The singing barb is can be an excellent build. With the right equipment it can become a virtual tank and a killing machine. If you have access to amazing equipment, rings, amulets and other wonderful things, you can really spiff this build up. However, even naked this barb is a real dynamo.

War Cry: Your killing yell. This is the one that lays the enemy down. It has the effect as if physical. Hence count on a hard time going up against physical immunes. In not for this minor glitch a singer would be a super godly build.

Battle Cry: This yell will take a creatures defense down by 100% and will decrease the damage a creature does by 50%. Very handy. It effectively increases your effectiveness by double.

Taunt: This will draw enemies to you making them forget momentarily about shooting you with arrows. It also lowers their attact rating and damage.

Howl: This yell sends monsters running. Good for clearing away large crowds when overwhelmed. As a young singer (until at least level 30) this is your main yell. Can't do much other yelling. A singer's young life is not easy. Don't do much damage.

Battle Command, Battle Orders, Shout: These are the holy trinity of a barb's contribution to his team. They will increase the skill level, mana and life, and the defense of the whole party. Every effective. It would be nice to max Battle Orders and put more point into Shout. But that would mean removing points from the War Cry synergies. Let another barb in the group win the "my bo is bigger than your bo" contest. This is enough for getting by quite nicely.

Put 1 point into Increased Stamina, Increased Speed, Iron Skin, and Natural Resistance. When +skills from your equipment is added you will have very decent defense increase, resistance and speed. Well worth the one point each. These skills are known as one point wonders.

A singing barb has no points in combat skills -- other than the necessary and fun skill of jump attack. This skill can be used to leap into and out of large swarms of creatures. It can also be used to cross rivers of lava and other obstacles. More importantly to those who have spent any time in Maggot Lair or on the stairs in Arcane Sanctuary, this skill can get you out from the bread line of stuck players.

Stats Pre Yells	Stats With Yells
The stats on the left are prior to the Battle Command, Battle Orders, and Shout. However, there are many bonuses from equipment and charms. Important point: With a barbarian every point you put into Energy will yield one mana point. Every point you put into vitality will yield 4 health points. That means that a charm such as the one on the right is equivalent to the stats of five level ups. It is necessary to put some points into mana. Just try to use mana charms instead. If you find a +20 to mana sc that is like four levels of stat points. Very good investment of a single square in your backpack. Why? Because if you use those same 20 stat points in health you will get 80 health points. And that is before you do your Battle Orders.

A singing barb is a total mana hog. It will suck down mana faster than an Irishman at an open bar. A single yell can be 42 points of mana. And if your barb is built right you will be doing many of those a second. The only solution is as many mana charms and as much mana enhancing equipment as you can get your hands on. But that will not be enough. To make it work you will need a merc with an Insight runeword polearm. That is the only way you can create the massive amounts of mana you will need. That means your merc's survival is of utmost importance to you. So dress him well and carry plenty of cash to revive him should the inevitable happen.