WW Barb question: Double Grief or?

I mostly farm with him ofc Trav and CS but want to try something if convenient. Double Grief is perfect set up but recently I found an

Eth sup

Berserker Axe so want to make a BotD and pair it with Beast and use. So the question is which set up would be fast and smooth? Thanks in advance!

Always 2x Grief for trav and cs.
Botd & Beast can be used other places with less demons

Double Grief will give you the best damage over time in most situations. Grief in the main hand with a utility weapon in the off-hand can also work.

For axes, either of Breath of the Dying or Beast are good off-hand choices. There could also be others that I'm forgetting. The usefulness of any one choice will depend on the stats of the rest of your gear.

Beast is extra useful if you play in a lot of public games, because the aura will help the entire party. Even non-melee characters like the sorceress or necromancer are indirectly helped by

Fanaticism aura, because it will buff their mercs/minions.

Superior bases for any of these runewords won't actually increase weapon damage by a meaningful amount, but they're a big status symbol. This is especially true with the

Berserker Axe, which is one of the most popular base items in the game.

Thanks for the answers. How about Grief on a BA, paired with Beast? Will it be significantly different to change into

Axe Mastery?

basicnecromancy wrote: 2 years ago

Thanks for the answers. How about Grief on a BA, paired with Beast? Will it be significantly different to change into

Axe Mastery?

Grief + Beast is one of the most popular combinations for

Whirlwind axe specialists. It's generally either that or dual Grief.

Your character's complete gear setup will determine which weapon combination is optimal. I suggest checking a breakpoint tool and doing the math to calculate what will give you the best damage over time. This is especially important now that

Whirlwind is modified by off-weapon IAS.

https://warren1001.github.io/IAS_Calculator/

If you were using swords before, then you will notice that you need to repair a lot more often after you switch to axes. On the contrary, the

Berserker Axe has lower requirements and a longer reach than most swords. Less str/dex implicitly means more vitality, and the increased range makes it a little easier to clip enemies who are trying to avoid you.

Another relevant thing for Beast now is the fact that WW is impacted by

Holy Freeze and

Decrepify and such effects.

With dual Grief in Berserker axes, you'll get max attack speed with WW with only +23ias on gear, which is very easy.

However, if you get

Decrepify on you, you'll go from 4fpa to 8fpa, effectively halving your damage. It would then take 49 increased attack speed to get back to 6fpa, which is more than

Laying of Hands and

Highlord's Wrath will provide. This is also assuming perfect Grief rolls. If even one of them is sub-40ias, the threshold to get to 6fpa goes over 50, which can be difficult to deal with.

Meanwhile, with Beast equipped, the starting attack speed while Decrepified will be 6fpa, and you can get to 5fpa with only 16% ias on gear. It also buffs your merc, inasmuch as merc matters.

All this is to say that what you're doing has impact on the Grief x2 or Grief Beast decision. Trav? Double Grief can't be beat.

Chaos Sanctuary where you'll be constantly cursed and regularly under

Decrepify? Beast starts getting more attractive.

Thank you mates, perfect info.

If you can afford it i've seen some videos from youtubes talking about Grief and Last Wish for WW Barb, that's what i'm aiming for:

Vanselle wrote: 2 years ago

If you can afford it i've seen some videos from youtubes talking about Grief and Last Wish for WW Barb, that's what i'm aiming for:

The guy in the video looks like he's using strength and dex on some of his equipped gear to meet the requirements of other pieces. His barb only had 37 base strength and 31 base dexterity. That's really good for vitality pumping, but is it safe if you die like that?

I remember (firsthand) horror stories from older patches where the game would not be able to figure out a way to re-equip your gear when you recovered your body, so it would just place anything it couldn't equip in your inventory. If your inventory was full of charms and loot, then everything that didn't fit would just get thrown on the Ground. Did that issue get patched out in D2R? It would be very bad if some of that godly gear was dropped in a public game with the risk of other people picking it up first.

Vanselle wrote: 2 years ago

If you can afford it i've seen some videos from youtubes talking about Grief and Last Wish for WW Barb, that's what i'm aiming for:

Thank you. My merc has Last Wish-Grief combo so I'd like to increase effectiveness for both of us by using Beast.

I have tried all combinations for my WW barb. I tried to find a build to which i can farm everything and still be able to sustain. Without using any potions. I use eDeathz main hand and griefz off. I couldnt tell the difference clearspeed wise on P1 and P8. You could also go for phaseblade variant as it will give you more attack speed. The 7 mana leech from Death will be enough. Also placed a pt in

Berserk and

Frenzy for obvious reasons. kept finditems on lvl 8 until i maxed out find potions.

edit. also wanted to point out the Grief + Beast combo is pretty bad against PVM and should only be considered in PVP. Grief + BOTD is best sustain but not as good damage as Grief+Death sustain.

I'm using Grief + BOTD for my

Frenzy barb which is crazy, didn't think it would be any good for ww, might have to give it a go.

I've use a might merc with Pride currently, but like the idea of a rogue with Faith

do0kei wrote: 2 years ago

I have tried all combinations for my WW barb. I tried to find a build to which i can farm everything and still be able to sustain. Without using any potions. I use eDeathz main hand and griefz off. I couldnt tell the difference clearspeed wise on P1 and P8. You could also go for phaseblade variant as it will give you more attack speed. The 7 mana leech from Death will be enough. Also placed a pt in

Berserk and

Frenzy for obvious reasons. kept finditems on lvl 8 until i maxed out find potions.

edit. also wanted to point out the Grief + Beast combo is pretty bad against PVM and should only be considered in PVP. Grief + BOTD is best sustain but not as good damage as Grief+Death sustain.

Thank you. Should consider making a BA Grief after all.

And yeah, Death should be on my list, too. I already have a Beast so before making a new one I can give these options a try.

Vanselle wrote: 2 years ago

I'm using Grief + BOTD for my

Frenzy barb which is crazy, didn't think it would be any good for ww, might have to give it a go.

I've use a might merc with Pride currently, but like the idea of a rogue with Faith

I'm perfectly happy with my act 5 merc. He's smashing everything and doesn't die in Trav except during a long take before killing the council with

Conviction aura.