Been playing around with some builds and I think I found one I really like for farming Act II efficiently. Ive never enjoyed WW so its always been my goal to find something that compares in clear time. Damage there is no doubt this kills faster than WW and more efficiently and its easier to pick up loot as you are next to the mobs when they die.
-I call this build Renus Maximus because essentially you are building around maximizing your rend ability. As we know, Rend does not benefit from IAS (attack speed) as it is a set amount of dmg over time. So the key here is to maximize CC, CD and STR as much as possible while maintaining a decent atk speed for your main hit Bash.
-Another key to this build is the Furious Assault, again, this skill does not have any benefit from IAS so again the goal here is to max Crit and Crit dmg as this is your main fury generator and also packs quite the wallop. Currently Im critting for upwards of 1mil with my current gear.
-Using a two hander is a key here because Rend goes off of main hand weapon dmg, so dual wielding really does no good for your Rendus Maximus build. Skorn is the obvious choice for its Crit dmg potential and strength stat. The one I am using currently cost 12 mil which is a great deal for the dmg it does.
-Sprint uptime is important as to keep pace with the WW barbs, this comes from utilizing Furious Charge (with merciless assault), Bash, Warcry, and Unforgiving. Typically I will use Warcry to in conjunction with my Battle Rage cooldown.
Skills Used:
Rend (Ravage): Ive tested using multiple different Rend types but I find the additional range from Ravage helps kill Elites and trash faster than anything else. If you find you are running into issues with staying alive or health regen then swap over to Blood Lust but as long as you have some life steal you should be fine (I only have 2.3 on my belt)
Furious Charge (Merciless Assault): This is the main fury generator and initiator on Elites/trash mobs. It is also a great utility to get out of trouble. Merciless Assault is the obvious choice here as the cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds for every mob you hit up to 10 seconds. So if you hit 5 mobs its back up instantly.
Warcry (Veteran's Warning): The rune you use on this is preference really. I like the additional dodge because when you dodge you take no damage and with my gear my resistance is already fairly high. I think if you are lower on the resistance scale it would be better to take Impunity. Ive been playing around with the dodge rune and its working well.
Battle Rage (Marauders Rage): The damage bonus with Battle Rage with a two hander is very nice, with the 30% bonus it gives me another 80k damage roughly. This is pretty much a necessity to boost your Rends.
Bash (Pulverize): I like Pulverize over Clobber because it hits in an AoE fashion and the fact that I am one shotting anything I hit anyways, why not kill everything in behind it. The only drawback I see is the knockback but really things are dying so fast and usually have the effects of Rend so it doesnt make a difference. If you are running into fury issues then Id say go with Instigation but that shouldnt be a problem.
Sprint (Marathon): This is such a necessity in speeding up your farm runs. The additional run speed is great especially with the added time it makes it very easy on your fury pool.
Passives:
Weapons Master
Ruthless
Unforgiving: Great for maintaining fury with a small boost during downtime from killing
Ive recently switched to this build fulltime so there are some parts of my gear that dont match what I am trying to do but for the most part its set.
You want to be finding gear that maximizes CC and CD with high Strength. IAS is an obvious boost to dmg but your main killing machine is rend so really, the cost really doesnt justify the benefits. If you look at my gear you can see Ive tried to maximize CC and CD as much as possible in all pieces without spending a ridiculous amount of gold. I think this gear build would cost roughly 200m if that on today's AH.
How it works:
I use this build exclusively with Act II farming, starting at VOTA, then going to Black Canyon and Road to Alcarnus
Pop Warcry and your first sprint, Furious charge into the first pack you see then hit Battle Rage and Bash down the whatever mobs are close. You will have enough fury now to pop sprint again and charge to the first pack of elites and Rend and watch them fall over. Watch your fury and utilize Furious Charge and Bash when you are in a dryspell of fury.
Currently Im doing clears in just under 5 minutes using this build. I do not believe you could do the same with WW for this run without spending an insane amount of gold.
Thank you for reading (this is my first guide), input is always appreciated as I work to refine my farming runs/builds.
I've been using a 2H rend barb pretty much since I made a barb (was my 3rd char). I really like it.
I like your build, but if you have no problems with defence, I would switch the dodge rune in Warcry to Charge! (double the fury gain), and drop Unforgiving for something else, maybe Brawler or Berserker rage (depends on fury situation).
Still, nice to see people playing 2H barbs.
EDIT: just saw your gear. Ridiculous
Also...you haven't finished Inferno? How come?
Brawler would be a nice setup, I may give that a go to see how I do with it. I think if Im more efficient with my fury spending it will work, I just get lazy
hmm thats strange ive completed inferno on multiple occasions...ill have to do it again just for it to update.
Edit: oh I bet its because I was in co-op....never thought to check
http://us.battle.net...cSkR!YZh!cbaZYa
Keys to this build:
-I call this build Renus Maximus because essentially you are building around maximizing your rend ability. As we know, Rend does not benefit from IAS (attack speed) as it is a set amount of dmg over time. So the key here is to maximize CC, CD and STR as much as possible while maintaining a decent atk speed for your main hit Bash.
-Another key to this build is the Furious Assault, again, this skill does not have any benefit from IAS so again the goal here is to max Crit and Crit dmg as this is your main fury generator and also packs quite the wallop. Currently Im critting for upwards of 1mil with my current gear.
-Using a two hander is a key here because Rend goes off of main hand weapon dmg, so dual wielding really does no good for your Rendus Maximus build. Skorn is the obvious choice for its Crit dmg potential and strength stat. The one I am using currently cost 12 mil which is a great deal for the dmg it does.
-Sprint uptime is important as to keep pace with the WW barbs, this comes from utilizing Furious Charge (with merciless assault), Bash, Warcry, and Unforgiving. Typically I will use Warcry to in conjunction with my Battle Rage cooldown.
Skills Used:
Rend (Ravage): Ive tested using multiple different Rend types but I find the additional range from Ravage helps kill Elites and trash faster than anything else. If you find you are running into issues with staying alive or health regen then swap over to Blood Lust but as long as you have some life steal you should be fine (I only have 2.3 on my belt)
Furious Charge (Merciless Assault): This is the main fury generator and initiator on Elites/trash mobs. It is also a great utility to get out of trouble. Merciless Assault is the obvious choice here as the cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds for every mob you hit up to 10 seconds. So if you hit 5 mobs its back up instantly.
Warcry (Veteran's Warning): The rune you use on this is preference really. I like the additional dodge because when you dodge you take no damage and with my gear my resistance is already fairly high. I think if you are lower on the resistance scale it would be better to take Impunity. Ive been playing around with the dodge rune and its working well.
Battle Rage (Marauders Rage): The damage bonus with Battle Rage with a two hander is very nice, with the 30% bonus it gives me another 80k damage roughly. This is pretty much a necessity to boost your Rends.
Bash (Pulverize): I like Pulverize over Clobber because it hits in an AoE fashion and the fact that I am one shotting anything I hit anyways, why not kill everything in behind it. The only drawback I see is the knockback but really things are dying so fast and usually have the effects of Rend so it doesnt make a difference. If you are running into fury issues then Id say go with Instigation but that shouldnt be a problem.
Sprint (Marathon): This is such a necessity in speeding up your farm runs. The additional run speed is great especially with the added time it makes it very easy on your fury pool.
Passives:
Weapons Master
Ruthless
Unforgiving: Great for maintaining fury with a small boost during downtime from killing
Gearing: http://us.battle.net...45/hero/2408018
Ive recently switched to this build fulltime so there are some parts of my gear that dont match what I am trying to do but for the most part its set.
You want to be finding gear that maximizes CC and CD with high Strength. IAS is an obvious boost to dmg but your main killing machine is rend so really, the cost really doesnt justify the benefits. If you look at my gear you can see Ive tried to maximize CC and CD as much as possible in all pieces without spending a ridiculous amount of gold. I think this gear build would cost roughly 200m if that on today's AH.
How it works:
I use this build exclusively with Act II farming, starting at VOTA, then going to Black Canyon and Road to Alcarnus
Pop Warcry and your first sprint, Furious charge into the first pack you see then hit Battle Rage and Bash down the whatever mobs are close. You will have enough fury now to pop sprint again and charge to the first pack of elites and Rend and watch them fall over. Watch your fury and utilize Furious Charge and Bash when you are in a dryspell of fury.
Currently Im doing clears in just under 5 minutes using this build. I do not believe you could do the same with WW for this run without spending an insane amount of gold.
Thank you for reading (this is my first guide), input is always appreciated as I work to refine my farming runs/builds.
Brawler would be a nice setup, I may give that a go to see how I do with it. I think if Im more efficient with my fury spending it will work, I just get lazy
hmm thats strange ive completed inferno on multiple occasions...ill have to do it again just for it to update.
Edit: oh I bet its because I was in co-op....never thought to check
sorry for the late response work is killing me