A 30 barb should not be dying to Normal Diablo.  What are his skills
and stats?

That's a kinda messed-up build, IMO.  What's your planned end-game
attack?

Isenhart's stuff is pretty much obsolete by the time you can use it.

You mainly need a better weapon, not better armor.  Any kind of gear
with Crushing Blow will make short work of Diablo.  OC, you will also
need decent LR and FR.  I assume you have put a point in NR?  If you
are planning to solo Hell with DT or Frenzy as your main attack, you
will need a resistance strategy to make up for the lack of a shield.
Meanwhile, you can use any of your four attacks to kill Diablo,
depending on your available gear, and which skill you have pumped.
Frenzy is probably fastest.  

-- Roy L

On Sep 23, 6:29 pm, Bald White Male 47 165 lbs <ben...@twcny.rr.com>
wrote:

You need > 50 lightning and fire resistance, and lots of block. Grab a
big shield, and a big 1H weapon, get up close and concentrate away. Be
prepared to leap-attack away as soon as he shoots his lightning hose.
Don't let your life slip below, say, 75% while up close.

Alternately, double throw from afar, while constantly keeping on the
move. Run, throw, leap, throw, run, throw. Beware his fire and
lightning attacks.

Patience is the key.

-Jason

Royls and Jason have already given some good advises. Here are
some supplements as well as a cheesy and risk-free alternative.

Basically, while fighting up close, you're going to get hit by
big D a lot, as he is lvl 40 -- exceedingly high for a normal
difficulty monster. He also has some nasty means of damages,
namely, cold damage which chills you when you're stepping on his
toes; Fire Ring & Firewall; and his Lightning Hose which deals
both lightning and physical damage -- this is his most deadly
attack for normal difficulty.

At this stage, I wouldn't bother with defense and block. The
difference in char vs monster level pretty much ensures you're
getting hit, and it's nearly impossible to get a decent block
with stat points and equipment available at this level. You need
very good fire and lightning resistance, good AR to land some
hits, preferably life leech, or boat loads of health potions.
You can drop red pots on the ground before he shows up so you
can refill your belt easier. "Cannot be Frozen" is highly
recommended, but at this stage may not be available to everyone.

Alternatively, there is a cheesy way of killing Diablo using a
ranged weapon -- such as a bow, or a ranged skill, without
getting hurt (much). All you need are:

a) 50-60%+ Fire resistance (buy any armor/hats etc with FR);
b) the right layout (map) for Chaos Sanctuary;
c) preferably a Prayer merc to heal you, but not a must.

There are four wings to the center of Chaos, three of which
towards the seals. Diablo can NOT get into these wings. In some
cases, the right and bottom ones are separated to the center
by a moat. You can attack Diablo from behind these moats (see
http://www.geocities.com/bingain/diablo2/chaos_moat.jpg). Diablo
can attack you with his fire wall/ring but not with his other
attacks. Even though there is also a moat dividing the entrance
(left) wing from the center, there are a couple of gaps where he
can hurt you with his lightning hose, thus this wing (left side)
is not suggested.

If you have good fire resistance and a prayer merc who is smart
enough to stay back (he usually is), then chances are you don't
need a red pot to kill Diablo. You may need a few quivers of
arrows because Diablo will be running around, making it quite an
effort to hit him.

You lure Diablo to the spot in front of the moat, run around it,
and if you have a merc, making sure he follows, then wait until
Diablo appears on your screen, name-lock him (left click on him
and hold down mouse button), and see if he dies first or your
arrows run out first.

Bing

The harder part is dealing with the OKs and their IM.

You need some crushing blow. Goblin toe boots and crushflange/strength
weapon are your best choices.

You also need max resists to fire and lightning. Ancient pledge/3
perfect diamond shields will help.

Most barbs boost their life with Boo as life prevents death so lots of
life is good.

On Sep 23, 8:29 pm, Bald White Male 47 165 lbs <ben...@twcny.rr.com>
wrote:

You may want to make MYTH (HEL-AMN-NEF) for the +2 Skills and is very
obtainable.  You can alson make two HONOR (AMN-EL-ITH-TIR-SOL) that
will give you 14 life leach and some ED (Not Erectile Dysfunction).
Those are very inexpensive and easy to get.

Juan
aka Strongfok