I've decided to update this post with my findings.
I hit level 30 today. Wearing full Cleglaws. Holy @#^#$% Whirl is completely different in classic. I went from sucking at 29 to utterly OWNING at level 30.
The number of hits is absolutely incredible. Something like six or eight hits on a single monster sometimes. With knockback on Cleglaws its not uncommon for me to beat a monster back and keep on whirling through it, hitting it over and over again!
Cows became uber-easy. No questions asked. In normal they die in one whirl.
I whirled my way through Nightmare and, unthinkingly, killed Diablo who dropped, wait for it, Boneflesh!!! That's right, 25% chance of Open Wounds and 5% life leech on an armor! Woohooo! I also finally got a second Cleglaw's sword from Nightmare Infector of Souls. But now i'm stuck in Hell difficulty :( :( :(
I don't use the second Cleglaws yet. Why? Because I lack mana leech and Crushing Blow. I need full Cleglaws to provide both of those. So I just whirl with Cleglaws one handed. In most situations it is sufficient. (Against bosses, i'd be using full Clegs anyway, because there's no advantage to whirling two handed against a single target.)
So, once I get a manald heal, and a pair of Goblin Toes, i'll give dual Cleglaws a go. I did try it briefly in NM cows. It's even more hits, but since I lost the full set bonuses, I couldn't keep up in the mana leech dept, and the damage isn't yet high enough.
That really annoys me by the way: the damage per character level. It occurs to me, about 40 levels too late, that I'm simply not going to reach the uber high levels where Cleglaws gets up to 140 max. At best I can realistically expect level 60 or so, meaning that Clegs will probably do about 100 max damage. That's still alright when DS goes off.
The low minimum damage isn't hurting me as much as I thought because of the sheer number of hits granted by whirlwind. I guess it evens out in the end.
Mana is a big problem for my Barb. I only have enough for two whirls. If I don't leech on the first, I have to aim my second very carefully, and make SURE I go substantially through a leechable target, otherwise i'm not going to be making a third whirl. This makes Hell cows very difficult, as there are big leech penalties, meaning every whirl has to fuel the next one. Muck up a whirl, or don't get as many good hits, and its easy for me to find myself without mana in the middle of a huge pack 'o cows.
I have only maxed Sword Mastery. Still working on Whirlwind. BO is a distant third (part of the whole mana problem). Enjoying the build a great deal.
One final observation: my sword breaks ALL the time. Durability actually means something in classic. I actually have to go back to town to repair my weapon. Amazing.
To quote the mcdonalds ad: i'm lovin' it. Classic is fresh, new, and fun to me. It lacks all the ubercheese of expansion. I absolutely love it, it forces me to really stretch to make a good, effective charaacter. Oh and for some reason the Oblivion Knights in the Chaos Sanctuary don't IM nearly as often. I can whirl fairly safely.
Current gear:
Cleglaw's full set
Boneflesh
Rare hat with FHR and resists
Rare belt with FHR and resists
2x Cathan's seal ring (will probably change at least one to Manald)
Gorefoot (will change to Goblin Toe if I ever find it)
I think at this point my options are to change out my hat for an Undead Crown (+50% damage to Undead). That and Boneflesh should provide enough life leech to keep going a while. Then i'll swap both rings to Manald, and pray for a pair of Goblin toes.
Alternatively, I can wear some Sigon's: belt and boots, or belt and helm, for 10% life leech. Dual Manalds would definately be the way to go if I can squeeze in Sigon's. Problem is, my glove slot is taken by Cleglaws, my boot slot is reserved for Goblin toes, my shield slot goes to Cleglaws shield/sword, and my armor slot is taken by Boneflesh. I haven't got many places left over. Retaining some FHR would be nice.
Edit: My end-game gear is probably going to have to be Undead Crown and Bladebuckle. My resists will be awful but hey. With Undead Crown + Boneflesh + Bladebuckle, i'll have a good amount of FHR and leech.
I would love to find a Twitchthroe and Swordback Hold - together, the pair would max out my block. The problem is, if I go that route, I lose Open Wounds every time I go for dual Cleglaws. I really like the idea of dual Cleglaws vs packs.
So I really have two choices if I want Open Wounds: dual clegs and Boneflesh or single clegs and swordback + twitchthroe. The safest route might just be a 3 pdiamond tower shield + twitchthroe, but I haven't had any real hassle with elemental attackers.. yet. If I go single clegs, swordback and twitchthroe, I lose 5% life leech.
I think i'll end up sticking with dual clegs boneflesh UC and bladebuckle. It allows me to pull on Cleg's shield as required.
I hit level 30 today. Wearing full Cleglaws. Holy @#^#$% Whirl is completely different in classic. I went from sucking at 29 to utterly OWNING at level 30.
The number of hits is absolutely incredible. Something like six or eight hits on a single monster sometimes. With knockback on Cleglaws its not uncommon for me to beat a monster back and keep on whirling through it, hitting it over and over again!
Cows became uber-easy. No questions asked. In normal they die in one whirl.
I whirled my way through Nightmare and, unthinkingly, killed Diablo who dropped, wait for it, Boneflesh!!! That's right, 25% chance of Open Wounds and 5% life leech on an armor! Woohooo! I also finally got a second Cleglaw's sword from Nightmare Infector of Souls. But now i'm stuck in Hell difficulty :( :( :(
I don't use the second Cleglaws yet. Why? Because I lack mana leech and Crushing Blow. I need full Cleglaws to provide both of those. So I just whirl with Cleglaws one handed. In most situations it is sufficient. (Against bosses, i'd be using full Clegs anyway, because there's no advantage to whirling two handed against a single target.)
So, once I get a manald heal, and a pair of Goblin Toes, i'll give dual Cleglaws a go. I did try it briefly in NM cows. It's even more hits, but since I lost the full set bonuses, I couldn't keep up in the mana leech dept, and the damage isn't yet high enough.
That really annoys me by the way: the damage per character level. It occurs to me, about 40 levels too late, that I'm simply not going to reach the uber high levels where Cleglaws gets up to 140 max. At best I can realistically expect level 60 or so, meaning that Clegs will probably do about 100 max damage. That's still alright when DS goes off.
The low minimum damage isn't hurting me as much as I thought because of the sheer number of hits granted by whirlwind. I guess it evens out in the end.
Mana is a big problem for my Barb. I only have enough for two whirls. If I don't leech on the first, I have to aim my second very carefully, and make SURE I go substantially through a leechable target, otherwise i'm not going to be making a third whirl. This makes Hell cows very difficult, as there are big leech penalties, meaning every whirl has to fuel the next one. Muck up a whirl, or don't get as many good hits, and its easy for me to find myself without mana in the middle of a huge pack 'o cows.
I have only maxed Sword Mastery. Still working on Whirlwind. BO is a distant third (part of the whole mana problem). Enjoying the build a great deal.
One final observation: my sword breaks ALL the time. Durability actually means something in classic. I actually have to go back to town to repair my weapon. Amazing.
To quote the mcdonalds ad: i'm lovin' it. Classic is fresh, new, and fun to me. It lacks all the ubercheese of expansion. I absolutely love it, it forces me to really stretch to make a good, effective charaacter. Oh and for some reason the Oblivion Knights in the Chaos Sanctuary don't IM nearly as often. I can whirl fairly safely.
Current gear:
Cleglaw's full set
Boneflesh
Rare hat with FHR and resists
Rare belt with FHR and resists
2x Cathan's seal ring (will probably change at least one to Manald)
Gorefoot (will change to Goblin Toe if I ever find it)
I think at this point my options are to change out my hat for an Undead Crown (+50% damage to Undead). That and Boneflesh should provide enough life leech to keep going a while. Then i'll swap both rings to Manald, and pray for a pair of Goblin toes.
Alternatively, I can wear some Sigon's: belt and boots, or belt and helm, for 10% life leech. Dual Manalds would definately be the way to go if I can squeeze in Sigon's. Problem is, my glove slot is taken by Cleglaws, my boot slot is reserved for Goblin toes, my shield slot goes to Cleglaws shield/sword, and my armor slot is taken by Boneflesh. I haven't got many places left over. Retaining some FHR would be nice.
Edit: My end-game gear is probably going to have to be Undead Crown and Bladebuckle. My resists will be awful but hey. With Undead Crown + Boneflesh + Bladebuckle, i'll have a good amount of FHR and leech.
I would love to find a Twitchthroe and Swordback Hold - together, the pair would max out my block. The problem is, if I go that route, I lose Open Wounds every time I go for dual Cleglaws. I really like the idea of dual Cleglaws vs packs.
So I really have two choices if I want Open Wounds: dual clegs and Boneflesh or single clegs and swordback + twitchthroe. The safest route might just be a 3 pdiamond tower shield + twitchthroe, but I haven't had any real hassle with elemental attackers.. yet. If I go single clegs, swordback and twitchthroe, I lose 5% life leech.
I think i'll end up sticking with dual clegs boneflesh UC and bladebuckle. It allows me to pull on Cleg's shield as required.