Difference between revisions of "Barbarian Warcries"

Revision as of 20:56, 21 February 2008

The Barbarian's Warcries are among the most powerful support skills in the game. Virtually all Barbarians max our Battle Cry for the huge hit point bonus, and Shout is very useful as well. Warcries can be used as attacks as well, either to damage monsters or to weaken them.

• Barbarian Skills
  • Combat Masteries
  • Combat Skills
  • Warcries

Howl

Prerequisites: None
Details: "Frighten nearby monsters". Howling will cause affected monsters to cease attacking and retreat as a green 'rain' drizzles down on them. The effect of this skill is the same thing as "Hit Causes Monster to Flee" and the Necromancer's Terror Curse, though the odds of it working are different.

Howl is most useful with a new character. Put a point into it and if you get swarmed in Act One send most of your attackers running off in terror.

This skill works by comparing your Clvl to the Mlvl of the monsters, factoring in the Slvl or the skill, and usually by late Normal this one becomes non-functional, when no monsters will run away at all. More points in the skill would help, but they are better spent elsewhere.

Monsters hit with this run in the opposite direction, and often very fast, faster than their normal movement rate. Monsters that are blocked from running will fight even with the green squiggles over their heads, so if you want to get away, cast it, run a step, and cast again. One Howl will cover most of the screen.

Howl does not work on other characters, Act Bosses, or most Super Uniques. One point is required as a pre-req for other more useful Warcries, and that's plenty.

Find Potion

Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Details: Target a monster corpse with this skill and the corpse will splat up some blood, and possibly a potion too.

• Once Find Potion has been used on a corpse, no other corpse skills will work on it, including Find Item or Corpse Explosion. Monster shamans will not be able to resurrect it either.
• The vastly superior Find Item skill will often find potions as well.
• All levels of potions are found; increasing in quality with the act. The odds of potion type are as follows:
  • Healing: 60%
  • Mana: 30%
  • Rejuvenation: 10%

Shout

Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: Howl
Synergies: Shout receives bonuses from:

• Battle Orders: +5 Seconds Per Level
• Battle Command: +5 Seconds Per Level

Details: Boosts the defense of the Barbarian and all other characters and minions in his party.

Taunt

Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: Howl
Details: Taunt maddens monsters and causes them to advance into melee range of the Barbarian. This spell is most useful against shamans, ranged attackers, and other monsters that run away or move erratically.

• Taunt does not work on players in PVP mode.
• Taunt will not work on Berserk, Possessed, Fanatic, or other creatures immune to Terror or Confuse, nor SuperUniques, Champions, or Bosses.

Battle Cry

Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Howl, Taunt.
Details: Battle Cry hobbles all the monsters within range, lowering their defense and damage.

Find Item

Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Find Potion
Details: Find Item is one of the most lucrative skills in the game. It has a good % chance to cause a monster to drop an item once they're already dead. Using this skill can cause problems in big fields of the dead, as so many items, potions, gold stacks, and other loot builds up that the Barbarian is forced to click up dozens of potions and drink them just to be able to see what else is lying around.

• Drop odds depend on the skill level, not the number of players in the game. (As the odds of an initial drop do.)
• Item quality is determined just as usual, with the Barbarian's Magic Find factored in. It's therefore ideal to cast Find Item after weapon switching to higher MF% equipment.
• Find Item works on all corpses except for Act Bosses and a few SuperUniques. Regular boss monsters, champions, and other bonus types are the best targets, for their higher quality drops. When a second drop is triggered, it acts just like the first drop: i.e. bosses drop 4 potions and an item, champions usually drop 2 potions and a large stack of gold, etc.
• Find Item can not be used on monsters that shatter and leave no corpse.
• Once Find Potion has been used on a corpse, no other corpse skills will work on it, including Find Item or Corpse Explosion. Monster shamans will not be able to resurrect it either.

Battle Orders

Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Howl, Shout
Synergies: Battle Orders is granted bonuses from:

• Shout: +5 Seconds Per Level
• Battle Command: +5 Seconds Per Level

Details: Increases the Mana, Life, and Stamina of the Barbarian and all players and minions in his party.

Grim Ward

Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Find Potion, Find Item
Details: This skill erects a gruesome, bone and gristle scarecrow from the corpse of a targeted monster, that casts the Terror curse on any monsters that draw near it, causing them to run away. This is one of the coolest and most clever skills in the game, but has hardly any practical use since few Barbarians are weak enough to want monsters to run away from them. Has some corpse-recovery utility, but few players will spend a skill point in it for just that purpose.

• Grim Ward will not work against Super Unique Monsters and Bosses.

War Cry

Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Howl, Taunt, Shout, Battle Cry, Battle Orders.
Synergies: War Cry receives the following synergistic bonuses:

• Howl: +6% Damage Per Level
• Taunt: +6% Damage Per Level
• Battle Cry: +6% Damage Per Level

Details: Damages and stuns all monsters in range.

• The stunning effect of this skill, especially at higher durations, is extremely useful.
• The damage is not high enough to make it a serious killing weapon, past small games in Nightmare. The mana cost is quite high as well.
• War Cry has a rather small radius, much smaller than any of the other War Cries.

Battle Command

Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Howl, Shout, Battle Orders.
Synergies: Battle Command is boosted by the following skills:

• Shout: +5 Seconds Per Level
• Battle Orders: +5 Seconds Per Level

Details: Battle Command adds a +1 to all of the Barbarian's skills, and does the same for all characters and minions in his party.

• Higher levels are useful for the longer duration.
• This warcry should always be cast first, before Battle Orders or Shout, so those skills will be cast at +1.