T5's Occult vs Frenzy vs Rav

[Xianio]

First time Barb player & first time back in a while. I'm trying to figure out which t5 enhancement is best for my pure dwarf barb. Right now, Occult seems to be the strongest for T5 while Frenzy seems to have better cores.

Occult:
+2 crit multiplier always
+1 crit range always
+1 crit range/multiplier with 7W attack
+ an "oh sh!t" heal

Frenzy:
+2 crit multiplier always
Better crowd damage
Bleeding damage (is this good?)
+1W or healing
What seems like an okay cleave with knockdown

Rav:
+2 crit range
Best healing
Immunity to knock down

Seems like its got Frenzy's crit modifier, situationally Rav's crit profile & really only lacks in a meaningful self-heal. Am I wrong in thinking that Occult seems like the best T5?

[Arkat]

Am I wrong in thinking that Occult seems like the best T5?

I'm going with Occult's T5s on my new Barb, too.

[korgzz_bloodaxe]

Occult does not get +2 to crit multi it is +1. I assume you are including bond of retribution - however that only triggers at below 50% which shouldn't be most of the time and it is also only on a 19 or 20.

I'd say if you group a lot then Occult wins out. However if you solo it is important to note that Ravager heals don't suffer from reaper penalty. I normally heal for about 280HP per mob killed (and there is no cooldown) and 40-50 on every hit that procs the heal.

[Xgya]

Imma chime in and say the healing part of Ravager usually ekes it out over the others for me.
It not being affected by Reaper penalties is just gravy.

I don't play melees often, but when I do play Barb, it's with a greataxe in hand, and those love crit chances a lot more than they do crit multipliers.

Occult is arguably the best if you're partying with people that are ready to heal you in a pinch. Can't really rely on that self-healing to keep you out of trouble.

No mention of Frenzy, I think it's the least relevant of the three.

[LOOON375]

I use ravager simply for the healing.
Adding more damage does not make you able to survive longer, but the self healing does.
IMHO

[Arkat]

Occult does not get +2 to crit multi it is +1. I assume you are including bond of retribution - however that only triggers at below 50% which shouldn't be most of the time and it is also only on a 19 or 20.

Check out "Bond of Destruction" - "Your Bond of Retribution no longer has a health requirement."

Still only applies on 19-20, but that's still pretty awesome.

The +10% Quality Bonus to Hit Points is also pretty nice.

[darkniteyogi]

Playing frenzied atm on my first barb. Its great for solo and self healing with t5 is great. Im breezing through compared to my sorc, pally, alchemist, warlock lives.

Havent tried ravager or occult yet but i would assume frenzied is best for solo play due to the cleaves and strike throughs

[darkniteyogi]

Ps im also curious if anyone knows if lash out is any good before i test it and respec

[Xianio]

Occult does not get +2 to crit multi it is +1. I assume you are including bond of retribution - however that only triggers at below 50% which shouldn't be most of the time and it is also only on a 19 or 20.

I'd say if you group a lot then Occult wins out. However if you solo it is important to note that Ravager heals don't suffer from reaper penalty. I normally heal for about 280HP per mob killed (and there is no cooldown) and 40-50 on every hit that procs the heal.

Occult gets +1 crit mod from Occult Metalline & +1 from bond (on 19-20). The t5 removes the health requirement. These are always active & if you use an axe then you're basically always critting with a 5x or greater modifier. The other interesting thing for Occult is Seeker Strike. That gives another +1 to crit mod/range every 3 seconds. Granted, you probably can't do it every 3 seconds and maintain your bond stacks but you probably could every 6-9 seconds.

Basically, it's damage & 1 big heal vs constant healing.

Has anyone tested Vampiric Bond? Does it still only heal 20 flat or can it be affected by melee power yet?

[drunkbarbarian]

For me OC has been my go to for a while, and is my favorite. Metalline alone gives a lot of weapon flexibility. The downside of OC is dying in quest and recharging weapon bond.

The 39 Rav/ 41 FB is still a damage dealing beast though. But just for funnzies, I am thinking about Tier 5 Rav, as many OC cores as I can get, running in Divine Crusader with a Vampiric weapon.

Self healing for days.

[palladin9479]

Ravager T5 is better for leveling and survivability, that healing is no joke and makes you basically invincible. Frenzied Berserker is the most pure damage, put on a Falchion and you get a 30% crit rate with a x4 multi. Occult is somewhere in the middle, 19-20 stuff only happens 10% of the time and are relatively minor in total damage increase. It falls under Awesome but impractical . You have enough points to get one to cap and the other to level 18 core, as most are leveling barb for PL's they tend to go Ravager cause it lets them sprint through reaper quests for XP.

[DirkTyrant]

yep... I'm going Ravager... for the healing.... as soon as I can get it.... even before Throw your weight around on my Con-dwarf

[Xianio]

It depends what you do/what you have trouble on but as a guy who plays solo (and originally posed this question) my level 22 Barb is getting a TON of mileage out of Occult Slayer.

While Ravager is great it was better for trash mobs/keeping up clear-speed. The stuff that can actually kill me (from bosses to traps) is really neutered by One Spirit.

I made Epic Elite something I could handle immediately.