I made this character because I wanted to use a dual-wielding single target DPR striker that wasn't already a cliché build such as the dual bastard sword ranger. As is, I believe his DPR is actually higher than a dual bastard sword ranger anyway, as average damage for 1d10=5.5 as does his 1d6+2 (thanks to tempest technique). however he has an additional +1 to hit and will be taking nimble blade at lvl 8, and will eventually be taking the shock trooper paragon path for d8 damage rolls with his short swords.
This is actually a pure striker build that uses fighter abilities for damage only. It's also a character at his current level in a running game, and he kicks some serious tail. He has a damage DPR even with a twin bastard sword pure ranger, with a +1 to hit (thanks to hybrid talent tempest technique) Yes I know that the double sword and katar are better than short swords, but I hate the double sword asthetically, and I almost never roll 20's so the high crit is wasted on me. Plus the magic weapons that I have now are what I've got in game. I'll update as he get's levels
ITEMS Hide Armor, Adventurer’s Kit, Dagger (2), Rhythm Blade Short sword +1, Magic Short sword +1
I'm actually playing a character very similar to this at higher levels, but if you're like me you'll quickly run into an issue with action economy. There's simply too many minor action powers that you need to use to set-up your train of hurt. I find that I'm unable to get all my buffs onboard before the end of most encounters. That said, I enjoy the character.
I wanted to throw this build up real quick since there aren't a ton of recent/updated Barbarian builds, and this seemed like the place to do it. I like throwing Hybrid Classes together and finding a way to make them fun and interesting without being ridiculously broken (in other words, able to play without your DM killing you). Thus I present to you, the Warbarian. Right now it's a level 21 build. If it's recieved well I could probably do level 16 or maybe even level 11 versions. Without much ado, here it is.
POWERS Hybrid at-will 1: Howling Strike Hybrid at-will 1: Weight of Earth Hybrid encounter 1: Roots of Stone Hybrid daily 1: Form of Winter's Herald Hybrid utility 2: Shrug it Off Hybrid encounter 3: Brutal Slam Hybrid daily 5: Rage of the Crimson Hurricane Hybrid utility 6: Treacherous Ice Hybrid encounter 7: Curtain of Steel Hybrid daily 9: Rage of the Death Spirit Hybrid utility 10: Reactive Surge Hybrid encounter 13: Storm of Blades (replaces Curtain of Steel) Hybrid daily 15: Form of the Crushing Mountain (replaces Form of Winter's Herald) Hybrid utility 16: Spur the Cycle Hybrid encounter 17: Warden's Lure (replaces Roots of Stone) Hybrid daily 19: Desert Wind Rage (replaces Rage of the Crimson Hurricane)
ITEMS Great Cat Darkhide Armor +4, Chill Wind Glaive +4, Iron Armbands of Power (paragon tier), Gloves of Ice (epic tier), Belt of Mountain Endurance (paragon tier), Boots of the Mighty Charge (heroic tier), Horned Helm (paragon tier), Badge of the Berserker +4, Siberys Shard of Merciless Cold (paragon tier) ====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
152,000gp left to spend of the expected 800,000. I wasn't really worried about it. Looking at things, the Barbarian/Warden don't lose a huge amount by combining themselves together, and gain quite a bit. Both classes have dailies and other powers that are amazingly awesome, and some that are just 'pretty good'. By putting them together, you get to handpick the best of the best and work with it, and grab the best hybrid talent you can of both of them. For this build, that talent is Barbarian Agility, which gives the character a respectable AC, Ref, and Init.
The character has 2 rages and 2 forms, and these work perfectly. Really. It's like they were made to go together. The rage is a standard action attack, and the form is a minor action, and both last all encounter. Huzzah. This means we're going to stack them, for at least two encounters. I mean, you could just use one or the other, but after playing many, many table top games, three encounters just seems to be the magic number. Don't worry about that third encounter though, with Wild Resurgence you'll at least retrieve one of your rages or forms for whatever you might need.
The funny trick here is Winter Winds, which is hilarious. It turns all of our Primal Cold powers into powers that slide 2 (all of them will, since we're using a Chillwind Weapon). That's just great since, you know, both Barbarians and Warden's use only Primal Powers.
So, we're going to charge with Howling Wind obviously, which we're insanely good at. We'll do some decent damage, 2d10+5d6+26, but more importantly we'll slide the target 2 squares, and Polearm Momentum will knock them down. Oh yeah, just because it's funny, our charge speed is 11. Since we're basically always Raging, it's 13 with Howling Strike. Yeah thirteen. And I guess we could shift 2 if we wanted sometimes. So now the target is prone, slid someplace, and has cold vulnerability 5. We've probably also marked them with our Nature's Wrath, which gives them a -3 to attack anyone but us. Now our target needs to make a decision, do they attempt to stand and come charging at us so they don't suffer the -3 and take a Polearm Gamble for some stupid damage? Do they attempt to attack someone nearby, possibly suffering Warden's Fury which, by the way, is also a Primal Power, so it has a range 2, slides 2, prones, and brings major pain with them now suffering cold vulnerability? Or do they run away from us at full speed, begging for mercy, or attempting to charge someone else? That would be unfortunate, since however far they can run...
...we can run further. There is no escape from the Warbarian. So what the heck, ignite the Rage of the Death Spirit, turn on the Form of the Icewrought Sentinel (which gives you +3 AC and Fort due to the Mark of Warding), mark everyone, make them unable to escape, and beat the living tar out of them, charging, bashing, proning, opportunity attacking, and in general being a snow-covered juggernaut.
Your hitpoints? Great. Your surges? Plenty. Your surge value? 45. Your damage? Certainly not bad for a Defender/Striker. Your flexility? Huge. The ability to slide an opponent two squares just because you can is amazing. Slide them next to you for Deadly Draw, slide them into a zone, slide them away...do whatever really. That's it from me for now.
