@aarrgus Nice to see another active barb in the mix
What is your planned end game gear and build? Good luck finding that weapon for finishing NM, and hopefully Hell too.
I'm treating it as a pre respec era build so I'm not letting myself stray from the build as I level. Standard Frenzy barb build
20 Frenzy
20 Double Swing
20 BO
20 Ax Mastery
1's in pre-reqs, NR, War Cry, Berzerk
Rest in Taunt for synergy.
As far as gear goes it starts with Enigma Mage Plate. 55 str requirement so I'll only need to scrounge up 25 str, so the plan there is a +20 str rare ring and Mara's to get me there. +18 Dex Raven Frost in other slot will be important later. At lvl. 80 I'll get 60 str from Enigma so that puts me 115 and in range of the rest of my gear choices.
Helm: Arreat's Face
Gloves: Preferably something crafted with Crushing Blow and leech.
Boots: Goblin Toe and Gore Riders would probably suffice, but a pretty open ended spot.
Belt: Probably a String of Ears or Verdungo's Hearty Cord. Depending on drops I suppose.
Then we get to weapons. Because I'm playing this as if there aren't respecs I had to decide early on this. Axes were the decision, because of the lower requirements. 2x Berserker Axes are the prime targets naturally at 138 str, 59 dex.
Cheap Tier:
1x Crescent Moon Berserker Axe (138s/59d)
1x Death Berserker Axe (101s/38d)
and an inventory full of charms.
Crushing blow and Static Field have to do the heavy lifting so very rng dependent. Alternatively I could just go with 2 Death Berserker Axes although that is a bit more rune expensive but would open up some inventory slots for fewer str and dex charms.
Middle Tier:
2x Grief Berserker Axe (138s/59d)
and an inventory full of charms.
From what I understand these are better high damage weapons than ebotd, but the str and dex requirements limit my inventory space options. They appear "easier" to make than other items though.
Unlikely Tier:
2x Ethereal Breath of the Dying Berserker Axe (101s/38d)
This would take forever to build but it meets the low requirements and delivers high output. Plus it has the leech built in to lessen those requirements from other places. I suppose a slightly less rune expensive option might be 1 ebotd + 1 Grief since the botd would give a +30 to attributes, but it's still all a moot point until I get into heavy rune running (emphasis on running as a barbarian who only currently has a very expensive to repair stick to teleport haha)
Right now it's all about getting the right gear to get through NM and into Hell. Then once I get to act 3 I can start to worry about runes. It all hinges on Enigma though, and without that the attempt is pretty much dead in the water. Once the great rune hunt begins it'll be about getting to Enigma first, then worrying about weapons later. Oh and his plan to reach 99 is to run Nihlathak, so in the end some level of gear may be overkill, but with such a low str character speed will probably be a big issue, as it already has been with NM Mephisto lol.
