Barbariansare one of the 11Classesin Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, and in this Guide we’re going to take a look at how they work to not only help you make a betterBarbarian, but also help you to determine if this is the class for you. If you are new to Pillars of Eternity 2 or just need a refresher when it comes to Class selection andCharacter Creation, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Let’s get started…
Barbarian Builds and How They Work
Barbarian’s in Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire are a melee class that specializes in AoE and Crowd Control. All Barbarians have a passive ability calledCarnagethat allows them to hit enemies in an AoE around the target they are striking for a portion of the damage they deal. This makes them ideal for situations where there are many enemies grouped up, but less effective when there is only one tough solo enemy.
Barbarians useRageas their resource, and it is what allows them to buff themselves, debuff enemies and use powerful attacks in combat. Unlike most Classes, Barbarians can actually refund Rage during combat by using someAbilities. This allows them to be more aggressive with their Rage, spending it more frequently, and increasing their overall damage output.
Barbarians do not possess much in the way of self heals or defense and therefore rely heavily onSecond Windor other party members to keep theirHealthtopped off.Athleticsis therefore very important to the Barbarian, and should be prioritized when placing points intoActive Skills.
Because Barbarians are not as complicated to play as some other Classes, we’ll spend more time exploringMulticlassingoptions than we do in our other guides. In order to do that though, we need to talk a bit about theSubclassesand how they impact the Barbarian.
Barbarian Subclasses, Which to Choose
In this section we’re going to take a look at the Subclasses of the Barbarian and see why you might choose one of them, or not. As mentioned above Barbarians use Rage to buff themselves and damage enemies, and the Subclass you use has a significant effect not only on how often you can return Rage spent, but also on how the key Barbarian AbilityFrenzyaffects you. Let’s take a look at what the Barbarian Subclasses are, and talk a bit about what sort of Builds you can make with them.
Berserkers are a high risk high reward style of play. They outperform other Barbarians in terms of total damage, but it comes with a cost that may or may not be suitable for your party. This Subclass is not recommended for new players.
Bonus:Frenzygrants theTenaciousandHardyInspirations, instead ofStrongandFit. Gain significantHittoCritconversion on melee and carnage attacks while frenzied.
Penalty:Confusedwhile frenzied. Cannot seeHealthwhen frenzied. Takes raw damage continuously while frenzied.
Berserkers take Raw Damage over time, cannot to see their ownHealth, get -5Intellect, and lose the ability to distinguish friend from foe (with their Carnage damage) while using Frenzy. In exchange, they gain other benefits while using it, that offset these somewhat. Specifically, Berserkers receive +2Penetrationand +2Armor, in addition to 30% ofHitsconverted toCritswithMelee Weaponson top of the usual benefits Frenzy provides. This is a HUGE boost in damage.
Battle Axes also further increase Critical Damage by 20%, and are the ideal choice here for Barbarians. Consider using the One-Handed Style for increased Hit to Crits or Two Weapon Style for decreased Recovery Time and double Battle Axes.
Players opting to play as a Berserker will have to manage them effectively to not only prevent them from damaging other party members, but also from dying because you can’t see their Health. Combat is already hard enough for new players, which is why this isn’t recommended for them. Note thatResolvereduces the negative effects of Frenzy without reducing the positive ones.
Players wishing to Multiclass a Berserker should consider picking either aCipher,Chanter,Paladin,Fighter,Monk, orRogueas their second class. Of these 4 I would probably suggest the Cipher.
Soul Blade Ciphers gain a huge increase with Weapon Damage and can use Soul Annihilation for very high damage attacks. If you dual wield Rapiers you can use the abilityNeedle Striketo gain increased Accuracy, allowing you to dump points in Perception and pump Might, for increased damage. Since the upgraded version ofBarbaric Blowrefunds the cost of it if you kill the target, you can create a rotation of that alternates between mostly these two abilities.
Fighters have the Passive AbilityConstant Recovery, which heals you over time. TheDevotedSubclass of Fighter, works even better because you gain +25% Critical Damage (and +2 Penetration) with your chosen weapon.Disciplined Strikesalso increases your Hit to Crit chance by 50%!
If you choose Paladin you will gain access to many defensive Abilities that will help keep you alive while you are using Frenzy, along with a few heals. TheKind WayfarersSubclass of Paladin also allows yourFlames of Devotionability to heal nearby allies in an AoE, which could help to offset some of the damage they may take from your Berserker.
Monks although Swift Strikes will not increase your Action Speed on top of Frenzy, it still provides Dexterity and the upgraded version gives you a chance to attack again if you Crit. In addition, they get a similar effect from the passive abilityHeartbeat Drumming, which gives them a 25% chance to attack again on Melee Weapon Crits.
If you choose Rogue you will gain the access toSmoke Veil, allowing you to become invisible. This not only helps to reduce the damage you take, but will increase the damage you deal because of Rogue Passive Abilities. TheStreetfighterSubclass works well here because it increases the damage of yourCritsandSneak AttackswhenFlanked, as well as reducesRecovery Time. This is a very high damageBuild, that shines in AoE scenarios.
Chanters give you access to Offensive Invocations, as well as passive Chants that can heal you or deal damage in an AoE around you. TheSkaldSubclass gains a Phrase 50% of the time when you Crit with a weapon, so there is very good synergy here because of the high Crit chance. Your AoE radius will be reduced because of the penalty to Intellect, but the good news is that you will gain Carnage AoE and Chant AoE radius for each point you add to Intellect.
Corpse-Eater
Corpse-Eaters can replenish their Rage and heal themselves by devouring the corpses of certain fallen foes during combat. They make excellent Multiclass candidates, because having another resource pool to pull from while they wait for a downed enemy is a tremendous asset.
Bonus:Gains “Flesh Communion” - Target a hostile unconsciousKith,Wilder, orBeastto devour their corpse, killing them permanently. Flesh Communion also heals the barbarian and grants them Rage.
Penalty:All Rage abilities are increased in cost by 1.
Corpse-Eaters gain theFlesh Communionability, allowing them to eat certain types of enemies to replenish Health and Rage. In exchange, the cost of their Abilities is increased by +1. This gives them higher potential damage in some combat situations, where there are a lot of these enemy types for them to devour, because they can spend more Rage. It also gives them a way to heal, which is a weakness of this Class in general. When in combat, aim to downKith,WilderorBeastsquickly in order to take full advantage of this ability.
Because Corpse-Eater Barbarians have higher Rage costs, it is advised that they Multiclass to pick up some other abilities that don’t require Rage. This will give them Abilities to use when they run out of Rage if an appropriate enemy type has not yet died. Chanter,Cipherand Fighter are all great choices here.
Chanters need to increase theirDurationand AoE radius with Intellect, much the way Barbarians need to for their Carnage passive ability. This allows them to get mutual benefit out of pumping thisAttribute. When Multiclassing with a Chanter you will want to choose a Skald and pick primarily Offensive Invocations, and some Phrases that benefit a melee character.
Ciphers gain bonus damage with Weapons, so there is a natural fit here. TheSoul BladeSubclass also gives you theSoul Annihilationability that deals substantial damage that cannot be resisted, and gives youConcentrationwhen you down an enemy. Choosing Cipher also gives you access to some Shred Abilities that work well in melee range.
As mentioned earlier, Fighters give you access to Constant Recovery which allows you to heal over time and helps to fill in that weakness of the Barbarian. There are also many good martial Passives that the Barbarian can benefit from like:Confident AimandArmored Grace. You really can’t go wrong with Fighter.
Mage Slayer
Mage Slayers specialize in taking out magic-casting enemes with disruptive strikes that can make spells fail. Because Mage Slayers detest anything magical, they cannot usePotionsorScrollsand only gain 50% Duration of beneficial effects. This Subclass is recommended for new players because mages hit very hard in Pillars of Eternity 2.
Bonus:Successful melee weapon attacks (orCarnage hits) addSpell Disruptionto the target, causingWizard,Priest,Druid,Cipher, orChanterspells to have a chance to fail when cast. Gain passiveSpell Resistance.
Penalty:Cannot usePotionsorScrolls. Beneficial spell effects applied to mage slayers have reduced duration.
Mage Slayers are able to disrupt the casting of magic users with some regularity. Successful Hits will apply “Spell Disruption” to the target giving them a chance to fail their next cast. Unfortunately the tooltip does not show exactly what the likelihood is that the spell will fail, so take that into consideration. This is a very solid Subclass for dealing with mage type enemies effectively, which can be very useful. This is especially true for new players because mage enemies typically hit the hardest and can often wipe entire parties if you are not prepared.
Because Mage Slayers only gain 50% Duration on beneficial effects, they will not use Frenzy, and they should stay away from similar buffs that will become much less effective. Instead they should focus on effects that have a permanent Duration because only the length is affected, not the buff itself. Keep this in mind when Multiclassing, and choose either Cipher orRangerbecause their effects are permanent.
Ciphers will give you a permanent bonus to weapon damage, and picking Soul Blade will give you Soul Annihilation which is deadly. You can also use some Offensive Invocations which won’t be affected by your debuff.
Rangers come with a permanent companion which fits well here. In addition, many of the Abilities they use effect other targets, not themselves, preventing you from losing out.
No Subclass
No Subclass Barbarians have the freedom to Multiclass without incurring penalties. No Subclass is a great choice if you are new to the class/game or aren’t sure just exactly how you’d like to build your character. This is also a good choice if you’d just like to pick up some passive abilities like Carnage.
Bonus:None
Penalty:None
No Subclass Barbarians are recommended for new players and those who aren’t quite sure how they want to play their Barbarian yet, but don’t want to pigeon hole themselves before they figure it out. Just keep in mind though, Barbarians will always play a melee Build, because Carnage does not work with ranged attacks and many of the Barbarian’s passives only affectMelee Weapons.
No Subclass Barbarians can Multiclass with any of the above Classes mentioned, without fear of making a huge mistake, which is the major upside of No Subclass. You can play a combination of any of them effectively, but if you’re totally unsure, I’d suggest Fighter, Chanter orMonk. Constant Recovery is a tremendous asset to the Barbarian and makes you extremely hard to kill. Chanters and Barbarians both make good use of Intellect while not having to cast spells, so there is a natural synergy there. Monks have incredible Attack Speed from usingSwift Strikes, and when paired with Frenzy, you will attack once every 1.5 seconds or so, which is crazy!
Attributes and Races
In this section we’re going to coverAttributesandRacesand how they affect the Barbarian. The game recommendsDexterityand Intelligence and highly recommendsMightandConstitution. Dexterity increases yourAction Speed, Intelligence increases the AoE of your Carnage attacks, Might increases your damage and healing and Constitution increases your Health, which allows for you to be Bloodied with a considerable Health pool left.
Just exactly how much of these you should have depends on the Subclass you selected, and I will make my recommendations along with Race below:
Berserker- Prioritize Might, Constitution andResolve. Might will increase your damage and healing. Constitution allows you to be Bloodied (increasing your damage) without having low Health. You will also be taking Raw Damage from Frenzy. Resolve will make you harder to kill and will reduce the Duration of the negative effects of Frenzy.Humansmake perfect Berserkers, not only because they grant Might and Resolve, but because they giveFighting SpiritwhenBloodiedorNear Death. This will tip you off that your Health is low, and increase your damage to boot!
Corpse-Eater- Prioritize Might and Constitution. Might increases your damage and the healing from Flesh Communion, while Constitution gives you a big pool of Health to keep you alive and make use of frequent Communions.Dwarfsmake an excellent candidate for Corpse-Eaters because they give precisely these two Attributes. This may change if you Multiclass, however.
Mage Slayer- Prioritize Might and Constitution. Might for damage and healing and Constitution to stay alive and allow for being Bloodied sooner. you’re able to add points to Intellect to help with your AoE and Duration, and this could help with the penalty you take. Dwarf is another solid choice here orAumaua.
No Subclass- No Subclasses should prioritize Might, Constitution and Resolve. Resolve will help keep you alive and is always a good Attribute to put into any character. Human, Aumaua or Dwarf all work well here.
Final Tips
Barbarians should try to use very light Armor so that they have low Recovery Time. This is more important for Barbarians then some Classes, because Barbarians hit multiple targets due to the passive ability Carnage. Attacking faster means that you hit many targets often, making full use of the class. This goes doubly for Mage Slayers because they need to strike often to keep enemy mages from being able to cast effectively. Try to take Abilities that increase defense instead of wearing heavy Armor if you can.Two Weapon Stylealso works well here for the decreased Recovery Time.
Barbarians don’t generally Multiclass well with casting Classes because they need to melee to benefit from many of their Abilities. Casters don’t do well in melee range because they usually have lengthy cast times that can be interrupted. If you do Multicass with a casting class, be sure to pick Abilities with the shortest cast times, if possible.
As mentioned above, Second Wind is the primary means of healing for a Barbarian so pumping points into Athletics is vital.Laboreris a great startingBackgroundas it gives +2, but there are several that give at least +1. Be sure to look for them duringCharacter Creation.
Lastly, be sure to position your Barbarian where it can have the most impact. It excels at hitting many enemies, so be sure it has many to hit.Disengageand re-position if you need to to get maximum effect. You can take passives that help reduce the likelihood of being struck when doing so if you need to, and increasing your Intellect will help widen the area you can hit with Carnage.
Stay tuned for morePillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Class Guidesas we cover all 11 Classes as well as Character Creation! What did you think of the Guide? Was it helpful? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
