BVC construction -- what do you think ?

PvP BvC Guide.
BvC General Compilation Guide (PvP):
Diablo II: Version – 1.11b.

Table of Contents (General Topics Only):
I. – Introduction
II. – By
III. – About
IV. – What is a BvC?
V. – Why should I play the BvC?
VI. – Goals
VII. – Frames
VIII. – Stats
IX. – Skills
X. – Equipment
XI. – PvP
XII. – Strategies
XIII. – Team Play
XIV. – Mercenary
XV. – Summary
XVI. – Conclusion
XVII. – Special Thanks

I. Introduction:
The BvC is a class that has been explored heavily. There have been many great BvC players that have taken the entire class to a different level. However, all great things come to an end, as soon as people realized that max block heavily cripples this build, this build fell out of favor rather quickly. However, it still remains as one of the most defining and popular builds in PvP today.

This is a relatively long guide as I describe why stuff are used, not just outlining them. If you’re feeling lazy or are just uninterested, you can skip to the very end where there is a summary.

II. By:
This guide was written by me (Yuqing) with comments/opinions/calculations and editing by both Ce Olba and Mainaman.

The works of Ce Olba and Mainaman will be quoted with their names.

This guide was also written with the tests and ideas/theories of McM, Morotsjos and Blobs. Many videos and sites are featured in this guide and they will be credited accordingly at the very end.

III. About:
This guide is written for the general masses by the general masses. It compiles information me and many other people have gathered over several years. BvC does require wealth and that is unavoidable. I write this guide expecting you to know most of the abbreviations and terms though I do describe most of them.

If you have any further questions on abbreviations please visit this following link:
http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=538888

Keep in mind that this, like all guides, is only a guideline and while could be followed exactly, shouldn’t be. Improvisation is encouraged after all.

IV. What is a BvC?
A BvC (Barbarian vs. Caster) is a build of Barbarian that focuses heavily on anti-caster player kill. It utilizes teleport and Whirlwind while dual wielding two weapons (most commonly axe as it allows the most versatility) to catch and lock opponents in order to kill. Due to the nature of this build, it tends to be one of the most expensive builds to use, but also one of the deadliest when used correctly.

The name BvC shouldn’t be taken too literally. Although they are great at what they’re built to do: Kill Casters, they also excel against other classes. A well built BvC in the hands of a skill player has the potential to kill every build out there with the exception of a well played BvB (Barbarian vs. Barbarian. Like the name states, it’s built to kill other Barbarians. This is the bane of the BvC build.). BvBs (especially good ones) are practically non-existent these days, so they shouldn’t serve too much a problem either way.

V. Why Should I Play a BvC?
So why should you devote mountains of resources and hours of your life into playing a BvC? There are a few reasons:

The potential to beat all characters with the exception of the BvBs.
A dynamic moving skill (Whirlwind) allows for a lot of strategy.
Unabsorbable damage. (Physical/Magic [Berserk]).
Whirlwind is a multi-hitting attack with a greater chance to hit than stationary skills such as concentrate, it also allows a higher chance to trigger mods such as Deadly Strike (2x damage) and Crushing Blow (1/10 of the opponent’s HP in PvP before DR)
Allows versatility with gear changes.
All Vita build allows for massive life. (Often 7k+ after BO)
Great team player due to BO.
Difficult to play. *


With pros, there are always cons:

Max block heavily cripples this build. A lot of players has max block right now.
Although it’s irresistible damage, DR (Damage Reduction [Physical]) can potential half the damage.
CtC (Chance to Cast) items do not trigger during WW.
WW despite everything else, is item dependant and relies on Attack Rating, you will have trouble hitting some of the higher defense characters without a lot of Attack Rating.
It’s cookie-cutter.
It requires nearly unlimited wealth to be very successful.
Difficult to play. *


*This is both a pro and a con. Some people like the challenge of a harder to play character because it will not be boring to constantly play, always able to improve. And of course there are lazy people that prefer a single button character.

VI. Goals:
Massive Life (At least 6k+)
Ability to hit 50% DR when necessary.
Ability to use widow maker when necessary.
At least 75% all resistance. (Before Anya quest) **
Ability to stack massive resistances and absorb when necessary.
40% FCR
48% FHR
25k+ Attack Rating when needed.


**Anya quest is currently bugged. When you die once, the resistances you get from the quest no longer apply, though they are still displayed.

VII. Frames:
Every action in Diablo is defined by frames. In order to speed up the frames, we use faster hit recovery, faster cast rate or faster block rate. Since FBR is useless to this build, it is not included.

Most commonly, we’ll be aiming for these breakpoints:

FHR Frames
FCR Frames
0% 9
0% 13
7% 8
9% 12
15% 7
20% 11
27% 6
37% 10
48% 5
63% 9
86% 4
105% 8
200% 3
200% 7

Underlined and Bolded = most commonly used.
Bolded = less commonly used.

These are the measures of how fast you recover from an attack, and how fast you cast a spell. These can be increased by items with +x% Faster Hit Recovery and + x% Faster Cast Rate respectively.

Some facts to know:
There are 25 frames in one second.
An attack will send you into Hit Recovery when:

It deals more than 1/12th of your total hit points.
You are currently stunned (white swirl over your head caused by attacks like smite, mindblast, etc.
The cast animation of a spell is fixed. There is no way to increase this. What FCR increases is the duration when your character is in process of casting the spell. (For example: when your character raises their arms in order to teleport. The arm rising is sped up by FCR but the actual white spark of the teleport is not.)
In between FCR/FHR does NOT increase speed. Breakpoints are defined; there is no difference between a 37% FCR teleport and a 62% FCR teleport.


Most of the time, we will aim for 10 frame cast and 5 frame recovery. There are times we need to go beyond this limit such as when facing Ghost Assassins (higher FHR) and Skilled Bone Necromancers (Higher FCR).

Barbarians have the highest FCR along with Sorceresses, so this build uses full advantage of that in order to keep up with casters.

There is a third type of frame that is important to the BvC, and that is attack frame which can be boosted by IAS (increased attack speed). The attributes of this is a bit more complicated and will be discussed later.

VIII. Stats:
The stat of a Barbarian determines a few things:

Strength: Strength allows you to use your equipment, the higher your strength, the heavier equipment you can use. Strength also has a bonus of 1% off-weapon enhanced damage per point for all non-maul/hammer type weapons. But that 1% is not very significant in the end, so it’s best to keep this stat as low as possible.

Dexterity: Dexterity also allows you to use your equipment. But for a BvC, none of the items require a high amount of dexterity with the possible exception of a Widowmaker bow. (146 / 124 / 117 dexterity with base / -15% requirement jewel / Hel rune respectively.)

One point of Dexterity results in 5 points of Attack Rating and every 4 points of dexterity is approximately 1 point of base defense. The most significant part of dexterity is the fact that it increases the chance to block. But for a dual wielding Barbarian that’s insignificant.

Vitality: For Barbarians, and almost all other classes and sub-classes, this is the most important attribute. Higher life = live longer = more damage. Every point of vitality increases base life by 4 for Barbarians. It also grants 1 point of stamina.

Energy: Contrary to Vita, energy is the most useless stat for most classes and sub-classes with the exception of the Energy Shield Sorceress. One point of Energy grants a measly 1 point of mana.

The default stats of a Barbarian are these:
Strength: 30 Hit Points: 55
Dexterity: 20 Stamina: 92
Vitality: 25 Mana: 10
Energy: 10

Each level up yields you: 2 life, 1 mana and 1 stamina.

The BvC is most commonly divided into 2 categories:

Base Stat / All Vita:
Strength: Base
Dexterity: Base
Vitality: All
Energy: Base

This build is what most people prefer, and probably the most common. It uses the extra stats from Torch / Anni / Enigma and Beast to wear all items. It offers less flexibility than a Barbarian with stats invested but goes without saying has more life.

Stats Invested:
Strength: 40-60 (Most often, these are not set in stone.)
Dexterity: 40-60 (Most often, these are not set in stone.)
Vitality:Everything you have left
Energy: Base

This build allows you to use fortitude while dual wielding and offers more flexibility due to the ability to use a wider variety of gears than the base vita build. This build allows you to have a Widowmaker without chaining your self to dual Raven Frosts.

You have to figure out how much strength and dexterity you need. It’s impossible for me to determine for you. Find out by putting enough strength for your lowest stat granting item and keep moving up until you can use all of your gear. Same with dexterity.

Quote Originally Posted by Ce Olba
“The optimal values for Strength and Dexterity without counting any Real-specific items are at 63 Strength and 47 Dexterity.”
All Vita Vs. Invested:
Everyone has different opinions on this. I feel that both builds are very viable, but Invested comes out on top for several reasons. The total difference in life is about 500 after BO. While it is a significant amount, it’s not enough to be game breaking. If you constantly need that 500 life to win, that’s saying a lot. The added versatility allows you to use Fortitude / Widowmaker / CoA without depending on other equipment. And although some people find ways around them, or say they are not needed, it’s impossible to say they’re useless. I my self have had way more duels won for me with the ability to slap on a widow or use a fort than having 500 or so more life. In the end, I can’t really say anything. The end product is still up to you, this is what it’s supposed to be; a general guideline.

BvC vs. BvA:
A BvA is generally a BvC except with lower life and the ability to have max block. This while can be done successfully is extremely hard and requires near infinite wealth. Done incorrectly, a BvA will lose up to 1k – 1.5k life. Because a BvC has the ability to beat all characters except a BvB without a shield, a BvA is commonly not needed.