barbarian AC??

[darkrune]

What is yours, and does it really matter?

[lauhon]

My main a lvl 16 Warforged Barb (capped)....has 573 hps unbuffed and with rage clicky...madstone rage...inherent rage.....and all the other buffs...(false life, bard songs, mass aid, etc..etc) can get over 700 hps...WITHOUT a 3rd tier shroud item (+25 more hps)....

And with a good sorc/wizzy with repair/reconstruct spells....heck by the time my red bar is down to 1/2 way..i'm still over 300 hps...which some toons have fully healed up...

yeah my AC is at best 30-35 all buffed up....and i get hit more than someone with 60 AC...but I can TAKE a hit or 2...before I mop up on the mob that is beating on me...125% fort so crits are not a prob....I don't have to worry about getting critted from a caster for 600 hps....

AC for a barb is not an issue, IMHO, if you can get your HP's up there and DEAL a bunch of damage....you'll be able to dish out massive damage....at the same time...TAKE a bunch of damage...before you get into hp trouble...

Just my .02 cents

Uberforged

[hydra_ex]

Dont have a barb, but its impossible to get a half-decent ac on them anyways if you dont use a shield

In order for your ac to be decent without using a shield, you must either take a monk level (which you can't), or have a high DEX.

P.S. Don't you dare use a shield

[lauhon]

shield?? barb??

huh? what is this concept?

never heard of such a thing....barbs are able to use shileds???

j/k....i know they can...but if you do....well...might as well roll up a fighter...

THF. ITHF, GTHF...is the way to go with a barb...bring on the greataxes and such!!

Uberforged

[darkrune]

yeah my lvl 12 has just under 400hp and also the 125% HFort so not too worried about it just wanted some other opinions for end game

[Samadhi]

1) Barbarians do not have to be THF or TWF. Why? Heavy Picks. With expanded crit ranges, they turn a heavy pick into a weapon with a good crit multiplier into a murdering machine. My barbarian is dual spec'd - but I usually only pull out the two-handers for raid bosses.

2) AC can help - just not always. I never built my barbarian expecting the AC to matter, but from watching my combat log and generally just carrying a shield - much to my surprise there are times that it does. Whenever I see "_____ misses you" 3-4 times in a row - chances are its not just a 1. (This is just with +5 armor, +5 shield, +4 protection, madstone, nothing special or built for AC)

3) DR - High DR is one of the trademarks of a barb; and building for an intimidate/DR machine works very well. Once again, sure it's situational. but it is highly effective.

Hope this helps shed some additional views on the subject.