what is the optimal barrier generation bonus i need before i stack the rest into max life

My humble opinion, 80%.

I believe barrier bonus caps at 60%. That’s what I’ve been told at least… I can’t say I’ve tried to dig into it myself to be fair though.

im currently at 74% wondering if its a good idea to go down to 65% and pump the rest into max life

Barrier Generation is a top priority stat because it doesn’t have a cap for increasing the damage from bulwark’s explosion.

IMO get it everywhere you can.

However it does make sense to reduce your + ranks in the earthen bulwark skill, because you can cap out the damage absorbed by your barrier.

If you’d like a link to Bird’s calculator (he’s active on the Bulwark Boys disc) I can PM it to you.