New war axe for newbie barb. HELP!

[Gilabear]

Hello all, I am trying to figure out a new weapon for my lvl 10 THF half-orc barb. I am new to crafting but with my higher lvl cleric I have acquired a small collection of sora katra items, and was thinking of a Bloody War Axe or something for my barb. For some reason I can't seem to find any mention of these weapons in the suggested barb weapons. Would this be worthwhile or should I be after something completely different? All advice is welcome, and complete honesty without flaming is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

[Azonalanthious]

Carnifex is actually still ok at that level, though its reaching about the end of its active life (basically dies with improved critical, but not all builds take IC right at 9). From there, assuming you want to stick with axes, the Orgish War Axe (which is what I assume you were referring to as the Bloody War Axe?) is, yes, a pretty solid choice. Don't be too dismayed at not seeing it recommended to much -- keep in mind that its from the most recent (at least until U9 comes out in the near future) update, while reviews and recommendations have been built up over 5 years. It just hasn't worked its way into its proper place yet.

Additionally, 10 is where you also hit the famed sword of shadows. Sword of Shadows (and later epic sword of shadows) has a pretty solid claim as the best two-handed weapon in the game, bar none. So if you are willing to put the time and effort into grinding one (or just get lucky on an early VoN run), use it by all means.

Bloody Cleaver, from the same quest series as the Orgish War Axe, is also very nice. Not as much damage as the War Axe, but still pretty solid, has a better crit profile then a great axe (though still worse then sword of shadows), and the bodyfeeder on an IC falchion can do a lot to balance out the vicious hp loss from your frenzy as a barb.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other really top notch named two-handers at around that level range (not saying there aren't any, just none currently popping to mind), but that's also about the ml point where pretty much all item abilities (even if not all combinations of those abilities) are available on random loot weapons, so it can be worthwhile to start poking around at the vendors/auction house to pick up specific weapons for assorted situations to supplement your general main dps weapon.

[Gilabear]

Thanks a lot for the reply! The Bloody War Axe I was referring to is actually the Ogrish War Axe and the Bloody Cleaver fused together. So from what you were saying that sounds pretty good.

[unbongwah]

It's better to have Bodyfeeder on a weapon with a wider crit range so it procs more often; so an upgraded Cleaver makes more sense than an upgraded War Axe if that's what you want. And I think falchions are generally recommended over GAxes for barbs, though I won't swear to that. But I would go for either a Maiming or Vengeful Cleaver in your case.

[Zynthar]

Since I'm going post crazy today, might as well put in my two cents here also.

I have the Vampiric Cleaver on my barbarian and I love it quite a lot. The bodyfeeder goes off near constantly, the lesser vampirism helps keep me topped off and to counteract frenzy's vicious hits.

The downside to it though, is that the human bane isn't exactly all that useful. The bleed effect on it covers most things however. However for times when you need to help your survivability, it's fantastic. It's my new PUG weapon until I know how the healer is.

http://ddowiki.com/page/Vampiric_Cleaver


Otherwise, around that level the best I could find was really just a high + weapon of elementa/pure good. I picked up a +4 acid GA of Pure good and alternate that with a maul and the Vampiric Cleaver.

G'luck!

[PNellesen]

It's better to have Bodyfeeder on a weapon with a wider crit range so it procs more often; so an upgraded Cleaver makes more sense than an upgraded War Axe if that's what you want. And I think falchions are generally recommended over GAxes for barbs, though I won't swear to that. But I would go for either a Maiming or Vengeful Cleaver in your case.

My Cleric/Fighter ran around with an un-upgraded Bloody Cleaver as his main weapon from about level 14 almost to cap (he got it right after the Lordsmarch pack came out, and by the time the Stormreach pack came out he wasn't using it much anymore so I never upgraded it) - with Improved Crit-Slashing, Bodyfeeder was triggering all the time. My 13 Helf Cleric has the Bloody War Axe (Ogrish War Axe + Bloody Cleaver), and one thing I like about it is that it's HumanOID bane, not just Human bane, so you get a bit more damage against a wider range of enemies. The drawback is, of course, the lowered crit range, so the Bodyfeeder doesn't trigger nearly as often. I think if I had to do it over again, I would craft the Vengeful Cleaver instead.

[Gilabear]

Awesome, thanks so much guys! You've convinced me to go with the Vamp Cleaver, I really appreciate the help!