Currently, I’ve tested every class in Dark and Darker and leveled them all up to at least level 15 to unlock all their perks. I find Barbarian to be absolutely dominant in PVP, especially in solo play. But that’s not how people usually play Barbarian.

Most people playing Barbarian use big, bulky two-handed weapons. This slows them down and makes it easy for enemies to dodge damage. However, with this build, I can use the little Horseman’s Axe to do massive damage to enemies. Meanwhile, it still has good movement speed. So let’s talk about the build.

Barbarian Perks

The first is Axe Specialization. This causes axe attacks to add an extra 5 points of weapon damage to your damage. If you’re using a small, fast Horseman’s Axe, you’ll benefit most from this perk through faster access. Because it has a bigger damage increase percentage and you attack faster.

Next up is Savage, which increases your physical damage bonus by 10% when you’re not wearing any chest armor. We weren’t wearing breastplates, which also helped us move faster. So we might also have a 10% higher physical damage bonus.

The 10% physical damage bonus is equivalent to the damage you would get if you added 10 more points of strength. Our stamina is 40%, but when I wear Ox Pendant with +2 strength, my stamina can go up to 42%.

Next, we need to add 10% more HP. Barbarian has high health due to its high strength. Because for every point of strength you gain, you gain two points of maximum health. So 10% more health will definitely have a noticeable impact on Barbarian, especially when stacked with more power.

Finally, we have Morale Boost. Barbarians don’t have powerful healing abilities, so this will help you regain a bit of health after fighting players.

Morale Boost can also help you fend off third parties trying to kill you when you’ve been injured in a previous battle. With our current health, we instantly regain 22 health after defeating a player, which is better than most potions or bandages.

Barbarian Abilities

These are all set in stone when it comes to abilities. We’re running Rage to add 15% strength and 15% movement speed buffs for 8 seconds. This is an incredible damage and speed buff. It can help you win battles and catch retreating players.

Barbarian Achilles Strike

The second ability is Achilles Strike. This is a weapon buff that causes your next attack to deal with additional physical damage. It also slows down enemies and deals massive damage to them while moving for two seconds. Note that Achilles Strike is wasted if you hit a wall or shield with your weapon, so be sure to land this one.

Achilles Strike Fists

By the way, Achilles Strike also works on your fists. So if someone is running away, you can use X to retract your axe and activate rage for the damage and movement speed bonus. Then activate Achilles Strike and slam the retreating player.

Barbarian Cheap Gear

Now let’s talk about gear. The most important thing you need is Horseman’s Axe. You can buy the cheapest gray Horseman’s Axe from Weaponsmith. By the way, you can dual-wield Horseman’s Axe and Hatchet and alternate left-click and right-click for more damage.

To be honest, Horseman’s Axe is pretty good on its own. And Barbarian provided the boots for free from the beginning.

For cheap treatments, I like to grab two of the cheaper Healing Potions from Alchemist. Then buy a cheap Bandage from a Surgeon.

Barbarian Medium Gear

If you want better gear, some Leather Gloves and Leggings are a must. Leather Gloves can be obtained from Leathersmith. It gives you 1 point of agility with no movement penalty and only costs 5 Dark and Darker Gold. This helps you swing faster and move faster.

If Leathersmith sells thick Leather Leggings, you need to get them to increase your strength by 1. If not, you can also go to Tailor and spend 8 Gold to get a pair of baggy pants and add 1 point of Agility.

Barbarian Expensive Gear

As you win games and become more confident, you may want to risk more Dark and Darker Gold in your builds. One of the first tasks is to improve your weapons. You can buy the green Horseman’s Axe from Barbarian Trading Post for only 50 gold. You can also get Ox Pendant from a Utility Trade Post to increase your power.

Of course, be aware of the enhancements or modifiers that add weapon damage to the gear you can use. Don’t forget, you can also get more expensive Healing Potions or Bandages from Alchemist and Surgeon.

Anyway, that concludes this guide on the best classes for PVP and their builds. Hopefully, this will help you create even better PVP builds. Good luck.