Barbarian Class Guide

*For general class information, see Barbarian.*
The Barbarian is one of the most challenging class to play in the early and mid game. As in *Majesty*, the Barbarian is an unconventional hero. Barbarians shun armor and rely on their boosted melee damage and critical hits to overcome adversaries. Unfortunately, since the early and mid game values defense and will regularly see the hero alone and outnumbered, the Barbarian may find himself unable to smash his way out of every situation given his lack of armor.

## Overview

### Advantages

* Huge melee damage and good H2H
* Good potential for multiple hits
* Great against single strong monsters (with critical hits)
* Large health pool (Vitality is primary stat), which becomes a key advantage when Total Restoration Tinctures can be utilized effectively
* Good strength (despite VIT as primary stat)
* Quick battles
* Fun playing style
* Starts with magic resist

### Disadvantages

* Bad against large groups
* Lack of armor hurts in early and middle game
* Death is more expensive (but this isn't significant in the long run)

## General tips

* Barbarians take high damage due to their low defense. The cost of healing can be minimized by using cheaper healing aid in between battle.
* For a Barbarian, Invisibility Gems are needed for most mid-late fights. With extreme damage output and a low parry, Barbarians rely primarily on offense rather than defense.
* In order to reduce turns spent praying for the Rage of Krolm, collect Willpower boosting items and beard rings.

## Progression

In the early game, Barbarians will need some creativity besides just relying on Hardiness to survive the sewers. Only a Barbarian who starts with an 11 Intelligence (the highest possible starting value for his class) is capable of learn the valuable FlameShield shield, which is one of the few sources of armor potentially available early on. The Ring of Protection is the other early source of armor, and should be obtained as soon as possible.

After leaving Valmorgen, Barbarians can gather items to mitigate their armor deficiency:

* Green Charm is available for purchase in Lormidia. This item raises armor by 4, and its benefits far outweigh the MGR penality.
* Enchanted Loincloth is obtainable easily in Treldan Wood, which is a useful location for Barbarians. The main value of this item is that it enables the Barbarian to receive armor enchantments. As discussed in the article for the armor attribute, each enchantment point is worth more than a corresponding basic armor point. The Wizards Robe is an alternative.
* Totemic Mask of Earth (Armor +2) is also available in Treldan Wood.
* Ring of Fortitude (Armor +5)
* Later on, more advanced items include Breechcloth of the Wilds, War Gauntlets, War Chargers and Ring Amulet.

During the course of the mid game, Barbarians gradually gain strength by gathering the armor-boosting items listed above, as well as by leveling up. Leveling up grants additional Critical Hit points and, more importantly, increases HP. When health is over 550+, Barbarians can make great use of the Total Restoration Tincture. After completing the Paladin's Keep event, the most reasonable aura to choose for this class would be the Aura of Victory.

Past the mid game, armor becomes far less important than it used to be in the early and mid game. Thus, the Barbarian's primary deficiency no longer becomes a significant disadvantage. In the late game, the Barbarian will have an exorbitant amount of weapon damage, enough to take out even a few Towering Golems in one fight. A limitation is the inability to use the Circlet of Lycanthropy and Boots of Lunord but the lack of these is offset by some good Thallis items which confer some excellent offense bonuses including Double Attack and Attack Multiple Foes. To enforce the Double Attack (and stop praying to Krolm for ridiculous amount of turns), in hard battles use the Tonic of Speed, which raises Double Attack to 65.

## Items

Listed below are the optimal items for each category, as well as other notable items. For a full list of usable items, see items usable by Barbarian*.*

* **Weapon**
	+ Axe of Fury (*Damage: 25, H2H +20, STR +16; Abandoned Library Schematic*) → Axe of Frenzy (*Damage: 30, H2H +30, STR +22; upgraded at Imp's Workshop*)
	+ The Axe of Discretion (*Damage: 19, STR +15, H2H +15; Valmorgen Schematic*) is generally the best weapon prior to obtaining the Axe of Fury.
	+ Early on, the Axe of the Covenant can be obtained easily and can serve as the preferred weapon before obtaining the Axe of Discretion.
* **Armor**
	+ Breechcloth of the Wilds (*Armor: 0, ART +8, DOD +10, PAR +10; Valmorgen Schematic*) → Breechcloth of the Desert (*Armor: 3, ART +10, DOD +20, PAR +15, MGR +10; Upgraded at Imp's Workshop*).
	+ Prior to obtaining the Breechcloth of the Wilds:
		- Fortified Loincloth – The second best armor
		- Enchanted Loincloth – Obtainable early in the game after leaving Valmorgen
		- Wizards Robe
* **Cloak**
	+ Wild Cloak (*PAR +10, DOD +10, H2H +10, MGR +10, 5-turns-long Invisibility spell*)[Thallis item]
	+ Early on, Farmer's Cloak, Protective Cloak, or Sneaky Reinforced Cloak
* **Headgear**
	+ Ritual Mask (*Damage +3, Double Attack +15, Attack Multiple Foes +10*)[Thallis item]
	+ Prior to obtaining the Ritual Mask:
		- Dwarven Headband embedded with 3x Goblin/Golem/Skull Beard Rings – This item is typically the best item until the Mask is obtained.
		- Battered Crown (*+10 Parry*)
		- The Barbarian can also use various Totemic Masks which give various bonuses depending on type. The best of the bunch for the Barbarian are the Totemic Mask of Earth (Armor +2) or the Totemic Mask of Fire (Damage +2)
* **Belt**
	+ Belt of Ravaging
	+ Belt of Brawling embedded with a "Might" accessory (total bonus: *Armor +1, Parry +5, Damage +1, STR +16, H2H +20*)
	+ Before the above items are available, the Belt of Rage is useful
* **Footwear**
	+ Anvil Journey (*Armor: 0, MGR +15, DMG +2, STR +12*)[Thallis item] embedded with the unique Barbarian Beard Ring - adds *DMG +2, Double Attack +10, Critical Hit +2*
	+ Early on: War Chargers (*Armor: 3, H2H +10, STR +4; Wizard Tower schematic*)
* **Glove**
	+ War Gauntlets (embed 2x Ratman Beard Rings)
* **Armband**
	+ Armband of Destruction (*Damage +3, Double Attack +10, Attack Multiple Foes +10*)[Thallis item] embedded with 2x Ratman/Hammer Beard Rings
	+ Prior to obtaining the Armband of Destruction:
		- Mithril Studded Armband (*PAR +10*) embedded with 2x Skull or Golem Beard Rings is useful on special occasions (*embed Beard Rings via the Enchanted Armor schematic, not the Socketing Manual*)
		- Mithril Bracers (*PAR +5*) embedded with 2x Ratman Beard Rings.
		- Nevryl Bracers (*MGR +5*) embedded with 2x Varg Beard Rings for defense against Dragons.
* **Necklace**
	+ Ring Amulet embed with a Ring of Protection or Dark Band
	+ MGR-boosting necklaces (Blue Charm / Rezzenthells Spellkiller / Dwarven Locket) are useful against magic-wielding opponents.
	+ Early on: Amulet of Destruction
* **Ring**
	+ Ring of Protection, Dark Band, or Ring of Fortitude
* **Accessory**
	+ Charm of Devastation (*STR +8, Attack Multiple Foes +10, Double Attack +10, Magic Damage +1, PAR -10, DOD -5*)[Thallis item]
	+ Early on, Holster of Might or Black Stone (*PAR +15*)