PVM Warcray/Frenzy Barb

Gameplay / Skills

Somewhat obvious, but a Frenzy Barbarian will be dual-wielding weapons to take on the various monsters of the Diablo II universe. This means no shield for you. This does add an element of danger to the build, but the spell Warcry makes up for that. As I mentioned above, the Warcry-Frenzy Barb uses Warcry to stun a pack of opponents and then tear through them with Frenzy while they are stunned. The layout for the skills that actually make this Barbarian a Warcry-Frenzy Barb are as follows:

20 Weapon Mastery (later I'll talk about how going with mace is a good plan)
20 Frenzy
20 Warcry

Pretty self explanatory. Maxed Warcry is necessary for longest stun length, maxed Frenzy is necessary for greatest speed and damage, and maxed weapon mastery is necessary because it's totally awesome.

As with any Barbarian, there are some very useful helper skills. On this build, I would recommend:

20 Battle Orders
1 Battle Command
10+ Berserk (for Physical Immunes)
5-7 Natural Resistances
1-3 Increased Speed

Again, I'm going on the assumption that the reader of this guide has some previous Barbarian experience, so I won't spend the time talking about how wonderful Battle Orders is. In other Guides, you might see more points allotted for increased speed. Well, when you activate Frenzy, you'll get more faster run/walk than you could ever want. To better control this, I'd suggest switching from "run mode" to "walk mode." I'd still recommend putting 1-3 points in increased speed for when you're running around without Frenzy activated. It's just a nice little boost to have.

Stat Points

A typical tweaker build (Tweakers get enough strength and dexterity (taking +stats from items into consideration!) to equip their weapon and put the rest of your points into vitality). Vitality is very nice on a Barbarian. Not only do they get 4 life per points in Vitality, but Battle Orders only acts to double (or more) that value.

If you're using swords on a Frenzy Barbarian, you'll probably end up needing 189 strength and 110 dexterity. If you're going with maces (which I recommend), you'll end up needing 189 strength and no dexterity (no dexterity requirements on maces are just another added bonus).

On my personal Warcry-Frenzy Barbarian, I have:
159 Strength (+30 boost from items = 189)
Base Dexterity
376 Vitality
Base Energy

Breakpoints

Ah, those wonderful breakpoints. This is the subject of about 95% of the posts on the various character boards at rpgforums.net. For reference, fpa means frames per attack. In each second of gameplay, 24 frames go by. So, if you attack at 6 frames per attack, then you get 4 attacks per second. You get this number by dividing 24 (frames per second) by 6 (frames per attack) and getting 4 attacks per second. As you might tell, lower frames per attack means higher attacks per second. Simple, no? If not, here's a nice formula:

attacks per second = (24 / fpa)

So, moving right along. Here is a list of the breakpoints for level 20 Frenzy.

For a weapon with base speed zero [0], the increased attack speed breakpoints are:
ias = fpa
0% = 8
3% = 7.5
11% = 7
23% = 6.5
40% = 6
68% = 5.5
117% = 5

This data is very simple to obtain. I'll take a second here to plug the site

An absolutely wonderful calculator. I will now take you through how to find out your own ias/fpa breakdown.

1. Load up the site
2. Character = Barbarian
3. Weapon = "Your weapon"
4. Handed = 1 Handed
5. Skill = Frenzy
6. Frenzy level = "your frenzy level"

Don't enter a value for ias%. Now simply click the link that says "Results --> ias/fpa table"
A window will pop up with a list of all the breakpoints for your specific weapon and skill level, like the one above. Since I highly recommend a dual shael'ed Schaeffer's Hammer build, I'll also list the breakpoints for that setup. (at Frenzy level = 20)

Since shael'ed Schaeffers have automatically 40% increased attack speed (20% on the weapon, 20% from the shael), I'll begin the breakpoints at 40% ias.
ias = fpa
40% = 7
58% = 6.5
86% = 6
133% = 5.5
232% = 5

So, you automatically attack at 7 fpa without any ias on your equipment. If you can add 18% (58-40 = 18) more ias from equipment (just 18% is impossible, so go with 20%), then you'll reach 6.5 frames per attack. 46% more ias means a 6 fpa attack, and 133% means a 5.5 fpa attack.

The next logical question is, "Well, what fpa should I aim for?" With this build, I believe you have a certain fudge-factor for speed. Because your enemies will be stunned (and you can keep them that way) it is not incredibly important to reach the last (or even the second to last) fpa breakpoint. In builds like the Ironbarb Frenzier, I would recommend trying to get one of the last two breakpoints, but with the Warcry-Frenzy Barbarian, a 6 fpa is sufficient to get the job done.

Equipment

As with most characters in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, the equipment is what will make you good. For a Frenzy Barbarian, the most important piece of equipment will be your weapon. Here is a breakdown of the various possibilities on weapons. My recommendation is using two weapons of the same weapon-type, if not two of the exact same weapons. This means you only have to put points in one mastery, and this build is rather skill point-intensive. Since increased attack speed is fairly important to a Frenzier, your equipment should include some nice ias items. I'll go through a list and tell what I think is a good choice (and give it a rating with 1-5/5). Onward.

Weapons

Schaeffer's Hammer
Absolutely, hands down, by far the best Frenzy weapon in the game. Good damage, very nice bonuses on the weapon, and the kicker... the % chance to cast static field. Because Frenzy Barbarians are always hitting stuff very quickly, the static field triggers quite often. The result is that you absolutely decimate packs of creatures. The only downside to Schaeffer's is it semi-slow speed. However, by sticking a shael in each Hammer and getting a moderate amount of ias from gear (look at above tables), you'll be well off. (6/5)

Grandfather
Another amazing choice for the damage and stats on the weapon. The boost to stats, life, and damage makes Grandfather an excellent choice. Again, the only problem is that they are a little slow on the speed. Same deal with Schaeffer's, get some decent ias from equipment, and you're golden. (5/5)

Cruel Colossus Blades/Swords/Zerker Axes
Lacking of the stats of the Grandfather, but potentially having significantly more speed if well socketed. Using these weapons would free up a lot of your equipment from the ias constraints while still giving you excellent damage. (5/5)

"Fury" Runeword
Fury is an awesome runeword for even a whirlwind Barbarian and the +5 to Frenzy makes it that much better for a Frenzier. Wielding two of these, that's a +10 boost to Frenzy which eliminates the need for excessive outside increased attack speed to hit the breakpoints (higher level Frenzy requires less ias to hit the fpa breakpoints). The runeword itself gives a nice boost to damage, lifesteal, and open wounds. An excellent choice. (5/5)

Baranar's Star
A mid-damage, very fast weapon. The elemental damage and the stats boost is a nice added bonus. Another good choice for a Frenzy Barbarian. (4/5)

Doombringer
Another mid-damage, semi-fast weapon, but with very nice stats. Boost to life and lifesteal can be very helpful to the more cautious (perhaps hardcore) player. (4/5)

Lightsabre
Even though the base damage on this weapon isn't very high, this sword is incredibly effective. Very fast and an awesome boost to magical and lightning damage. Added bonus is that with two of these equipped, you're invincible to lightning attacks (because of 50% lightning absorb). Lightsabres are also an excellent whirlwind weapon, if you so desire to point a few points in for "safety" on this build. (4/5)

There are a lot of weapons that work well with Frenzy. I've just outlined some of the best above. Moving right along....

Weapon Switch
+3 War cries weapons
There is really only one option here. Get two weapons with +3 to War cries each on your weapon switch. This gives your Battle Orders +6 levels which is an awesome boost to life, mana, etc. (5/5)

Helmets
Arreats Face
An awesome Barbarian helmet. Even though it doesn't have any increased attack speed on it, the stats and bonuses from the helm are simply amazing. Socket it with a 15 ias jewel (or an ed/ias jewel if you can afford it) and wear this beauty with Pride. (5/5)

Enhanced damage / Increased attack speed Barbarian Helm
A new feature of the expansion pack was the class-specific items. While Arreats Face is an awesome unique version, one should not overlook the magic versions of these helms which can spawn awesome mods. You could potentially get a helmet with 3 open sockets, +3 frenzy, +skills, +life, +damage, or etc. Sticking 3 40ed/15ias jewels in such a helmet would result in an awesome helm for a Warcry-Frenzy Barbarian. (5/5)

Stealskull
With dual leech and increased attack speed, I find this helmet very useful, even outside of Magic Find characters. It doesn't have the stats of an Arrest's Face, but I still think it's all-around an excellent helmet. Again, socket with an ias or ed/ias jewel. (4/5)

Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
In my opinion, one of the best helmets in the game. The reason people don't like it is probably because of how "easy it is to find" (read: common) and because of all the other godly unique helmets available thanks to massive duping on the realms. Only thing it lacks is the increased attack speed, but that can be taken care of with the socket. Either way, an excellent choice. (4/5)

Vampire Gaze
Personally, I don't find this helmet very useful for a Frenzier. Since your enemies will be stunned when you attack them and you'll have an enormous amount of life because of the tweaker build, damage reduction really isn't necessary. The only other nice qualities of the Vampire Gaze is the dual leech, but you can get that and better from the above-mentioned helms. (3/5)

Crown of Thieves
With a high % of lifesteal and good +stats bonuses, this helmet can be a nice choice for a Frenzier. Inferior to Tal's Mask, but still more than useable. (3/5)

Guilliame's Face
Helmet of the Orphan's call set. When you're swinging fast and maybe lacking in damage, crushing blow can be your friend. (2-3/5)

Armor
Enhanced Damage / Increased Attack Speed armor
Usually a 4 socket elite armor socketed with 4 enhanced damage / increased attack speed jewels. Very useful to get your Frenzier to a higher speed breakpoint. Enhanced damage is always nice as well (5/5)

Duriel's Shell
Another "unpopular" item, but I think it has amazing stats. Cannot be frozen saves you a ring slot (from Ravenfrost), +Life, resistances, and more makes Duriel's Shell an excellent choice. Socket with a 15 ias jewel for added benefit. (5/5)

"Lionheart" Runeword
Absolutely amazing stats on a runeword. The only thing it's lacking is increased attack speed, but you can still equip a lionheart and make an important breakpoint. If you do go with Lionheart, then you can further "tweak" your character. Since Lionheart adds +25 strength, that's 25 less points you have to put into strength and 25 more you can put into vitality. That comes out to somewhere around 200+ life after Battle Orders! (5/5)

Arkaine's Valor
Well... despite having some fairly nice stats, this armor isn't that useful to a Warcry-Frenzy Barbarian. The boost to vitality is nice, but you can get far better stats from an armor like Lionheart. +2 skills is nice, but again not that useful. (4/5)

Shaftstop
Like I mentioned with Vampire Gaze, damage reduction isn't really necessary for this build. Since damage reduction is really Shaftstop's only redeeming quality, I'd suggest skipping over this one. However, if you like to play it safe, then go right ahead. It can't hurt. Stick in a 15 ias jewel, of course. (4/5)

Griswold's Armor
Comes with very high defense, 3 open sockets, and +20 strength. Can be filled with ias jewels (2nd mods are a plus) for a very nice Frenzy armor. (3/5)

Increased attack speed Armor
Again, a 4 socket armor with 4x 15 increased attack speed jewels (seconds mods are a plus). For those who can't afford the jewels with both enhanced damage and increased attack speed. Only use this if it can help you reach a certain breakpoint. (3/5)

Crow Caw
Well... it has increased attack speed. And some pretty open wounds. I really just added it because I like the name. (2/5)

Belts
String of Ears
By far the best melee belt in the game. For you types screaming "but... but... no damage reduction = me dead" well, here's your solution. A perfect string with 15% DR (damage reduction) is all that you'll need. (5/5)

Nosferatu's Coil
Currently has bugged slow target, but if you can look beyond that, simply amazing stats. +15 strength means even further tweaking for your character, and lifesteal can never hurt. (5/5)

Thundergod's Vigor
An excellent belt. The +20 to strength once again allows you to further tweak your Barbarian. The other mods on the belt (lightning related) can be very helpful when coming across those pesky multishot+lightning enchanted monsters. Unfortunately lacking on leech and increased attack speed. (3/5)

Goldwrap
Only good bonus is the 10% increased attack speed. If you need 10 more and you absolutely hate the bugged slow target, Goldwrap is your man. Or belt. Or whatever. (3/5)

Orphan's Set Belt
A decent belt with dual leech. This character sometimes has trouble coming up with manaleech. This belt will solve your troubles. (3/5)

Gloves
Blood Recipe Crafted Gloves
If you can get a nice pair with 20% increased attack speed, 3-6% lifesteal, good crushing blow, and perhaps some +stats, you're set. Potentially the best gloves for your Frenzy-Warcry Barbarian. (5/5)

Sigon's Gloves
Only useful when used with Sigon's Boots. However, the bonuses when you equip both of these items is very nice. 30% increased attack speed, 10% Lifesteal, +10 Strength (tweak!), and +40% cold resistance. An excellent choice. (5/5)

Laying of Hands
20% increased attack speed is nice, but the real power lies in the 350% increased damage to demons. Most of the creatures in this game are demons (including all the act bosses!), so these gloves can really shine. (4/5)

Rare Gloves
Rare gloves are still one of the few useful rares in the game. Possible mods are 20% increased attack speed, lifesteal, +strength and dexterity, and +resists. A great choice (4/5)

Lava Gouts
20% increased attack speed is nice and making pretty red swirlies around your body is nice. A decent choice. (3/5)

Immortal King's Gauntlets
A lot of Barbarians use Immortal King's Gauntlets for the nice +20 strength and +20 dexterity boosts, but without the increased attack speed, these gloves just aren't very useful for a Frenzy Barbarian. Just thought I'd mention them, though. (unfortunately, 1/5)

Boots
War Travelers
A nice boost to strength, vitality, and damage. Excellent boots overall. (5/5)

Sigon's Boots
As mentioned above, when used with sigon's glove yield very nice results. Another good choice (5/5)

Gore Riders
Many people dislike these boots, but I've always been a fan. Yes, personal bias does find its way into guides. While the deadly strike is useless because of barbarian weapon masteries currently being bugged (1+ points = automatic deadly strike = double damage), the crushing blow and other stats are, in fact, quite nice. (4/5)

Rare Boots
Rare boots can also have some very nice stats. Possibilities are Faster run walk, faster hit recovery, +strength and dexterity, and +resists. (4/5)

Immortal King Boots
Good faster run/walk and a nice boost to life and attack rating. (4/5)

Goblin Toe
Again, as mentioned above, when you're swinging really fast and perhaps lacking in the damage category, then crushing blow can really be your friend. Goblin toe has plenty of crushing blow to go around. (2-3/5)

Amulets
Atma's Scarab
Best bonus Atma's has to boast about is the chance to cast amplify damage on striking. Once again, let me stress that Frenzy Barbarians hit very fast and very often, and thus trigger % chance to cast items a lot. Very useful amulet in cows to mow down the packs. Used in conjunction with Schaeffer's Hammer, it's a real killer. If you don't absolutely need ias from your amulet, this is by far your best choice. (5/5)

Cat's Eye Amulet
Increased attack speed, faster run/walk, and a huge boost to dexterity. Very nice amulet. (5/5)

Rare Amulets
We all know and love rare amulets. Mods to look for are +skills, dual leech, +strength and dexterity, and +resist all. Potentially (5/5)

Highlord's Amulet
Nice bonus to attack speed, but unfortunately weapon masteries are bugged and the deadly strike is useless. +1 skills is nice but not amazing. Still a good amulet. (4/5)

Crescent Moon
Your Frenzy Barbarian may have problems finding a spot to put mana leech into their setup. If that's your problem, then Crescent Moon is a fine choice for you. While the high mana leech on C. Moon may be overkill, it can never hurt. (4/5)

Eye of Etlich
+1 skill, lifesteal, some cold damage. Not too shabby. (3/5)

Rings
Ravenfrost
A most wonderful ring. Cannot be frozen, while maybe not absolutely crucial, does help to remove some of the frustration of the game. A nice boost to dexterity and attack rating further adds to the usefulness of this ring. Note: If you use a Duriel's Shell (and thus get cannot be frozen on there), then a different ring may be more useful to you. (5/5)

Rare Rings
Rare rings, especially those from earlier patches, can have amazing mods. Look for: Dual leech, +strength/dexterity, +resist all. (5/5)

Blood Recipe Crafted Rings
Potentially offering 11% lifesteal and a very nice boost to your strength and dexterity, these crafted rings can be your best friend. (5/5)

Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
A beefed up Stone of Jordan for the melee fighter. Fairly useful for the Frenzy Barbarian. +1 skills, low-mid lifesteal, and +life based on character level are nothing to scoff at. (4/5)

Manald Heal
If you need mana steal and just can't get it from anywhere else, then go for the Manald. A very solid choice. (3/5)

Dwarf Star / Stone of Jordan / Nagelring
Mmm... not terribly useful, I'm afraid. (1/5)

Charms
The Warcry-Frenzy Barbarian isn't very charm dependant. If you're really lacking in attack speed, you could get some +1 Combat Skill charms (greater level frenzy = faster attack). Charms with life, resists, maximum damage can all be helpful to your character, but are not absolutely necessary.

Frenzy gear, with its emphasis on increased attack speed can sometimes leave your character lacking in some resistances. I'm a resistance junkie, so my own character has a few grand charms with resist all and a few small charms with 11% resists to a single element. The rest are some +life small charms.

More on Gameplay

Now that you have almost all the Warcry-Frenzy Barbarian information you could ever need, I'll expand a bit on the different gameplay aspects. Unfortunately, The Secret Cow Level is a major part of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction "Gameplay," so I'll talk a bit about strategies to use in there. If you're gung-ho about running off on your own in the cow level and taking on the cows yourself, there's a really simple way to do it. Use your maxed Warcry to stun the cows (let off 3-4 cries per group to make sure they're all stunned) and then tear through them with Frenzy. If you have 2 Schaeffer's Hammers, an Atma's Scarab, and some crushing blow on, the cows won't stand a chance. You may run into some danger if you get surrounded by cows. I wouldn't suggest trying to Frenzy your way out if completely surrounded. Hotkey up your Warcry, and constantly try to cast it. You'll eventually get a cry in, even if cows are swinging at you from all directions. Switch to leap attack, and jump away from the pack. Your high amount of life from the tweaker build will give you a bit of a fudge-factor if you get surrounded. Once you're no longer surrounded, go get your revenge on that cowpack.

Magic finding is also another significant part of D2 gameplay. Rest assured, Frenzy Barbarians make excellent magic find characters. There are already guides written for magic find that are far superior to this one, so I recommend you take a look at those. All I can really offer here is a quick list of recommended equipment for a Frenzy Magic-Finder.

Steelskull, Skullders, Goldwrap, Laying of Hands, War Travellers. This setup will give you enough increased attack speed (40) to reach at least a decent speed depending on your weapon. Laying of Hands, like I mentioned earlier, does significant damage to act bosses, who are all demons.

Alternate Builds

Like I said in the beginning of this guide, the Warcry-Frenzy Tweaker route is not the only way to go. Lately, the "Titan" build for Barbarians has become quite popular. The titan build involves putting only enough stat points into dexterity to equip a weapon and putting the rest in strength. The point is to take advantage of the 100% enhanced damage per 100 points put into strength (varies slightly for different weapons). The build makes up for the lack of vitality by relying on a full inventory of +20 life small charms and battle orders to get their total life up to a "safe zone" of around 1200-2000. Normally this build is done on Barbarians equipping long range, high damage Spears/Polearms, but it is still very effective on a Frenzy Barbarian equipping dual-Schaeffer's Hammers.

Personally, I prefer the tweaker build. Barbarians get the most amount of life per point put in vitality (4) than any other character in the game. To not take advantage of this bonus is crazy. I know many would disagree with me, but I prefer the vitality build.

I will point out that the Titan Frenzy build is very compatible with Warcry though. If your opponents are stunned, then they won't be hitting you and thus won't be taking down your life. The high strength means you'll be doing much more damage and can thus take down your enemies even faster.

An alternate to the Warcry build is the Iron build. The point is to get very high defense and face creatures that can only hit you 5% of the time. This build involves maxing Iron Skin and Shout and equipping high-def gear for maximum possible defense. I am by no means an expert in this field, so I'll leave that guide up for someone else to write.

Mercenary

This build is not very mercenary-reliant, but there are a few choices that will make your life easier. Well, really only one choice. An act 2 nightmare offensive mercenary. The aura is "Might" and at high levels will give you an awesome boost to damage. Your mercenary will also be fighting right by your side as you tear through packs of opponents. Warcry adds an extra safety feature for your mercenary, protecting them from the hits of evil Diablo II baddies.

I would say a "defiance" aura mercenary would be nice, but that's only true for the Ironbarb version of the Frenzy Barbarian. Since your Warcry-Frenzy Barbarian is not getting hit by stunned creatures, your defense really doesn't matter. Go with the Might Mercenary. It is by far your best choice.

Other mercenaries are really only there for aesthetics. None can be as amazingly beneficial to you as the act 2 Mercenaries.

A Sample Build

Just for an example, this is what my Warcry-Frenzy Barbarian uses for equipment:

2x Shael'ed Schaeffer's Hammers
Arrest's Face (15 increased attack speed jewel)
Duriel's Shell (15 increased attack speed jewel) (Also has 70 enhanced damage / 60 increased attack speed armor for next breakpoint)
String of Ears
20 ias / 3% Lifesteal / +8 dexterity Crafted Blood Gloves
War Travelers
Atma's Scarab
Dual Leech Rare Ring
10% Lifesteal Crafted Blood Ring

With this setup, he reaches a very respectable 6 fpa attack. With his alternate armor on, he can reach a 5.5 fpa attack. He has a very easy time mowing down cows and clearing out any part of the game