Hey guys, I pretty much finished everything there is to do in this season besides grinding the last Paragon levels and I’m fantasizing about a D2 like Frenzy Barb with unheard levels of Frenzy:
skills via Shako
Basic skills GA Paingorgers
Frenzy skills GA Battle Trance amulet
Frenzy skills GA pants
You get the point. I’m also thinking about throwing on some Razorplate as I have a good one. My problem is the damage theorycrafting. DiEoxidE goes full Vulnerable damage with his Heartseeker Rogue. But I remember a Bash/Thorns build from season 4 which went full “Damage to close enemies”.
What do you guys think would be more valuable for boosting a basic skill in this instance with thorns? Boosting Vulnerable damage to the max or boosting “Damage to close enemies” to the max on tempering?
It’s conflicting to build both towards thorns and Frenzy simultaneously.
Frenzy needs skill ranks, crit, crit damage, max fury, 3 uniques, 4 mythics, and 2 aspects to max it out for insufficient damage.
Thorns needs strength, life, vulnerable, close, different uniques, different tempers, and different aspects.
If you insist on building this, you have to decide which you want to be your main damage dealer, and which you want to be supplemental. Both options are terribly undertuned.
This. Barbarians have horrible synergies and it is an all or nothing method of building. Distilling things down to what is your singular and Primary Damage Skill is lame AF. You have 6 Skill Slots but 5 of those are to support a single damage Skill. To add insult to injury, now it isn’t even the Skill but pushing out Quakes and DDs as fast as possible for many builds.
Thorns is an after thought and Blizzard does not know how to make it fun and a Primary Damage form really despite so many Aspects, Paragon, and Skulls to Support it.
You are pigeonholed as a Barbarian and you do not have a lot of flexibility in how you build, especially if you want it to be fun and not painful.
If you just want to put the build together regardless of potential. Shard sword for the barbed carapace. You can add in Magnus Opus for more damage. The issue is having a skill with a cooldown that’s spammable. Challenging Shout with Hectic aspect might work. Starless Sky is mandatory just for the damage output.
Thanks for your input! A pure Frenzy Crit build might be fun also. I still don’t get why Vulnerable or “Damage to close enemies” is not a good synergy for Frenzy and thorns and which one would be the best.
Thanks. I did that already, but with Doombringer instead of Magnum Opus. My question was about tempering. Do I go full Vulnerable damage or do I go with “Damage to close enemies”, because it is a better synergy with thorns. I simply don’t know what is better!
I pushed a pure Frenzy to the brink, and you cap out at around pit 87-ish. Maybe 90 if you’re lucky.
Again, there’s major confliction and a lack of synergy. Bastard hat is by far the most damage, but you lose armor, damage reduction, +4 skills, max fury, and the cooldown needed from Shako to push pits. To maximize your damage, your weapon slots are locked into Moonrise, Ramaladni’s, Shard, and Grandfather. You’re also locked into Starless, Tyrael’s, and Fists of Fate. This limits your tempers and aspects, which also locks you into Adaptability for your ring. You have two offensive pieces to temper, which locks you into Frenzy hits twice and Basic damage on your 2h mace, then DwB and resource gen/reduction on your ring. Pants have to be BK or Undying with EQ size, and boots have to have fury per second, Hectic, and EQ size. Battle Trance is the only amulet option. Locran’s is the only viable alternative, but it’s not as good, and does nothing for thorns.
There’s no room for close or vuln. Best option is to replace Grandfather with Ancient’s Oath, yet you lose tons of max fury, all stats, straight damage, and crit. If you insist on doing Frenzy thorns, Ancient’s Oath is the way to go, for sure, but it’s still an overall loss.
Do you want to push pits, kill bosses, or do you just want the best balanced version to run around t4 to kill things relatively easily without dying?
I wasn’t even sure yet. Maybe quick clearing Pit 65 to finish the Paragon grind. I’m still progressing a Mighty Throw barb and just wanted to try something fun and easy with no snapshotting after capping out. Thank you again for the insight! I probably will try your 4 mythic setup with Ramaladni and the Shard, because I have all of that ready anyway.