Operation Ground and Pound (EarthQuake/SoR)

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Jackel6672
Prowler
18 | 2
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First foray into writing a guide, all feedback welcome.
Version History:
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Earthquake is one of my favorite skills in the game.

Acronyms Used:
WPD: Weapon Physical Damage
SOR: Shower of Rocks
EQ: Earthquake
IAS: Increased AttackSpeed
WDM: Weapon Damage Modifier (Skill % on the skill itself, it effectively is a damage multiplier / divisor)

Pros:
One button gameplay
Fast bossing
Tanky (Leech, Armor or Block)
Simple Gearing


Cons:
Late Game (Labs) can be difficult if not properly geared
Cannot do certain Ubers without switching from all Str.
Managing "Power" can be tedious

Need to Know to understand how this build scales:
First how Weapon Damage is calculated.

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Earthquake / Shower of Rocks has had many changes since 2.6. Mostly the new Power system. The power system requires a bit of min/max to get the most out of it.

Google Doc to Download a special version of Sios Damage Calculator. I customized it so that it shows EQ, and SoR Damage on the same page, and has a Power calculator based on entered stats. File - Save a copy to use on your computer or save to your own google docs.



Tectonics
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Earthquake Mechanics:
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Breakpoints vary largely based on the weapon used. As the late game plan is using 1 handed weapons, We meet the IAS requirements largely from Wolf Stance alone. If you need or want to view the break points:

https://dev.median-xl.com/speedcalc/

Stat Points
Strength: ALL
Dexterity: None
Vitality: None
Energy: None

Skill Plan:
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There are many, many differet ways to gear an EQ barb. I am only going to go over the most basic setup. Leveling is extremely fast, you likely will not spend much time here, so the setup is pretty simple.
1-100
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To acquire enough Arcane Crystals to make the necessary tiered uniques I normally run Act 5 Nithalak for awhile. I usually spend lv50 to 60 there.You can find the cube recipes here:

https://docs.median-xl.com/doc/items/cube

Earthshaker Set
Mount Arreat
Mount Arreat
(Barbarian Earthshaker Set)

Avalanche
Eruption
Ravine
Snowstorm

Set Bonus with 2 or more set items:
+1 to Barbarian Skill Levels
Weapon Physical Damage +50%

Set Bonus with 3 or more set items:
10% Chance to cast level 1 Guard Tower on Kill
Weapon Physical Damage +50%

Set Bonus with complete set:
Area Effect Attack
2% Chance to cast level 20 Thunder Slam on Kill
+4 to Barbarian Skill Levels
20% Life stolen per Hit
+100 to all Attributes
250% Bonus to Defense


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100-120
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120+
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Mystic Orbs
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Level Challenges:
https://docs.median-xl.com/doc/quests/challenges

Rifts:
https://docs.median-xl.com/doc/quests/rifts

I had no issue with any of the Rifts @ the level I was able to access them. This includes Viz, Fauzt, and Scos.

Labs Note: Labs past Tier 5 will require you to swap in Perfect Gems (Bloodstone, Onyx, Amber, and Turquoise) to reach the resistance requirements. Generally shoot for 90%.

Ubers:

The notes are for if you are doing it at level. This does not include doing the trophies. Trophies are skill based, so individual results may vary.

List of Ubers and Trophy requirements can be found here:

https://docs.median-xl.com/doc/quests/dungeons

105:
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110:
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115:
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120:
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125:
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130:
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Quests I haven't tried:
ARCHBISHOP LAZARUS
UILELOSCADH MÓR
HERALD OF THE END
DEIMOSS
Edited by Jackel6672 10 hours.
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Sfp4
Pit Knight
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Looks interesting, can this build do the halloween event to ~16k quick farm?
Rustyxd
Dark Huntress
10 | 0
Thanks for putting this guide together! Looks like a solid, tanky build focused on Earthquake for one-button gameplay with simple gear needs. Managing ‘Power’ sounds tricky, but overall it seems great for fast boss kills—just be prepared to tweak things for the toughest Ubers. Appreciate you sharing your first foray into guide writing!
Jackel6672
Prowler
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Sfp4 wrote:Looks interesting, can this build do the halloween event to ~16k quick farm?


Yea it can do the event. You would spec Rune master for armor and go Mal runes for more life. You want to hit about 15k life to do it smoothly, so you may need to spec some vit to get there. 200 power for it isn't an absolute, but you do need to hit the 140 breakpoint to help clear as the mobs get quite tanky later on and it becomes hard to leech off them.

There were guys who were well geared doing it in HC without issue.
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Giu
Heretic
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ayo, get me in
Splargh
Grubber
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Nice Guide! I am curious about the punch-version of this build (uses no weapon but gets stronger 50% str bonus in return). You only seem to mention it in the earthquake section, so am i right in assuming that it is worse than just using a weapon?
Jackel6672
Prowler
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Splargh wrote:Nice Guide! I am curious about the punch-version of this build (uses no weapon but gets stronger 50% str bonus in return). You only seem to mention it in the earthquake section, so am i right in assuming that it is worse than just using a weapon?


I wouldn't say it is worse, just that it requires a different style of gearing. I wanted to keep the theme of the guide simple for the moment. I might add another gearing section when I get around to making a punch barb again.

For starters though, you stack strength, flat damage and try to scale Tectonics using strength versus a mix. As the only real WPD you get that applies to Tectonics is Wolf Stance and minor gear sources. More Strength = More Damage = Scaling.