1.0.5 PTR Patch Notes - Barbarian

**Athenau** · 25-09-2012, 14:19

Man, I don't understand the monomaniacal fixation on sprint/WW. Yeah, sure, the build got toned down. But, there are other options.

Hammer of the Ancients was very strong before, now it's incredible. Stun was worthless before, now it's amazing. Plus there's the bevy of minor (but very welcome) buffs to lesser used skills and passives.

The barb is in a good place right now, even if the Sprint/WW isn't the faceroll build it was before.

**Sentarius** · 25-09-2012, 14:41

Not sure if this is directed at me, but I'll respond. I've been using sprint/WW since nightmare difficulty before anyone had any idea how OP it is. WW is the iconic Barb skill, imo. I had 18% crit when I started (weapon master and battle rage only). It is my build, period. (Not that I own it or invented it but it's what I do.) But at the same time, I don't want to give up *farming* AIII.

So I am very very relieved to learn that I'll be OK with my current build and (most of) my current gear.

**Athenau** · 25-09-2012, 14:53

It wasn't directed at you specifically, more the fact that we have 3 pages of discussion and 90% of it is on the nerf to Sprint/WW while completely ignoring the plethora of other buffs the barb got.

Everyone: The class is strong. The class would be strong even if Sprint/WW never existed. Try some of the new stuff. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

**JEB90** · 25-09-2012, 17:30

Originally Posted by Athenau

It wasn't directed at you specifically, more the fact that we have 3 pages of discussion and 90% of it is on the nerf to Sprint/WW while completely ignoring the plethora of other buffs the barb got.

Everyone: The class is strong. The class would be strong even if Sprint/WW never existed. Try some of the new stuff. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Why? Because most of us don't like to have to click away on every monster we want to kill. We like to hold down the right mouse button and get aoe damage. And you know what? We like ww. We liked it in D2, and we want to play it here. Just about everybody I know who plays a barb aspired to WW from day 1--well before people started *****ing about how OP it is. To be told we may have to go back to a click fest is insulting.

**ArCmanDak** · 25-09-2012, 17:53

After playing on the PTR I have to say everyone who's saying the WW spec is nerfed too hard is way overreacting. WW barb is still the best/fastest and is still probably one of the stronger (if not the strongest) classes in high monster power. Fury regeneration is no problem, I had no problems keeping up WotB up (even through multiple zones like before) as long as monster power is high enough so mobs don't get 1 shot. This is using a mighty weapon but not using Animosity or IK set, I'm sure using an axe would give similar results.

The main concern is hp sustain (which is why a lot of other classes will have problems at high monster power), using 1400 Loh and 2.7 LS I had no problems in higher monster power. Lower monster power I dropped my 600 LoH ammy as well as Warcry and I was fine. I would suggest everyone try out the PTR with their barbs before making rash purchases, especially on jewelry.

**Athenau** · 25-09-2012, 18:07

Originally Posted by JEB90

Why? Because most of us don't like to have to click away on every monster we want to kill. We like to hold down the right mouse button and get aoe damage. And you know what? We like ww. We liked it in D2, and we want to play it here. Just about everybody I know who plays a barb aspired to WW from day 1--well before people started *****ing about how OP it is. To be told we may have to go back to a click fest is insulting.

O_o. You're playing Diablo. If you don't like clicking on things, why the hell are you here?

**JEB90** · 25-09-2012, 22:15

Originally Posted by Athenau

O_o. You're playing Diablo. If you don't like clicking on things, why the hell are you here?

Let me introduce you to an amazing concept: AoE attacks. With these incredible skills, you don't have to click multiple times on every single monster to kill it. You---gasp--can kill more than one monster at once!!!!! Believe it or not, some people prefer that sort of game play to carpal tunnel syndrome. Go figure...

**galzohar** · 25-09-2012, 22:31

It's not about being strong. It's about being efficient. Any set of non-underpowered skills with good gear is strong. Getting that extra edge of having super-fast farming speed is something else and nowadays only exists in a build that lets you sprint without stopping. Trails of cinders with a bunch of discipline bonuses (main ones being a source of an original bug Blizzard decided to not fix, and in fact the whole build is based on another bug they decided not to fix before 1.0.5) comes not too far off 2nd, but requires much more gear to achieve not-as-good results. Archon is somewhere up there too with the fast specs but again not as fast as the first 2 and definitely requires good gear.

Sprint being uber-efficient in terms of speed along with much lower gear requirements than any other build is why so many are "fixated" on it. It's simply strong AND fast, rather than just one or the other. You could play a tank build with sprint, but then you won't be strong (you'll run fast but you'll kill slow). You could play a hammer of the ancients build, but then you won't be fast because you need your fury for damage and can't really sprint much.

That said, as long as high monster power remains inefficient regardless of build and as long as sprint can even sustain itself even if in just a half-assed way, I guess this build will still be what everyone use for fast farming of items and experience.

**Athenau** · 25-09-2012, 23:05

Originally Posted by JEB90

Let me introduce you to an amazing concept: AoE attacks. With these incredible skills, you don't have to click multiple times on every single monster to kill it. You---gasp--can kill more than one monster at once!!!!! Believe it or not, some people prefer that sort of game play to carpal tunnel syndrome. Go figure...

Hi, let me introduce you the rest of the barb's skillset, which includes a bunch of AoE skills that aren't sprint/WW.

Of course you can't hold down the RMB and faceroll your way through game with those, but c'est la vie.

**galzohar** · 26-09-2012, 06:47

Sprint/WW isn't just about facerolling (though the ability to faceroll, even if it makes you lose some efficiency over playing perfectly, is definitely a part of the over-power-ness of this build). It's about getting the maximum farming speed possible in the game and with a big lead over the alternatives. As long as the spec works without having to stop and bash all the time and while being able to kill stuff about as quickly as other specs, there will be no reason to use anything other than sprint/WW.