I'm just about to take on the necromacer, Nihlathak. Buffed with Battle Command, Battle Orders, Shout and Defiance. (The elite version, found in Hell, is called the Berserker Axe).Īct Five. And in Nightmare I might find an appropriate Naga (exceptional version of the war axe). Also, I'm not concerned about spending an Amn because they're common in Nightmare mode, coming up next.

And that requires Ral, Amn, Perfect Amethyst and a white war axe each time you attempt to get two sockets! So I just said 'To hell with it' and got the boost I needed from a crappy Act One axe.

And while it's possible to socket a white weapon in the Horadric cube, it's random how many sockets you come out with (1-6). Which is useless to you because the Strength runeword requires exactly two sockets. And if you find a normal white war axe and have Larzuk socket it, then it's going to come out with 6 sockets (the max for the item). It isn't easy to find a war axe with two sockets. But cubing up an Amn from lesser runes from Countess runs would be possible, though it would take ages.Īnd yeah, I just runeworded a plain old two socket axe bought from Charsi in Act One. There is only a 10% chance that it drops in the Hellforge. Thing is, the Amn rune is not easy to find in Normal mode. I recommend a very deep hit point pool for Hardcore mode. for a melee Barb.įor the first 20 or so levels (Act One), it's all Strength and Vitality. I do not claim that my course of action is the most efficient, but it's fairly efficient so far, and quite safe. Please note that this is just the way I have chosen to approach Hardcore mode as a Barb. I tend to have a second dual-wield on switch, but it's safer to have a shield on switch. Hell, you might even like to go part-throwing Barb. You can have a second dual-wield on switch, sword and board on switch or a two-hander on switch. Remember that you can quickly switch between weapon wields (W-key). However, you can respec once per difficulty level.

Initially, I'm confident enough to eschew a shield in favor of dual-wielding ( Double Swing). Don't have the right items? You're dead in the water until you get them, it's that simple. Plus, Barbs are much more reliant on items. Sorceresses and Necromancers are EZ mode in comparison. This is one of the toughest builds to play in Hardcore mode because the aggro is almost always trained on you. One lapse in concentration is all it takes for your run to end.Ĭharacter selection: Barbarian.

Diablo 2 barbarian rune words