-Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction PvP Warcry Barbarian Guide (1.11)
-V3.0 (2/1/07)
-By IR0NMA1DEN
DISCLAIMER:
This is property of IR0NMA1DEN (Ben Ferrara). This may be not be
reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not
be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance
written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any
public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.
In plain English, this means that it is against the law for you to copy this
guide. If you want to print it out, that's fine, but if you wish to use any part
of it, please contact me to ask first. I will put my email address in the
CONTACT ME section of this FAQ.
=====================
- TABLE OF CONTENTS -
=====================
I. Version History
II. Purpose of the Guide
III. Overview of a Warcry Barbarian
IV. Skills*
V. Attributes
VI. Equipment
A. Top Item Choices
B. Low Cost Items
VII. Inventory
VIII. Mercenary
IX. How to Use
X. Contact Me
XI. Credits/Thanks
*The Skills section is based on my Single Player test character. None of his
items or stats are impossible to get playing legitimately. None of his skills
are higher than normally possible either. His Inventory is full of bugged small
charms, but they are possible to get on the realms. I made him to have something
to look at while writing this guide for quick reference.
I. VERSION HISTORY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.0 (7/5/06) Newly released.
1.1 (7/7/06) Updated the How to Use section a little bit. I added a bit of
stategy tips on hard to fight characters.
2.0 (7/11/06) Redid the entire Strategy section. A full PvP strategy is added.
I also added a Low Cost Items section to the Equipment section.
3.0 (2/1/07) The secondary weapon is now a Call to Arms instead of Heart of the
Oak. I recieved an e-mail from MagicMan1235 telling me that CTA is capped at 3
for the Battle Command, Orders and Cry skills. That alone makes it Heart of the
Oak's equal in skills. Since we were only using the Heart of the Oak to cast
Battle Command and Battle Orders, the rest of it's stats are irrelevant. CTA has
+1 to All Skills on it though. This makes it better than the HotO pair. Thanks
for the tip, MagicMan.
-=-=<>=-=-
II. PURPOSE OF THE GUIDE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm writing this guide to help players understand and make a Warcry Barbarian
better. In it, I will discuss proper equipment, which skills will be needed, and
how the stat points should be distributed. Another reason is that this is a
very good dueling build. I'm surprised that nobody has written a guide for it.
-=-=<>=-=-
III. OVERVIEW OF A WARCRY BARBARIAN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Warcry Barbarian is a caster type character that stuns others when he attacks.
He is an insane PvP Caster killing machine. This character has insane FCR, and a
massive amount of life. Where he lacks in damage, he more than makes up for in
speed and effect damage. This build is a blast to play, and this guide wil help
you make one. I will say this now; this is my version of the build, not everyone
else's. If you feel like something could be improved, by all means go for it.
just don't start writing ridiculous e-mails that waste both our time calling me
n00b, newb, or any other misspelled forms of the word. Alright, let's get going.
-=-=<>=-=-
IV. SKILLS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This build uses one skill tree only. You will have no need for Combat Skills or
Combat Masteries. Skills that are not used are not listed.
========
- Howl -
========
Required Level: 1
Howl is a pretty sad skill that makes enemies run away from you in fear. I have
never found much use for it except as a synergy to War Cry. Max it.
Skill Points Used: 20
=========
- Taunt -
=========
Required Level: 6
Taunt causes a monster to attack you relentlessly. It also lowers their damage
and attack rating.
Skill Points Used: 20
=========
- Shout -
=========
Required Level: 6
Shout increases you and your party's defense. Good skill, but no maxing it this
time.
Skill Points Used: All leftovers.
==============
- Battle Cry -
==============
Required Level: 18
Battle Cry reduces monster's defense and damage. It's all but useless, but we
max it.
Skill Points Used: 20
=================
- Battle Orders -
=================
Required Level: 24
Battle Orders is a skill that increases yours and your party's life, mana, and
stamina. We max this skill.
Skill Points Used: 20
===========
- War Cry -
===========
Required Level: 30
War Cry is our main attack. It sends out a ring around you at short range that
stuns anything it hits. It's damage is low, but the speed this build uses it at
makes it quite deadly. Max this out.
Skill Points Used: 20
==================
- Battle Command -
==================
Required Level: 30
Battle Commad temporarily increases all skill levels by one. One point here. The
only thing that improves with added skills here is duration.
Skill Points Used: 1
Order to Max Out
-War Cry
-Battle Orders
-Battle Cry
-Taunt
-Howl
-=-=<>=-=-
V. ATTRIBUTES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stats are desperately important to get right! Especially for this character.
You will lack sufficient life if you add stats to something that doesn't
need it. So please do this carefully.
============
- Strength -
============
You only need enough strength to wear your items. Using an Annihilus and a
Hellfire Torch, you can add up to 40 Points without using points. The way I go
about doing strength, I level up to 75 to use the Torch and Annihilus. That way,
I gain up to 40 points in stats without using points. Then I look and see what I
can put on after the boost. Some of it adds more strength. I put all that on til
I can't put on anything else without using stat points. Then I add only enough
to get the next lowest piece on til eventually I'm wearing all my stuff. This
way leaves you more points for other more helpful stats.
=============
- Dexterity -
=============
You only need enough Dexterity to wear your items.
============
- Vitality -
============
Add all remaining points here after you reach 100 Energy.
==========
- Energy -
==========
Add enough points here to get 100 total Energy. That means after Items and
Charms get put on. After that all the rest goes to Vitality.
-=-=<>=-=-
VI. EQUIPMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment can make or break your character. I'll put in here what you should be
looking for. This character does not come cheaply. Weapon one should be dual
wielded with a second weapon one. Weapon two should be dual wielded on the
switch weapon with a second weapon two. There is a low cost item section below
this one. A note on the Call to Arms, if you are looking at the item on a
Barbarian, the Battle Command, Orders, and Cry will be capped at 3. This is to
prevent characters from gaining too much power.
A. TOP ITEM CHOICES
<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>
============
- Weapon 1 -
============
Wizardspike - Bone Knife
One-Hand Damage: 23 to 49 (36 Avg)
Required Level: 61
Required Strength: 38
Required Dexterity: 75
Base Weapon Speed: [-20]
+ (2 Per Character Level) 2-198 To Mana (Based On Character Level)
50% Faster Cast Rate
Regenerate Mana 15%
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
All Resistances +75
Indestructible
(Socket both Wizardspikes with Resist All Jewels)
============
- Weapon 2 -
============
Call To Arms - Flail or Crystal Sword
Amn + Ral + Mal + Ist + Ohm
Works on: All Weapons
+1 To All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
+200-240% Enhanced Damage (varies)
Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
7% Life Stolen Per Hit
+1-6 To Battle Command
+1-6 To Battle Orders
+1-4 To Battle Cry
Prevent Monster Heal
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
=========
- Armor -
=========
Enigma
Jah + Ith + Ber
+2 To All Skills
+45% Faster Run/Walk
+1 To Teleport
+750-775 Defense
+1-74.25 To Strength (Based On Character Level)
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Damage Reduced By 8%
+14 Life After Each Kill
15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1-99% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based On Character Level)
==========
- Helmet -
==========
Harlequin Crest - Shako
Defense: 98-141
Required Level: 62
Required Strength: 50
Durability: 12
+2 To All Skills
+ (1.5 Per Character Level) 1.5-148.5 To Life (Based On Character Level)
+ (1.5 Per Character Level) 1.5-148.5 To Mana (Based On Character Level)
Damage Reduced By 10%
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+2 To Strength
+2 To Dexterity
+2 To Vitality
+2 To Energy
(Socket with a Cham Rune)
==========
- Gloves -
==========
Magefist - Light Gauntlets
Defense: 20.8-24.3
Required Level: 23
Required Strength: 45
Durability: 18
+20-30% Enhanced Defense
+10 Defense
+1 To Fire Skills
20% Faster Cast Rate
Regenerate Mana 25%
Adds 1-6 Fire Damage
=========
- Boots -
=========
Sandstorm Trek - Scarabshell Boots
Defense: 158-178 (varies)(Base Defense 56-65)
Required Level: 64
Required Strength: 91
Durability: 14
Assassin Kick Damage: 60-110
+140-170% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+20% Faster Run/Walk
+ (1 Per Character Level) +1-99 Maximum Stamina (Based On Character Level)
+10-15 To Strength (varies)
+10-15 To Vitality (varies)
50% Slower Stamina Drain
Poison Resist +40-70% (varies)
Repairs 1 Durability In 20 Seconds
========
- Belt -
========
Arachnid's Mesh - Spiderweb Sash
Defense: 119-138 (varies)(Base Defense: 55-62)
Required Level: 80
Required Strength: 50
Durability: 12
16 Boxes
+90-120% Enhanced Defense (varies)
Slows Target By 10%
+1 To All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
Increases Maximum Mana 5%
Level 3 Venom (11 Charges)
=========
- Rings -
=========
Stone of Jordan - Ring (Two of them)
Required Level: 29
+1 To All Skill Levels
Increase Maximum Mana 25%*
Adds 1-12 Lightning Damage
+20 To Mana
==========
- Amulet -
==========
Mara's Kaleidoscope - Amulet
Required Level: 67
+2 To All Skill Levels
All Resistances +20-30(varies)
+5 To Energy
+5 To Vitality
+5 To Dexterity
+5 To Strength
B. LOW COST ITEMS
<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>
============
- Weapon 1 -
============
Wizardspike - Bone Knife
One-Hand Damage: 23 to 49 (36 Avg)
Required Level: 61
Required Strength: 38
Required Dexterity: 75
Base Weapon Speed: [-20]
+ (2 Per Character Level) 2-198 To Mana (Based On Character Level)
50% Faster Cast Rate
Regenerate Mana 15%
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
All Resistances +75
Indestructible
(Socket both Wizardspikes with Resist All Jewels)
============
- Weapon 2 -
============
Any weapon that gives +3 to Wacry Skills
=========
- Armor -
=========
Skin of the Vipermagi - Serpentskin Armor
Defense: 246.4-279.4 (varies)(Base Defense: 111-126)
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 43
Durability: 24
+120% Enhanced Defense
+1 To All Skills
30% Faster Cast Rate
Magic Damage Reduced By 9-13(varies)
All Resistances +20-35(varies)
==========
- Helmet -
==========
Peasant Crown - War Hat
Defense: 92-108 (varies)(Base Defense: 45-53)
Required Level: 28
Required Strength: 20
Durability: 12
+100% Enhanced Defense
+1 To All Skills
15% Faster Run/Walk
Replenish Life +6-12(varies)
+20 To Energy
+20 To Vitality
==========
- Gloves -
==========
Magefist - Light Gauntlets
Defense: 20.8-24.3
Required Level: 23
Required Strength: 45
Durability: 18
+20-30% Enhanced Defense
+10 Defense
+1 To Fire Skills
20% Faster Cast Rate
Regenerate Mana 25%
Adds 1-6 Fire Damage
=========
- Boots -
=========
Waterwalk - Sharkskin Boots
Defense: 95.2-124 (varies)(Base Defense: 33-39)
Required Level: 32
Required Strength: 18
Durability: 14
+180-210% Enhanced Defense(varies)
20% Faster Run/Walk
+100 Defense Vs. Missile
+15 To Dexterity
+5% Maximum Fire Resist
Heal Stamina Plus 50%
+40 Max Stamina
+45-65 To Life(varies)
========
- Belt -
========
Gloom's Trap - Mesh Belt
Defense: 79.2-102.5 (varies)(Base Defense: 35-40)
Required Level: 36
Required Strength: 58
Durability: 16
16 Boxes
+120-150% Enhanced Defense(varies)
5% Mana Stolen Per Hit
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
Regenerate Mana 15%
+15 To Vitality
-3 To Light Radius
=========
- Rings -
=========
Any Ring with some of these mods
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+Life
+Mana
+All Resists
==========
- Amulet -
==========
Echoing Amulet of the Magus
+3 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian Only)
+20% Faster Cast Rate
-=-=<>=-=-
VII. INVENTORY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The inventory is almost as important as your equipment. Your charms will give a
nice boost to your damage and stats. I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you can manage
to get all of this. With the remaining space, feel free to put whatever Small
Charms you want. I suggest ones that give Life, Resistances, or Faster Hit
Recovery.
Annihilus - Small Charm
Required Level: 70
+1 To All Skills
+10-20 To All Attributes (varies)
+10-20 To All Resistances (varies)
+5-10% To Experience Gained (varies)
Hellfire Torch - Large Charm
Required level: 76
25% Chance of casting Lvl 10 Firestorm on striking (Uber Diablo's, not Druid)
+3 to one character class's Skills (varies, eg.Paladin, Necromancer)
+8 Light Radius
+10-20 All Resistances (varies)
+10-20 All Stats (varies)
Lvl 30 Hydra Charges (10/10)
Sounding Grand Charm (x9)*
+1 to Warcry Skill Levels (Barbarian Only)
*Feel free to pay out the ass for +Life or +Faster Hit Recovery mods on these. I
leave the choice up to you.
-=-=<>=-=-
VIII. MERCENARY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I will not bother mentioning anything about the other Mercenary types in this
FAQ. I despise the use of Rogues, IronWolves, and Barbarian Mercenaries. None of
them actually support you aside from fighting a little bit. So I'll put in my 2
cents about the Desert Mercenary.
The Desert Mercenary from Act 2 is a Spear/Polearm User. He also comes with a
Paladin Aura. Get the Nightmare Defensive Mercenary. He has Holy Freeze for his
aura. This cuts through even immunity to chill your enemies. I got my idea on
the armor and weapon choices from a fellow FAQ writer for Diablo II, Kirbix. He
writes very thorough and informative guides. Check them out one of these days at
GameFAQs.com. I suggest upgrading the Guardian Angel into a Hellforge Plate.
This can only be done on Ladder, but we have a few on Non-Ladder. For the Ladder
Only Helmet, Andariel's Visage, this means that you can only FIND them on the
Ladder. You can trade for them on non ladder.
==========
- Weapon -
==========
Breath of the Dying - Superior Ethereal War Pike
Vex + Hel + El + Eld + Zod + Eth
Works on: All Weapons
50% Chance To Cast Level 20 Poison Nova When You Kill An Enemy
Indestructible
+60% Increased Attack Speed
+350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies)
+200% Damage To Undead
-25% Target Defense
+50 To Attack Rating
+50 To Attack Rating Against Undead
7% Mana Stolen Per Hit
12-15% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
Prevent Monster Heal
+30 To All Attributes
+1 To Light Radius
Requirements -20%
=========
- Armor -
=========
Guardian Angel - Templar Coat
Defense: 708.4-825 (varies)(Base Defense: 252-274)
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 118
Durability: 60
+180-200% Enhanced Defense(varies)
+20% Increased Chance Of Blocking
+30% Faster Block Rate
+ (2.5 Per Character Level) 2.5-247.5 To Attack Rating Against Demons (Based On
Character Level)
+1 To Paladin Skill Levels
+4 To Light Radius
15% To Maximum Poison Resist
15% To Maximum Cold Resist
15% To Maximum Lightning Resist
15% To Maximum Fire Resist
==========
- Helmet -
==========
Andariel's Visage - Demonhead (Ladder Only)
Defense: 310-387 (varies)(Base Defense: 101-154)
Required Level: 83
Required Strength: 102
Durability: 20
+100-150% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+2 To All Skills
20% Increased Attack Speed
8-10% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
+25-30 To Strength (varies)
+10% To Maximum Poison Resist
Fire Resist -30%
Poison Resist +70%
15% Chance To Cast Level 15 Poison Nova When Struck
Level 3 Venom (20 charges)
-=-=<>=-=-
IX. HOW TO USE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is really quite simple. First of all, set your hotkeys up like this -
ALL RIGHT CLICK
F1 - War Cry
F2 - Teleport
F3 - Battle Command
F4 - Battle Orders
F5 - Shout
Once you have done that, before dueling, switch to weapon setting 2 (Dual Heart
of the Oak) and cast Battle Command, Battle Orders, and Shout in that order.
Then switch back over to weapon setting 1 (Dual Wizardspikes), switch your skill
to Teleport and Teleport either ON or next to your target. In mid-teleport,
switch your hotkey over to War Cry and start clicking that button like mad. If
you miss, repeat the process until the job's done. Simple, like I said. This
build can defeat pretty much any caster.
Amazons - Amazons are tough, seeing as how most of them are melee. Don't let
them get the first hit in, and you should be able to take them down. This works
for any Amazon build, be it a Bowazon or a Javazon.
Assassins - These are tricky to beat. Whirlwind, Martial Arts, and Kick build
Assassins are easy. Use the same strategy to beat them as you would an Amazon.
Trap Assassins are a bit more challenging. First of all, their attacks come from
a few different directions. Secondly, they use a skill called Mind Blast that
operates similarly to your own War Cry skill. Except that theirs can hit you at
a distance. It will stun you and knock you back. If you get the jump on them,
they should go down fairly quick. If they're already set up with Traps, make
sure you keep Teleporting to see to it that they don't name lock you. That
happens when they hit you with Mind Blast and they don't let go of the button.
If that happens, you're dead. As I said, these are tough to beat.
Necromancers - A Necromancer of any build is very easy to take down. Just hit
him first is all. They tend to be weak. Just watch out for the Poisoner builds.
The Lower Resists curse will make that Poison Nova very painful for you.
Barbarians - Melee type Barbarians will die as easily as an Amazon will. Get the
first shot in and you will have no problems. Another War Cry Barbarian will be a
bit of trouble. It's never easy fighting yourself. You're better off avoiding a
duel with one of these. I've personally never encountered one myself, but they
are out there.
Paladins - A Paladin will be a tough nut to crack. The melee ones, such as a
Zealadin, a Smiter, a Charger (which has a slightly different strategy), or an
Avenger will be the same as fighting any melee character. Get the first hit in.
To do that with a Charger, stand still and cast War Cry like crazy. When the
Charger moves in for the kill, he'll get hit with it. That's when you teleport
in and finish him off. Hammerdins and FoHers will be tricky. With a Hammerdin,
teleport JUST below him to avoid getting whacked like a cow in a slaughterhouse.
Give him a good dose of War Cry and he'll die. FoH is a problem. If you survive
their first shot, and then hit them like crazy, they'll die. You should survive.
Between your two Wizardspikes and your Torch and Annihilus, you have 190 to all
Resistances. Their Conviction only takes 100 away from you. You Mara's Amulet
adds another 30. Your Resistances should still be in the positive figures. If
you are using the Low Cost items, I believe you will never beat an FoH Paladin.
Sorceresses - Any Sorceress is easy. One hit from you, and they won't even be
able to Teleport to safety. Unfortunately for them, they never had a chance.
Make sure you laugh when they get mad at you.
Druids - Druids are a medium threat. If you're facing an Elemental Druid, you're
going to have to get inside their storm. Your resists are very good, so it won't
do too much to you. Summoner Druids are easy. Get the first hit in. Shapeshift
Druids die easily enough. They're melee.
All right, that should cover anything that comes at you. None of this is a
guarunteed win.
-=-=<>=-=-
X. CONTACT ME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you wish to comment on any of this material or you still have questions,
feel free to email me. Keep in mind that ALL hate mail will be deleted. Don't
waste your time even writing it. If you seriously have the time on your hands to
write me a hate mail, I suggest getting a job or something.
If you wish to use any of this guide, please contact me to ask permission and
please credit me in the event that I grant that permission. Thank you.
Email: FinalFantasyO_o@msn.com
-=-=<>=-=-
XI. CREDITS/THANKS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GameFAQs.com for posting my guides.
ExarKunnn for the stats on the Non-Ladder Runewords.
BCD for some of the stats on the Unique items.
Sir Alex for some of the stats on the Unique items.
Kirbix for the stats on the Hellfire Torch and the tip on Mercenary equipment.
MagicMan1235 for the suggestion of the CTA pair instead of the HotO pair.
