Patriarch Pretzel, The Disciple of Bul Kathos

[Swiller]

I was halfway tempted to simply write, "Well, I killed Baal" just so I could surpass Frosty's thread, but Thyiad would probably ban me, or at least slap me with a wet trout.

So here we go.

Some time ago I read a thread in the barbarian forums about the feasibility of a frenzy barbarian that wore both the Disciple and Bul Kathos sets. Naturally, the majority of BNet folks said it was impossible without Ebotd or Enigma. Surprise. But the idea intrigued me, so I started the build. It took me a long time to reach patriarch. Not because it was hard, but because I had little time to play for several months. I was hoping I'd get major style points for being the first (as far as I know) to use both sets at once. Alas, maxgerin just had to trump me. Thanks, max. (But sarcasm aside, good job. )


STATS

Strength: 128 (189)
Dexterity: 76 (124)
Vitality: 295
Energy: 10


SKILLS

Battle Orders: 20 (29)
Battle Command: 1 (10)
War Cry: 1 (10)

Sword Mastery: 20 (27)
Increased Stamina, Increased Speed, Iron Skin, and Natural Resists: 1 (8)

Double Swing: 20 (30)
Frenzy: 20 (30)

Prerequisites: 1


GEAR

 Arreat's Face - 15% IAS jewel
 Dark Adherent
 Telling of Beads
 Laying of Hands
 Credendum
 Rite of Passage
 Manald Heal (Hey, I needed mana leech)
 Ravenfrost
 Bul Kathos' Tribal Guardian - Shael
 Bul Kathos' Sacred Charge

Charms: 

Expert's Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 61
Fingerprint: 0x622522af
+1 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)

Sounding Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 66
Fingerprint: 0xa1a4066b
+1 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian

Sounding Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0x217911c0
+1 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian Only)

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xee0cd44a
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xcc1babcd
+20 to Life

MERCENARY

Haseen, the Act II Might Mercenary

• Vampire Gaze
• Duriel's Shell
• Reaper's Toll

ANALYSIS

Well, what do you expect? I'd love to say that the Disciple and Bul Kathos sets will render you an unstoppable killing machine, but that's just not the case. Pretzel is a skilled swordsman, but far from a master swordsman. Yeah, so the combined sets give excellent resists and +550% Damage to Demons. But honestly, if it weren't for two things, I probably would have grown disgusted with this character a long time ago:

1. The Mercenary was invaluable. Without the ctc Decrepify on Reaper's, I would have had a much harder time. I should also point out that the mercenary was using this for a long time:

The Reaper's Toll
Thresher
'Shael'
Two-Hand Damage: 61 to 717
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Dexterity: 79
Required Strength: 104
Required Level: 75
Polearm Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xa5229e9a
+240% Enhanced Damage
Adds 4-44 cold damage over 1 seconds
12% Life stolen per hit
Requirements -25%
20% Increased Attack Speed
Ignore Target Defense
33% Deadly Strike
33% Chance to cast Level 1 Decrepify on striking
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (1: 1 used)

I think the raw awesomeness of it contributed to my success quite a bit. It has since been traded to bassano for a Griffon's, which is more than fair. But I digress. Without the high physical damage and ctc Decrepify, PIs would have been a pain. I suppose could have just used Berserk, but 0 defense sucks and I don't like to die.

Were PIs a pain? My, yes. I especially hated the mana burn types, like Ghosts. I was stuck fighting this guy for what seemed like hours, only to meet this one moments later. Oh, joy.

2. The other main reason I think this character was successful is WarCry. I was perfectly content to be surrounded by hell's minions, because this powerful skill kept me alive. Stun them, then hack away. Stun them again when it wears off, and hack away. Rinse and repeat. I identified right from the beginning that I wanted WC to be a high slvl, but two sounding GCs were all I had. None the less, it worked like a charm. We've all been surrounded by those nasty Flayers before, and I usually dread that area. But Pretzel tore through it with ease thanks to this skill.

In short: He kills (and is incredibly safe) but he'll never kill as fast as other frenzy setups. Someday (now that I've mastered frenzy) I'll try out more potent weapons and maybe a maxed WarCry. But for now I have an amazon and a sorceress to finish.

Thanks for reading about Patriarch Pretzel, everybody!


P.S. I had more screenshots (like for the gear and stats) but Image Shack is trying my patience.

Pps. Yes, I needed to put another 15 IAS jewel in my armor to reach the next breakpoint. But he killed fine without it, and I decided I'd rather save that Larzuk quest.

[corax]

woot well done. i never could get the hang of frenzy

[Cygnus]

Nice work on the dual set pat But you lose out on style points for that gold ring

I've *not* made a frenzy barb so far because I want to do one with this set. But BKTG refuses to drop. I've seen 5+ BKSCs, meh.

[NagisaFurukawa]

Congrats!

Always nice to see an unusual character make it all the way... though I can't shake the feeling that I saw something like this about a month ago... x).

Hmm? Amazon and Sorceress to finish? This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with... *glances at avatar* that, now would it?

[Swiller]

woot well done. i never could get the hang of frenzy

It took me a little while to master, as well. I even posted a rant about it somewhere. If you decide to give it another shot, I suggest switching from "run" to "walk". Blasphemy, I know. But the high run/walk speed of Frenzy barbs is probably the most disorienting aspect.

Nice work on the dual set pat But you lose out on style points for that gold ring.

I've *not* made a frenzy barb so far because I want to do one with this set. But BKTG refuses to drop. I've seen 5+ BKSCs, meh.

Would you have preferred I used dual SoJs?

But yes, I understand your frustrations. I myself had about 9 BKSCs before I traded for the tribal guardian. Hell, one of the major reasons I decided to choose this equipment was because I had about 30 Dark Adherents after the Mephathon, and I decided that armor needed some love for a change.

Hmm? Amazon and Sorceress to finish? This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with... *glances at avatar* that, now would it?

The amazon, no. She's unstoppable with good old harly as a helm. But you better believe the CL/FO sorceress will be wearing that Griffon's, once I find a few perfect lightning facets.

Thanks for the congrats, everybody.

[Ugla]

Some time ago I read a thread in the barbarian forums about the feasibility of a frenzy barbarian that wore both the Disciple and Bul Kathos sets. Naturally, the majority of BNet folks said it was impossible without Ebotd or Enigma.

Well it definitely is impossible WITH Enigma, unless you put it on your merc. You could always wear EBotD on your switch just to loose some style-points :hide:

Anyway, nice to see two sets used on the same char. Congrats on a green pat
EDIT: and gib that RT!

[maxgerin]

:grin: No need to remind everybody where the idea came from.


[rant]
Honestly, the character was really a chore.
The moment I equipped both sets, I didn't find it enjoyable.
I like overpowered builds, I confess, but even semi-powered builds are fun.
It was the merc's game, not the barbs.
This one was just a plain pain-in-the-***.
And since it's my first time to use Frenzy extensively, I admit that there were points in the game where I felt like throwing up, specially bright and high contrast areas.
[/rant]

That aside, gratz on the Pat! :smiley:


--maxgerin