Tronko
Well-known member
It's been a while since I last posted a build, and I feel a little guilty… so I'm sharing what I'm currently playing. 
It's nothing particularly creative, but it's incredibly effective, and I find it exceptional for farming MD.
I've been playing a Shadar-Kai since before summer. Even though the chains have a very long cooldown, they are a great active ability, and I like them. I also enjoy Shadow Jaunt and Shadow Phase... basically, I like the Shadar-Kai
In my opinion, SWF is the ideal choice for the chains. In general (and even more so with the arrival of Patience), I believe SWF is an ideal choice in the current meta. AoE issues are greatly mitigated by Quick Cutter (which is an amazing Epic Strike) and by Whirlwind, and they disappear entirely if you add chains to the equation.
SWF gives high base damage and also more Melee Power (Single Dagger in the VKF tree). I'm a big fan of Kukri specifically because of the VKF tree: 40 MP, 5% attack speed, base damage, Haste Boost, 10% Doublestrike, and even defenses. 41 well-spent points
I've tried playing the Shadar-Kai as a Rogue for a long time, both with the Assassin capstone and with the VKF capstone. Lots of sneak attack dice for sure, and Assassinate is fun. But with the critical profiles we have today, brute force wins by a large margin.
In the end, I finally dropped my Barbarian Artifact Ring (after a lot of Lesser Reincarnations to reset ransack and a decent amount of shards), fused two gold weapons into a nice undying raid Kukri on which I put Dust, got the boots with raid runes, and completed the gear setup I had in mind for my Shadar-Kai Barbarian.
The build concept is quite simple: FB Core 5 and Tier 5, VKF capstone, and Harper for the trance.
Int trance works for Shadar-Kai (I even boosted +2 Int on the ring's curse), and with +22+11+5+4 accuracy in the gear and a very high Strength score, you can more or less hit consistently. The grazes don't disappear, of course... no way without Precision or Eladrin/Wood Elf.
Here's a screenshot of my stats in Reaper (self-buffed).
Shadar-kai Barbarian 18 Dark Hunter 1 Fighter 1, LD (34) FotW (26) SD (23)
Strength is great, of course. Legendary Severed Tentacle is a great swap item (Raging Strength and clicky on the same item).
On the helm, I have Reaper Stats and Curse of Unparalleled Might, which is a fantastic curse.
The odd Constitution score isn't an issue, considering Blood Tribute.
I've already talked about Shadar-Kai as a race. Now it's better to explain why I chose Dark Hunter and Fighter instead of the trendy options like Warlock and FVS/Cleric, or even Druid.
The answer is simple: I wanted max BAB for attack speed without needing to use scrolls or clickies, which on a Barbarian is like tears and blood, especially in a time sometimes plagued by subtle lag issues. DH gives sneak and traps. Fighter an extra feat.
Is there a better solution? Certainly, just throw the Curse of Divine Fortune on the kukris. Easy, right? XD
At that point, playing in DC might make sense. But without a favored kukri, in my opinion, LD wins. LD is still great in raids for the endless boosts, and even in quests, the movement speed during the epic moment is fantastic.
Doublestrike is a major inherent weakness of the Barbarian, but with the kukri, the problem is greatly reduced. I left it at 90% standing, though if you want, you can max it by investing 3 points in the FotW T4 and adding quality or profane doublestrike to your gear.
But with Rapid Slash, the Reaper Boosts, and even the Epic moment, honestly, 90% is more than enough...
Other relevant numbers:
Cracking Attack adds an additional 20% to Fort bypass
Enhancements
Feats
Power Attack, SWF, ISWF, GSWF, Offhand Versatility, IC Slashing, Dodge, Mobility, Whirlwind Attack, OC, Patience, PSWF, Doublestrike, Crush Weakness, Epic Reflexes, Scion of Arborea, Insightful Reflexes, Legendary Toughness x2.
Epic Destinies
LD for the mantle (endless Haste Boosts for raids), +1 crit multiplier in Tier 5, and a great epic moment. FotW for Quick Cutter (I've already said it's fantastic) and self-healing. SD for evasion, sneak dice, and Bring Darkness.
Unfortunately, everyone has to survive with what they can find. Reaper boosts, mythic boosts, and now even those damn curses have a huge impact on gear.
An item like a ring that gives 8 melee power and has a good curse (like +2d6 sneak dice) is hard to replace. That's why I still have an obsolete item like the Legendary Ring of Power in my gear set. Once I get a Legendary Ring of Mystic Strength that's equally good, I'll swap it out.
The same goes for the Vecna set. I have a ton of great boosts on those three items, and so far, I haven't found anything that can replace them, even though I lose 2d6 sneak from dino armor, 3% doublestrike from dino or warblade, etc. The Vecna three-piece set is still solid in my opinion: it covers a lot of needs, and the set bonuses are good.
In any case, my advice is: build your gear with whatever you find. Actually, even better, change your build based on the gear you have.
Main Filigrees:
As usual, feel free to ask for more information.
SDK Barb 20 Ravager variant
It's nothing particularly creative, but it's incredibly effective, and I find it exceptional for farming MD.
I've been playing a Shadar-Kai since before summer. Even though the chains have a very long cooldown, they are a great active ability, and I like them. I also enjoy Shadow Jaunt and Shadow Phase... basically, I like the Shadar-Kai
In my opinion, SWF is the ideal choice for the chains. In general (and even more so with the arrival of Patience), I believe SWF is an ideal choice in the current meta. AoE issues are greatly mitigated by Quick Cutter (which is an amazing Epic Strike) and by Whirlwind, and they disappear entirely if you add chains to the equation.
SWF gives high base damage and also more Melee Power (Single Dagger in the VKF tree). I'm a big fan of Kukri specifically because of the VKF tree: 40 MP, 5% attack speed, base damage, Haste Boost, 10% Doublestrike, and even defenses. 41 well-spent points
I've tried playing the Shadar-Kai as a Rogue for a long time, both with the Assassin capstone and with the VKF capstone. Lots of sneak attack dice for sure, and Assassinate is fun. But with the critical profiles we have today, brute force wins by a large margin.
In the end, I finally dropped my Barbarian Artifact Ring (after a lot of Lesser Reincarnations to reset ransack and a decent amount of shards), fused two gold weapons into a nice undying raid Kukri on which I put Dust, got the boots with raid runes, and completed the gear setup I had in mind for my Shadar-Kai Barbarian.
The build concept is quite simple: FB Core 5 and Tier 5, VKF capstone, and Harper for the trance.
Int trance works for Shadar-Kai (I even boosted +2 Int on the ring's curse), and with +22+11+5+4 accuracy in the gear and a very high Strength score, you can more or less hit consistently. The grazes don't disappear, of course... no way without Precision or Eladrin/Wood Elf.
Here's a screenshot of my stats in Reaper (self-buffed).
Shadar-kai Barbarian 18 Dark Hunter 1 Fighter 1, LD (34) FotW (26) SD (23)
Strength is great, of course. Legendary Severed Tentacle is a great swap item (Raging Strength and clicky on the same item).
On the helm, I have Reaper Stats and Curse of Unparalleled Might, which is a fantastic curse.
The odd Constitution score isn't an issue, considering Blood Tribute.
I've already talked about Shadar-Kai as a race. Now it's better to explain why I chose Dark Hunter and Fighter instead of the trendy options like Warlock and FVS/Cleric, or even Druid.
The answer is simple: I wanted max BAB for attack speed without needing to use scrolls or clickies, which on a Barbarian is like tears and blood, especially in a time sometimes plagued by subtle lag issues. DH gives sneak and traps. Fighter an extra feat.
Is there a better solution? Certainly, just throw the Curse of Divine Fortune on the kukris. Easy, right? XD
At that point, playing in DC might make sense. But without a favored kukri, in my opinion, LD wins. LD is still great in raids for the endless boosts, and even in quests, the movement speed during the epic moment is fantastic.
Doublestrike is a major inherent weakness of the Barbarian, but with the kukri, the problem is greatly reduced. I left it at 90% standing, though if you want, you can max it by investing 3 points in the FotW T4 and adding quality or profane doublestrike to your gear.
But with Rapid Slash, the Reaper Boosts, and even the Epic moment, honestly, 90% is more than enough...
Other relevant numbers:
Cracking Attack adds an additional 20% to Fort bypass
Enhancements
Feats
Power Attack, SWF, ISWF, GSWF, Offhand Versatility, IC Slashing, Dodge, Mobility, Whirlwind Attack, OC, Patience, PSWF, Doublestrike, Crush Weakness, Epic Reflexes, Scion of Arborea, Insightful Reflexes, Legendary Toughness x2.
Epic Destinies
LD for the mantle (endless Haste Boosts for raids), +1 crit multiplier in Tier 5, and a great epic moment. FotW for Quick Cutter (I've already said it's fantastic) and self-healing. SD for evasion, sneak dice, and Bring Darkness.
Gear Setup
I'm sharing mine, but the time for gear advice sadly is over... :cry:Unfortunately, everyone has to survive with what they can find. Reaper boosts, mythic boosts, and now even those damn curses have a huge impact on gear.
An item like a ring that gives 8 melee power and has a good curse (like +2d6 sneak dice) is hard to replace. That's why I still have an obsolete item like the Legendary Ring of Power in my gear set. Once I get a Legendary Ring of Mystic Strength that's equally good, I'll swap it out.
The same goes for the Vecna set. I have a ton of great boosts on those three items, and so far, I haven't found anything that can replace them, even though I lose 2d6 sneak from dino armor, 3% doublestrike from dino or warblade, etc. The Vecna three-piece set is still solid in my opinion: it covers a lot of needs, and the set bonuses are good.
In any case, my advice is: build your gear with whatever you find. Actually, even better, change your build based on the gear you have.
Main Filigrees:
- Sucker Punch / One Against Many x2
- Dreadbringer Melee Power x2
- Treachery Melee Power x2
- Long Shadow Melee Power x2
- Dreadbringer Tactics x2
- Shattered Device Melee Power
- Shattered Device Attack and Damage
- Shattered Device Armor Piercing
- Shattered Device / Bravery
- Sucker Punch Melee Power
- Bloodrage set with Affirmation
- Prowess set for the melee power boost
- Int set for trance (one-handed weapon and orb + possibly artifact swap).
Pros:
- Damage output is very, very good. 15-18 x5, 19-20 x8 is a great profile, combined with good sustainable attack speed and great actives. My melee power is 425 standing in reaper.
- Damage output vs multiple targets is very good: Chains, Quick Cutter, Whirlwind... everything dies in seconds even on r10.
- Did I already mention that it has good DPS? It also has Dripping with Magma and Alchemical Earth Attunement.
- Survivability. It's a Barbarian. Barbarians are tough... damage reduction, lots of HP, 1400 temporary HP whenever needed, Uncanny Dodge.
- Evasion. It's fun to play a Barbarian that can evade with a good Reflex save.
- Fast movement and good mobility: base speed, Sprint Boost, Jaunt, Athletics, Epic Moment.
- Traps: very smart guy. A single swap and you have 80+ Int and 130+ Search and Disable Device. You have to drop rage tho.
Cons:
None, really… but while you have top-tier survivability, you can't heal your fellow party members.As usual, feel free to ask for more information.
SDK Barb 20 Ravager variant
Last edited:
