Support Barbarian

Support Barbarian Build Guide in Diablo II: Resurrected

The Support Barbarian build is tailored for team play, focusing on enhancing the capabilities of allies while providing debuffs to enemies. This guide will cover the essential skills, stat allocation, gear recommendations, and gameplay strategies for maximizing your effectiveness as a Support Barbarian.

This is basically a singer barb, already done

1. Skill Allocation

The Support Barbarian mainly utilizes the War Cry and Combat Skills trees, focusing on enhancing allies and debuffing enemies.

Primary Skills

  • Battle Orders (Max):
    • Increases the maximum life and mana of all party members, making this skill a cornerstone of the build.
  • Shout (Max):
    • Increases defense for yourself and your allies, providing significant damage reduction.
  • Battle Cry (Max):
    • Reduces the damage dealt by enemies significantly, making them more manageable for your team.
  • Howl (1-20 Points):
    • Causes enemies to flee, which can help control crowds and prevent damage to your team.
  • War Cry (Optional):
    • Deals area damage and can stun enemies, providing additional crowd control, but focus mainly on the support role.
  • Leap and Leap Attack (Optional):
    • Useful for mobility; allows you to engage/disengage quickly or to create space.

2. Stat Allocation

  1. Strength: Enough to equip your gear; generally around 100-150 points.
  2. Dexterity: A small investment here can be beneficial if you want to improve block chance while using a shield, but it’s not critical.
  3. Vitality: Most points should go here to maximize your health pool for survivability.
  4. Energy: Usually not necessary; you should rely on potions and gear for mana management.

3. Itemization

Choosing the right gear will enhance your supportive capabilities and survivability. Below are recommended items:

Weapons

  • Heart of the Oak (Runeword):
    • Provides +3 to All Skills, increased resistance, and faster cast rate, making it an excellent choice for a support role.
  • The Spirit (Runeword):
    • If used in a sword or shield, grants significant bonuses to skills and energy, great for a supportive playstyle.

Armor

  • Treachery:
    • Grants +2 to Assassin Skills, increased attack speed, and a chance to cast Fade, boosting resistances for yourself.
  • Enigma (if you can acquire it):
    • Provides teleport capability, enhancing mobility and positioning in team play.

Helmets

  • Harlequin Crest (Shako):
    • Offers +2 to All Skills, greater life, and mana bonuses, making it beneficial for a support role.
  • Vampire Gaze:
    • Provides damage reduction and life leech, enhancing your sustain.

Accessories

  • Amulet:
    • Look for +Skills amulets that boost War Cries or overall survival.
  • Rings:
    • Raven Frost: Great for freezing immunity and boosting Dexterity.
    • Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band: Increases life leech and grants additional skills.

Belts

  • String of Ears:
    • Provides damage reduction and life leech, crucial for sustaining damage while helping allies.
  • belts (like the Verdungo's Hearty Cord):
    • Provides damage reduction and additional health, great for staying alive.

Boots

  • War Traveler:
    • Increases your run speed and provides gold find.
  • Gore Rider:
    • Provides additional damage and speed, useful for staying mobile.

Charms

  • Skill Charms: Look for charms that enhance your War Cry skills.
  • Small Charms: Seek charms with resistances or life/mana regeneration.

4. Gameplay Tips

  • Stay with Your Team: Your primary role is to enhance your allies. Stay close to them, especially when using Battle Orders and Shout.
  • Use Battle Cry Strategically: Always cast Battle Cry before engaging enemies to reduce damage.
  • Control the Battlefield: Use Howl to manage crowds and prevent enemies from overwhelming your team.
  • Use War Cry for Stuns: If you choose to invest points into War Cry, utilize it to incapacitate enemies during tough fights.
  • Mobility: Use Leap and Leap Attack to engage or disengage quickly, allowing you to position yourself better in battles.

5. Mercenary Recommendations

  • Act 2 Mercenary (Meditation or Might):
    • Giving your mercenary the Meditation aura enhances your team's mana recovery. A Might merc enhances your damage output, making it effective for offensive help.