Bear Stance is a Barbarian stance which increases physical damage reduction, adds bonus defense by a percentage, and ignores the physical resistance of the undead.
One of the best skills at the Barbarian's disposal even after the few nerfs it obtained. Before the nerfs it increased physical damage, so starting in Median XL 2017 1.0 initial bonuses to physical damage and defense at level 1 were reduced, but bonus defense gained higher scaling with skill level. In 1.2 the initial physical damage reduction was reduced to 20% from 25% and received less scaling on defense per skill level. With 1.3 the physical damage portion was removed.
Despite these nerfs, it is the best stance for Barbarians in most circumstances since it was primarily intended for defense and physical reduction, and not for increased physical damage.
Description[]
| Bear Stance Stance - Increases your character's defense by a percentage |
Skill Stats[]
| Skill Level | Base Points | Soft Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Equipment[]
The Bear Stance skill can be found on following items:
- Sacred Uniques
- Yee Naaldlooshii (SSU Spirit Mask, Oskill)
- Runewords
- Brahman (Paladin Blunt Weapons, Oskill)
- Crafted / Magic / Rare Items
- +(16 to 24) to Bear Stance on Assassin Naginatas
- +(1 to 3) to Bear Stance on Paladin Shields
Changelog[]
|
Median XL 2017 | |
|---|---|
| 1.3 | No longer increases weapon damage |
| 1.2 | Now grants 20% less damage reduction at level 1 and 20% less bonus defense per skill level |
| 1.0 | Reduced the initial physical damage and defense bonuses at level 1, bonus defense scaling with skill level increased.
Added to Naginatas as part of the rare affix pool. |
| Older Versions | |
|---|---|
| MXL Ultimative | |
| XV | Description now indicates that it only pierces physical resistances. |
| v1->v5 | Now starts at 25%DR +1%DR per hard point, now capped at 100%DR. Gets 5% extra damage per soft point. |
| 2012 | |
| v001 | Reduced armor to 10% per level, down from 15%. |
| Number Versions | |
| 1.99 beta 1 | Added a self-synergy for 2% damage reduction per level. |
| 1.86 | Now always adds 150% enhanced damage in addition to its other bonuses. |
| Median 2008 | |
| 1.57 RC | Now turns your defense blue. |
| 1.57BETA | Replaces Phoenix Stance, greatly boosts defense but allows melee and summoning only. |
| 1.50 | Phoenix Stance: Replaces Bear Stance, increases fire absorb and reflects fire damage to attackers. (History unknown before this patch note) |