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. Berserks represent a Barbarian's ability to channel his rage, granting him or her amazing powers in combat. For a long time berserks will be a young Barbarian's bread and butter. The first berserk is learned at level 2 (Blood Berserk) and grants impressive bonuses to strength and offensive power. Be warned, however, for the amazing power of berserks often comes at a steep price! Lost to madness, most berserks will not allow you to retreat. For a more detailed break-down of berserks, please go to the Berserks page.
Dances
Dances are much like the flip-side to berserks, representing a Barbarian's ability to channel his control. Dances are something of a higher-level ability. The first dance is not gained until level 10, and dances do not become truly powerful until the Barbarian is well-disciplined with many circles under his or her belt. Regardless, dances are arguably a Barbarian's most powerful tools. For more detailed information, check out the Barbarian Dances page.
Roars
Starting at level five, Barbarians learn to use the power of their fearsome presence to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies (or inspire the hearts of their allies). Roars can have a wonderful variety of effects, from stunning a foe, to imbalancing them, to harming their ability to control magic... even to kill them in one cruel punch! Likewise, Battle Cries (inspirational roars for allies) can have great effects, like snapping opponents out of stun, lowering a group's roundtime, or boosting their stamina regeneration. Keep in mind, though, that Barbarians are not Paladins or Bards, so do not expect roars to match the power of a Paladin's abilities. For more information, visit the Roars page.
Miscellaneous Abilities
As weapon masters, Barbarians have a variety of bonuses. They can use their Offhand skill to dual-wield heavy edged or heavy blunt weapons. They can dual-load bows. They can snap necks with their skill in Brawling. They can even learn to throw multiple blades at once with the Light Thrown skill earlier than most other guilds!
Barbarians can also Whirlwind to hit multiple foes at once or break free of webbing.
Training a Barbarian
Weapons
Barbarians have a slew of requirements, though we begin with the most important: weapons. Weapons are a Barbarian's life-blood. Barbarians have nearly twice the weapon requirements of any other guild; even if you count a Warrior Mage's target magic requirements, Barbarians still require hundreds more ranks eventually.
As a young Barbarian, you will have primarily two weapons requirements. Almost every weapon category has pros and cons; I suggest becoming familiar with the pages for a more thorough break-down. Put simply, there are mainly three classes of weapon: ranged, pole, and melee. Ranged weapons generally require more set-up (loading, aiming, hiding possibly) but offer the advantage of attacking at a distance. Melee weapons are more simple in nature, being incredibly destructive with each blow, though they first necessitate advancing on a foe to melee range. Pole weapons are interesting, though sadly at the moment they are not functionally different from melee weapons in many ways.
If you have an interest in forging, you should train all weapons of a certain class (e.g., all edged weapons). If you plan on PvPing, it is highly recommended that you train one melee weapon and one ranged weapon. Versatility is enjoyable. Swords and bows are the most popular weapons; however, it is recommended that every new Barb tries several different weapons before learning which play styles suit their character concept best.
Along with weapons, Barbarians also have parry and multi opponent requirements (both of which are weapon skills). Drowning in a sea of enemies is a Barbarian's true calling: remember to train both of these important skills whenever possible.
Armor
Barbarians have heavier armor requirements than most guilds. However, armor ranks tend to come naturally to Barbarians, who are often found fighting many foes at once. Very rarely will a Barbarian be held back by armor requirements. As such, instead we will focus on which armor works well for Barbarians. Like weapons, different armors have pros and cons, so choosing the right one can be important.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, remember to start training shield at a young age and never neglect it. Along with parry, it will be your friend; although parry is wonderful against many foes at melee, it does not protect much against ranged attacks, and here is where shield comes into play. IGNORE anyone who tells you to forget shield. It is easily trained and wonderfully valuable.
Less clear-cut is which type of armor a Barbarian should specialize in. Many Barbarians feel that choosing only one armor is not necessary; given a Barbarian's skillset and abilities, the penalty for mixing armor types can easily be overcome.
Leather and cloth are stealth-friendly though not as protective as heavier armors. If you plan to specialize in stealth, these armors are recommended. It is highly recommended that you use one of these on the main body if you have any interest in hiding, though using chain accessories is still very stealth-friendly. It should be noted good leather armor can rival chain in terms of protection, though player-made leather armor tends to be much more expensive than forged chain armor.
Chain is the de facto choice for many Barbarians. Slightly more hindering than leather and cloth, it is completely possible to use Barbarian dances without any penalty while wearing chain armor. However, Barb players should remember that Barbs are not a survival primary guild, so it will be very difficult to be an effective stealth fighter while wearing all chain. Still, chain is an attractive option, providing great protection with little hindrance.
Plate and bone armor is generally not recommended as a Barbarian's primary armor. While some successful Barbarians have used plate armor in the past, plate and bone tend to hinder a Barbarian's dancing too much to be valuable when worn on the body. Plate or bone accessories, however, are quite possible with minimal penalty; it should be noted, though, that wearing plate of any kind is extremely unconducive to stealth fighting. Barbarians planning on wearing primarily plate or bone armor should plan on using berserks for the majority of their careers.