The Immortal King
Comprehensive guide to the Immortal King set Barbarian v1.13 by Leohappy.
1. Introduction
- Why the set?
2. Equipment
- Immortal King's set - item by item, Partial and Complete bonuses
- Immortal King's set overview
- Amulets
- Rings
- Weapon switch
- Inventory and stash
3. Statistics
4. Skills
- Key configuration
- Skill usage
5. Mercenary
6. Leveling tips
- Skill setups
7. General tips
8. IK vs. Diablo Clone
9. IK vs. IK (Player vs. Player)
10. My IK Barbarian
11. Final words, legal notes and credits
1. Introduction
Hello, I'm Leohappy. I have been playing Diablo 2 since its release in 2000, and have since contributed my wealth of knowledge to hundreds of of topic posts, guides and players on bnet.
A long time ago my focus had turned towards sets. I have created with success M'avina Bowazon, Trang-oul's Poison/Summon Necro, Trap Assassin with Natalya's set. And of course a Barbarian with the Immortal King's set.
So why make a guide about this? Mostly because I feel most guides are not entirely complete, and that I can add enough to make a completely new guide; although some of the infomation may already be well known.
Why the set?
One of the important reasons is that it is cheap and effective. Just like what the Tal Rasha's set is for the Sorceress. With some tweaks you can actually make an extremely competent character, who is able to keep up with individually built characters. The Darth Vader looks is also rather appealing (due to the strength bug most other players will see you naked however).
The two most common reasons why people dislike this set is simply the fact that melee characters have weaker PvM power, and also that you cannot teleport as the set includes an armor, so JahIthBer cannot be used.
2. Equipment
Equipment is the bread and butter of this character. If you don't have the set, this character cannot be made. Unfortunately the set already covers several important slots, so we are left with little choice for customization. So we need to make these slots count.
Extra sockets will help with this as well. We will start with the set, and then comment on the other available slots.
Immortal King's Will (Avenger Guard)
Defense: 160-175 (varies) (Base Defense: 35-50)
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 65
Durability: 55
(Barbarian Only)
+4 To Light Radius
+125 Defense
37% Extra Gold From Monsters
25-40% Better Chance Of Finding Magic Items (varies)
+2 To Warcries Skills (Barbarian Only)
Socketed (2)
This is probably the weakest item in the set. It does have 2 sockets however, which makes it nicely customizable. I would recommend putting 2 Bers (16% damage reduced) into the sockets, however you should try to obtain the best stats helm in this case, as you don't want to waste them in a crappy one.
Otherwise you can put in perfect Amethysts to help with strength requirements, enhanced damage (%ed) jewels or perfect Topazes for more magic find.
Immortal King's Stone Crusher (Ogre Maul)
Damage: 231 To 318 (274.5 Avg)
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 225
Base Weapon Speed: [10]
+200% Enhanced Damage
+200% Damage To Demons
+250% Damage To Undead
40% Increased Attack Speed
Indestructible
35-40% Chance Of Crushing Blow (varies)
Socketed (2)
Adds 211-397 Fire Damage (2 items)
Adds 7-477 Lightning Damage (3 Items)
Adds 127-364 Cold Damage, 6 sec. Duration (Normal) (4 Items)
+204 Poison Damage Over 6 Seconds (5 Items)
Adds 250-361 Magic Damage (Complete Set)
Weapon is the most important part of any melee character. If you cant kill fast enough you put yourself at a great risk. Fortunately the IK weapon doesn't dissapoint. Even though the range and damage cannot compare with the individual counterparts, it does have some nice capabilities. First it's Indestructible, so you never need to repair it. Then it has an amazing amount of Crushing Blow. This stat makes it so that the monsters lose a certain percentage of life, relative to their maximum life - which makes it great against high life enemies such as Bosses. When you search for the IK hammer, make sure it has got this stat on 40% as it is important.
Then the weapon also has a total of 1803 pts of elemental damage - enough to kill Physical immunes in 1 player games (although you will mostly use Berserk for this, but it's still nice to know).
There are also 2 sockets, which allow for customizability. However be aware that in order to reach the last speed breakpoint for Whirlwind (4 frames), a total increased speed on the IK weapon must be 70% or more (weapon speed -60). So you need to socket either 2 Shael runes, or 2x 15ias with enhanced damage/attack rating jewels.
Immortal King's Soul Cage (Sacred Armor)
Defense: 1001 (Base Defense: 487-600)
Defense: 1301 (Base Defense: 487-600)
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 232
Durability: 60
+400 Defense
5% Chance To Cast Level 5 Enchant When Struck
Poison Resist +50%
+2 To Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)
+25% Faster Hit Recovery (2 Items)
Cold Resist +40% (3 Items)
Fire Resist +40% (4 Items)
Lightning Resist +40% (5 Items)
+50% Enhanced Defense (Complete Set)
This is typically the hardest item in the set to obtain, as Sacred Armors don't drop that often. Fortunately there are enough to go around nowadays, both on ladder and non-ladder, and the prices are low, since most people underprice them. But this is good news for us!
By itself the armor is not very impressive, but when you start adding extra IK set items, the smile on your face becomes bigger and bigger. The armor doesnt have a socket, but you can add one by yourself (via the socket quest in Act 5). Personally I'd put a Ber rune inside, as the extra 8% damage reduction adds up nicely with the set's inherent bonus (20%). You could also go with an enhanced damage/attack rating jewel or a perfect Topaz. Personally I dont think enhanced damage jewels are worth it, as the overall damage is not raised that much in my experience.
Immortal King's Detail (War Belt)
Defense: 89 (Base Defense: 41-52)
Defense: 194 (Base Defense: 41-52)
Defense: 247 (Base Defense 41-52)
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 110
Durability: 24
16 boxes
+36 Defense
Lightning Resist +31%
Fire Resist +28%
+25 To Strength
+105 Defense (2 items)
+25% Faster Hit Recovery (3 Items)
+100% Enhanced Defense (4 Items)
Damage Reduced By 20% (5 Items)
+2 To Masteries (Barbarian Only) (Complete Set)
Is fairly respectable as a standalone item, but when you add more set items, it skyrockets. Extra Faster Hit Recovery, Damage Reduction, and Skills add up to a truely awsome item.
Immortal King's Forge (War Gauntlets)
Defense: 108-118 (varies)(Base Defense: 43-53)
Defense: 228-238 (varies)(Base Defense: 43-53)
Required Level: 30
Required Strength: 110
Durability: 24
+65 Defense
12% Chance To Cast Level 4 Charged Bolt When Struck
+20 To Dexterity
+20 To Strength
+25% Increased Attack Speed (2 items)
+120 Defense (3 Items)
10% Life Stolen Per Hit (4 Items)
10% Mana Stolen Per Hit (5 Items)
Freezes Target +2 (Complete Set)
Another valuable item that makes the set what it is. Helps with the strength requirements, adds all the leech that you will ever need, and extra increase in attack speed helps with skills like Berserk and Concentrate.
Immortal King's Pillar (War Boots)
Defense: 118-128 (varies) (Base Defense: 43-53)
Defense: 278-288 (varies) (Base Defense: 43-53)
Required Level: 31
Required Strength: 125
Durability: 24
Assassin Kick Damage: 39-80
+75 Defense
40% Faster Run/Walk
+110 To Attack Rating
+44 To Life
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (2 items)
+2 To Combat Skills (Barbarian Only) (3 Items)
+160 Defense (4 Items)
Half Freeze Duration (5 Items)
Quite possibly the second worst item of the set, but the bonuses are still more than worthwhile. 40% faster run/walk, coupled with the bonus gained from the Increased speed skill, makes you run really fast. As usually the attack rating boost helps, and the life is BO-able (aka Battle Orders Warcry will increase this life bonus).
Immortal King's Set Partial and Complete bonuses
Partial Set Bonus
+50 To Attack Rating (2 Items)
Additional +75 To Attack Rating (3 Items)
Additional +125 To Attack Rating (4 Items)
Additional +200 To Attack Rating (5 Items)
Complete Set Bonus
+3 To Barbarian Skill Levels
+450 To Attack Rating
+150 To Life
All Resistances +50
Magic Damage Reduced By 10
Display Aura
Immortal King's Set overview
- 1803 total elemental damage - enough to kill Physical immunes in a 1-player game.
- 10% Life and Mana steal - all you will ever need.
- +5 to Masteries/Warcries.
- +7 to Combat skills.
- 90% to Cold, 118% Fire, 121% Lightning, 100% Poison resistances - Amazing amounts of resistances. Add to this the bonus from the Natural resistance skill an you are easily maxed.
- 50% Faster Hit Recovery - Just enough to reach the 5 frame FHR breakpoint. No more is really necessary.
Amulets
Only 2 serious choices here. Highlord's Wrath is too great to pass up. Deadly strike adds to your damage nicely, and other stats are helpful.
Another choice is the Metalgrid. It adds the largest amount of attack rating for any single one item. It is a little harder to obtain on nonladder though.
The other choice is to combine the Ring and Amulet from the Angelic Raiment set, which gives easily over 1,000 AR per ring!
Rings
Personally I consider two Ravenfrosts with high AR (240+) the best option, but there are many other possibilities. You could go for a nice Rare or Craft with Strength/Leech/Attack Rating/Life/Mana bonuses.
Another option people mention a lot is the Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band (Bk5). I don't think this ring is really worth it, as the skill is not that valuable, the ring has no attack rating bonuses, and the life is not BO-able (it's added to your life totals, but Battle Orders will not increase it any further). May as well just go for a nice rare then.
Of course then there is the Angelic Raiment combo, already explained in the amulet section.
Switch slots
The most useful switch in my opinion are the +3 to Warcries weapons, which you can buy from Malah in Act5 Hell during baalruns, if you so desire. Just make sure you can equip them, although dexterity from the set (and Ravenfrosts, if you use them), should be sufficient. I like throwing weapons (Balanced Knifes) the most, but some people also prefer throwing spears (Glaives). You can also go for dual Heart of the Oak flails, or dual +3 Call to Arms weapons (Note: CTA doesn't give a boost to Shout as much as other mentioned options).
Inventory and Stash
You want a good stats Annihilus and Torch, as this will help you with high strength requirements. Resistances are not important. The other charms should be 15-20 life small charms; or grand charms with a bonus to Warcries skill.
Expensive option includes small/grand charms with maximum damage/attack rating/life, but you dont really need them. Some extra cold damage on charms is useful too, as the cold duration stacks. Longer cold duration means the monsters will be slower for longer, and more will shatter due to freezing.
A note on stash - If you are on ladder, I recommend you keep a large stack (16+) of Full rejuvenation potions ready in case you encounter a Diablo Clone in any one of your games. Read section 8 of this guide for more information.
3. Statistics
Starting Barbarian statistics:
30 Strength
20 Dexterity
25 Vitality
10 Energy
55 Life
92 Stamina
10 Mana
Per level up bonuses - +2 to Life / +1 to Mana
Per point bonuses - 1 Vitality adds +4 to Life/+1 to Stamina; 1 Energy adds +1 to Mana
The stats on the IK set Barbarian are pretty straightforward. You need enough strength to wear all items (some is already provided by the set, the rest you can add with equipment).
Dexterity is completely worthless. You dont have a shield and the attack rating gain is negligible.
Vitality is the most important. 4pts of Life for a point spend is the best bonus of all classes, and thus extremely worthwhile.
Energy - Don't put any points in here. You will have enough Mana and it will be constantly replenished thanks to mana steal that the IK set provides.