Diablo II Single Player Thread - 2

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Well, Act 1 is cleared and i've still only spent 3 skill points. I'm not gonna lie, things are getting tricky..

As for stats, roughly how much Strength should I aim for before I stop putting points into it?

 

You don't need it - I'm just saying it's useful to have it. As you have already seen, your one-point investment in poison creeper is helping you kill things, and a one-point investment in Oak Sage will increase the life total of you and your merc by 30%. Who wouldn't want that? At the higher difficulties, the Oak Sage will easily get killed by monsters, but in normal difficulty, it's hard for most monsters to kill it, so it's an instant 30% increase to your life pool, at a time when every little bit of life helps. (And if the Oak Sage does die, there's nothing that prevents you from recasting it, although your life will drop by 30% until you get it recast.)

As for an animal companion, that is one of two possible means of getting physical damage. You can opt to not spend points in an animal summons, and instead place points in the elemental tree on the wind-based spells, which deal physical damage. So the animal companion(s) is optional, whereas the spirit and vine are highly recommended. Because of the limit on skill points, animal companion or wind-based spells cannot both be heavily invested in. You must chose which one you prefer (and since most of my druids are shapeshifters, I cannot be of much help to say which of the two options are better).

That's a very tough question to answer. The amount of strength you need is whatever it takes to wear the gear you eventually hope to acquire, and not a point more. However, as a first time player, it's impossible to project what kind of gear you're going to have access to. A stength of 100 will allow you to wear (or in the case of weapons wield) all of the base weapons and items in the game. Since you will primarily be a spell caster, you won't be relying on a top level weapon to kill stuff. Additionally, you won't need top level armor either, because you will be killing stuff from a distance. So there is certainly no great need to exceed 100.

If you don't want to spend 100, you should at least go to 75, as that will still allow you to wear light plate mail, use a tower shield, and have access to most mace class weapons (druids get a bonus when using a mace class weapon), except for the great maul. So, as a rough estimate, I'd say you want at least 75 and not more than 100. (In fact, I'd say you want either 75 or 100. There's really little point in going for some number in between, as it won't enhance your gear options that much - the only potentially useful item to you between 75 and 100 is full plate mail at 90. 100 will allow you to use great mauls, and also allow you to equip ancient armor, which is the best base class armor available.)

As other points of advice, since later on you can get a vine that will regenerate mana for you, I'd suggest that you spend as little as possible in energy. Mana problems can occur early in your character's career, but as you advance in levels, your mana pool automatically grows, and like I said, you'll have means of recovering mana from corpses, so investing points in energy should be a low priority. By the time you get your character up to level 40 or so, nearly all of your points should be going into vitality.

 

For casters, there's rarely (if ever) reason to go beyond 77 in STR. That's what you need to wear the lightest elite armor, the Dusk Shroud, and other apparel specifically designed for casters (sets & uniques) is rarely above 50 STR requirement. A case could be made for Silkweaves (pretty nice caster boots) as they require 65, but the armor is still the main consideration.

 

The problem is i'm getting paranoid that i'm going to end up "wasting" skill points by allocating them wrong, as there are a limited number and no way to rearrange them.

 

If you decide to forego the animal companion, and go the wind-based spells for physical damage, you are going to need a point in every single skill in the elemental tree. One of the level 30 skills in that tree (I forget the name offhand) requires a point in every single other skill. So placing a single point in all of those skills are OK - they won't be wasted. There really is no great danger is placing a single point any given skill if you think you may use it, even occassionally. That won't set you back much. The danger is spending multiple skill points in a skill you won't use. I would advise sticking one point in each elemental skill, and play around with them, to see which skills you like. Then when you hit level 30 and decide which ones you want to use, start adding additional points to your skills you want to specialize in, and then add points to their synergies after that.

So in summary, I'd say forego the animal companion (except for the vines and spirit - one point each), and stick to the elemental tree with an initial one-point investment in every skill.

 

The Arctic Set (even the full set is good) is probably the best starter set for an amazon out there. Even the armor is useful, because even though it is only quilted, it gives three additional defense per level up, and even comes with a resist all (not sure if that is a base property or with items).

I did not play much this weekend, as I was busy shoveling out from over two feet of snow.

 

Finally had a little time to play a little again.

My Lightning Sorceress is doing very nicely now that I beefed up the resistances and my FCR a bit! She's level 65 and in Nightmare Act V now.

Frozen Orb (lvl 23) and Lightening (lvl 26) are big hitters now. I've done a few Nightmare Mephisto runs to get some items to help me beef up her resistances an boy, did I score!

At first I found several set items and finally a blue one-handed orb with +2 sorceress skills and +2 Lightening! Now, I can use a shield to boost my resitances. And then, it happened...

I found Visceratuant unique shield with 147% Enhanced Defense, 30% FBR, 30% Increased Chance of Blocking AND +1 To Sorceress Skill Levels!
Alas, no resistances, but the +1 to sorceress skills is very nice to have.

And then... I found The Oculus... VERY sweet

So now, my resistances are in the 50s right now, have +6 to sorceress skills from items, +70% FCR and having a blast!

 

Good indeed! There's really nothing to compare to the Oculus. (Maybe the Orb from Tal Rasha's Set, but only if you have several other pieces to accompany it.) And because Visceratuant gives +1 to all sorceress skill levels, it's really too good to pass up. If you want some resistance out of it, you can spend your Act V socketing quest on it, and stick a perfect diamond in it - it would give you resist all +19%, which isn't a ton, but better than nothing.

 

Well, I've already found 2 pieces of the Tal Rasha set (headpiece and belt), maybe I'll get lucky someday.

Good idea about the socket. I'll do that!

 

Hmmm.... are you using the helm to Tal Rasha's Set? IIRC, that has resistances on it too. Although you wouldn't necessarily want to socket that, as perfect diamonds don't give resist all when you stick them in a helm - that only works for the shield. The belt isn't too bad either. I don't remember off hand if you need multiple items of the set to get the bonus to resistances though. While it's not always true, sometimes it is worth using a set piece or two, even if you don't have all the items. Sometimes the base stats on item are good enough to merit their use.

Regarding finding TR's set, the problem is the armor. (Unless you're me - then the problem is the amulet. I've never found it, and I have all the other pieces.) But for the rest of the Diablo playing universe, the armor is far and away the most difficult piece to find. The same is true for all of the class-specific sets with the exception of Griswald's Set (for the paladin). For the other six classes, the rarity of the armor is what makes completing the set so difficult. That's because (with the exception of Griswald's), all the other armors for the set are in TC 84 or TC 87, which are the two highest TCs in the game. They cannot be found prior to Act V, and even then, there's only certain areas where you can find them.

The reason Griswald's armor is not nearly as hard to find is that it is the only one of the class-specific set armors where the base item type is an exceptional (as opposed to an elite) item. That is not to say that Griswald's is the easiest class-specific set to complete. Two of the items of that set - the weapon and shield - are elite items, are in very high TCs, and because they are class-specific pieces (the cedaceus and vortex shield are elite paladin items), they drop with reduced frequency as compared to other items in that TC. Because of this, Griswald's may actually be the most difficult set to complete.

And while you didn't ask this, I'll give you a brief explanation of the drop process, and why elite class-specific items are so hard to find. Whenever a monster drops from a TC, there are multiple items it could potentially drop. Most TCs contain about eight different items, and normally all eight items have an equal probability of being dropped. Unless one or more of the items in the TC is a class-specific item. For the purposes of this discussion, "class-specific" means not only items like druid and barbarian helms (where if you aren't the right class you can't even equip them), but also items like necro wands and paladin scepters, where any class can equip them, but only specific classes get the bonus +skills for using them. Basically, any item that gives bonuses to skills to one specific class of characters is considered class-specific for the drop process.

An item that is considered class specific drops with 1/3 the frequency of other items in that TC. Say a treasure class contains eight items. If none are class-specific, you have an equal 1/8 chance of getting any of them (assuming that TC was selected as the drop). If, on the other hand, two of the eight items were class-specific, You'd have a 1/20 chance of getting each of the class-specific items, and a 3/20 chance of getting each of the six other items.

 

My Elemental Druid is now in Act 2, and going well. Need to clear the game but I don't seem to be finding time to play lately.

 

I want to use the Tal Rasha helm, but can't because I don't have the required level 66 yet (I am 65). I does have some nice bonuses, so I will be using it as soon as I can.

Thank you for your elaborate explenation about the drop ratio. Chances are slim I'll ever complete one of those sets, but I'm going to try. Set items de drop frequently, but I haven't gathered a single complete set as of yet. On the other hand I'm doing reasonably well in the item department. Only thing I lack is proper armor.

 

Did a 30 minute run and found Gore Rider and Lidless Wall

Nice shield though. Traded Visceratuant in for it

 

I agree with what dmc said. Generally speaking a lot of the lower level sets are excellent "starter" kits. The Arctic set is outstanding for a newbie amazon, and Isenhart is excellent for any melee character, but I'd say it especially shines with a paladin. They will carry you into nightmare, but beyond that you can probably find better equipment by a combination of uniques and rares.

Lidless Wall is a good shield. Hopefully, you didn't waste your socket quest on Visceratuant if you are no longer using it. (And if you like Lidless Wall better, that would be worth socketing.)

Also Gore Riders are excellent boots, just not for your character. They give you Crushing Blow, which is not always an easy modifier to find on equipment, but something that every melee character should get. When CB activates, it takes off 1/4 of a monsters life points (or 1/10 in the case of a boss). Since melee characters hit so frequently, even a modest level of CB is the key to mowing down hell difficulty bosses.

 

Installed D2:LoD 1.12a for the first time ... yeah I know, quite a bit behind the times aint I.

I have just finished Act I with my L17 Barb. And have a lot of questions already. This is single player only.

Stats : Str 45, Dex 30, Vit 80, Eng 10 ... is there a min Str & Dex I should get before going back to Vit, lets say by end of Act III. I dont know what type of barb this guy will be, whatever requires minimal management.
Skills :
Sword[1], Mace[1], Axe[2](a big mistake as im using only maces & swords right now), Inc Stamina. Thrown weapons really make no sence to me as the rogue archer takes care of that dept. I need to use a sheild right now and hence havent gone for Spear or Polearm. I dont know what weapon to concentrate on as there is just so much variety.
Bash[1] (my most used skill ... should i take this to about 10?), Leap[1], Stun[2]. I am thinking of going for WW with Beserk[1].
Howl[1], Taunt[1], Shout[1]. Is Warcry good to aim for? The others I may not take over [1], I have enough problems with inventory management that I have not bothered with find spells.

I am thinking my main skills will be from Bash, Leap Attack, Shout, BattleCry, WarCry, Concentrate, Beserk, WW.

Can I come back to Act I later on or is it like IWD where you cant return to previous chapters? Is spending a little time bashing Blood Raven, Countess & Andariel useful or should I just go to Act II.

Inventory ... just HOW do you manage it? I got an extended inventory mod and still cant find ehough space for all the clutter. I need to have atleast 1 full alternate set of armor in the stash. Gems, alrite, I'll be upgrading them in the HCube. But what about the amulets, rings, charms & runes!

 

As dmc pointed out, the easiest barbarian to play (and highly recommended for first time players when you are just starting to accumulate items) is the Concentrate Barbarian. Excellent survivability along with reasonable (although not exceptional) killing speed.

As for masteries, the only thing I would recommend you decide early on is whether or not you want to use a shield. If you do (which is recommended for a concentrate barbarian) there's no problem putting a single point into sword, axe, and mace mastery. That will give you a bonus in using all one-handed weapon types early in the game, until you find a really good weapon when you will want to invest much more heavily into a mastery.

As far as which weapons are "best", there is no right answer, and it will depend on what you find during the course of the game. That having been said, you will definitely have more choices of swords than any other weapon type, because barbarians can wield two-handed swords with one hand (and thus continue using a shield). Axes and maces also come in one-handed and two-handed varieties, but the two-handed versions cannot be wielded with one hand, regardless of character type.

Definitely read a few guides before you decide on what type of barbarian you want to play. As you will find as you progress through the game, skill points are your most precious commodity. You only get one skill point per level up, along with a few quests sprinkiled throughout the game that will give you a few extra skill points. Because of the limiting factor of skill points, you can only realistically hope to max out four skills (especially if you are selecting skills that have many prerequisite skills you have to pick first).

However, there is no requirement to actually spend your skill point that your receive at each level up. If you don't have anything you need a skill point in at your current level, you can save up the skill point and use it when you reach a level where there are skills you need. To use the concentrate barbarian as an example, you cannot invest in Concentrate until you are level 18. So it's fine to just spend points in prerequisites from levels 1-17.

For a concentrate barb, the four skills that are maxed are Concentrate (it's your main attack skill), Battle Orders (when maxed out it doubles your barb's life and mana pool), Shout (increases your defense), and a weapon mastery of choice (increases damage and chance to hit). Regardless of what type of barb you make, you'll want the full 20-point investment in Battle Orders. Doubling your life and mana is just too good to pass up, and all barbarians, regardless of specialty, max out that skill. It's usally advisable to max out your weapon mastery last, because you'll likely be pretty far into the game before you get your hands on a wepaon that you'll want to use for the duration of the game. Throughout normal, you'll likely switch between swords, axes, and maces, depending on what you find. The recommended order for maxing skills for a concentrate barbarian is usually Battle Orders, Concentrate, Shout, Weapon Mastery.

Onto some of your more specific questions - the skill "War Cry" has a small radius of affect (you basically have to be in melee range), and it reduces the defense of enemies by half. You won't need that skill in normal difficulty at all, as in normal difficulty the monsters' defense is low enough that your chance of hitting should be around 90% anyway. Once you get into nightmare, and eventually hell difficulty, halving a mosnter's defense will make a noticable difference in how frequently you hit it. I'd say it's worth a point, but no more (more points only increase the skill's duration, and if it wears off there's nothing preventing you from recasting it).

As you will see, there's usually no real harm in investing a single point into any particular skill to see if you like it. Most of the best skills are pretty far down on the skill tree and you'll need at least one point in every skill above them on the tree as a prerequisite to use the later skills anyway. People who mess up their characters usually do so by investing a ton of points into a skill early on that they end up not using. So to answer your question about whether or not to invest more heavily into bash, I'd say no. Regaredless of whether or not you are going to play a Concentrate barbarian, or a Whirlwind Barbarian, or a Berserker, Bash isn't going to help you. A single point in Bash and Stun as a prerequisite for the later skills is sufficient.

EDIT: One more thing - you will want a source of both mana steal and life steal with your equipment choices (not necessarily both on the same piece of equipment, but at least one source of each). Barbarians have to get up close and personal to kill stuff, and as such, you're going to get hit, and get hit quite often on higher difficulties. Having a source of life steal will allow you to replenish your life as you kill stuff and will limit the need to be constantly chugging healing potions. Similarly with mana, while barbarians don't need a ton of mana to activate their skills, they also have small mana pools, so you can easily run out. If you have a source of mana steal in your equipment, you can usually steal back the amount of mana you used to attack, so you'll be able to use your primary attack skill constantly. (With Concentrate, it only requires 2 mana per swing, so you will always be able to leech that back.)

 

I've got to late Act III nightmare last night with my spear wielding WW Barb. (Yeah, I know, there's the whole amazon thing to do yet too, but I put the spear wielding barb on hold until I got my hands on the appropiate runes I needed to fully upgrade his gear.) I'll kill Mephisto tonight.

I have decided that I will upgrade Hone Sudan to the elite version, although I have not done so yet, as I don't meet the minimum requirements (for level or dexterity). It was a tough decision to make, as the upgraded version of HS has a dexterity requirement of 161. The strength requirement is just 125, which is no biggie, as I'm already using an upped Goldskin (strength requirement of 140) and will use Demonhorn's Edge as my helm (strength requirement of 151) once I hit level 61. I'm currently level 56, so not far to go there.

My other equipment of note will be a Seraph's Hymn amulet (I like the +2 to all skills and the nice boost to attack rating against both demons and undead, which account for more than 2/3 of the enemies in the game), with rares filling out the remaining slots, which mostly give boosts to resistances and magic find. I may look at my concentrate barb to see his equipment and take some stuff from him. I'm not thrilled with my current setup, as the only mana steal I have is 3% from a rare pair of gloves that aren't doing much else for me other than giving mana steal.

My belt is currently Goldwrap, although I expect that I'll have to change that out to something else on Hell difficulty. I have another rare belt that gives fairly large resistances to fire, cold, and lightning, and while I don't have issues with resistances now, I'm going to take a 50% hit when I get to hell difficulty. (Technically I guess it's a 40% hit, as I'll do the Anya quest in Act V.)