War Cry Barbarian

Introduction

The War Cry Barbarian is a point-blank caster that walks into packs and stuns them with repeated War Cry waves. It excels at crowd control and durability thanks to a large Life pool from Battle Orders, but it burns through Mana and needs high Faster Cast Rate.

Skill Allocation

Battle Orders 24War Cry 20Battle Cry 20Battle Command 20Howl 20Shout 1Taunt 1Combat Reflexes 1Increased Speed 1Iron Skin 1Natural Resistance 1

How to spend your points

Until late Nightmare or early Hell, play a conventional melee build with Double Swing or Frenzy.
Then respec into War Cry once you have enough Skill Levels, FCR, and Mana sustain.
Max War Cry, Battle Cry, Battle Command, and Howl first.
Give Shout, Taunt, and a few small passives one point each.
Put all remaining points into Battle Orders.

Recommended Breakpoints

48%Faster Hit Recovery

86%Faster Hit Recovery

105%Faster Cast Rate

Stat Allocation

Strengthenough for gear

Dexterityenough for gear

Vitalityinvest all

Energynothing

Pros / Cons

Strong crowd control through repeated stuns
Flexible between shield tank and caster
High survivability from Battle Orders
Strong damage uptime

Only works at close range
Very Mana-intensive without good sustain
Depends heavily on FCR rolls

Gear

Weapon: Heart of the Oak dual-wield setup, very balancedThe Grandfather more Skill Levels, needs lots of FCRBrimstone Rain two-hander with FCR
Shield: Taebaek's Glory defensive one-hand option
Helm: Barbarian Helm crafted, high War Cry rollsHarlequin Crest progression optionArreat's Face progression option
Body Armor: Enigma Teleport for close range
Gloves: OccultistMagefistCrafted Caster Gloves
Belt: Arachnid Mesh FCR and +SkillsCrafted Caster Belt
Boots: Silkweave Mana after each KillWar Traveler Magic Find alternativeRare Boots
Amulet: Warcries Amulet magic version with FCRRare Barbarian Amulet crafted, with Skills and Mana
Rings: The Stone of Jordan once FCR is securedBul-Kathos' Wedding BandFCR Ring essential with dual Grandfather

Charms

Charms: Hellfire Torch foundation of the inventoryAnnihilusWarcries Skiller Grand Charms with Warcries Skills

Mercenary

Act 2 Defiance mercenary with Reaper's Toll

Weapon: Reaper's Toll
Helmet: Vampire Gaze or Andariel's Visage
Armor: Shaftstop, Fortitude, or Innocence
Gloves: Durable Rare or Crafted Gloves with IAS and Life Leech
Belt: String of Ears or Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Boots: Rare Boots with Resistances

Final Thoughts

This build suits players who want a Barbarian that plays as a close-range caster with heavy crowd control. Without high FCR and enough Mana sustain, it will be frustrating.