Only tank class

The reasons to make a barb are:

It is not the only tank, but it is the best tank and thus still usefull when the others in squad are not OP

Territory Wars is a pvp event between factions. There are catapults that need to be pulled by the toughest toons possible as they will be targetted by everyone in the enemy factions and should survive this (while being healed by their factions clerics) as long as possible. This is where barbs are the real tanks.

Barbs are also considered high on the ranks of OPness in 1v1 PvP. (how high exectly depends on whom you ask of course, but few will deny that they are among the stronger PvP toons)

And if you dont care about that PvP stuff and nooby squads, barbs are not just tanks. Espescially if you choose the demon part and allocate lots of strength when the time is there (no worry in the beginning, plenty of opportunity to change this later). The demon strength barb is among the best DDs in the game. They are very versatile as they have good damage opportunities vs a single target but also have very good AOE abilities. Their tanking ability makes them the best toon to pull large amounts of mobs, tank them and kill them with their AOE skills. Finally, barbs when using R9 are the class that is most suitable for using fists or claws as they can reach 5APS while wearing R9 HA. This further increases the versatility and i honestly believe that a decently equiped barb is the best toon in the game for soloing everything. The speed at which an R9 demon str barb solos virtually any* instance is pretty much his running speed. Which incidentaly is also the fastest of all toons.

*the old content that is, where everything short of warsong water pav are easy full pulls and can be killed single handedly, often before the rest of the squad even arives at the scene. The new content is different, FSP and UCH arent solo instances.

PS: Sorry for another `look how great barbs are` post, but this one was obviously asked for

Or be like me and tank with your sexy damage. No need for aggro skills when your DPS and defense are godly. b:dirty

Teken - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Well good then, when I get done w/ my cleric I am going to roll a barb. have the best of both worlds i guess. Solid range support + immortal* melee for the lulz or serious business. I am going to go look on my own, but do yall know a good demon barb "guide" ?

Also, what's the difference between claws and fists? I do like having absurd attack speeds when I play melee.

There is no difference between claws and fists really but visual. One has a bit more range between min and max dmg than the other, but that is absolutely unimportant and their avg damage is the same. One needs 5 more dex than the other, that could be a factor, but is also not hugely important since most go for the 200 dex anyway.

There is not a lot you can do wrong in the long run since you will rebirth and thus have twice the chance to restat. Even then, you will probably restat a little later when your gear improves. Theres some sticky guides that are good. I advise you to first focus on just being a standard barb before going fists/claw. The APS way really only starts to shine when you are well equiped and have some experience with your barb. But you can read all about that in the guides and the replies to those guides. I think APS barbs are probably some of the most discussed toons youll find on this forum. b:chuckle Espescially Joe, Colum and I cant shut up about them as you will see in the threads.