2h Axe Barbarian - What's the most fun?

[Jarvgrimr]

Hey all,

Been paging through all the guides on the forums, trying to work out what type of Barb i should play. I've not played D2 in years, but after all the D3 goodness i've been seeing recently i am eager to get back into D2 and try some actual quality builds.

I plan on making a few different characters, but the one i would like to start with is a 2h-Axe barb. I've been looking at a making a Berserk barb (looked over Radu's build & Damric's guide) but i wanted to just get some more input on whether or not this is a good build for someone wanting to make a fun 2h-Axe barbarian to play.

I just want my first new char in D2 to be as entertaining as possible, not too fiddly but not too overpowered.

Cheers!
Jarvgrimr

[Eilo Rytyj]

Well, Berserk as a skill is pretty bland - you whomp something, it gets hurt. Rinse repeat. Most Barb builds throw War Cries into the mix. That's where the challenge comes from. You aren't going to kill stuff as fast, but you can control everything with Howl and Taunt and then soften them up with Battle Cry before whacking them to death. A Concentrate Barbarian works virtually the same, except you deal and take a bit less damage. Both builds use Concentrate and Berserk - Concentrate on a Berserker for mana/life leech needs, Berserk on a Concentrater as a PI/IM solution - but each build focuses on one of them.

Oh, and Berserking with a Breath of the Dying ethereal Glorious Axe has got major style points.

[Damric]

It will defintely be fun, and powerful. One advantage is that there are many powerful 2h axes you can trade for cheap since almost no one uses them (hellslayer, executioner's justice, ect). Then it shouldn't be too hard to legitly make a death decapitator from 3 gul (two cubed up to vex).