The Barbarian is Dark And Darker's heaviest hitting class. With the capability of killing enemies with as little as two blows to the head with the axe, this class excels in both solo and team play. You're slow, but strong.

RELATED: Dark And Darker: Class Guide

This guide covers the best builds for the Barbarian, starting out from level 0, and then a full perk and ability loadout for a higher level character. We will also cover some of the best gear available for the Barbarian and some general gameplay tips.

We updated this guide in February 2023, for the February playtest of the game. We've included some information on the Barbarian in the new Goblin Cave solo queue, as well as some updated stat info, skill info, and weapon and gear info.

Barbarian Class Overview

The Barbarian is a master of axes and two-handed weapons. You get a significant damage buff while using big, heavy weapons, and although you attack slowly, just one or two well-timed hits to an opponent's head will deal enough damage to destroy their health bar.

• Pros
  • Very strong, hits the hardest of any class in the game
  • Good for solos and for team play
  • Can smash doors and chests
  • More HP than other classes

• Cons
  • Very slow, both in movement speed and attack speed
  • Can get outplayed by faster classes, or it can be hard to catch players running from you

Here's a look at the Barbarian's perks and abilities.

Barbarian Perks And Abilities

Perks
Axe Specialization	+10 base damage to all axes
Berserker	Lower HP means you do extra damage, with a boost up to 18% attack
Carnage	Once you kill an enemy, you get a 10 damage boost for four seconds
Iron Will	Improves magic resistance up to 100
Morale Boost	Get an extra 10% HP after you kill an enemy
Savage	10% extra armor if you aren't wearing chest armor
Smash	Can destroy objects, doors, chests, etc
Toughness	10% extra HP
Two Handed Expert	5% extra damage with Two-Handed weapons
Abilities
Rage	Increase movement speed and strength for a short period, reduces your defense by 20%
Reckless Attack	The next attack you trigger after this ability ignores 75% of enemy armor
Savage Roar	Causes a fear effect and reduces enemy physical defense for 25% for a short period
War Cry	Increases you and your ally's health by 25% for a short duration

read more

At level 0, you can only take one perk. Level 5, 10, and 15 will unlock a new perk slot.

Starter Barbarian Perks And Abilities

We recommend you pick up the Morale Boost perk as your level 0 perk to increase your health regen on both solo and group runs.

As for abilities, Savage Roar and Rage seem to be the meta picks right now. Savage Roar has a fear effect that will send enemy monsters scattering, but will also reduce armor of enemies in PvP. Rage is a great boost for movement speed, because speed is king in Dark And Darker.

Is Solo Barbarian Viable?

The new solo queue has arrived in Dark and Darker - the Goblin Cave is a difficult place to tackle as a beginner, as the goblins and other enemies hit extremely hard. We still think that the Barbarian is one of the best classes for solo play, mostly because of the fear you get from Savage Roar like we mentioned above, but also the impressive damage you can deal to enemy players.

In terms of defeating the Cave Troll, the new solo mode boss, the Barbarian is probably one of the best classes to attempt it entirely on your own without help from other players on the run. Take a big, heavy weapon with plenty of reach, and use the Roar to reduce the boss' armor. You will still need to be quick to pull this off, but we haven't managed to defeat this boss solo with any of the other classes yet.

RELATED: Best Dark And Darker Solo Classes

Max Level Barbarian Build

At max level, you can choose all four perk slots. Here's what your perks and abilities might look like.

We've gone for Morale Boost, Smash, Berserker and Carnage for the perks, and stuck with Savage Roar and Rage for the reason laid out above.

Here's why we've picked those perks.

• Morale Boost - Health regen is very useful for solo, and even if you're running with Cleric, HP regen on the fly is great. Bandages and HP pots render this a bit less useful if you're approaching runs with consumables ready to go.
• Smash - One of the Berserker's most enjoyable abilities if being able to smash doors and chests. This really speeds up your run.
• Berserker - More damage, more fun. You can stack up to an 18% damage boost after multiple successful kills, which is enough to bring the required swings of an axe down from three or four to just two.
• Carnage - Likewise, Carnage is a great offensive passive.

Best Barbarian Gear To Look Out For

Here's a closer look at the sort of weapons and gear you should be keeping an eye out for as a Barbarian.

• Two-Handed Axes are your friend - these things can do massive damage, just aim for the head.
• Depending on whether you've taken the perk that gives you a buff for not wearing chest armor, you're really looking for armor with the best AR (that's Armor Rating), and Armor with the Might stat as this impacts your strength.
• Magical Resistance is another decent attribute to watch out for.
• You should also build up a selection of Green and Blue gear to prepare you for harder runs. Look for gear that has Magic Resistance (Wizards are no joke), or +1 to All Attributes.

Barbarian Gameplay Tips

The Barbarian is slow but powerful. Here are some tips to get better at the class.

• Swing for the head. Downwards swings of your Two-Handed Axe are pretty much guaranteed to cleave an enemy's head. Headshot damage is massive.
• Use your Savage Roar on big groups of enemies. Savage Roar has a fear effect that sends enemies running. You can use this to easily kill groups of enemies.
• Rage is great for closing gaps on enemies or for making an escape.
• Target the squishy classes first. You are able to kill Rogues, Rangers, and Wizards with just a couple of swings with your axe.
• If paired up with a Wizard, ask for the Haste spell. Once this is applied, you can charge at enemies and deal massive damage.

NEXT: Dark And Darker: Beginner Guide