- Feb 24, 2004
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- 1,318
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Originally posted by Thirty-Thirty on Aug 30, 2005:
Patriarch Bill
Ahoy,
Why the name Bill? I like aliteration (even though I'm sure that's not how you spell it). On the one hand, Bill is a Barbarian, but then again, William is a Werewolf! :uhhuh:
Earlier today, I beat Baal with my Wolfbarb, who is arguably the most fun of my characters. His stats are:
Bill
Level 84 Wolfbarb
Str: 110 (173)
Dex: 70 (126)
Vit: 325 (340)
NRG: 10 (20)
After warcries and shifting...
Life: 5050
Mana: ~300
Def: 14k
Resists: 75/75/75/53
Skills:
20 Battle Orders
20 Polearm Mastery
20 Shout
20 Iron Skin
5 Natural Resistance
1 War Cry
1 Battle Cry (those 2 on Gohanman's suggestion)
1 into prereqs and stuff
IIRC, his Wolfhowl is 5/4/4 for Lycanthropy/Werewolf/Feral Rage.
Gear:
Tomb Reaver
Que-Hagan's Wisdom (Arkaine's at 85... thanks Masas!)
Wolfhowl
IK Gloves, Belt, Boots
Ravenfrost
Mara's Kaleidoscope
Manald Heal
Arioc's Needle (+4 skills) on switch for warcries and wolf skills
Merc: Act II Offensive
Bonehew
Godly Kraken Shell
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
I think its worthwile for me to say quite a bit about this little fella'. Normal was alright, but NM was painful. There aren't many decent polearms for beating the game with a normal attack until Bonehew at Level 64. I hit slayer at 35. More players was just too slow. I then more or less ran through nightmare, up until Eldritch, who I reached at something silly like Level 47. I then milked Eldritch for XP using Athena's Wrath, all the way up to 64.
I walked into Hell at 66, and then did my now well-practised technique of running through the game. I got into Kurast at level 68. At this point, I MPed with two friends: a Lightning Sorc and a Wind Druid. That session got me to the River of Flame WP, and level 75, which meant I could equip The Reaper's Toll. From there, I killed Diablo, and started milking Eldritch again. At 79, I popped on my Wolfhowl, and the fun began...
As you've probably noticed: this guy has ten tons of life. He simply will not die unless you get hit by a unique rolling cursed+fanatic+extra strong+critical strike, or something. Also, Feral Rage gave around 40% life steal, so I was practically immortal against anything that could be leeched.
Also, he is a bundle of fun. I have Feral Rage on right-mouse, so I just click and hold. This practise got me into a lot of trouble, which I always managed to survive. Amazing!
However, this character does not do a great load of damage. I was getting ~1000-4000, which doesn't look bad on paper, but I need to throw some IAS jewels into that Tomb Reaver. This could probably have been sidestepped by choosing a different weapon. I chose mine because I simple love the chance to reanimate on the Reaver. I'd guess a better choice might be an upgraded Ribcracker. As it so happen's, the Reaper's Toll also worked very effectively. And if you get the strength for it, the IK Maul would probably work, presuming you use the other bits (though maybe not the armour). Other standard two-hander's might also work.
Unfortunately, the guide presumes a one-handed weapon, so I didn't find any serious consideration. Either way, the Tomb Reaver certainly works, but you have to wait until 84, and I think there may be some better choices out there. As for getting to level 79: it takes patience if you can't be rushed. Even if you can, its a bit cheesy. Just hammer on through. It isn't slow because you're vulnerable: BO prevents that. Its slow because of the very low damage and attack speed. Dealing with this is just a trial before a great reward, IMHO.
This is my first Barbarian, and means I've now done five of the seven classes. My Aldur's Fireclaws bear is at the Crystalline Passage, and I think my Martial Arts 'sin is at the Far Oasis. Hopefully I'll finish the d|2øød by the weekend.
The guide doesn't talk about PvM too much, so if you're wondering about aspects of building a Wolfbarb in SP, you're more than welcome to ask.
30-30
Edit:
I neglected to comment on the last few fights.
Strangely, the Ancients were a walk in the park. I beat them in under 10 minutes, having used only 2 healing potions. Lister was unbeatable: he spawned Extra Strong Stone Skin. I couldn't do damage faster than he recovered life, so I had to park him.
Baal himself also took freaking ages. At one point, I switch to a Hone Sundan just to knock off some health with crushing blow. Eventually I killed him, and was rewarded by...
A rare hydra edge. Doesn't matter. The Hellforge dropped a Gul!
Patriarch Bill
Ahoy,
Why the name Bill? I like aliteration (even though I'm sure that's not how you spell it). On the one hand, Bill is a Barbarian, but then again, William is a Werewolf! :uhhuh:
Earlier today, I beat Baal with my Wolfbarb, who is arguably the most fun of my characters. His stats are:
Bill
Level 84 Wolfbarb
Str: 110 (173)
Dex: 70 (126)
Vit: 325 (340)
NRG: 10 (20)
After warcries and shifting...
Life: 5050
Mana: ~300
Def: 14k
Resists: 75/75/75/53
Skills:
20 Battle Orders
20 Polearm Mastery
20 Shout
20 Iron Skin
5 Natural Resistance
1 War Cry
1 Battle Cry (those 2 on Gohanman's suggestion)
1 into prereqs and stuff
IIRC, his Wolfhowl is 5/4/4 for Lycanthropy/Werewolf/Feral Rage.
Gear:
Tomb Reaver
Que-Hagan's Wisdom (Arkaine's at 85... thanks Masas!)
Wolfhowl
IK Gloves, Belt, Boots
Ravenfrost
Mara's Kaleidoscope
Manald Heal
Arioc's Needle (+4 skills) on switch for warcries and wolf skills
Merc: Act II Offensive
Bonehew
Godly Kraken Shell
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
I think its worthwile for me to say quite a bit about this little fella'. Normal was alright, but NM was painful. There aren't many decent polearms for beating the game with a normal attack until Bonehew at Level 64. I hit slayer at 35. More players was just too slow. I then more or less ran through nightmare, up until Eldritch, who I reached at something silly like Level 47. I then milked Eldritch for XP using Athena's Wrath, all the way up to 64.
I walked into Hell at 66, and then did my now well-practised technique of running through the game. I got into Kurast at level 68. At this point, I MPed with two friends: a Lightning Sorc and a Wind Druid. That session got me to the River of Flame WP, and level 75, which meant I could equip The Reaper's Toll. From there, I killed Diablo, and started milking Eldritch again. At 79, I popped on my Wolfhowl, and the fun began...
As you've probably noticed: this guy has ten tons of life. He simply will not die unless you get hit by a unique rolling cursed+fanatic+extra strong+critical strike, or something. Also, Feral Rage gave around 40% life steal, so I was practically immortal against anything that could be leeched.
Also, he is a bundle of fun. I have Feral Rage on right-mouse, so I just click and hold. This practise got me into a lot of trouble, which I always managed to survive. Amazing!
However, this character does not do a great load of damage. I was getting ~1000-4000, which doesn't look bad on paper, but I need to throw some IAS jewels into that Tomb Reaver. This could probably have been sidestepped by choosing a different weapon. I chose mine because I simple love the chance to reanimate on the Reaver. I'd guess a better choice might be an upgraded Ribcracker. As it so happen's, the Reaper's Toll also worked very effectively. And if you get the strength for it, the IK Maul would probably work, presuming you use the other bits (though maybe not the armour). Other standard two-hander's might also work.
Unfortunately, the guide presumes a one-handed weapon, so I didn't find any serious consideration. Either way, the Tomb Reaver certainly works, but you have to wait until 84, and I think there may be some better choices out there. As for getting to level 79: it takes patience if you can't be rushed. Even if you can, its a bit cheesy. Just hammer on through. It isn't slow because you're vulnerable: BO prevents that. Its slow because of the very low damage and attack speed. Dealing with this is just a trial before a great reward, IMHO.
This is my first Barbarian, and means I've now done five of the seven classes. My Aldur's Fireclaws bear is at the Crystalline Passage, and I think my Martial Arts 'sin is at the Far Oasis. Hopefully I'll finish the d|2øød by the weekend.
The guide doesn't talk about PvM too much, so if you're wondering about aspects of building a Wolfbarb in SP, you're more than welcome to ask.
30-30
Edit:
I neglected to comment on the last few fights.
Strangely, the Ancients were a walk in the park. I beat them in under 10 minutes, having used only 2 healing potions. Lister was unbeatable: he spawned Extra Strong Stone Skin. I couldn't do damage faster than he recovered life, so I had to park him.
Baal himself also took freaking ages. At one point, I switch to a Hone Sundan just to knock off some health with crushing blow. Eventually I killed him, and was rewarded by...
A rare hydra edge. Doesn't matter. The Hellforge dropped a Gul!