[CLASS BUILD] The Leech (barbarian time bandit tank)

[Boeroer]

Character's left hand of course.

 

Glad it worked out. If you already have the March Steel Dagger (should be very easy to get if you didn't give it to the kid named "Gordy" already) then try out dual wielding.

If you don't mind that dual wielding two rapiers looks kind of funny then you could also buy the Sword of Daenysis from Vincent Dwellier in the Salty Mast. It has speed + rending is is one of the best rapiers besides Spelltongue in my opinion. And it doesn't look too weird if you dual wield with it because it's a bit shorter then Spelltongue - looks a bit like an offhand weapon then. 

 

The speed enchantment + Two Weapon Style will make sure that you will hit even more often with Spelltongue.

 

Another nice option would be Mosquito: it has draining and a nice, long interrupt. Draining with a barb is always nice, even if it's low because of low weapon damage.

 

Later on the Unlabored Blade would be nice. It's proc got nerfed to 3%, but now it works properly and combined with Carnage or even HoF it's great.

Or Drawn in Spring later on. Plenty of options there.

 

With durgan steel, dual wielding, the speed buff of Spelltongue and Frenzy + Bloodlust you can achieve 0 recovery in plate and with Vuln. Attack on. This means you could use the Sanguine Plate and skip Frenzy as an ability, sparing one ability point and use it for something else. The Frenzy from the plate not only gets prolonged as the rest, but it also takes no time to cast. 

 

Using a durganized shield is also a good option. Especially if it's Badgradr's Barricade.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Yeaup, I grabbed the March Steel so that's no problem. So far my favorite trick is dropping pain link on Maneha as spelltongue extends the durations of the cipher buffs and cipher buffs are very powerful.

 

I'm using sanguine plate on another character. The real problem with sanguine plate, unless they have fixed it, is that improved frenzy doesn't or at least didn't use to improve the SP frenzy, because they're coded differently, so you're stuck with a less effective frenzy overall.

 

I was wondering if the Dragon's Maw shield would work well, and give draining to all the carnage procs. Realistically though a durganize d badgradr's might be a better choice.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy

[Boeroer]

Pin Link is supercool. If you want you can use Sura's Supper Plate, Potion of Flame Shield (also gets prologed by Spelltongue), Garodh's Chorus and Barbaric Retaliation and use Combusting Wounds with The Ring of Searing Flames. Because of Pain Link + quadruple retaliation via shield + helm + potion + barbaric ret. foes will absolutely melt when they strike you, catching 5 hits when they hit you. And your carnage with Spelltogue is pretty fast, too, adding more hits. Not to speak of HoF.

This trick also works with March Steel Dagger. You'll lose one retaliation out of 5, but 4 is still great and your attacks will be much faster and HoF will be executed twice.

 

Dragon's Maw is good - also with HoF. My Golden Dragon build used it and carnage/HoF works really well with Taste of the Hunt. It's good for survival as well as for damage - while Badgradr's Barricade may be better for damage, but doesn't add any survivability besides the usual deflection/reflex.

And to be honest once you have HoF attack speed doesn't matter that much anymore because most foes are dead after HoF. With HoF it's best to reach the highest possible damage per hit while dual wielding. After HoF with Spelltongue while being surrounded by mobs your durations will be so long that it will last for the rest of the encounter by the way.

 

I think it's more a matter of taste which setup you choose. They are all good, fun and viable.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Boeroer

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

I thought carnage didn't work with retaliation any more? Or is it just that carnage is one more effect?

 

Hrm. Maybe combine barricade and aru-brekr? Could grab retaliation from a different item instead of shield and still use the barricade. Hrm. Thanks again!

[MaxQuest]

Btw, can damage reflected via Pain Link cause interrupt?

[Boeroer]

Erm, never bothered to check that.

[MaxQuest]

I was just thinking of a control-freak frontliner (dumped MIG, maxed PER/INT wizard or chanter) and what else besides body-blocking and cc he can do.

 

One high-MIG character casts Combusting Wounds, while the freak spams walls of fire, for both interruption and combusting procs.

Now, if he would be buffed with Pain Link, he would be able to enter and stand in these walls of fire himself, and double the combusting proc rate, and even x2 interruptions (if pain link does it). 

[Boeroer]

Sadly, you can only have one wall. If you cast a second one the first one will dissipate.

 

But you could use Chillfog, Malignant Cloud (or druidic equivalants) and so on to cause more AoE hits for Combusting Wounds without doing anything.

[Blades of Vanatar]

If you spam lots of missle spells after casting CW will that trigger CW repeatedly?

[Boeroer]

Yes. For example Concussive Missiles on the same spot where CW hit will trigger 5 CW DoTs on each enemy because the spell creates 5 projectiles which explode. If you cast it repeatedly every time you will cause 5 additional CW DoTs in an AoE.

 

Also works with blunderbuss. Each shot causes 6 CW DoTs. Quick switch four blunderbusses and you will get 24 CW effects - but not in an AoE obviously. My "Hotshot" wizard build uses this effect. Coming up next as [CLASS BUILD]. In a few days or so.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Boeroer

[Blades of Vanatar]

Oh my..... 2 melee Tankish Rangers with pets for a shieldwall effect backed by 4 wizards..... CW and missle spells galore.

 

I am guessing this will work similarly for Blast? Oh goodie! (wrings hands together and cackles like Gargamoyle...)

[Boeroer]

Yes. In fact Kalakoth's Minor Blights + Blast and Heart of Fury are two of the best ways to generate a lot of hits in short time for CW.

[Blades of Vanatar]

I see my next party forming in front of my eyes.... Cruel and Aggressive Wizard! Too bad there are no flying monkeys.

[Boeroer]

Also: six wizards can cast six parallel wall spells.

 

Beams of all sorts are also nice for CW by the way. The cipher's beams have the longest casting range and are most convenient to apply in my opinion.

 

By the way: it's great fun to use a ranger with binding roots to root an enemy in the back line in place and then use Antipathetic Field on that fixed "anchor". What annoys me most about Ant. Field is that you have to micro and run around a lot if the anchor moves.

[MaxQuest]

Sadly, you can only have one wall. If you cast a second one the first one will dissipate.

I have made few tests just a minute ago (v3.05):

- A single wizard can have a single Wall of Flames (from spell) at a time. Previous one will dissipate. (two wizards can have two).

- A single character can have multiple Wall of Flames (from scrolls) at a time. Previous ones will NOT dissipate.

- Wall of Flames interruption is bugged - as it doesn't add caster's perception at all.

- 3-5 Wall of Flames + Combusting Wounds really deal lots of damage

- Pain Link radius is really small

- Pain Link (when standing in own Wall of Flames) only deals 1 instance of damage per 3 instances of wall of flames

- Pain Link does NOT trigger Combusting Wounds

 

By the way: it's great fun to use a ranger with binding roots to root an enemy in the back line in place and then use Antipathetic Field on that fixed "anchor". What annoys me most about Ant. Field is that you have to micro and run around a lot if the anchor moves.

Similar thing with Ectopsychic Echo. Send an Animal Companion, or summon a figurine or Essential Phantom behind the enemies line, cast Echo on it, and follow up with Mental Binding. Enemies are now stuck/paralyzed in place and also have great reflex malus.

And there is also a bonus: with multiple ciphers it looks like ghostbusters.

Edited January 28, 2017 by MaxQuest

[Boeroer]

Damn. Then that was also nerfed. I used Pain Link with the Backlash Beldam + CW and it worked like a charm back then.

 

They indeed nerfed *everything* around that cipher build… not only focus gain by retaliation. I should only post private builds where OBS can't read.

 

They also nerfed Envenomed Strike + Blast and Spirit Lance once I posted that. And they don't even bother to mention it in patch notes. It's mean!

Edited January 28, 2017 by Boeroer

[MaxQuest]

I suppose Envenomed Strike working with Blast or Spirit Lance was indeed not intended. But not putting that in update notes or nerfing Pain Link is indeed mean

Also, tbh I would expect Envenomed Strike to work with Kallakoth's Minor Blights, as that wand attacks everyone in AoE directly. But nope, that' also doesn't work.

[smjjames]

Perhaps I'll rebuild Maneha with this one (it'll be a while before I get the equipment though). Also, is the lore part just for RP value or is it essential to this build?

 

Then again.... her dex is a paltry 9 :/

Edited April 17, 2017 by smjjames

[Boeroer]

Low DEX is not so crucial with a barb since you will have Frenzy, Bloodlust (both stack). With Spelltongue both get prolonged a lot. You can also try this with dual wielding and Two Weapon Style to be even faster and balance out the lowish DEX even more. Also don't forget that Spelltongue itself will give you an additional speed buff.

[Dr <3]

And with her own quest you can even get +2 dex permanently!

[Boeroer]

Totally forgot about that.

[Arctur]

Greetings!

 

After my first full playthrough with a pc-version of Boeroer's Councelor Ploi it's time to thank him and the whole wild bunch here for that great work of yours!

 

For my next run i'd like to give the barbarian a try, specifically The Leech. Here is my question: is it still a viable build?

 

Best wishes,

 

A.

 

[Boeroer]

Hi. I didn't test it thoroughly lately but I think the "leeching" aspect of the rapier Spelltongue is not as powerful as it used to be. When I did this build I could prolong my own buffs and positive effects on me endlessly with enough enemies around.

 

I now have the impression that this doesn't work as well as it used to. Either you have to really hit enemies with actual buffs on them - or the durations you leech are shorter nowadays.

 

It will not be as overpowered as it used to be. Still a viable concept though.

 

If you are looking for a really fun barb to play (with the latest game version) then I would advise to buy the Belt of the Royal Deadfire Cannoneer asap, grab Forgemaster Gloves and use Firebrand as your main weapon. Pick all the dmg and ACC boosts like One Stands alone, Two Handed Style, Accurate Carnage and whatnot and aim for Bloodlust and Blood Thirst. Then let your jaw drop when hitting groups of enemies. Hard CC from your party members helps to land crits. So much fun...

Edited November 2, 2018 by Boeroer

[Arctur]

Hi Boeroer and sorry for my late reply -- RL is the mortal enemy of consequent power gaming. The Cauterizer is an amazing build, but the Belt of RDC goes this time to my well trusted friend Eder as the Universal Misanthrope. So my PC will be The Leech (still viable is good enough) because of sort of elegance and 10 res for role playing issues. From chapter 2 on i'll go with the Sword of Daenerys Daenysis and later on Sura's Supper Plate. Aloth -- Hurtstacker; Mercenary -- Fire Priest (I hate that chatty Durance); Kana Rua -- The Drake Ambassador and Pallegina -- Fire General. Think that is overpowered enough on hard difficulty.

 

Thx & have a good day,

 

A.

[Raven Darkholme]

Played this out of nostalgia again and had one level 10 (almost 11) barbarian lying around,

Spelltongue still works even on enemies without buffs the duration extend is quite short, but even before level 11 i was able to sustain buffs thru fights.

Then I leveled to 11, got HoF and it just doubles all durations right at the start of a fight, so the build works and is really fun.