why this barb doesnt work?

**fledgeling** · 14-06-2006, 13:21

ok, Ive been playing classic only for a very long time
because I dont really like LOD

anyway, I read that there is a very cool martel called the cramium basher in LOD and wondered if I could make such a char after selling the equipment of my LOD summon necro

but before doing it, I decided to test the barb on singleplayer

items:
the cramium basher (huge dmg, lots of crushing blow) with a 40/15 thingie (dunno how many you can stick into it frankly, that larzuk guy makes only 1 hole? or 6?)
shako with 40/15 (I think there are better helmets)
upgraded arkaine's valor/enigma or upgraded goldskin for the old classic feeling
dracul's grasp
verdungo belt
gore riders
angelic amu+2 rings (in classic we do this, not in LOD?)

stats
250 str
0dex
0nrg
200 life

skills
20BO
20Mastery
20WW
20shout
1 run, 1 berserk, 1 speed, 4 iron skin, 4 natural res

so I decided to test this barb single player
he looked nice, HUGE damage, lots of crushing blow
but sucked
died in act5

with this gear my res were minimal (-30 or something on hell, but I think I could get like 0 res from quests)
but not the res were the thing that scared me
it was the fact, that this barb couldnt kill single monsters in act5 (didnt test act4, because the char editor doesnt allow me to get there)
WTF?
3k damage? 85% crushing blow?
lots of possibilities of double damage?

so I decided to tweak the char a little bit more
added more sockets to the martel
actually 6
5 were 40/15 thingies and a pskull
he still sucked.
so I added "the redeemer" small charm (+7 all skills etc, +255% damage, +255% IAS)
he still sucked.
still cant kill monsters in act5

WTF?

so then I made some more tweaking
perhaps the AR was too low (like 7k)
I gave this barb 120dex to wear that runeword sword for prebuffs
he started working a little bit better
still he tends to stop while making a ww - never seen such things in classic

what's wrong with the barb
with the huge damage of the martel and the 75% crushing blow he should ROCK
but cant kill act5 monsters? oO
would this char at least work in BvB?

I can upload the char save if you want it but Im not sure if this is allowed

maybe the monsters in LOD are somehow better?
I need to get him to act4 hell (Im in act5 hell lol) to test
such a barb would rock in classic (huuuge damage)

**SicHalo** · 14-06-2006, 13:42

does this weapon have increased attack speed on the base weapon?

Also i think u have abit too much str some more points could have gone to vita, also what is your inventry as you can use life + res charms to lift your hp and res and even a few life and attack rating charms.

BvB no a BvB setup is a one had weap preferably axe with a shield with max block.

**mainaman** · 14-06-2006, 14:00

Originally Posted by fledgeling

ok, Ive been playing classic only for a very long time
because I dont really like LOD

anyway, I read that there is a very cool martel called the cramium basher in LOD and wondered if I could make such a char after selling the equipment of my LOD summon necro

but before doing it, I decided to test the barb on singleplayer

items:
the cramium basher (huge dmg, lots of crushing blow) with a 40/15 thingie (dunno how many you can stick into it frankly, that larzuk guy makes only 1 hole? or 6?)
shako with 40/15 (I think there are better helmets)
upgraded arkaine's valor/enigma or upgraded goldskin for the old classic feeling
dracul's grasp
verdungo belt
gore riders
angelic amu+2 rings (in classic we do this, not in LOD?)

stats
250 str
0dex
0nrg
200 life

skills
20BO
20Mastery
20WW
20shout
1 run, 1 berserk, 1 speed, 4 iron skin, 4 natural res

so I decided to test this barb single player
he looked nice, HUGE damage, lots of crushing blow
but sucked
died in act5

with this gear my res were minimal (-30 or something on hell, but I think I could get like 0 res from quests)
but not the res were the thing that scared me
it was the fact, that this barb couldnt kill single monsters in act5 (didnt test act4, because the char editor doesnt allow me to get there)
WTF?
3k damage? 85% crushing blow?
lots of possibilities of double damage?

so I decided to tweak the char a little bit more
added more sockets to the martel
actually 6
5 were 40/15 thingies and a pskull
he still sucked.
so I added "the redeemer" small charm (+7 all skills etc, +255% damage, +255% IAS)
he still sucked.
still cant kill monsters in act5

WTF?

so then I made some more tweaking
perhaps the AR was too low (like 7k)
I gave this barb 120dex to wear that runeword sword for prebuffs
he started working a little bit better
still he tends to stop while making a ww - never seen such things in classic

what's wrong with the barb
with the huge damage of the martel and the 75% crushing blow he should ROCK
but cant kill act5 monsters? oO
would this char at least work in BvB?

I can upload the char save if you want it but Im not sure if this is allowed

maybe the monsters in LOD are somehow better?
I need to get him to act4 hell (Im in act5 hell lol) to test
such a barb would rock in classic (huuuge damage)

external ias dont apply to weapon ,only the modifier on weapon matters
cranium basher has base speed of 20 and being unique means it cant get more than one os (after all you are planning on building this barb in LOD) ,which on its turn means nomatter what you socket in it you will never reach the last ww break point

**MrGoth** · 14-06-2006, 16:27

Also you have very little leach, which for a pvm ww barb is required.

And no %dr other than shako, dunogs, and possibly an enigma. Without a shield you will really want to get as much of this as you can for pvm. Them frenzitars and listers bud's are gona rip you apart.

In this case, shafty + string of ears > anything + dungos. You dont need %fhr and the + vita wont go threw your bo from dungos, so gettings a string will have the same %dr, some mdr, and also more leach.

Cranium basher is slow cakes. The only good thing for this imo is a booyaka {leap attack barb} or for a charger. Even then theres so many better weapons.

And if you really want crushing blow, orphans set hat + gore riders are way more than enough crushing blow for pvm, which means you can use any other weapon you want.

**SicHalo** · 14-06-2006, 17:10

wot about oath axes or swords? Not only is the runeword practically dirty cheap (If your ladder character) but is damn usefull, high dmg due to it being made in eth weapons and indestructable has the correct Increased Attack speed for a WW barb to hit all the WW speed breakpoints, coupe that with a highlords, gores and Ghillemes helm and you have good crushing blow or use a Durress armour, fortiude even shaftshop and your well set for pvm.

Or even death cleavers or razor edge axes.

although i dont think huge DR is needed in pvm only leech and you will be fine also shako is a waste for a barb the best helm to use is an arreat as it covers all bases;

Arreat's Face
Slayer Guard

Defense: 302-363 (varies)(Base Defense: 121)
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 118
Durability: 55
(Barbarian Only)
+150-200% Enhanced Defense (varies)
30% Faster Hit Recovery
20% Bonus To Attack Rating
+2 To Barbarian Skill Levels
3-6% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
All Resistances +30
+20 To Strength
+20 To Dexterity
+2 To Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)

**Omikron8** · 14-06-2006, 22:22

alright lets see

firstly here's a good rule of thumb to follow, pvm barbs don't need damage reduction

so scrap verdungo and put on tgods

1.09 barbs = damage reduction
1.10 barbs = high damage + high leech + hit recocovery + resists

you already have a form of damage reduction, it's called battle orders which lets you walk around with 3k life and crappy gear while other builds walk around with 1k life

scrap dracul's (lifetap doesn't trigger on ww) and put on laying of hands (+350% demon damage + 50% fire res)

angelics are not needed for any pvm build, put on dual ravens + highlords

arreat's is the best barb combat helm period, put a res jewel or um or ed jewel in it

damage sources are king on a barb, not defense, not hit recovery and even resists don't matter much

this means put on duress or fort as your armor because both have offensive mods

the "classic" feeling will only result in a much slower killing speed

get a might merc for an extra ~200% ed

monsters in LoD are much much "better", way more hitpoints, way more damage, way more running speed (act 5 nightmare/hell only), almost always an immunity, and other fun things

as for your weapon, two handed whirlwind breakpoints are -10, -30, -60

thunder maul is base +20 so a shael/ias jewel puts it at the first breakpoint

combine this fact with the fact that you are using a 2 hander that only has a range of 3 and you will see why cranium basher is not a worthwhile ww weapon in hell

**dragongelf** · 15-06-2006, 22:03

no if you want damage try getting a ebotd thunder maul... if thats perfect i think thats the highest possible dmg from a weapon... im not sure though... it has its drawbacks just like any other maul... but im still trying to get one for my titan...

as for the classic feeling... stop with that nonsense! get a good armor and lose the goldwrap!

**Omikron8** · 15-06-2006, 22:43

the range 3, low min damage and +20 base speed of tmaul will result in ebotd tmaul doing less damage over time than ebotd gpa

**Superhal** · 15-06-2006, 22:57

as a basic rule, you need resists and absorbs. you want your resists to be around +50. you can do this through quests, skills, charms, or equipment. the higher you get over 50% all res, the more effective absorb will be.

once you can survive for a few minutes in hell, then you should check your killing speed. for ww barbs, the breakpoints are 35% ias for 1h weps, 60 ias for 2h (such as the thundermaul.) you should always get at least a range 2 weapon with the max breakpoint (the tmaul is range 3). then, check your AR. i try to always use ITD (as you would get from a jah rune.) however, if you can't, then you have to raise AR. You want as close to 100% as possible. the easiest way to do this is to get the angelic set amulet and two angelic set rings.

currently, to fix your current character, you should make a decent runeword scourge and get an um'd stormshield. switch armor for a smoke (or Chains of honor, if you can afford it.) get a tgods belt. use the angel amulet/rings. get arreats face or vamp gaze. for boots, nat's set for resists, gore riders for crushing blow, or war travs for damage. for gloves, craft a pair of blood gloves with dual leech or get a dracs or soul drainer.) socket um runes in everything. keep a ravenfrost and dwarf star in the stash for a4.

also, remember that generally barbs don't do well in 8 player games, cow games, or around oblivion knights, so if you do badly in these areas, it's not abnormal.