Guide written by Baedric on the DiabloII.Net Single Player Forums.
This character is for anyone who wants to play a character that is a little more challenging, but is still a great deal of fun. He uses a two handed Staff and a Whirlwind attack for 99% of his battles. The Staff is a lower damage weapon than most Barb players are accustomed to using so equipment selection becomes a little more important.
Howl: 1
Shout: 10+
Battle Orders: Max
Battle Command: 1
Whirlwind: Max
Berserk: 1
Leap Attack: 1
Concentrate: 1+
Stun: 1
Leap: 1
Bash: 1
Mace: Max
Increase Stamina: 1
Increase Speed: 1
Ironskin: 1
Natural Resistance: 7-9
Strength: 120-150 enough to equip. your chosen gear
Vitality: 250-300
Dexterity: 35+ just enough to equip. your chosen gear
Energy: 10
I personally put more points into strength than I listed above to try and garner a little more damage out of the Ribcracker, but I am confident that if you use base strength requirements you should be able to get through Hell just fine. Just remember that with Barbarians Strength = Damage. An inventory of + Damage Charms, +Skill Grand Charms would be helpful, but not necessary for the success of this build.
I used an Act II Nightmare Offensive "Might" Mercenary for my Staff Barb but if you wanted to go with a more defensive build you might want to go with an Act II Normal Defensive (Defiance) Mercenary instead. With the defensive build you would probably try and Max Shout and put more points into Ironskin and place fewer points into Battle Orders. I plan to try one of these builds in the future.
Arreats Face, Guillaume's Face, Tal's Horadric Crest, Naj's Circlet
Naj's Plate, Smoke Dusk Shroud, Lionheart Dusk Shroud
Laying of Hands, Venom Grip
Thundergod's Vigor, Nosferatu's Coil, String of Ears
Gore Rider, War Traveler, Goblin Toe
Atma's Scarab, Mara's, +skill amulet of your choice
Raven Frost, Life Leach ring of your choice
Ribcracker, Naj's Puzzler, Fury Stalagmite, Fury Shillelagh
Any mace class weapon. I used a Dangoon's Teaching but a Baraner's Star would probably work better.
Optional but highly recommended for the Oblivion Knights in the Chaos Sanctuary.
The Crushing Blow Mod on the Gore Rider Boots, RibCracker, Guillaume's Face, and Goblin Toes really helps a lot. It adds a significant amount of damage, very noticeable in NM and helpful in Hell also.
The Ribcracker does not do quite the damage that the other listed Staves do, but the combination of mods on the Ribcracker make it really the overall best choice.
Armor: Smoke Dusk Shroud, Shaftstop, Duriel's Shell
Helm: Guillaume's Face, Tal's Horadric Crest, Blackhorn's Face
Weapon: Blackleach Blade, Pike or Polearm of your choice.
If you socket a Ribcracker with +15 IAS it reaches the 5 frame breakpoint for some very fast whirling.
I used the Angelic Set(Armor, Amulet and Ring) through Normal and into Nightmare, and it worked very well for me with a Cathan's ring on the other finger.
My merc used a Goldskin armor from the time he could equip it until Act II Hell. It is a very nice armor (previously unused by me) for your mercenary.
This is a very fun yet challenging build and I highly recommend it for someone looking for a change of pace from your standard Whirlwind Barb. I played mine Solo from Act I Normal through Act V Hell on players 8 without a lot of problems.