Diablo II single player questions

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Barbarian is cool because you take a weapon in each hand and wail the hell out of anything that gets in your face...

 

I started with a necromancer, and it's quite a good laugh. I don't know whether I'm doing right or not, but I'm putting all my points into the Summoning tree. it seems to me the summon skeleton spell is a cheap bread&butter spell, so I'm trying to get those skel's as good as possible. I'm only level 12 at min, and 5 points have gone in Summon Skeleton and 7 points in making the skeletons tougher (forget the name). It's quite cool actually as my skels are pretty tough now, and I have 5, so they just run around chopping the crap out of everything.

I don't see the character stats being of great importance to a necromancer who's summoning really. Once you've summoned your army, you don't need mana, so I've not put anything in Energy. You should never be getting hit, or wading in yourself, so dexterity isn't really important. So mostly I've been putting the stats in Strength, so I can use heavier armor and weapons, and Vitality because extra health and stamina is always welcome. Again, god knows if I'm doing the right thing! Maybe when it gets hard I'll start to want to use some of those attacking spells from the Bone Tree, then I'll regret not having mana! Oh well, it's quite good fun so far!

 

Barms, the summons by themselves won't win the game - you really need to invest a bit in the curses. You don't need all of them, obviously, but Amplify Damage and Corpse Explosion are a must. Amplify Damage doubles the damage you do early in the game, later it can completely remove the resistance to physical damage (and even the immunity!) that some uniques start having. It's really worth it.

 

Amp damage is definitely necessary, as it effectively doubles the physical damage monsters take. Since all of your skellies are doing physical damage, it basically means your skellies double their damage output. The other great thing about amp damage is it works on everything - not just run of the mill monsters - it works on champions, uniques and act bosses as well.

 

Barmy if you are tired of the standard D2/LoD you might want to try the Median 08 mod
http://modsbylaz.planetdiablo.gamespy.com/index2.html
It's gotta be the easist to use mod of any game i have ever used. Just switch out the Patch_D2.mpq & viola ! New game!!
Want to go back to normal? just switch them back & you are done !

All brand new skills including 3 uber skills(you only get to choose 1 of them, at lvl 90)
Lvl goes to 120 now
10 skill pts per lvl BUT there are 3 attribute challenges that you can take only if you have 400, 600 & 1,000 unused attribute pts
Also new rules for skills, you can't just stick a point in the same skill every level. It starts at (a max of) 2 when the skill is first available & goes up 1 pt every 6 levels
There is also a level challenge skill for each class that you can't qualify for before lvl 30
370 all new runewords & 100 jewelwords
All weapons & armor now have 7 tiers(1-6 + sacred)as opposed to 3 lvls(normal, exceptional & elite) in the base game
All new sets but only 28 of them, all are high level(lvl 75+) these sets are for true heros not low lvl characters.
All new types of class specific items Amazons have helms, bows, spears & javelins, Sorcerors have armor & orbs, necros have crossbows & sheilds, barbarians have helms & swords , etc
Paladins can either represent the light(holy) or the dark(unholy)
Ther are a dozen new uberquests that are for high level only!!

If you would like to check out some videos & screenshots : http://modsbylaz.planetdiablo.gamespy.com/index2.html

I've been using it for a couple of months & it's been a blast

 

Cheers martaug, I'm going to play it vanilla for now but might come back to that later.

I'm into Act 2 now. My guy is level 16. I've dropped a point in Teeth aas a pre-req to Corpse Explosion a put one in Amp Damage. I don't quite understand how Amp Damage works though. I assumed it was a passive, but it seems you need to cast it, but I can't really see where the cast is going or what effect it's having.

Oh, I like how your follower dude comes with you through the Acts. My archer amazon woman is the bomb. I've given her some proper good bits and bobs.

 

Amp Damage needs to be cast (and doesn't last too long). You can see if an enemy is under its effect (or that of any curse) by the icon above them. Amp Damage affects a few enemies at once, so I usually cast it in the middle of a pack of enemies while my skellies and golem pummel them. Depending on the toughness of the enemy you may need to recast the curse, but its mana cost is very low anyway so that's not really a problem.

 

Exactly like Ziad said. With Amp Damage, the icon that should appear over the enemies head will be a reddish-yellow flame. Regardless of how many skill points you invest into it, it will reduce the physical resistance of a creature by 100% (so for creatures that do not have resistance to physical damage - or bosses that have the attribute stone skin - take double damage from your skeletons and golems). Despite the same effect, you may want to go for more than one point into amplify damage, as more points extends the duration of the curse, and also increases the radius of effect (meaning you can get a whole pack with one casting as opposed to multiple castings). Amp damage will also improve the damage output of corpse explosion, as that skill does half fire and half physical damage.

I'd recommend just going with one point in Amp damage early on, and I find I have more success by pumping the skeleton warrior skill first, and only putting a point into skeleton mastery early on. Eventually you'll want to max both of those skills though, so if you've already invested in the mastery it's no big deal. I also usually throw a point into clay golem and cast one of them too. The clay golem doesn't do much damage, but whatever he hits gets slowed down - a very useful thing against act bosses. If you cast decripify on an act boss, and have a clay golem working on him, he moves so slowly you can literally walk away from the boss's attack in mid swing and not get hit.

Finally, I'd also highly recommend you get your hands on a ring or amulet that has teleport charges on it. (They aren't that uncommon, you can probably find one easily enough.) While it's not essential gear, I like it for fights against the act bosses (especially Diablo). When you teleport, it makes all of your minions and merc teleport to the same spot with you. It's great for getting right on top of a boss and starting the attack immediately. If you walk up to the boss he'll start killing your skellies as they approach one at a time. I usually just keep a teleport amulet in my stash and only put it on when I'm fighting act bosses, and use some other, more useful amulet the rest of the time.

 

It will come up in your skills list once you equip it. The way I do it with a necromancer would be to keep my most-used spell on my left mouse click, and set a hotkey to the teleport skill on my right mouse click.

EDIT: If you click on the attack icon to the left and right of your stamina and experience point bar, you will get a skill list as a pop-up. Scroll over the skill and press F1-F8 to assign those keys as hotkeys for those skills.

 

OK, pissed off. I was working through Act 2 quite happily, then downloaded a 'save game editor' type of thing. Editted my game by adding in a bit of cash and few nice items, loaded my game and completely fecked up the char. Basically returned him to bare minimum at the start of the game again. Which means I have to start again. I don't have the time, nor the energy to do that. Unimpressed. I was enjoying uit as well. Felt the necro was going well. All the other classes suck IMO.

 

I know it's too late to say this but... always back up your save before messing around with editors. I usually keep a backup when playing Diablo anyway because the game doesn't allow saving to more than one position, and that makes me a bit paranoid (bad memories from Ultima 6 and Martian Dreams)

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just screwed up the world event! (OK, technically this isn't single player because I was playing online, but I only play solo online. I got lucky, and got the Diablo Clone world event ("Diablo Walks the Earth").

The Diablo Clone spawns as a replacement to the next super unique boss you encounter. So I went to the cold plains in Act 1, where he would replace Bishbosh (the super unique fallen shaman). The bad news is that I was woefully underprepared to handle this boss, and if you quit the game and try to re-enter with a different character, you'll likely not get back in.

First of all, while I was playing with a hell worthy character, my bowazon is far from an ideal character for taking on the Diablo Clone. (My crushing blow concentrate barbarian probably could have taken him.) My only chance was to keep my valkyrie and merc on him, and keep pelting him with bolts. As soon as my merc dropped, my damage output went way down (he's a might merc). Eventually, I got killed, and that is really bad, because the D-Clone just hangs out over your body, making it really hard just to get it back. No annihlus charm for me.

 

For a full explanation, go here and use the search box. Here's the short version: You can only get the Diablo Clone when playing online. He only spawns in Hell games, and he does it when a certian number of Stone of Jordans (SoJs) are sold on the realms. While there are Diablo Clone hunters in the realms, there is a significant element of luck involved (unless you have so many SoJs all by yourself that you spawn one like that). The Diablo Clone has all the same abilities as Hell Diablo, except that he can spawn anywhere in any of the five acts (provided that there is a superunique in a given area, as the DClone replaces that superunique), does way more damage, has way more hitpoints, and regenerates life like crazy.

If you're by yourself, and not playing a character designed for such a foe (such as one that has a lot of % chance crushing blow (CB) in his equipment), the Diablo Clone is almost impossible to defeat. I have no CB with my bowazon. The reason CB is so useful is that when CB activates, your foe loses a percentage of their total hitpoints - 25% of the total in the case of normal creatures, 10% in the case of bosses. My bowazon is basically a machine gun, doing damage quickly, but the actual damage output per bolt is a bit low. I stood no chance.

Luck certainly has something to do with it. There are basically only three things you can do to improve your drops:

1. Increase the amount of magic find in your equipment. The problem with this of course, is by increasing your magic find, you are usually sacrificing something else, thereby making your character less effective. It's a delicate balance. The goal is NOT to just load up on mf. It's to get as much as you can while still maintaining your killing speed and overall effectiveness. 100% is a good (and usually obtainable) goal to shoot for. Note: 100% magic find does not mean that 100% of all things that drop will be magic. It means your chances of a magic item dropping increase by 100% from their base chance - in other words, the chance doubles. So if a given boss had a 5% chance of dropping a magic, rare, set, or unique item, if you kill him with a character that has 100% magic find, the chance would now be 10%. (It is also possible to go beyond 100% magic find, and the big magic find artists on the realms have over 300% magic find on their equipment.)

2. Kill more stuff. This one is pretty self explanatory. The more stuff you kill, the more stuff drops, and the more stuff that drops, the better chance you have of getting something good to drop. Do you just try to get to the next level as soon as possible, or do you generally try to clear areas before moving on to the next stage? Do you go through areas that have bosses multiple times to stock up on items? Hell Mephisto is the most run boss in the game, as he has excellent drops, can be killed quickly, has a low chance of killing you, and there are the council member there with him that also have excellent item drops on hell difficulty.

3. Go through areas that have level 85 monsters in them - the ones that drop the best stuff in the game. This one requires a bit of an explanation. Monsters have levels just like characters do. The higher the monster's level, the better stuff that monster can potentially drop. For your regular run of the mill monsters, the highest level they can get to is level 85 (Champions get a +2 bonus to the level, and uniques get a +3 bonus. Superuniques and bosses can be even higher). The creatures' level is determined by the area that it is in. So if an area is assigned as level 85 area, all of the monsters within it are level 85 (the champions are level 87, uniques level 88).

You would assume that level 85 areas would be concentrated in Act V, Hell difficulty - and you would be wrong. While level 85 areas only exist in hell difficulty, they are not limited to Act V, but rather are liberally dispersed throughout all of the acts, even the relatively easy Act I. So, here's a list of places you may want to visit more than once. They give good items, and since level 85 monsters also give the most experience points, they are great areas to level your character (until you get to about level 85 - after that you level slowly no matter what you do):

Act I: The Mausoleum (where Blood Raven hangs out)
The Pits (the underground area accessed through to Tamoe Highlands)

Notes: Both of these areas come highly recommended as they are filled with relatively easy creatures, can be reached in a fairly short amount of time, and are big areas.

Act II: Maggot Lair Level 3 (and only level 3)
Forgotten Tunnels (the underground area accessed through the trap door in the Lost City)

Notes: These areas are not highly recommended. The Maggot Lair isn't the easiest area in the world, and you obviously have to do Level 1 and Level 2 before you get to level 3, and the upper two levels do not contain level 85 monsters. There's nothing wrong with the Forgotten Tunnels, other than the area is rather small, which cuts down on the number of monsters.

Act III: Durance of Hate Level 3 (and only level 3)
All of the little side areas in Kurast, Upper Kurast and the Kurast Causeway (there are six all together, one of which contains the black book that gives you +5 attribute points)

Notes: Durance of Hate Level 3 is highly recommended. The area itself isn't that big, nor does it contain that many monsters, but there are a bunch of superuniques and Mephisto. Definitely a higher degree of difficulty than the Act 1 areas, but a bigger reward as well. The little side areas in Kurast are not particularly recommended because they are small, and sometimes you get swarmed as soon as you enter, so they are potentially very difficult areas.

Act IV: Pandemonium Fortress

Notes: This is the area where Diablo is, so it is also filled with those Oblivion Knights you love so much (see more below on dealing with Oblivion Knights). This area is very difficult for any melee character, and is only recommended if you are playing a necromancer or sorceress.

Act V: World Stone Keep Level 3
Worldstone Chamber
Halls of Vaught (I think that's the name - it's whatever the bottom level of Nihlathak's hideout is called).

Notes: WSK Level 3 and Worldstone Chamber are back to back, and you get Baal and his superunique minions to boot! Halls of Vaught are not nearly as recommended because even if you take the way point you still have to go through the second level, and the serpent magi that spawn in the Halls of Vaught hit for a TON of damage. So it's a really hard area.

There's no magical solution for this, but there are a few things you can do that can make things be a little less painful. First, as a paladin there is the defensive aura that gets rid of curses. I forget what it's called, and I forget how many skill points you need to spend to get it (and based on that I do not know if it's worth the expenditure of skill points), but if you actiavte that as you run away you can be back in the battle in seconds as opposed to standing around waiting for the curse to wear off.

Second, remember that iron maiden only reflects physical melee damage. Missile damage is not returned, nor is elemental damage. So you can have a bow on your weapon switch and flip over to that while you are IMed, or (and in my opinion the much better solution) switch to an elemental damage skill like Vengence. Vengence greatly increases the elemental damage you do, but hardly does any physical damage at all. The mana cost is steep, and since it does so little physical damage you won't be able to mana leech well with it, so you wouldn't want to use this skill constantly, but if you just use it to kill OKs, you should be able to get by. I'm assuming you are using Zeal as your standard attack, so you already have all the prerequisities needed for Vengence, so this represents a one skill point solution to your problems. (Oh, and Vengence gets all the same synergies from the resist cold, fire and lightning skills that holy fire, holy freeze, and holy shock get, so your vengence skill will be imporved that much more.)

 

Just a few other notes here dmc.

Diablo is an unusual game - at least for me - because I do not get the most enjoyment of being able to complete the game on Hell difficulty. Sure, it's fun to do so, but once you've beaten hell Baal once or twice, it kind of loses its appeal. I get the most enojyment from the strategy section of the game, and equipment finding, which typically allows you to try new builds. Just last night I got an Occulus (pretty much the ultimate sorceress orb +3 to all skills and +3 to all masteries, so basically +6 to each of the three masteries), so now I definitely have to make a tri-elemental sorceress one of these days. Completing a set and making set builds are also fun.

So while item finding can be tedious, I try to do a bit of it every time I play. For example, I might do a pit run before taking my bowazon along further in Act III hell. Maybe I'll get a nice piece of set armor to drop, maybe I'll get nothing of value, but you don't know unless you try. I think that the best area for any melee character to run is the pits in Act I. It's fairly quick to get to (note: there is no waypoint in Tamoe Highlands, but it is quicker to take the waypoint from the Outer Cloister back to the Tamoe Highlands than to take the waypoint from the Black Marsh towards the Tamoe Highlands). There are no physical immunes that can spawn either in the Pit or the Tamoe Highlands to slow you down. There are no dual immunity monsters in the Pits or in the Tamoe Highlands, so you should have consistent damage output. And in level 2 of the Pits there are three uniques, any of which can drop any item in the game, plus a golden chest that sometimes pops with really good stuff. The other advantage is that because the area is relatively easy, you may be able to sub out some of you optimal gear for magic find gear. Use your best gear when you are doing act V, but when you're slumming in Act I, maximize your profits.

However, don't be disappointed if the first time you do a pit run you get nothing of value. In fact, don't be upset if you get nothing of value in your first few pit runs. There is no place in the game that will give you consistently great drops every single time you play. If all you do is item find, you'll quickly get bored. That's why each time I play, I devote about 20 minutes to item finding (typically one pit run) and then take my character (or some other chraracter I'm working on) through the regular game.

And now you know which areas are worth clearing everything because of the high yield of experience points and best chance of getting items, and which areas can be skipped. Once your character's level gets into the 80s, you greatly slow down your advancement. It is at this point that you want to spend the most time in areas that are giving you the best experience points, and skim through areas that don't give as much experience poitns and don't have great item drops.

Since you have a good map, you may want to do both the pits and Meph run once each time you play. The pit runs will be a decent source of both experience and items, whereas the Meph runs will yield more items than experience (Mephisto himself gives good XP, but there aren't that many monsters in Durance Level 3 compared to the Pits, so you'll earn more XP doing pit runs).

Only go for that defensive aura if you can get it for a skill point or two. You have to be a pretty high level if you are in Act V hell, and if you are going to need another 3 or 4 skill points to get it, you'll probably have finished the game by the time you get the skill. Of course, you'll probably still use your character for item finding after you finish, so you can decide what character you want to use next (based on the items you find). Vengence, on the other hand, I'd say is essential. It's only prerequisites are sacrifice and zeal, and you already have both of them.

 

POISON COWS!!!
The new Median XL is out & sorceress's can summon poison cows!! Thats just the coolest thing! hahahaha poison cows(Now thats funny!)

 

Got me a Guardian Angel in the Bloody Foothills last night. Definitely the find of the day. I was considering a paladin as my next character anyway. Although that wasn't the best luck I had. I gambled a rare tiara, which has +2 to druid skills, +15 resist all, +33 life, +12 mana, and +1 light radius. With the exception of the light radius, those are all great mods to get. If the light radius were replaced with magic find, it would have everything you could possibly want from a helm. So maybe I will play a druid. I also have a rare amulet lying around that gives +1 to druid skills and some resist all.

dmc, that's one other thing I forgot to mention in my previous post. There are some easy boss runs on Act V hell that yield good items and can be done in minutes. As soon as you kill Shenk the Overseer, there is a waypoint just north of him in the next area. Just north of that waypoint is another super unique, Eldritch the Rectifier. Every time I play on hell difficulty, the first thing I do is take that way point, kill Eldritch, the run south, kill Shenk, and take the waypoint back to Harrogoth. They are both level 84 monsters, so while they cannot drop everything in the game, they are capable of dropping the second highest treasure class, which still has excellent items, and being super uniques, there's a decent chance that their drops are rare or better.

The other run that is worth doing is Pindleskin - the super unique skeleton you run into as soon as you take Anya's portal to seek out Nihlathak. Like Shenk and Eldritch, he can drop the second highest treasure class, and also has good odds of dropping rare or better. There's only one catch with Pindleskin - do NOT touch the way point in the Halls of Anguish. Anya's portal only remains open if one of the following are true: Nihlathak has not yet been killed, or the way point has not been touched. Obviously, you are going to want to kill Nihlathak, so it is in your best interest that you do not touch that way point, because if you do Anya's portal will not appear, and you will have to run from the way point back up to get to Pindleskin, which makes it no longer a fast item run.