Variant Barbarian Build

[ZatarRufus]

My current hardcore character (ninth in this attempt) is considered an 'oddball' build by my friends. Crystalion started a thread some time ago which got me thinking.

Posted: Nov 3 2003, 08:00 AM by Crystalion:
"...you can mule a clvl 1 to nightmare usefully and get the crazy idea to actually *do something* while you're there."

I'm playing a barbarian which I started with this technique:

Posted: Nov 5 2003, 04:03 PM by Occhidiangela:
"...go out to the Blood Moor and kill all of the rest by herding them over to Flavie and making that nasty wench kill them with her bow."

By doing this and picking up the items dropped (as well as opening chests), I've managed to build my defence to 62. I use stamina potions to simply out-run the hordes.

My criteria for the initial adventure is to determine how much can be done in single player, v1.10 without getting any experience points at all. Once accomplised, I will use one of the following: a. the original axe, b. Wirt's Leg, or c. Charsi's Hammer and then see if I can complete at least normal. I know I can have Charsi imbue the original axe. I wonder if she would do Wirt's Leg.

So far I've mananged to trigger the first four quests and actually complete the third (rescue Cain). I also picked up Wirt's leg. I have all the waypoints up to the Outer Cloister. And I've been to tower level five & triggered the "Dispose of the Countess" message as well as locating Charsi's hammer. Although it says "Impossible." and/or "I can't." When I try to pick it up.

My question is: Is there anything else I can accomplish without gaining experience points besides additional (extremely dangerous) waypoints?

Edit: 1. Crystalion started a thread, not a post. 2. My question should have a buttonhook, not a spot behind it.

[BellaStrega]

Charsi will imbue Wirt's leg.

[Draconis]

...just you have to be clvl9 to pick up the hammer:)

[Little Faith]

If Wirt's Leg is tampered with in any way (such as imbuing it or inserting something into it's sockets) it will immediately turn into a hand axe.


BTW, this is a variant, not a build.

Build: A strategy for assigning one's skill and stat points and equipping one's character.

Variant: A certain set of optional "rules" followed to make the game more interesting, to pose a challenge or to improve roleplaying aspects.

[BellaStrega]

I had heard (but not tested) that Wirt's leg would only become a hand axe is you upgraded it to exceptional or elite (which would require it to be rare, via imbuing).

I guess that was wrong. :P

[Occhidiangela]

Sounds like fun, hope you are enjoying the ride. :)

Head over to the Community section, selece the link to Realms Beyond Diablo.

Introduce yourself to the general forum there, tell them the Rogue sent you. :)

Who knows, you may find some kindred spirits. :)

[Kartoffelsalat]

I had heard (but not tested) that Wirt's leg would only become a hand axe is you upgraded it to exceptional or elite (which would require it to be rare, via imbuing).

I guess that was wrong.  :P

That's right. If you upgrade wirt's leg or any ther quest item, it will becom a hand axe (or exceptional or elite depending on how far you upgrade it). You can still put stuff in the sockets and imbue. :)

[ZatarRufus]

BTW, this is a variant, not a build.

Build: A strategy for assigning one's skill and stat points and equipping one's character.

Variant: A certain set of optional "rules" followed to make the game more interesting, to pose a challenge or to improve roleplaying aspects.

Thanks. I do prefer to use the proper terminology. Would it be more correct to say a 'Variant Barbarian Style'?

I'd thought 'build' as the second phase of this adventure has the 'variant' restriction that all stat points go into vitality. Allocation of skill points will be standard with the exception that War Cry is not allowed. My character can use any of the special weapons (Wirt's Leg, the Horadric Malus, etc.) or the original axe. All other equipable items are only restricted by the need of strength and dexterity modifiers such as item attributes and charms. Also allowed are weapons with passive charges. By this I mean Dim Vision, Life Tape, and such for use on the weapons switch.

A new question: Is it possible to find an item with +Taunt or +Leap which my character could use before gaining any experience?

The real difficulty so far has been the chokepoints in the Underground Passage. I lost several characters there due to getting surrounded and unable to move. I don't use the Save & Exit option except in town, however, a town portal out of that kind of mess has occassionally worked. Hence my ninth attempt at this lunacy.

BTW, my character's name is Nugis_Armatus.

[adeyke]

A new question: Is it possible to find an item with +Taunt or +Leap which my character could use before gaining any experience?

No. If you got those staffmods on a barbarian hat, it would necessarily have a level requirement of at least 6.

[ZatarRufus]

Head over to the Community section, select the link to Realms Beyond Diablo.

Thanks for the tip. I've just went over there and read for a while. I especially like playing variants which can be accomplished in short order, such as a week or two.

I will lurk at that site for a while and try some of the ideas before joining and posting there.

Edit: LemmingofGlory edited a tpyo [sic] of mine when quoting me. I've just done the same here. I certainly appreciate not having my oopsies re-posted. Thanks Lem! Occhi, your thoughts please.

[twentythree]

Just wondering. Is it even posible for Flavie to kill Bloodraven?

Luring Bloodraven from the graveyard back to Flavie would be an acomplishement in itself for a lvl 1 char. But I dont think that the small dammage Flavie does would be enough to offset the monster regain that Bloodraven has.

[Little Faith]

I think Bloodraven is among those few monsters who do not regenerate.

[Kartoffelsalat]

AFAIK, only act bosses do not regen. I also seem to recall leaving and coming back to find her all healed up.

[adeyke]

Judging by the 0s and blanks in the DamageRegen column, it's more than those. Here's the list:

Internal Name______Somewhat Less Internal Name
act2guard3_________Dummy
act5barb3__________Act 5 Townguard
act5barb4__________Act 5 Townguard
ancientbarb1_______Ancient Barbarian 1
ancientbarb2_______Ancient Barbarian 2
ancientbarb3_______Ancient Barbarian 3
ancientstatue1_____Ancient Statue 1
ancientstatue2_____Ancient Statue 2
ancientstatue3_____Ancient Statue 3
andariel___________Andariel
baalclone__________Baal Crab Clone
baalcrab___________Baal Crab
baalthrone_________Baal Throne
barricadewall1_____Barricade Wall Right
barricadewall2_____Barricade Wall Left
bloodraven_________Bloodraven
councilmember1_____Council Member
councilmember2_____Council Member
councilmember3_____Council Member
diablo_____________Diablo
duriel_____________Duriel
evilhut____________Evil hut
familiar___________Dummy
firetower__________FireTower
gargoyletrap_______GargoyleTrap
hephasto___________The Feature Creep
izual______________izual
lightningspire_____LightningSpire
mephisto___________Mephisto
navi_______________navi
nihlathakboss______Nihlathak
radament___________Radament
rogue2_____________RogueScout
smith______________The Smith
summoner___________Summoner
turret1____________Turret
turret2____________Turret
turret3____________Turret
baalcrabstairs_____Baal Crab to Stairs
baalhighpriest_____Council Member
barricadedoor1_____Barricade Door
barricadedoor2_____Barricade Door
barricadetower_____Barricade Tower
catapult1__________CatapultS
catapult2__________CatapultE
catapult3__________CatapultSiege
catapult4__________CatapultW
minionspawner1_____MinionSpawner
minionspawner2_____MinionSlayerSpawner
minionspawner3_____MinionIce/fireBoarSpawner
minionspawner4_____MinionIce/fireBoarSpawner
minionspawner5_____Minionice/hellSpawnSpawner
minionspawner6_____MinionIce/fireBoarSpawner
minionspawner7_____MinionIce/fireBoarSpawner
minionspawner8_____Minionice/hellSpawnSpawner
prisondoor_________Prison Door


Obviously, not all of these are real monsters, and some are still not so easy to identify. This is all just from the monstats.txt file.

[ZatarRufus]

Luring Bloodraven from the graveyard back to Flavie would be an acomplishement in itself for a lvl 1 char.

Interesting idea. I've just fired up the computer to play and this gives me something to test before my character starts earning experience.

IIRC, Blood Raven will follow you out of the fenced cemetary but I think she won't go very far from it. (As if tethered to her home ground.)

All the little monsters I've lured to Flavie do not count as experience points for me when she kills them. I'm guessing that if Blood Raven can be lured over and Flavie can kill her, I would not receive the Hireling Reward.

I'll post back when I have concrete data, unless someone already knows the answer and posts it before then.

-----

Edit: Test results.

1. As a level one with no skills, I am unable to coax Blood Raven to even leave home. Let alone commit Flaviecide. I wonder if Taunt would work on her. (Although it's not an option for the no experience phase as pointed out by adeyke due to level requirement.)

2. Monsters I've seen Flavie kill:

Fallen & all Blood Moor creatures.
(Can't seem to lure distant quill rats but she will nail any within range.)
Dark Hunters
Dark Spearwomen
Regular Gargantuan Beasts (if trapped properly)

3. Flavie can barely scratch Dire Razor the Axe, a Gargantuan head honcho.

4. I concur with twentythree & Kartoffelsalat that Blood Raven does heal. I had her life down to the 'e', went to town, grabbed more juice from my stash, and upon return she was healed.

[LemmingofGlory]

Little Faith:
Variant: A certain set of optional "rules" followed to make the game more interesting, to pose a challenge or to improve roleplaying aspects.

The key, though, is that the rules are connected to each other somehow. There must be a central theme. As far as I can tell, the only rule here is "Gain no exp." That's simply a restriction, like "Assign no stat points" or "Use only cracked items."

This is not to say the restriction can't be given a name or it's somehow not as "good" as a variant. Miscellaneous restrictions and variants are kindred spirits, but I wouldn't say they're exactly the same. One of the key attractions of "restrictions" is they're oftetimes more convenient than fleshing out a complete variant. I tend to play more "restricted" sorts of characters than I do variants in D2 for this reason.

But!

Zatar:
I'd thought 'build' as the second phase of this adventure has the 'variant' restriction that all stat points go into vitality. Allocation of skill points will be standard with the exception that War Cry is not allowed. My character can use any of the special weapons (Wirt's Leg, the Horadric Malus, etc.) or the original axe. All other equipable items are only restricted by the need of strength and dexterity modifiers such as item attributes and charms. Also allowed are weapons with passive charges. By this I mean Dim Vision, Life Tap, and such for use on the weapons switch.

Zatar, you are fleshing out the idea a bit more with that commentary. You may very well have a variant when you're done with it. (Muhaha, in comes the prerequisite variant nitpicking!)

So, I wonder, why must it be a Barb?!

I was playing a "No experience" non-HC Nec last week-ish. He leveled to 2 from the Carin stones frying Raka's minions and from hitting a Poison Shrine. (Heh) He managed to get to Andy. Throw weapons are key to killing her, IMO, but her level was so utterly packed it was hell trying to isolate her. I got frustrated and went to bed. But nonetheless, Javas were effective.

Necromancer is exceedingly well-equipped for handling a Low Exp environment. Terror and Iron Maiden are powerful enough tools to take you to Travincal at clvl 12. (I know.) How possible it is for HC, I can't say, but I'm not looking at it from HC-only.

So, some things to think about:
--Scope of the variant: How far will you plan it to go?
--Character class: Which and why?
--SC consideration: In nightmare, enforce death to negate exp gain?

[o: *LEMMING* :o]

[ZatarRufus]

So, I wonder, why must it be a Barb?!
[o: *LEMMING* :o]

Simple answer from the single minded: It's the first character I played when I bought D2. Even when LoD came out I've stayed with this class and have yet to scratch the surface of the various builds. I'd guess you are asking this question from the standpoint of a variant anyone could play or because it's not the most ideal character for such.

I was playing a "No experience" non-HC Nec last week-ish. He leveled to 2
[o: *LEMMING* :o]

Huh? How can a character be "No experience" and level up? Phase one, for me, is that when I pull up the character screen it indicates: Experience = Zero. I did this as a type of boot camp to see how far he could go. I agree this aspect could/should be called a restriction.

Your 'No experience' sounds like another restriction/variant/(not build) that I've played in which the Rogue did all the killing and I went treasure hunting for everything except a weapon.

So, some things to think about:
--Scope of the variant: How far will you plan it to go?
--Character class: Which and why?
--SC consideration: In nightmare, enforce death to negate exp gain?
[o: *LEMMING* :o]

The second phase is something I'm making up as I go. When I posed my original question, I hadn't considered there would be much interest. I'd only hoped the experts here would suggest things to try. The luring Blood Raven idea was something I hadn't thought of. All the wonderful aspects of the Lounge are becoming more apparent to me the longer I'm around.

I'll work on what my restrictions/variant rules will be. However, before I graduate Nugis_Armatus from boot camp, I'd like to be sure I've attempted all possible things that can be done with experiencelessness.

The general idea was to use the original axe as the only weapon. I took my character up to Diablo, but simply could not hurt him. In that variant the character could not put any points in combat skills and all stats went to vitality. The Rogue did most of the killing, but I was able to thump some as well.

I'll give your questions further consideration and post some general ideas for critique before I start phase two. The short, quick answers are:

1. How far? I'm thinking something that would be challenging to complete Normal.

2. Why a Barb? I know it best.

3. SC? No. I'm hardwired not to consider that option. I played all the softcore I wanted with my first character to enable hardcore option. I doubt that I'd be qualified to make suggestions. (He lost interest in Hell when the freebie Rogue was devoured by a Corpse Spitter and could not be resurected. (I haven't tested it, but supposedly this was fixed in some patch or another.))

-----

Edit: You know, those dmn typo things.

[MongoJerry]

But I dont think that the small dammage Flavie does would be enough to offset the monster regain that Bloodraven has.

Irene, the unskilled naked punching sorceress, found that she does not regenerate. At least, she didn't in 1.10s.

[ZatarRufus]

Edit: Due to operater error yesterday, this story was not finished. I'll not delete it as there is already a reply to it. However you should skip this post and continue on to "The Story."


In the mules' tent.

"What the hell kinda name is Maces_XXXXII anyhow?"

"Dunno. Magic_IV kinda sucks worse. Do I get a cool name like Magic_X? Nope. Not a chance."

"And why, just why am I carrying all this stuff?"

"I dunno. It's like we were bred that way. I got a whole jewelry box in my pack and all that junk glows red just like them sticks of yours. It's wierd, I tell ya."

The barbarian squared his shoulders and said, "Well I, for one, am not going to take it anymore. I've got a plan and I'm leaving!" With that decision, the big fellow began flinging maces, scepters, and whatnot about in greater and greater earnest. He would not steal his master's things, but he sure thought long before leaving the big jugs of purple elixir.

-----

Edit: Somehow I posted this before I was finished. Also, I had intened to change the title to "Storyline". Maybe I should write in something else and cut & paste.

[jahcs]

ZatarRufus,

Very funny! Those little bits of character development are what help to turn a 'click and kill game' into something more.