Malkien's Barbarian guide
Introduction
Welcome to the Barbarian guild, whelp! You've made a fine choice of careers. Though the Barbarian's philosophy is a simple one, don't let the frail mages fool you into thinking the path of magic is more dynamic, more powerful, or more difficult. The Barbarian's path demands of him or her skin like steel, strength to wield bow and sword alike, and an endless sea of foes to sate your weapon's hunger for slaughter. Though the path is hard, the rewards are the secrets of your own rage and the power to make an army cower before you!
Abilities
As a Barbarian you've the fortune of being one of the most powerful combat guilds in the game, and rightly so! Barbarians revel in the slaughter like no other guilds. To begin, let's break down the basic Barbarian abilities.
Inner Fire
Within Dragonrealms, Inner Fire is like chi: it is the tempestuous iron will found in all living things. Only Barbarians, however, have attained the mastery required to fuel this fire.
Inner Fire is not a river flowing into a Barbarian; Barbarians are a river flowing into it, and it is an ocean! The deeper a Barbarian's understanding of Inner Fire becomes, the more wonderous the gifts it shall bestow on him or her. Inner Fire grants the ability to push through pain, to rend muscles beyond their natural boundaries, to pull out of the dredges of fear and stun, and even to defy the grave at higher levels, pushing well beyond the boundaries of the mortal frame to feast on one last slain foe.
Inner Fire can be regained in two ways. First, it will naturally recover over time. Secondly, slaying any foe that will teach you the weapon you are using will recover a small amount of Inner Fire. Inner Fire does not reward Barbarians for slaying defenseless foes!
Knowledge of Inner Fire comes at a price. Exposure to the unnatural forces of mana forever quenches the Fire within mages. Though Barbarians must sacrifice direct knowledge of magic to maintain their Fire, it brings with it great gifts, such as...
Barbarian Magic Resistance
Barbarian Magic Resistance (BMR) is arguably the most costly guild-based perk in the game. No other guild is required to sacrifice knowledge of an entire skillset in order to maintain their guild powers; however, it is also arguably the most powerful passive ability in the game, as well.
Inner Fire abhores magic; as such, Barbarians abhore magic as well. Inner Fire is a direct contrast to magic. It provides Barbarians with magic resistance several times greater than other non-magic users (the resistance of actual mages is practically non-existant). Any magic, be it beneficial or harmful, will first have to go through Barbarian Magic Resistance. While this may be annoying when a Moon Mage is trying to cast Clear Vision on you (why are you relying on magic?!), this is extremely wonderful when a Moon Mage is trying to cast Partial Displacement or Burn on you.
Many critters are extremely difficult to hunt for most guilds for long periods of time because of the spells they cast. However, as a Barbarian, threats like a rock troll's Tremor, a sand sprite's Tingle, a spirit dancer's Partial Displacement or a warcat's Hypnotize will simply be shrugged off by your BMR. The same applies to enemy mages. In time, you will become very familiar with this message...
JoeMage gestures at you. Small motes of light flicker for a moment around JoeMage, then fade.
...Which indicates your BMR has completely defeated a spell. This is a very useful ability for both hunting and PvP, to say the least. Stay away from magic, and learn to love the mages cursing your magic resistance!
Berserks
Berserks are the first of a Barbarian's abilities. For a long time berserks will be a young Barbarian's bread and butter.