Okay so here’s how I tried to make my Barb in Diablo 2 hit like a truck without wasting months. I started fresh, leveling felt slow like always. Needed damage fast.
Starting the Grind
First thing, I knew I needed Frenzy. That skill is nuts for swinging fast and hitting hard. So I dumped points there whenever I could. Kept me alive while I swung like a maniac. Also grabbed Battle Orders later – gotta have that big health pool so you don’t die instantly. Basic stuff.
Gear Hunt is Painful
Early gear sucked. Using whatever crap dropped. Felt weak. Needed weapons bad. Remembered those cheap unique axes:
- Rushed to get Butcher’s Pupil. Farmed Countess like crazy for the runes to socket it. Shael rune makes it swing stupid fast. Big difference immediately, less waiting between swings.
- For the other hand? Couldn’t find anything great. Used an Honor runeword in a good base (Eth Thresher I found, didn’t have Poleaxe). Not perfect, but way better than a magic axe.
Armor was garbage rares. Just looked for Resistances and Life where I could. Every hitpoint counted.
Dropping the Big Stuff
Finally got lucky against Mephisto! Dropped an Arkaine’s Valor. Boom! Slapped that on – big defense, plus skills, plus life? Massive upgrade. Started feeling tankier while swinging.
Then the real game-changer: Lawbringer. Got an Amn rune from Countess, farmed Lem from Hellforge (!), Ko from some random mob. Made it in a Phase Blade. Lawbringer gives Decrepify curse on hit. THIS is the secret sauce.
Swapped out the Honor polearm. Now swinging Butcher’s Pupil and Lawbringer. The moment Decrep procs? Everything slows to a crawl AND takes way more damage. Suddenly, packs just melt.
Smashing Faces
Put it all together:
- Frenzy speed maxed out.
- Lawbringer constantly proccing Decrepify.
- Butcher’s Pupil hitting like a beast.
- Battle Orders shouting so I have room to screw up.
Ran through Hell Act 1 trash mobs feeling like a god. Actually beat Andariel without needing a million pots! The damage spiked so hard once Lawbringer started working. Physical immunes? No problem – Lawbringer’s magic damage chunks them down when Decrep hits. Win.
Is It Perfect?
Nah, far from it. Still want better weapons, maybe Grief eventually. More life leech would be nice. Runs aren’t blazing fast, but they’re solid. Big thing is it works NOW. Got a usable end-game-ish Barb without insane gear. Key was focusing on that cheap runeword for Lawbringer procs. Crazy boost for minimal farming. Smash things, proc curse, watch things die faster. Simple.