Crunching around a few numbers...

[knightgf]

Alright, after doing a little math on this barbarian, I had a few questions to ask, to see if i can find any more sources of bonuses:

First off, all bonuses exclude necropolis IV loot, restless isles, gianthold, IQ2, Carnival & Sentinel epics, along with a few other things. Also, +3 and +4 tomes DO NOT count due to how difficult it is for me to get one. If a skill is cross-class, it will have only 11 instead of 11.5 since half a point does not make a difference. In addition, treat this character as a 20 FrB barbarian, with all feats chosen for final selection.



As for the questions, first one is, are there any bonuses I am forgetting that I could add for UMD when you factor in excluded bonuses? Here is my calculations for a UMD on my barbarian character:

11 base
7 CHA MOD (13 base CHA, +6 item, +2 tome, +3 exceptional)
4 Greater Heroism
3 competence
3 enhancement
6 Green Steel
1 Yugoloth Pot
3 Alchemy Pot
1 Good Luck

39 UMD

With a little more effort on my behalf and maybe help from others, I can get these bonuses:

Additional +1 good luck for total of +2
1 Influence potion
5 action boost
2 bard song

48 UMD

These are all the bonuses that I can think of, but there might be more. The question is, how many more can I get? Id like to somehow squeeze 4 more UMD points into the 'easy' category by taking out Yugo + Alch pots and replacing them with something else. Of course, a way I could do that is to simply take Human Versitality III instead of IV, that way I can have 4 more action points on my point deprived barbarian. Other than that, I can't think of much.



Next question focuses on intimidate: What bonuses could I be forgetting on intimidate? Here is what I got:

23 base
15 competence
4 Greater Heroism
6 GS
7 CHA
1 Yugo
1 Good Luck
2 coin lord feat

59 Intimidate

With a little effort on myself and help from others, I can get:

2 song
3 ALCH
1 Influence
5 action boost
4 action points

74 Intimidate

The only question is, would 74 intimidate be any good in raids and end-game content? Or should I just stick to a lower number instead? In addition, are there any other bonuses that I would be forgetting to add besides good luck +2, which is impossible since to have that requires me to wield dreamsplitter? Not the greatest of ideas to use dreamsplitter while intimidating if you ask me...



Last but probably most important question focuses on stunning blow DC'S: What's the magic number I need to hit? Based on calculations, here is my DC and details about it:

10 base
10 item

STR

22 base
6 item
6 psionic
12 rage (8 base,4 power-rage)
2 rage(spell)
2 tome
2 capstone
2 yugo
3 exceptional
4 Death Frenzy
2 Frenzy
1 guild

27 STR modifier

47 DC

Will 47 DC suffice in epics and end-game for stunning blow? Or will it still not be reliable to use? In addition, what other bonuses could I also be forgetting to use?

That is all.

[TheDjinnFor]

39 UMD

Sounds fine. Don't know why you should need any more UMD than this since you get no-fail heal scrolls out of it. My question is, why are you UMDing as a barbarian when rage/madstone makes you unable to cast spells?

74 Intimidate

Can't comment much since I don't use it. Shouldn't you be focusing on hate tanking though?

47 DC

Where the heck are you getting a permanent +6 psionic Str from? Otherwise, anything over 40 is an acceptable SB DC in epics. And afaik they are removing auto-crits so stunning blow is about to become a whole lot less useful.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

[knightgf]

Sounds fine. Don't know why you should need any more UMD than this since you get no-fail heal scrolls out of it.

Meh, there really isn't much beyond level 6, I think heal is really all I wanna go for. The main thing I wanna do is get as many 'convenient' (I.E.:Buffs that are easy to get) buffs as possible to get up to 39 UMD. Its already bad enough I have to use all these blasted cookies and swap this equipment and that equipment around, id hate to have to do much more.

My question is, why are you UMDing as a barbarian when rage/madstone makes you unable to cast spells?

The three main questions I asked, and with the exception of intimidating going along with stunning, actually are all 3 seperate things. The reason I got UMD was for being able to self-buff with a few things, as well as to increase my soloability somewhat. It's expensive, to tell you the truth, but its powerful. I see UMD, stunning and intimidating as a triangle, in which, for 90% of the time, you won't use together, since they are all seperate actions. The only combo that comes into mind is stunning + intimidating, but even then, thats it. Well, that was a bit lengthy of a discussion, but anyways...

Can't comment much since I don't use it. Shouldn't you be focusing on hate tanking though?

Meh, I think that as a barbarian, if you can intimidate mobs a few times, and you are the leader in doing damage, it can be a surefire way to keep a monster's attention focused at you. At my current intimidate level, some mobs will be more difficult, but not impossible to, grab. The only time I would value a no fail intimidate would be ADQ(Demon queen teleports a lot, and ranged classes often grab it's attention) and maybe HoX(Dog is invulnerable to normal weapons until you weaken it, meaning its aggro can get disrupted.)

To be honest, I think it would be a lot better for a actual fighter tank to intimidate mobs, since barbarians can quickly take tons of damage in no-time, but they can be a reasonable substitute if no other tank is around and the intimidate is good. This barbarian build, however, needs to have more intimidate into the build in order for it to be a acceptable alternative to a actual tank. Maybe brawns spirits(With its enhancement bonuses) could make a difference?

Where the heck are you getting a permanent +6 psionic Str from?

Its definitely not permanent...in fact, most of my effects are not! Rage, Greater Heroism...they all have timers. The +6 psionic STR bonuses is from the gloves of titans grip.

Otherwise, anything over 40 is an acceptable SB DC in epics. And afaik they are removing auto-crits so stunning blow is about to become a whole lot less useful.

Thankfully I still have a long way to go. Lets hope update 9 doesn't force my barbarian to ride in a backpack till 20. If stunning blow becomes worthless, I will have to see what other feat I can get.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Oh well.