advice for a warforged barbarian

[Slapphappy]

I hope to hit 1750 before too long. (*sigh* sometimes feels like sooo long) Anyway, am thinnking of a forged barb, as this will be both a new race and class from my exisitng toons. I would like some advice.

(1) How much should my build take AC into account. I am specifically wondering is taking the adam body feat at level 1 is worth it. Where else should I look for AC? (thinking 18 str, 16 con, 14 dex, wis 10, int 8, and cha 6)

(2) I am considering the improved fort feat at lvl 6. Sounds good to me, but it seems like the conventional wisdom is against it. I would like to hear from someone who actually uses/ahs used it and what they think.

(3) What do I need to know about managing DR for a forged barb in terms of enhancements and items?

Thanks!

[Reverand]

While I cant tell you alot about WF Barbarians. I do know a bit about WF and AC. I have 2 WF characters. One Cleric and one Wizard.

I went with the Adamt feat for my cleric, it does give some excelent protection when combined with shield of faith and barkskin. He has a low dex (14) so i dont see much of a hit there.

My Wizard has no armor feat atm. I might take mithral once i can kill off the spell failure with enhancements, but i dont think ill do it once i get there. He has a high (20) dex and that more then make up for the lack of armor feat.

I guess the advice i would give... If your Dex is low, less then 16, adamt armor might be a good thing. If your planning on haveing an high dex to help your AC, then your just going to limit yourself in the long run with an armor feat. You can always pick up some damage reduction items to help. Axeblock, HammerBlock, etc

Actually.. now that i think about it, i wonder if Armor Feats can be swapped out by Fred. Ill have to look into that.

[Aeneas]

Armor feats are a waste.

Jack up your to-hit with max strength/con for rages, then take power attack instead of the body feat and take all the warforged power attack enhancements and you'll be hitting things so hard you won't be worried about your AC.

[BlackSteel]

Ok i just typed up an incredibly long reply, but due to the time it took i had to relog in. So now you get short answers. Sorry :(.

Addy or mithral plate are worthwhile below level ten. If you can fill out the mith with dex, and only if you use a shield with either. Above level ten you might as well get your feat back or stick to whatever u find cosmetically pleasing.

Improved fort is suicide if you PUG at all. No divine healing is a bad thing. You would become notoriously hated in groups, and be quickly left doing solo runs. Unless you have an understanding guild or close mage friend to keep u up.

Barb DR is better than WF DR. WF dr requires feats to get higher, barb dr rises as you gain levels. Both can be increased with enhancements. WF DR will start out higher, but end up lower. The DR boost is very handy, and the docent of defiance is one of the best armors in the game.

Once again I do apoligize for the briskness of the post, but currently lacking the time to elaborate to such extent for a 2nd time.

[Hvymetal]

Yup good advice above, one other thing, step on Halflings, they make a pleasant squishing noise between your toes :D

[xanvar]

I like the body feats because I hate the composite look for docents :) Other than that the best game advice has been given.

[JayDubya]

I have the Adamantine body on my WF Barbarian, and I'm going to trade it in. At 8th level, my barbarian DR is twice as good, and as a two-hander user, my AC is perpetually sucky :)

[Arianrhod]

I have the Adamantine body on my WF Barbarian, and I'm going to trade it in. At 8th level, my barbarian DR is twice as good, and as a two-hander user, my AC is perpetually sucky :)

I've seen a few builds for barbs going 2HF that have Stunning Blow as their last feat. I figure I can keep adamantine body till 15th level, then switch it for Stunning Blow ;)

[edit/disclaimer - this is for a barb who plays in a WF trio and doesn't plan on seeing any raids, much less on elite, before 15th level]

[Strumpoo]

My WF'd barb was my second character I ever created (since headstart), so I have been playing him for a loooong time!

Here is my advice on the character:

Boost Strength and Con as high as you can. Dump rest into DEX for high reflex save and a AC boost.

Don't worry about your Wisdom, Cha, or Int. (unless you want the extra skill points from INT).

By the time you get to higher levels on your barb your will save will be fine, due to rage, and Indomitable Rage (+4 stacking will save while raged). Also, WF'd and Barbs have enhancement lines that help with will saves, if you are failing too much.

Your main job as a Barb is to KILL and to kill quickly. AC is not your forte. You will be able to tank decently if you have to, due to the high Barb DR, but you will never be able to tank like a real AC tanker, so don't even try to specifically focus on it.

Pick up the biggest baddest weapon (or two if dual wielding) you can swing and hammer you enemies into dust with them. Enjoy the rage, it is FUN!

My barb started with mithral body and used high dex to acieve a respectable AC (think I used to be able to hit 52 for 30 second bursts) up until level 14 when I switched to total DPS. I dropped Mithral body and picked up another feat, then specd into the WF'd and Barb power attack lines. These are beautiful things for high level Barbs! Use them when you can.

Good luck and have fun being a killing machine!