Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

@jakotaco

thanks a lot for the info... maybe i did invest a lot more into str than i should have... and i am currently in the process of maxing MO, so i guess that shouldn't be a problem... as for the equip, i have a dracul's in my stash, got it long back and didn't want to sell it... and about the belt and boots, i probably have to search for them, or trade for them in open battle.net...

once again thank you mate...
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

So is this the best barb build outhere for pvm(pindle/shenk etc runs)and baaling in hell with a party?
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

I think a holy freeze merc is better than a might merc. Doom gives you a holy freeze aura, but it takes up a weapon spot. Might isn't that helpful, since it only gives off-weapon ed, which stacks with concentrate and strength ed. I would rather take a holy freeze merc wielding a tomb reaver (decrep is awesome), or something else.

Great guide though
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Ash: Jako touched on the main complaints I would have, primarily the weapons. Any of those he suggested would help greatly to improve your killing speed, and thus, survivability.

Ilum: This is a very strong PvM build, but to be honest, whirlwind builds are usually more suited for farming and ground play, as they move about quickly. They are more reliant on gear than conc barbs, but are generally agreed to be the best all-around build for the class.
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Halciet said:
Ash: Jako touched on the main complaints I would have, primarily the weapons. Any of those he suggested would help greatly to improve your killing speed, and thus, survivability.

Ilum: This is a very strong PvM build, but to be honest, whirlwind builds are usually more suited for farming and ground play, as they move about quickly. They are more reliant on gear than conc barbs, but are generally agreed to be the best all-around build for the class.
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So in your opinion an whirlwind barb will be more suited for 'mfing' in hell as a first char than a concentrate build?

How good would be a concentrate or ww barb compared to a sorc/hammeradin at mf...
In other words am i crazy for trying to mf with a barb which also is my 1st char?

I would really apreciate some answers and ty for the info you have given me so far.
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

A conc barb is a good first character just because they are easy to gear up and complete the game. However, a WW barb is more efficient for MFing, pvp, and PvM, though terribly expensive to gear.

Sorcs are probably the best budget MF characters to build, since it doesn't take a whole lot to get one into killing mode. Similarly, having tele by default makes them faster boss runners. Barbs can obtain the absolute highest MF in the game, but it takes some work to get them there.

Back in the day, I ended up playing through on a barb first, making a sorc to MF and gear him, and then at that point started using the barb for MF once I was able to equip him with quality MF items that would still allow him to kill quickly. I used him primarily for general mob farming and such in places like the cow level, however, or for running quick bosses like pindle. The sorc was used for more elaborate dungeon adventures like Meph.
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Hey man, thanks for a nice guide!

My conc barb romped through normal and nm no problems whatsoever. Now, in hell, its pretty much unplayable.. It just takes too long time to kill those damn act 1 zombies lol :steam:!!! the survivability of my barb is great, but its the damage, and to some extent the AR that atm makes hell unplayable for me (altho I did find alot of tips for increasing the AR in this thread, I will try those out). Btw im lvl 70 and i have a 200 ED doombringer, IK boot, gloves, belt, helm.

I was thinking that Crescent moon in a zerker axe or sword would solve all my problems so that is what I have been working towards for a long time now (im poor!) but i recently found out that since the writing of your guide, crescent moon has been nerfed quite terribly, with lower ED and lower % static. I mean, a 180ED zerker axe wont yield alot of damage. is it still worth getting, or should I look elsewhere? I will never afford botd so other suggestions please :P

Thanks
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

those zombies have 50% physical damage resistance, using 1pt berserk (+grim ward?) to fight them will work much better than maxed conc.

to increase AR I would socket the doombringer with an ETH. Sure, a shael will give you 10-20% more speed, but if an ETH helps you land one good hit, you might not even need to take a second swing.
The effect of an ETH rune is equivalent to multiplying your AR by 1.33, or adding +33%.
However this +33% is not the same that you get from mastery or skills.

It is multiplicative to that, so that if you have for example +300% AR from conc+mastery, for a total of 400% AR (base + 300%), an ETH rune would be equivalent to an extra +130% AR on the weapon.
 
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Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Thank you Peresvet for your input. The 50% phys imunity explains alot. Also, my AR problems are more or less solved, but the damage problem remains.

I would be grateful if someone gave me advice on what I said in my previous post about crescent moon / what do do to get big damage, if I cant afford botd !

Cheers
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

OK, 61 pages later... :crazyeyes:

Hal, great job on the guide. To the community, who have kept this thread going and informative, my thanks as well.

I'm a returning player, and currently in the late 60's with my new Conc barbarian and am thoroughly enjoying the build. It is very survivable, even as I start Hell difficulty. Nightmare was almost humorous as I went toe to toe with the mobs and was rarely hurt.

All in all, well done.

-Grard
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

you should almost never have to use berzerk to begin with (in which case those 20 points are wasted the majority of the time). For the instances where you do need to use it, one point with 20 shout will prove more than sufficient. Similarly, the bash synergy is extremely gear dependent, and only really shines when you have a BotD-equivalent weapon and a host of +max charms.
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I just started up a new conc barb a couple of weeks ago, and I'm now level 83 and I need to decide what to work on now that I've maxed out BO, Conc, Shout, and my Weapon Mastery.

I understand that Bash's synergy is not so great without a high damage weapon (which I don't have). However, the only other real option I see that I could benefit from is Iron Skin. But given that when I have shout active, most hell monsters already have less than a 20% chance of hitting me, and then when I swing my defense gets even better, is that going to do much for me?

Once the big four are maxed out, what is the general consensus of where your last few skill points should go?
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Aldeth the Foppish Idiot said:
Once the big four are maxed out, what is the general consensus of where your last few skill points should go?
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I just love the fact that you can re-stat now, makes this whole issue of "oops I wish I had...." go away.

Personally, I prefer hybridization for PVM, but if you go conc, the consensus in the past was either to synergize or stack defense, I think defense stack is overrated (not in the case of PvP conc usually)

In that case, stacking damage is still helpful. If it wasn't and you chose not to stack based on your damage being on the low side, then it would seem antithetical not to do so. If that were the case then why put more then 1pt in any of the skills in the first place? Just for AR? You know what I mean.



 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Well, I dumped my first extra stat point into Bash, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had originally thought. Evidently, my weapon is high enough in damage for it to make a difference, as the one point in bash increased my max damage by 93 points - not insignificant IMO.
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

yup. In multiples it's just gonna stack. Are you always going to use the same weapon? What build?
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Sorry for the delayed response - first I hosed the calculation. I did place one point in Bash when I finished the Izual quest, but I also placed one in my weapon mastery, so the 93 points is actually double what it should have been (as both mastery and bash gave me 5%). I have since leveled again, and this time I got a 46 point increase in damage from Bash (which makes sense, and it still isn't bad).

My build is that standard concentrate build: maxed Conc, Battle Orders, Mace Mastery, Shout, with one point in everything else except the other weapon masteries.

I have an upped Fleshrender as my weapon (it's my first character since the reset, and I like the DS, CB, OW, and PMH). I socketed it with a 30% ed, +9 max damage jewel. The reason that my defense is through the roof is that on my first Pit run with this character a unique rogue archer dropped Arkaine's Valor. :) Other defense enhancing equipment includes an upped Mosers and String of Ears, so yeah, I have a freakin ton of defense.
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

I was going to make a spear/ww barb.. then I was given the whole IK set and a Hone Sundan as a gift (along with highlords wrath and some lower items). Right now I'm lvl 51 and I'm using the Hone Sundan with Conc. at base lvl 1. It's lvl 4 with BC. I like Concentrate a lot so far and I've only leveled up WW to where it's past the -dmg reduction. Then I maxed spear mastery - as I originally planned to use spears all game (I just got the IK set today), and BO is lvl 9. Obviously, I'm going to have to respec down the line once I get to lvl 76 when I can use maul/armor. Do you think I should stick with Concentrate or go for a WW build? I'm playing SP HC. Survivability is my highest priority. I can take my sweet time killing whatever I want, as long as I don't die.


Also, barloc, what do you like about hybrids? (I assume you mean WW/Conc?? or are you referring to Conc/Zerk?).
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

1 pt WW is great to use on those packs of flayers, but I think a conc/WW hybrid would be pointless.

While I wouldn't call the damage added by bash insignificant, it doesn't seems like it adds much to the build for the points you spend. The rest of my points always go into berserk, or I make a hybrid by sacrificing points in shout to max berserk. Either way I berserk against high-dr monsters and unleechables. Gloams, having 60 or 80% dr, fall nicely into this category, and those vampires seem to go down a lot quicker with berserk.
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

*EDIT*

NVM, just looked at the guide again, and halciet say's CoH would be a great idea.
 
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Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Following this guide, and realized he says that 2hand < 1h/Shield combination.
I planned on using 2 handed weapon, but don't know now. Should I reset and switch to weapon and shield.
 
Re: Hal's 1.10 Conc Build Guide (Updated Edition)

Hal in the FAQ of this build... said:
Q. Two-handed weapon for damage, or a shield?
A. While you can get a massive amount of damage with some of the new weapons in the patch, it is my humble opinion that nothing really beats a shield. They just provide you with so much diversity. It provides an extra slot for mods and socketing, as well as nullifying 75% of almost every hit thrown your way. In hardcore or laggy situations, this can mean the difference between life and death, especially in the new environment. Forthermore, the dex required to reach max block helps boost your accuracy up a ton, and every 4 points gives you another point of defense. Plus, between Shout, Ironskin, and Concentrate, you can easily add a good 3000-5000 defense to your build with the addition of a shield. Sure, you may kill a bit slower, but patience is a virtue, my child, and it is better to live to deal the damage than to die before you can.
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Halciet said:
I would avoid using a 2h weapon, as the swing-speed penalty tied to 2h weapons becomes even more noticeable when paired with the slow rate on conc. Even with something as fast as IK Maul, you're still lucky to hit 12 frames with one, which leaves gaps in the amount of time you are covered by the conc defense boost.

Shields are beneficial in that they give you 75% reduction from physical attacks right off the bat, another slot for socketing, another slot for resists and other mods, a healthy chunk of armor to boost you up more, and force you to use a 1h weapon, which increases attack speed.
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Depends how twinked you are. Getting a 2-hander that's fast enough and getting your resists to max can be tough.


 
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