Stay a while and listen…..
I began this journey months ago and finally finished it after a few exhausting nights, sweaty palms, twitchy-eyes… hoping that death would not roll 666 and end my killing streak in Sanctuary.
I do realize that the game was nerf’d several times since it’s debut, leaving Inferno a shadow of its former self. However I would like to remind you that this “shadow” of Inferno started out as nearly unplayable and became completely unplayable without the very best gear once you hit Act III and IV. So in comparison it is still quite hard and requires attention to detail, careful gameplay, gear and patience… because at a whim on hardcore, it can all be for naught.
I focused on defensive gameplay, sacrificing raw single or multi target damage for health, thorn damage and bleed effects. My first character, also a Barbarian, reached heights this one could never dream of statistically in terms of raw power, having roughly 80,000 hit points and over 100,000 dps with buffs and Wrath of the Berserker active, yet even so, she could not touch this character in achievements or hope to complete the final two acts save a divine intervention from the Aspect of Miracles.
My build in short, consisted of Frenzy, Rend, Ignore Pain, Revenge, War Cry & WotB. My gear as said above was high defense, high Strength and Vitality and possessed bleed damage, life steal and thorns as well as life regeneration. Passive Skills: Nerves of Steel, Superstition, Tough as Nails.
Direblade’s Inventory
Paragon level 5
The Paragon system provides little benefit past level 60 but it does give you increased gold and magic find which can play a more vital role than the statistical bonuses gained at each new level.
At some point I still plan on gearing this character out to wear the Immortal King’s Armor set and weapons to complete the ensemble and secure my rightful place at the right hand of Bul’ Kathos himself.
If you plan on accomplishing this feat yourself, I highly recommend playing with a friend. I did it solo and nearly paid for all my time and effort with untimely death’s all but too often. Even with the boost in difficulty, the benefits of using a companion to distract, and out maneuver the enemies will prove invaluable in survival of the tougher parts of the game.
Parts to pay extra close attention to:
Enemies that Stun, Freeze, Jailer, Desecrate
Large packs of enemies that can stun, which can make it hard to escape if you are overwhelmed.
Belial’s poison attack that targets random spots around him
Most of the trash packs in Act IV, do not underestimate them, especially in the Crystal Spire towards the end of the Act.
Things to do:
Stack your primary stat
Have Life Regeneration
Choose to live aside from fighting. For example if you are next to a zone that moves you closer to your quest completion, take it and disregard unnecessary encounters.
Pay attention to cooldowns and try to line up item attributes with your passive and active skills. For example I used bleed damage and thorns as well as lifesteal on my gear. “Tough as Nails” increases thorn damage. Rend places a devastating bleed DoT on all targets around me. I have lifesteal on weapon and numerous items to increase it’s effectiveness and almost all gear had some form of life regeneration on it, leaving long drawn out encounters, to lean in my favor as life ticked, cooldowns become available for use and enemies continuing to hit me take damage without me engaging.
Blizzard may have killed Deckard Cain but Direblade survived and here is the proof:
