BoTD CB vs Zerker final conclusion

[Fire_Dragon]

BoTD CB vs Zerker final conclusion

Ok, I've done some testing with BoTD CB and Zerker and heres what I have found (barb pros stop reading, this is old info for you :uhhuh: ). A BoTD CB although doing less 1 handed dmg does massive 2 handed dmg (over 800 :love: ) so against casters it's a godsend. Secondly for pure BvB BoTD Zerker is obviousely the better choice because it has better dmg. For casters you can go with a BoTD champion axe, but it only can do abit over 600 two hand dmg. The real bonus lies in that it's range 5 so you get MANY hits with it. Also champ axe hits final ww bp while CB doesn't... Final conclusion: CB for pubby duelers, zerker and champ for serious 1v1 clan/tourney/priv duelers. Hope this helps any new barbs out there or ppl who were just unsure!

P.S.
I posted this because lately I've had ALOT of ppl on bnet asking me which is better...

 

[Scrub0]

In my experience, dual wielded botd axes > 2h wielded cb.

 

[xtc_sazabi]

i agree, and recently i tried Doom +Botd, works quite well too

 

[Fire_Dragon]

Read the post... I suggest a BoTD CB for pubby duelers ONLY. In pubby duels you often don't have time to switch weapons because it's a free for all. With CB you can yank off your SS while out in the blood moor and bammo, you got a 2 handed, high dmg killing machine. I DID suggest using BoTD zerker (1 hand only) for those of us who are really into dueling, it's the obvious choice. And btw a BoTD champ axe=way better than dual weilded zerkers. It has range of 5 which means you get ALOT more hits with ww and you can nail a caster from further away, very important.

P.S.
Doom? Your joking right? Sorcs and enigma using casters won't just sit there for 2 seconds and let the holy freeze kick in... :uhhuh:

 

[xtc_sazabi]

no, but they do not expect a barb to have it, and i have caught more than enough characters off guard.

 

[Norton]

What about a beast and BoTD? Seems good enough, + that fanata would be deadly if u got a hit in.

 

[Frenzied Bovine]

Aren't champ axes range 3?

 

[iceball_aarf]

Yes they are Range 3, and to the original poster:
2h CB ww breakpoints= 1h CB ww breakpoints, the swords don´t change breakpoints even if dual wielded and because of that they are more versatile...

Hmm, i haven´t tested using 2*BoTD vs using just 1 2H BoTD vs casters, it could be interesting...

 

[Taz]

Yes they are Range 3, and to the original poster:
2h CB ww breakpoints= 1h CB ww breakpoints, the swords don´t change breakpoints even if dual wielded and because of that they are more versatile...

Hmm, i haven´t tested using 2*BoTD vs using just 1 2H BoTD vs casters, it could be interesting...

"2h CB ww breakpoints= 1h CB ww breakpoints" u sure about that?! ^^
I`m not that sure.

 

[Halciet]

"2h CB ww breakpoints= 1h CB ww breakpoints" u sure about that?! ^^
I`m not that sure.

He's right, the break points are -10 and -35 for all one-handed weapons and all swords, period.

-Hal

 

[Fire_Dragon]

My bad, was thinking of a dif weapon when I posted. Unfortunately CB still has base speed of 5... ug. Champ axe has base speed -10, wielded by a barb its norm spd. It hits the last -60 ww bp, cb doesn't.

 

[Halciet]

It hits the last -60 ww bp, cb doesn't.

What do you mean? CBs hit the last ww breakpoint at -35.

-Hal

 

[Red_Zone]

Eth Giant Thresher has a range of 5, -10 base speed, and looks cool. I traded 30 Pgems for one and socketed it with my quest, now it has 6 sockets. I like the look of the CB better than the BA. Whatever I find first I would use.

 

[FattyMcGee]

My bad, was thinking of a dif weapon when I posted. Unfortunately CB still has base speed of 5... ug. Champ axe has base speed -10, wielded by a barb its norm spd. It hits the last -60 ww bp, cb doesn't.

cb DOES hit the last breakpoint for ww. Read iceball's post, Halciet's post, and the barb FAQ.

Champ axe is only r 3, has less dmg than cb, and has no advantage whatsoever. if you're really intent on using an axe, a silver-edged axe would be the best out of the 2handers. :-/


My personal suggestion for a 2hander is Ghost Spear or Great Poleaxe. Both are range 5 as opposed to a CB's range 3, have the same ave. dmg as a 2handed CB, and can hit the last ww bp with BotD.

 

[Pavtaia]

cb DOES hit the last breakpoint for ww. Read iceball's post, Halciet's post, and the barb FAQ.

Champ axe is only r 3, has less dmg than cb, and has no advantage whatsoever. if you're really intent on using an axe, a silver-edged axe would be the best out of the 2handers. :-/


My personal suggestion for a 2hander is Ghost Spear or Great Poleaxe. Both are range 5 as opposed to a CB's range 3, have the same ave. dmg as a 2handed CB, and can hit the last ww bp with BotD.

Yeah, if you are going to use a two-hander you might as well go for one of those instead of a CB. Openning your inventory in the middle of PvP doesn't sound very safe.

Personally I prefer the axe for my barbarian. I have BotD/SS on primary and dual ethereal Lacerators (201ED and 203ED) on weapon switch for PvP. Double Throw with those is about as close to a gatling gun as you are going to get in D2. Casters drop very fast to a name lock when they decide that they are far away enough vs. WW to stop to cast.

Ethereal Lacerators are more transparent than ethereal BotD Zerkers, but it's not always easy to tell the difference on a moving barbarian. You can also WW with the Lacerators without the weapon switch lag if the opportunity presents itself, but they are reach 1 (and Amp doesn't trigger obviously). Of course, many consider Lacerators in PvP bad manners, but then again the guy was talking about casters using Enigma. I take that as anything goes.

For PvM I prefer Lacerator + Gimmershred for the Double Throw weapon switch. BotD/Doom Zerkers is not bad, but the repair bill on Doom is a rather big spoiler for your gambling habit. BotD CB/Silence phase blade (upgraded from ethereal dimensional blade) is a great MF setup for sword barbarians. The Hit Blinds Target +33 (which fortunately works with WW) is just plain awesome and is much better than a shield against a lot of monsters (especially if you do Baal runs instead of Pit runs). The +75 resist all and +2 all skills mean you have a lot more room to work in extra MF gear (and Silence gives +30% MF on top of that). The Hit Causes Monsters to Flee 25% (which unfortunately does work with WW) can be a pain sometimes, but isn't usually a big problem.

 

[Red_Zone]

Are you guys sure CB is range 3 when you use it on 1h? because when you ww with it using 2h hands it seen it has a smaller range.

 

[Soepgroente]

Since you have a BoTD zerker and therefor axe mastery, you're going with a 2-handed axe and not a ghost spear or something similiar. For pure 2handed this is the better choice of course.

 

[Pavtaia]

Since you have a BoTD zerker and therefor axe mastery, you're going with a 2-handed axe and not a ghost spear or something similiar. For pure 2handed this is the better choice of course.

I have axe, mace, polearm, and sword barbarians. Never did try the Ghost Spear myself, but the relevant stats are identical to the Great Poleaxe so I imagine it works the same.

The range 5 on polearm doesn't really make that much of a difference in PvM. Mace is good if you have no BotD (can't hit 4-frame WW with a BotD mace anyway) so you are running IK, which can hit 4 frames (but you will definitely notice the range 2 on the Ogre Maul, even in PvM). Sword is good mainly because you don't have to pay for repairs on Silence (also, if the bovs don't drop that Zod for you, a decked out Silence Phase Blade upgraded from ethereal dimensional blade is plenty good, hits 4 frames, and makes for very safe WW killing with the Hit Blinds Target +33).

Axe is my favorite because of two things. First of all, it's the best for weapon-and-shield or dual wield setups. Secondly, when I weapon switch to the backup Double Throw setup against troublesome stuff, I can break into a WW to finish things off in one motion after Amp triggers on Double Throw without weapon switch lag. The Champion Axe is the only two-handed axe you can hit 4 frames with BotD, but its damage is rather low for a two-hander and dual BotD Zerkers is clearly superior (basically the same damage when you count the extra +30 Str, but dual Zerkers also gives +30 Dexterity/Vitality/Energy and finer damage granularity) .

Now if you were really lucky, you might score a rare ethereal Glorious Axe with high IAS, 400+ED, and at least three sockets, then you would have a range 4 4-frame monster axe and I might consider going two-hander with axe. Personally, I don't have that kind of luck. Besides, the ultimate lottery rare weapon would be a War Pike with those kind of mods, so if you are in lottery mode you may as well go spear. Of course, you could have 100 1000% MF Sorcs doing 8-player Baal runs 24 hours a day for two years and never see such a beast.

 

[Krime]

I just wanted to know how the hell you guys would make a Silence phase blade upgraded from an etheral dimensional sword? You can't upgrade normal, magic, or for that sake runeworded items. So how? I see a little mistake here...

cya, Krime

 

[Cloud Strife]

My personal suggestion for a 2hander is or Great Poleaxe.

why not a warpike? Say i wanted a botd polearm, is the great poleaxe better than a warpike?