Fighter or Barbarian?

[Judicator]

If I want to build a melee DPS character which of these two would be better? 

 

The Barbarian has his AoE damage while the Fighter would have more consistent single target damage because of things like confident aim and weapon specialization.

[Lasci]

There's no 'better' -- just different. Like you said, barbarian is a lot more about AoE damage, while the fighter tends to hone in on one target and take it out. The fighter has a lot more utility-based abilities, while the barbarian as more of an 'all in' playstyle. Fighter has more capabilities for being defensive -- if you need to, you can put him in a shield with a weapon in his mastery and some heavy armor and he can tank a hard encounter. A barbarian is almost always going to be sacrificing defense for offense.

 

It's a stylistic choice.

[Beovuk]

It's not a stylistic choice =) DPS Barb hands down.

 

Go dual wield, take few points out of con (you're still gonna have a huge pool) and as per any dps might/dex/int. One of the best melee dps options in the game.

[cJohnOne]

I'm thinking Barbarian with Strength and Constitution.  A fighter is more of a deflection tank to me.  Doesn't seem as interesting.

[Judicator]

It's not a stylistic choice =) DPS Barb hands down.

 

Go dual wield, take few points out of con (you're still gonna have a huge pool) and as per any dps might/dex/int. One of the best melee dps options in the game.

I'm thinking of going with a two-hander actually.

[Lasci]

 

It's not a stylistic choice =) DPS Barb hands down.

 

Go dual wield, take few points out of con (you're still gonna have a huge pool) and as per any dps might/dex/int. One of the best melee dps options in the game.

I'm thinking of going with a two-hander actually.

 

 

That would work too.

[cJohnOne]

I got influenced into dual wielding instead of two-handed.  Old D&D I'd always go 2-handed  so this is different.   Is a torch  really suboptimal for your off hand? 

[Judicator]

I just can't imagine a hulking warrior with anything else than a 2H weapon. It would be more effective against opponets with high DR anyway. The estoc is looking especially sweet.

 

BTW, should I use light or no armor?

[Emptiness]

BTW, should I use light or no armor?

 

I'm you're going to be able to avoid having enemies attack you, then raise your Dex and use the lightest armor you can get away with, for more dps.

 

If you're going to have to take hits then raise your Per and Res and use heavier armor (the more you're going to get hit the heavier it should be), for more survivability.

[Alpha_Omega]

I've tested the warrior early game and the barbarian is better. No warrior build I've tested could accomplish killing the bear on normal difficulty. I've noticed a lot of people talking about builds but have seen little actual video proof of other pure-melee builds doing this.

 

I don't think you could solo the game with this build (or a fighter) but it's the best melee build I've played in early game. I'm planning on taking some lore skills to use defense spell scrolls. Should be pretty OP.

 

Apparently the Druid class transformed into a bear is pretty good but I'm only now testing caster builds.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HiM881U_d4

Edited April 3, 2015 by Alpha_Omega

[cJohnOne]

Okay now I want to build a Barbarian with 10 Constitution and high reflex like Alpha_Omega.

 

 

I don't understand why I would want higher Dexterity over Perception?

Edited April 3, 2015 by cJohnOne

[Kelstrom]

That bear fight is 1v1, most characters can do it. He should have showed the wolves fight, where ppl can see the carnage in action.

[Jarlhen]

Because dexterity influences your attack speed. Higher attack speed means more Carnage. So you'll do more damage to numerous people faster. Perception gives you deflection and interrupt, both which are good. But, assuming you don't dump perception, high dex means attacking faster which means exponentionally more interrupt attacks regardless of perception. Deflection is nice, but it's more of a tanky stat. So it comes down to: Do you want to do damage or do you want to prevent it? As a damage barbarian it seems reasonable that you want to do damage. But you might not want to dump perception if you're concerned.

[Brimsurfer]

I'm thinking Barbarian with Strength and Constitution.  A fighter is more of a deflection tank to me.  Doesn't seem as interesting.

Strength?

[Lasci]

I've tested the warrior early game and the barbarian is better. No warrior build I've tested could accomplish killing the bear on normal difficulty. I've noticed a lot of people talking about builds but have seen little actual video proof of other pure-melee builds doing this.

 

I don't think you could solo the game with this build (or a fighter) but it's the best melee build I've played in early game. I'm planning on taking some lore skills to use defense spell scrolls. Should be pretty OP.

 

Apparently the Druid class transformed into a bear is pretty good but I'm only now testing caster builds.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HiM881U_d4

 

Please stop waving around this video and confusing people. A level 2 barbarian killing a single bear on medium difficulty is not an accurate demonstration of any class or build's strength.

[Itasko]

I use a fighter for high endurance tank. Their ability to constantly regenerate endurance makes them a great tank. It would probably make them great DPS too. I use barbarian for DPS and my only complaint is how fast he runs out of HP. My healer's job has became staying on him. A fighter might make a better DPS because they'll regenerate some of that endurance as they fight. I like the different Barbarian traits though, like Frenzy. The Barb is the best DPS I've got.

[Alpha_Omega]

@Lasci

 

I wish people would post video proof instead of talking out their ass sometimes.

It's easy to just type crap.  That bear is tough to kill because it does 30-50+ damage per hit and is A (one of many) good benchmark for a build in the early game.

 

It's 2015 not 2005.  Video evidence of your theories or they are just text.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Alpha_Omega

[Korgull]

@Lasci

 

I wish people would post video proof instead of talking out their ass sometimes.

It's easy to just type crap.  That bear is tough to kill because it does 30-50+ damage per hit and is A (one of many) good benchmark for a build in the early game.

 

It's 2015 not 2005.  Video evidence of your theories or they are just text.

Umm, I solo killed the bear with a not very heavily optimized druid without using any potions or other consumables, so I wouldn't really consider that barbarian build "super powerful".

[stilletobravo]

@Lasci

 

I wish people would post video proof instead of talking out their ass sometimes.

It's easy to just type crap.  That bear is tough to kill because it does 30-50+ damage per hit and is A (one of many) good benchmark for a build in the early game.

 

It's 2015 not 2005.  Video evidence of your theories or they are just text.

Videos existed in 2005... People still write in 2015.

 

TBH, numbers and text can demonstrate results in much more satisfying ways than moving pictures that show the results of a play through that's dependent on a RNG.

 

Though not to be a complete douche, I admit your build looks great and it was exactly what I was looking for to try out. Thanks for sharing

[Alpha_Omega]

 

@Lasci

 

I wish people would post video proof instead of talking out their ass sometimes.

It's easy to just type crap.  That bear is tough to kill because it does 30-50+ damage per hit and is A (one of many) good benchmark for a build in the early game.

 

It's 2015 not 2005.  Video evidence of your theories or they are just text.

Umm, I solo killed the bear with a not very heavily optimized druid without using any potions or other consumables, so I wouldn't really consider that barbarian build "super powerful".

 

 

@Korgull

Well I killed it with a naked wizard using a dagger and no spells.  Sorry i don't have the video though

 

@stilletobravo

I'm in the camp that believes video evidence is better.  I do like numbers for theory building but I always like to see video for proof of concept whenever possible (it's very very easy these days to get video).  Plus I missed a few times and did low damage on most hits so it's not a build dependent on RNG success.

 

Not to be a complete douche, thank you for liking this build.  If you have a good caster build let me know.  I'm testing different caster stuff with the new patch, so any input would be much appreciated.  (I'm combing the forums atm)

Edited April 3, 2015 by Alpha_Omega

[Aqvamare]

in your other thread, we postet a screenshot, level 3 monk, solo, PotD difficulty, means 3 bears, not only 1...kill of him...

[Luj1]

fighter = tank

 

barbarian = aoe dps + glass cannon

[Dongom]

fighter = tank

 

barbarian = aoe dps + glass cannon

 

While not as tanky as fighter, you can make an extremely hard to kill Barb build that does way more total dmg than nearly any other class.

 

But it could be due to a skill that might be bugged.

 

Max Con/Str, use Drain weapon (I find 2H to be best), use 1 Retal gear, One Stand Alone, and wear HP/DR/Con gear. 

Edited April 7, 2015 by Dongom

[Fimconte]

While not as tanky as fighter, you can make an extremely hard to kill Barb build that does way more total dmg than nearly any other class.

 

But it could be due to a skill that might be bugged.

 

Max Con/Str, use Drain weapon (I find 2H to be best), use 1 Retal gear, One Stand Alone, and wear HP/DR/Con gear. 

 

Double Drain weapons is pretty obscene, it's funny how you see your endurance rush back up to full after taking a hit.  

Edited April 7, 2015 by Fimconte

[Cryptomancer]

In my opinion there is a far greater threat from single, powerful enemies rather than from a horde of weak enemies. Therefore I prefer a Fighter to a Barbarian. If you specialize by weapon type you can get +25% damage with Specialization and Mastery combined. Plus Fighter has higher base Accuracy and Deflection.