I've been putzing around with a Barbarian off and on for a bit now and I'm starting to get curious about the full extent of their abilities. I've talked to one person who used to play a Barb and got some insights but I figured I'd check in with everyone else and see what their thoughts are.
1. Swan - I've heard various things regarding picking up Swan. How many of you find you're using this particular form with Serenity when setting up your BMR? With the oooldown on it, do you prefer Toad or Badger?
2. Mana Torment - I tested this last night on another PC of relatively equal stats/circle. Right now all I'm noticing is that I can drop their Attunement by about 20%, can't stack it like Ambush Clout, and they immediately begin regaining Attunement before the roar effect is even over. Is anyone getting higher success(more depeleted Mana bar) than I am, or is this roar kind of a wash?
3. Mage's Lash - How often does the spell interrupt actually proc here, and does it work on already active cyclics? Because I can't see a -PM debuff being useful, at all.
4. Tenacity - Haven't been able to pick this up and test it yet, but is there a consensus to how useful it is? Is it similar to Iron Constitution or Calcified Hide?
5. Flashflood - I've heard a few things here but one thing I was told is that it drains too much IF when breaking free of a disabler. Is that common? And does it also work on immobilization?
6. Prediction - This one kind of has a high cost, so I'm curious as to whether or not Barbs are finding rolling out of the room when disabled to be that useful?
7. Slash - I understand this one's been fixed recently, but it also has a pretty high cost. Any complaints with the updated version?
Looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say. The Barbarian suite is interesting but there's definitely areas that can be improved upon I think.
HASTALUEGO
TEQUILASUNRISE
Re: IF Abilities
06/07/2018 08:25 AM CDT
>1. Swan - I've heard various things regarding picking up Swan. How many of you find you're using this particular form with Serenity when setting up your BMR? With the oooldown on it, do you prefer Toad or Badger?
Swan can be significant, it's often enough to ward off spells from critters by itself, so I will sometimes use it for hunting. Given the limit of stacking five forms, I don't frequently use it for PvP, as there is heavy contest for those slots. Eagle/Turtle/Piranha are locks, Toad vs. Warmies, Owl vs. stealth guilds, etc. I'd say it's worth a slot because there aren't 8 other abilities I'd choose over it in the Flame path, and you absolutely want both the Yogi and Powermonger meditations.
>2. Mana Torment
A fun roar in theory but I don't consider it worth a slot currently. Disablers are a much more reliable strategy than trying to land Torment 3+ times. I'm not sure about the actual drain % cap, 20% was my highest success as well.
>3. Mage's Lash
It might just be me, but I think the spell interruption function might be bugged, as I've never seen it work. A -PM debuff might be more useful than you think, as a skilled mage generally knows they have to pump lots of mana to break through Turtle anyways, so it's another factor to overcome. Having said that, is it worth a slot? No, probably not - again stun or immobilization is just so much more useful.
>4. Tenacity - Haven't been able to pick this up and test it yet, but is there a consensus to how useful it is? Is it similar to Iron Constitution or Calcified Hide?
I'd consider Tenacity mandatory. It's a straight % reduction from all physical damage attacks, and keep in mind even TM spells usually do at least one category of physical damage (i.e. Fireball is impact/fire, Partial Displacement is puncture and impact, etc.). It's more useful than Calcified Hide, since a Necro is generally gonna want to remain hidden, and (to my knowledge) to reduces more damage than CH, as CH has a secondary +stamina function. Cannot speak to Iron Constitution, never played an Empath much.
>5. Flashflood
6. Prediction
These serve similar functions, so I'll mention them together. For PvP I prefer Prediction, as it also works on immobilization (Flashflood doesn't) and can be pre-set as one of your meditations before a fight. For hunting I prefer Flashflood for chain stuns, since if you're higher level keeping your hunting spot for long periods of time is very valuable. I'd consider both late-game and situationol, Serpent's Hiss is my go-to panic button for hunting.
>7. Slash
They say it was fixed, but I'm not sure. With very high charisma relative to my level, I can't reliably pull creatures from hiding. It's been a while since I tested it but if I recall it doesn't immediately prevent re-hiding. There's a reason stealth guilds whine about WATCH but not Slash the Shadows. I had it for a long time but recently dropped it because spell slots become a rare commodity at circle 100+. I might pick it up again around circle ~140 when I'm running low of other things I want.
Swan can be significant, it's often enough to ward off spells from critters by itself, so I will sometimes use it for hunting. Given the limit of stacking five forms, I don't frequently use it for PvP, as there is heavy contest for those slots. Eagle/Turtle/Piranha are locks, Toad vs. Warmies, Owl vs. stealth guilds, etc. I'd say it's worth a slot because there aren't 8 other abilities I'd choose over it in the Flame path, and you absolutely want both the Yogi and Powermonger meditations.
>2. Mana Torment
A fun roar in theory but I don't consider it worth a slot currently. Disablers are a much more reliable strategy than trying to land Torment 3+ times. I'm not sure about the actual drain % cap, 20% was my highest success as well.
>3. Mage's Lash
It might just be me, but I think the spell interruption function might be bugged, as I've never seen it work. A -PM debuff might be more useful than you think, as a skilled mage generally knows they have to pump lots of mana to break through Turtle anyways, so it's another factor to overcome. Having said that, is it worth a slot? No, probably not - again stun or immobilization is just so much more useful.
>4. Tenacity - Haven't been able to pick this up and test it yet, but is there a consensus to how useful it is? Is it similar to Iron Constitution or Calcified Hide?
I'd consider Tenacity mandatory. It's a straight % reduction from all physical damage attacks, and keep in mind even TM spells usually do at least one category of physical damage (i.e. Fireball is impact/fire, Partial Displacement is puncture and impact, etc.). It's more useful than Calcified Hide, since a Necro is generally gonna want to remain hidden, and (to my knowledge) to reduces more damage than CH, as CH has a secondary +stamina function. Cannot speak to Iron Constitution, never played an Empath much.
>5. Flashflood
6. Prediction
These serve similar functions, so I'll mention them together. For PvP I prefer Prediction, as it also works on immobilization (Flashflood doesn't) and can be pre-set as one of your meditations before a fight. For hunting I prefer Flashflood for chain stuns, since if you're higher level keeping your hunting spot for long periods of time is very valuable. I'd consider both late-game and situationol, Serpent's Hiss is my go-to panic button for hunting.
>7. Slash
They say it was fixed, but I'm not sure. With very high charisma relative to my level, I can't reliably pull creatures from hiding. It's been a while since I tested it but if I recall it doesn't immediately prevent re-hiding. There's a reason stealth guilds whine about WATCH but not Slash the Shadows. I had it for a long time but recently dropped it because spell slots become a rare commodity at circle 100+. I might pick it up again around circle ~140 when I'm running low of other things I want.
