PotD Barbarian build - first time player

[Brulak]

Hi,

 

i just recently bought PoE and want to play a Barbarian. I want to play on PotD difficulty and i would like to build the barbarian my way. I have read on many posts that for PotD you have to optimize and min/max wich as i understand it in terms of a barbarian shifts the focus heavily towards an aoe carnage and therefore int maxed build. I want to clarify that idont have a problem with an int barb existing or even being one of the most optimized builds possible, its just not what id like to build.

 

So i guess my main question is can i still build a powerful barbarian more along the lines of a brute that can take a lot of hits and still feel strong or does PotD require me to follow along certain cut out ways?

 

thanks for reading and answering

 

Brulak

 

[Boeroer]

Sure you can build a barbarian with lowish INT. It's just so that your selfbuffs will be short and you AoE will be smaller. But even with very little INT you can manage to hit several enemies if they come close. I wouldn't advise to ompletely dump INT though. 

 

However: no matter how much CON you pump into him he will always be squishy at the start of the game because his deflection is superlow an his higher health/endurance can't make up for that - yet! You need some levels and then he'll me a good meat shield. So don't let the first few levels demotivate you. IN the early game it's of great advantage to wear the thickest armor you can find.

 

What kind of weapons and what style do you like?

[Brulak]

First of all thanks for replying

 

Im really ok with struggling a bit in the early game as long as i end up with a good character in the end.

As for weapons i really like 2Handed Axes or Swords. I went and started a playthrough just inside the Cilant Lis ruins my build right now is: 18/10/10/18/10/12 i picked resolve over con in the end because i dont want to get interrupted easily when wielding a slow 2H weapon. And after some consideration i went high Perception to be able to hit enemies relieably. Basically i just want a melee bruiser who can stand his ground. More on the damage side of things rather than a full tank but not too squishy to go toe to toe with anything.

[Boeroer]

With mediocre INT and a faible for great swords Tidefall is one of the the best options for you. It is one of the best weapons in the game and can be obtained fairly early. But you need 10 mechanics on a character in order to find it.

 

Another very fun build with great swords is this: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/106646-class-build-the-cauterizer/

 

It dishes out a tremendous amount of (AoE) damage but is also sturdy enough after some levels because of maxed self healing.

 

You can always adjust the attributes you your liking (like lowering INT, raising DEX, whatever), they don't matter as much as in other games like BG and so on.

 

With Tidefall you can basically use the same template. With Tidefall you want to max MIG and lower INT (both raises its wounding dps). 

 

High CON can work very well on a barb because he already gets the highest endurance and health numbersin the game. And further bonuses from CON let those scale very well. It is possible to reach 5000+ health with a barb. That means you can neglect deflection and rely on self heals for your endurance while your health won't be low too soon.

 

High MIG is only good (compared to DEX and PER) if you don't only use it for damage but also for self heals. When it comes to pure dps then DEX and PER are better. But you also want to live, so MIG can be a great compromise between damage and survivability. Self heals are Veteran's Recovery (I recommend it), Savage Defiance, heals from items etc.

 

There are no 2-handed axes in PoE. 

[Brulak]

That sounds promising. For this character i like the idea of a physical Greatsword not a magical summoned weapon although that sounds fun too maybe for another run  

 

So what do you think about a stat spread like this: 

 

Race: Coastal Aumaua

Background: Colonist

Starting Ability: Frenzy

 

Might 18

Constitution 18

Dexterity 10

Perception 18

Intellect 10

Resolve 3

 

 

Will the low resolve hurt me alot by being interrupted? Is Dex 10 Perception 18 a good offensive spread or should i bring up dex some and lower perception? Is Constitution 18 overkill regarding beefiness?

 

Thanks again for taking the time and helping me build my character.

[Boeroer]

With RES 3 and DEX 10 you will get interrupted (higher chance and slower attack animation) unless you have a priest with Holy Meditation. That helps. Or you drink potions of Spirit Shield. Later on there are items that help passively.

 

If you don't try to take on a lot of foes it's not a problem though. Flanking enemy groups shouldn't get you interrupted a lot. But if you get pummeled by several ones you will see that it can be a problem.

 

If you experience those problems you can lower CON a bit and also PER and put some of those points into DEX and RES. 16 CON and PER for example is still plenty. Once you get an item that boosts your concentration you could drop RES again

 

I personally could totally use the stat spread you posted above though.

 

You lack one point by the way. I guess you haven't taken the cultural backgroud into account yet.

Edited December 12, 2018 by Boeroer

[Brulak]

I think ill go with this stat spread for now if i get interrupted too much ill increase RES. So it would probably be best to let my barb stealth a little off somewhere engage with my tank and after all enemies have a target i go in and destroy everyone with my barb?

If its ok i will post updates on my progress and build desissions here if anything relevant develops.

[Boeroer]

Yes, like that. Also high DR and endurance/health helps a lot to not attract too many enemies. Some of enemy AI's go after low deflection (=you), but others go for low DR or low endurance/health.

So my recommendation would be to wear thick armor and also take stuff like a Blunting Belt (can be bought in the first village) and maybe pick the Thick Skinned ability at some point. While DR loses appeal later in the game (enemies' damage scales more steeply than your DR) it's very beneficial early in the game. With your health pool and endurance it's the other way around: less impact at the start of the game: gets a lot better later on.