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Baranor's Werebear Guide

 

Contents:

Introduction

1. Stats

2. Skills

3. Growls (Solo Werebear Tactics)

4. Summoner Tactics

5. Equipment Advice

6. The Skeletal Werebear

7. Werebear AR issues by Jurts.

 

Introduction

 

This guide is an updated version (for now) of the one available at DII.net It concerns itself with the Werebear. I will tell you about the Stats, the Skills, and the Growls of the Werebear. Also, I will make a small item guide in the Growls section. If anyone wants to look up the items either check the items database on DIInet or go to the Arreat Summit. By no means is this the ultimate guide to making a Werebear, but once you’ve read through all of it, you might know a little more about the biggest (in size) of all Diablo 2 Characters.

 

The Werebear druid comes in two forms: The Werebear with Summons, and the Solo-Werebear. This guide will focus on the Solo Werebear. Also included at the end of the guide is a small miniguide that gives some suggestions about a summoner/shifter hybrid. On the battlefield, Werebears are always at the front of the melee. They are excellent tanks, and are capable of dealing massive damage with their paws. The Werebear will growl, snarl and bash his way through his enemies. He can stun them with a miniature earthquake, and then rip them to pieces.

 

Update to 1.1 includes some skill errata that needed correction, a more detailed guide to equipment for starters (although its still small) and a build for the Skeletal Werebear. Some info on summons has been added, and it also includes the “WB AR issues” made by Jurts (permission to add was granted), and some equipment advice from him.

 

1. Stats.

 

A Werebear druid is a melee character, and therefore we need Melee Stats. This means your Strength, Vitality and Dexterity all three will need points, while your Energy doesn’t get any at all. Mana is recovered by Mana steal from your weapons.

 

Strength.

First decide what weapon you want to use. The maximum Strength needed for any weapon is 253, for the Ogre Maul. There is no reason to pump your Strength any higher. Also, you can use charms and items to boost your strength, so usually you wont be going much further than 180. The Immortal Kings Maul for example, a very good hammer, has a Strength requirement for 225.

Dexterity.

Dexterity is a difficult one. Either you pump it all the way up to 200+, and use a shield, or you keep it low and use a 2-handed weapon. Some axes require reasonable amounts of dexterity, so if you pick that class of weapon (its a fast class for a druid), then look up the highest amount needed and plan accordingly. Dexterity also adds to AR, and that is very helpful while Growling (See Growls!). Also, see the chapter about Dexterity by Jurts.

Vitality.

All unused points go here. ALL. No. You are NOT going to put ANY in energy.

 

The all important question, dexterity or not, is a long time debate amongst your fellow druids. Some say yes, and use a shield, others say no, its useless, you can use items and charms to boost your Attack Rating, and a 2-handed weapon is better for damage. I tend to keep my Dex at 75-100, since I like the numbers and it helps with my AR. For those who want their Druid to be without Dexterity, the Angelic Ring and amulet can add much needed AR, as well as charms. With two Angelic Rings, you’ll get an even bigger AR bonus (you’ll still need the amulet though!). This will however take up slots for rings that could otherwise be used for leech rings or resistance rings. Some set items also come with AR bonuses. Using more than one item from the Immortal King’s set for example will boost your AR, and using the gloves, boots and the Maul will give a very nice bonus.

 

2. Skills.

The following skills can all be used for a Werebear.

 

Werewolf: 1 point

Prerequisite. We are making a Bear, remember, not a Wolf.

Feral Rage: 1 point.

Prerequisite. Fire Claws and Hunger are the ones you want for your Werebear. We need Feral for the pathway.

 

Lycantrophy:20

Lycantrophy adds to both your time as a Werebear, and your Life. At Slvl 20 it adds 115% Life and 420 seconds of Bear Time. This helps getting stopping those nasty shapeshifts in the middle of a group of enemies, resulting in “ Baranor was slain by BEAST in his silly human form” messages.

 

Werebear: 20 points.

Werebear is of course one of the skills to max. At Slvl 20 it adds 183% damage and 120% Defence. The added damage is more than on a barbarian’s weapon mastery. The added defence is also nice. Another nice thing of the Werebear skill is that it adds life, and Life is needed for anyone, and certainly for a Big Bear.

 

Maul: 20 points

Maul is your first attack skill. It will need 20 points to max, and then you have a worthy attack. Slvl 20 Maul adds 260% damage when fully charged, 210 % AR and 3 seconds stunning time. The green ball stays up 18.9 seconds after you’ve hit an enemy. Each hit with Maul resets this timer. This is important to remember when switching to your second attack. Maul makes a good primary attack for a Summoner Werebear.

 

Fire Claws: 20.

Fire claws is a much debated skill. At Slvl 20 it adds 335% AR, and 233-238 Fire damage. While the Fire damage is a little low, the AR is no laughing matter. The trick is to charge up Maul, and then switch to Fire Claws for 17 seconds. You will enjoy the Maul damage bonus on the physical part of the attack, with the AR from Fire Claws, and the fire damage as extra bonus. Although its not much, it does increase you average damage by some 230 points. Also, against physical immunes, its a nice bonus. In my humble opinion, its a good primary attack. If you are making a Summoner Werebear instead of a Solo Werebear, then this skill is not a good option though.

 

ShockWave: 10-20 points

Shockwave is the Crowd control skill. It stuns the enemy, and leaves them open for your attacks. They stand still and do nothing. Also, it damages the enemy somewhat. The Stun is simply amazing. Add 10-20 pts, just as much as you think is enough. I you are happy with less stun time, or have some + skills items, just add a little less. At Slvl 20 it does 99-109 damage, and 13 seconds stun.

*Note* Currently shockwave is bugged at 50% duration. This means stun is less than stated, But it still makes a very good crowd control skill. For any Werebear, not just a Solo one, Shockwave is a must.

 

Hunger: 10-20

Hunger is a way to quickly recover Life and Mana. While using Hunger, you will be virtually indestructible, but you wont do much damage. The damage penalty is 75%. The main advantage is a HUGE Life Steal. With a little practice and proper hot-keying, you would be able to Hunger once in a while and forgo any healing potions unless in very dire situations. At Slvl 20 it adds 240% AR and 176% Life and Mana Steal. For those of you wanting to make a more Summon-aimed Werebear, 1 point will do just fine. But if you have points a plenty, why not stick them in here?

 

These are all the skills a Solo Werebear needs, and all he can use. As you can see, you will need 122 points to totally max the Werebear in all the skills. At Clvl 99, there are not that many available. So, I would suggest going for 15 points into Shockwave and 15 points into Hunger, for a solid 10 seconds of stun, and 167% Dual Leech. This means you’ll never have to worry about where to put your skills.

 

For those more interested in a Bear with Friends I have made a short description of the Summonnig Skills and their uses. Also see the Summoner Section.

 

Summoning Skills.

 

Ravens.

Ravens are the first summons a druid can get for attacking, and they are very nice. Nothing beats the sight of 5 ravens circling your Bear’s head, just like those tweety-birds when you are knocked senseless. Ravens add some damage, and although they don’t seem to pack a punch, they can distract the enemy. At Slvl 20 they do 3000+ damage over time, and that’s nice for something you cast and then forget.

 

Spirit Wolves.

Spirit Wolves are the first Wolves you get, and you can have five of them. Sometimes their numbers are an advatage, but overall, they are a little too weak and do too little damage. When making a Summoner Bear i tend to stick 6 points into them, so that my other summons get 100% AR and DEF.

 

Dire Wolves.

Dire Wovles are your best Wolf friends. Quick, mobile and dangerous, the Dire Wolf is a force to be reckoned with. 3 Dire Wolves can make excellent meat shields at Slvl 20. Also, they can eat a corpse and get a 100% damage enhancement for 20 seconds. This way, they dispose of bodies, and become extra effective. Not bad! They also add extra life to your summons, so points here are never wasted

 

Grizzly Bear.

The Grizzly is a Big Friend, one who can do quite a lot of damage. His hits knockback and stun at the same time, and he makes an excellent Tank for a party. Points into Grizzly add damage to Summons.

 

 

Oak Sage.

The first of the three Spirits, Oak Sage adds a % of Life to a party, and all the summons/mercenaries with them within a certain radius. Some Druids swear by this. To be honest, a Werebear with Maxed Lycantrophy already has massive life, and although Oak Sage will add quite nicely, you can also stick the points elsewhere and survive battles. That being said, Oak Sage is not a bad investment at all, as especially in HC, more life means more survivability. If you want to make a Tank, get Oak Sage.

 

Heart of Wolverine.

The Heart of Wolverine adds damage and AR, and it can be a great spirit. For the Werebear, who suffers from AR problems, this is a skill worth investing in. Unless you wish to make a true Solo Werebear with FireClaws, I suggest you stick points into Heart of Wolverine.

 

Spirit of Barbs.

Some people seem to think of this as the most useless L30 skill of all times. But consider the following. A Summoner Werebear has say 3 Wolves out and a Mercenary to do some Tanking. He also has Spirit of Barbs out. This means there are 6 targets (including him) to reflect damage from. This cannot be bad. I’ve heard stories from at least one druid that he used Oak Sage to let Bosses pound on, and stood there and watched while they killed themselves on it, just like the Iron Golem. Although the damage returned is not that great, the skill is not totally useless. That said, I personally never ever invested even one point into Spirit of Barbs, as I consider Heart of Wolverine or Oak Sage far more useful.

 

Note on the Spirits: Currently (v.109) the spirits are bugged, and don’t add extra after they reach Slvl 20. so if you have say JaIaI’s Mane (+2 all druid skills), make sure you don’t pump 20 skill points into the spirit of your choice, as those extra 2 points from JaIaI’s Mane will be wasted.

 

Poison Vine.

Low damage, and low life don’t make this the vine you want. Although perhaps combined with Spirit of Barbs and some summons it would make a nice combo, I never put more than one skill point into it.

 

Carrion Vine.

Carrion Vine is the Bears best friend. For each enemy you kill and he eats, you get a % of your own life back. If you have a druid with 4000 life, one single percent is already 40 life. At even the lowly Skill Level of 3, you get 6% life returned for each corpse it eats. 6X40=240 life. Since the life regeneration is instantaneous, it beats any healing potion at that point. As long as you make corpses, the vine eats them.

 

Solar Vine.

Totally useless for a Werebear. Even a Summoner Werebear will never run out of mana quick enough for this skill to have any uses at all.

 

3. Growls.

 

The Growls, or better said the fighting technique and advancement pattern for the Solo Werebear, are dominated by the need to do damage. My Werebear would advance as follows: His first skill point I would stick into Werewolf, and his 2nd-6th into Lycantrophy. At Clvl 6 Werebear becomes available, and that gets one points. The next 6 levels I would spend my points into Lycantrophy and Feral Rage as a prereq at Clvl 12. Clvl 12 also means Maul. From level 12 upwards the first thing to do is get maul at say l16, and spend 4 points into shockwave. Then max Maul, and get Fire Claws and Hunger. After maxing Maul the next skill to max is Fire Claws, so that you have a better AR. Then, max Werebear for the extra damage. After Werebear its time to slowly max Lycantrophy, and add points into Shockwave and Hunger. However, its also totally feasible to add to Werebear, Maul and Lycantrophy all at the same times, or try anything else. Just remember what skills to max. Not that you have that many options as a Solo Werebear.

 

The Solo Werebear requires a little skill with the hotkeys, and its fighting technique is mainly based around charging maul, hitting things while charged, stunning them and making jelly-pudding from their bones. The trick is to Shockwave once to stun the monsters, Attack them with maul until you are fully charged (5-10 hits, I need to make an exact count, but I am too lazy at the moment), switch to Fire Claws (keep the enemies stunned if you want, or just smash them) and Fire away. Remember to either count the time spent Clawing, or just kill the last beast of each group with Maul, so that your timer resets. If at any time you feel the need to recharge your life, Hunger a hit or two, and continue with killing. Its a good idea to Shockwave the enemy before you Hunger, so that they stand still (easier feeding). When returning to town, remember to refresh your Werebear state by shapeshifting back and forth through human shape. This helps stopping from changing form in the middle of a fight.

Shockwave is your crowd control. It is an excellent skill that stuns enemies and adds some damage as a bonus. The thing is to stun a melee group and take out 50-75% before they can hit back. Monsters that run away also respond to stun, stand still and get killed. Shockwave is a spell, and works with casting time instead of IAS, so a little fast cast wont hurt you. The difficult thing of Shockwave is controlling the area that gets hit by it. If you click close to you, the Shockwave will spread out, just like the multishot does with a Zon. However if you click a little further away from you you will get a much more concentrated beam. Sometimes its more useful to spread the radius a little.

 

4. Summoner Tactics.

 

A Summoner Werebear gets help from his Forest Friends. There are many ways to build a Summoner, and the options are almost endless. Some tips:

-         What Spirit do you want? Do you wish to add damage, or do you wish to have extra life? Do you want your summons to Tank a lot and act like meatshields, or do you rather have them do more damage? Or do you wish to go another direction, and use a Spirit of Thorns? Before starting out, consider these things. Whether you pick Oak Sage or Heart of Wolverine, rest assured, you will have a powerful Bear capable of destroying the enemy.

-         Do you want several Summons, or just one? In other words, do you wish to use Dire Wolves, or a Bear? Again, neither of the choices is better, and both are valid and playable. Bears fare better against single opponents, but in say the Jungles of Act III, you might find Dire Wolves to be more helpful as they can attack several targets at the same time. If you cannot decide, then don’t worry. I tend to stick points into both and summon either Bear of Wolves suiting the occasion.

-         Which Mercenary are you going to use? This depends on your playing style, but a few common examples like a Might Merc of a Holy Freeze Merc are good to think about. I usually get a Barbarian, but that’s because I like the damage he adds, and I Like barbarians and Tanks in general.

-         Resummon when you need something in another place. See those ranged monsters beyond the river? Summon your bear on their heads, and then walk towards them. They will be busy with the Bear, and you can sneak up on them and whack them from behind.

-         Shockwave Helps! If they stand still, your summons have a nice game of Tag-The-Monster ahead of them, without worrying too much about getting hit.

 

5. Equipment.

 

When starting, a Werebear had better use fast/very fast attack speed weapons or he’ll be very slow. Axes are good starting points for this, and for single-handed weapons I suggest scimitars. Also, some runic items like Tir-El in a sword, axe or mace (steel) add nice mods which include IAS and mana after kill. A Tir-El 2-handed axe will probably last you all the way through normal, and halfway trough nightmare as well. Another option is to add some Topazes to a weapon, and kill things with lightning. Once you get some better runes, going for Black (ThulIoNef) is also a good option. Only the Io-rune is a little hard to come by, but it makes an excellent mid-range hammer. Mods include 120%ED, crushing blow and 200 to Attack Rating and many other things. Also, crafting weapons is a viable option to get a decent weapon. The recipes for crafting can be found on Diabloii.net. Crafting is relatively cheap and useful for the untwinked. Also, dont overlook the Polearm Class weapons. There are some really nice polearms with good range, and they do lots of damage. The downside is that they usually need a lot of Dexterity to use, and if you want to play Dex-less, you cannot use these weapons.

A good armor will keep you safe, but remember that Heavy Armor slows you down by 10%. I never go any heavier than medium on my characters, and it has served me well in the past. Don’t worry too much about defense, since you’ll need to go all out on it to get a decent result. If you have a good armor to wear which has nice high defense, wear it. If you don’t, then don’t worry, your Bear will do just fine. He adds a nice % defense from his Werebear skill.

For mid range druids (levels 25+ to 60-70) I would suggest the Steeldriver Maul, as it has 40% IAS, possibly with a Shael for 60% IAS, or the Ribcraker Staff. This staff has 50% IAS, and comes with the nice Crushing blow mod, allowing to take 50% of the health of any enemy in one blow (excluding act bosses and such). Both do good damage, and will last you through Nightmare and possibly the early acts of Hell. The high end Werebear should aim for a Shaelled Immortal King Maul or a Shaelled Hellslayer. Both have great damage, and both with Shael give a good attack speed. The single-hand Werebear I think would prefer a Cruel Ancient sword of Swiftness, or the equivalent of that in Mace form. Athena’s Wrath is another good weapon.

For PI’s I suggest the Baranar’s Star, and/or with Tiamats Rebuke. Add Fire Claws and you have a nifty attack doing a lot of elemental damage. For those of you who don’t have a Baranar’s, get a 6-socket maul or sword and add 6 topazes, or buy a Buzzing weapon which adds 1-220 lightning damage. A shield might also be advisable, possibly with some resists, since you wont do any damage based on 1- or 2-handed. So if you have a decent shield, use it against PI’s.

For armor I would suggest something that adds Faster Hit Recovery (that is very important since this emans the recovery time between blows drops and you can retaliate faster), Faster Walk (you’ll need the speed as any melee character does), Faster Cast (for the Shockwave). Well, I might as well advertise for the Stealth (Tal-Eth) armor. Its one of my favorite rune words and armors. Cheap, usable at L18, and good mods. My last druid donend his Ancient Stealth Armor at L30, and never wore another one. Good high-end armors include Arkaines Valor, Shaftstop and other things like that. But Stealth will last you all the way into hell and even further if you don’t care about defense that much. Boots do as boots go, but 30% fast walk boots are the minimum. Gore Rider boots are great, they have Crushing Blow, its a very good mod, get them. If you don’t have access to this kind of equipment, then any set of boots giving a +% to walk speed is ok. Gloves need IAS, since bears aren’t THAT fast when swinging. However, weapon IAS is more important than glove IAS for the shapeshifter, so if you find some nice gloves that have better mods (dual leech and knockback for example on crafted gloves) don’t be afraid to switch them. Helmets: Either Stealskull, Vampire Gaze or IaIaI’s Mane. The first two have double leech, Steelskul comes with IAS and 30-50% MF, and IaIaI’s mane comes with +4 shapeshifting skills, very handy. For amulets and rings get what you can find, +2 skills on an amulet is nice. Rings with + to resists make nice additions. Rare rings can be obtained from Ormus in Normal, and from Anya and Ormus in Nightmare and Hell by performing the Cain quest and the Gidbinn quest If you have a Ravenfrost ring, equip it ASAP, as getting frozen is NOT good for a Werebears swing speed.

 

6. The Skeletal Werebear.

 

Of course, you might wish to build a Werebear that is not solo. For those more interested in that kind of build, I’ve included a small guide to a Skeletal Werebear. This build is the minimum you’ll need to make your Werebear functional, and moderately powerful.

 

Werewolf: 1, prereq.

Lycantrophy: 6-8 points. This will supply some life bonus, and a nice extra time while being shifted. Since you have minions, don’t worry too much about shifting back to human form in a group of enemies. Your minions will divert some hits and allow you to safely shift back again.

Werebear: 1-20 points. For a light shifter heavy summoner, 1 point is enough. It supplies you with a massive life bonus, and of course the power to shift into a bear. It also gives you some extra damage and some defense. If you are going to make a heavy shift-light summon build, then maxing the skill might be more for you.

Maul: 20 points. This will be your main and only attack.

Shockwave: 10 points. Shockwave is, as said, crowd control and thus very handy. Ti will keep your summons from being hit, and let them kill quicker.

 

Optional:

1 point into the prereqs for Hunger, and 1 point into hunger as well. When things get rough, you’ll be able to leech your way through.

 

Total Skill points for the Skeletal Build:

38 (LC on 6 and WB on 1). The rest can be spent on Summons. Fire Claws is not worth investing in for a Summoner build, since Heart of Wolverine also adds to AR, and to Damage. Heart of Wolverine is the second reason not to max Werebear for a skeletal build, as it adds almost the same damage AND adds AR for 20 points. Its more party friendly as well.

 

7. WB Druid AR issues by Jurts.

 

This is not a complete WB guide. Instead it may be considered as a chapter devouted to a specific problem that every WB faces - DEX or no-DEX and respective AR consequences. And DEX is a decision that you will have to make early, so I cannot stress how important it is.

 

Target AR = 2500 min - > 3000 max

At clvl80 2500 AR gives a 71% to-hit chance against a normal ActV Hell monster, which is a little too low.

3000 AR gives a 74% to-hit chance, that is sufficient IMO.

 

AR enchancing skills:

Maul 210% bonus at slvl20

HoW 158% bonus at slvl20

TOTAL = 368% bonus

Given that each +1 to all skills gives 17% AR bonus I also assume that you have at least +2 all skills, then AR bonus TOTAL is roughly 400% (for simpler maths)

Base AR = 4*DEX-28

 

1) DEX build

 

Adds points in DEX not only for AR, but also for blocking. Uses 1-handed weapons.

How much DEX to reach AR target?

Each point in DEX = 4 points AR

Min

4*(4*DEX-28)=2500

DEX = 164

 

Max

4*(4*DEX-28)=3000

DEX = 195

 

Keeping DEX between 164 and 195 probably would be enough for a decent AR.

 

What would this DEX number do for blocking?

I presume that the WB build would be ready at about clvl80 or so.

I will use it in the blocking formula Blocking% = ShieldBlock*(Dex-15)/clvl*2, where blocking% = 75%, clvl = 80, DEX1=164, DEX2=195.

 

1) 75 = SB*(164-15)/80*2

SB = 80,53.

In order to have blocking chance of 75% with given DEX score you will need a shield of at least 80% blocking chance. The only shield that comes close to it is Whitstan's (80% for druid). Not good.

 

2) 75 = SB*(195-15)/80*2

SB = 66,6(6)

 

That allows us to use shields like Gerke's (74%) and Stormshield (67%). Not everyone have these, so I would suggest putting together Rhyme in a Tower shield (64%) or Rhyme in a Grim shield (60%).

Rhyme in a tower shield needs 203 DEX to have 75% block chance at clvl80.

It will give you an AR of 3136 which is good.

Rhyme in a Grim shield needs 215 DEX to have 75% block chance at clvl80.

It will give you an AR of 3328 - excellent.

 

As you can see blocking needs more DEX than AR. So you will need a shield with a very high block% (not easy for druid) - the above examples are all good choices. However the high DEX means that you DON'T need any AR from items whatsoever.

 

Pros and cons of this build:

C: With a huge DR why bother with blocking?

P: Some significant monsters are ITD (Lister, Urdar class) and blocking is the only way to defend your self against them. Also Mephs cold ball can be blocked…

C: But druids naturally have 10% lower blocking % than paladin, so we need a lot of DEX, no?

P: The formulas above show that DEX scores for 75% blocking also take care of AR issues, so it is justified.

C: But with so much in DEX won't my other stat categories suffer?

P: You can probably allow yourself less STR as 1-handed weapons have lower STR reqs, also VIT score can be a little lower with 75% blocking.

C: 2-handed weapons do more damage!

P: Probably, yes. Thou Schaeffer's Hammer has obscene damage, and some cruel elite magical swords and axes also are viable options. Also keep in mind that you won't need any AR boosting from items and that gives you more flexibility in item choosing.

C: I will kill faster / level faster with 2-handed weapon!

P: Shield means safety. A simple Rhyme, that anyone can put together will give you decent resists, decent MF and GF, cannot be frozen and other goodies…

C: Run out of cons…

 

2) Low DEX build (the choice of my current WB)

 

Pushes DEX for weapon requirements (highest is for Boneslayer Blade unique Gothic axe - 79 DEX) and for AR to some extent. Uses a 2-handed weapon. Gotta have some AR from items/charms.

 

How much AR is needed from items/charms?

 

4*(4*DEX-28+AR)=2500

[DEX=79]

AR=337

 

4*(4*DEX-28+AR)=3000

[DEX=79]

AR=462

 

Needed amount of AR is about 400 (a bit less if you have an equipment that gives % boost to AR). Grand charms can have up to 130 AR and a good other mod as well, also are relatively common. 3 such charms will completely solve your AR woes.

 

3) No DEX build.

 

Leaves DEX at base. Pushes STR to 232 for the heaviest armor or even to 253 for Thunder Mallet (in hope of acquiring Cranium Basher…) with rest in VIT. Has more life than 2 previous builds. Commonly uses 2-handed maces that have no DEX requirement. If godly axe is found uses equipment that adds to DEX to fulfill the item requirements. Relies heavily on AR boosting equipment.

 

How much AR is needed for items/charms?

 

4*(4*DEX-28+AR)=2500

[starting DEX=20]

AR=573

 

4*(4*DEX-28+AR)=3000

[starting DEX=20]

AR=698

 

Needed amount of AR is about 600-650. Some people have suggested Blessed Aim merc for this build. The AR bonus from Blessed aim should take care of all your AR problems. I have not tested this merc, but one thing is bugging me. For example Defiance mercs bonus is multiplicative with your DR boosting skills (like Paladins Holy Shield), rather than "normal" additive what makes for a huge DR. If Blessed Aim is multiplicative, then it would guarantee that you will not have to pay attention to your AR anymore. Of course downside is that you are very dependant on your merc and when facing especially dangerous foes that can easily take out your merc (act bosses for example) and you lose the Blessed Aim boost, it can be troublesome.

 

Some ways to boost your AR for items:

 

Weapons

I will look only at the top unique/set 2-handed axes and mauls, since that is what you will be using at the end game.

 

1) Boneslayer Blade (unique Gothic Axe) - 35% Bonus to Attack Rating. Remember that this weapon also needs 79DEX to wield it. Let us look at what this bonus do for your AR:

4,35(included weapon bonus)*(4*DEX-28)=[DEX=79]=1252

Of course this is not enough on its own but the 35% bonus applies to the AR from other equipment, so you will still need less. How much less?

4,35*(4*79-28+AR)=2500

AR=287

 

4,35*(4*79-28+AR)=3000

AR=402

 

So you will still need about 350 AR from other items. The 35% AR bonus actually saves you about 50 AR, that is not so much. Of use only to low-DEX build IMO.

 

2) Messerschmidt's Reaver (unique Champion Axe) - 100% Bonus to Attack Rating, +15 to Dexterity. I mention this as well, ignoring its incredible scarcity. Needs 59 DEX to wield +15 DEX = 74 DEX. Let us look at what this bonus do for your AR:

5(included weapon bonus)*(4*DEX-28)=[DEX=74]=1340

Of course this is not enough on its own but the 100% bonus applies to the AR from other equipment, so you will still need less. How much less?

5*(4*74-28+AR)=2500

AR=232

 

5*(4*74-28+AR)=3000

AR=332

 

So you need about 300 AR from other items or charms. This is actually good, because this weapon is better for no-DEX build, all you need is 39 DEX from equipment to wield the weapon. 300 AR is easy to get from charms.

 

3) Immortal King's Stone Crusher (set Ogre Maul) - Doesn't give any AR boost on its own, but this sets partial bonuses are:

Wearing 2 any items: +50 AR

Wearing 3 any items: +75 AR (total 125 AR)

Wearing 4 any items: +125 AR (total 250 AR)

Wearing 5 any items: +200 AR (total 450 AR)

(P.S. You cannot use the full set because the helm is barb-only)

Also include 110 AR from IK boots and 20 DEX from gloves for total of 560AR + 20DEX. IK Maul has no DEX reqs as well.

 

So let us use maths once more:

AR from IK Set = 4*(4*40(DEX bonus included) - 28 + AR) = [AR=560] =2688

That is almost sufficient. Of course the body armor is virtually impossible to find, so you may end up using 3 or 4 items. I suggest at least 3 items: Maul (of course) + IK Forge gloves for 20 DEX and IK Pillar boots for 110 AR (boots are excellent on their own). With the partial bonuses you will get - 235AR + 20DEX. Throw in the belt for +125 to AR. Very good set for WB, IMO…

 

4) Runeword weapons:

 

1) Fury (Jah - Gul - Eth) - ITD, nuff said… I don't know what Jah looks like, do you?

2) Honor (Amn - El - Ith - Tir - Sol) - 250 to AR, +1 skills (equals 17% bonus to AR), a good choice IMO and common runes too. Put this in an elite maul (axes are out since they have DEX reqs, the only that doesn't have DEX reqs - Feral Axe has 4 sockets max) Ogre Maul or Thunder Mallet (haven't seen any grey one yet…). You will still need some AR from elsewhere, thou…

3) Silence (Dol - Eld - Hel - Ist - Tir - Vex) - 2 to all skills (equals 34% bonus to AR). Despite the rarity of Vex and Ist being wanted for MFing a popular choice. Thou as with the Boneslayer Blade, examples show that the 34% bonus to AR doesn't translate into much…

 

Armor

 

BODY ARMOR

To be honest, no body armor will do much for your AR, some will have DEX, +skills that also translates in AR, AR vs. demons, sockets, etc…

 

Other armor:

 

Boots

Sander's Riprap

Heavy Leather Boots

100 to Attack Rating, 10 DEX

Low defense and lack of resists ruin these for a long-term use…

 

Gloves

Chance Guards

Chain Gloves

25 to AR, good if you plan some MF as well…

 

Magnus' Skin

set Sharkskin Gloves

100 to Attack Rating

 

Jewelry

 

Rings

Nagelring

+50-75 to Attack Rating, use only if the MF seed is good (>25%).

 

Raven Frost

+15-20 to Dexterity, +150-250 to Attack Rating, no comments…

 

Amulets

 

The Mahim-Oak Curio

+10 to Dexterity, +10% Bonus to Attack Rating, an excellent choice the v1.09 version is actually better than many think.

 

Saracen's Chance

+12 to Dexterity, love it for that Iron Maiden…

 

The Cat's Eye

+25 to Dexterity, love it for the 20% IAS as well…

Atma's Scarab (my choice)

+20% Bonus to Attack Rating. + Amplify damage on top…

 

Mara's Kaleidoscope

+ to Dexterity, 2 to all skills, I have never seen this amulet, sorry…

 

Magical/rare items

The only magical weapons you will likely use is the cruel ones, which exclude AR prefix. Only exception may be the Grandmaster's prefix (+251-300 to Attack Rating, Damage: +151-200%). So I will pay attention to armor mostly.

 

+AR Rating

Rare and Magical - circlets and rings up to 120, amulets and gloves up to 20.

Best bet is a gambled rare ring with some other good moods.

 

+% Attack Rating (Based On Character Level) - Visionary prefix

Rare and magical helms - + (1 Per Character Level) 1-99% To Attack Rating (Based On Character Level). With all the godly uniques around I doubt you will use a rare. If yes look for a good one with resists, etc…

 

Charms:

+AR / +AR per stash space

Grands 132 / 44

Large 64 / 32

Small 36 / 36

 

Grands obviously are the best, look for a juicy secondary mod as well.

 

Socketing

 

WEAPONS

 

For socketing weapons you will almost always want shaels (unless you have Jah…).

I will still list some of the possibilities:

Runes

El: 50 to AR

Eth: -25% target defense (improves your to-hit)

Gul: Weapon: +20% AR

Jah: ITD

Gems

P-Amethysts: 150 to AR

Jewels

Silver / Rares - up to 60 AR

Argent / Magical - up to 100 AR

Socketing in armor:

Jewels: see above

Best bet to get AR from armor is socketing a good jewel.

 

Special PI weapons:

1) Magical wands are very popular - no DEX req, easy to buy, doesn't take long to shop for a right one (elemental damage on wands is very common), take very little stash space, fast attack speed. Wands won't have any AR boosters, so if you get your AR from your main weapon, switching to wand will drop your AR considerably. That can be very dangerous in a crowd of angry specters.

 

2) Baranar's Star (unique Devil Star, requires 44 DEX) - 200% bonus to AR (!!!), 15 to DEX, elemental dmg galore… There will be no loss of AR when switching to Baranar's, that's for sure. More likely you will have a better to-hit chance with Baranar's than with your main weapon. My current WB at clvl76 a 72% to-hit chance with IK Maul, 78% to-hit with Baranar's. That is why some even consider levelling with Baranar's more efficient, with main weapon for larger targets.

3) Lightsabre (unique Phase Blade, requires a whopping 136DEX) - ITD! Unfortunately with so much DEX just to wield Lightabre the ITD is a bit overkill…

4) Buriza Do-Kyanon (unique Ballista, requires 80 DEX) - adds 35 DEX. This is not my choice - cold dmg only, total of 115 DEX doesn't guarantee excellent to-hit, takes up big stash space (2x4), bear with a crossbow - some think too cheesy…

 

There are many options of how to get elemental damage, too much weapons to list them all. Just be sure to check whether your to-hit chances don't suffer too much when switching to PI weapon.

 

Epilogue and thanks

Well I started it out as a little comparison between the builds, but it turned out as a chapter in a guide… well, who knows. Thanks go out to Spearthrower who's SP WB guide really made me interested in druid class, also to SuicideMinion for his help on maths and formulas, cheers. Thank you for reading, it was kinda hard for me to put this all together, so if you feel I have left something out, don't be shy, point it out. This is still very much a work in process, so you are all welcome to add your ideas.

 

Jurts, 07.04.2002.

 

And my own thanks:

I wish to thank Cynik for his comments on my guide, as well as the suggestions he made. Jurts added the chapter about Werebear AR and the calculations, and he was helped by SuicideMinion. Also thanks to Dhrane for suggestions, and all the folks at the Druids forum at dii.net for continuous comments and ideas for the Werebear. If anyone has any suggestions to make, comments, or questions please email them to dal_kurzak@yahoo.com . Ill be more than happy to read through them, and add them to my guide.

 

Baranor, 09.04.2002

 

-Bins-