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The In the game story, the Barbarian is tribes are powerful, nomadic, and misunderstood. Previously seen as savages by most peoples, the Barbarians' culture has become known and respected, even as the Barbarians remain a member of any of several tribes people apart, living on the fringes fringe of civilization, and refusing the influence of those he sees they see as soft and weak.

Ceaseless clan warfare and * Information about the constant struggle to survive in the hostile wilderness are reflected Barbarian class found in Diablo I: Hellfire may be found on the [[Barbarian's sturdy and powerful frame. Though perhaps lacking the sophistication of city-folk, the Barbarian has an acute awareness of his surroundings. Because of his shamanistic belief in the animal powers with whom he identifies, the (Diablo I)|Diablo I: Hellfire Barbarian is sometimes associated with stories of lycanthropy. In fact, he believes he can call upon totemic animal spirits to infuse him with supernormal strengths and abilities, but these only work to improve his already superb battle-tactics]] page.

As you==Background=={{Barbarian Skills}}The Barbarian, a member of any of several tribes on the fringes of civilization, rebuffs the influence of those he sees as soft and weak. Endless clan warfare and the constant struggle to survive in the hostile wilderness are reflected in the Barbarian'd expect this is s sturdy and powerful frame. Though perhaps lacking the brawn behind sophistication of city-folk, the five charactersBarbarian has an acute awareness of his surroundings. The sheer variety Because of his shamanistic belief in the animal powers with whom he identifies, the Barbarian is sometimes associated with stories of fighting lycanthropy. In fact, he believes he can call upon totemic animal spirits to infuse him with supernatural strengths and damageabilities, but these only work to improve his already superb battle-enhancing skills would have tactics. The Barbarian is considered to be an improvement over the warrior from Warrior class available in Diablo fleeing for mummyI. The Barbarian's apron. But the most exciting improvement made to the fighter innovative feature is the ability to wield two weapons at the same time. Allotting points to his 'Double Swing' skill in his Combat Actions tree will optimise optimize this ability, enabling him to perform a quick one two attack with both weapons. Add a point Coupled with [[Skills#Skill Synergies|Skill Synergies]], any Barbarian has the potential to 'Bash', and 'Axe Mastery' and you can imagine how powerful this guy can be and all this possible on reaching become a character level of only sixpotent fighter.

Being a hand-to-hand melee specialist he's going to need to watch , a Barbarian should be mindful of his health and keep a plentiful stock of health potions. Luckily he possesses 'Find Health Potion' {level one skill} and this will aid him in successfully harvesting a superior health potion from the body of a slain monster. And at At higher levels, if he does go charging charges into a situation he's not ready to handle he has a leap skill that will enable him to jump over the pack and into safety. From there he's more than capable of putting some distance between himself and his opponents as he has the highest amount of stamina out of any of the classes and can run for a good old distance before needing to rest to replenishhis stamina.

To enhance his Combat Skills he the Barbarian has near-on an entire tree dedicated to Combat Masteries. All are Clvl six and below and is the only section of any tree that does not have prerequisites. So basically In other words, the first skill point you get you can allot it to be used on any of the six masteries to improve whichever weapon he is using at that timeavailable. All masteries are passive so and thus do not need require activating, so as soon as a single point has been added he will begin to enjoy increased proficiency in that area as they become intrinsic to his character. The more points, the more of a master he becomes in that particular weapon. So a bit of a 'Daniel my son' element there.

Whilst it appears he will not be experiencing too many Whereas the first couple of Acts present no problems in for the early stages of Barbarian, defeating enemies becomes more difficult as the game he is not going to be able to display progresses as much bravado in later levels where he'll come up against the serious encounters more magic-casting monstersoriented foes. He'll need to watch his resistances as he doesn't really specialise specialize in long-ranged attacks as you'd expect so the chances of him being successfully hit by a spell-caster when going toe-to-toe are touching 100%is high. Also his 'This problem is compounded by the fact that the Natural Resistance' skill doesn't become available until he's reached Clvl 30. The long-ranged attacks that have been confirmed are 'Double Throw' in Combat Skills and of course his 'Throwing Mastery'. However points can't be added to the former until he reaches a Clvl of 12. His starting strength is the highest of all the characters so finding some heavy duty armour ASAP will be his own personal quest. Raising his AC with 'Shout' will only be a temporary stop-gap and as he's not exactly mana-man he'll not be able to do that continuously to compensate for inferior armour.

A varied bunch of skills the Warcries areDual-wielding weapons presents another problem. There is Placing a lot weapon in the off-hand slot deprives the Barbarian of variety in this tree indeeda shield which, consequently, ranging from attack skills leaves him more vulnerable to aura-like bonuses melee foes due to corpse skillsa lower AC. There are actually 7 "War Cries" here, the other 3 are corpse skills, grouped in here by defaultThe warcry Shout may serve as a method to counter this.

==Warcries are cast with a right click, and are a sort of spell. When casting them the Barbarian throws his arms up and his head back and howls. The warcry is shown as a Nova of brightly-colored light moving out from the Barbarian in an expanding ring. All warcries have a distinctive graphic, but the sound the Barbarian makes is a random one each time. The Warcries all have different ranges, with the beneficial aura-like ones generally going nearly full screen, while the attack Warcries that hurt monsters have much less range, usually just a few yards.==

With beneficial Warcries, other characters and minions must be in range of the Warcry (basically anywhere on the screen There is close enough) when it is cast. They'll then enjoy the benefit for the duration a lot of variety in the skillWarcries tree, which depends on how many points the Barbarian has in itranging from attack skills to aura-like bonuses to corpse skills. Beneficial There are actually seven "Warcries should be refreshed before they expire. Battle Orders especially, since it adds to " here; the maximum potential hps and mana, and must be filled up with leech or potionsother three are corpse skills grouped in here by default.

The three corpse skills Warcries are cast just like spells are very useful as well. Find Item is one of When casting them the most powerful skills in the game, in terms of finding good equipment, Barbarian throws his arms up and his head back and Find Potion can be very helpful also, for the more patient Barbarianhowls. Grim Ward The warcry is one shown as a Nova of brightly-colored light moving out from the neatest skills Barbarian in the game in concept and appearancean expanding ring. All Warcries have a distinctive graphic, but it's hardly needed or used in the game, since sound the Barbarian makes is so powerful in other areas that it's icing on random each time. The Warcries all have different ranges, with the icing on beneficial aura-like ones generally going nearly full screen, while the triple chocolate chip fudge cakeattack Warcries that hurt monsters have much less range, usually just a few yards.

'''Echoing Weapons''': A good plan is to find two echoing weapons, and use them on your weapon switch. Echoing is a prefix that gives +3 to all With beneficial Warcries, other characters and obviously two minions must be in range of these gives +6 to every skill in this treethe Warcry when it is cast. You switch weapons, cast Battle Orders and any others, They'll then go back to your normal weapons. Dual Echoing is very useful enjoy the benefit for Find Item and Potion also, taking them instantly to Slvl 7 (or higher, with other equipment) the duration of the skill which is good odds depends on bothhow many points the Barbarian has in it. Beneficial Warcries should be refreshed before they expire.

You can use +2 Sounding weapons The three corpse skills are also, but obviously they are not as goodvery useful. Any time you are in town, check the NPC Find Item is an invaluable skill for echoing weapons, finding good equipment and since most Barbs spend some time shopping Find Potion can also be helpful for the more patient Barbarian. Grim Ward works as a big weapon at some point, you should find Echoing stuff at more constant version of another skill found in the same time. Buy anything you can dual wield with this bonus, normal weapons if possibletree, since they have lower Str/Dex/Level requirementsHowl.

Masteries increase the Barbarian's efficiency in the You can use of +2 [[Prefix#.2B_points_to_Barbarian_Skill_Trees|sounding weapons such ]] as swordswell, axes, pole-arms and even ranged attacks with his Throwing Masterybut they aren't as effective. A Barbarian needs to pick one mastery (or possibly two if Any time you go with Throwing) and stick with itare in town, eventually putting check the maximum 20 skill points into it. Bonuses from your Masteries add to your damage NPC for Echoing weapons, and buy anything with every attack skill, so should be maxed out firstthis bonus which you can dual-wield. If you Normal weapons are using mostly Whirlwind but with some Berserk, some Leap Attack, and some Frenzy, more points in your mastery will make all of those more effectivepreferred due to their lower requirements.

Other than the six weapon masteries, there are four other passive skills in this tree, all One of which deserve at least one point. Increased Stamina is helpful, though not mandatory. Increased Speed is the same, basically a luxury, but running faster means you get easiest ways to each battle quicker, move faster in town, can escape trouble more rapidly, and find two good such weapons is just generally more fun. It's hard to resist a point there. Iron Skin is helpful for your defense, and Natural Resistance is one of check the most useful skills shops offered in [[Harrogath]] and repeatedly enter the entire game. Certainly portal leading to [[Pindleskin]] as this resets the other six character classes would trade most any of their skills to for one that gave them free resistancemerchants' inventories.

*More [[Barbarian Warcries]] stats and details. ==Combat Masteries== Masteries increase the Barbarian'''s efficiency in the use of weapons such as swords, axes, polearms and even ranged attacks with Throwing Mastery. A Barbarian needs to pick one mastery (or possibly two if you go with Throwing) and stick with it, eventually putting the maximum 20 skill points into it. Bonuses from your Masteries add to your damage with every attack skill, so these should be maxed out first. If you are using mostly Whirlwind but with some Berserk, some Leap Attack, and some Frenzy, more points in your mastery will make all of those more effective. Other than the six weapon masteries, there are four other passive skills in this tree, all of which deserve at least one point. Increased Stamina is helpful, though not mandatory. Increased Speed is the same, basically a luxury, but running faster means you get to each battle quicker, move faster in town, and can escape trouble more rapidly. Iron Skin is helpful for your defense and Natural Resistance is one of the most useful skills in the game. ===Critical Strike''': === All the Weapon Masteries give a % chance of hitting for double damage, just like the Amazon's [[Critical Strike ]] skill. This bonus is calculated after all other damage, including bonus from strength and skills, so it doubles the total damage, often a number in the thousands. This has always been the case, but the double damage bonus was not displayed in the skill description before D2X.

*More [[Barbarian Combat Masteries]] stats and details.  ==Combat Skills== The Combat Skills tree houses the Barbarian's damage-oriented skills. In addition to single-hit skills, there are crowd control attacks that hit multiple targets and skills to increase attack speed. There is also one ranged-oriented skill in this tree in Double Throw. Lastly, the Barbarian possesses the skill Berserk, which is one of the few methods in which he can inflict magical damage. All of these skills work well with the Barbarian's Masteries which add to his weapon damage when using any sort of attack. Warcries are helpful also in many cases. *More [[Barbarian Combat Skills]] stats and details.  ==History==It is said that when the world was very young the tribes of the Northern Steppes were given sacred charge. Somewhere deep within the great mountain Arreat, lies a source of great power, crucial to the well-being of all humanity. The tribes act as guardians of this artifact, and through this sacred duty, have shaped their way of life in observance of this power. Steeped in mystery and tradition, these people refer to themselves as the Children of Bul-Kathos, the great and ancient king. To better protect their lands from outside forces they adopted a nomadic lifestyle, frequently moving within the confines fo the Steppes and maintaining few permanent settlements. Isolating themselves from the world outside their territories, they eschew the use of magic and complex machinery, as they believe these things can only weaken the resolve developed over so many years. The Children of Bul-Kathos have developed a kinship with the land and have learned to harness the primal energies in nature to enhance their own substantial physical prowess. Because of this, and their freedom from the trappings of the outside world, the Western Kingdoms has historically referred to these tribes as barbarians, an epithet that belies the rich cultural and spiritual history these people possess. Although some trade with these curious folk, they do so only along the outmost borders of their lands. All intrusions into the territory surrounding Mount Arreat are forbidden, and warriors from the northern tribes are quick to thwart any incursions. Every attempt at conquest has always been met with fierce and decisive resistance in an account of one skirmish, hordes of Barbarian tribesmen silently appeared where none had been but moments before. Their bodies painted in mysterious designs, the tribesmen descended on the invaders, howling as the charged like the fierce mountain winds. Fully half of the trespassing soldiers immediately dropped their weapons and fled, the remainder were set upon by the Northmen with a fervor that none of the battle-hardened invaders had ever witnessed. No quarter was asked and none was given, but in the end, when the outlanders sounded a full retreat, no chase was given either . . . at least none that could be observed.

The true Barbarian skills, all sorts of "hit things hard" abilities with some classic names such ==Traits and Abilities==[[Image:Fetish.JPG|thumb|200px|A fetish barbarian.]]Renowned for their awesome combat prowess as well as 'Bash'their arrogant demeanor, 'Stun'the Barbarians appear to be perpetually ready for battle. Through harsh conditioning, the Barbarians excel in physical combat and 'Berserk'tremendous feats of strength. All very savage-sounding and just what you'd expect a Barbarian to possessThey derive their power chiefly from intense physical training, but also tap primal energies from the living world around them. In addition They can manifest these or add to these single hit skills, there are crowd control attacks that hit multiple targets, their already considerable catalog of superhuman feats of strength and ways to increase your attack speed. More variety than you might expectpower.

All of these skills work well with the {{Skill navbox D2|Barbarian's Masteries, which add to his weapon damage when using any sort of attack. Warcries are helpful also in many cases.}}

[[category:barbarian]][[category:Classes (Diablo II)]][[category:Barbarian strategy guides (Diablo II)]][[Category:BarbarianClasses]]