1h/Shield Tank Build: Rend and Revenge...the ballet of violenceder=

[powpowboom]

I see alot of threads here and on various forums on WW/nados, charge/nados, hammer and rend, but what about those barbs that use a tank build with shield? how do we use the new 1.0.4 buffs for a tank build?

Well, i played a tank yesterday. This lead to much experimentation as to what the most efficient way to kill, while still maintaining survivability. i've been dual wielding for a long time. Going with a shield meant i would lose my off-hand weapon with nearly 900 loh plus 80% crit dmg. I had to make adjustments in my gear for loh (amulet and ring) but at the expense of crit chance

I eventually settled on this build:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculato...VkP!ZYV!cZZccZ

Lmouse: Frenzy/Maniac
Rmouse: Charge/Furious Assault

Rend/Blood Lust
Revenge/Provocation
War Cry/Impunity
WotB/Insanity

Ruthless/Weap Master/Tough as Nails

My stats with shield:

40k base dps
11.5k armor buffed
37k max life
~900 all resists buffed
35% Crit Chance
230% Crit dmg
+6% attack speed
~700 loh, no life steal

I've been dual wielding for so long that i've forgotten what an overpowered (OP'ed) skill Revenge is...220% damage and 5% healing.

So here is the basis of this build:

Don't be afraid...walk right into a mob of hard hitting bad guys in act 3 inferno, swing away till, rend is active, click rend, then as soon as Revenge is active, click it. Alternate between the two right after one another. If revenge isn't available, hit Rend again. Swing with Frenzy to get more fury while this is all happening. Spam these skills as soon as they are available in a quick 1-2 combo...if you see both rend and revenge available, click button one (rend) then immediately click and hold button 2 (revenge). You will fire off a really cool double 360 combo

With the Rend animation circling once, then Revenge Circling right after etc...it looked like a dance. A deadly ballet of violence.

This combo is completely OP'ed. I could not believe how fast i was killing mobs in act 3. I was hitting crazy EXP bonuses all the time.

I went with Frenzy/Maniac because Rend and Revenge provided enough AoE (area of effect) damage

If you feel yourself surrounded, Spam Charge a few times to get to a better defensive position, or use Charge as an offensive weapon. Merciless assault allows you to spam charge over and over...A great strategy is to charge --> Rend/Revenge combo --> charge again. Spam it

WotB was used only against elites. I used the same strategy with berserker active...Rend---> Revenge ---> Revenge again if available or Rend. Elites melted away.

You will not believe how fast you will kill with this build, and the best part is, even with a measly 700 loh, Rend/blood lust and Revenge was more than sufficient to keep my life filled up

UPDATE: I went full Crit jewellery and removed my 500 loh ammy and 200 loh ring. I had already replaced my 900 loh off hand with a shield previously for this build. Replaced with 8% crit chance (cc) ammy and 3% cc ring. I removed my 20% block shield and I added a shield with 7.5%cc, it only has 10% block but decent AR, str and vit stats. I wanted to see what would happen. So i had zero loh, zero life steal, zero life regen, but my crit chance was sitting at 53.5%...i did a Siegebreaker run in act 3, getting my 5 stacks in the depths 1 and 3, killing through the bridge and all the way to Siegebreaker. I did not die once. So it looks like LOH is optional with this build. Rend and Revenge is enough to keep your health filled and you alive. The 50+% cc helped me kill faster which was a bonus

Happy Grinding!!

[Tryzx]

How would you rate this build compared to the WW-Nado or the Hammer-Rend builds? Faster farming? Or slower but funnier?

[powpowboom]

How would you rate this build compared to the WW-Nado or the Hammer-Rend builds? Faster farming? Or slower but funnier?

A well geared barb with good dps will farm faster with the WW-nado build. I don't think you can debate that. However, for a tank build, you will not kill faster than this setup. I try different builds all the time. This is faster than the hammer rend builds though. Rend/revenge combo is deadly and kills quickly.

The WW-nado builds actually take skill to maneuver to be effective. To the untrained eye, it looks easy, it seems like you just spin and spin and everything eventually just dies... but for anyone who has tried it, you'll realize very quickly that you have to move in a certain way and you need experience in order to not panic when you run out of fury and the spinning stops

THis tank build is relatively easier imo. Because you have a shield, you can absorb way more damage, so it affords you somemore margin for error

[powpowboom]

UPDATE:

I wanted to see if revenge and rend/blood lust was sufficient to fill my life orb.

Just for fun, i removed all loh gear. I had zero loh, zero life steal and zero life regeneration.

I played from the beginning of act 3 up to the end of the depths 3...and i did not die once and i used one potion in all that time! I just relied on rend, revenge and any life orbs left behind by monsters.

So this is a very interesting development because this will allow me to remove loh gear and go full crit and resist gear. I'm liking this

[Tryzx]

I'm currently WW-nado. Do you think this build would be viable without a shield by staying with dual-wield? I really don't want to drop the extra damage from the off-hand and if survival is still fine it'd be worth using for me. http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/T...3/hero/5362091 Any ideas on what I should change to make it work better with this setup? Any input appreciated.

[powpowboom]

I'm currently WW-nado. Do you think this build would be viable without a shield by staying with dual-wield? I really don't want to drop the extra damage from the off-hand and if survival is still fine it'd be worth using for me. http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/T...3/hero/5362091 Any ideas on what I should change to make it work better with this setup? Any input appreciated.

hmmmm, why do you want to move away from WW-nado? you've got decent stats and decent gear. You're probably close to 1k buffed all resistance which is good

The problem without a shield is that it is difficult to stand there and go toe to toe against the baddies in the second part of act 3 and all of act 4. You have to constantly move or be killed. You might be able to pull it off at the beginning of act 3, but by the time you hit the bridge and the crossing, the baddies hit hard.

is your 6k armor buffed or not? With your 1k buffed AR, you might be able to pull it off. You can try this build in act 3 with dual wield and see if it works, but it will be infinitely easier with a shield to play this style. The good news is that you can get a very strong shield relatively cheap on the AH right now. With a shield, i just stand and absorb so much abuse, nothing fazes me anymore in this game post 1.0.4

As far as changes to your build...if you want to play this style, just get a decent shield with at least 1k armor, block % in the high teens, 100+ str, 100+ vit, 65+ all resist, 7.5+ crit chance. You can buy these on ah for 1-2 mill tops. I wouldn't change a thing on your build, just remove your off hand and plug in a shield. Then forget about ever dying again

[Tryzx]

Yes stats buffed are average 1000k resist all 8000 armor and 60k dps with enchantress. WW-nado is efficient for farming act 3 but I'm getting tired of it so I taught I'd look for other builds that look interesting.

[Buran]

I'm using a similar build, but with Leap +Iron Impact instead of Furious Charge. Works nicelly in Act II, but my dps is only 30k and my arrmor buffed around 9k. One of the changes I'm facing is maybe the replacement of Frenzy towards Bash + Punish: is slower but the +24% damage enhancement after 3 hits to all of our skills for 5 seconds sounds promising -Frenzy is good but with Revenge and Rend most of time we aren't in the +75% IAS buf-. The rise from 3 to 8 fury x hit is also useful -despite due the slower pece of hits the enhancement isn't as big-.

[powpowboom]

Yes stats buffed are average 1000k resist all 8000 armor and 60k dps with enchantress. WW-nado is efficient for farming act 3 but I'm getting tired of it so I taught I'd look for other builds that look interesting.

i completely understand where you are coming from. I've played WW/nado, charge/nado, and recently HotA builds. They were all fun and all have their merits and weaknesses. I like to switch it up too or get bored

I found that 8k armor was a little too fragile for my liking. You have to move to not get killed. I changed a few pieces, added a shield and i currently sit at 11.5k armor and ~900 AR buffed. I'm much tankier now and i can play a barb the way i believe a barb should be played...i.e., stand in and out of the pocket, go toe to toe, deal damage, move and stand in the pocket again.

Armor is such an often overlooked stat. but it is so important. 10 armor = 1 all resist. So the additional 3.5k armor i have on you is equivalent to another 350 AR. It is huge

[powpowboom]

I'm using a similar build, but with Leap +Iron Impact instead of Furious Charge. Works nicelly in Act II, but my dps is only 30k and my arrmor buffed around 9k. One of the changes I'm facing is maybe the replacement of Frenzy towards Bash + Punish: is slower but the +24% damage enhancement after 3 hits to all of our skills for 5 seconds sounds promising -Frenzy is good but with Revenge and Rend most of time we aren't in the +75% IAS buf-. The rise from 3 to 8 fury x hit is also useful -despite due the slower pece of hits the enhancement isn't as big-.

I tried this build using Bash/punish but i found it too slow. The increase in fury gen and the 24% buff for 5 secs are definitely very attractive stats.

What i want to do is to raise my attack speed by another 10-12%. Currently i have 6%. If i can get a few more pieces with IAS, i will give Bash/punish another try