| Name | Barbarian Build Guide |
| Category | Class |
If you don't fancy some dazzling spellcasting, you'd probably do well as a Barbarian in DDO. I've grouped with some of the most bloodthirsty Barbs in the game and they still amaze me every single time I see them in action. When they hit, they deal a lot of damage, you'll wonder why you settled for a Bard or (insert class here). To each his own, really. But if you plan on rolling a Barbarian in the very near future, you'd have to remember that there are some builds that bode well with certain play style of your group.
One of the most used Barbarian builds is the one that deals the most damage at every encounter. The trick is in knowing the feats to take as well as the enhancements.
ABILITIES
Being a front-line combatant, you'll have to invest in Strength (STR). It is recommended to max it all the way to 18 upon character creation. You might think it may not be much, but you'll be given the chance to add up to +3 at levels 4, 8, and 12. The bulk of the remaining points should then be assigned to Constitution and Dexterity. You can increase your Constitution (CON) to 16 if you've managed to rack up 1750 favor. If that's the case, you can still assign 14 to your Dexterity (DEX). That leaves Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA) with 8 a piece.
SKILLS
For a pure Barbarian build, make sure to invest skill points in Jump, Tumble, and Swim. You can also invest in Spot, after all, a Barbarian serves as a good scout. But this becomes quite unnecessary when you have a good Rogue in the group.
Jump is an underrated skill. Not a lot of people see the huge impact of having a maxed out Jump. It's essentially your ticket to avoiding enemies - the spellcasting kind. You can easily jump over the frontline enemies and finish them off before they deal damage to you and your party members.
Tumble and Swim are quite useful for obvious reasons. Intimidate is something that you wouldn't want to make use of because your role as a frontline combatant is swift death to your foes, the last thing you'd need is aggro.
FEATS
Now, this is the part where your Barbarian's strength is applied. At Level 1, Weapon Focus is a clear choice for the simple reason that you have to have a certain signature damage move. Human Barbarians get additional feat, so you can choose two feats that you think would be useful till you reach Level 12. Assuming you decided on a human Barb, you can perhaps get Weapon Focus: Slashing and Two Handed Fighting. This combination sets you up for Glancing Blows. It gets very useful when you reach Level 12 when you finally get the Greater Two-Handed Fighting. Every additional swing of that weapon means more damage to target.
Your choice of feats will also vary depending on the race you choose. If you're keen on rolling an Elven Barbarian with levels of Ranger, then you can start getting Ranger Feats on the first few levels (i.e. Weapon Focus: Ranged). At higher levels, take Barbarian feats such as Dodge, Mobility, or Shoot on the Run.
Of course, don't leave home without the Improved Critical feat. It doubles your critical hit range when using your weapon of choice. No pure Barbarian should be without it.
ENHANCEMENTS
Again, your choice for Enhancements would greatly depend on how you want to play your Barbarian. Barbarian's Action Boost seems to be a staple enhancement and with good reason. To boost STR, the best enhancement would be Rage. Get Power Rage, Extra Rage and Extended Rage and you're good to go. With these enhancements, you can get up to 42 STR, provided you get the Dragon Loot (+6), Tome (+2), and Rage Spell (+2). It's also great that Rage stacks with items that boost STR.
It's also important to be equipped with several items no matter what kind of Barbarian build you choose to roll. Sometimes, it's not all about dealing damage to enemies, it's also making sure you survive quests with a little help from your loot. So, keep your eye out on items (e.g., rings, trinkets, goggles, etc.) that provide immunity to poison, fear, disease, etc.
Some items worth getting:
*Linen Handwraps +4 STR, -1 DEX, Disease Immunity [Mystery of Delara's Tomb: Return to Delara's Tomb]
*Fragment of the Silver Flame - Permanent Protection From Evil
*Spectacular Optics +4 Reflex Save, +3 Protection
*Belt of the Mroranon +6 STR, Moderate Fortification [Plane of the Night]
*Blademaster Bracers +3 DEX [The Last Move: Yarkuch's Last Stand]
*Black Wolfskin Cloak +2 Resistance, Lesser Cold Resistance
*Kundarak Delving Boots - Freedom of Movement, Move Silently +5 [Plane of the Night]
*Boots of Faith +5 Jump [Endgame: Archbishop's Fate]
Also, stock up with potions that would be very useful in high level quests: Rage, Haste, Restoration. Of course, you can always turn to you friendly neighborhood Wizards, Clerics, and Sorcerers for the extra buff and help.
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