Noob werewolf question

Hi there, I would like to build a werewolf maxing fury, werewolf and lycanthropy. I have a few questions:

1) From what I read, a werewolf is highly dependent on gear. I don't want to pre-load a bunch of items into my wolf and will just use whatever I find. W/o any high-end gear like ribcracker or CoH or Grief, will a werewolf be able to survive as well as having a high killing power in hell?

2) I am into melee build. If a werewolf can't do it, will a zealot/frenzy barb be slightly less item-dependent? Or is there any other melee build you can recommend me?

Thanks!!|||Welcome to the forums!

Ribcracker is not high-end at all. It's pretty easy to find (although the %ED has a huge range, so it's hard to get a good one), as is Immortal King's Stone Crusher. Both are found with some patience, and are great end-game weapons. If you can afford the runes for 'Oath', put it in a Feral or Champion and you'll also get high numbers.

Zealots are a lot less item-dependent imho, so yes to the Zealot.|||Kicksin is one of the best and also one of (if not THE) cheapest and most fun Melee builds IMO.

It's the only melee that doesn't rely on the raw damage from their weapon. And can be made completely around cheap runewords even towards the later stages of hell.

Druid is more than do-able though, and not as expensive as you think. Most people don't even know what a ribcracker is good for, I've gotten a few for a couple pgems each. Smoke armor is very cheap and provides good resists, Guillaumes helm is cheap and amazing. There are plenty of great items that don't cost a fortune.