The barbarian is clearly the strongest physical fighter of all Diablo II's character classes. In fact, he makes the original Diablo's warrior class look downright weak by comparison. The barbarian can naturally wield a weapon in each hand, which not only gives him superior attack speed but also lets him equip two powerful magic weapons at once. For instance, the barbarian might have an ax that freezes his enemy in his right hand and a scimitar that leeches the enemy's life in his left. The barbarian can also wield certain two-handed weapons, such as two-handed swords, in one hand. The two-handed weapon's damage rating is reduced somewhat when wielded one-handed, but it still ends up stronger than the equivalent one-handed weapon.

　　The barbarian gets a substantial boost to his maximum hit points for each life point you add to the character upon leveling up. The barbarian starts with high strength and also gets substantial attack and defense bonuses for points added to strength and dexterity. Although he needs mana for his special attacks, the barbarian's skills don't require a lot of mana. The barbarian can run quickly and can hold his own in any fight. His double-attack skill makes him take quick swings at adjacent enemies; his bash lets him deal great damage and knock his enemies back; and his various weapon masteries give him bonuses to sword-, ax-, and mace-class weapons, respectively.

　　Unfortunately, other than his attack skills, the barbarian's various skills available in the beta don't seem particularly interesting or useful. The barbarian has a helpful ability that gives him a percentage chance of finding a health potion on the body of a dead foe; however, it appears as if Blizzard has yet to add corresponding animation for this skill. Additional skill levels put into weapon mastery, bash, or double attack don't seem to lend the barbarian any significant advantage, compared with the spell-casting classes for whom additional skill levels greatly improve their spell effects. The barbarian seems to have several skills that are ineffective and not worth spending skill points on - his leap ability makes him do a standing long jump, but it's fairly slow and doesn't seem useful in battle. Additional skill levels do let the barbarian leap further, so it might be useful at higher levels.

　　He also has skills that give him bonuses to thrown-weapon attacks, but the barbarian doesn't seem well suited to thrown weapons by his very nature. The barbarian's assorted war cries - which can boost his defense ratings, lower his attackers' defenses, or make them flee in panic - seem just marginally useful, although they'd be more beneficial if the barbarian were traveling in a party. He can also boost his stamina rating, which seems ineffectual since all character classes can run for a long time before their stamina runs out. However, increased stamina would let the barbarian run other player characters down if he opted to become a player killer.

　　All things considered, it seems as if many of the barbarian's best traits are inherent. He hits fast, hard, and often, and he can take a real beating. He's an imposing sight on the battlefield, and he can charge into battle without fear. But for now, he doesn't seem as interesting to play as some of the other character classes. Nevertheless, it's possible that his best traits are his high level skills, which Blizzard still hasn't revealed.

　　Please note that our tenth-level hardcore barbarian died bringing you the preceding information.