Some Questions about playing in Hell (SP)

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Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Hi there!

Haven't touched DII for some years I recently dusted off my old CD's
and installed this game again (together with expansion). Wow, there's
alot new stuff here, almost felt like a new game (last I played 1.04 a
few years back). After several not so successful chars Inez finally
made it and killed Baal in Nightmare, around clvl 60 or so. Inez is
Bowazon, that was always my favourite in DII. I skilled her the old
fashioned way, enough str for a good bow, no energy, no vit, all dex.
Multishot is maxed out, freezing arrow and valkyrie are close to max.

In NM no probs so far but then I tried hell...

....and I have no chance. In the meantime Inez is clvl 72, I have put
some points in vit, have even wasted some points in the fire tree but
still no chance. I do like a challenge but this is just to much. Every
second monster is a champion of some sort, every third a boss, every
forth is immune to physical damage and every fifth immune to at least
2 elements. :) And to top the mess leeching seems nonexistent and the
resistances are down to almost nothing (ok, thats not new to me).

Inez has no problems at all in NM with /players 8 set, even my old
"friend" Duriel is killable, but as soon as I try hell I can't get
past the outer cloister. In the old days (v1.04 classic)I played
hell/hell with that clvl but now!?

So here are some questions: Is it possible to play SP in hell
difficulty? If yes, what kind of char do you use? What clvl is typical
for the beginning in hell? What the hell was Blizzard thinking?

I guess it's easier in battlenet in a party and you can trade for some
good gear but I'm mostly on the road and play DII on my laptop so that
is out of question. I do have ATMA and a lot of perfect gems and cheap
runes, found some uniques and set items but nothing for an amazon.
What would be the best place to hunt for amazon gear (bows!) in nm? Is
it possible to get a "lum" rune in nm? (I'm trying to get "smoke" for
a shiny new ghost armor).

One last question: What does "cowing" mean? Found it on some guide on
the web, with regard to finding some descent gear.

TIA,

Sincerely, Achim

--
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
John Lennon
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:11:21 +0100, Achim Fueldner
<afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote:

>Hi there!
>
>Haven't touched DII for some years I recently dusted off my old CD's
>and installed this game again (together with expansion). Wow, there's
>alot new stuff here, almost felt like a new game (last I played 1.04 a
>few years back). After several not so successful chars Inez finally
>made it and killed Baal in Nightmare, around clvl 60 or so. Inez is
>Bowazon, that was always my favourite in DII. I skilled her the old
>fashioned way, enough str for a good bow, no energy, no vit, all dex.
>Multishot is maxed out, freezing arrow and valkyrie are close to max.

Well, I prefer Strafe, but I went into that in too much detail in
another post ;-)

Also, what's your Strength at now? 95 was enough for every bow in D2
but in LoD there are bows that require more (140? 145? Something like
that. Arreat Summit lists 134 for Hydras and Windforce, maybe that's
it but I *thought* there was one that needed more) and I'm sure you'd
hate to find a Windforce and then find you don't have the Strength to
use it.

And *no* vit? I've been accused of building glass cannons with only
adding one point to vit with each level, I couldn't see trying it with
none ;-)

>In NM no probs so far but then I tried hell...
>
>...and I have no chance. In the meantime Inez is clvl 72, I have put
>some points in vit, have even wasted some points in the fire tree but
>still no chance. I do like a challenge but this is just to much. Every
>second monster is a champion of some sort, every third a boss, every
>forth is immune to physical damage and every fifth immune to at least
>2 elements. :) And to top the mess leeching seems nonexistent and the
>resistances are down to almost nothing (ok, thats not new to me).

Welcome to both the best and worst thinking of the BCMs (Blizzard
Crack Monkeys) ;-) Can I safely assume you're using the tactic of
letting the Valk tank the monsters while you shoot from behind her?
This should help a bit, especially since you have at least two
elemental attacks now (although Immo may need more points than you
currently have in it to really help, *if* you are going to use it,
like I said in my other post I'm currently avoiding the Fire tree as I
find I really don't have the skill points for it). And what do you
have on the weapon switch? I almost always have the best I can find
with lightning damage, often a javelin-type so I can keep my best
shield there too, for the fire/cold immunes.

>Inez has no problems at all in NM with /players 8 set, even my old
>"friend" Duriel is killable, but as soon as I try hell I can't get
>past the outer cloister. In the old days (v1.04 classic)I played
>hell/hell with that clvl but now!?
>
>So here are some questions: Is it possible to play SP in hell
>difficulty? If yes, what kind of char do you use? What clvl is typical
>for the beginning in hell? What the hell was Blizzard thinking?

I would hope that a Bowazon is still possible, it certainly is in AR
(Ancestral Recall, the mod I've played with the most).

>I guess it's easier in battlenet in a party and you can trade for some
>good gear but I'm mostly on the road and play DII on my laptop so that
>is out of question. I do have ATMA and a lot of perfect gems and cheap
>runes, found some uniques and set items but nothing for an amazon.
>What would be the best place to hunt for amazon gear (bows!) in nm?

Probably running Meph, Pindle and (especially) Baal, with some Cows
thrown in for variety.

>Is
>it possible to get a "lum" rune in nm? (I'm trying to get "smoke" for
>a shiny new ghost armor).

>Sincerely, Achim

It *should* be, although hopefully someone else will confirm/deny
this. Run the Countess with as little MF gear as you can get away with
(as opposed to the running mentioned above, where you want as *much*
MF gear as you can) and hopefully you get lucky ;-)

ald
reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Hell is doable in SP with a couple of different builds, but it is
challenging, for sure. The one that can solo everything is a summoner necro
(max skell and skell mastery, clay golem, bone armor, CE and one point in
all curses). You can do it with only equipment you find in normal and
nightmare.

I find a hammerdin (blessed hammer paladin) to be boring, but I understand
that he can solo hell as well. Other types are much more
equipment-dependent, and melee types particularly can be a challenge. I
have a Mavina's set bowazon that is OK through Act 2, hasn't done the rest
of the game, and a Throw Barb is doable with the right equipment.

Sorcs are a bit of a problem, because a tri-elementalist is not a viable
build...you need to focus on two trees to get the synergies high enough to
be able to do damage. Sooner or later you will run into a Boss that is
immune to both tree you selected, and then it will be up to the merc. I
have a FO/Meteor sorc in the mid 70s that finally completed Tal's set on the
hardcore ladder, and she can handle most things, and can teleport out of
danger when necessary.

You have to have some strategy for crowd control, esp if you get swarmed by
cursed fanat minions that are speedy to start with, like the dolls in
Durance. A Holy Freeze merc from NM act 2 can help you slow them down so
you can escape, and a barb Grim Ward can also help.

No doubt about it, Hell is really challenging...as it should be.

"Achim Fueldner" <afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote in message
news:354ncqF4hq55jU1@individual.net...
> Hi there!
>
> Haven't touched DII for some years I recently dusted off my old CD's
> and installed this game again (together with expansion). Wow, there's
> alot new stuff here, almost felt like a new game (last I played 1.04 a
> few years back). After several not so successful chars Inez finally
> made it and killed Baal in Nightmare, around clvl 60 or so. Inez is
> Bowazon, that was always my favourite in DII. I skilled her the old
> fashioned way, enough str for a good bow, no energy, no vit, all dex.
> Multishot is maxed out, freezing arrow and valkyrie are close to max.
>
> In NM no probs so far but then I tried hell...
>
> ...and I have no chance. In the meantime Inez is clvl 72, I have put
> some points in vit, have even wasted some points in the fire tree but
> still no chance. I do like a challenge but this is just to much. Every
> second monster is a champion of some sort, every third a boss, every
> forth is immune to physical damage and every fifth immune to at least
> 2 elements. :) And to top the mess leeching seems nonexistent and the
> resistances are down to almost nothing (ok, thats not new to me).
>
> Inez has no problems at all in NM with /players 8 set, even my old
> "friend" Duriel is killable, but as soon as I try hell I can't get
> past the outer cloister. In the old days (v1.04 classic)I played
> hell/hell with that clvl but now!?
>
> So here are some questions: Is it possible to play SP in hell
> difficulty? If yes, what kind of char do you use? What clvl is typical
> for the beginning in hell? What the hell was Blizzard thinking?
>
> I guess it's easier in battlenet in a party and you can trade for some
> good gear but I'm mostly on the road and play DII on my laptop so that
> is out of question. I do have ATMA and a lot of perfect gems and cheap
> runes, found some uniques and set items but nothing for an amazon.
> What would be the best place to hunt for amazon gear (bows!) in nm? Is
> it possible to get a "lum" rune in nm? (I'm trying to get "smoke" for
> a shiny new ghost armor).
>
> One last question: What does "cowing" mean? Found it on some guide on
> the web, with regard to finding some descent gear.
>
> TIA,
>
> Sincerely, Achim
>
> --
> "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
> John Lennon
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:05:43 GMT, "doodles"
<tomfulton53nospammer@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Hell is doable in SP with a couple of different builds, but it is
>challenging, for sure. The one that can solo everything is a summoner necro
>(max skell and skell mastery, clay golem, bone armor, CE and one point in
>all curses). You can do it with only equipment you find in normal and
>nightmare.

I'm finding that doing this with Amp Damage at only one point makes it
quite difficult for CE to do it's work. Are you relying on +skills
stuff (which I find much harder to come by in SP) to up the area of
Amp? Admittedly the Necro I'm currently playing is only in Act
2/Normal so far, and in a mod as well (Nez), but I don't see myself
being able to use CE effectively without getting more points into Amp
from somewhere.

ald
reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

"ald" <103175.3500@compuserve.com> wrote in message
news:m7tqu0dmsm5ti08q459sd10clpqikaljf5@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:05:43 GMT, "doodles"
> <tomfulton53nospammer@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Hell is doable in SP with a couple of different builds, but it is
> >challenging, for sure. The one that can solo everything is a summoner
necro
> >(max skell and skell mastery, clay golem, bone armor, CE and one point in
> >all curses). You can do it with only equipment you find in normal and
> >nightmare.
>
> I'm finding that doing this with Amp Damage at only one point makes it
> quite difficult for CE to do it's work. Are you relying on +skills
> stuff (which I find much harder to come by in SP) to up the area of
> Amp? Admittedly the Necro I'm currently playing is only in Act
> 2/Normal so far, and in a mod as well (Nez), but I don't see myself
> being able to use CE effectively without getting more points into Amp
> from somewhere.
>
>
My Necros usually only put 1 point in Amp, and rely on +skills for the
extras. My current Necro found some nifty starter items, a wand with +raise
skeleton and AD, and a necro shield with pluses to AD as well.
It's all in the luck :)


short
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On 18-Jan-2005, Achim Fueldner <afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote:

> One last question: What does "cowing" mean? Found it on some guide on
> the web, with regard to finding some descent gear.

That is where you create a 'cow' game. After killing Baal, reenter normal
or nightmare and go to Tristram and collect Wirt's leg, then go to the
Rogues camp and put it (the leg) and a scroll of town portal into the
Horadric Cube and hit transmute, a red portal will appear that will lead you
to the 'secret' cow level. If you are playing single player, be sure to
save your character files before doing this because if you kill the 'Cow
King' boss you will not be able to create the portal again, however if you
stay away from him you can clear the rest of the area for some nice
experience and /or items. If you are able to create a multi-player game,
create the portal with one player, load the 'runner', and then exit the
creator so that you can go kill the king for his goodies too, then do it
again, and again, etc.
HTH - HAND

btw, you do know it is amazingly simple to duplicate your runes (or gems or
anything else for that matter) using ATMA and then cube them up to whatever
you desire
--
Don't Panic!
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:18:25 -0500, "short" <shorts@zoominternet.net>
wrote:

>My Necros usually only put 1 point in Amp, and rely on +skills for the
>extras. My current Necro found some nifty starter items, a wand with +raise
>skeleton and AD, and a necro shield with pluses to AD as well.
>It's all in the luck :)
>
>short

Aye, my luck isn't that good, I've found +raise skelly *or* +AD, and
+skelly mastery or AD heads, but not the combo.

Oh, and it appears my memory is failing me (again). The Necro in Act
2/Normal (in the Claw Viper Temple as we speak/type) is in regular
LoD, the Nez one is probably still in Act 1.

ald
reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Hi,

Achim Fueldner <afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote in news:354ncqF4hq55jU1
@individual.net:

>
> So here are some questions: Is it possible to play SP in hell
> difficulty? If yes, what kind of char do you use? What clvl is typical
> for the beginning in hell? What the hell was Blizzard thinking?
>

well, that's why it is called hell diff. My level 75 Throwbarb has just
finished Act 1 without too many problems.

You didn't say what your damage and Attack rating are? You'll want at
least about 4000 max damage and 7000 AR would be nice, too. Otherwise,
you won't hit or deal enough damage. Some items give Crushing Blow
(reduces enemy health by 1/10 when it fires) or Critical/Deadly Strike
(which doubles damage dealt).

Also watch out for your resists. Hell deals a hefty negative bonus for
these - for Act1 you should have at least positive numbers here.

Do you have a mercenary? A Holy Freeze merc should slow these pesky
bosses and other guys just long enough for you to take them out. A might
merc could easily double your max damage. And any of them can act as a
nice meat shield.

Finally, better equipment always can help a lot. Just do some more
nightmare mephisto or Ball runs for better items. As somebody
mentionend, cow runs can be profitable, too.

Last, but not least, have a look at the build guides at rpgforums.net. I
haven't played a bowazon yet, so I can only give general advice here.

HtH,

Oliver
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

It's hard to compare my experience to a mod, as the skills and so forth are
quite different. However, to a degree, you're right...the quick and dirty
description of a summoner build I gave consists of one point in all curses,
and you can add as many as your situation requires to any specific skill. I
do have several +skill items, almost all of which have been found by me,
including shako, skullders and homonculus, so it's doable with only what you
find yourself in the game. I don't play SP often (in fact, it's only when I
don't have a viable Internet connection), but I have found all these items
myself in SP with very basic MF equipment (exceptional-elite armor socketed
with perfect topaz). It just depends on how much you play...and in my case,
I play way, way too much.

"ald" <103175.3500@compuserve.com> wrote in message
news:m7tqu0dmsm5ti08q459sd10clpqikaljf5@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:05:43 GMT, "doodles"
> <tomfulton53nospammer@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Hell is doable in SP with a couple of different builds, but it is
> >challenging, for sure. The one that can solo everything is a summoner
necro
> >(max skell and skell mastery, clay golem, bone armor, CE and one point in
> >all curses). You can do it with only equipment you find in normal and
> >nightmare.
>
> I'm finding that doing this with Amp Damage at only one point makes it
> quite difficult for CE to do it's work. Are you relying on +skills
> stuff (which I find much harder to come by in SP) to up the area of
> Amp? Admittedly the Necro I'm currently playing is only in Act
> 2/Normal so far, and in a mod as well (Nez), but I don't see myself
> being able to use CE effectively without getting more points into Amp
> from somewhere.
>
> ald
> reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 21:26:40 GMT, "doodles"
<tomfulton53nospammer@hotmail.com> wrote:

>It's hard to compare my experience to a mod, as the skills and so forth are
>quite different. However, to a degree, you're right...the quick and dirty
>description of a summoner build I gave consists of one point in all curses,
>and you can add as many as your situation requires to any specific skill. I
>do have several +skill items, almost all of which have been found by me,
>including shako, skullders and homonculus, so it's doable with only what you
>find yourself in the game. I don't play SP often (in fact, it's only when I
>don't have a viable Internet connection), but I have found all these items
>myself in SP with very basic MF equipment (exceptional-elite armor socketed
>with perfect topaz). It just depends on how much you play...and in my case,
>I play way, way too much.

Yeah, so do I, although interestingly enough not as much as I used to.
Nez doesn't add much to skills stuff, well, not that I've gotten to
yet anyway, only some odd stuff like "souls" that can be used in rings
slots, and like I said in my reply to short I was wrong, the Necro
that's in act 2/NM (and wishing he had an extra point to put in Amp,
but he's 23 and only has enough saved to use when he gets that next
half-level) is in normal LoD. *Some*where (maybe on the old machine?)
I have a Necro almost completely decked out in MF gear, but he was
finding mostly Zon stuff (of course, since my Zons don't MF as a rule)
;-(

ald
reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 18:21:33 GMT, "ArtDent" <par@noyd.invalidname>
wrote:

> [cowing]
> experience and /or items. If you are able to create a multi-player game,
> create the portal with one player, load the 'runner', and then exit the
> creator so that you can go kill the king for his goodies too, then do it
> again, and again, etc.

That i did not know! Thank you for the tip, I can create LAN games at
home. Will try that next weekend. I always thought there is no way to
get the cows more than once per diflevel.

> HTH - HAND

It sure does!

Thanks, Achim

--
Cats are lawful. Whatever they do _is_ the Right Thing, by definition.
Dylan O'Donell in r.g.r.n
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:05:43 GMT, "doodles"
<tomfulton53nospammer@hotmail.com> wrote:

>> Hell is doable in SP with a couple of different builds, but it is
>> challenging, for sure. The one that can solo everything is a summoner necro
>> (max skell and skell mastery, clay golem, bone armor, CE and one point in
>> all curses). You can do it with only equipment you find in normal and
>> nightmare.

As a skellimancer driver:

1 point in clay golem, max Dim Vision instead.

You'll wind up shopping for gear and MFing for gear in hell.

>> Sooner or later you will run into a Boss that is
>> immune to both tree you selected, and then it will be up to the merc.

I've found this out too! Equip the merc to fill your gap!

>>
>> "Achim Fueldner" <afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote in message
>> news:354ncqF4hq55jU1@individual.net...
>> > Hi there!
>> >
>> > Haven't touched DII for some years I recently dusted off my old CD's
>> > and installed this game again (together with expansion).

Welcome back!

>> > I skilled her the old
>> > fashioned way, enough str for a good bow, no energy, no vit, all dex.

The "Glass Cannon".

>> > Multishot is maxed out, freezing arrow and valkyrie are close to max.

So you're only vexed by fast CI/PI (especially mana burn) attackers...

>> > And to top the mess leeching seems nonexistent and the

Leaching has been nerfed in hell, on a per-monster basis.
The Arreat Summit pages on the monsters should help see what you're up
against.

>> > I guess it's easier in battlenet in a party and you can trade for some
>> > good gear but I'm mostly on the road and play DII on my laptop so that
>> > is out of question.

Not so! Anybody who plays SP with ATMA can e-mail you a .d2i file with
whatever you want that they've found.

>> > Is it possible to get a "lum" rune in nm? (I'm trying to get "smoke" for
>> > a shiny new ghost armor).

Yes, LUM can be had in late NM, and in Hell before Outer Cloister (where
you are now). The Mausoleum under BloodRaven is a level85 area in hell
difficulty, and *anything* can drop there. Ditto The Pit in the Tamoe
Highlands.

>> > One last question: What does "cowing" mean? Found it on some guide on
>> > the web, with regard to finding some descent gear.

If means having two computers (or running two instances of D2 on the
same machine) with at least one having gotten the quest for killing Baal
in that difficulty level, which then opens portals to the cow level
(tome of town portal and wirt's leg, done in Rogues Camp) and then
=>leaves the game<=, while the other character enters the portal and
slaughters all the cows and hunts through the items they dropped. If
the portal opener is a barb with Find Item and some echoing (+3
warcries) items, he can then be brought back into the game to apply Find
Item to all the corpses (called "horking").

Killing "The Cow King" is a Quest (like rescuing Cain), once a character
gets that quest they can never open a portal in that difficulty. This
is the reason for two chars, one opens the portal and leaves, the other
enters and kills everything (King included).


--

USEast HC Ladder: Rockstomper
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

ald wrote:
> On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:11:21 +0100, Achim Fueldner
> <afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote:
> >Is
> >it possible to get a "lum" rune in nm? (I'm trying to get "smoke"
for
> >a shiny new ghost armor).
> It *should* be, although hopefully someone else will confirm/deny
> this.

I found a mal in the NM worldstone keep (2nd level, I think) a couple
weeks ago. Lum should be no problem.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Achim Fueldner <afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote:

[snip]
>Bowazon, that was always my favourite in DII. I skilled her the old
>fashioned way, enough str for a good bow, no energy, no vit, all dex.
>Multishot is maxed out, freezing arrow and valkyrie are close to max.

Like some others here I prefer to max Strafe. If you're lucky and can
get your hands on a Buriza Do Kyanon (unique ballista, strreq 110),
you have a nice amount of cold damage added. Socketing that one with
the Larzuk quest from Act5 and putting some nice lightning damage item
into it, then shooting with a fire skill gives you all three elements
in one shot (and the valkyrie does also, as she is some sort of copy
of your char).


>In NM no probs so far but then I tried hell...
>
>...and I have no chance. In the meantime Inez is clvl 72, I have put
>some points in vit, have even wasted some points in the fire tree but
>still no chance. I do like a challenge but this is just to much. Every
>second monster is a champion of some sort, every third a boss, every
>forth is immune to physical damage and every fifth immune to at least
>2 elements. :) And to top the mess leeching seems nonexistent and the
>resistances are down to almost nothing (ok, thats not new to me).

Resistances are always on top of the list of to be fixed things.
There are bosses around that will kill you out of sight, if your res
are too low.
As for leeching: skeletons and physical immunes are no good choice for
life leech. AFAIK skeletons provide at least mana leech, but the
immunes need to get their immunity removed so that you can do physical
damage, as leeching only refers to the physical part of damage you do.
Check for some gear that gives you "Amplify Damage/Decrepify on
strikiing" or as charges.
Another tactic with Strafe is to use a weapon that does elemental
damage on striking, e.g. Skystrike that has "2% chance to cast lvl6
Meteor". Each shot in Strafe counts as a single one, so by using this
bow it's possible to cast one or more Meteors with a single mouse
click.


[snip]
>So here are some questions: Is it possible to play SP in hell
>difficulty? If yes, what kind of char do you use?

In SP-Softcore you can use nearly any, except for chars that are
absolutely dependent on their elemental damage, e.g. Trapsins,
Javazons (both have their problems with lightning immunes), or single
elemental Sorcs.

Skellimancers and Hammerdins nearly never hit the wall, AFAIK.

>What clvl is typical for the beginning in hell?

At around 70 you'd be ready to enter.

>What the hell was Blizzard thinking?

To make the difficulty level difficult, dunno. 😀


[snip]
>What would be the best place to hunt for amazon gear (bows!) in nm?

Regards to my experience there is no good or best place to find items,
especially one-and-only items for a specific char. Most of the good
stuff I collected (in SP and on the ladder, too) dropped somewhere
else or was hidden in chests and so on.

On the other hand the drop of an item depends on the area your char is
in. Maybe you want to have a look at the little MF guide.
<http://home.t-online.de/home/320071388834-0001/games/D2X_110_MF_Guide_ENG.htm>


>Is it possible to get a "lum" rune in nm? (I'm trying to get "smoke" for
>a shiny new ghost armor).

Yes, maybe you're lucky in that hellforge quest (A4Q2), or check the
different levels of the worldstone keep or maybe nm cows. Countess
runs are another opportunity to get some low or mid lvl runes.


J:
NP: -
--
http://here.is/ripley/ *4therecords.HCEurope
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 19:52:06 +0100, Oliver Wenzel <ouuch@t-online.de>
wrote:

> You didn't say what your damage and Attack rating are? You'll want at
> least about 4000 max damage and 7000 AR would be nice, too. Otherwise,
> you won't hit or deal enough damage. Some items give Crushing Blow
> (reduces enemy health by 1/10 when it fires) or Critical/Deadly Strike
> (which doubles damage dealt).

AR is around 6000, but max damage way under 1000 :-/ Hmm, seems my
little lass needs a better bow (or a better player, hehe)

> Also watch out for your resists. Hell deals a hefty negative bonus for
> these - for Act1 you should have at least positive numbers here.

No chance, except fire & poison. I could have more, but then my leech
would be zero. Guess it's gamble time.

> Finally, better equipment always can help a lot. Just do some more
> nightmare mephisto or Ball runs for better items. As somebody
> mentionend, cow runs can be profitable, too.

Why Mephi & Baal? Do they drop the best stuff? Mephi isn't a problem,
but Baal takes always a looong time.

Thanks for the tips

Achim

--
"Ye know.. My last owner always said I was sharp and edgy. Hehe...
He was such an ass!"
- Lilarcor in BG2 -
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:27:33 +0100, Achim Fueldner
<afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote:

>On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 19:52:06 +0100, Oliver Wenzel <ouuch@t-online.de>
>wrote:

>AR is around 6000, but max damage way under 1000 :-/ Hmm, seems my
>little lass needs a better bow (or a better player, hehe)

Probably a better bow, my Slayer got about 1000% better when she found
a Kuko.

>> Also watch out for your resists. Hell deals a hefty negative bonus for
>> these - for Act1 you should have at least positive numbers here.
>
>No chance, except fire & poison. I could have more, but then my leech
>would be zero. Guess it's gamble time.

Look for charms to help out here, a couple of my BNut characters went
from negative to livable (40 or so at the lowest) using little else.
Belts, gloves, hats (unless you're lucky enough to get leech on there)
and boots are the other sources, with jewelry left for leeching.

>> Finally, better equipment always can help a lot. Just do some more
>> nightmare mephisto or Ball runs for better items. As somebody
>> mentionend, cow runs can be profitable, too.
>
>Why Mephi & Baal? Do they drop the best stuff? Mephi isn't a problem,
>but Baal takes always a looong time.

>Achim

Yeah, along with Pindle. Just below these are Shenk and er,
brain-fart, the Super boss on the other side of the same way point,
who can drop just below that level and are much quicker to get rid of.

ald
reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:40:20 -0500, ald <103175.3500@compuserve.com>
wrote:

> Also, what's your Strength at now? 95 was enough for every bow in D2
> but in LoD there are bows that require more (140? 145? Something like

Yes, 95 without items. Bow is a gothic with 94 max dmg, sias and some
added lightning damage.

> And *no* vit? I've been accused of building glass cannons with only
> adding one point to vit with each level, I couldn't see trying it with
> none ;-)

Meanwhile shes got a whopping 50 vit :) With items around 500 life.
Still seems to low.

> Welcome to both the best and worst thinking of the BCMs (Blizzard

<laughs> BCM... first time I hear that.

> Crack Monkeys) ;-) Can I safely assume you're using the tactic of
> letting the Valk tank the monsters while you shoot from behind her?

Is there another way to play a bowazon? :) Btw., it seems my merc and
my valk doing waaay more damage as me in hell. Strange.

> This should help a bit, especially since you have at least two
> elemental attacks now (although Immo may need more points than you
> currently have in it to really help, *if* you are going to use it,

Thats right. 3 points wasted. And that huge delay for immo...

> like I said in my other post I'm currently avoiding the Fire tree as I
> find I really don't have the skill points for it). And what do you
> have on the weapon switch? I almost always have the best I can find
> with lightning damage, often a javelin-type so I can keep my best
> shield there too, for the fire/cold immunes.

<scratches head> Umm, right... what weapon slot? Hehe, totally forgot
about this one! I have a second bow with low base damage, but this one
adds 500something poison damge over 10 seconds. Maybe this one could
fit.

> >it possible to get a "lum" rune in nm? (I'm trying to get "smoke" for
> >a shiny new ghost armor).
>
> It *should* be, although hopefully someone else will confirm/deny
> this. Run the Countess with as little MF gear as you can get away with

I'll try that. Tarnhelm looks ugly on a zon anyway.

A lot good advice, thank you ald. Next Zon (with strafe!) I'll do
better, hopefully.

> ald
> reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com

Achim

--
"Don't take life too seriously, no one makes it out alive anyway."
Doug Shanahan in r.g.r.n
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:27:40 +0100, Achim Fueldner
<afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote:

>On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:40:20 -0500, ald <103175.3500@compuserve.com>
>wrote:
>
>> Also, what's your Strength at now? 95 was enough for every bow in D2
>> but in LoD there are bows that require more (140? 145? Something like
>
>Yes, 95 without items. Bow is a gothic with 94 max dmg, sias and some
>added lightning damage.

Ouch! Yeah, there's your problem, unless the minimum is well above 40
or so ;-) A better bow would go a *long* way toward solving your
problems.

>> And *no* vit? I've been accused of building glass cannons with only
>> adding one point to vit with each level, I couldn't see trying it with
>> none ;-)
>
>Meanwhile shes got a whopping 50 vit :) With items around 500 life.
>Still seems to low.

Yeah, I'd agree, and I have a tendency to have it too low (like I
said, 1 point added to vit per level, and I still get accused of
running Glass Cannons).

>> Welcome to both the best and worst thinking of the BCMs (Blizzard
>
><laughs> BCM... first time I hear that.

I can't take credit for it, someone in the other Diablo group
(Marshall? I want to give Stephen van Ham credit, but I'm not really
sure who) came up with it.

>Thats right. 3 points wasted. And that huge delay for immo...

No, even at level 1, especially if you have +skills stuff (like that
ugly Tarn), it *can* be a lifesaver, if your Valk is staying alive,
and with her almost maxed she should be in most situations.

><scratches head> Umm, right... what weapon slot? Hehe, totally forgot
>about this one! I have a second bow with low base damage, but this one
>adds 500something poison damge over 10 seconds. Maybe this one could
>fit.

I thought you might have ;-) The poison bow would be better than
nothing, dealing 50 points initially, but you're resetting that timer
every time you fire, so keep an eye peeled for something quicker.
IIRC, the Slayer that I'm about to play has a throwing spear of some
kind (one-handed) that does 1-240something lightning damage on switch,
not that she's had to use it yet in Act 2/NM.

>I'll try that. Tarnhelm looks ugly on a zon anyway.

>Achim

Ugly but useful, except for against the Countess herself (for some BCM
reason, it seems the more magic find you have against her, the less
runes drop). I'd TP to town if you have to to take it off just before
she spawns.

Hmm, it looks like I snipped the part where I wanted to ask you which
Merc you're using. I have this obsession with Rogues, something to do
with playing *way* too much of the original Diablo, but many others
prefer a second tank. A good Merc with the right equipment can *also*
make all the difference in the world.

ald
reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 00:58:25 GMT, Brian Brunner
<brian.brunner@verizon.net.prophet> wrote:

> >> > I skilled her the old
> >> > fashioned way, enough str for a good bow, no energy, no vit, all dex.
>
> The "Glass Cannon".

First time I read that term, ald mentioned it too. Does that mean a
former "speedazon"? But yes, she's very fragile.

> >> > Multishot is maxed out, freezing arrow and valkyrie are close to max.
>
> So you're only vexed by fast CI/PI (especially mana burn) attackers...

Yes. Mana is a BIG problem. She's addicted to the blue pots. :)

> >> > Is it possible to get a "lum" rune in nm? (I'm trying to get "smoke" for
> >> > a shiny new ghost armor).
>
> Yes, LUM can be had in late NM, and in Hell before Outer Cloister (where
> you are now). The Mausoleum under BloodRaven is a level85 area in hell
> difficulty, and *anything* can drop there. Ditto The Pit in the Tamoe
> Highlands.

Really? I did not know that. I'll try a few runs. (Run in this case
means at least 2...3 times dying and a lot tp'ing to get new blue pots
:))

> >> > One last question: What does "cowing" mean? Found it on some guide on
> >> > the web, with regard to finding some descent gear.
>
> If means having two computers (or running two instances of D2 on the
> same machine) with at least one having gotten the quest for killing Baal
> in that difficulty level, which then opens portals to the cow level
> (tome of town portal and wirt's leg, done in Rogues Camp) and then
> =>leaves the game<=, while the other character enters the portal and
> slaughters all the cows and hunts through the items they dropped. If
> the portal opener is a barb with Find Item and some echoing (+3
> warcries) items, he can then be brought back into the game to apply Find
> Item to all the corpses (called "horking").

Thats on my todo list for the weekend now. (Except the barb, I don't
have one). Thank you!

Achim

--
"He not busy being born is busy dying." (Bob Dylan)
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:27:43 +0100, Achim Fueldner
<afueldner@HATESPAM.web.de.> wrote:

>On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 00:58:25 GMT, Brian Brunner
><brian.brunner@verizon.net.prophet> wrote:
>
>> >> > I skilled her the old
>> >> > fashioned way, enough str for a good bow, no energy, no vit, all dex.
>>
>> The "Glass Cannon".
>
>First time I read that term, ald mentioned it too. Does that mean a
>former "speedazon"? But yes, she's very fragile.

>Achim

"Glass Cannon": (or at least my understanding of the term) A
character, almost always used to describe a Bowazon in my experience,
who puts little to no points into vitality in order to max out damage.

ald
reply via email to ald_007_1999 at yahoo dot com
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005, Achim Fueldner wrote:

>> <scratches head> Umm, right... what weapon slot? Hehe, totally forgot
>> about this one! I have a second bow with low base damage, but this one
>> adds 500something poison damge over 10 seconds. Maybe this one could
>> fit.

6 Perfect Emeralds in a fast bow could handle some things. (shoot, run,
see who lives to follow you, shoot again). Sounds tedious, but healthy
for you.

Another thought: in hell, freeze time is 1/4 normal. Also, a PSapphire
has a chill time of 3 seconds, so a 6 PSapphire bow has 18 seconds chill
time (4.5 in Hell). Bug/Feature: this chill time gets added onto the
freeze time of Frozen Arrow (the Arrow of Mana Drain) giving F.A. a
freeze time of 5+ seconds in hell. Time enough to run or shoot other
things.

Doesn't slow down Cold Immunes, but a Holy Freeze merc (A2 NM Defensive)
will.



--

USEast HC Ladder: Rockstomper
 
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