DDO Top 10: Reasons to Play a Barbarian

By Battlebeard and Ralsu

Barbarians claim wild lands and their home, surviving by confronting foes head-on and being the last one standing. They are raw warriors who develop their fighting prowess as a matter of necessity. Brute strenght and massive damage are a couple of the things barbarians bring to adventuring parties. They almost never show cowardice and are savagely determined. The barbarian class is for players who like the spirit and might of an untamed combatant.

Barbarians get more hit points than any other class (12 hit points per level). Use this to your advantage; wade into the melee and bash some skulls!

No wacky spells to learn. No plotting 7 Feats and their prerequisites like fighters. And definitely no sissy singing like bards. Barbarians are the digital cameras of Eberron: just point and click to start killing things. Sure, players will need to learn to manage aspects of a barbarian just as with any class, but it's fairly easy for a beginner to jump into the action as a barbarian.

If you're one of those players who prides himself on the occasional solo romp through a dungeon, barbarian may be the class of choice for you. With a ton of hit points (see above) and quick killing ability (see below), barbarians can survive very well in a dungeon by himself. Just bring a healing potion or two for emergencies.

Build your barbarian right, and you shorten “hack and slash” to simply “hack.” A well-designed barbarian can chew through enemies faster than comedians can write Mel Gibson jokes.

Taking just one level of barbarian gives access to Rage (see below), and any level of barbarian rewards you with those 12 meaty hit points. Don't try making a Raging Witchdoctor with any other melee class; you'll be disappointed.

The defining trait of a barbarian is her ability to Rage at least once per day (more depending on number of barbarian levels and Enhancements). Rage boosts STR, CON, and hit points temporarily for a reduction in AC. STR leads to more hits with melee weapons and more damage. As for a way to counteract the AC penalty, see below.

Barbarians get a natural Damage Reduction starting at barbarian level 2. This means that attacks that manage to hit them will do less damage than normal. By the ninth level of barbarian, a player will suffer 3 less points of damage per successful melee hit. Just think of all of the damage a player can avoid over the lifetime of a barbarian!

Uncanny Dodge gives barbarians the ability to temporarily boost AC and (at higher levels) removes the flanking penalty to AC when the barbarian is surrounded.

This handy little Enhancement gives 3 different active skills that can provide extra damage, extra damage reduction, or a boost to movement speed. A barbarian facing a caster can use the extra damage to kill the finger-wiggler faster. A barbarian in melee can us the extra damage reduction to avoid taking damage. Finally, a barbarian carousing in Stormreach can use the movement speed boost to get from tavern to tavern more quickly.

It may sound silly at first, but it is really cool that other players will know when your avatar has entered a bloodthirsty rage. You'll no longer have to tell them that your character is mad; they can see the orange sparkles! Feel free to continue to make grunting sound effects over voice chat to illustrate your character's anger.

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