In desperation for a d3 bow specialist to emerge, the people cry out for a hero. Well here she is! Introducing….
Barbra the Bowstress! (Or, Felicity, Heather, or any other nice name you choose since all names are up for grabs)
Now I know what you’re thinking: why would anyone make a bowbarb when you could just play….the main bow expert… in the game? Well, the bowbarb is special in that she is a far superior tank. Take my word for it; she’s a barb. You’ll also see why she is so powerful at a distance when her secret is unlocked below. Additionally, I wanted this to be the first bowbarb strategy guide for d3. Finally, for all we know, the d3 bow expert could have a trapper or pet tree added (since Blizzard has been announcing so many additions to d3 lately) which imo is blasphemous! YUCK!! [Barbra spits in disgust like her male counterpart]
So without further ado until 2010, let’s jump right into her furred quiver of barbarism. Notice anything familiar about her hair? That’s right! She could very well be a blood relative of the rogue from d1. Hey, it’s been 20 years. The rogue has been deep in the bowels of Tristram’s Cathedral; who knows where else she’s been…The bowbarb build will be much more fun and beautiful, because she lets her hair down and is a wild animal out there. So what if she’s all thumbs?
BARBRA’S STATS:
Strength: 70 is good (plus whatever additional strength Blizzard wants her to have).
Dexterity: 260 (minus what Blizzard won’t allow at lev 99).
Vitality: Everything else (or whatever Blizzard deems appropriate).
Willpower/Energy/Fury or w/e: None (expect what Blizzard puts in).
BARBRA’S SKILLS:
Since she will be using normal attack on everything, you want her to be a defensive powerhouse who can stand up to anything to compensate for her lack of AoE damage. These are the skills I would use (Max them out!):
From her Zerker Tree (time to put on your girls gone berserk t-shirt, or if that’s too offensive, your chain bra):
Heightened Senses-This will give Barbra a chance to dodge attacks…just like the Amazon!
Terrifying Shout- It will enhance your damage for some duration that depends on how much you invest in it (IIRC). You might want to just put one point into this to help you with boss fights since there are so many great passives to max out.
Onslaught-Increasing your attack speed is a must. This will help make up for her shot by shot playstyle.
Bad Temper- This is optional. If you want your fury to degenerate slower, then max it. (Fury DOES work with ranged attacks; this has been repeatedly confirmed by Blizzard in my imagination).
Strong Constitution-This one is great to keep your bowbarb self sufficient. You might want to hang back and let others tank for you. Everyone knows that 99% of barbs on bnet2 just grab up the globes before waiting for anyone else to get within healing range. If you play with strangers and like to stay back from the action, max this skill instead of any skills that beef up health globes.
Destroy Armor- This one is good since you won’t be packing quite as much punch as your typical cookie cutter Death Proof barb.
From the Battlemaster Tree:
Battlerage-Obviously, you’re going to want this skill maxed to increase your damage and enhance your bowbarb’s critical damage.
Perseverance- You’ll want this to increase the duration of Battlerage so you can mindlessly kill stuff without interruptions of rebuffing. Max it.
As you can see, this bowbarb is very reliant on critical hits since she won’t be doing the ground thumping that melee barbs do. Do whatever it takes to get her critical hits as damaging as possible. With the variety [that will likely be] in d3, your bowbarb will feel just like a d2 zon with maxed critical strike!
Iron skin- A fun passive that helps you wear more damaging gear instead of defensive gear. You’ll need damaging gear (see the ground thumping part above).
Critical attacks- You should definitely max this out. Critical hits are barbarian girl’s best friend.
Natural Res- Put all your remaining points in here. You don’t want your damage gear compromised for res gear.
Juggernaut Tree:
Inspiration- Max this for more critical damage. It works nicely with those other skills you maxed, like Critical Strike and Battlerage. You want each and every… … … situation critical.
Iron Will- Optional. Barbarian girls just want to have fun.
So the secret behind the bowbarb is simple: 1-She won’t be relying so much on fury. Sure, she needs it for skills like Terrifying Shout, but it’s not like you’ll be casting it every second or using fury-intensive skills like melee barbs. This is Barbra’s great advantage. By the time she needs to rebuff, she’ll have made enough hits to have her fury up. 2-Another advantage is that melee barbs will be maxing out a ground thumping skill and Barbra can instead use those points to enhance her critical hits. 3- She won’t need to max the skills that enhance globe gains. She can tank, but sometimes Barbra will kill stuff at a distance and let her health go up naturally from regenerate (High Constitution). 4- She [probably] has more life than that other bow focused build that everyone is using. Your bowbarb will never be able to fire arrows as good as the vvxxvxarchethiefrangexxzxtt class [sorry for the spelling; I’m learning a second language atm and I need to get this posted ASAP as there is a dire need] but she’ll more than make up for it with her other great traits.
There are a lot of skills up there. I know I put in too many, but don’t be so critical! Or, I mean be very very critical….Well, you know what I mean. Use your critical thinking. You can ditch iron skin if you play more carefully and not tank so much. You can also skip out on Destroy Armor and Bad Temper. After all, we don’t want to categorize red heads as having bad tempers and breaking armor over their knees. Plus, I had a hell of a time covering up her sword in the picture using some primitive editing tools (hey, I wanted to stay true to the barb AND I don’t know what I’m doing). I can’t be expected to draw her breaking breastplates.
BARBRA’S TALISMAN (or TALISWOMAN as I prefer to call it):
The best thing to go for is 9 chipped star topazes. If you can think of anything better I’d like to hear it.
Twinkle twinkle little topaz,
A greater high than any dope has.
Like a diamond with a mod,
Look at her amazing bod.
Twinkle twinkle little topaz,
Something something all the jazz.
[poem needs improvement]
BARBRA’S BARTERING BAG (GEAR):
Helm: Gothic Helm
Body: Gothic Plate (or Chest Armor if you can’t afford gothic plate)
Glove: Gauntlets (Leather Gloves are also pretty good runner up gloves)
Legs: Plate Leggings (Quilted pants are better for looks)
Boots: Plated Greaves. You can’t go wrong with these boots. No better alternative imo.
Shoulders: Head and Shoulders shampoo (see the picture). Jk-Plated Pauldrons are the best thing going right now for this build.
Belt: Sash. Very cost efficient AND the best belt in the game (so far)!
Bow: Short Bow. There just IS NO better bow for this build. You can try to pick out another one for her, but I think you would find yourself shorthanded (or empty-handed).
Rings: Whatever ones you like the best.
Amulet: Any good amy will do.
These are mostly all white normal items. The whole point of these wacky builds is to nerf yourself for the challenge.
WEAPON SWITCH:
Instead of hitting ‘W’, which is a bit boring [and might not be possible what with so many expansions on the horizon], why not just carry your second weapon in your inventory? My recommendation is the Double Axe of Frost for its’ +25-27 cold damage. And with no str requirement, it’s a steal! I know, you’re saying ‘why would I choose that noob weapon that was in the gameplay video when I can instead use the more damaging Annihilator Maul of Immolation that was also in the gameplay video? Plus, Immolation Arrow was so good for zons, Immolation would be deadly as a mod in d3, right?’ Well, the Double Axe of Frost can be used to chill the bad guys, making it easier to take them out with your short bow.
BARBRA’S CHARMS:
None! Let’s face it; this girl has already got plenty of charm. Plus, you’ll want to fill up her inventory with minor healing potions and scrolls of identify. Unless, of course, you actually like talking to Cain?
BARBRA’S BOWSTRESS STRATEGIES:
Well, you just stand there and shoot stuff while it tries to kill you in vain. Now, think of what the typical d3 bow user has to do to survive: all that running around, strategizing, and having to max out the following skills[This part of the guide was removed for spacing purposes]
That ends my bowbarb strategy guide, but let’s keep in mind her optimal gear may change with the upcoming expansion packs. I’ll be sure to update this guide in 6-7 years. Please don’t be too harsh, as this is my first guide for a d3 build. I admit I haven’t played her much (there are just too many melee wizards to try out!), so feel free to add your thoughts!
Special Thanks to:
Peasant-for help with posting images
Appocolypse-some dude. Who likes archers.
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