What base for Fortitude?

Making a

Frenzy barb (first ever) and research has told me to use Fortitude

I really have no mobility issues (don't care if I run slow or whatever)

I think that bigger would be better (like

Sacred Armor) but maybe I'm wrong.

Any input is appreciated!

Sacred Armor requires 232 Strength.
Make sure you don't put too many hard points into strength just to wear it.

AP is always the best if you plan to sell your forti later or use it on other characters

^I didn't think of the tradability.

But Str = damage for a barb so it won't be much of a

Sacrifice when armor points are factored in?

IDK

Most endgame runewords, including Fortitude, will typically be made with an

Archon Plate base. It offers:
- very high defense (410 - 524)
- a low strength requirement (103), which can implicitly mean more vitality/hp for your character (irrelevant if you're using other gear with higher strength requirements)
- the lowest possible movement speed and stamina drain penalties (probably irrelevant for a

Frenzy barbarian)

Sacred Armor has:
- the highest defense of any base armor in the game (487 - 600)
- the highest strength requirement of any base armor in the game (232)
- only moderate movement speed and stamina drain penalties

Archon Plate will always have the best resale value, but that's most true for caster runewords like Enigma.

Sacred Armor or a

Kraken Shell would probably have the next best resale value for Fortitude, but neither are as popular as the

Archon Plate.

Elite armors all have similar defense ratings, so many people will choose a base for its appearance. Since Fortitude has a proportional +X% enhanced defense bonus, as opposed to a flat +X defense bonus, you want to use a base that has a near-perfect defense roll.

Personally I think that

Archon Plate looks weird on barbarians, so I made my Fortitude into a

Great Hauberk. It's similar in most aspects, but will have slightly less resale value if I ever decide to get rid of it.

Any elite armor with 500+ defense and an appearance that you like is the way to go.

Relevant links:
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comment ... asses_all/
- forums/i-farmed-2-fucking-week-for-this ... 20154.html

Akoto wrote: 4 years ago

^I didn't think of the tradability.

But Str = damage for a barb so it won't be much of a

Sacrifice when armor points are factored in?

IDK

Every point of strength adds +1% off-weapon enhanced damage, but it's considered an inefficient way to increase physical damage in this game. Most endgame characters, including casters, will pump as many points as possible into vitality.

Barbarians in particular want to maximize their base vitality because of

Battle Orders. Most (but not all) life/vitality bonuses on items are not as good, because they're applied after the +X% hp bonus from

Battle Orders. A higher strength armor may give you a little more defense, but it will cost you a lot of maximum hp.

The +300% enhanced damage on Fortitude armor is as good as a massive +300 strength, but without the added "utility" of allowing you to equip higher strength gear.

Vit > Str for Barb.

Archon Plate would be the best choice for decently high defense, low str requirement and fastest movement speed. Str requirement is a big hurdle for many builds, as putting points into Str is a waste for the most part. I only put about 100 hard points into Str for my Barb, 150 into Dex and dump the rest into Vit (300+).

Also, do you plan on using

Find Item ability? Fortitude has

Chilling Armor effect, which causes shattered corpses.. And you can't use

Find Item ability on shattered corpses. Enigma or Chains of Honor would be better choices, if you do plan on using

Find Item.

Akoto wrote: 4 years ago

Making a

Frenzy barb (first ever) and research has told me to use Fortitude

I really have no mobility issues (don't care if I run slow or whatever)

I think that bigger would be better (like

Sacred Armor) but maybe I'm wrong.

Any input is appreciated!

I used an Archon for everything but my Zon and for that I used a Dusk. I've made 5 fortitudes' so far.

I made my Dream Paladin Fortitude on a

Kraken Shell, because I loved how it looked on him and also never planned to trade it.

If you are not looking for resale value - looks are everything.

I found a 15/13

Sacred Armor yesterday and am contemplating making either COH or Forty on it cuz its massive at 691 defense.

If it was ethereal I prolly would have jumped out my window.

I use Fortitude

Ornate Plate on my

Frenzy Barb.

Akoto wrote: 4 years ago

Making a

Frenzy barb (first ever) and research has told me to use Fortitude

I really have no mobility issues (don't care if I run slow or whatever)

I think that bigger would be better (like

Sacred Armor) but maybe I'm wrong.

Any input is appreciated!

A bit of Offtopic: You dont need Fortitude if you dont already have a Grief.