Hi, just starting my first playthrough of PoE, and was wondering if this build is OK. Gonna be trying PotD (I've heard PotD is best avoided for a first playthrough, but my time is limited so I highly doubt I'll get around to a 2nd playthrough).

I was thinking of going for a build that gets critted a bunch, so I can use those faith shoes and sanguine plate.

Coastal Aumua, living lands explorer.

Mig 21

Con 10

Dex 14

Per 12

Int 18

Res 3

Talents etc. I was gonna go frenzy, greater frenzy, 2-handed style, WF soldier, accurate carnage and stuff like that. Maybe veteran's recovery? constant endurance regen sounds nice.

Skills I was thinking 2 or 3 in athletics for some 2nd wind, and the rest in lore and survival.

Okay , 

First of all on PoTD , you dont need to dump RES to get crit . 10 On melee non tank character is way to go due to concentration .

You dont need to max Might for Barbarian , better max PER or even DEX , but for a 2hander user it might be wise to spread MIG,DEX,PER instead of maxing might to 21.

INT maxed is decent because of carnage .

You dont need to use Sanguine Plate because barbarian has frenzy anyway, if you do use it , then i guess dont pick frenzy as a ability .

Shod in Faith always proc on melee(considering you dont use shield and dont max RES ) you dont need to get crit by auto attack , some crit from aura / aoe spell will do the job dont worry about getting crit because you will no matter what . 

 

Consider to always have "Increased Reach Weapon" in 2nd weapons slot , for situations where you dont want to tank with your barbarian or where your tanks are bloking some bottle neck 

Give Forge Master Gloves a try , they summon very decent 2-Handed Weapon ( a sword made out of fire ) and you can get them easily as soon as you start act 2

Edited April 22, 20169 yr by Blunderboss

While it's true that you don't have to dump RES to get critted, it does help free up points so that you can max out Might, Con and Int.

 

I don't put much into Dex, and in fact I usually take a couple of points out.  Once you get Blood Thirst at level 7, it's game changing.  You kill someone and ... recovery goes away.  I use the Forgemaster gloves that Blunderboss recommended and after a couple of swings, you're getting Blood Thirst activated almost every time.  I wouldn't dump Dex entirely as it affects activation time of your attacks but 8 is usually fine.

 

I run a Boreal Dwarf for the build - I don't put points into Perception, and the +15 accuracy helps against a large number of the enemies in the game.

 

Mig 21

Con 19

Dex 8

Per 10

Int 18

Res 3

 

 

For the first 8 levels, a firebrand build would look a little like this:

Frenzy

Weapon Focus Greatsword (you'll need the accuracy)

Savage Defiance (yes, Shod in Faith is great, but I've gotten a lot of spike damage that isn't crit - i.e., Lagufaneth)

Two-Handed Style (+15% of damage is great and even better on Firebrand)

One Stand Alone (kinda meh but so is everything else at this level)

Accurate Carnage (really helps for the wide area hits)

Blood Thirst 

Scion of Flame +20% applies to the firebrand

 

I wouldn't play this without a priest to cast Holy Meditation 

Keep in mind that greater frenzy does not work with the frenzy granted by Sanguine, so it will probably be largely wasted. I do highly recommend veterans recovery, particularly with your stats.

 

If you drop resolve, you will need to find one or more of the rare concentration items or you will get interrupted constantly and that will really hurt your attack speed. Or maybe there is a spell, if in party. I think priest has one. But it would need to be cast a lot.

 

It happens even more than you might think since enemy critical hits give a 25 bonus to their ability to interrupt. I recommend hunting for the belt of chimes if you plan to keep resolve under 10. It is a minor stronghold quest, but you will need to save/reload to get it reliably. It also means not being able to wear other belts, of which there are some very nice ones.

 

Otherwise, keep it around 10. Like others said, you will still get crit a lot since barbarians have low base deflection and you are not using a shield.

Edited April 22, 20169 yr by Braven

Celebrant's Gloves will proc Holy Meditation on getting crit. This raises concentration by 30. It stacks with the belt of chimes, which will give +25. +55 Concentration is really good and more than enough for a 3 RES guy.

Thanks for the help chaps. Think what I might do is drop dex to 10 and go with 7 res.

Celebrant's Gloves will proc Holy Meditation on getting crit. This raises concentration by 30. It stacks with the belt of chimes, which will give +25. +55 Concentration is really good and more than enough for a 3 RES guy.

 

So long as you're blessed by RNGesus with the right adventures

Reloadfest it is.

Problem with reloading for adventures is that , if you roll major adventure u not gonna get minor one by reloading , just different major one , my general advice to people is dont boost your prestige too much , will be my 2nd playtrough where i cant get minor stuff lol

Aren't Celebrant's Gloves bugged and also affect the enemy, preventing you from interrupting them? As soon as I saw this happen to me (against Ogre druids), I stopped using them. I'm not sure if it was before or after 3.02 though.

Yeah, I have found it hard actually getting minor quests if the stronghold is upgraded quickly. My current playthrough, I haven't found any yet and now likely will never. Binding rope is an average quest and a good alternative to belt of chimes. "Stuck" status it inflicts effectively raises accuracy by 20, by lowering enemy deflection. If surrounded, it typically inflicts all enemies, albeit only once per battle (but high INT should increase the duration a bit). Maybe that could be used to justify lowering perception and raising resolve.

Edited April 23, 20169 yr by Braven

I dropped my Prestige to 20 in hopes of getting some Minor Adventures , still got an Average for Red Reed Wand which is some bs charge item ... :/ , and this is the only one average advenure i have left too

Edited April 23, 20169 yr by Blunderboss

Keep in mind that greater frenzy does not work with the frenzy granted by Sanguine, so it will probably be largely wasted. I do highly recommend veterans recovery, particularly with your stats.

Bugger =/ Any ideas as to what might be a good alternative to sanguine plate?

For Barbarian i would go some low recovery armor :

Blaidh Golan - Can get it very early , best defensive light armor . Breakout , Preservation , 25% Recovery

 

Wayfarers Hide - Can get pretty early in the game , is Superb and has small melee heal . 25% Recovery

 

Rebels Call - You can get this from azzuro as soon as u open stronghold if you choose to , nice armor especially if your party has no priest. Major Spellbing Armor of Faith , Wary , 30% Recovery

 

Vengiatta Rugia - late game stuff , my favorite armor for any melee dps , good thing is with all new content u can kill Adra Dragon and still have nice chunk of the game left to use your armor . Retaliate , Bonus Damage to Flanked 10% , Superb , 20% Recovery .

Edited April 25, 20169 yr by Blunderboss

I am curious as to why you would go low recovery?  Once my Barbarians get Bloodthirst, I found that recovery becomes much less important.

I think 0 recovery at all times is more reliable than getting 0 recovery for 1 attack after you kill an enemy