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 Whirlwind Barbarian
IV. Skills
A. Warcries
B. Combat Masteries
C. Combat Skills
V. Attributes
VI. Equipment
A. Max Block Setup
B. Damage Setup
VII. Inventory
VIII. Mercenary
A. Rogue Scout
B. Desert Mercenary
IX. Strategies
A. Player vs. Monster(s)
B. Player vs. Player
X. Contact Me
XI. Credits/Thanks
I. VERSION HISTORY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.0 (2-07-06) Newly released.
2.0 (2-27-06) Added a Strategies section. PvM has been added. PvP is incomplete.
Only Barb vs. Sorceress is done in PvP.
-=-=<>=-=-
II.PURPOSE OF THE GUIDE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This guide is meant as a learning aid for people who want to build a character
that deals a lot of physical damage, and also has a lot of life. This build is
great as a PvP (Player vs. Player) character or as PvM (Player vs. Moster). The
Whirlwind Barbarian (From here on I'll abbreviate that as Barb) is great fun to
use, and when used properly it can defeat most characters.
-=-=<>=-=-
III. OVERVIEW OF A WHIRWIND BARBARIAN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Whirlwind Barb uses the combat skill Whirlwind, and although the damage you
see on the menu seems low, it does quite a few hits as you spin by your foes.
This character is somewhat easy to use. I don't recommend it to a beginner. You
need to be used to the game to build it properly and use it effectively in
combat. Also, this character is not cheap to make. You need to be quite a
wealthy fellow to pull this off. Now, that having been said, let's move right
along.
-=-=<>=-=-
IV. SKILLS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As with any character, the skills you use define what you are. In this case,
you will use skills from all three of the Skill Trees. Well, let's get started.
Any skills not used at all will not be written.
-=-=<>=-=-
A. Warcries
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Warcries support you in battle, acting as a kind of aura. You will need some of
these for this build.
========
- Howl -
========
Required Level: 1
Howl sends MONSTERS who are hit by it running away, somewhat like a Fallen will
when it sees another monster die. Kind of a lame skill but we need to get past
it, and the only way is through it.
Skill Points Used: 1
=========
- Shout -
=========
Required Level: 6
Shout increases your defense by a large amount. Quite a handy trick. Max it.
Skill Points Used: 20
=================
- Battle Orders -
=================
Required Level: 24
Battle Orders increases life and mana. This skill will make you live much
longer. Max it. No excuse not to.
Skill Points Used: 20
==================
- Battle Command -
==================
Required Level: 30
Battle Command adds one point to you skill temporarily. No matter how much you
add to this skill it will always be one point. All you need to do here is add a
point.
Skill Points Used: 1
B. Combat Masteries
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You only NEED one skill in this Tree. The rest is for extra points that have no
place to go. For any extra points you may get, I suggest putting them into Iron
Skin and Natural Resistance. They're some help, but not essential to the build.
===============
- Axe Mastery -
===============
Required Level: 1
Axe Mastery increases damage and attack rating of Axe type weapons. It also
adds a chance to perform a Critical Strike, which I belive does either double
or 1.5 times normal damage. I'm not sure of the exact effect. Max out this one
after you've completed both the Warcries and Combat Skills Trees.
=============
- Iron Skin -
=============
Required Level: 18
Iron Skin is a skill that improves defense. Don't put ANY points into this
until ALL the skills that should be maxed are maxed. Divide any extra skill
points gained between this and Natural Resistances.
Skill Points Used: 3/4 of extra points
=======================
- Natural Resistances -
=======================
Required Level: 30
Natural Resistances adds resistances. Don't put ANY points into this
until ALL the skills that should be maxed are maxed. Divide any extra skill
points gained between this and Iron Skin.
Skill Points Used: 1/4 of extra points
C. Combat Skills
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Combat Skills is where your attack comes from. Need I say more?
========
- Bash -
========
Required Level: 1
Bash is an attack that uses knockback and from the red stuff that comes out
when you hit something, I think Crush Blow. I'm guessing at that because I've
seen the same red stuff come out when my old Smiter hit things. He had a lot of
% Chance of Crushing Blow. Anyway you only need this skill as a prerequisite.
Skill Points Used: 1
========
- Leap -
========
Required Level: 6
Leap's name says it all. You can jump but it doesn't do much besides knock a
close by enemy back. The distance you can jump is poor.
Skill Points Used: 1
========
- Stun -
========
Required Level: 12
Stun stuns enemies when it hits them. A lot like Smite. Just crappier.
Skill Points Used: 1
===============
- Leap Attack -
===============
Required Level: 18
Leap Attack does what the name implies. The difference between this and Leap is
that you can jump further, and it does damage to the enemy that gets hit by it.
Skill Points Used: 1
===============
- Concentrate -
===============
Required Level: 18
This is a nice skill but it's not useful to this build. It is an attack that is
uninterruptable. It also increases your attack and defense rating while you use
it.
Skill Points Used: 1
=============
- Whirlwind -
=============
Required Level: 30
This is our main skill. To attack, the Barb spins around fast until he's a blur
spinning around. He spins toward whatever you chose as a target. The attack
strikes multiple times if you clicked a spot PAST the intended target. If you
clicked the target directly, you will stop spinning when you hit it.
Skill Points Used: 20
===========
- Berserk -
===========
Required Level: 30
This skill does Magic damage instead of physical damage, but it decreases your
defense while you use it. This skill isn't necessary if you're strictly PvP. It
is only used to deal with a physical immune monster that you may need to kill.
Skill Points Used: 1 if PvM and PvP. 0 if pure PvP.
-=-=<>=-=-
V. ATTRIBUTES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stats are desperately important to get right! Especially for this character.
Your Barb 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. My Barb has a BASE Strength
of 63. With two charms, (Annihilus and Hellfire Torch) he has enough Strength
to wear his armor which requires 103 Strength to use. The charms give a boost
o 40 points to all stats. The armor gives an even bigger boost which allows him
to wear the rest of the items. See how this works? You may need to adjust the
base Strength your Barb will need depending on how much of a bonus your charms
give.
=============
- Dexterity -
=============
Dexterity is a controversial issue. Most people say to add just enough to put
your items on. And they're not wrong. A lot of characters don't really need any
more than that. I like to add more to my melee characters to max out their
chance to block attacks. 75% is the max chance to block. My Barb's base
Dexterity is 137. I added a little more than was necessary for max block
because I wanted a bit more Attack Rating. You can adjust yours however you
like it. Just make sure that if you're adding only enough to wear equipment to
add as little as necessary like what you did with Strength.
============
- Vitality -
============
Vitality is the most needed stat here. All of the points that you don't spend
in Strength and Dexterity go here. And I mean ALL of them. You can end up with
an incredible amount of life. And Battle Orders just makes it all much nicer to
look at.
==========
- Energy -
==========
Ignore this stat. It's complete crap to this build. Don't add even one point to
this. I don't care how much you think you need it when you see your mana drop
fast as hell while Whirlwinding. You DON'T need this. If you're uasing the gear
listed, the Mana Leech will take care of any lost mana.
-=-=<>=-=-
VI. EQUIPMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment can make or break your character. I'll put in here what you should be
looking for. In any available sockets, put in a Ruby Jewel of Fervor. That has
40% Enhanced Damage and 15% Increased Attack Speed. Or if you decide not to use
the Ravenfrost ring, place a Cham Rune in one of the sockets so you don't get
frozen. For your secondary weapon/shield slots, place any one-handed weapon
that has a +3 to Warcries mod on it.
-=-=<>=-=-
A. Max Block Setup
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==========
- Weapon -
==========
Breath of the Dying - Superior Ethereal Berserker Axe (15% Enhanced Damage)
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%
==========
- Shield -
==========
Stormshield - Monarch
Defense: 148.75 - (164.75-532.25) (Base Defense: 145-161)
Required Level: 73
Required Strength: 156
Chance to Block: Pal: 75%, Ama/Asn/Bar: 72%, Dru/Nec/Sor: 67%
Paladin Smite Damage: 12 To 34
+ (3.75 Per Character Level) 3.75-371.25 Defense (Based On Character Level)
+25% Increased Chance Of Blocking
35% Faster Block Rate
Damage Reduced By 35%
Cold Resist +60%
Lightning Resist +25%
+30 To Strength
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10
Indestructible
==========
- Helmet -
==========
Arreat's Face - Slayer Guard
Defense: 235-363 (varies)(Base Defense: 93-120)
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 118
Durability: 55
(Barbarian Only)
+150-200% Enhanced Defense(varies)
30% Faster Hit Recovery
20% Bonus To Attack Rating
+2 To Barbarian Skill Levels
3-6% Life Stolen Per Hit(varies)
All Resistances +30
+20 To Strength
+20 To Dexterity
+2 To Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)
==========
- Amulet -
==========
Angelic Wings - Amulet
Required Level: 12
20% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
+3 To Light Radius
+75 Life (2 Set Items)
+1 To All Skills (3 Set Items)
==========
- Ring 1 -
==========
Angelic Halo - Ring
Required Level: 12
Replenish Life +6
+20 To Life
+ (12 Per Character Level) 144-1188 Attack Rating (Based On Character Level) (2
Set Items)
+50% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items (3 Set Items)
==========
- Ring 2 -
==========
Raven Frost - Ring
Required Level: 45
+150-250 To Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 Cold Damage
Cannot Be Frozen
+15-20 To Dexterity(varies)
+40 To Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
=========
- Armor -
=========
Enigma - Superior Archon Plate (15% Enhanced Defense)
Jah + Ith + Ber
+2 To All Skills
+45% Faster Run/Walk
+1 To Teleport
+750-775 Defense (Varies)
+ (0.75 Per Character Level) +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)
========
- Belt -
========
Verdungo's Hearty Cord - Mithril Coil
Defense: 125-158 (Defense: 58-65)
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 106
Durability: 16
+90-140% Enhanced Defense (varies)
10% Faster Hit Recovery
+30-40 To Vitality (varies)
Replenish Life +10-13 (varies)
+100-120 Maximum Stamina (varies)
Damage Reduced By 10-15% (varies)
==========
- Gloves -
==========
Dracul's Grasp - Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 125-145 (Base Defense: 56-65)
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 50
+90-120% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+10-15 To Strength (varies)
+5-10 Life After Each Kill (varies)
25% Chance of Open Wounds
7-10% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking
=========
- Boots -
=========
Gore Rider - War Boots
Defense: 114.4-162 (varies)(Base Defense: 43-53)
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 93
Durability: 34
+160-200% Enhanced Defense(varies)
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance Of Open Wounds
15% Chance Of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
Requirements -25%
+20 Maximum Stamina
B. Damage Setup
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==========
- Weapon -
==========
Breath of the Dying - Superior Ethereal Berserker Axe (15% Enhanced Damage)
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%
=================
- Second Weapon -
=================
Beast - Berserker Axe
Ber + Tir + Um + Mal + Lum
Works only on: Axes, Hammers & Scepters
Level 9 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped
+40% Increased Attack Speed
+240-270% Enhanced Damage (varies)
20% Chance of Crushing Blow
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+3 To Werebear
+3 To Lycanthropy
Prevent Monster Heal
+25-40 To Strength (varies)
+10 To Energy
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
Level 13 Summon Grizzly (5 Charges)
==========
- Helmet -
==========
Arreat's Face - Slayer Guard
Defense: 235-363 (varies)(Base Defense: 93-120)
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 118
Durability: 55
(Barbarian Only)
+150-200% Enhanced Defense(varies)
30% Faster Hit Recovery
20% Bonus To Attack Rating
+2 To Barbarian Skill Levels
3-6% Life Stolen Per Hit(varies)
All Resistances +30
+20 To Strength
+20 To Dexterity
+2 To Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)
==========
- Amulet -
==========
Angelic Wings - Amulet
Required Level: 12
20% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
+3 To Light Radius
+75 Life (2 Set Items)
+1 To All Skills (3 Set Items)
==========
- Ring 1 -
==========
Angelic Halo - Ring
Required Level: 12
Replenish Life +6
+20 To Life
+ (12 Per Character Level) 144-1188 Attack Rating (Based On Character Level) (2
Set Items)
+50% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items (3 Set Items)
==========
- Ring 2 -
==========
Raven Frost - Ring
Required Level: 45
+150-250 To Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 Cold Damage
Cannot Be Frozen
+15-20 To Dexterity(varies)
+40 To Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
=========
- Armor -
=========
Fortitude - Superior Archon Plate (15% Enhanced Defense) (MADE ONLY ON LADDER)
El + Sol + Dol + Lo
20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
+300% Enhanced Damage
+200% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+1-1.5 To Life (Per Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +25-30
Damage Reduced By 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 To Light Radius
========
- Belt -
========
Verdungo's Hearty Cord - Mithril Coil
Defense: 125-158 (Defense: 58-65)
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 106
Durability: 16
+90-140% Enhanced Defense (varies)
10% Faster Hit Recovery
+30-40 To Vitality (varies)
Replenish Life +10-13 (varies)
+100-120 Maximum Stamina (varies)
Damage Reduced By 10-15% (varies)
=========
- Boots -
=========
Gore Rider - War Boots
Defense: 114.4-162 (varies)(Base Defense: 43-53)
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 93
Durability: 34
+160-200% Enhanced Defense(varies)
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance Of Open Wounds
15% Chance Of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
Requirements -25%
+20 Maximum Stamina
-=-=<>=-=-
VII. INVENTORY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The inventory is what gives a massive boost to the Barb's damage, life, and his
attack rating. There are only three different things you will need in it. I will
list each charm in this section. You can only hold one of the Hellfire Torch and
one of the Annihilus for those of you who don't know about that. It's one of
Blizzard's ways of keeping us under control. The other annoying part of that is
that they cannot be traded normally. Meaning they will not go into the Trade
window. That forces us to drop trade these. Drop trading totally sucks. Most
players will try to scam you into dropping something so that they can run off
with it and keep their charm. Not making these tradeable is the worst idea that
Blizzard ever had. I don't know what they were thinking when they thought it up.
I think they need to drug test the employees who made it that way. So make sure
that if you trade for either of those, that it's with someone you trust.
Anyway, that is all I'll say on that subject. If you don't think you have enough
Faster Hit Recovery, swap out a few of the Fine Small Charms of Vita for a few
Small Charms of Balance. Those give 5% 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
+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)
Fine Small Charm of Vita - Small Charm
+3 Maximum Damage
+20 Attack Rating
+20 Life
+3 Maximum Throw Damage (Not visible unless viewing on Hero Editor)
-=-=<>=-=-
VIII. MERCENARY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are two mercenaries that will help out a great deal with this character. I
will discuss each one and list an equipment setup that will work for it.
-=-=<>=-=-
A. Rogue Scout
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The Rogue Scout is a Bow User. The best bow in the game, Faith, will give a
Level 12-15 Fanaticism Aura. That will make the Beast Runeword for the Damage
setup on your character unnecessary. That leaves you free to have excellent
Damage and Max Block at once. You can have even more damage if you use both the
Faith and Beast, considering the Auras will combine to add the 9 levels on Beast
to the 12-15 levels on Faith. That would give you a level 21-24 Fanaticism. I'm
not absolutely sure about the auras combining, but it DOES work with the Auradin
builds using two Dream Runewords or Dragon and Hand of Justice. If someone would
confirm this for me, that would be great. I can't check it myself because my D2
disk is broken. Ok, I'll stop rambling and get to the equipment list.
==========
- Weapon -
==========
Faith - Superior Hydra Bow (15% Enhanced Damage) (MADE ONLY ON LADDER)
Ohm + Jah + Lem + Eld
Level 12-15 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped
+1-2 To All Skills
+330% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
300% Bonus To Attack Rating
+75% Damage To Undead
+50 To Attack Rating Against Undead
All Resistances +15
10% Reanimate As: Returned
75% Extra Gold From Monsters
=========
- Armor -
=========
Fortitude - Superior Archon Plate (15% Enhanced Defense) (MADE ONLY ON LADDER)
El + Sol + Dol + Lo
20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
+300% Enhanced Damage
+200% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+1-1.5 To Life (Per Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +25-30
Damage Reduced By 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 To Light Radius
==========
- Helmet -
==========
Jeweler's Bone Visage of the Whale
3 Sockets
+100 Life
Socket this helmet with 3 Ruby Jewels of Fervor.
B. Desert Mercenary
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The Desert Mercenary from Act 2 is a Spear/Polearm User. There are two choices
of Desert Mercenary that will work best here. Both are from the Nightmare
difficulty. The Offensive one will give the Might Aura. This will boost your
damage as well as your mercenary's. The other is the Defensive one. This one
gives off the Holy Freeze Aura. This cuts through even immunity to chill your
enemies. Either one is good for this build. Pride has no Enhanced Damage
or Increased Attack Speed, but the Concentration Aura makes up for that in my
opinion. That along with the Might Aura from the Offensive Mercenary is quite a
bit of damage for you and your mercenary. There are two helmets that suit this
mercenary well. The Jeweler's Bone Visage of the Whale with three Ruby Jewels of
Fervor is by far the cheaper of the two. I'll leave the choice up to you. The
lack of Increased Attack Speed on Pride will limit your socketing options for
the Crown of Ages if you decide to use it. You CAN put two Ber Runes into it,
but your mercenary's attack speed will suffer from it. I find it better to use
Ruby Jewels of Fervor. Or you could just not use Pride and find something you
like better. I happen to like how Pride helps me out.
==========
- Weapon -
==========
Pride - Superior Ethereal Cryptic Axe (15% Enhanced Damage/MADE ONLY ON LADDER)
Cham + Sur + Io + Lo
25% Chance To Cast Level 17 Fire Wall When Struck
Level 18 Concentration Aura When Equipped
260-300% Bonus To Attack Rating
+1% Damage To Demons (Per Character Level)
Adds 50-280 Lightning Damage
20% Deadly Strike
Hit Blinds Target
Freezes Target +3
+10 To Vitality
Replenish Life +8
+1.875% Extra Gold From Monsters (Per Character Level)
=========
- Armor -
=========
Fortitude - Superior Archon Plate (15% Enhanced Defense) (MADE ONLY ON LADDER)
El + Sol + Dol + Lo
20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
+300% Enhanced Damage
+200% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+1-1.5 To Life (Per Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +25-30
Damage Reduced By 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 To Light Radius
==========
- Helmet -
==========
Crown of Ages - Corona
Defense: 349-399 (Base Defense: 111-165)
Required Level: 82
Required Strength: 174
+50% Enhanced Defense
+100-150 Defense (varies)
+1 To All Skills
Damage Reduced By 10-15% (varies)
All Resistances +20-30 (varies)
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
Socketed (1-2) (varies)
Indestructible
==========
- Helmet -
==========
Jeweler's Bone Visage of the Whale - Bone Visage
+100 Life
Socketed (3)
Socket this helmet with 3 Ruby Jewels of Fervor.
-=-=<>=-=-
IX. STRATEGIES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Whirlwind Barb isn't the easiest character to use. In this section I will
try to explain how to use it effectively in PvP (Player vs. Player) and PvM
(Player vs. Monster). Before ANY fighting make sure you cast Battle Command,
Battle Orders, and Shout on yourself. The situational dueling gear is listed at
the end of the section. Also remember that there is NO certainty of winning any
fight. Just chance. It's UNLIKELY that a level 90 Whirlwind Barb is gonna lose
to a level 30 Druid, but strange things can happen. Having said that, I will not
be held responsible for loss of gear if battle.net glitches and your gear is
lost. I've heard it before and it took days to get that kid to stop demanding I
give him new items. I will also not be held responsible if you lose your job
becuase you spent your time following this build. :P
A. Player vs. Monster
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Player vs. Monster is very easy to do. This build should have no trouble killing
anything if the Iron Maiden curse doesn't get cast on you. Simply run up to the
monster or group of monsters, put the cursor BEHIND the group across from your
Barb, and use Whirlwind on that spot. If you have Whirlwind set to left click,
hold shift down before you click it, or you'll just walk into a horde of guys.
For monsters that have an immunity to physical attacks, switch your skill to
Berserk. It does Magical damage instead of physical. Well, that's pretty much
all for PvM.
B. Player vs. Player
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Player vs. Player is tricky. You're not facing something that will attack you
blindly. Another player uses strategy to duel unless they don't know what
they're doing. Now, the strategy to dueling changes slightly depending on WHAT
you're fighting. The absorbing gear only works if your resist stat is at max for
that element you're trying to absorb.
Sorceress dueling is hard; they have much more FCR than you do. They are fast
and not at all weak. They are all beatable. The trick is a change in gear.
You should watch them fight to see what they cast. Then change gear according to
what their element is. Never remove your Enigma. You need the mobility of
Teleport. Other than that, all else is changable. Once the gear is changed,
Teleport ONTO the other guy and the second you warp, spin through em. Repeat til
you win.
Melee Dueling Gear Options
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Use the gear from the equipment section except against another Whirlwinder or a
Smiter. You can't block against either shot while you're spinning. Use the Beast
Runeword in those cases in place of the Stormshield.
Fire Caster Gear Options
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Weapon Option: Flamebellow Balrog Blade. 20-30% Fire Absorb
Shield Option: 4 Socket Monarch or better with 4 Perfect Rubies
Helmet Option: Steelshade Armet +5-11 Fire Absorb
Gloves Option: Hellmouth War Gauntlets +15 Fire Absorb
Ring Option: Dwarf Star 15% Fire Absorb
Amulet Option: Rising Sun + (0.75 Per Character Level) 0.75-74.25 Fire Absorb
Lightning Caster Gear Options
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Weapon Option: Lightsabre Phase Blade 25% Lightning Absorb
Shield Option: 4 Socket Monarch or better with 4 Perfect Topazes
Ring Option: Wisp Projector 10-20% Lightning Absorb
Belt Option: Thundergod's Vigor War Belt +20 Lightning Absorb
Cold Caster Gear Options
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Weapon Option: Frostwind Cryptic Sword 7-15% Cold Absorb
Shield Option: 4 Socket Monarch or better with 4 Perfect Sapphires
Helmet Option: Griswold's Valor Corona +0.25-24.75 Cold Absorb (Based on Clvl)
Belt Option: Snowclash Battle Belt +15 Cold Absorb
Ring Option: Raven Frost 20% Cold Absorb
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X. CONTACT ME
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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
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XI. CREDITS/THANKS
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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.
DeckardCain for the stats on the Ladder Runewords.
