Throwing Barbarian Guide and Builds submitted by Acky.Before I get into the various throw builds, gear choices and budgets, I would like to address a few misconception that I have noticed from various WT related threads.
Misconception #1.) 300th Spear is bad!
This is both true and false. If your primary attack is Weapon Throw, then 300th spear is a must. A good 300th Spear will give you a significant boost in non paper DPS, however, if your goal is to boast about your profile DPS, then this will not do you any good.
So when is a 300th spear a bad choice for Weapon Throw build?
If you are playing a hybrid WT build, such as WW/WT hybrid, where WW/RLTW are emphasized as the primary skills, and WT is a supporting skill. The slow attack speed of the 300th Spear, plus the lack of LS/Crit Dmg makes it a suboptimal offhand for WW.
Misconception #2.) I don't need much EHP because I hit from afar!
False! This is probably one of the few misconception that bothers me the most. The best thing about running a range build with Barbs is, you get the best of both worlds in terms of the ability to dish out high damage in range, while having the ability to tank/survive in critical moments. By ignoring your EHP, you are pretty much running a glass cannon DH with suboptimal skill sets. If your goal is to farm at higher MP levels instead of hovering around MP5 or below, EHP is as critical as your DPS.
As I have been telling people in various class, high DPS is only good if you are alive to dish out the damage.
Misconception #3.) A cold SOJ is a must!
False! Weapon Throw already has built in snare, so a cold SOJ will not give you any extra snare benefit, HOWEVER, if you are running a WW/WT hybrid with Echoing Fury as your main hand, then a cold SOJ will do you tons of good. A more detailed explanation from Acrimony can be found here:http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/7005437820#12
If you look around the forum, there are a lot of different throw barbs with different skill sets. We have classic pure throw, WW/wt hybrid, WT/hota hybrid, WT/Seismic Slam hyrbid, 2H WT/Rend hybrid, etc.
If you are a rookie Throw Barb with average/below average gear, I would highly suggest running a classic pure throw just to get the hang of things first. A classic pure throw build gives you more room for error, which allows you to ease into Weapon Throw and get used to the character positioning (important).
If you are a WW Barb looking to add Throw to your skill set, then WW/wt is a no brainer.
This is what I would suggest if you are new to the scene:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/barbarian#fdRikP!ZYf!Zbcbcc
Weapon Throw (Ricochet) is the best rune for general farming. The ability to chain multiple targets will make killing trash mob/elites faster than ever.
Ancient Spear (Dread Spear) is my personal favorite. A lot of people I know don't like running it, because dragging an enemy towards you contradicts with the purpose of a range barb, but if you have a respectable EHP, this is almost a non factor. The ability to generate initial fury, refill your life bar, isolate goblins from mobs, drag enemies out of non ideal battleground, and stun bosses/elites, are all highly underestimated.
Battle Rage (Bloodshed) makes killing trash mob easy and simple. If you have fury problem, you are free to use (Into the Fray) instead.
Ignore Pain (Ignorance is Bliss) is great skill for rookie Throw Barbs. This is the one skill that allows you to recover from stupid mistakes or sticky situations (such as reflect damage). As you grow more comfortable to your Throw Barb, this skill can be replaced with other skills.
War Cry (Impunity) is a great defensive and fury generating skill. War Cry + Ancient Spear will allow you to have Battle Rage and Weapon Throw up and running without much effort. If you are comfortable with your EHP and your sustain, you can drop this for another skill of your choice.
Wrath of the Berserker (Thrive on Chaos/Insanity) is your ultimate boss/elite killing technique. If you are capable of sustaining perma WoTB during the duration of the boss/elite fight, then go with that. If your setup doesn't allow you to stay perma WoTB, then go with Insanity.
Passives: Ruthless, Weapon Mastery, No Escape
These 3 are pretty self explanatory, and no matter which Throw Build you are running, these 3 will be your standard passive skill sets.
A more in depth discussion from the creator of this build (Acrimony) can be found here:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/7004011417
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WT/hota or seismic slam
This is the WW/hota hybrid that I have been running:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/barbarian#fdRZkP!ZYf!ZbYZcc
Most skill sets are same as the classic build, but I took out Ignore Pain for Hammer of the Ancients (Smash), and replaced Battle Rage (Bloodshed) with (Into the Fray) to sustain perma WoTB. The benefit of this build is, I can go both range and melee depends on the call of the situation. WT (Ricochet) is effective at wiping trash mobs, while HoTA (Smash) is extremely powerful at killing single target elite/goblin/boss/uber. This is my go to build for uber run, and it allows me to carry a full team of dead bodies in MP8+ without having to worry about rage timer.
If you are not into uber run as much as I am, and prefer general farming instead, then you can switch out HoTA for Seismic Slam (Rumble). The ability to perform AOE damage + knockback will add to your killing efficiency as well as your survivability. Rumble's aftershock will also replenish your fury as you crit, so spamming Seismic Slam shouldn't be a problem.
You can put a Weapon Throw Barb together with various degree of budget. Of course, with a greater budget, the effectiveness of your Throw Barb will increase as well, but just because you don't have a couple hundred millions to spare, that doesn't mean you can't have an effective Throw Barb.
Just like WW Barb, critical chance is an important stat for Throw Barb as well, since most of your skills/synergies rely heavily on dealing critical damage. Unlike WW Barb, your attack speed is NOT as important (it is still great to have), so you should always emphasize on critical chance > critical damage > attack speed.
Main Hand: Echoing Fury w/ 150+ Str, Open Socket, +.25 APS. (You can easily pick up a EF with those stats in the neighborhood of 800-1000 DPS for next to nothing. The .25 APS is very critical, since it adds to both your MH & OH. Sometimes an EF with lesser DPS but greater APS would yield better overall DPS than one with a higher DPS but lesser APS. )
Off Hand: 300th Spear w/ OS and 40%+ WT damage modifier (These are super cheap. It is worth getting a slightly lower DPS one in exchange for higher WT damage modifier.)
Shoulder: Rare shoulders w/ Str, Vit, & AR.
Helm: Andariel's Visage w/ Str & OS
Amulet: Rare amulet w/ Str, Crit Chance, Crit Damage
Gloves: Rare gloves w/ Str, Crit Chance, and either Crit Damage or IAS.
Chest: Rare Chest w/ Str, Vit, & AR. (Don't bother getting a low stats IK chest. It's not worth it.)
Bracers: Strongarm Bracers w/ Str + Vit or AR
Ring#1: Rare ring w/ Str, Crit Chance, Crit Damage
Ring#2: same as above, or Hellfire Ring
Belt: IK belt w/ -5 Throw. Life steal is important, so don't settle for any rare belt without LS.
Pants: Rare pants w/ Str, Vit, AR.
Boots: IK boots. (Gives you all the stats you want, plus bonus AR for using 2 piece IK set.)
Main Hand: Echoing Fury w/ 150+ Str, Open Socket, +.25 APS, Crit Damage or LS.
Off Hand: 300th Spear w/ OS and 40%+ WT damage modifier
Shoulder: Rare shoulders or Vile Ward
Helm: IK helm or Mempo w/ Crit. (Non crit Mempo is NOT recommended)
Amulet: Rare amulet w/ combination of Damage modifier, Str, Vit, Crit Chance, Crit Damage, IAS
Gloves: Trifecta, or dual stats IK gloves with Str + Vit or Str + AR.
Chest: IK chest with respectable Vit
Bracers: Strongarm Bracers w/ Str + Vit or AR, or Str Lacuni with Crit.
Ring#1: Rare ring w/ combination of Damage modifier, Str, Vit, AR, Crit Chance, Crit Damage, IAS
Ring#2: same as above, or Hellfire Ring
Belt: IK belt w/ -5 Throw
Pants: Rare pants w/ Str, Vit, AR, 2 OS, or Depth Diggers, Blackthorne's Jousting Mail, Inna's Temperance
Boots: IK boots, Ice Climbers w/ movespeed, or ones without movespeed if you are using Lacuni or Inna's Temperance.
Playing Tips:
Your character positioning is very critical to the success of your Throw Barb. Knowing where to stand or how to kite will give you an enormous advantage in every fight. Unlike WW Barb, your sustain will probably be relatively low, so it is not recommended to Leeroy into a big mob and getting yourself surrounded.
A Throw Barb should always try to stand in a spot that would bottle neck the mobs and prevent them from surrounding you, such as underneath a door, on stairs, or simply at a corner. Remember, you could always pull elites into an ideal battlefield by using your Ancient Spear.
TrippyMane#1581 2H Throw
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/TrippyMane-1581/hero/22302039
Boohaha#1553 DW Throw
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Boohaha-1553/hero/25511882
Useful quote from Det0x:
After that was done i changed my close to bis offhand (sword 1240dps + 1.53aps + 153crit + lifesteal) to my close to bis 300 spear (1064dps + 100crit + wt damage 50%) (253k dps unbuffed datasheet)
I realize i do much more damage then the average throw barb, but you can use my numbers to compare the difference in damage between "main attacks" in percentage
if we say bash + punish (+berserker rage) is = 100%.
frenzy + maniac (+berserker rage) = 134%
throw + mighty throw (+berserker rage) = 94%
throw + mighty throw (+no escape) = 106%
throw + mighty throw (+no escape +my 300 spear) = 145%
throw + ricochet (+no escape +my 300 spear) = 118% (singel target)
