Barbarian - in search of mechanics answers...

[GoldenAnkh]

All,

 

I hate to post so close to the prior topic, but that seems to have devolved into discussions of how to play a barbarian.

 

What I'd like to do is understand some basic mechanics for the barbarian and was looking for help regarding Carnage, Barbaric Blow, and Brute Force.

1. (At INT 10, etc.) Is Carnage's circular AOE 1.5m in radius/7.1m in area? I've seen this (e.g., wiki) but didn't see it in a tooltip, etc.
2. Is Carnage's AOE centered on the target you attack? (I would assume so, but just wanted to make sure it wasn't, e.g., 7.1m of circular area not counting a "hole in the middle" for the selection circle of the primary target).
3. To be effective at attacking adjacent multiple targets (in a line-up or a chokepoint situation), I would assume Carnage's AOE just needs to be a little bigger than the target's selection circle. For targets spread out a little bit (e.g., when they hit your tanks and space a little), what's the gut feeling on needed AOE size to hit them with Carnage most of the time? (I'm not talking about distant targets, but when 3 guys mob your fighter from slightly different angles.)
4. To verify: weapon reach (quarterstaffs, pikes) has no effect on Carnage's AOE, right? (only in terms of hitting the primary target, correct?)
5. Likewise, the barbarian doesn't need a reach weapon to hit an enemy opposite the target with Carnage, correct? (I.e., touching in a row like BTC, where B=Barb, T=Target, C=Carnage victim) -- or to put it another way, ignoring the main target, Carnage's AOE is not limited by weapon reach or lack thereof?
6. Dual-wielding barbarians: each attack with either weapon triggers a Carnage attack, and a Full Attack with two weapons (e.g., Barbaric Blow) triggers two simultaneous carnage attacks, right?
7. Do Barbaric Blow's +Crit and Hit->Crit apply to the resulting Carnage attack?
8. Is Brute Force worth it? (I.e., How many front-line enemies have Fortitude lower than Deflection, except for Shades and the like? Mopping up the casters isn't that big a deal.)

[Fardragon]

Carnage is centred on the target, and whilst a reach weapon doesn't increase the radius, it does often make it possible to position Carnage so as to hit a lot more targets, including back row casters if you have maxed Int.