Diablo 3 Classes: Barbarian

Female Barbarian

Male Barbarian

     This type of character has been with the Diablo series since the first Diablo was released in 1997. Originally named the Warrior in Diablo 1, Blizzard changed his name to barbarian in Diablo 2. Now in the upcoming Diablo 3, Blizzard has brought back the Barbarian, but the player will now be able to choose whether he or she wants to create a male or female Barbarian character. Blizzard decided to give the player the option of playing a male and female character, despite what class he or she may choose to be.
     Aside from these visual differences, which will not alter the gameplay, the Barbarian character will remain a strong, tank-like, melee class. The Barbarian will be able to inflict large amounts of damage at close range, and will also be able to absorb a large amount of damage before going down.



Skill Trees
     Just as the skill system was in Diablo 2, each character class will have 3 separate skill trees. In Diablo 3, the Barbarian's three skill trees will include a Berserker Skill Tree, a Juggernaut Skill Tree and a Battlemaster Skill Tree. The picture to the right was taken from Blizzard's Barbarian Gameplay Video.  

     Unfortunately, this skill tree system looks eerily similar to the skill trees used in World of Warcraft. However, this system will allow blizzard to make all five classes balanced, especially when it comes to the new addition of PVP. An equally powerful Barbarian will now be evenly matched against the ranged classes, unlike in Diablo 2 where ranged classes always owned the melee classes in duels. A sorceress could keep teleporting around shooting lightning or frozen orb and a melee class, such as a barbarian, was lucky to even get a hit on his or her attacker.




Stamina & Fury

Diablo 3' s Barbarian will use up either stamina or fury, depending on the type of skill used. The Barbarian's blue mana, will be replaced with a greenish-blue orb called stamina. As the Barbarian uses basic attacks the character's stamina orb will continue to drain. Fury, on the other hand, is a type of energy used by the Barbarian to unleash more powerful attacks. For those of you who have played World of Warcraft, fury is much like the Warrior's rage meter. Fury is an energy that increases as the Barbarian attacks monsters, and then decreases when the character is not attacking anything. Generally, the more powerful an attack, the more fury needed to unleash that attack.


     Many complain that Diablo 3 will be too much like World of Warcraft, with similar skill trees and auto-stats. The truth is that these mechanics will sacrifice a bit of character customization, but will improve the overall gameplay tremendously.