04-15-2004, 03:00 PM
This is an interesting discussion because I was deciding what was a good melee guy to start and narrowed it down to zealot or frenzybarb.
According to the skill planner at d2items at ~60 spent skill points it comes out to this
paladin 20 zeal, fanat, sacrifice
attack: 350%
dam: ~700%
attack speed: 35%
barb 20 frenzy, taunt, mastery (I like axe)
attack: 400%
dam: ~450% 21% deadly strike
attack speed ~40%
In raw damage numbers it looks like the zealot is the winner but there are other factors to take into account. If you have access to the beast runeword the barb's numbers go up by a lot.
PIs: Both have skills to deal with physical immunes (zerk and vengeance) so that isn't a problem.
Mobility: Barb is clear winner in mobility since frenzy gives the massive boost to run speed, also he has leap attack which is a poor man's teleport and whirlwind to get out of crowds.
Defense: A paladin will most likely use a shield which is unavailable to a frenzybarb. However since the paladin will be spending most of his time attacking the high block numbers from holy shield don't mean much. The barb doesn't have a shield but has natural resists and iron skin to make up for it some.
Crowd control: The zealot has no means of crowd control, all he can do is run in and hope his leeching/massive damage/defense is enough to keep him alive. The barb has many options. Howl, war cry and even grim ward are all good ways to prevent mobbing. In addition his extra mobility means he will never be stuck.
Finally there is dual wielding. I've never tried it and I've never seen it, but imagine a frenzy barb dual wielding beast in one hand and doom in the other!
So the verditct:
If you are on a budget the zealot is the way to go as his skills are by themselves superior. If you have the resources to properly equip your frenzybarb then he is probably a lot of fun and you have a lot of options choose from in how to spend your extra skills.
According to the skill planner at d2items at ~60 spent skill points it comes out to this
paladin 20 zeal, fanat, sacrifice
attack: 350%
dam: ~700%
attack speed: 35%
barb 20 frenzy, taunt, mastery (I like axe)
attack: 400%
dam: ~450% 21% deadly strike
attack speed ~40%
In raw damage numbers it looks like the zealot is the winner but there are other factors to take into account. If you have access to the beast runeword the barb's numbers go up by a lot.
PIs: Both have skills to deal with physical immunes (zerk and vengeance) so that isn't a problem.
Mobility: Barb is clear winner in mobility since frenzy gives the massive boost to run speed, also he has leap attack which is a poor man's teleport and whirlwind to get out of crowds.
Defense: A paladin will most likely use a shield which is unavailable to a frenzybarb. However since the paladin will be spending most of his time attacking the high block numbers from holy shield don't mean much. The barb doesn't have a shield but has natural resists and iron skin to make up for it some.
Crowd control: The zealot has no means of crowd control, all he can do is run in and hope his leeching/massive damage/defense is enough to keep him alive. The barb has many options. Howl, war cry and even grim ward are all good ways to prevent mobbing. In addition his extra mobility means he will never be stuck.
Finally there is dual wielding. I've never tried it and I've never seen it, but imagine a frenzy barb dual wielding beast in one hand and doom in the other!
So the verditct:
If you are on a budget the zealot is the way to go as his skills are by themselves superior. If you have the resources to properly equip your frenzybarb then he is probably a lot of fun and you have a lot of options choose from in how to spend your extra skills.
Step 2: Acquire and train a monkey. This step may take some time.