Hi guys - It's been a while since my classic days.
Thinking about starting a BVA, so help me out a bit

weapon: Exec? since I would only need 1 weap for bvb and bva? viable? - other idea is to invest in a naga and ancient
armor bvb: if naga: twitch, sb for bvb? how frowned upon is this today? - alternative -req ornate and pavise
armor bva: res / life rare for caster, which one against necs / hammerdins?

skills:
mastery, bo, ww 20 - how many in run, resistances, shout, iron skin, leap etc?

thanks for any tips!

You can build exe, axe or mace for bva.

I prefer mace (but 2h range axe is best).

70frw with 30frw boots. No heavy armors (run malus).

Lvl17 leap
None into shout/iron (rattlecage build).

Decent amount into nat res.

Check my profile for some geared bva's

Bvb switch sb+twitch & goblins (90% of the pure bvb barbs use sb+twitch on d2r cuz def build = expensive)

https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=50866818&f=57


Melee Weapon Ranges:
Battle Hammer (1h) = 1
Ancient Sword (1h) = 2
Martel de Fer (2h) = 3
Naga (1h) = 3
Executioner Sword (1h/2h) = 3
Ancient Axe (2h) = 4
Partizan (2h) = 4
Lance (2h) = 5
Grim Scythe (2h) = 5
Bec de Corbin (2h) = 5



This post was edited by SIVIART on Jan 10 2022 03:34am

Exe usually results in too low life.

-30 req 190%ed +skill mart would be sick (good dmg, high hp)

Getting your hands on a good naga/AA is probably easier compared to bh/mart (availability & price)

You referring to d2r right?

This post was edited by SIVIART on Jan 10 2022 05:15am

thanks for the answers, yes it would be d2r.

makes sense, but no iron skin / shout? even on a sb bvb with grim / belt / gloves you could have some extra def, or not needed?

An expert like siviart gives you godly advice.

Just do it.

This post was edited by SagittariusA on Jan 11 2022 09:19am

easy there fanboy, why don't you let fab answer...

the guide he linked has "rest into shout"

The guide is from 2010 where eu people played by a ruleset that didn't allow leap. There are no such duels these days, so leap should remain superior, especially in duels against Paladin and team duels. If you got any remaining points shout is good, as it buffs the barb in the same rate as IS, but your team aswell.

This post was edited by BaHgerAUT on Jan 11 2022 11:42am

Damn my answer-lenght escalated ... Whatever ...

If you go for a bva build with rattle I wouldn't spend points into def thats my point. If you know how to use leap effectively: I found it to be rly helpful to dodge casters (like bonespirit lol) due to airtime. Also it is used to desynch (like clagged hdins as BahGer pointed out - charge lag / clag). Also leap is so good as you stun all your opponents, leaving them exposed for you to attack.

But idk how all the mechanics of d2r work regarding all what worked in legacy. Also there are no rules really for any sort of classic pvp yet really , because there is no pvp happening (blizzard, fix lobby ... this is another story ...)

Ofc def will help, it will always help. But mostly only for barb vs barb duel but this isnt a bvb build you asked for :). And you can easily avoid opponent barbs - there is nothing easier :). Ofc shout also buffs your partys def (vs opponent barbs) - if you wanna do that why not, but usually you have to decide between a leap build or not. If leap isnt the way to go for you - put remaining points into shout as BahGer said.

In team duels your hardest enemies are always casters. If your team isnt using chant, 2h is the best option to take out casters, as every hit counts. A 2h duel vs opponent team-barb almost always ends in a draw (both die) and then you just served the team as bo-supplier which is pitiful

It depends on team strategy ofc. If your task as barb is to take out casters, every hit counts - so eventually you leap-stun casters and buttsex em with one single ww. Also you may protect your caster team members from opponent-barb.

You may go for 1h if the other opponent barb is also using 1h. Except you are a pro ww-timer and opponent barb's range isnt necessarily higher (mace may leave you with disadvantages in this regard). Also go 1h if there are 2 opponent-barbs.

Equipping an sb/ twitch however leaves you with a fair chance when duelling a purely specced bvb with your bva (if your weap dmg and char-lvl is sufficiently high). Also as bva ofc a 1h fullvita bva build with sb/twitch is very effective. For this build go for naga/exe for range. If you hit with sb you basically support your team with bleeding opponents to 0hp lol.

For pure bvb-specc ofc skill into def (check my sig for a def-bvb guide). Note: Skilling also applies for bleeder builds.

But this hybride build for instance is not allowed for some gm-rulesets :).

Finally, ofc I would always go for def gear where possible (helm, belt, gloves) except you going for trires on the mentioned items.

Summary: tl;dr lol

This post was edited by SIVIART on Jan 11 2022 01:55pm

thank you for the additional context! much appreciated