I'm currently leveling and only using self found gear. I've gone Frenzy/Double Swing for most of norm but I'm starting to hit its limit with survivability, I think I need a shield now.

Should I go Zerk or Conc with a shield?

This post was edited by endymionlune on Jul 15 2025 09:25pm

1 recommendation for ww with 1 zerk
Overfarm before progress if youre getting hit hard

go war cry build through nightmare until you can farm runes for better weapon. 2x spirit weapons + insight merc aint bad. once you get something like an eth oath then go berserk or ww. character level plays a huge part in attack rating calculation, so being a little overleveled will make a very noticeable difference, much more than a sorc or hammer pally
i like berserk early, howl away trash mobs then you can focus champs
1pt war cry is nice cc
leap is nice cc, just remember you can get hit in the air
2x black runeword on swap with 1pt double swing is great for bosses
battle cry great early for ez hit chance
make smoke runeword
make sure you putting some points in battle orders no matter your build

hc solo, you need to farm levels and gear, especially as barb. you should farm nightmare till 70s, then farm nightmare tz until high 70s, then farm hell countess/pits.

Thank you so much for this, so I don't have much of a choice as far as war cry through nm? I was hoping to play melee, I'm sick of casters haha.

So dependant on weapon. Makes melee leaving hard.

Your issue maybe you are not leeching enough, if you do have decent leech, then your phys dmg maybe too low. This is if you carry on with Frenzy barb.

What is your gear, what act / difficulty, what merc, what skill placement and where are you putting your stats?

Have you tried just running act 1 bosses (norm) for low set drops like hsarus (belt / boots) or pieces of angelics (pref 2 rings, ammy and armor), any runes, or runewords made?

Also, remember what monster types appear more often in areas, like Crypt / Mausoleum have a lot of undead skellies, so leech doesn't work.

Work around areas to your barbs strength with what you have... I don't play D2:R, however in LoD I preferred the Rogue merc to Nightmare Act 3 before switching to Act2 merc, also you have more variety in Merc abilities I believe, so use what you think works for you.

I know this did not help too much, but hopefully something for you to think on.

This was very useful, thank you for taking the time to help!