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Perhaps the most useful war cry isn't technically a war cry - the find potion skill can save the Barbarian in a pinch and especially save the Barbarian loads of gold best used to improve or repair weapons and armor. Dump at least three skill points into find potion over time; with so many monsters to fight, you'll be scoring free potions with unparalleled success. This particularly comes in handy during Diablo II's fourth and toughest act; the Barbarian can often find full rejuvenation potions replenishing both health and mana points. Three points into find potion should be sufficient, but if you near five or six, you'll have a 50 percent chance of finding a potion in each corpse. TIP: A corpse can only be searched once by find potion or find item. Once you've searched the corpse, the corpse is no longer a useable item - even by a Necromancer in your party who might wish to use the corpse to raise a skeleton! Other decent Barbarian war cries include shout, which raises you and your party's defensive rating, and taunt, which taunts an enemy creature into fighting you. Taunt can be especially useful when dealing with a dungeon's riff raff (such as Act I's fallen or carvers). Often these little creatures run from you on sight or after you've killed off their shaman leader. Use taunt to keep them close, so you don't have to run out searching for them. The higher level war cries, such as battle command and battle orders, are best used in multiplayer games. If you're choosing to play the Barbarian through the single-player game, without party assistance, you're likely better off using the skill points for more offensive-based skills, such as double swing, leap attack, and whirlwind. Further, you can stack some of the war cries to compound their improvements to you and your party. TIP: Choosing what skills to select isn't the only decision you have to make. Often it's wiser to save your skill points and keep them unused. Then, once you reach a particular prerequisite level (6, 12, 18, 24, or 30), use them all to improve one of the higher-level skills. For instance, you could save up the skills you earn by advancing the first five levels of the game, then use one in bash and the rest in double swing (double swing requires bash). This is just one example of thousands of possibilities. Barbarian Leap and Leap Attack The Barbarian's leap and leap attack skills are a must - not only because they're a prerequisite for the Barbarian's über-skill, whirlwind, but because they are extremely handy defensive and offensive skills respectively. To be blunt, leap can save your butt in a dire situation. Since the Barbarian excels at close-range melee combat, it's highly likely that the Barbarian will become overwhelmed with enemy attackers. With a click of the mouse button, the Barbarian can leap away to safety. The amount of points into leap determines the radius of the jump. One point should be sufficient, but if you desire a larger leap, use more skill points, though you're likely to see more benefits by using those points in offensive skills. TIP: You can also use leap to jump across gaps in the walkway, such as two catwalks separated by otherwise impassable land. Examples of these can be found in the arcane sanctuary and Kurast sewers! Leap attack is devastating and functions like a ranged attack. If you're within an enemy's range and successfully click on the monster, your Barbarian's leap attack blow will connect. Placing additional skill points into leap attack increases radius (how far you can leap from) and damage potential. Its mana cost is relatively high, however, especially for Barbarian players not concentrating on the energy attribute. Don't overuse the attack if you must conserve mana. Leap attack is best used when there are one or two tough creatures remaining; in a crowd, leap attack can work, but the action is so chaotic it's difficult to remain aware of what's occurring around you. With only a few monsters to content with, though, you can perform the leap attack, then retreat quickly and follow up with another without even being touched. TIP: Leap attack is particularly devastating in player vs. player multiplayer killing! Battling Tough Beasts It's likely the Barbarian will have the weapons and strength to take on most of the unique enemies and boss monsters head on, but don't neglect to use skills to your advantage. A good technique when approaching a unique enemy, boss, or simply tough monster is to use shout to raise your defenses, then use a combination of leap attack and double swing as a hit-and-run burst. You must keep mana reserves high (or have high energy points) with mana potions, or you'll run out fairly quickly. By the time you reach Diablo, you should possess most of the offensive skills except whirlwind - if you can advance to level 30 before facing Diablo, though, do so! Whirlwind is a huge asset against the game's boss creature. Using leap to avoid Diablo's fire and lightning attack, then following up with whirlwind, is an effective combination.
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