Pure Barb vs. Barb/Fighter

[Wheatcracker]

Ha guys I am building a toon up now and couldnt decide if I want to go 14 lvls of Barbarian or 12 Barbarian 2 Fighter.

2 figther would be for Fighter Strength, Tower sheild profiency, Heavy Armor Pro.

My Base Stats are 18 Strength 14 Dex 18 Con

Any feedback will help

[Jaywade]

I have a barb/fighter I used the 2 xtra feats for toughness and stunning blow.... I'll loose 1 lvl of xtra crit preformace for it but I'm happy with it so far.....

[tihocan]

2 Fighter would be mostly for feats, unless you're actually trying to build a heavy defensive barbarian? (which is quite rare)

[Strakeln]

I made mine before the crit rage enhancements were available. I am still not certain which is "better" - the straight barb with the 13-20 crit range or the barb12/ftr2 with all the other benefits.

Really, the crit range doesn't matter that much, as it will be available to me at the next cap increase. I'm more concerned with what I may lose out on at levels 19 and 20. I'll definitely miss out on Mighty Rage (extra 2 str and con), one extra rage, and one DR. 1 DR isn't huge, the con doesn't matter, I have plenty of rages already... so that leaves the +2 str that I miss out on, which is actually only +1 str, since I can get fighter str 1.

Enhancement-wise, it's anybody's guess. My bet is that they will have a really nice barbarian enhancement that I will miss out on.

So what have I gained?

1) AC. My barbarian can get to around 56 AC self-buffed when needed. Obviously, he would much rather be swinging his SoS, but there are times and places where being able to turtle up and still output serious damage - and still take a huge beating for whatever bypasses AC - come in handy.
2) AC. Running around THFing, my barb is between 36 and 46 AC. Ain't gonna do much in GH, but when you combine that AC with 400 HP and 6 DR non-blocking, it's pretty nice.
3) Feats. I'm a bit of an odd duck, but surprisingly effective. Dodge-Mobility-SpringAttack; PowerAttack-Cleave-GreatCleave; Imp Crit: slash. I've considered swapping out the first chain, but Spring Attack actually comes in quite handy on a barbarian... allows you to really crank out that power attack and rarely miss a swing. Also, the cleave/great cleave line nicely compliments my turtle abilities. Whole party wiped? Turtle up, spam cleave and great cleave with the right weapon... now the mobs have wiped too!
4) Intimidation. Being more capable in the defense category than the normal barbarian, I was able to crank points into intimidate, and use it without turning into a cleric's nightmare. Comes in handy for both offense (all the mobs on you so you can cleave/great cleave/1-shot em) and defense (turtle up and take the pressure off the rest of the team).

Mind you, this is a 28-point build without a single +2 tome. With those 4 extra points, a whole realm of possibilities open up, such as combat expertise.

At level 14, you trade 1 point to the crit range (a HUGE benefit that should not be underestimated) for 1 point in strength, respectable (but more importantly, usable) AC, two feats, and armor and shield proficiencies.

At level 20, you trade 1 point of strength, 2 points of con, 1 rage, 1 DR, and presumably a nice enhancement or two for the same benefit.

Had I been building for level 20, I probably would not have splashed the two levels of fighter (indeed, when I was planning this, the cap was at level 10!). But at level 14, it's pretty enticing.

So while I may regret it, I will *not* be re-rolling or replacing my very first build. My 28-point Strakeln is fast, brutal, and one heck of a survivor. That and he has too much raid loot to replace.

[Wheatcracker]

Ya main reason i took fighter i guess was for the feats