Best Dark and Darker Barbarian Weapons

Dark and Darker is a first-person extraction shooter that mixes elements from action role-playing games, roguelike, and survival games. The game features nine character classes each with their unique abilities, skills, and perks. In this article, we will look at one character class: the hard-hitting Barbarian.

What is the Barbarian Class?

The Barbarian is one of the nine character classes in Dark and Darker. This class is highlighted by its great amounts of Strength and HP, while conversely having very low movement speed (Agility) and magic defense. Barbarians are experts in two-handed combat and have a plethora of weapons to choose from. They also benefit from armors which gives them various buffs like weapon damage, movement speed, and armor rating.

Overview of Barbarian Skills and Perks

Barbarians are built with pure offense in mind. That said, the skills and perks of this class are oriented towards offensive strategies to overcome obstacles in the game.

Skills

• Achilles Strike: Hitting the enemy’s ankle gives a +10 increase in physical damage and reduces their movement by 10%. They also take 5 damage whenever they move.
• Blood Exchange: Max health is reduced by 25% for six seconds while giving back 5% of the character’s maximum health with each successful hit. Great to pair with Berserker perk.
• Life Siphon: Lose 24 HP for eight seconds while gaining +4 to all attributes while the skill is in effect.
• Rage: Strength is increased, and movement speed is increased by 15%. This is at the expense of having a –20% defense reduction for a short period of time.
• Reckless Attack: After a successful hit, the next one ignores 75% of the enemy’s defense. The character’s aggression results in a –55 decrease in armor rating.
• Savage Roar: Makes a roaring sound that frightens enemies within a 7.5-meter radius and reduces their physical damage bonuses by 25%. This effect lasts six seconds.
• Warcry: Gives a temporary 25% HP boost for you and your allies. This effect lasts seven seconds.

Perks

• Axe Specialization: Gains an additional 5 weapon damage when using an axe.
• Berserker: As the Barbarian loses HP, their physical attack power rises. Each 10% HP loss is converted into 3% attack power, up to a maximum of 30%.
• Carnage: After an enemy is killed, gain 10 Strength. This lasts for seven seconds.
• Crush: The Barbarian can break doors and chests. This also increases the impact of the Barbarian’s attacks by 1 point.
• Executioner: Gives a bonus of 10% headshot damage when using an axe.
• Iron Will: Gives a 100-point increase to Magic Resistance rating.
• Morale Boost: Gives a 12% HP regeneration after killing an enemy.
• Potion Chugger: Increases potion effects by 20% while decreasing its duration by 20%.
• Robust: Gives an additional 10% HP.
• Savage: Gives a 10% increase in physical damage bonus when not wearing any chest armor.
• Two-Hander: Gives the Barbarian a 5% increased physical attack power when using a two-handed weapon.
• Treacherous Lungs: Shouts gain a 25% increase in duration.

Weapons

• Bardiche
• Battle Axe
• Double Axe
• Felling Axe
• Quarterstaff
• War Maul
• Zweihander
• Axe of Righteousness
• Divine Axe
• Divine Staff
• Golden Felling Axe
• Staff of Righteousness
• Sterling Axe
• Sterling Staff
• Troll’s Bane
• Club
• Horseman’s Axe
• Viking Sword
• Boneshaper
• Golden Viking Sword
• Hatchet
• Round Shield
• Francisca Axe

The Best Weapons for Barbarians

The Felling Axe is a heavily favored weapon for Barbarians in Dark and Darker. It has a high damage output and can break doors and chests with relative ease. However, since it is a two-handed weapon, it has a slow attack speed and windup which makes the Barbarian an easy target if their attack misses or gets blocked/parried. This is still a great choice of weapon since it edges out the other two-handed weapons in terms of attack speed.

Also, the Golden Felling Axe is a crafted item. It does more damage than the normal Felling Axe for the same attack speed.

Another weapon to consider is the aptly named Zweihander (German for “two-hander”). This two-handed sword deals a lot of damage at the expense of slow attack speed. Its damage scales with each impact zone where the weapon actually hits the target. This weapon does gain a bonus from the Barbarian’s Two-Handed perk, but I think it is more of a situational weapon choice depending on your own play style.

For those who want to use one-handed weapons for dual wielding, the choices are limited. The best one-handed weapon for the Barbarian is the Horseman’s Axe since it gives the best damage output and attack speed.

Recommended Builds

While this article focuses on the Barbarian’s best weapons, it is crucial to know the builds and loadouts for this character class.

There are two build paths for Barbarians: Axemaster and Brutish. Both builds rely heavily on the Felling Axe as the main weapon. Of course, this will largely depend on your playing style so try to find a good weapon that suits you. In the meantime, consider the Felling Axe as the main weapon of choice for either build.

Axemaster

Perks: Axe Specialization, Two-Hander, Executioner. These perks greatly increase the damage output and effectiveness of your two-handed weapon. An optional fourth Perk can be Morale Boost, Savage, or Berserker.

Skills: Achilles Strike can make nimble classes like Rogues fumble. You can swap this out with Rage, depending on your style. Reckless Attack is a no-brainer here since it negates a significant portion of the enemy’s physical defense. Pair that with the perks in this build and you’ll get to deal a good amount of damage.

Brutish

Perks: Savage, Berserker, Robust. These perks make the Brutish Barbarian what it is. By focusing on damage increase, the Brutish Barbarian can clear enemies with relative ease. As an optional fourth perk, you can choose between Executioner, Carnage, or Crush.

Skills: Savage Roar and Reckless Attack. These two skills are great for Brutish Barbarians since it gives the necessary boosts they need when initiating an attack.

Conclusion

The Barbarian class is a good starting character class if you are used to the usual limitations of the class particularly its movement and attack speed. In a party, the Barbarian benefits greatly from Clerics who can give them buffs. So, consider that when teaming up.