Diablo Class Listings

Barbarian

barbarianOverview:
The mighty Barbarian is a fairly strait-forward character. See monsters? Smish monsters - preferably with biggest, sharpest, longest available weapon. The classes' melee prowess is bolstered by a series of passive skills that enhance it's base combat statistics, and a set of "Warcries" that further boost survivability - and that of their group-mates - to insane levels. A maxed out Battle Orders skill is a highly desirable thing for team play.

The downside of a Barbarian is a dependance on good equipment. While some classes, such as the Necromancer, Paladin, or Sorceress, can blast their way through Diablo II with vendor trash and blue drops, a Barbarian must have access to a superior weapon, as a minimum, if he wants to complete Hell Difficulty without pulling out that last little tuft of hair growing on his otherwise bald head. With a strong weapon, the Barbarian can function as a bit of a glass cannon - to truly see him at maximum potential, a high end suit of armor is required.

Skill Recommendations:

Warcries:
• Battle Orders
• Battle Command
• Shout
• Find Item
• Find Potion
Combat Mastery:
• Weapon Mastery
• Natural Resistance
• Iron Skin
• Increased Speed
• Increased Stamina
Combat Skills:
• Whirlwind
• Berserk
• Leap Attack
• Frenzy
• Concentrate
Top Skills:
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Primary Stats:
Primary: Strength
Secondary: Vitality
Tertiary: Dexterity

Recommended Mercenary:
Type: Nightmare Act 2
Aura: Might (Offensive)

barbarian
Mercenary Armor:
• Leviathan (Cham)
• Vampiregaze (Um)
Mercenary Weapons:
• The Reaper's Toll
• Pride Runeword
• Doom Runeword
• Obedience Runeword
Noteworthy Skills:

barbarianWhirlwind: This combat skill gives the Barbarian a true AoE attack. He literally transforms into a whirling dervish, plowing through opponents like a giant Tasmanian Devil. With large amounts of crushing blow and deadly strike, this skill quickly becomes a powerhouse when dealing with large groups of monsters.

barbarianBattle Orders: Battle Orders increases a Barbarian's hit points and mana pool drastically while under it's effect. This allows the class to tank, scrap, and stand toe to toe with virtually anything in the game due to a hit point pool totaling in the thousands.

barbarianLeap Attack: This skill allows a the user to vault through the air a massive distance, and land with a devastating melee attack. The power of the ability however lies in it's ability to move the Barbarian around the field of battle. He can jump free of overwhelming monster packs, or over rivers and other terrain obstacles, making the skill a sort of muscle-powered teleport.

Equipment Suggestions:
barbarian A Barbarian needs either an insanely damaging weapon, or one that has enormous boosts to "Deadly Strike" and "Crushing Blow." Runeword weapons like Breath of the Dying, Grief, and Last Wish work exceedingly well in this regard. Good armor should feature very high Armor Factor, to reduce the number of enemy blows, high elemental and physical resists, and gobs of hit points. Anything that adds life and mana steal is also precious, particularly for a "Whirlwind" Barbarian. Don't forget to scrounge up some +3 Warcries 1 handed weapons for buffing.

Tip:
Mana and Life leech items are critical to survival for a Barbarian more-so than many other classes. Gloves like Dracul's Grasp will let a Barbarian leech even from the physically immune and the undead.


Primary Gear Recommendations:

Build Armor Helm Weapon Shield
WW Barb Duress Runeword Guillaume's Face Breath of the Dying Runeword None
Frenzy Barb Fortitude Runeword Arreat's Face Beast Runeword Last Wish Runeword
Conc Barb Leviathan Arreat's Face Grief Runeword Stormshield
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