The biggest problem is that these new items, cool as they are, don’t address any of our class’s problems. Let’s review some of the items:
The Executioner
- New Legendary Power: Attacks will slay enemies with less than (5-10%) health.
Potentially very powerful, but of limited use considering how little damage we do in comparison to other classes. In fact, considering how other classes do considerably more DPS< the gap between Barbs and every other class will increase.
Worse, most of our builds can’t use this equipped or in the Cube:
- Zodiac WW: Can use, but will make the build worse vs RGs and elites where it already struggles.
- IK HOTA: Can’t use it.
- R6 HOTA: Can’t use it.
- Fire/Physical EQ: Same as Zodiac WW for Fire, and Phys can’t use at all.
- Vile Charge: Can’t use it.
Echoing Fury
- New Legendary Power: Slaying enemies engulfs the wielder into a Frenzy. (Killing enemies increases your attack speed by 15% and movement speed by 5%. This effect stacks up to 5 times)
None of our builds bank on attack speed. Even for LON or primary builds, this does nothing because those builds don’t deal meaningful damage.
Messerschmidt’s Reaver
- New Legendary Power: Reduce the remaining cooldown of one of your skills by 1 second when you slay an enemy.
Again, can’t be used for the same reasons as The Executioner above. We don’t need more ways to deal with cooldowns.
We need damage.
Mortick’s Brace
- New Legendary Item: Wrath of the Berserker gains the effect of every rune.
We asked for this, but this only provides a buff when offered in conjunction with other buffed items. Of all our major and minor builds, only three (Zodiac WW, Vile Charge, and IK HOTA) can effectively use perma-Wrath, and of those three, this item is a lateral trade for two (Zodiac WW and IK HOTA). The third, Vile Charge, can’t use this.
New Legendary Gem:
- While you have no set bonuses equipped, every Legendary item you have equipped increases your damage dealt by 3.75% and reduces your damage taken by 2%. (Max level 99)
- Rank 25: This bonus is doubled for Ancient items.
This won’t do anything for our LON builds because, as we’ve stated a hundred friggin’ times now, our supporting legendaries are so outdated.
Frenzy Thorns struggles to do 105+. Every other LON build aside from HOTA struggles to do 100.
This gem is like spitting in the wind.
None of the crafted set bonuses can be woven into our major builds.
Nothing in the current PTR notes buffs Barbs or addresses any of the weaknesses and problems we address here: http://barbarianbuffproposals.strikingly.com/
I repeat: Nothing in the current PTR notes addresses any of the Barb community’s concerns.
This is not okay.
Update: Nev has responded here: 2.6.6 Barbarian Community Buff Proposal - #72 by Nevalistis
Will post more as more info becomes available.