New/Old Barb Skills...

[Apocalypse]

If it were up to me, I'd make barbs unable to use shields, period.

Seriously. A shield on a barb never seemed right to me, and goes against what a barb is supposed to be. It's like seeing a bicycle helmet on the incredible hulk. A barbarian should be wielding weapons that are so big other characters can scarcely pick them up.

Actually 2-handers are something I'd like to see become more viable in general. Aside from the (increasingly rare) barbarian and bowzon, everyone else seems to use a shield in D2.

i never liked shields on barbs either, not because of gameplay but thats just how i see barbs, how i would roleplay one i guess. i would not want to limit barbs from using them though.

i hope d3 allows for more roleplay in the characters, i want to be able to bring several builds through the game of the same char

[Drytchnath]

I always thought the 2-Handed weapons seemed more suited to the Barb (check out my thread to discuss the ups and downs of 2-Handers). Unfortunately with the exception of certain polearms, using most 2-H weapons turned into a death sentence.

I always thought the barb masteries should've given innate IAS bonuses to the weapons you specialized in. And with the inclusion of Phys immunes, barbs became nearly useless past NM unless you liked playing an extremely slow Concentrate build.
I really hope they handle phys immunity differently this time. It really was a kick in the pants to all melee characters, specifically to the barbs.

Back on-topic...I wonder if Seismic Slam is pure physical damage? I'd love to make a barb specializing in Leap Attack and Seismic Slam.