Aiura's Barb Vs Caster Guide (d2r Pvp) - Topic

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Jul 15 2024 10:56am

-----Aiura's Basic BvC (Barb vs Caster) Guide for D2R-----

***Disclaimer: I neither claim to be the best barb player in any way, shape or form, nor do I say that I have a god-tier PvP mechanics. But I can safely say that I have quite an experience in dueling especially in D2R (especially with the new 2.4 crap patch) and have learned a thing or two especially on a Barb.

There are other god-tier BvC guides here on jsp (DhA's guide is still top-notch) and in youtube (DhA, StadiumPK, Foozerman, Toeshank, Synched a.k.a. Maty, to name a few) that you can read/watch instead of this one but I believe I can add some more insights about the D2R changes and comparison to D2 LOD BvC gameplay.

***Please feel free to correct any mistakes I make in this detailed guide as this will be my first guide. Don't hesitate to provide feedback and I hope you enjoy!***

Table of Contents:

1.) ABOUT ME/GOALS TO REACH

2.) STATS AND SKILLS

3.) GEAR SETUPS (vs ALL & 1V1)

4.) D2R CHANGES/STRATEGIES for BvC

5.) FINAL THOUGHTS

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1.) ABOUT ME/WHY BARB?

- Hi! My name is Aiura, I am a PvP player from the Philippines and I had been introduced to D2LOD PvP around 2007 or '08 (i was ~13 years old at the time) and only got some practice around 2011 until D2R got released. I am known in ASIA SERVER to play PvP characters ON A BUDGET (i.e. cheap-ass charms, not perfect gear, etc) and I am a proof that you don't need filthy-expensive gear to collect ears in the Blood Moor.

- Barbs on LOD were notorious for their aggressive playstyle and how they can essentially lock the opposition to oblivion with the right execution. However, on D2R, it's a different story (and playstyle) with the game-breaking 2.4 patch, which had huge changes as to how Barb is (and should be) played. Still, there are some matchups that are enjoyable to play against as a barb if you can properly play it.

Pros:
- Tons of life, huge damage, includes a damage that cannot be absorbed
- Very good in D2R team duels (Leap is not that effective anymore, but still useful)
- Fast-paced and rewarding gameplay

Cons:
- Notoriously expensive (you can get by with cheap damage/AR/life GCs, but other gear/s are mandatory).
- Lag-intolerant (90+ ping is the highest you can do, more than that would spell frustration for you).
- Arguably the most difficult character to learn and master (very high learning curve)
- Needs fast reaction time
- Can be BMed pretty easily
- Needs high level (99 is the ideal, the reason is that level difference takes into account on the Attack Rating calculation)

Goals to reach:
- Maximum Whirlwind IAS breakpoints (can easily reach on D2R)
- Have 37 FCR (less mobility, arguably higher DPS??) or 63 FCR (faster mobility, decent damage) setup.
- Decent FHR values (you definitely don't want zero FHR. Around 27-48 FHR is enough)
- Max resist in Hell Difficulty
- Good Attack Rating versus every 1v1 setups

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2.) STATS AND SKILLS:

Stats: With all of your gears taken into consideration, you should be able to put all your points into VIT. Unless you want to have some form of block without sacrificing your HP (around 30-40% block is enough in my opinion), then you can invest some points into DEX but I suggest you do the corresponding calculations depending on your current gear setups (i.e. torch and anni rolls, the rare FCR-stat ring/s you have, etc).

Skills (skills marked with "**" will have explanation below):
Max the following Skills:
Battle Order
Axe Mastery
Berserk**
20/xx Whirlwind**

Put point/s in the following Skills:
16 Leap**
1 to all pre-requisites
1/4 Increased Speed (depends on the ruleset)
5 Natural Resistances**
1 Warcry**

**Explanation:

- At level 97, you still have spare points. If you choose to have 16 hard points into Leap and have maxed out Berserk, you will have 17 hard points into Whirlwind which is good enough. If you choose to max BOTH Berserk and Whirlwind, put the rest of your points into Leap. I don't really use Barb on Team vs Team because barbs are rarely used here in ASIA server so I only put 1 point into Shout.

- With the current changes to Whirlwind, having a good starting damage, AR and manacost on low levels and only getting a low return of damage and AR with higher skill point investment (and HUGE manacost), what I did was i maxed Berserk to be able to 2-3 shots some opponents and put the remaining skill points into Whirlwind. I tested that on my level 97 Barb, I didn't notice any significant damage decrease with a ~Level 25 Whirlwind and a Level 30 Whirlwind. Feel free to max out whichever skill you prefer.

- I have tested that 16 hard points into Leap (with +skills on gears) practically covers almost your entire screen (about 19 yards Knockback Radius), and with the recent FHR nerfs, it's not something to max out but feel free to do so.

- i have been using 5 points to Natural Resistances and it won't have much difference if you add another point because of its quick diminishing returns

- Warcry is a good skill to use with its stun-capabilities. Note that It has a crap-AoE so use it sparingly.

- Howl can also be used to scatter Druid's pets in that particular matchup.

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3.) GEAR SETUPS (thanks again to DhA's guide for the references):

A. Barb vs Caster Main Setup (good on 1v1 vs Trap Assassin):

HELM:
Expensive option: 2 Barb/20 FCR/2 socket (CHAM + LO rune) that may include any of the following (not in order): Life, Visionary mod, all resist, FRW, FHR, stats
Budget option (which i currently have): 2 Barb/20 FCR/1 socket (LO Rune)/112 Attack Rating/30 STR/39% Lightning Res

ARMOR:
Enigma on a low-strength armor base (i used Dusk Shroud).

AMULET:
Highlord's Wrath

BELT:
Arachnid's Mesh

Gloves:
Upped Trang'Oul's Claws

BOOTS:
Upped Gore Rider

RING #1:
Expensive option: 10 FCR/100+ Attack Rating/50+ Life/70+ Mana with Res (preferably Lightning) or Dex
Budget option (which I currently have): 10 FCR/97 Attack Rating/84 Mana/9 All Res

RING #2:
Wisp Projector

WEAPON GLOVE-SIDE:
Grief Berserker Axe preferably with 390+ Damage

WEAPON BOOT-SIDE:
Beast Berserker Axe

**note: Patch 2.4 changes to Whirlwind includes its IAS Whirlwind Frame Calculation, in which case it NOW consider Increased Attack Speed modifiers from OTHER SOURCES, not just from your weapon (it previously only considers the Weapon's Attack Speed modifiers in the calculations).
What this means is that Whirlwind's Max Frame breakpoint (4 frames) will be much easier to obtain through Attack Speed-granting items such as Highlord's Wrath.

SWAP WEAPONS & CUBE
Warcry Stick x2 (preferably Balanced Knife) OR Warcry Stick + HotO (for the Level 4 Oak) OR Warcry Stick + Plague Sword (if tournament allows it, good versus Trap Assassins with Plague runeword herself)
+3 Warcries, +3 Battle Orders Helm
Demon Limb with 5/5 Fire Facet
x2 SoJ/BK rings
+3 Warcries Amulet

INVENTORY:
Expensive option:
Torch
Anni
x10 5 FHR/20 AR SC if your helm has no FHR and you use gore rider.(If you need resist choose some 5 FHR/5 All Res or some 5/11 instead)
x3 or x4 20/17 Life Mana SC (more or less if you need mana or not)
451 poison damage SC
Rest 3/20/20 SC, Attack Rating is the most important thing

Budget option (which I currently have):
19/19 Torch
20/19 Anni
313 poison SC
x1 16/17 Life Mana SC
x1 5 FHR/10 Lightning Res SC
x6 assorted 2 Max Dmg/16 to 18 AR/16 to 17 SC, again Attack Rating is really important (you may replace these with a couple of resistance SCs if for Team vs Team depending on your needs)
x2 9 Max Dmg/55 and 76 AR/12 FHR GC
x6 assorted 8 to 9 Max Dmg/60 to 75 AR/35 to 38 Life GC

**Explanation:
This is my standard setup vs Trap Assassins, Bone Necro and Sorcs (replace charms, boots, rings and helms as needed vs certain elements while maintaining the necessary FCR/FHR breakpoints).
The budget option is what i can get with my past trading here, some were donated and others i looted myself. With my budget gear, my Level-97 Barb has the following stats:

-7.2k Life fully-buffed, almost 8.6k with Level 4 Oak
- 9.7k Whirlwind Attack Rating, 14k Berserk Attack Rating
- 3.3k Berserk Display Damage
- 2.3k (Grief side) & 3.3k (Beast side) WW Display Damage
- 75% FRW
- 29 FHR
- 63 FCR
- 71% Deadly Strike
- 20% Lightning Absorb + 80% Lightning Resistance (gm for most tournament rulesets)

STASH:
Thundergod's Wrath
2/15+ FCR Caster Amulet with mods such as Life, Mana, All Res, DEX, etc.
Verdungo's Hearty Cord
String of Ears
Vamp Gaze with either Cham or Ber
Absorb Rings (Dwarf Star, Raven Frost, and Wisp Projector)
30 FRW/10 FHR/xx Resistance Boots
Stormshield with ELD Rune
Widowmaker with either HEL or UM Rune
Doom Berserker Axe (if you feel like going to pubs, feel free to use this bad boi)

B. versus Druid Setup:

HELM:
Expensive option: 2 Barb/20 FCR/2 socket (BER + BER Rune) that may include any of the following (not in order): Life, Visionary mod, life leech, FRW, FHR, stats
Budget option #1 (which i currently have): 3 socket (BER + BER + BER Rune)/20 FCR magic circlet
Budget option #2 (which i currently have): BerBer'd Crown of Ages

AMULET:
2/15+ FCR Amulet with any of the following mods: Life, Mana, All Res or DEX

BELT:
Verdungo's Hearty Cord (more life) OR String of Ears (sustainability via Life Leech)

RING #1:
Expensive option: 10 FCR/100+ Attack Rating/50+ Life/70+ Mana with All Res or Life Leech
Budget option (which I currently have): 10 FCR/97 Attack Rating/84 Mana/9 All Res

RING #2:
Raven Frost

**rest of equipment is the same as Main.
**note - with the Budget option #2, you will only have 37 FCR but arguably better survivability. But the 63 FCR variant (Expensive/Budget option #1) is i think superior.

C. versus Necro Setup:

HELM:
Expensive option: 2 Barb/20 FCR/2 socket (with 15 IAS/3x ED Jewels)/FRW that also may include any of the following (not in order): Life, Visionary mod, FHR, Stats, etc.
Budget option (which i currently have): 2 Barb/20 FCR/1 socket (15 IAS/31 ED Jewel)/30 FRW/21 Life/97 Attack Rating

**note - Most people (including barb pros like StadiumPK) cannot stress enough the importance of FRW mod in the helm to out-run spirits after using whirlwind and to more effectively Berserk your opponent even if you misclicked/intentionally teleported near the Necro. Good thing the budget helm I have already has FRW in it lol. Thanks again to the good people who's making this guide better

RING #1:
Expensive option: 10 FCR/100+ Attack Rating/50+ Life/70+ Mana with All Res or DEX
Budget option (which I currently have): 10 FCR/97 Attack Rating/84 Mana/9 All Res

RING #2:
Nature's Peace

**rest of equipment is the same as Main.

D. versus Amazon Setup:

**use the Druid setup vs Bowazons and Main Setup vs Lightning Javzons.

E. versus Paladin Setup:

**use the Druid setup vs Smiters and Main Setup vs FoH Paladins with the necessary lightning resist stacking. Feel free to change the boots, rings or charms to compensate the Conviction Aura.

**for the Hammerdin, you may use the Main Setup but replace the jewelry with Angelic Set and either have 37 FCR or 63 FCR breakpoints but I personally use the damage setup with Drac's Gloves, Guillaume's Face and Triple Angelics. Will be explained in the Strategy section.

E. versus Sorceress Setup:

**use the Main setup, replacing jewelry and charms according to the element the sorceress is built, which includes:
a. Hotspur with the Main versus Fire Sorceress
b. Raven Frost with the Main setup + cold SCs to reach high amounts of Cold Res (400+ is the Ideal with Raven) versus Cold Sorceress, and
c. Stacking more lightning resistances versus Lightning Sorceress (I use the Cham+Lo Helm with Wisp OR you can go for Tgods + 10% Wisp with 2/15 FCR ammy to retain the 63 FCR bp, the latter which I still need testing if viable) .

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4.) D2R CHANGES/STRATEGIES for BvC:

i. You cannot FHR/Block-lock your enemies anymore with tri-whirling on D2R because of the recently-implemented "FHR immunity" and therefore you can get out of sticky situations. It works by being in a state of hit recovery animation "immunity" for about 1 second (or a certain time, i don't know exactly how long) whenever you just got FHRed in the previous engagement. This is a major disadvantage to aggressive barb players since the FHR-locking capability of tri-whirls is what made us deadly in D2 LOD. But at the same time, it also became somewhat beneficial as annoying TrapSins cannot lock us with mindblast anymore.

ii. One of the attack patterns you can use/add to your arsenal is telestomp followed up by whirling once or twice before resetting or re-grabbing the namelock with teleport again WHILE still in the Whirlwind animation, which requires fast reaction time from the player (can still use tri-whirl but use it at your own risk). Good duelers will recognize a BvC if the latter is doing a tri-whirl and will usually CT-tele out on the 2nd whirl.

iii. Berserk (zerk, as its commonly called), is a really great way to deal big boi damage (cannot be absorbed in any way) especially if you want to be unpredictable. Really good versus Necros that use Bone Prison (see StadiumPK's video playlist "zerk addict").

iv. Learn to anticipate where your enemies will teleport next or where they currently might be especially on duels that it matters the most (i think those are trap assassins and bowzons). Usually you will get a pattern after a few duels. Use it to try and whirl long then get out.

v. Namelock/Chainlock is your bread-and-butter mechanics. Master it, and you will have better time dueling most casters.

vi. Utilize the Unsummon-lock. Works wonders to delay/fake your stomps and try to land one WW or two. One way to fake your opponent is to RUN FAR or cast a long whirlwind away from your opponent, and grabbing his/her name with Unsummon-lock while in mid-running/whirling animation. Do note that Unsummon-lock doesn't interrupt you while you run.

vii. Be smart about going aggressive. Accuracy and Patience is key in getting more wins on BvC. If you see a druid doing tornado-trains, don't stomp and combo him just because you got that namelock. Learn when to hold on to that lock, and when to let it go.

viii. Don't stress yourself out if you lose almost every time vs all matchups. Barbs are currently at the bottom-tier of current state of D2R. But getting kills is genuinely satisfying if you pull it off.

ix. Please check out DhA's "PvP Tactics" section for a detailed explanation of the mechanics/PvP terms you need (namelock, chainlock, corner tele, CT-tele, unsummon lock, etc). Do note that DESYNCHmay or may not exist in D2R anymore (i only see it on charging paladins but haven't seen it on Amazons or barbs).

1v1 Strategies (as of patch 2.4):

Sorc (Medium to Hard): - use GM absorb depending on the element, over-stacking (in line with GM rules) if she is Cold Sorcs. Use the 63 FCR and try to be aggressive with her while minding your surroundings (that might be counter-intuitive but you will understand after you get some duels vs them). Usually, Cold and Fire sorcs will lead/bait you into stomping her while she prepares her Blizzard/Meteor placements. Utilizing Unsummon-lock and LEAP i think is a great way to grab the initial namelock on her and try to chainlock her with 3x Telelock, followed by 2 whirls then reset after that. Can be a hard matchup if the sorc is super defensive and has max block. Remember, sorcs naturally have low life even with Oak and Energy Shield, and one good WW clip will drain her life insanely fast.

Amazon (Easy to Miserable): - You may choose to maximize the items you can wear that will grant you a high block with Stormshield AND max damage reduction % or stick with the BvC gameplay and gears. BE UNPREDICTABLE and try to predict where the amazon is, go away from her screen and begin to RUSH to her screen via CT-tele on a different angle that she doesn't expect, and whirl once or twice fast (while she is on bow-side) then reset. They have naturally low life and Open Wounds will drain her pretty fast. You will have a hard time if you insist on tri-whirling her on Jav side because she is expected to be max-block, have good Dodge/Avoid/Evade (DAE) points and damage reduction = near invulnerable to your tri-whirls (remember that unlike in D2 LOD, you CANNOT FHR/Block/Stun lock your opponent with tri-whirls). As soon as you see her go for the Jav side, either risk yourself with 2 tri-whirls then reset away, or just go away from her asap and wait for her to shoot arrows again. Everytime you feel she has a guided arrow namelock on you, tele as far away as possible to poof the arrows. You are pretty much screwed if the Amazon reacts insanely fast.
Edit: If he tries to walk/run to try and kite you, whirl to the general direction of where she is going. Chances are, she will mess up and misclick with her walk/running while on bow-side instead of jav-side but that's rare lol.

Assassin (Medium to Miserable): Use GM absorb appropriately. 37 FCR/63 FCR is good either way (37 being less mobility for more damage, or vice-versa) For pure trapsins, it's going to test your PATIENCE, name/chainlock and prediction skills. If she is quite aggressive with you, you can match it up with aggressive gameplay of your own. Use short-leaps as necessary to try and namelock her with teleport while in mid-air, then stomp her with 1 or 2 whirls before getting out and reset (especially if she's defensive, you cannot go for 3 or more WWs because she will definitely get out and you will get out-traded with traps). If you get mind-blasted, you can wait for the swirlies to vanish. You can also go for the aggressive play if 1.) Her shadow is down, or 2.) she only has 1-2 traps placed near her. Chainlock her with a combination of Telelock-Telelock-Whirl if possible when either one condition is met. If faced with a super defensive trapper who only sits in 5 traps then teleporting around and letting her Shadow Bae MBs you, don't bother fighting her. Always choose your peace of mind lol.
For Hybrids (spiders, ghost), the difficulty w/ them is the variety of their attacks, so gearing might be hard to do, but still winnable. If he has high physical damage + little/no trap damage, invest more on physical DR. Consider using SS if needed. Or just use the Druid setup and replace the cold with lightning res & play the best you can. The gameplan I do IF i use double-axes is I patiently wait for the hybrids to miss their whirls, try to unsummon-lock them while they are still traveling (WW animation), and the moment they reach the end of their ww, i tele-stomp them with 2 whirls. Rinse and repeat the process. Remember that Ghost Sins will apply damage to you by GOING AT YOU, and same goes for you. You will out-range them unless you mess up with your whirls. Again, RNG is a big factor whether you win this matchup or not.

Necro (Medium to Hard): Nature's Peace is your friend here. Probably the best and most-fun matchup you can have if he has GM block and it's specifically fun if you can name/chainlock him constantly. 63 FCR is really important and the only cast rate on this matchup. Leap or unsummon-lock is usually your go-to for the initial namelock (or if you are not fast enough, JUST LIKE ME) then followed by Tele-whirl-tele-tele-zerk-tele-tele-tele-whirl. Just try and mix it up and always remember, Berserk is vital vs necros because obviously it penetrates bone armor. If necros use 75 block, uses clay golem and purely defensive, then you must accept the fact that you will lose almost every single time vs them. BM bois.

Druid (Medium to Hard): Another somewhat of a good matchup for you, provided that he's GM (choose 1 pet, doesn't summon vine/s, and have GM block). Use the 63 FCR and high OR max DR (depends if you want to use the CoA setup or the BerBerBer Circlet setup). Life leech can be useful if Druid uses wolves. Leap only once and try to tele-whirl him for once/twice before resetting or chaining him. If the druid sees your stomping pattern he will likely try to upnado you, or try to lead his tornados then teleporting on top of it, kinda like Spirit Trains on necro. You can somewhat counter this by utilizing Howl and Leap to scare away his pets and either force him to resummon or risk getting hit by your Whirlwind. Do not always go all-in, aggressively attacking the Druid blindly as that might cost you your life. Right whirlwind positioning is the key here, especially if his pets are spread in the area he's standing. Namelock-telewhirl isn't always an option for this matchup, sometimes teleporting on his sides only then whirling fast can land you some pretty nasty hits, provided you are FAST at clicking (which obviously I AIN'T)

Paladins (Miserable): Any paladin build should beat a godly-built BvC. Nothing more to say. You may have a chance versus a Hammerdin if you can use a Widowmaker. What i'd recommend against these characters is to totally forget about FCR and focus on Attack Rating and Damage. You can try and use triple Angelic's Set with Guillaume's Face, Dracul's Grasp and maybe Tgods if the paladin is a Mage (Hammer-FoH hybrid), or go for the BerBer CoA + Verdungo's with Triple Angelic's Set for pure Smiters. The strategy is to always whirlwind AWAY from the paladin, and that is usually about 4 or 5 oclock and 7 or 8 oclock angles from the center of your screen. Try to be unpredictable with where you want to Whirlwind as they might predict you and go for up-smiting or up-hammering you. You will usually win vs a Smiter who only does is Shift-Smiting, especially if he uses a Phase Blade because Berserker Axe has a higher Range. Again, nothing more to say.

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5.) FINAL THOUGHTS:

Barbarians are indeed at the bottom of the D2R Food Chain. They are not as good as they used to be plus they are super challenging but they can still be fun to play and pretty rewarding if executed properly. Moreover, it requires focus, accuracy and patience on the player, aside from the PvP mechanics that the player may or may not know.

I hope this guide made you learn some impactful things about BvC in its current state and I hope this will encourage you to play the Barbarian in PvP!
Again, feel free to CORRECT any mistakes that I have made or PM me if there are more questions. Thank you and I hope this helps! -- Aiura

Edit 1: I edited the "versus Necro Setup" part, specifically the helm needed because i created this guide at 1am so a lil bit sleepy. Thank you for the correction, Sir @paweljonk and @StadiumPK!
Edit 2: Added some valuable information on "Strategies" section.

My D2R PvP Video Compilations: https://www.youtube.com/@aiura03

This post was edited by Aiuraaa on Jul 19 2024 03:22am