The Leaping Barbarian V 2.0
A. Introduction
Many of you have probably seen my old guide on the Leaping Barbarian, and you may have had various opinions on hit. Now, however, after minor and major tweaks to the character, I think I have made a build using the leaper to its full potential.
First, before I say anything about the character, I would like to state that NO flaming is allowed. Constructive criticism is great, but if you type “ZOMG n00b. Leapers could n3v3r w0rk, gtfo.” Then you’re just being a pest and making yourself look stupid.
For a long time, I scoured the Diablo world looking for a unique dueling character that would be fun, own at duels, and not be terribly expensive to make. Well, about two years ago, I stumbled upon a guide on Gamefaqs, detailing a type of Barbarian that when followed to the letter, was not very effective. However, experimenting with the build myself, I came up with an extremely powerful character, capable of one hitting ANY character known to Diablo. This character, believe it or not, is the Leaper Barbarian. For two seasons I’ve used him in dueling games, and I’d have to say he’s the most fun character I’ve ever played. Now, I’m not going to say he’s invincible, or that he can beat every dueler out there. Cause he can’t. But, I don’t think /any/ build is capable of dominance over every class. Anyway, he’s brought me much enjoyment, so finally, I have decided to type up this guide, so others may join me in his awesomeness.
Alright. So….here it goes.
B. Contents
A. Intro
B. Contents
C. Gear/Inventory
D. Mercenary
E. Stats
F. Skills
G. Using him.
H. Ending Notes
C. Gear/Inventory
Helm: -Arreat’s Face w/ Ber or Shael(If you don’t want to use fhr gcs)- obvious winner with Fhr, Ar, +skills, Res, Dex, Str. Not too expensive either.
- If you can get your hands on a godly rare barb helm, that’d be superior (2 Barb, Skills, 3 BO, 3 Leap Attack, 3 Mastery of your choice, Eth/Repair, 2os (use Shael + res or 40/15), and Visionary Mod.) But this would be near impossible to get.
Armor: -Fortitude(Archon Plate or something with high def and low str req)- Has the Enhanced damage%, which no other armor can come close to. And you’re going to be going for the one hit KO, so damage is a must. Also has nice Res.
Boots: -Sandstorm Treks-These are the ones I personally use. +Str, +Vit, Fhr, P Res.
Gloves: -Steelrends- Ed%, Str bonus. However these are rather expensive and not completely necessary, as you will have enough damage anyway to one hit pretty much everyone. Use these if you’re going for a less Vitality based build, as they will require a lot of str to wear. (However, if you use these, you can use higher def armor. It’s a matter of preference.)
-Drac’s Grasp- + Str, Open wounds (These are a nice pair of gloves. The +str gives a bit more damage, and allows less hard points in str, and therefore more life.)
- Any gloves to your liking. My old leaper used Hellmouth for the fire sorb. Gloves aren’t the most important part of the build.
Belt: -Verdungo’s Hearty Cord- +Vit, Fhr, Dr. ‘Nuff said.
Ammy & Rings: -Angelic set. You MUST have the Ar boost from Angelic’s. Otherwise, you will never hit anyone. (Leap Attack works weird that way.)
Weapon: Ethereal Botd Warpike- This is absolutely a MUST. No skimping on the ethereal either. The added damage is the difference between 15k and 26k damage. The warpike is superior over all others, in that it has a weapon range of 4, which allows for more hits, as well as having near damage to the Thundermaul.
Switch: -1x Pair Bo sticks- I prefer the shout boost that bo sticks give over the +1 skill from the Hoto + (+3 bo) Cta combo. Plus this is much cheaper.
Inventory:
15+/15 + Btorch
X/X Anni
2x Bcombs/Fhr Gcs(If you didn’t Shael your helm.)
2x Bcombs/Life Gcs
2x Masteries/Life Gcs
2x 16+ Life/ 30+ Ar Scs
3x Fhr/Res Scs
Tome of Town Portal
D. Mercneary
(Doesn’t really matter. You’re a dueler, but if you do PvM…)
Act 2/NM Offensive(Might Aura)-
Helm: Eth Vamp Gaze
Armor: Fort or Shaftstop- If you want a more defensive merc to tank while you leap, Shafts, if you want him to kill also, then Fort.
Weapon: Pride: Conc Aura + your damage= *drool*
E. Stats
Strength: As much needed to put on your gear ooor As much as you want. Each point in str is like 1% Ed, so the damage can grow to enormous heights.
Dexterity: None(You don’t have a shield, so blocking is irrelevant, and you get Ar from gear.)
Vitality: All the rest.
Energy: Seriously? People don’t even need to put this in their guides anymore.
F. Skills
Warcries:
1x Howl
20x Shout(last skill to max)
20x Battle Orders
1x Battle Commands
Masteries:
20x Mace Mastery
1x Iron Skin
1x Natural Resistance
1x Increased Stamina
1x Increased speed(Not necessary, but I like the extra frw.)
Combat Skills:
20x Leap(synergy + knockback effect)
20x Leap Attack (Main skill)
1x Bash(Prereq.)
1x Stun(Prereq.)
1x Concentration(Prereq.)
1x Whirlwind(Emergency Attack(will explain later.))
G. Using Him In A Duel
Alright. So now that we’ve suited him up, we gotta go try him out. Your damage(depending on how much stuff you substituted) should be around 3-4k Minimum and 25K maximum + the crit chance from Mace Mastery. With no Gcs or Scs. This means that just about every character you encounter should die in one hit, unless you get more on the low side of damage, which happens. The problem is actually hitting them. Through my experience, I have learned that Leap Attack has a naturally lower AR(despite its advertised AR boost) than any other skill. This means that you will land roughly, every 1/2 leaps for a caster, 1/3 for a bowazon, 1/4 for a Javazon, and probably about 1/7 for a Paladin or Barbarian(if they’re using a shield). This means that you can’t rely on yourself to hit them every time you leap. Therefore, the trick is to Leap Attack (to be called LA from now on) next to them, as close as you can get without the swinging your weapon(you will get the feel for it eventually). Make sure you don’t click on the enemy. LA has a built in knockback effect that, when triggered by landing near an enemy, does the same damage that swinging your maul at them would do. Doing this saves you the agonizing time of swinging, which would leave you completely open to a counter attack. Now I will explain the methods to dueling each type of opponent.
Sorceress:
Fireball: These are honestly the easiest duelers I’ve ever faced. The duel games will love you for getting rid of those pesky tging bm fireballers. Your leap has a convenient little effect of leaping over most ranged attacks. Meaning you won’t get hit, as long as you’re in the air. So, if the sorc stays in one place, and fires fb’s at you, leap in a zigzag like pattern, over the stream of fire until you land on the sorc. If you miss or she teles, rinse and repeat. However, if the sorc has any skill, then you’re going to want to follow the basic strategy for any sorc. She will tele around you firing fb’s wherever she can. You’re going to want to leap around her, scaring her to the direction you want her to go. For example, follow her with your leap for a bit, careful not to land on an fb, and when you’ve gotten into a rhythm, leap to her left. She will almost certainly tele right. Then leap a little down from her, closing about half the distance, but not the whole way. Then she, out of habit will tele to avoid what she thought was gonna be a direct attack on her. Most likely, she will tele back to the right. Now, she is close enough to you for you to leap on her without her getting away. If you miss Ww through her(you’re gonna want to have Ww on your left click.). This will usually kill her, if not, rinse and repeat, if you do, congrats. =)
Note: If the sorc decides to camp out with meteor, be careful. Meteor can hit in mid-air, so make sure to leap in just after the meteor is cast, and then leap back out before it lands.
Frozen Orb: The Orb sorc can actually be quite difficult to duel, due to its slow movement. While you can leap over it, when you land, the orb will probably just be finishing up, leaving you still vulnerable to its full blast. The basic strategy applies here as well, however dodging the orbs is a little more complicated than simple zigzags. If an orb is fired at you from far away, you’re going to want to anticipate where it will end and leap into the center just after it explodes, so all the ice bolts miss you. Progress is slowed this way, but it is necessary. If it is fired from close range, you can leap directly at the caster and most likely avoid the bolts.
Blizzard: Blizzard is one of the few ranged skills that can hit you in the air. So caution is necessary. A smart blizzard sorceress will cast blizz right in front of her and just wait. For the love of god, don’t try to jump in and tank it. You’ll die. You don’t have even close to enough res to survive it. Instead, leap around the sorc as she tries to get the blizz on you. Make sure you’re quick on your feet and leap back into the air before the blizz takes effect on you. Do the same basic sorc strategy, mixed in with this in order to take her down.
Lightning: Simple duel. Follow the same directions as an Fb sorc. However, make note not to jump straight along the lightning, directly over it, as somehow it can still hit you this way. Believe it or not, your greatest obstacle will be T-storm, because, like all attacks that come from the sky, it can hit you in air. As you chase the sorc it will slowly wear down your health. Bring T-gods belt or something of the sort to counter act its damage.
Nova: This is actually quite a difficult duel. Whenever she stops teleing around, leap on her and then immediately leap away. The goal is to land on her just after she casts nova, to get in the center of it, avoiding damage. If you miss, leap attack away and then switch to leap, so she has a harder time following you. When she stops again, rinse and repeat.
Enchantress: Easy. LA around in short, little leaps, until she tries to tele on you and attack you. Your damage will most likely kill her as soon as she gets to you. If not, continue the small leaps until you hit her. Your damage is much greater than hers, so you will win. Avoid long jumps, as it is possible for ALL melee attacks to hit you while in the air. This leaves you vulnerable to her attacks.
Amazon:
Bowazon: Follow the same basic sorc strategy. However, be quick on your feet as the Guided Arrows do still follow you in the air, and are not very welcoming when you reach the ground. Get back into the air as soon as possible. Also, Bowazons do not tele much, and like to run more. This means that instead of tricking them to run the other way, you’re going to want to try and leap around to cut them off. If you’re having a really hard time, use Leap instead of leap attack to stun them while you’re catching up, then switch to Leap Attack for your killing blow.
Javazon: This is rather simple if they don’t have the farcast mod. Follow the light sorc method until you land on them. However, if you miss, don’t stay around long, as they will probably melee you as long as you’re close. These will also probably have a shield, as well as the dodge effect, so you will miss much more frequently than sorceresses. If they are packing the Farcast mod, then you want to charge them like never before. If they have farcast, then they probably aren’t the best duelers in the world and won’t run much. So you have to hope that your first or second attack land on them, otherwise, you will die. However, compared to most other melee classes, this build does fairly well against fcers.
Assassin:
Trapper: If they use Wake of fire, the duel is simply a joke. Use Leap to stun them while you leap around and LA them when you can. Lightning Sentry is a bit more difficult. A smart sin will plant the traps around her and sit in the middle, running around, avoiding you. If this happens, turn on Leap, and knock her out of the circle. If this proves too hard, leave around until the traps run out. The sin will eventually get tired and want to chase you. This leaves the sin more open to a straight leap. Stun the sin around with Leap, cutting her running paths off as you chase her. Be careful to dodge the traps she sets. (even though they’re less organized, they’re still dangerous) When you close in, LA on her and knock her out, if you miss, whirlwind through her. Chances are, she’ll die. If not, quickly get back into the air, and repeat.
Kicksin: This is very similar to the Enchantress. Small leaps, and she will go down easily.
Whirlwind: This is very difficult if she has nice damage. Never leap over her while she’s in a Ww. Leap to the side of her Ww path instead, and hope the damage connects. If not, leap further away to escape her reach and then try again.
Hybrid(Trap/Ww): Just add the two strategies together. This is a very difficult duel. However, the Ww makes her more slow, which makes it easier for you to catch up to her.
Necromancer:
Poison Nova: Basically the same strategy as the Nova sorc, except a little easier.
Bone Spirit: The same strategy as the Bowazon. If he teles a lot, follow the tele strategy, if he runs, follow the running strategy. Also a very difficult duel.
Summoner: A very difficult duel due to the number of targets. I would use Leap to scatter the minions off of him, and then(and this is the only time you should ever do this) directly LA on him. He most likely doesn’t have any massive-damage-doing attacks, so, its pretty safe. He’ll probably tele again though, so you’ll have to scatter the troops again and repeat.
Barbarian:
Leaper: Hahaha. I have no idea. I’m the only one I’ve ever seen, but, hopefully this guide will make them more popular, so my guess is…Small leaps and hope you land just after they do.
Ww: Basically follow the Ww sin strategy. Unless they’re terrible, you most likely won’t kill them. You have to max hit + crit to kill a good one in one hit, and since they usually use shield, the chance to hit them is so small that they will kill you before then so….Oh well. You can also try the Ww approach, keeping your Ww out of their reach, while they’re still in yours. You have the longest range weapon, use it to your advantage.
Concentration: Leap attack is stronger than conc. Try it face to face and hope you hit more than he does, but otherwise, if that doesn’t work, small leaps, yadda yadda yadda.
Thrower: Follow the Bowazon guide….except this is so much easier.
Beserk/Frenzy/Double Swing: Just Leap Attack around them and then back out. Repeat. Eventually they’ll die.
Paladin:
Hammerdin: Despite them being feared by most duelers, Hdins are really the only paladin that’s fairly easy to kill. If they tele on you, leap away and make it onto the offensive. Then just leap to the on the inside ring of hammers, to the southwest of them, whenever they stop to cast.
Smiter: You can’t kill a good one. Don’t try unless there’s no one else. In that case, just do small leaps in front of them, and hope they chase you. If they’re dumb enough, hopefully you’ll hit(happens very rarely) before they kill you. You can also try going all out Ww. Whirlwind around them in a triangle pattern. You have a longer reach than them, so you may be able to keep out of their grasp while still getting them with your Ww.
Fist of Heavens: Another pain-in-the-rump skill that can hit you in the air. Your best bet is to leap on them and keep at it until you land a hit. If you leap away, the FoH will get you and you’ll die. Of course, wear T-gods if you can to take a little bit of the bite off.
Auradin: Very similar the the FoHer. Keep the attack on them. If you run away, the auras can hit you in the air (its also very possible that they are hybrid FoH), and you’ll die. The the auradin just runs circles around you, either try to guess where’s he’s gonna be next and leap there, or s/e and get your smiter to kill him till he leaves. If they know what they’re doing, then this is a very difficult duel.
Zealadin: Basically the same as the frenzy barb. Don’t leap over him, or he’ll zeal you to death.
Hybrid: Any hybrid will probably have smite, in which case they will focus on it to kill you, which calls for the same strategy as the smiter. If they have FoH, never run, or they will kill you with that as you try to escape.
Charger: Ah…the leaper’s second cousin. Fortunately, charge is probably the only melee attack that can’t hit you in the air, So they have nothing to charge on. Just land on them when you get the chance. They’re pretty easy.
Druid:
Lycanthropy: Follow the strategy of a conc barb. It’s basically the same thing.
Wind: If they don’t have summons, this duel is much easier. If they charge you, leap to the left or right of them, and then leap back into the center of the hurricane, hopefully taking them out. Be careful, as the hurricane can also hit you in the air, so try not to stay in the air over him for too long. If he has summons, you’re going to want to follow the same basic rule as the Summoner(necro). Use Leap to get the summons away from him and then leap on him. If the spirit is out of the cane, then go ahead and kill it. It at least gives that precious moment while they stop to recast it. Also be careful to avoid the ‘nados. They can also hit you in the air, so make sure to leap to the side before you leap at him.
Fire: Just watch out for the molten bolder explosion, which can hit you in air, as well as the Armageddon fire rain stuff. Besides that, kill them in any way I’ve explained earlier.
H. Ending Notes
Just some little facts that may clear up a few things in my guide:
• I use shout instead of iron skin for defence, because I can give it to party members, it’s a synergy for Battle commands, and I get the bonus from my Bo sticks.
• I know my last guide said no Ww, but I have found it is a useful tool.
• You should reach:
30% Life Leech(even though it doesn’t matter)
86% Fhr Breakpoint
23k+ Attack Rating
12k+ Defence
10k+ Max Ww damage
25k+ Max Leap Attack damage
32 Life Replenish
56% Faster Run/Walk
3.5k-5k+ Life(Depending on your gear/build.)
Well. That’s it from me. This char has been a great pleasure to duel with, and I hope that you can get some of that pleasure out of this guide.
This post was edited by Kunim on Apr 18 2009 09:58am