WF Barb Survivability

[Dopey_Power]

I keep seeing all these WF barbarian builds on the forums for DPS. 32 point build, max str and con, your hp will keep you up, etc. I'm a new (premium) player. I have 32 points, and start my characters at level 4. I tried one of these barbarians to horrid affect a while ago. I was the barb that everyone says gives WF barbs a bad name. I don't have a higher level character that has the gold to load him with 200 repair pots, nor can I find a Docent with + healing %.
Is this a build I can run as a no gold new player? I've already learned my lesson on charging first and getting all the aggro, but even then, is it doable? Thanks.

[Creeper]

Is this a build I can run as a no gold new player? I've already learned my lesson on charging first and getting all the aggro, but even then, is it doable? Thanks.

Yes, run with a healer or buy a sorcerer hireling.

[spifflove]

Hi, welcome.

Its not really that hard. If you stand there you die. If you move you live.



Other ways to beef up hp:
1) the axblock bracers from korthos
2) the aid clicky bracers until you have enough to keep your bonus 24/7
3) with 3 skill points per level you can get jump, blance and UMD. Use umd on repair wands or keep some to pass to arcanes who will happily use them to top you up in between battles.
4) make sure power attack is on
5) wear a fortification item, the dirty jockstrap from kobolds new ringleader will work fine.
6) pick up the guardian dagger end reward from stk, and then carniflex from deleras.

[dogpig00]

One thing I seriously dislike about this forum is that most of the builds seem to assume you can easily press a button and hit to level 20. Plus all the builds assumes you have the most uber items in the game that buff stat/skill points to obscene levels, and leveling order such as evasion feat at level 15 and toughness feat at level 18...

The truth is, most people will spent their time leveling the character from 1-19 than playing it at 20. That means most people will spent months before even get to level 15. Advise such as asking a barb to pump UMD to use repair wands is simply impractical (at what level will the 6 CHA WF barb have high enough UMD to reliably use a wand? 20?).

To OP, you cannot make WF barb as your first character if you want any self sufficiency/survivability. You need self sufficient builds to run the quests to get you the gears you need. Builds (in the order of simplicity) such as WF wizard/sorcerer, high CHA paladin, dragonmarked halfling, cleric, FvS, bard, are all self sufficient builds. You should look into starting one of these builds.

[Mav145]

One thing I seriously dislike about this forum is that most of the builds seem to assume you can easily press a button and hit to level 20. Plus all the builds assumes you have the most uber items in the game that buff stat/skill points to obscene levels, and leveling order that gets evasion feat at level 15 and toughness feat at level 18...

The truth is, most people will spent their time leveling the character from 1-19 than playing it at 20. That means most people will spent months before even get to level 15. Advise such as asking a barb to pump UMD to use repair wands is simply impractical (at what level will the 6 CHA WF barb have high enough UMD to reliably use a wand? 20?).

To OP, you cannot make WF barb as your first character if you want any self sufficiency/survivability. You need self sufficient builds to run the quests to get you the gears you need. Builds (in the order of simplicity) such as WF wizard/sorcerer, high CHA paladin, dragonmarked halfling, cleric, FvS, bard, are all self sufficient builds. You should look into starting one of these builds.

I disagree. You should be able to one- or two-shot kill almost everything in the lower levels on normal. The dps that a warforged barbarian puts out is incredible at all levels. I don't agree with the UMD thing either. But I also disagree that you can't buy repair pots based on the plat that you should pick up when you level.

You are a killing machine. Keep moving through the mobs and kill the casters first. You should be fine.

[zavozod]

If you play a barb in any way shape r form you need a healer who LIKES you. If your are new to DDO, barb is the last thing you should play.

Lvl'n to 20 can be real fast and easy or a horrific grind. To play DDO you need friends, To rule DDO you need friends. To twink out a character to max potential You need to love DDO.

[dogpig00]

I disagree. You should be able to one- or two-shot kill almost everything in the lower levels on normal. The dps that a warforged barbarian puts out is incredible at all levels. I don't agree with the UMD thing either. But I also disagree that you can't buy repair pots based on the plat that you should pick up when you level.

You are a killing machine. Keep moving through the mobs and kill the casters first. You should be fine.

yes you can 1- 2-hit kill a kobold. However they don't come 1 by 1, and don't forget there are shamans and flame throwers. Eventually you will be damaged and requires healing. With huge HP pool of a barb, native healing resistance, and low repair skill, how many pots it will take to fill it up?

[Lorien_the_First_One]

I disagree with most of the advice above. My WF bard was one of the easiest to level.

First off take addi body feat at l1. Then carry a sheild. Yes I know, those don't sound like barb things to do, do it anyway.

With the addi body, the docets you find in chests (I never twink low level), and a shield you will have a really nice AC at low level and won't take much damage.

Around 8 trade out addi feat for something more barb like, toss away the sheild, and grab that 2hander and start killing. By that point you will have enough HP that you will be quite survivable and by then clerics/FvS and casters should all be well placed to keep you up.

[Eradiator]

so er what would u replace ADDI body with then?

[Shade]

To OP, you cannot make WF barb as your first character if you want any self sufficiency/survivability. You need self sufficient builds to run the quests to get you the gears you need. Builds (in the order of simplicity) such as WF wizard/sorcerer, high CHA paladin, dragonmarked halfling, cleric, FvS, bard, are all self sufficient builds. You should look into starting one of these builds.

Utter nonsense. DDO was 100% designed from the ground up as a 100% forced grouping game.

The game came with no solo mode and WF barbarians used to be much much worse off, people didn't have trouble leveling them back then, much less today.

The fact some builds can solo throughout most of the game was added much later, infact just as it became free to play. It's not an 100% intended feature for all players, but merely an option quickly thrown in.

So play the game the way it was meant to be played - in a group. It's very easy to toss up an LFM for any wizard, cleric or favored soul and beat every quest in the game 2 man. If you want it even easier, get more healers. The beauty of the barbarian class is you never need to rely on others to do whats imo the much harder aspect of the game - killing the enemies and completing the quest objectives.

If you play smart, use the right weapons, move fast and stayed raged.. It is very easy for a single healer to keep you up thru 95% of quests in the game using very little resources. To be safe encase you get a healer who wastes allot of mana or just doesn't have much to begin with, bring them a repair serious wand, there 10x cheaper then potions. Just politely ask for it back after the quest - usualy they won't have used much of it and it will last you many quests.

Personally I find it a ton easier to lvl a Barbarian then any other class. As I know I can defeat the quest fast and effeciently with ANY pug healer, no matter how unskilled or ungeared they are.

When I play a more self sufficent class like a cleric or favored soul, I level'd much slower as sometimes I simply had to rely on pug melee, which it can be VERY difficult to find a competant one to perform the task I need them to.

My wf barbarian build is recommended to new players. But as I noted at the top, it's a bit easier to play the Dwarf version at lower lvls as clr/fvs are more willing to healer a dwarf, versus wiz/sorc healing a WF. Tho really at higher lvls, you may have trouble finding a clr/fvs, but rarely have trouble finding a clr/fvs/bard/wiz or sorc.. And any of them can heal you well enough.

RE: Adamant Body.. Well if you really must solo some, that can help allot lvl1-8.. But after that's it's waste of a feat and you need the shards to respec it. Else waste your precious free respec - which is much better saved for something important at high lvl when it costs significantly more to respec.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

so er what would u replace ADDI body with then?

Powerattack. I personally don't like the tradeoff of to-hit for damage at low levels (you will be killing in 1-3 swings anyway much of the time)

Alternatively, THF, you really don't need the feat much as long as you often have shield up for AC.