Originally Posted by
PrinceOfAsphodel
Yeah, Barbs are workable in high reaper. The build that comes to mind first is the THF 11 Barbarian, 8 Druid, 1 Favored Soul build. I'm not sure what your exact level (past lives, tomes, experience, etc) is, but this build nicely blends the ability to perform well for players just starting to try out high skulls and the ability to reward those who have a lot of high skull experience already. This build uses 8 druid levels to get enhanced animal forms, of which wolf is the more used one due to higher DPS and run speed. Bear is still useful for quests though, since the strikethrough can technically equate to more damage in some situations. 11 Barbarian is for the Greater Rage ability. Fvs is for Divine Might, since you otherwise lack a battle trance. The build goes tier 5 in Frenzied Berserker, just like all DPS-centered Barb builds. That +2 crit multiplier is very good.
If you want a more traditional Barbarian feel and running around in animal form doesn't do it for you, pure 20 Barbarian works just fine too. Again, you want Frenzied Berserker as your main tree for DPS, taking tier 5 and probably the capstone as well this time. The capstone is not game-changing but it's still a pretty relevant effect so if there is no other option, we happily take it. I would put the rest of the action points into Falconry for the big fortification strip and helpless damage, and some into Vistani for Haste Boost, Deflect Arrows, and some PRR/MRR. Also if your racial tree is good, grab some stuff from there. There is also an argument to drop to 18 Barbarian and grab 1 FVS, 1 Fighter, for trance and more accessible haste boost. Some people would even suggest to put point into Harper if you do go pure Barb so you at least have access to a trance.
If you want super raid boss DPS, another good option is actually a SWF Barbarian. The best splits are 18 Barbarian, 1 FVS, and 1 either Druid or Fighter, Druid for Ram's Might; Fighter for the feat. If you plan to use Ram's Belt as part of your endgame gear, go Fighter. The AP spread is pretty similar to the pure Barb option is you plan to use Wicked Blade. If you're using a dagger, I would put more points into Vistani than before. Definitely aim for both 5% doublestrike abilities. I forgot to mention before but you ideally want Tail of Suulomades as your weapon for the other two builds.
A Barbarian tank can work decently but isn't great if you don't always have a healer, plus I'm not quite sure how to build one correctly. It's a better raid build than high reaper build. I guess Ravager is an option to, giving you a Barb with less DPS but slightly tankier. It's fine for when your party has no one else to soak up hits but it takes more work to reach a level of viability that won't match a Frenzied Berserker Barb in the end.