(Outdated) Skinny Whirlwind Barbarian (Duelist)
Submitted by Vertraag
on March 12, 2013 - 9:58PM EST
Page Views: 3779
Last Updated: March 15, 2013 - 10:57AM EST
Description
A high-survivability Cyclone build that specializes in 2-handed swords.Suggested Leagues: Default
Passive Skills
Each link will open in a new tab in your browser.Gems
Heavy Strike - Single Target Attack
Heavy Strike
Melee Physical Damage
Weapon Elemental Damage
Blood Magic
Faster Attacks
Added Fire Damage
Cyclone - AoE Attack
Cyclone
Melee Physical Damage
Weapon Elemental Damage
Blood Magic
Life Leech
Faster Attacks
Aura Set 1 (Temporarily replace Determination with Blood Magic to cast Grace)
Grace
Determination
Reduced Mana
Blood Magic
Aura Set 2
Haste
Hatred
Reduced Mana
Blood Magic
Utility
Leap Slam
Warlords Mark
Enduring Cry
Faster Casting
Flasks
Flask Set 1
Life Flask
Life Flask
Granite Flask
Quicksilver Flask
Quicksilver Flask
Bandits
Help Oak in Normal Difficulty - Rewards +40 to Maximum LifeHelp Kraityn in Cruel Difficulty - Rewards +6% to Attack SpeedHelp Oak in Merciless Difficulty - Rewards +1 to Maximum Endurance ChargeGear
Avoid anything that increases your movement speed. If you move too quickly, mobs will not be hit as many times, so it actually hurts you for this build. To compensate for your slow running speed, we will use two Quicksilver Flasks, both of which should regenerate 1 charge on crit and give an additional 25-30% movement speed. Your Granite Flask should have at least a 90% additional armor bonus. One Life Flask should be an instant heal, while the other should be a nice, big, drawn out heal that you can use in conjunction with your Granite Flask to become even more impenetrable. All flasks should give 1 charge on crit.In order to slow your movement speed even more, we will use as much heavy armor as possible. Avoid any armor that has energy shield on it.
Guide
Preface
I'll break down the build into smaller pieces to provide a good leveling template later on. My Cyclone Duelist is only level 62 right now, but it's working beautifully so far. Not only is this build incredibly fun, it's also fast and effective.Gameplay
Gameplay is pretty straightforward. Heavy Strike kills rare mobs and bosses, while Cyclone tears apart normal and magic mobs. The main focus of this build is on attack speed, and you'll be attacking lightning fast in the higher levels. Cyclone will strike so many times that your health never goes down as long as you're hitting enough mobs.Normal Difficulty
You won't be able to use Cyclone until the beginning of Act 3, so just use whatever gear and skills you can find. I like to use a sword + shield with Cleave and Life Gain on Hit to get through most of Normal pretty quickly. Once you get Cyclone, you might not have enough mana to use it effectively, so just keep using your usual melee skills while leveling the Cyclone gem on the side. A good mana regeneration amulet works wonders. I started using Cyclone immediately because I have plenty of low level uniques to give me huge boosts to mana and mana regeneration.Cruel Difficulty
You should have enough mana regeneration by now to use Cyclone fairly often. Also, you can start using 2-handed swords at this point. Once you get over 1000 life, support Cyclone with a Blood Magic gem, along with either Life Leech or Life Gain on Hit. Use as many auras as your mana pool can handle, with Grace, Hatred and Haste taking priority.Merciless Difficulty
Everything at this point is incredibly easy. Your life will hardly ever go down thanks to Cyclone, and your damage is high enough to make short work of most bosses. The challenge for Merciless is getting enough resistances through your gear to survive, as your passives do not add a lot to your overall resistances. In particular, lightning attacks will give you a lot of trouble, especially throughout Act 3. You should absolutely find enough gear to get your lightning resistance to 60% or higher before reaching The Crematorium. If you have enough mana, start using Purity. If not, swap out Haste to use it.Comments
Forex
Posts: 2
Cool that you made Cyclone work for you already :)
12 years ago
Vertraag
Posts: 11
There are enough accuracy nodes to ensure that you won't have too many problems hitting mobs. I have about 250 accuracy on my gear right now and it's more than enough. If you need more, the build's paths are right next to accuracy nodes, so you can make a quick switch if necessary.
12 years ago
soulfire777
Posts: 1
I notice every skill uses the BM support gem (even the auras). Why not take the BM passive node instead since it is only 1 node away from your path anyway? Doesn't that reduce the HP cost and allow you to use extra support gems too (which probably means a bottom line of similar overall HP costs but with an extra support gem possible)?
12 years ago