Musashi
01-12-2011, 22:13
I just ordered D2 to play it again to wile away the time before D3 comes out. I haven't played D2 in about five years. I was thinking what class I'd like to play and in general what I would get out of playing it even though I played it to death for several years already. What did I really enjoy when playing it?
For me the real enjoyment was playing in a four person team. Once I got used to that, going solo felt like a very lonely experience. Even less than four people seemed gimped from the fun factor.
There will be no shortage of people to team with when the game comes out but I found that I've been using the skill calculator in a vacuum of sorts. I have been dreaming up builds as if I would be solo'ing the game. I see the benefit of solo the game the first time through to really take my time with the content, but once I've done that, and maybe even before, I cannot imagine that I would not be in 4 person teams every single time I played. That could be literally years of playing the game, based on the fun D1 and D2 provided.
Consequently, I realized that when I team I mainly enjoy being a true benefit to the team. For instance I would not bother with any MF or GF gear when teaming due to the decreased utility I would provide for the team. That's just me, not trying to open up that can of worms.
When you consider that the Barbarian is the only class that can function in a meat shield/tank function, I thought it would be fun to build a barbarian that is solely designed to help the team succeed. You can make an argument that if everyone is maxing out their damage that would then be the most effective way to contribute, but due to the higher difficulties no doubt proving quite the different animal, I think helping the team on higher difficulties will be best accomplished through a DEFENSIVE Barbarian.
In that vein, when you design a build without damage being much of a concern at all, it's amazing what you can come up!
The Barb still has a Runestone effect of a taunt. This exists in D2 as well. In D3, it's currently Threatening Shout-Crimson (Demoralize).
That had me thinking that the best way to be an effective tank in D3 is to not only absorb damage but keep the enemies away from your more squishy friends. The Taunt of Threatenign Shout certainly does that but guess what else does that?
The skills that cause monsters to be pulled closer to you. Clumping the monsters to you would not only free your friends from being able to blast away with relative immunity but also use AOE's and other skills that would take advantage of clumped baddies.
It's amazing when viewed from this lens that the Barbarian has many skills that pull monsters toward him (read: away from the rest of the party).
Here is the build:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/barbarian#cdgeRb!bcV!YZYYYZ
For those of you unable to link through:
1.Cleave-Indigo (Draw Enemies in from 20 Yards away before the strike lands)
2.Leap Attack-Crimson (Shockwaves burst forth from the ground at the destination and knock enemies toward you from 33.8 yards away)
3.Ground Stomp-Inidigo (Increase the area of effect to 24 years. Enemies are pulled closer before the strike lands.)
4.Ancient Spear-Indigo (Throw 5 spears. Each spear will pull back the enemy that it hits.
5. Threatening Shout-Crimson (Affected Enemies are also taunted to attack you for 6 seconds.)
That is 5 skills that pull enemies to you! That might be overkill but for sure no mob is going to escape your grasp. The question is can your teammates kill fast enough for you to survive that much attention.
The stun on Ground stomp would help.
The last skill is
6.War Cry-Indigo (War Cry also grants 21% dodge bonus)
War Cry combined with the passives all for defense should help the survivability:
Nerves of Steel
Inspiring Presence
Tough as Nails
What do you all think? Ultimate protector barb?
For me the real enjoyment was playing in a four person team. Once I got used to that, going solo felt like a very lonely experience. Even less than four people seemed gimped from the fun factor.
There will be no shortage of people to team with when the game comes out but I found that I've been using the skill calculator in a vacuum of sorts. I have been dreaming up builds as if I would be solo'ing the game. I see the benefit of solo the game the first time through to really take my time with the content, but once I've done that, and maybe even before, I cannot imagine that I would not be in 4 person teams every single time I played. That could be literally years of playing the game, based on the fun D1 and D2 provided.
Consequently, I realized that when I team I mainly enjoy being a true benefit to the team. For instance I would not bother with any MF or GF gear when teaming due to the decreased utility I would provide for the team. That's just me, not trying to open up that can of worms.
When you consider that the Barbarian is the only class that can function in a meat shield/tank function, I thought it would be fun to build a barbarian that is solely designed to help the team succeed. You can make an argument that if everyone is maxing out their damage that would then be the most effective way to contribute, but due to the higher difficulties no doubt proving quite the different animal, I think helping the team on higher difficulties will be best accomplished through a DEFENSIVE Barbarian.
In that vein, when you design a build without damage being much of a concern at all, it's amazing what you can come up!
The Barb still has a Runestone effect of a taunt. This exists in D2 as well. In D3, it's currently Threatening Shout-Crimson (Demoralize).
That had me thinking that the best way to be an effective tank in D3 is to not only absorb damage but keep the enemies away from your more squishy friends. The Taunt of Threatenign Shout certainly does that but guess what else does that?
The skills that cause monsters to be pulled closer to you. Clumping the monsters to you would not only free your friends from being able to blast away with relative immunity but also use AOE's and other skills that would take advantage of clumped baddies.
It's amazing when viewed from this lens that the Barbarian has many skills that pull monsters toward him (read: away from the rest of the party).
Here is the build:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/barbarian#cdgeRb!bcV!YZYYYZ
For those of you unable to link through:
1.Cleave-Indigo (Draw Enemies in from 20 Yards away before the strike lands)
2.Leap Attack-Crimson (Shockwaves burst forth from the ground at the destination and knock enemies toward you from 33.8 yards away)
3.Ground Stomp-Inidigo (Increase the area of effect to 24 years. Enemies are pulled closer before the strike lands.)
4.Ancient Spear-Indigo (Throw 5 spears. Each spear will pull back the enemy that it hits.
5. Threatening Shout-Crimson (Affected Enemies are also taunted to attack you for 6 seconds.)
That is 5 skills that pull enemies to you! That might be overkill but for sure no mob is going to escape your grasp. The question is can your teammates kill fast enough for you to survive that much attention.
The stun on Ground stomp would help.
The last skill is
6.War Cry-Indigo (War Cry also grants 21% dodge bonus)
War Cry combined with the passives all for defense should help the survivability:
Nerves of Steel
Inspiring Presence
Tough as Nails
What do you all think? Ultimate protector barb?