[WIP] The Pro Barbarian Assault Guide

[mrlandslide]

I am working on Text first, and then will implement pictures, so don't worry about this being a picture-less block of text. Many, many, many pictures will come, trust me.

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The Professional Barbarian Assault Guide

 

 

Now Barbarian Assault is a game that is played by many, but truly known and understood by few. This is of course because of the fighter torso, and so many people will venture into this activity and end up spending days, perhaps even weeks, of "torture" to acquire the 375 points in each role needed for the fabled (and in my opinion ridiculously overestimated) fighter torso. If however, you are one who plays simply for fun, or enjoys playing BA enough to play to fill up the Penance Horn for extra Agility, Mining, or Firemaking XP, then this guide is for you.

Note that in no way do I consider myself the best BA player nor that I know everything, but the vast majority of important information will be contained here and will hopefully always be growing, as the higher end BA players are constantly learning new things off of one another. Also I am sure I will miss a few things, so feel free to show me so that this guide can be better thanks to you.

 

There are 7 parts to this guide besides the intro, each giving advanced direction to a different part of Barbarian Assault. These are The Lobby (Before and After Waves), Attacker, Collector, Healer, Defender, Overall Advice, and The Term List. So let's get started!

 

[spoiler=The Lobby Before and After Waves]

 

Choosing Your Team

Choosing your team is extremely important, and there are a few things you should realize in deciding rather a particular person/team is a good choice. In the order of most to least important they are:

 

1. Chosen Role Level. This directly affects the performance of a player, and in some roles (Healer and Defender) not having level 5 simply will not cut it for a "pro" team or even this guide.

2. Full Penance Gear (Not just a torso). This means that the person is not there just for the torso or even xp, and therefore probably is very informed about the nuances of the game. (Yes this is more important than Combat Level)

3. Finally Combat Level. When Choosing Attacker this may be slightly more important (will be explained in the Attacker section); but other than that, never think a player is good at BA based on Combat. Some may say, "Well more HP and Defence!" But with a professional team/healer these things hardly matter. If someone who is less qualified than you is chosen instead of you based solely on a higher combat, you wouldn't want to be on that team anyway, as the leader doesn't know how to correctly play.

 

 

The Fifth Man

There are differing opinions about who the 5th man on the team should be, but attacker seems to be the most widely used and accepted. But here are all of the options.

 

• 
   
  
• Defender: Never use 2 defenders, it actually makes it harder on most pro's and is a waste of the fifth man.
  
• Collector: Not really necessary as most pro's can suicide (explained later) and still max out points fairly easily(especially on later levels), but still the second best option for the first 5 waves.
  
• Healer: Generally a second healer is gotten around wave 7 or 8, and while this is certainly a possibility to go with if there are some lower combats on the team, rounds will be significantly slowed down without 2 attackers, second best option for waves 6-10.
  
• Attackers: Having 2 attackers makes it so that the fighters and rangers are killed at around the same pace as the runners and healers are with an advanced healer and defender. The best option for all of the waves.
  

 

So you have your team, start and finish the first wave and are now in the 2nd wave lobby with the 30 second timer. Now comes the 1st advanced term.

QS, AKA Quick Start, means that after each wave one person needs to immediately leave and re-enter the lobby, getting re-scrolled by the leader who can then enter the ladder without waiting for the timer. This significantly speeds up rounds (A "Round" is generally all 10 waves) and is always done by even the "decent" teams, so if you are asked by the leader to QS, that is what should be done.

 

If there is anything important that I might have missed about the lobby please let me know, will definitely update constantly.

 

 

[spoiler=The Attacker Role]

 

-The Attacker is the one role where combat does matter, but that doesn't mean that role level means nothing, as for each level you increase you gain +10 damage to every attack, which adds up to an extreme amount once you reach level 5. So as a balance to Combat level-Role Level (as long as the person knows how to play Pro BA that is) I tend to add 4 or 5 Combat levels to a player for each level they have in the attacker role.

 

-For example: A player with 100 Combat and is a level 5 Attacker is seen by me as about the same as someone who is 116-120 combat but a level 1 Attacker (As long as they both have the same knowledge of how to play BA). This is just my way of deciding who is a better attacker, but it seems to be a fairly accurate depiction of how quickly an attacker will defeat the penance fighters/rangers.

 

-The reason I add so much per role is because the combat level is decided by

1. Defense: Not that important with good healer

2. Constitution: Not that important with good healer

3. Prayer: Useless

4. Summoning: Useless

5. Attack: Somewhat useful, but with a decent weapon you almost always hit

6. Strength: The only really useful stat, and even this doesn't guarantee added damage every hit, like attacker role levels do.

 

-So in reality the vast bulk of what makes up the higher combat of a player will not help him in BA, unlike each Attacker level which will drastically increase your attacker abilities.

 

Melee, Range, and Mage

 

• 
   
  
• Simply put, always use melee as an attacker if you have a combat of 80 or above, at least 60 attack, or are less than level 3 in the attacker role.
  
• However, if you have a low combat level (<80), have a decent range level (60+), and are at least level 3 (preferably 5) in the attacker role, then darts are the way to go. Buy yourself a ton of lower-end darts outside of BA (iron or steel will do) and then use them on rapid style to kill the penance.
  
• This method works very well because you will always hit at least 30-50 on the penance (depending on your attacker role level) and will hit them very fast, fast enough to keep up with an attacker who is 20 or more combat levels above you.
  

 

Weapon of Choice

 

• 
   
  
• For the rangers I have already shown that darts are always the way to go, but for melee'ers there are many more options and there is always debate about which is the best overall weapon.
  
• The 2 main weapons used by attackers are generally the Dragon Scimitar or the Whip/DDS combo, while both are effective I will say that to be a pro BA player the Dragon Scimitar will not cut it.
  
• So here are the best choices for being an attacker:
  

 

1. Chaotic Rapier + Whip + Spec Weapon(s): This is by far the best choice, using the rapier for all but controlled, and then using the whip for that, plus having a weapon to spec with (which to use explained later) I would not recommend this method as the Rapier still degrades as normal and is not good enough to constitute the extra gp spent. But if you have plenty of extra gp/tokens for recharges then go for it.

2. Whip + Dragon Scimitar + Spec Weapon(s): I am still on the edge on this one, but using the whip for all but the aggressive style and the Dscimmy for that seems to be better than using a DDS for non-spec attacks. even if it does take up an extra inventory space.

3. Whip + DDS + Dragon Claws: This method is the normal method of using the whip for all but aggressive and using the DDS for that. But instead of saving the specs for when you must pull out your DDS, you always use them at the start, using either the DDS or Dclaws depending on the wave.

4. Whip + DDS: This is the main method used by most people, which is the same as above except that you save your DDS specs for when you must pull it out for the aggressive style.

5. Dragon Scimitar + Spec Weapon: Only use this if you are between 60 and 70 attack, if you are below then use the dart method. If you are above 70 attack then cough up the 4 mil gp for the whip, you cheapskate. :P

 

• 
   
  
• And if it isn't obvious, all of these weapons (except the Dclaws just for specials) are 1-handed
  
• This means that a rune defender should always be used as when with a pro BA team---Damage Output Towards Penance>>>>>Damage Taken By Penance---This is because pro healers can easily keep even a low level team
  (Combat-wise) fully healed even on wave 9. So bank that DFS and pick up your Rune Defender.
  

 

Spec Weapons

 

• 
   
  
• Always use your specials at the start of the wave, to generate some eggs for the collector who will otherwise be standing there waiting for the 1st kill which would take much longer.
  
• For all but the queen fight the only 2 spec weapons that should be used are the DDS and Dragon Claws.
  
• While some people may forgo the DDS and just bring Dclaws, they are wrong, as the DDS actually is better than the Dclaws until around wave 5.
  
• The reason for this is that until wave 5 or so (depending on the Combat level of the attacker) the penance are killed just as easily with 1 DDS spec as they are 1 Dclaws spec, meaning you can get up to 4 spec kills with the DDS, but only 2 with the Dclaws. After wave 5, however, it becomes very hard to 1-spec (or on waves 8-9 even 2-spec) penance with a DDS, and the Dclaws become more useful.
  
• So in conclusion, always bring a DDS, and if you have the extra cash, also bring some Dragon Claws.
  

 

The Queen Fight

 

• 
   
  
• At the start of wave 10 continue as any other waves, slaughtering penance fighters and rangers until none remain.
  
• Once all the penance are killed, there should still be a while until the queen arrives, so use this time to gather 8 spikes from the surrounding mushrooms.
  
• If there are 2 attackers BOTH players should gather 8 spikes, even after one is decided upon as the one to get the omega eggs.
  
• This is because it is always possible that the Healer (The one giving the eggs) could accidentally (due to a misclick or simply miscommunication) give some or all of the eggs to the wrong attacker, so it's best to be prepared.
  
• Attach the spikes as you receive each egg, meaning you should be ready to pass to the defender immediately after getting the omega eggs.
   
  

General Advice

 

• 
   
  
• If there are 2 attackers it is best to pick one person to start each wave by killing rangers and the other the fighters.
  
• This is so that both players will not spec the same penance, thus effectively wasting one special. However once all of the specials are used simply kill the closest penance.
  
• Never use a godsword as an attacker, because you gain a damage bonus every time you attack, so you want to attack as quickly as possible.
  

 

 

[spoiler=The Collector Role]

 

-The Collector Role is the role that is the most straightforward and requires the least amount of special tactics for a person to be considered "Pro."

-There are really only 2 special ways to collect, Suiciding and Rushing.

 

Suiciding

 

• 
   
  
• Suiciding is a tact used by many of the upper-tier, yet many others are completely unaware of it, but used correctly, this simple method can over double the points gained in a wave by the entire team.
  
• Suiciding is when the collector will purposely pick up 11 incorrect eggs and then be healed by the healer for the 550 damage taken.
  
• This is because a healer needs to heal 550 lifepoints to max out the healing role's possible points, yet usually in the earlier waves this doesn't happen.(It could be every wave if the entire team has 95+ defence and constitution.)
  
• Note that after picking up 11 wrong eggs the collector should then continue to collect correct eggs too "make up" for the incorrect eggs.
  
• With this method it is easily possible to double or even triple the usual points for every team member(collector too), especially on the earlier waves.
  

 

Common Misconceptions about Suiciding

 

1. 
    
   
2. "Suiciding will cause the collector to get a lot less points while giving the rest of the team way more." -Incorrect because if one person does badly at his role then the whole team suffers not just himself/herself, also picking up correct eggs after as usual will nullify the incorrect points. In fact even not picking up any correct eggs will still give the team more pointss(through the healing) but this of course isn't recommended.
   
3. More to come I'm sure.
    
   

Rushing

 

• 
   
  
• While suiciding is something that should almost always be done with a normal team, rushing is a special tactic that should only be used when rushing waves 1-5 (then resetting) to fill up the penance horn.
  
• Rushing is when the collector starts by collecting 5+ red and green eggs during the 1st(and possibly 2nd) call and immediately loading them into the hopper and cannoning any penance runners that may get through, thus finishing the defenders job as fast as the others, even if he gets unlucky with runner spawns.
  
• If the 1st call is blue eggs, then this is where being a level 5 collector helps, as you should collect at least 5 blue eggs (as many as possible during the call is better) and go to the converter machine to switch them all to green eggs (and possibly then to red eggs) which has a 100% success rate at level 5, at any level under that this isn't worth the time and you should just wait until the next call.
  

 

 

 

 

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Finishing up part 3 (Collector). Any advice or constructive criticism would be helpful and appreciated.

[Obtaurian]

Very much looking forward to the completion of this guide. I consider myself to be a pro BA player, but there's always more to learn. :thumbup:

 

Oh, and a good example of a pro player with an extremely low combat level is Healer Block. She taught me most of what I know. Her only raised combat stat is 45 defense, and her BA ranks are nuts.

[Pepsiguy]

Very much looking forward to the completion of this guide. I consider myself to be a pro BA player, but there's always more to learn. :thumbup:

this cept the pro ba player,i need to learn defending

[jettrider]

Can't see anything wrong with it so far so it looks like an excellently written guide.

 

Here is generally what I think about each of the four roles:

 

-Attacker: least clicking, most laid back; generally these two people are high levels who are just cruising through the waves

-Collector: least skill required, collector rank matters little, can be done by almost anyone. Best for those trying to learn the ropes at BA, but has lots of clicking.

-Healer: Lots of clicking required. The healer is usually the last person to finish the later waves and also has to watch out for teammates dying. Rank matters, and I'd say this is the hardest role; however, the healer has the most potential to increase the speed of waves, so pros thrive here.

-Defender: rank matters the most here. This is a quirky role and many players hate it, but once you learn how to do it, waves go by quite easily. A pro defender can finish all the runners before two maxed attackers finish.

[Obtaurian]

As an attacker, I find that the best (non-chaotic) weapon combo is a whip and SS, though it requires more clicking.

[_AGS_STAR_]

Well if its a guide, shoudnt it go into detail about all the roles? well it is in beginning guides...

[mrlandslide]

Sorry for the delay in writing this guide, I've been caught up in real life (psshhh, real life....I know what a pain) but I should now be back on track in the writing of this guide.

 

As an attacker, I find that the best (non-chaotic) weapon combo is a whip and SS, though it requires more clicking.

 

This is true, and if you do not mind the extra switching of the SS and the extra inventory space used(by un-equipping the rune defender) then this will slightly increase your kills/call, but since the Aggressive Weapon is only used 1/4 of the time I prefer the whip/dscim method for the normal attacks (I believe you are agreeing with me on the whole special weapon portion.) This simply did not come to me when originally writing the attacker section but I will be sure to add it in.

 

Also I am thinking of adding in Korasi's sword as the aggressive weapon of choice, as though I do not yet own it it seems clearly superior to the Dscim, but I am not sure about the comparison between it and the SS, +7 attack but 7 less Strength, this makes the SS even less appealing in my eyes because of the extra switching, so unless there is widespread disagreement I will put these two as equal as the best non-chaotic aggressive's depending on personal preference, with the Dscim in second.

 

Well if its a guide, shoudnt it go into detail about all the roles? well it is in beginning guides...

 

Please read the entire guide before posting negative feedback, clearly it isn't finished due the the [WIP] in the name and I even state multiple times that I will go over all the roles, AND I even give the names of the 7 sections, with each role having it's own section.

[green9090]

Very nice guide so far, very interesting. I've played a lot of BA for agility exp and will some day have to go back and do some more, and it was nice to pick up a few extra tricks :)

 

One thing I'm curious about, if you happen to know the answer, is whether the amount of points you would have earned is correlated to the % charge that goes into a horn, or if the horn is a set amount based on wave. I'm especially curious if the queen round gives enough extra charge that it's best to use it on the horn, or if it might be effective to switch to points that round for stuff like extra fighter hats.

[bedman]

Excellent guide so far. Keep up the good work.

[Obtaurian]

I learned a lot from the Collector section. I've suicide coll'd before, but I didn't know all of those little details. I had no idea about rushing. Very cool. :thumbup:

[Quyneax]

It may be worth noting that korasi's sword has all attack styles, and ks + whip > dscim + whip.

[Xanotex]

I have spent many hours at BA, mastered all roles and getting various items or filling horns and I am still learning from your guide. Looking forward to the completion.

 

Kudos to you.

[opeious]

A Pro BA guide and no mention of EE :ohnoes:

Anyway good luck with the guide, hope to see pics soon.

[Quasar]

EE is poor for BA because you get points/charges in part based on how much healer heals.

 

DFS is superior at BA because it's impossible to miss on penance.

[opeious]

EE is poor for BA because you get points/charges in part based on how much healer heals.

 

what? :mellow:

[Obtaurian]

EE is poor for BA because you get points/charges in part based on how much healer heals.

 

what? :mellow:

 

He's saying to let the healer heal so you get more points. That's why EE isn't useful.

[Superhero]

Looking good so far.