IK Berserk Barb

[KremBanan]

IK Berserk Barb

Me and some mates are making an IK Party, where we have different attackskills. One will use WW, another Concentrate and another will use Leap Attack. I will be using Berserk.

#1 How is this setup?

20 Berserk
20 Shout
20 Howl
1pt Battle Command
1pt Battle Orders
1pt Natural Res
1p Iron Skin
1pt Incr Stamina
1pt Incr Speed
3pts prereqs

Thats 69 skillpoints

#2 I guess I put 20pts in Mace Mastery? And rest into BO perhaps?


#3 What would you recomend for sockets, rings and amulet?

 

[lumpor]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

1. Quite nice, although due to the lack of leech and defense, you may want to get BO earlier. Or not, your choice. Remember to put a point in mace mastery in the beginning, as a one-point wonder, and then add more when you have spare points later on.

2. Kinda answered that in 1.

3. Amulet: High lords or something
Ring 1: Ravenfrost
Ring 2: Natures peace is good. Or else a resist ring or something. Maybe try to get some mana after each kill

I know you have a big amount of wealth, but I don't know how much you want to put into this barb. Anyway

Theoretical best:
Hammer: 2 40% ed/ias jewels
Armor and helm: Ber runes (to take advantage of the dr% on the belt)

If one of you have a faith merc though, things will be drastically different.

Anyway, tell your barb friend to put 2 40/15 jewel sin his maul and fill his helm and armor with bers, to get the ultimate ik setup (exactly reaches the last ww bp, and also gets a total of 280% weapon ed and 44% duction)

Cheapish socket options:

Maul: EthEth
Armor and helm: 2 ias jewels and one um

 

[KremBanan]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

Thx.

Doesnt Mace Mastery do anything for Berserk? I tried a character-planner, but my damage didnt get higher when I put points in mastery... Anyone?

 

[MakeLoveNotDupe]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

Hi! Will boost your Berserk (I maxed Mace Mastery)...

 

[KremBanan]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

More Qs coming.
Will Deadly Strike convert into Berserk/magic damage?

 

[Zelator]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

More Qs coming.
Will Deadly Strike convert into Berserk/magic damage?

Positive. That's one of the reasons why CS zerk barbs loves Death weapons so much.

 

[KremBanan]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

Ok thx. Was thinking of pimping my IK Barb and go with maybe Los(DS) or Bers(CB) in the weapon and 40ed/15ias in the helm.


For even more damage..what is best for charms? Max damage charms or combat skillers?

From the set I get 25IAS more + the 40IAS from the weapon. If I go with WW also, does those 25IAS have anything to say? Or is it only weapon-IAS that matters?

 

[KremBanan]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

Without Fana merc..
#1 What would benefit me most..2xLo in weapon or 2x Ber?
#2 Does the Deadly Strike from Lo in weapon stack directly with DS from Highlords?
#3 Should I socket the weapon/helm/armor with 40/15s instead? Too reach a higher IAS breakpoint? Or isnt that needed for PvM and in a party?
#4 Berserk isnt exactly a crowd control skill..will 1pt WW do me any good? Or "must" it be maxed? (Berserk will be my main skill, just as a backup vs crowd and when the other WW-players aint playing with me)
#5 I get 25IAS from set + 40IAS from weapon..will the 25 help my WW or is it only weapon-IAS that helps?

#6 If I play alone, will a a2 merc benefit me more than an a1?

 

[Ax2Grind]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

1. With or without a Faith Rogue, the IAS jewels are all that's needed (and what's heavily advised) to reach certain breakpoints. Don't bother with runes, even Shaels are a waste.
2. Deadly Strike is gear-based, Critical Strike is skill-based (same type of thing with FRW). All forms add up with themselves, then give an overall chance to double damage (50%DS + 30%DS + 20%CS = 84% chance to double damage).
3. Use helm and armor sockets to reach other breakpoints unable to be had from charms or the like, whether it be hit recovery or something else.
4. Even with skill bonuses, a one-pointed Whirlwind is likely to be more of a problem than a solution. Experienced Whirlers can advise you on that, but whenever I start a mule for wearing IK, I always build my patented Conqueror/Berserker hybrid. True, it's only 19SPoints from pure Concentrate (from Bash into Shout), but the thing handles every roadblock in the way as long as the Rogue is properly decked out, and there's the spot I'll have when/if I make a non-Amazon Faith bow. So, since you're using a single-swing type of Barb, and are thinking (you better be) of using Battle Orders, try that and maybe you'll use my build next season, as skill and stat layouts are incredibly simple.
5. Only on-weapon IAS (and Fanaticism, I believe) help Whirlwind, yet another reason IAS jewels in the helm/armor are wasted.
6. Only if you tend to get into trouble and need a meatshield. Remember, an Immortal King Barbarian is supposed to be the frontline, and you need range to complete whatever design uses it in single-player.

 

[KremBanan]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

1. Here is the 4 last IAS-bps for Berserk with IK Maul: 54, 75, 109, 163 (from the german calc)
The last, 163IAS(11frames), is unachivable. IK set already have me at 65. I only lack 44IAS for 109(12frames), but is that not reccomended? If not, I do belive its atleast worth reaching 75(13frames) and that only requires 1x IAS-jewel..I can put that in armor and still have the weapon/helm sox open. So what do I put in the weapon and helm sox? What would be best of 2x Lo or 2x Ber? Or 2x Ohm? Or 2x 40/15max?

2. So they do stack directly? Or do they calculate the chance of doing double damage for each source?



4. What do you actually reccomend here? I will have 1 hard point in BO, another guy in the party will max it.



6. I do get in trouble alot So I guess its a2 merc for me But what about an a3 cold merc? With 11 or 10 frames FCR? Can he do me any better than the other mercs?

 

[KremBanan]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

#7 What charms are best for damage?

 

[Ax2Grind]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

Sorry about that. I thought someone else was going to help on the Whirlwind question.

You may want to use the set, or at least the weapon, for other purposes. When you discover that you need slightly more IAS to reach other breakpoints, sticking something other than a second IAS jewel in the maul will wind up being a mistake. Add to that Fanaticism still helps if, and only if, you go with a Rogue. Of course, you could also Beast a weapon and Iron Golem it with Metalgrid, but wasting a Ber for a SLvl9Fan... eh. You just don't want to unsocket the weapon repeatedly, is all.

Deadly Strike and Critical Strike stack with themselves, then apply one after the other. If you have a total of 80DS, and 20CS, then four out of every five swings DS will trigger. On that fifth swing, you have a one-in-five chance of CS, which amounts to a total of 84% chance to double damage.

If you are absolutely only playing this character within a group, with a charcter who will always be the one using high-end Battle Orders, then you can definitely use a pure build. That's what my original Comprehensive Build Guide suggested, but this means defense would be virtually useless, which is why a single-handed/shield combination was suggested. Pure Berserk uses that, Shout, Howl, and Battle Cry (with a weapon mastery, of course).

Outside of Rogues, if you honestly need range, then the only choice would be an Iron Wolf, but you said you're playing with others, and it seems they should be able to handle that - to take up the slack. So, you should definitely have something that keeps you alive. Might doesn't do that, necessarily, and other players are likely to use that, the other Barbarian, for instance. Holy Freeze would be a boon, slowing every attack from enemies except death lords (frenzytaurs) and reducing the chance of getting hit. When combined with Battle Cry, the only monsters you should be worried about are bosses, and even then everyone can gang up.

As for charms, first thing is resistances. Anything the jewelry can't make up for is paramount. Next, life and breakpoints like hit recovery. It's vital not to get continuously clunked while having no defense, and to at least survive it, if you are. Oh, and defense charms are useless, obviously. =] Mana is good (though not as much, especially if someone's using an Insight), skills are better, etc.

 

[KremBanan]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

Sorry about that. I thought someone else was going to help on the Whirlwind question.

Np, Im on holliday atm, so Im not in a hurry.

You may want to use the set, or at least the weapon, for other purposes. When you discover that you need slightly more IAS to reach other breakpoints, sticking something other than a second IAS jewel in the maul will wind up being a mistake. Add to that Fanaticism still helps if, and only if, you go with a Rogue. Of course, you could also Beast a weapon and Iron Golem it with Metalgrid, but wasting a Ber for a SLvl9Fan... eh. You just don't want to unsocket the weapon repeatedly, is all.

But thats the idea, even if its bad, tho use the IK set for this purpose
I dont really 'get' what IAS-breakpoint you reccomend me aiming for(without Fana aura). The next bp with IK is 75IAS(if it is this you reccomend), I only need 1x IAS-jewel. Wouldnt it be better to use is it the armor? Leaving the sockets in the weapon free(to choose other things like damage?)

Deadly Strike and Critical Strike stack with themselves, then apply one after the other. If you have a total of 80DS, and 20CS, then four out of every five swings DS will trigger. On that fifth swing, you have a one-in-five chance of CS, which amounts to a total of 84% chance to double damage.

I knew about the DS and CS applied after the other. I just wondered if the DS from the weapon(if I chose to socket it with Lo runes) and the DS from Highlords stacked directly.

If you are absolutely only playing this character within a group, with a charcter who will always be the one using high-end Battle Orders, then you can definitely use a pure build. That's what my original Comprehensive Build Guide suggested, but this means defense would be virtually useless, which is why a single-handed/shield combination was suggested. Pure Berserk uses that, Shout, Howl, and Battle Cry (with a weapon mastery, of course).

I read the guide, but this was meant as an IK berserk build, so no shield for me. So, you dont reccomend WW, but Battle Cry as a 'crowd control'-skill?

As for charms, first thing is resistances. Anything the jewelry can't make up for is paramount. Next, life and breakpoints like hit recovery. It's vital not to get continuously clunked while having no defense, and to at least survive it, if you are. Oh, and defense charms are useless, obviously. =] Mana is good (though not as much, especially if someone's using an Insight), skills are better, etc.

Resists I get from the set and 1pt Natural Res. The res I get is pretty much ok imo, but can ofc be higher. But I wondered what charms was best for more damage. Max/ar or Barb Combat skillers?

 

[jakotaco]

Re: IK Berserk Barb

Well, if you always play as a team maybe it is not necessary that all of you max all battlecries? For example, the conc barb will max BO as it is a synergy. You cna max Shout as it is a synergy for Berserk and so on.

Although, being able to recast when one is down or offline might be handy. Not to mention that even a berserk barb might want to use conc at times and then BO is nice for damage.

Other than that, you mentioned crowd control. Howl is excellent for that, at least if you want to clear CS quickly. (howl the minions kill the seal bosses)