The TLDR 2H Barb

[aerial]

You can technically even wait till bunch of level 110 charms that grant +stats. Totally doable.
If you want it earlier, you can socket some +5% str or +10str runes, depending whats better, you can MO some of your TU armors with +25 str, these items are disposable and easily remade with 2 crystals. So you have flexibility there. Again, depends if you want it early or not, its preference. You can have all required strength even in nightmare difficulty if you use bunch of runes and mystic orbs to help you achieve this goal faster.

[Tsurumah]

I'm not really in a hurry. It's just that I noticed that even with 250 points into STR, at my current gear/+skills, I'm a ways off from being able to. I'm smashing everything in nightmare basically instantly with T3. I was just kind on wondering about when it should naturally happen or when it starts getting necessary.

I understand the basic idea of MOs, but I don't really grasp the details. I'm not sure how to tell how many you can put on a piece of gear. Are they permanent on the item once they are placed? At least until you reroll it? I think An saw a crafting guide somewhere I should look into.

[aerial]

They are permanent on uniques.
You can put 5 of each, add +4 level requirement (so +20 level req for set of 5).
Alaywas consider level requirement of an item with sockets in, because runes/jewels if their req is higher than item itself, it can raise level req of it when socketed. And then if you MO the item it adds to it. So for example if you use mystic orb on unsocketed item, and them put some high level req runes in, it might surprise you that level req after socketing is going to go up beyond what you expected. Same applies to runewords. So you need remember about that.

Idea behind flexibility of those mystic orbs is, we are using cheap gear, any of those tiered uniques you can easily remake by farming some crystals. Same with runewords, you can unsocket runeword, reroll the base armor pierce again with renewal oils (this will delete mystic orbs), and basically make runeword again. It will just cost you gold.
So if you don't want to wait until you get stats from charms, you can put strength on bunch of items. It is easier to achieve this by socketing strength runes though, because that doesn't cost you anything. Beauty of playing wolf stance is that our all speeds are boosted by it and we don't need to use our sockets, which normally are main source of attack speed and faster hit recovery.
As for charms main early boosters for stats are tal rasha (20% all stats), akarat +25 flat stats, creature of flame +25 flat all. As you can see if you grab those it is substantial increase in strength.

[AKwasp]

Brand new to Median-XL, been following this build all week. Can't tell if I'm super appreciative of this mod or your build, but both feel great, TY!

I've got some feedback, and some questions. Might help other new players too.

It would be helpful to link up front to which page in the replies corresponds with the current patch. At least the first 25 or so pages are filled with references to Fortress and non-Wolf Stance which I believe are from an outdated version of this build. A quick link to current patch discussion would be greatly appreciated.

A comment referencing a video asking buff icons led me to realize you cycle Titan Strike into your attack rotation. I don't see any mention of this upfront. As a brand new player, this was not an obvious inclusion. Am I correct in deducing this is part of your attack rotation? Could you elaborate any additional details of your skill rotation I might be missing? Currently I open with Thunder Slam then spam Deathgaze, sprinkling in Shower of Rocks whenever the falling rocks animation stops. Now I added Titan Strike every 30s. Am I missing anything else?

Do you still recommend percentage all-stat (Lah) runes over the 2% hybrid penetration (Xar) runes? I read a comment about 3% cold pen (Thai) runes being both new and potentially better, but intuitively the hybrid Xar makes more sense for our mixed bag of damage types.

For similar reasons, are Lem-crafted jewels still recommended?

For simplicity, which 5 MO are recommended for TU4 Labrys specifically? It already has some mana on hit naturally. Also two Mystic Orbs grant enhanced damage, I believe the weapon damage one is greater at 20% value over 15%. Which of these is correct for Wrathchild? (Before socketing Ith/Jah)

You generally list upgrades to the right in the guide, but I'm unclear whether MO stats and total character defense are better than ED for armor?

I gather for Sacred Ancient Armor and Plated Belts you want to Renew for 30%+ ED and then Lucky damage reduction. I assume getting the physical resistance is better than the extra 20% defense? Or is it worth the extra effort hitting both simultaneously?

For a crafting question not specific to this guide, what's the deal with Renew/Lucky crafting Tiered Unique bases? Does it actually achieve anything to precraft a superior T4 Labrys before transmuting it to a Wrathchild? Is it better to apply Lucky oil before or after the transmutation?

I haven't participated in any trading, essentially SSF while learning and playing at my own pace. Any TLDR advice for items to keep an eye open for when looking to either trade to other players and also any recommended chase items to shop for? Are there any sacred uniques or sets that particularly resonate with this build? Also is there an equivalent of poe-ninja listing valuable drops I could add to my loot filter in case I unknowingly stumble across something highly in-demand?

Finally, is there any good alternative to left-click namelock attacking with this build? It seems Wolf Stance can only be assigned to right-click? And there is no way to hold down right-click to auto-attack everything you hover over? This wasn't particularly annoying until I got to the invisible angels in the treasure vaults area. Also re-summoning wolves individually is annoying.

[Fululf]

Brand new to Median-XL, been following this build all week. Can't tell if I'm super appreciative of this mod or your build, but both feel great, TY!

I've got some feedback, and some questions. Might help other new players too.

It would be helpful to link up front to which page in the replies corresponds with the current patch. At least the first 25 or so pages are filled with references to Fortress and non-Wolf Stance which I believe are from an outdated version of this build. A quick link to current patch discussion would be greatly appreciated.

A comment referencing a video asking buff icons led me to realize you cycle Titan Strike into your attack rotation. I don't see any mention of this upfront. As a brand new player, this was not an obvious inclusion. Am I correct in deducing this is part of your attack rotation? Could you elaborate any additional details of your skill rotation I might be missing? Currently I open with Thunder Slam then spam Deathgaze, sprinkling in Shower of Rocks whenever the falling rocks animation stops. Now I added Titan Strike every 30s. Am I missing anything else?

Do you still recommend percentage all-stat (Lah) runes over the 2% hybrid penetration (Xar) runes? I read a comment about 3% cold pen (Thai) runes being both new and potentially better, but intuitively the hybrid Xar makes more sense for our mixed bag of damage types.

For similar reasons, are Lem-crafted jewels still recommended?

For simplicity, which 5 MO are recommended for TU4 Labrys specifically? It already has some mana on hit naturally. Also two Mystic Orbs grant enhanced damage, I believe the weapon damage one is greater at 20% value over 15%. Which of these is correct for Wrathchild? (Before socketing Ith/Jah)

You generally list upgrades to the right in the guide, but I'm unclear whether MO stats and total character defense are better than ED for armor?

I gather for Sacred Ancient Armor and Plated Belts you want to Renew for 30%+ ED and then Lucky damage reduction. I assume getting the physical resistance is better than the extra 20% defense? Or is it worth the extra effort hitting both simultaneously?

For a crafting question not specific to this guide, what's the deal with Renew/Lucky crafting Tiered Unique bases? Does it actually achieve anything to precraft a superior T4 Labrys before transmuting it to a Wrathchild? Is it better to apply Lucky oil before or after the transmutation?

I haven't participated in any trading, essentially SSF while learning and playing at my own pace. Any TLDR advice for items to keep an eye open for when looking to either trade to other players and also any recommended chase items to shop for? Are there any sacred uniques or sets that particularly resonate with this build? Also is there an equivalent of poe-ninja listing valuable drops I could add to my loot filter in case I unknowingly stumble across something highly in-demand?

Finally, is there any good alternative to left-click namelock attacking with this build? It seems Wolf Stance can only be assigned to right-click? And there is no way to hold down right-click to auto-attack everything you hover over? This wasn't particularly annoying until I got to the invisible angels in the treasure vaults area. Also re-summoning wolves individually is annoying.

Lot's of points at once. Since i've played this build for several seasons I'll try my best to answer.

About the outdated stuff: Isn't it easy enough to read the first page, and then start at the last pages and skipping forward one at a time? If there is some "hidden" information of great importance amongst all those pages, Im sure they are also in the original post/guide.

Titan strike: I've never used it while playing this build, I simply use deathgaze and sometimes t-slam (for crowd-control in crowded places, vizjun/toraja for eg.). I guess I'm too lazy to skill swap too much, and i havent really felt the need with this build. But perhaps aerial can explain further (:

I'd still use Lah runes (or Lum, cuz I like Mf). Not sure how needed the pierce is, but then again I haven't played the build this patch so Im not 100% sure if the -enemy res-runes are in fact worthwhile.
As for jewels, I usually use Ber-craft for Life leech on melee char. Not too many jewels used on this build since u want to fill as many sockets as u can with runes rather than jewels, but u still need some jewels for runeword armor/belt ofc.

When MO:ing items, keep the ED-cap in mind. The item can have a maximum of 200% ed (both dmg and defense), so mo:ing beyond that doesnt add anything. Also make sure u lucky before adding MO:s, since u might get +20% ed from that, which would save a MO-slot.
Socketing runes can however raise the ED beyond this.
I would MO ED to start, to get to (or close to) 200 ed, and if there is more MO-space u could add ewd or other useful stuff. Also think ED for armor is better, but Im not positive this is the case. If some1 knows for sure, correct me on this.

When rolling rw bases, 1% phys res>20% ed for me, but if u have enough gold/time, why not go for both?
If u roll an armor for example, it will roll 25%+ ed quite often, and if u get double lucky on this it's 45%ed/1% pr, making it better than a 35% that only hit lucky on 1%pr.. so I feel it's worth the time saved to not aim for only 35% ed for example, but instead try to hit double lucky upg. Others might do differently, and it's all a matter of how much time u want to spend prepping the bases for ur rws.

The lucky bonus will disapear when u make the item uniq (if this is what u mean), so u will have to try to lucky it when it is uniq either way. The good thing with TU though, is that u can easily reroll the wrathchild and try lucky upgrade until u get it. This can be worth it for the extra ed and/or ar!

Trading: Items I enjoyed upgrading to (in some sort of order): SU labrys, windrunner/crafted gauntlets (abandoned), lilith legion (I really like this helm, other ppl might prefer a different one, but it has tons of useful stats.), dyers eve and then giants knuckle. I'm sure there are tons of other viable options aswell, but this was my go-to. Crafting a labrys is another idea that might be worth testing (or Shaad rw perhaps?).

U can hold down shift and left click to auto-attack enemies near u (that u cant see). It's pretty useful in areas such as island of sunless sea. Dunno what's annoying about summoning a few dogs, takes 2 sec, but yeah, u gotta summon 1 at a time

Hopefully some of the information is useful to u (or some1 else). Hf gl with the trades

[aerial]

I've got some feedback, and some questions. Might help other new players too.

It would be helpful to link up front to which page in the replies corresponds with the current patch. At least the first 25 or so pages are filled with references to Fortress and non-Wolf Stance which I believe are from an outdated version of this build. A quick link to current patch discussion would be greatly appreciated.

There technically is link to 1.1 patch, at the very top of the guide, link "NEFS", that puts you to discussion post 1.1 patch where there was most changes. Most guide was discussed after 1.0 release, as you can expect where most interest in mod was. Despite fact it was different build, inclusion of fortress and different stance, most mechanics is still valid and worth reading through.

A comment referencing a video asking buff icons led me to realize you cycle Titan Strike into your attack rotation. I don't see any mention of this upfront. As a brand new player, this was not an obvious inclusion. Am I correct in deducing this is part of your attack rotation? Could you elaborate any additional details of your skill rotation I might be missing? Currently I open with Thunder Slam then spam Deathgaze, sprinkling in Shower of Rocks whenever the falling rocks animation stops. Now I added Titan Strike every 30s. Am I missing anything else?

Yes, you can add titan strike whenver you want, it is just such minor buff, I don't mention it specifically, I also often forget to even use it because how little it really provides. But ideally yes you want to add it, no reason not to.

Do you still recommend percentage all-stat (Lah) runes over the 2% hybrid penetration (Xar) runes? I read a comment about 3% cold pen (Thai) runes being both new and potentially better, but intuitively the hybrid Xar makes more sense for our mixed bag of damage types.

I think cold pierce is better than xar, because phys to cold with deathgaze vastly outweights flat lightning from daedalus as well as thunderfury proc. All pierce would come to play with different build, kraken stance oskills, maybe new ele weaopns.
As for if it is better to use pierce vs lah, depends. For bosses for sure you would wanna swap for specific element pierce, it will increase output dps. For regular clear I'm not sure, you lose some hp by doing that. Can always look at dps numbers in d2stats and calculate.

For similar reasons, are Lem-crafted jewels still recommended?

Jewels that or ber crafts for leech. Ber are good for clear, save you from buying potions as much. But they are useless vs most bosses where leech becomes irrelevant.

For simplicity, which 5 MO are recommended for TU4 Labrys specifically? It already has some mana on hit naturally. Also two Mystic Orbs grant enhanced damage, I believe the weapon damage one is greater at 20% value over 15%. Which of these is correct for Wrathchild? (Before socketing Ith/Jah)

Enhanced weaon damage is added to total pool, same bonus as from wolf stance or strength (so you add very little to very big number already). Enhanced damage 15 per mo is the one on weaon directly, that caps at 200%, and thats different multiplier, you want to use that over enhanced Weapon damage (Ewd) for sure. Rest as listed, attack rating, mana on attack to not run out of mana vs high avoid targets. You can ofc use other ones, deadly strike is raw multiplier to damage, for clears you can put life leech.

You generally list upgrades to the right in the guide, but I'm unclear whether MO stats and total character defense are better than ED for armor?

Total char defense is same as enhaned weapon damage. You want enhanced defense (Not total), that one adds defense of each armor piece, thats later multiplied by runemaster and total defense from spirit guide passive. If you put some total character defense mo it will add to that pool and not give you anywhere near as much. But you still want to use those as last mo, to increase defense even further. Thats why the order, %defense first to cap base defense on armors, and later total defense.

I gather for Sacred Ancient Armor and Plated Belts you want to Renew for 30%+ ED and then Lucky damage reduction. I assume getting the physical resistance is better than the extra 20% defense? Or is it worth the extra effort hitting both simultaneously?

damage reduction is better, getting both isnt really that big of a deal

For a crafting question not specific to this guide, what's the deal with Renew/Lucky crafting Tiered Unique bases? Does it actually achieve anything to precraft a superior T4 Labrys before transmuting it to a Wrathchild? Is it better to apply Lucky oil before or after the transmutation?

It means you can MO your basic t4 uniques with whatever you need early, and as you get charms just get new items with different mo. You can even use resists, you can put some attack speed on weapon to hit next breakpoint (despite having crapton of speed from wolf stance you may still need bit more). Its flexibility. These uniques are basically free, thats why thers no point of saving mo space for them. As you get charms, your needs of mo change, and you can get more optimal later. Early you can use stats such as: all res, stats, speeds, -requirements, a lot of total character defense.
Using superior base for making unique, i don't think it does anything, item is rerolled upon becoming unique.
I wouldn't overinvest into t4 axe, because you will beat it with craft sooner or later. Craft with 300+ max damage is just better, raw dmg number beats great mods of tu.

I haven't participated in any trading, essentially SSF while learning and playing at my own pace. Any TLDR advice for items to keep an eye open for when looking to either trade to other players and also any recommended chase items to shop for? Are there any sacred uniques or sets that particularly resonate with this build? Also is there an equivalent of poe-ninja listing valuable drops I could add to my loot filter in case I unknowingly stumble across something highly in-demand?

sacred unique gear was mentioned bunch of times
You will recognize good item once you find it it isnt that hard. There is bunch of good drops that beat listed items, it will just have straight up better stats. Keep eye on ethereal bases too, eth chest will grant nice defense bonus for example, even lower base than ancient armor. Axe runeword in eth can go long way too. You can lucky drop very good rune from quests, like forge or countess, and this can be big upgrade as well.
Id advise to play untwinked, trading may ruin it for you, then you will never find upgrades.

Finally, is there any good alternative to left-click namelock attacking with this build? It seems Wolf Stance can only be assigned to right-click? And there is no way to hold down right-click to auto-attack everything you hover over? This wasn't particularly annoying until I got to the invisible angels in the treasure vaults area. Also re-summoning wolves individually is annoying.

Stances as like clod pally auras, cant do anything about it. There is one checkbox in d2stats that helps with autoattacking though, look it up.

[AKwasp]

Lots of points at once. Since I've played this build for several seasons I'll try my best to answer.

Thanks for the feedback, very helpful!

There technically is link to 1.1 patch, at the very top of the guide, link "NEFS", that puts you to discussion post 1.1 patch where there was most changes. Most guide was discussed after 1.0 release, as you can expect where most interest in mod was. Despite fact it was different build, inclusion of fortress and different stance, most mechanics is still valid and worth reading through.

Also thanks for the feedback! And even more thanks for the guide!
As a brand new player, I didn't realize 1.1 was only months (not years) ago.

Stances as like old pally auras, can't do anything about it. There is one checkbox in d2stats that helps with autoattacking though, look it up.

Nice

[AKwasp]

I'd advise to play untwinked, trading may ruin it for you, then you will never find upgrades.

Not planning on trading anytime soon, thanks for the advice! Just got Charsi to increase rarity on a sacred Labrys for me, then shrine spammed it until stopping on these rolls. D2stats suggests it is at least better than Wrathchild. I suspect 300 cold damage isn't as good as physical damage? I'll still switch to this as a temporary upgrade.

Anyways, I think I should MO 5x Attack Rating (or 1-2 Mana on Hit MO) since ED won't help any, then slam a lucky oil and fill with Jah runes. Since I don't think there's any way to un-Mystic-Orb items, would appreciate crafting advice before accidentally bricking my axe.

On another note, is there any way to shrine craft a white/blue item without Charsi or should I increase my loot filter strictness to Rares only? I've collected a couple sacred Barb Assault Helms with intentions to shrine spam upgrades from Lavadome, but not sure if that's worth my other 2 Charsi instances. Is Charsi quest re-farmable in MXL? I found a Belladonna potion which seems like Akara quest was made re-farmable.

[aerial]

You can obtain rare item only via drop or charsi imbue that is limited to 3 tries.
But if you play long enough, farm higher levels, you gonna find multiple rares of bases you need, so don't worry about this.
You can use several types of barb helms, technically assault helm isn't even the best, avenger guard is higher stats.

As for axe, it is bad, keep rolling.
Physical damage is much better than elemental, because it adds up to total roll of the axe. It would be close to 700 damage if it rolled right and almost 800 with damage runes. Your maximum physical damage after all multipliers would almost double.
Getting high +dmg roll is mandatory for the weapon to be better than TU. You look at average number, can be 100-200 then average is same as +300 max so keep that in mind. But aim for anything around 300 damage.

[opsayo]

Just wanted to say this is a great guide! Appreciate the hard work! Love hearing you share your game knowledge aerial