whirls unless you run into unleechables.

Wear dual ravens and get some AR charms.

[GIJoeWWW]

I don't think more mana leech would help at all. 10% mana leech from the gloves is more than enough. The only time I have problem is mana burn or unleechables, like skeletons or PI, then more mana leech would not make any difference.

Another solution for AR is to get demon limb and cast enchant before fights.

[Pitboss_2000]

Don't use WW on unleechables, that's pretty much all. The only place that gave me trouble on Hell with my IK barb was the Chaos Sanctuary, obviously due to IM.

Ik may not be the best set, or the best build EVAR but you can easily take on everything Hell throws at you, IMO.

[LordJalgot]

Read somewhere else here about a guy that maxed Grim Ward, I found two "Heart Carver" daggers (+4 to grimward, find item) and use them off hand and :omg: talk about a skill that don't get enough cred.

It's very nice when you:

1. Face a horde of ghosts berzerk one and put a ward up and the rest spread out and you can pick them one after another without worrying about being hit.

2. Running down to Baal with souls around, they just stay outside range doing nothing untill you kill them :evil:

And the daggers have find items which has it uses.
--
I put an Ith rune in the helm and the damage goes to mana is nice when up against manaburn.

[lumpor]

Yes, I know grim ward is underrated. I mean, it gives you practically a safe zone. where you can just stand and change your whole equipment set, or chug minor health potions until your life bulb is full.

And even some throwing barbs don't use it. It's THE defensive for a throwing barb. Also offensive since it will give you more time to throw

[Jazi]

Oh I wouldn't dream of directly comparing anything to a hammerdin, let alone an IK barb but I think those of us who have played "EZ mode" hammerdins for any length of time will admit that they get very comfortable and coming back down to earth with a "regular" class can be a bit of a shock.

(Well at least it was like that for me :D).

just ww away when they teleport near you.