Starting a Barbarian

Overview
Barbarians primarily only fill one or two of the MMO archetypes (DPS) although some builds can also function as minor Crowd Control
 * DPS - Barbarians are the number one melee class for DPS in DDO. Other classes can come close depending on their build and the situation, but barbarians dominate this role.
 * Tanking - Barbarians have the highest base hit points of any class, along with great DR, and saving throws making them very tough tanks.
 * Healing - Barbarians have no innate ability to serve as healers, and must rely on either other party members or supplies for their own healing.
 * Crowd Control - There is typically only one type of build that can occupy the crowd control role, and that is the 'Tank' build which uses the intimidate skill to manage aggro. However, with their high strength, barbarians are good at tripping and landing stunning blows.
 * Support - Barbarians have no skills, abilities, or spells that allow them to fill this role in any way.

Note that while Barbarians are the primary DPS class in DDO, they do so only with many sacrifices: Due to this if they wish to serve as good tanks they really need to rely on their high hitpoints, DR, saving throws and third party healing to survive, or else in the case of easier foes must rely on their high DPS to kill the enemy quickly before it can kill them.
 * They will never have the armor class that other tank classes are able to obtain.
 * They need to be raged to do well, and rage prevents the using of many things such as spells, clickies, and even certain potions.
 * At the higher levels a good portion of their DPS comes from Frenzy and Supreme cleave, both of which come at the heavy cost of inflicting self damage.

Types of Barbarians
There are generally three types of common Barbarian builds:
 * Two-Handed Fighting (THF) - The most common build type. Focuses on the extra damage bonus of Two-handed weapons to increase their DPS for both single target and multi target fighting.
 * Two Weapon Fighting (TWF) - The second most common build. Focuses on the extra attacks two weapon fighting gives them to increases their DPS, but only for a single target.
 * Tank - Either of the above two styles can serve as tanks. To do so is more skill- and gear-dependent than build-dependent on a Barbarian, as the key things you need to serve as a good tank mainly come from free class abilities. There will however be some small need to sacrifice some of your DPS ability in order to maximize hitpoints, damage reduction and saves. It's also recommended to invest in the intimidate skill to control aggro.

Nearly all Barbarian builds fit one of these three categories. Most other build types are achieved by multi-classing barbarians with other classes.

Race
Dwarf, Warforged and Half-Orc are pretty much tied as ideal Barbarian races. They all make excellent Barbarians, and each have their own pros and cons. Human and Half-Elf are tied for a close 2nd place - they make great Barbarians if you can find a good way to make use of their extra feat or Half-Elf's Delitant Feat. Halfling can be a good choice if you're planning on a more advanced multiclass build that incorporates 2 Rogue levels along with good skills and sneak attack damage (see the multiclass section). If not, stick to the main 4 races. Half-Elf: While they have no major defining abilities like the other races, they are the easiest race to get a very high healing amp score on, and as such make fairly decent tanks. Elf/Drow: -2 con = Squishy caster races, their Con penalties are just far too severe for a class that extremely heavily relies on Con. Avoid them when making a barbarian unless you're 100% set on being a pointy-eared rager, in which case you certainly can, as race really doesn't have too huge an impact in DDO. Really all races are perfectly viable when built and played correctly.

Warforged:
Pros:

Cons:
 * +2 con free, and more from enhancements, means more hit points. Always good.
 * +3 Power attack enhancement: This means more DPS - if you can handle the to-hit penalty. DPS is king in DDO so this is important.
 * Can be healed by both divine and arcane classes. This lets you find groups much more easily, which is especially useful if you're new to the game and don't know many players yet.
 * Tactics enhancements. Your stuns and trips will land more often, you want this.
 * Built in free immunities. While for the most part other races can attain most of what matters here, this still frees up inventory slots for better gear.
 * Full list of Immunities:
 * Immunity to Poison (can be duplicated by either Proof Against Poison item or a Neutralize Poison spell/potion)
 * Immunity to Disease (can be duplicated by a Disease Immunity item)
 * Immunity to Paralysis including Hold Person, Hold Monster (can be duplicated by Freedom of Movement spell or the Kundarak Delving Boots)
 * Immunity to Flesh to Stone (cannot be duplicated)(Note Flesh to Stone is different from the Stone Prison effect)
 * Immunity to Energy Drain effects (can be duplicated by a Deathward spell)
 * Half damage from Negative Energy damage (cannot be duplicated)
 * Immunity to Fatigue from Rage. This means you will never be fatigued after a rage runs out, quite handy for leveling 1-16. (Note all races gain this feature at level 17)

Minor Cons:
 * Pay to play race. Unlike Dwarf and Human, you must purchase this race from the DDO Store if you want to play it. (or sign up for VIP)
 * -50% healing penalty. This only applies to divine healing, so clerics, favored souls and some bards may have trouble healing you, which can make you unpopular among certain players. This is somewhat counter balanced by the fact you can and should acquire healing amp gear, and group with wizards or sorcerers willing to reconstruct you however.


 * -2 Wisdom. Will save is still important to Barbarians, and since Warforged get absolutely no bonuses to saves, this can become a problem for select quests. If you do play one, put some consideration into keeping your will save up through putting points in wisdom and/or items that boost saves.
 * -Cannot wear armor of any kind. Instead you wear Docents, which are generally just as good, but in a couple very rare end game cases this means less DPS (Epic Marilith chain for example) For most players this won't have any real impact.
 * -2 Charisma. Doesn't really matter.

Overall:

Very strong and very popular choice. Except for half-orcs, they tend to have the highest end-game DPS. The ability to be healed by arcanes also makes you an ideal end-game tank for certain raids which feature healing curses. If you plan to make your Barbarian a good endgame raid tank with strong DPS, definitely consider Warforged. Recommended for new players and veterans alike.

Dwarf:
Pros:

Cons: Minor Cons:
 * Tactics enhancements. Same as Warforged.
 * Dwarves are masters of Axes! Axes are the often the best weapons for Barbarians so this is a very nice bonus. Up to +2 to hit and +2 damage with Axes via enhancement. Especially powerful at low level, and remains useful at endgame. Pre-End game when you can afford big to-hit penalties (really weeks/months past endgame considering the gear-grind required), this gives Dwarves superior DPS to Warforged.
 * +2 Con free, more from enhancements. Same as Warforged
 * +2 bonus to saves vs spells. and up to +5 via enhancements. This is a major defensive boost against certain foes, don't underestimate it.
 * The toughest, sturdiest overall race. Has various other small defensive bonuses which help out such as +4 balance, +2 saves vs poison, +4 AC vs Giants.
 * No healing penalty like Warforged get makes the Dwarf the overall best end-game tank for any boss that doesn't impose divine-healing curses.
 * Free to play race.
 * Unlike the Warforged, arcanes cannot heal you. If your friends are arcane and all the CLR/FVS/BRD are busy you're pretty much out of luck and will have to rely on either potions or hirelings.
 * -2 Charisma. No big deal.

Overall: The original ultimate Barbarian Race. Before Warforged got some major boosts (free immunities), Dwarf was the only logical choice. Nowadays you got options... But Dwarf remains very strong. If you want to be the ultimate tank for the deadliest of endgame bosses, Dwarf is the best choice. Sure a couple bosses impose an annoying healing penalty - but mostly just horned devils, which tend not to be the major threats. The major threats in the current important endgame raids are Abishai, Pit Fiends, Mariliths and Lichs - all of which love to spam spells in your face.. So your dwarven spell resist really pays off there. And being a dwarf is just plain cool. You get the biggest axe you can find and just go to town, Dwarves are very sturdy and thus very easy to play. Highly recommended for a new player's first character as well as veterans seeking to build a strong raid tank.

Half-Orc:
Pros:

Cons:
 * +2 Strength free. +2 more Strength from enhancements always. +2 EVEN MORE Strength while raged via enhancement.. Half-Orcs are insanely strong.
 * +4 damage with two handed weapons via enhancement. And even more with power attack enhancements. Another reason they are the DPS MASTERS.
 * Half-Orc extra action boosts are quite useful, and cost less AP then the standard barbarian variety
 * Only 3 pros? Meh. DPS > Everything, far as Barbarians are concerned.
 * No Con bonus. Barbarians, especially Frenzy Berserker (which you have to be no matter what at the moment as it is curently the only PrE) are extremely dangerous to everyone - including themselves.. So you need to have a lot of hit points to stay alive and keep the pressure on the enemy. After all, your DPS is zero when you're dead. That said, Half-Orcs can certainly attain a great hit point score, it's just a longer and harder road to get there.
 * No saves bonuses. Again, not quite as sturdy as the mighty Dwarves.
 * No heals from arcane.. Unlike the Warforged, Orcs cannot be healed (well) by arcanes.
 * -2 Int. This one's unique to Orcs. This is a bit of a con for 2 reasons: 1. One less skill point per level. 2. Silver flame potions - These are the ultimate endgame Barbarian's best friend, they can heal you for over 350! points of damage. However, to effectively use them you need all of your stats to be at least 11. 6 Base in 2 stats makes that a very difficult task.

However to keep this in perspective - I'd guess that less then 10% of level 20 Barbarians even have access to these potions, let alone effectively use them. They're not critical to being effective in groups. But they do make a difference. Minor cons:
 * -2 Charisma. Same as Dwarf and Warforged.
 * Pay to Play Race like the Warforged. Either pay the price on the DDO Store, or subscribe as a VIP.

Overall: Half-Orcs are the latest addition to the ideal Barbarian races. They are the ultimate DPS, and sometimes that's all that matters.

Other times - there's more to consider.. Such as defense, their lack of extra con bonuses, or bonuses to saves makes them somewhat non-ideal as tanks. They can certainly make very adequate endgame tanks, it's just harder to do so, and when Dwarfs, Warforged or even Humans are in the raid party, as they probably will be, they will be considered first. Also keep in mind a part of their DPS bonus only applies to Two handed weapons, so if you're set on a Two-Weapon Fighting Barbarian, their DPS advantage is much smaller. Thus, Highly recommended for veteran THF players seeking the ultimate in DPS no matter the cost. Not recommended as tank-Barbarians or for new players still learning the ropes. Best considered for either TR builds or regular players who plan to run often with more sturdy tank characters.

Human:
Pros:

Averages: Cons: Overall: Humans are very basic. Not the best DPS and not the best tank. You're decent at both - a jack of all trades, master of none. However, if you are planning to TR your old melee into a new Barbarian, that extra feat can be quite nice to fit one of the fairly powerful past life feats in. Thus:
 * Bonus Feat!! - Barbarians are a feat starved class due to Turbine sticking it to us forcing us to take cleave (Required by Frenzy Berserker). This can make quite the difference. But you have to actually spend it on something worth-while. Very build dependent.
 * Human Adaptability. This is basically +1 to any 2 stats at the cost of 6 action points. So you can get 1 Str and 1 Con and approach the stats of a Dwarf or Half-Orc, but never quite match them.
 * Human Improved Recovery. 10%/20%/30% healing amp for 2/4/6 AP. Expensive, but the 1st/2nd tiers can definitely be worth it. Healing amp is a primary stat for Barbarians, especially if you plan on tanking challenging end game raids.
 * Bonus skill point. 1 per level. Very minor for this class.
 * Your stats are all even. No bonuses, no penalties.
 * Your stats are all even. No bonuses, no penalties.
 * Human Versatility. Someday these might be a worthwhile enhancement, if we get a cheaper PrE and can fit it. But for most solid builds these days, you simply cannot fit these enhancements into a good human build - at least not above rank 1, which isn't very powerful.
 * Your stats are all even. No bonuses (without spending AP on noted enhancements).


 * Somewhat recommended as a veteran TR Build.
 * Not recommended for new players unless you have a specific reason to want to the extra feat and desire to be average.

Half-Elf:
Pros:

Averages: Cons:
 * Dilettante feat at level 1. This means you can pretend to be a Monk Barbarian, even though that's, like, illegal in 74 countries. Either way, it's a huge benefit as the Monk Dilettante unlocks some very powerful healing amplification enhancements.
 * You're kinda human. You gain most of the human enhancements, but not the bonus feat.
 * Human Adaptability. This is basically +1 to any 2 stats at the cost of 6 action points. So you can get 1 Str and 1 Con, and approach the stats of a Dwarf or a Half-Orc, but never quite match them.
 * Human Improved Recovery. 10%/20%, you don't get the 30% one like humans but you do get:
 * Monk Improved Recovery 1 and 2 (2/4ap) which add an additional 10%/20%.. Since these are all multiplicative, your total healing amp percentage can get pretty crazy high - allowing for very easy and cheap healing while soloing and while tanking in raids. Extremely useful if you plan on tanking without requiring the healers to use up too many resources.
 * Your stats are all even. No bonuses, no penalties.
 * Your stats are all even. No bonuses, no penalties.
 * Human Versatility. Someday these might be a worthwhile enhancement, if we get a cheaper PrE and can fit it. But for most solid builds these days, you simply cannot fit these enhancements into a good human build (at least not above rank 1, which is not very powerful.
 * Fair average race for Barbarians, no major DPS bonuses like some of the other races.
 * Pay to Play Race like the Warforged. Either pay the price on the DDO Store, or subscribe as a VIP.
 * Your stats are all even! No bonuses, no penalties.

Overall: Half-Elves are really really good at one specific thing important to Barbarians: Lots of healing amp. But keep in mind gear can trump racial features, so any race - even Warforged can eventually get a nice healing amp score. So how much this is a benefit to you really depends on your goals as a player.

And given the average stats, like humans, you simply aren't that great DPS. You aren't the best tank - Dwarf is still better because of his huge saves bonuses despite your really good healing amp. You're just, well, a half breed. Half way between everything. Not as bad as a full on Elf, but not nearly as good as Dwarf, Half-Orc or Warforged. About as good as a human.


 * Not recommended for new players unless you have a specific reason to want to be a Half-Elf.

So pick what suits you. But keep in mind race isn't a huge factor in DDO as it might seem, so if you simply like the look of Half-Orcs over Dwarfs, feel free to select it for that reason alone. In DDO ranking what has the biggest factors on success or failure are:
 * Player Skill/Knowledge. Knowing what to do and how to do it is the biggest factor in this game. A very skilled and knowledgeable player can make even the weakest races and builds beat the toughest content in the game.
 * Build. A bad build can cause major problems, though hard to mess up a Barbarians, it's entirely possible.
 * Gear. Gear especially in the endgame very much trumps any bonuses you'll get from your race, and can more than make up for any cons the race you select may have.

Stats

 * Strength - The primary stat for a Barbarian. Nearly every recommended build starts with the maximum allowed strength. And also put all level up points into it. Then use rage, enhancements, items, buffs, etc. to raise it as high as they can in the game as every point can make quite a difference.
 * Dexterity - Mainly useful on Two-Weapon builds as 17 dex (Base, including only tomes) is required to qualify for Improved Two Weapon Fighting. Barbarians will never get an armor class that matters, except on very specialized builds, so the main use for dexterity is meeting the requirements of the Improved Two Weapon Fighting] feat and improving reflex saves.
 * Constitution - After strength (and 17 dex] for TWF builds), the next most important stat. [[Constitution determines the hit points a character has.  With no armor class to speak of, a barbarian relies on his hit points to keep him alive until he can kill the enemy.  Constitution also determines the length of time the barbarian is able to remain enraged.
 * Intelligence - Of very little use to barbarians. With a base of 4 skill points per level, Barbarians can generally maximize there primary skills without investing much at all in here. As generally only 2-3 skills are important. However 1-2 points are sometimes used in more advanced builds planning on keeping stats above 11 to be able to use silver flame potions effectively at the endgame.
 * Wisdom - While slightly useful because it is the base stat for will save, wisdom is typically only raised by a couple points on most builds, as Barbarians otherwise get great will saves from their rage alone.
 * Charisma - Slightly useful to the Tank build because the intimidate skill is based off charisma, but even they generally only put a few points into it if any as there are very few left to spread around after the primary stats are filled.

Feats
The following feats are common ones for barbarians to take:


 * Two-Handed Fighting / Improved Two-Handed Fighting / Greater Two-Handed Fighting - The standard feat chain for 2-handed fighter builds, they give the possibility of extra DPS from glancing blows. Every Two-handed focused build should try to fit all three.
 * Two-Weapon Fighting / Improved Two-Weapon Fighting / Greater Two-Weapon Fighting - The standard feat chain for 2-weapon fighter builds. It reduces the penalty for wielding two weapons at once and allows for higher chance of procing offhand attacks. Every Two-weapon focused build should try to fit all three.
 * Cleave - In of itself, not a great feat.. But it is required to unlock the Frenzied Berserker enhancements - which are extremely powerful and a must have for all Barbarians. They also unlock the use of the Supreme cleave ability - which is essentialy a supremely improved version of great cleave, so Great cleave itself should never be taken, as this free version is far superior.
 * Power Attack - Taken by virtually all barbarians, especially since the barbarian to-hit score is so high the penalty this feat gives is negligable, and with two-handed weapons the bonus it gives is doubled
 * Improved Critical - Taken by virtually all barbarians as when a Barbarian lands a critical blow, it deals incredible damage, so doubling that chance is a massive increase to there DPS.

So by taking 3 of the two handed or two weapon line, and the other 3 above feats. Thats 6 feats spend, Pure non-human Barbarians only get a total of 7 feats, thus the last recommended feat is often highly debated upong which is best. The two most commonly agreed upon feats for that final slot are:
 * Stunning Blow - Taken by Barbarians that really want to crush basic enemies as fast as possible, speeding up content and reducing damage taken as a stunned enemy cannot fight back.
 * Toughness - A common for Barbarians who wish to tank and survive a lot of punishment. It can be taken many times, but is generally only cost effective to take once and even then only if you plan on taking the enhancements to increase the hit points it grants.

Since choosing between the above two very useful feats can be very difficult, some players opt to instead multi-class the Barbarian by taking 2 levels of figther, and thus being able to fit both of the above feats, and even 1 more.

Enhancements
The following enhancements are some of the most common for Barbarians to take:


 * Barbarian Damage Reduction Boost - useful to all barbarians, it is most important on DR tank builds
 * Barbarian Intimidate - +1/2/3/4 intimidate - only useful if you really need those last few points to hit a threshold of a particular raid boss you wish to tank often.
 * Barbarian Toughness - Taken by builds that use the toughness feat
 * Barbarian Constitution - Used by some builds to increase their constitution
 * Barbarian Willpower - Taken by most builds to increase their will save while raging
 * Barbarian Extend Rage - Taken by virtually all barbarians to make their rages last longer per use
 * Barbarian Extra Rage - Taken by virtually all barbarians to give them extra rage uses per rest
 * Barbarian Hardy Rage - Taken by some builds to increase their constitution while raging
 * Barbarian Power Rage - Taken by virtually all barbarians to increase their strength while raging
 * Frenzied Berserker enhancements - Should be taken by every Barbarian as they provide massive increases to DPS. Be sure to take a look at the pre-requisites and pick those up as well to qualify.