struggled barbarian needs tips how to skill

[Vrakyas]

Pre U19 I played a 28pt great axe wielding 18 barbarian/2 fighter build (2 fighter because of +1 str and heavy armor). We play in a small group of 3 players (barbarian, rogue, ranger) and everything was fine.

But now I don't really know what to skill. I tested a lot, and it charged me about 250,000 platinum. Currently I'm on a 18 barbarian/1 fighter/1 ranger - that was after I read Redsonja's guide and it was before I started to love a mixture of the Ravager and Occult Slayer tree. And now that 1 level ranger is useless, because of Weapon Bond.

Now I struggle what I could skill (I have the possibility to reincarnate with 32pt).
20 barbarian?
19 barbarian / 1 fighter?
19 barbarian / 1 rogue?
18 barbarian / 2 fighter?
18 barbarian / 1 fighter / 1 rogue?
or any other?

Is fighter still needed? Currently I have only spent 1 ability point in Kensai tree and wear a medium armor - so I take no real benefits from fighter.
I also don't want to skill any ultimate in any of the barbarian trees (e.g. Visage of Terror).

My task in our little group is a kind of "dps tank" - a high survivability with high dps.

If you need any stats, just ask. (Is there any new/updated character planner?)

Thanks in advance
Vrakyas

[GlassJaw]

I just made a halfling that will be Bbn 18/Rog 2, going mostly Occult Slayer. Idea is to focus on survivability with save bonuses, Evasion, resists, DR/dodge/PRR, etc while maintaining solid DPS through normal barbarian stuff.

I'm taking the TWF chain with PA/C/GC and Imp Crit.

[Aviya]

Non Frenzy Berserk Barbarians will always be far inferior to Fighter/monk builds both in DPS and Survivability compartments.
If you didn't like Redsonja build (and Berserk tree in general) I recommend trying something completely different like as I said Fighter/Monk/Pally builds.
Other barbarians PRE are just mediocre at best

You see... being a melee is all about constantly swap between the best weapon for that particular fight or casting yourself that buff (between rages or interrupting them) using a wand or scroll..
Being constrained on a single weapon for the weapon bond kills both your DPS and your survivability. Don't do that...

[Clatterfist]

You could try going sword and board (just personally I'd go for axe and shield, or something weird like a pick) with an occult slayer / ravager focused build...that'd play into the more defensive mindset, and having a blunt, bash-delivering shield in one hand could help to offset the requirement to keep your main weapon equipped at all times by splitting your assault between different damage types and materials. Fighter would then become a more attractive splash, possibly in something like a 17 Barbarian / 3 Fighter split, because you could take the shield and shield-bash friendly options from Stalwart Defender as well as potentially powering up your weapon a bit with a few Kensei choices.

An alternative to consider would be a pure tempest ranger - that's a melee style that's also got a balance of offensive and defensive powers, but it's much less restrictive. You could swap weapons freely, you'd have ranged abilities to hand when required, you'd have a much easier time self-healing, etc.