Come on guys, power is sexy! Support your local Barbs...

[lukefojut]

I'm shocked to see the lack of support for the Barb, one of the most versatile and powerful characters in the Diablo universe. There were so many builds for the Barbarian that he really deserves some more attacks etc. to allow him to remain as adaptable in future.

The new skills, high power attacks and more tactical approach that appears to be needed to play this character look very enticing and the graphics for him are suitably impressive (bearing in mind the fact that he doesn't use an army of monsters or elemental attacks to do his bidding!)

Let's hear some more positives and discussion about this character class! Anything else you'd like to see? New skills? Balance issues?

Personally I'd like to see the Barb tweaked so that he's more than a match for any other melee chars. While he has some very strong skills in DII, Paladin Smiters unfairly stole the combat crown. Also, I've discussed this elsewhere a little, but I'd looove to see warcries back and powerful.

*Edit: Sorry if this something of a repeat of Flux's thread - I wanted to discuss the Barb free of talk about that other character who has been announced

[Gamekk]

The approach that Diablo III gives looks awesome, however not so different.

If you seriously think about it, 95% of the barbarians maxed WW and used it as main spell. Aside from that, the barbarian was used for BO and Shout... Period!

I wish the other attacks they showed us in the video will also be viable, like that devastating blow with the huge crit chance, or cleave. What else can the barbarian bring? He's brute force, they cannot add him some "ice strike" spell or any other element damage, and they won't add much magic to him

I can still see some massive stunning spell who can be viable, some AoE ground pound (better then his damage shout from DII), the charge also looks viable,i wish they would add something so everyone does not have to stick with the WW build.

Aside from that, that'll probably remain my first main character :P

[KiLLJOi]

I just don't support the bringing back of old classes, my opinion completely

[CanAbyss]

Last time I checked a lot of people were satisfied with the new barb. He kicks ***, what else is there to say?

[Nagelfar]

I'm one of those weirdos who likes concentrate. So I hope that skill or similar remains, something that is just all around practical close quarters attack with no drawbacks.

[Terenas]

Originally Posted by Gamekk

The approach that Diablo III gives looks awesome, however not so different.
If you seriously think about it, 95% of the barbarians maxed WW and used it as main spell. Aside from that, the barbarian was used for BO and Shout... Period! (...)

Well, I used to run Chaos Tristram with a Frenzy Barb.
I'd like to see Frenzy back, the progressive run/attack speed increase was neat.

[lionheart]

Originally Posted by Nagelfar

I'm one of those weirdos who likes concentrate. So I hope that skill or similar remains, something that is just all around practical close quarters attack with no drawbacks.

I used that with one of my barbarians too man. I like the fact that if i attack i will definetely go through with that attack

[Dacar92]

Originally Posted by Nagelfar

I'm one of those weirdos who likes concentrate. So I hope that skill or similar remains, something that is just all around practical close quarters attack with no drawbacks.

That's not weird. I like concentrate, too. Except in D2 act 3 when all those little flayers are running around and you have to concentrate every one of them. That's when WW would be useful. I have made several concentrate barbs over the years and always hated act 3. It looks like the number of monsters in D3 is going to be excessive so I am hoping an attack like concentrate makes a return so I can hate something new.

[Jambe]

Concerns about which skills and classes should/not be present in Diablo 3 boil down to sentimentality and trivial aversion to change, both of which are ridiculous (though sentimentality is at least understandable). What matters is whether the classes are thoughtfully designed, well-balanced and fun.

That said, the OP hit my main concerns about the Barbs with his initial post: they should have enough skill variety to prevent monotonicity, they should be unmatched powerhouses in straight-out melee, and they should have an aura or sense of weight, power and impact to them (for example, there should be ample grunts, thuds, cracks, snaps, slices, etc involved in their combat). Their warcries should be interesting, and they should echo where appropriate and send wildlife scattering. Enemies might tremble or vocalize in response.

That's actually something. I'd like to see a bit more depth to the warcries. Not just in the amount and variety but in the animations & sounds involved. "Ah!" and "Oh!" are disappointing. I appreciate the simplicity, but the Barbarians aren't trolls or cave-men; they're described as great tacticians and natural leaders, and as such they should have at least some level of sophistication. They don't have to sing operas or anything — and who in their right mind would do so on the battlefield — but they might at least recite a rhyming tune or chant a string of syllables to add some flavor to their buffing rituals (randomizing it a bit would be nice, too).

It would be neat to see some buffs that required a certain level of kills or corpses or whatever. It could even be a combat skill which has a buffing side effect; like, I dunno, Berserk or something. As the Barb Beserks, a bar fills up, and as certain increments on the bar are reached said Barb automatically shouts & buffs the party. Certain increments on the bar might correspond to different or more intense buffs, culminating in something rewarding (such as a multi- or high-powered buff, or something that increases caster spell damage — the possibilities are really endless). If you had this sort of thing you'd have to make the Barb really work in order to achieve the powerful buffs, otherwise it would become a "max and cast" swap-dependent BS talent.

I'd like to know more about the Barb's capacity for movement. I've always felt the class was too slow for a melee-only niche. I don't want to ever have the feeling that the barb is encumbered or lumbering. Yes, they're decked out in loads of heavy armor and weaponry but they're also built like tanks and should be able to really get rolling once they develop some momentum.

The addition of Charge radically improves the Barb, but I'm curious to know whether it'll have more variety in movement than "spin, jump, walk, run and charge". Given its frontline nature the Barb should feature a decent amount of footwork. It shouldn't be fancy stuff, mind you, but this image of the Barbarian as a lumbering mass of flesh that clumsily saunters about and whacks the snot out of things is both stereotypical and unfitting with the fiction. The stuff shouldn't be too varied or too complex, as I said, because that's the territory of the Amazon or the Assassin or whatever Rogue-ish class(es) will be in D3.

That's another interesting concept; momentum. One wonders if they could implement a system whereby heavier weapons and armor make it harder for the barb to come to a stop while running. This would be a negative, of course, but it could be balanced out by turning momentum into an advantage for, say, dispersing packs of enemies that tend to cluster (sort of like charge, but instead of a "point-to-point and then stop" sort of thing it might be a "gets a running start and then hurtles into a pack like a bowling ball into pins" sort of thing.

It could be that the Barbs have walk, run, and sprint, and the sprinting mode is the only one affected by this momentum thing, and it eats up stamina at an alarmingly high rate and/or has a recovery period where the barb takes a breather.

In any case, one of the most important aspects of this class has to be the "feel" of it, because the Barbs are the most touchy-feely of all classes.

[havedeath]

Originally Posted by CanAbyss

Last time I checked a lot of people were satisfied with the new barb. He kicks ***, what else is there to say?

I'm definately satisfied. He looks badass. All of his new attacks look great with much more power and more viable AoE skills so he wont lag behind other classes this time I hope.