[CLASS BUILD] The Golden Dragon (barbarian tank)

[Ben No.3]

The perfect hat for him: The dunryd demon. It fits style wise (in comparison to the other similar helmets it has more of a steel colouring, rather than the usual letter theme), it suits the dragon theme, and it adds to intellect.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Ben No.3

[smjjames]

Anybody tried this with Maneha? It's the only low dex barbarian build that I see on here. Going to try it myself however.

[Boeroer]

Should work OK.

 

With Maneha you can also go two handers with Frenzy + Bloodlust + Blood Thirst. Low DEX is not a problem with those abilities. I really like Hours of St. Rumbalt with a barb.

[masterty66]

Just wanna say I've been using this and I am enjoying it a lot. My parties on POTD are usually offensive in nature. I never realized how good shield deflection can actually be though. I'm in WM1 right now and this guy just does not get hit very often. Even with the low con it's just not a concern because with the high surviv + deflection he can regen fast even when hits do get through (which are rare).

 

I'm not even close yet to his ideal power since I don't have HOF or all of the other goodies. But with exceptional plate + thick skinned + fear shout every fight and painful interdiction every fight he just doesn't get touched much. Can only imagine how strong he'll be once I've got the ability to do real damage with him too thanks to HOF and the Maw shield.

 

For anyone trying this he pairs really well with Kana/Durance (or hireling Chanter + Priest). I mean what doesn't, right? But the heal chant + painful interdiction is a potent combo when you've also got the fear shout going off every fight. This guy just won't get hit much even early on thanks to his high deflection once you have a good shield for him. 

[Boeroer]

Hi. Glad you like it.

 

Yes, frightening + dazing + high deflection add up pretty nicely.

[masterty66]

Hi. Glad you like it.

 

Yes, frightening + dazing + high deflection add up pretty nicely.

Yeah I gotta say it's giving me a new found respect for shields/high deflection. Usually I eschew those things in favor of a party that focuses on offense. This guy isn't so great on offense yet since I'm not level 11 with HOF/the right gear but he survives so well and his debuffs help team defense as well.

 

I mean even at low levels he still contributes at least a little on offense thanks to carnage (albeit slowly) but the high defense makes him a great tank even early on with that + fear shout. 

[Boeroer]

Yes, before lvl 11 (with HoF + bashing shield) his offense is nothing special, albeit better than the offense of a pure fighter or paladin tank with the same stats.

 

With HoF the whole offense thing will improve a lot. HoF doesn't profit from DEX or attack speed, not damage per second or whatever. It's pure damage per hit that counts and HoF favors high MIG, INT and PER, DR penetration and also accuracy in general. Because of that, at that point it doesn't matter that this char has low DEX and is superslow with auto attacks. His HoF will be impressive - even though his main role is a tank.

To be honest this is all this build is about: being very tanky while also be able to shine in offense with HoF, circumventing his sluggishness.

 

Then also durgan steel on weapon, shield and armor will start to speed his auto attacks up a fair bit - so he doesn't feel as slow anymore.

 

Sadly - with a whole party at lvl 11 - you won't deperately need this sudden rise of effensive power because most encounters will be too easy for your party anyway. But it's very convient to eradicate whole groups with a tank (!) and end encounters much quicker than before. It even helps in dragon fights because all the ads can be killed faster and your party can concentrate on the dragon sooner.

Edited May 7, 2017 by Boeroer

[masterty66]

True. Once you beat WM1 and start to hit level 9-11ish the game becomes easy if you know what you're doing and that's no matter what build you've got. 

 

But still looking forward to seeing that uptick in power . And this build is solid because unlike some other builds it feels strong enough even from the start. Yes your DPS will not be great early on but with carnage you will still contribute and with the high defense stats you'll still be a very respectable tank even in the early going. This is not one of those builds where you have to hold its hand until it gets its goodies. Sometimes I'll try a build that is supposed to be great at level 13 or 11 or whatever and I'm like yeah that's all nice but that's maybe 1/3rd of the game. What about the rest of it? So this build is nice in that regard and my preference is always that a build at least holds its own at low levels even if it takes a while to reach its heights.

 

I'm about to tackle Durgan's and I think Ive been knocked out maybe twice at most with this guy so far? Pretty impressive. And that's with a rotating cast of party members. I don't always take the most optimal allies because I like to mix it up and use all the classes. 

[Dalnor]

First , sorry for my english , I am French.

 

I wanted to ask something , i'd like to do this build because i really want a tank who can do more than just be a punch bag .

 

I thought of Fighter or Barbarian , but I love Eder so.... ^^

 

But for me , even with the hp of barbarian , i'd like to max const , i'd want a hero with good resolva/Const ( max it ) and i don't know where take it in this build , maybe something like :

 

MIG: 11
CON: 19
DEX: 03
PER: 10
INT: 16
RES: 18

 

My character , human from Rauautai in this build ( i really want a human for this one ^^ ) but the country can change.

 

So if someone pass by here , can you help me a little , i finished the game at launch one time with a fighter and i restart with a chanter gunner , but i really want a tank too , so i need some help

 

Thank you all

[Boeroer]

Yes, you can do that. No problem at all. Your self heals and damage will be weaker - but your endurance and health pools will be way bigger. But this will not turn the build concept upside down or so.

 

Just don't get frustrated if you can't hit a lot in the early game. With 10 PER it will take some levels until you don't miss and graze a lot with carnage. That's a normal thing with a barb and gets better with every level you gain.

[Dalnor]

Thank you for that fast answer

 

No problem for the accuracy , i can make with hit since i play with the pnj ^^

 

What do you think of my stat points? should i put more in might but less in intell or stay like that? I'm a noob sorry .

 

I forgot to tell before but i play normal , maybe hard , i'm not ready for PoTG , and maybe i'll never be ^^

[Dalnor]

Finally , I go for :

 

MIG: 20
CON: 10
DEX: 03
PER: 10
INT: 16
RES: 19

 

Come for savage Land , for some rp concept of Dalnor Drengskapr , a character who follow me since so long ( usually not barbarian , but this barbarian is more like a fighter so good ^^ )

 

i think it'll be better than the one before , i'll let you know ,  but since i play in normal i think i shouldn't have so much trouble

[Dalnor]

Hello Boerer , again i come , i tried your build but i have a p^roblem... the health

 

With this build i litterally have less health than with your Chillfog build , how can you.... make it that my barbarian don't die ( 0 health ) in 2 fight?

 

Thenk you for an answer and maybe it'll be better when more lvl ^^

[Boeroer]

You can give him more CON in the early game and retrain later. As soon as you have most of the accuracy-debuffs (dazing, frightening and so on) and a decent deflection you can lower your CON. And it doesn't have to be 3. In the early game your deflection is quite low that you can't tank very well because of health issues.

 

Youc can also use potions of Infuse with Vital Essence to heal some health.

[Blades of Vanatar]

Give him the shod-in-faith boots until he hit level 7-8. It helps big time. After that he really gets Sturdy. One of my Favorite builds on this site.

[kolvanmaul]

Will this build work with boreal dwarf ?

[JerekKruger]

Will this build work with boreal dwarf ?

 

Can't see any reason why not. As far as I'm aware Boeroer chose Pale Elf because it fitted aesthetically, not because the build relied on the Pale Elf's racial bonuses. You'll lose a tiny bit of tankiness going Boreal Dwarf and gain a bit of damage dealing capability against two enemy types, but this won't make much of a difference overall.

[Boeroer]

Exactly.

[BulletDodgerN7]

Hello everyone , I'm the newest member on this forum , I wanted to ask a question regarded if this build , I did buy pillars of eternity on x box one , for a little while I try to create a main character and I was trying few types so far and I played until I reach act 2 , I played as a wizard , paladin , rogue and tried cipher but still I couldn't get a feeling that I'm needed in a party like main character should , that is why I created account here to ask other players that love roleplaying games like I do , and ask about guide or build to create a character to enjoy game, I was thinking about making main character a priest or tanky bear druid, could any one help me with attribute stats how to start game, I like to talk throu problems and quest and be in general good character with honest/diplomat/good in general person, so probly loads of resolve?

[hansvedic]

Love the concept and I love the stats, as I love a good conversationalist.

That being said, I think you really missed a great storytelling angle here with this build, Boeroer, by not making it a Wild Orlan, perhaps with a personality somewhat resembling a cross between Berserker Axinhed from 8-bit Theatre and the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket. One minute, you see a diminutive Orlan, the next he's (or she's) yelling in your face worse than your drill sergeant ever did...

 

Perhaps I just have a weird sense of humor.

Still, I like the backstory you wrote for this character... just not as much as the crazy Orlan in my head.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, you already did make a similar character in terms of your druid. No point doing the same character twice, I suppose. My bad. Anyways, I continue to greatly enjoy your builds.

Edited March 9, 2018 by hansvedic

[Boeroer]

Yeah... I wanted that "eastern" vibe with the character, as I explained on the first page of the thread (long time ago ). Wood Elf would have worked, too, and the racial isn't that bad either (Distant Advantage also works with Barbaric Yell and Echoing Shout and so on and the higher defense against range isn't too bad), but the Pale Elf looked more "golden":

 

 

 

[...]why pale Elf?

Because it's one of the races which can have a golden skin tone, it gives you elemental endurances (which is not bad for a tank) and I wanted to achieve a bit of an asian look (Golden Dragon [...])

 

And as you said I alredy had a grumpy Wild Orlan.

Edited March 9, 2018 by Boeroer

[Conman]

Do you think it would be possible to slightly adapt this build to get a celtic warrior sort of vibe? I'm thinking Cu Chulainn, the Irish mythological hero. Definitely a Barbarian, but possibly lighter armour and medium shield, something like this: https://img00.deviantart.net/5587/i/2013/362/3/7/cuchulain_by_el_grimlock-d6zr81q.jpg

 

"He is known for his terrifying battle frenzy, in which he becomes an unrecognizable monster who knows neither friend nor foe"

 

He traditionally in the stories uses a spear but I'd probably run an axe, as We Toki looks very cool and fits.

Edited April 26, 2018 by Conman

[Boeroer]

You can surely use other armor. The Golden Scales are only here for their optics.

In this case hide armor would look best I guess? Or, after looking at the image behind the link: a monk's outfit with a red cape maybe?

 

Aumaua can have blue stripes in their face.

 

This build uses a (or two) special bashing shields for proc effects with Carnage and Heart of Fury. You can use any other (bashing) shield that looks cool for you and this will not gimp your tankyness, but you might want to switch to a dual weapon set just for Heart of Fury and then switch back. For example use a medium round shield that looks a bit celtic (search for Scath Gwannek) with a spear (Cladhaliath is cool with a barb when using stunning and vicious) and switch to dual battle axes for the Heart of Swipe.

 

You can also just skip that and live with the fact that Heart of Fury does less damage with a normal shield or a shield that has no special proc on bash.

Edited April 26, 2018 by Boeroer

[Conman]

Those are some good tips on the gear and race, thanks!

Just out of curiosity (I'm still new to PoE and learning the ropes) what is a bash shield exactly?

 

I think this could be a very cool adaption of the Golden Dragon, maybe the Celtic Dragon, or Celtic Hound or something (Cu Chulainn was the "Hound of Ulster"!

 

Main equipment spear and shield, second set dual axes, though I may find myself using the axes often and switching to shield if I need to be a bit tankier... does that sound feasible?

Would you change any of the talents, or the stats at all to compensate for these changes?

 

Probably take weapon/shield talent then whatever weapon focus works for battle axes... I wonder if that would mean spear damage would be sub par?

Edited April 26, 2018 by Conman

[Boeroer]

Oops,I overlooked this, sorry.

 

A bashing shield is a shield that has the special enchantment "bash" which comes in qualities from I to III (or IV?) which only raises the damage. The bash is an offhand attack that alternates with the main hand. But it gets no bonus from dual wield info and Two Weapon Style. But it works with Full Attacks.

 

A bash is considered a active attack ability and thus gets +1 accuracy per char level which makes it's accuracy pretty good later in the game while it's not that great at the beginning.

 

The bash damage is crush and usually it's super low. Only special procs like on the Dragon's Maw or Badgradr's Barricade make it really worthwhile. But bash itself is better than no-bash when you have Full Attacks like Knockdown or rogues' strikes and so on. For auto-attacks it's pretty meh.