12-05-2002 06:53									#1
	Diablo II: I eat my words. It's fun! Get a bigger avatar today!

After the lackluster demo, I wasn't excited about getting D2 anytime soon.

But a friend gave us the battle chest (D2 and XP) a month or two back, and it has taken over our family like the original Diablo did a while back. I have a Paladin that kick some serious thorns, and was the first in my family to beat big Diablo himself.

I Can't pinpoint just what it was about the demo that left me unimpressed, but the main game (or at least the XP), that keeps us all from getting too frustrated. Maybe it's my daughter's enjoyment of killing bishbosh over and over again. maybe it's the increased stash size in the XP.



ANYWAY.........
My wife had built a barbarian to level 30, but gave him up when she could not only not beat Diablo, she couldn't even get hardly into the chaos sanctuary. danged Oblivion Knights

She has started a sorceress and having immense fun, but Duriel is a big pain that keeps killing her over and over. Does anyone have any advice for getting a sorceress past Duriel in SP?

	12-05-2002 10:52									#2
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He's really nasty. I know I died quite a bit to him with my first character, also a sorceress. This is where the cheapness of D2's TP system helps out: I would set on autorun, walk through my TP, immediatly set another TP as I entered the room, and run around and circles tossing ice behind my back, dodging any of those deadly charges. When my stamina ran out, I ran through my TP again. If you want half a second of extra time, you can hire a mercenary who will die darn close to instantly upon entering the room.

The reason he's easier as a fighter is because by far his best move is the initial charge, which can kill a sorceress in one shot. A fighter can stand up right next to him and take his lesser attacks while drinking potions. You don't want to stand next to him as a sorceress- you'll die- but if you run around, you have to be very careful about ye olde charge o' doom.

	12-05-2002 11:26									#3
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He's a joke as a scorceress...I just kept that lightning storm aura up and ran around and around the room...piece of cake.

Assasins are where it's at, though, and paladins are definitely the best team player.

	12-05-2002 17:35									#4
	Re: Diablo II: I eat my words. It's fun! Tired of ads?

quote: Originally posted by Father Beast She has started a sorceress and having immense fun, but Duriel is a big pain that keeps killing her over and over. Does anyone have any advice for getting a sorceress past Duriel in SP?

Static Field, Static Field, Static Field ... mana potion ... Static Field, Static Field etc. ... Inferno (or similar damage attack) to finish him off. This strategy requires you to get pretty close to Duriel unless you have a high level Static Field (which you prolly shouldn't do on Normal difficulty). That's not the only way, of course, but at least a couple of Static Field's are VERY useful (since each hit will take away 25% of Duriel's remaining life.)

A Sorceress should have one of the Act Two mercenaries (the polearm guys) so that they can tank for her ... the Rogues from Act One are good, but more suited to a melee character. Your Merc should be able to keep Duriel occupied for a while.

A Sorc is definitely the hardest class to kill Duriel with, but it can be pretty easy if you use the right tactics. Never stand still. Never. But since your wife has died a lot then I guess she's already figured that out.

The best fansite for D2 is Diabloii.net, the forums are especially good. The general forums there have an ever-increasing Troll population, but the Character-Specific forums are good sources of info. Check it out.

Can't get to Diablo with a level 30 Barb? Well ... those Oblivion Knights are really, REALLY tough, but it should be pretty easy by level 30. Having said that, though, if that character was yuor wife's first attempt to play a Barb in D2 then it was probably a sub-optimal build ... which is normal. I put skill points in the most peculiar places when I made my first character and only just barely defeated Diablo ... it was the worst character i ever created, but also the most fun. D2 is an easy game to master once you know what you're doing, and at that point it gets boring, but the countless hours I spent playing were tremendous fun.

Happy Gaming!

PS. Have you got very far into Act 5 with your Paladin?

	12-05-2002 20:58									#5
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I kicked some diablo ass with my paladin and reached level 35 (then stopped playing - dunno why) but playing a barbarian was for me much easier.

BTW - has anybody finished Cow level? I killed some ~300 cows (could be a lot more) including cow king but then got bored and stopped

	12-05-2002 23:26									#6
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Triped: Of course it was a joke for you. You had to have been at least level 24 to have Lightning Storm. I beat him at Level 19.

That's an interesting challenge character I'd like to try, actually: the lowest level you can be to beat the game. A "Teleport Sorceress" who goes straight for Teleport and then teleports straight to quest enemies would be rather interesting, since you could then try and beat the game at around level 18~19.

FrustratedPoet: I agree, it is more fun the first time through when you sub-optimally build your character. My original Sorc had no levels of Static Field at all when she went through the game! Needless to say, I put a quite more decent amount in with later Sorcs. And it does get boring after awhile, but not until I had played around with a good 3 Sorcs and an Amazon (oddly enough, I took the Amazon farthest- all the way to Kurast in Nightmare).

However, as fun as Static Field is, Lightning Resist does work against it, so it's not taking off the full 25% from Duriel. But it doesn't matter, because as all good students of math know, exponential decay is exponential decay, and even 5% reduction will whittle him down to size very fast.

Juggler: Yah, the cow level is beatable. Blizzard/Meteor are MADE for the Cow Level, 'tis quite fun.

	13-05-2002 08:40									#7
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Woohoo! Diablo2 does kick ass. One of the VERY rare games that i do not get tired of playing. I've got an level 74 assasin that has finished all the way through Hell level, and a level 40something Barbarian that has finished all the way through Act 1 Hell.

	13-05-2002 08:47									#8
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One recommended anti-Duriel strategy for a sorceress is the blaze skill - just keep running away and the slug-thing follows you to its ultimate demise - static field/glacial spike seemed to work best for me though.
Mercs in the expansion can be both resurrected and potion-fed to keep them in the firing line while your sorc provides stand-off fire-support. This goes through potions very quickly though.

Best anti-Diablo strategy I found with my barbarian was to just keep moving while he was using his lightning/fire attacks and to rush in close for a few attacks when he stopped. Big advantage you have here is that he can't follow you back out near the entrance if you need to regroup.
Expansion-Diablo is pretty hard to hit so life-steal probably won't be enough to keep you alive for long so use those potions and go back for more whenever you get too low.
Wrt the oblivion knights, I guess Mrs Beast maybe tried whirlwind? Big mistake whenever there are any of those knights around. One Iron maiden curse in the middle of a WW and you're toast. Again probably the best way to deal with them is the hit'n'run - draw out and eliminate the doom knights first then zigzag in towards the oblivions to avoid their elemental bolts.

If you're at all interested in mods check out

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~phrozenkeep/site/

There are a lot of very good mods out there - notably (IMO) Tekno tokyo's, SG's rune mod and a Demon-mod (Still in beta testing) that allows you to play as one of seven demon characters with all-new skills.
Many of the newer mods now feature monster graphics from Diablo, Baldurs Gate and others as well as skill and item changes.

	13-05-2002 13:16									#9
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I got a Socereress to the first Act of Hell difficulty before I got bored with the game. Frozen Orb is SO fantastically awesome and destructive that the game loses what little challenge it had once you get it to a high level. It's like having your own machine-gun.

	13-05-2002 13:19									#10
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The real challenge of the game is player vs. player.

It requires a completely different set of skills, so earning them through co-operative play is tougher.

I had a kickass Mind Blast + lightning trap assasin with most points put into mana...it was crazy...

	13-05-2002 17:44									#11
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Thanks for all the advice. Poet, you seem to have the best idea for now, since sge has a point in static field, and a staff that gives her another point. combined with snowfire's TP tactic, I bet that'll do the trick.


Her barbarian (now deleted, don't ask me why) had almost all points in sword mastery and iron skin, with a few others in find potion. She was so frustrated because she did just fine through most of the game, until she got hit with an iron maiden curse. she had no idea how to deal with that.

My buddy was the paladin, and I put a bunch of points into prayer at the beginning, which got me through most of act I, then went for thorns. I played a little bit with conversion before settling with vengeance as a standard attack.
I have stuck with my Iron Wolf for quite some time now, and make a habit of getting back to town and ressurecting him the instant he gets killed. I just made sure not to hit anyone while I saw the iron maiden curse above my head. He got me through the chaos sanctuary, getting killed 3 times as much as I did. going against Diablo wasn't so bad. I stood there and beat on him with my thorns on, while my iron wolf blasted at him. drank a potion of full rejuv now and then and that was it. I beat Baal pretty much the same way.

I was a level 28 when I beat Diablo, and level 37 when I beat Baal. I took my time and enjoyed the ride. building up humungous skills is part of the fun of the game.

BTW,I had no trouble cleaning out the cow level. At least on normal.

I have a level 13 necromancer specializing in summoning skills most of the way through act I. I'll have to remember to keep a few bodies close by when I fight duriel, or something.

	13-05-2002 17:57									#12
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I'm an absolute addict. I spend all my time trying to find all the set items. I'm not going to be satisfied 'till I (at one point or another) have them all. I got the extended stash/cube/inventory mod for just this purpose. it's almost all I play the game for.

I'm not alone here, am I?

	13-05-2002 18:04									#13
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quote: Originally posted by MrWhereItsAt I'm an absolute addict. I spend all my time trying to find all the set items. I'm not going to be satisfied 'till I (at one point or another) have them all. I got the extended stash/cube/inventory mod for just this purpose. it's almost all I play the game for. I'm not alone here, am I?

You've got to be kidding! does it really work? and can you use it with current characters?

even in the expansion my stash is too small. too many gems, even with cubing them.

	13-05-2002 18:44									#14
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FB - anyway you can play a LAN game, or is the game only on one computer? I have a friend here with it as well, and every so often one of us hosts a game (alt-tab-able) while the other runs through his characters, dropping items in the rogue encpt, then bringing in a set of level 1 storage characters to pick the stuff up.

You can get a cube for the gems and runes store by dropping your current cube somewhere safe in an MP game with the mule in play, then re-completing the quest that gives you the cube.

	13-05-2002 19:04									#15
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Well, I couldn't get ALL the items, but I can hold a few sets at once easily. I don't really consider it cheating either, as it doesn't make anything any easier (just means you don't have to choose just one or two sets to aim for, more like 6 or so) - and for those who DO consider it cheating, I'm almost finished Hell with my lvl 69 Barb and still no complete sets yet!

Um , here's a link. You may need to look around to find a version of the "Stash Mod" that works with your version of Diablo II (I think this one is for the Lord of Destruction Expansion), but all this does is expand sizes - no easier item finds, no harder monsters, nothing else. http://www.fileplanet.com/index.asp?section=1514

	14-05-2002 03:05									#16
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What merc would people recommend for a half-werewolf, half-summoning druid? I've just made it into Lut Gholein, at about level 15, and was thinking one of Greiz's men to complement the semi-party nature of my force - but which type?

	14-05-2002 03:18									#17
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Get yourself a nice barbarian to tank hits. Later on, get an ice scorceress to freeze the monsters for you.

	14-05-2002 03:54									#18
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And before I hit Acts 3 and 5?

	14-05-2002 04:20									#19
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The Thorns Merc would be a good fit for your summoned beasties.

I think a Might merc would be the best all-round, though ... it would nicely complement the attacking style of the werewolf as well as giving a nice damage boost to your minions.

If you want freezing then the Holy Freeze mercenary is the best, but IIRC you can't get him until Nightmare.

In fact, all of my posts should have an 'IIRC' attached to then ... I haven't played D2 for several months, but I think that's right.

	14-05-2002 04:36									#20
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Anyone remember what type of merc those are? Ie Offensive, Defensive or Combat?

And perhaps thorns is better than might, given that 2 of my minions don't deal any damage

	14-05-2002 06:27									#21
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quote: Originally posted by Father Beast I have a level 13 necromancer specializing in summoning skills most of the way through act I. I'll have to remember to keep a few bodies close by when I fight duriel, or something.

Best rely on your golem + curses + lots n lots of mana potions.
Skeletons/Mages at that level don't do too well against Duriel and die very quickly.

quote: Originally posted by Father Beast You've got to be kidding! does it really work? and can you use it with current characters? even in the expansion my stash is too small. too many gems, even with cubing them.

It does work with your present characters but take care to note the original limits in the new stash/Inv/Cube screens. If you ever wish to go back to the original (or upgrade patches) you will lose any items outside those limits. There have also been incidences of crashes if items are straddling those limits when reverting to the original game.

quote: Originally posted by Chowlett Anyone remember what type of merc those are? Ie Offensive, Defensive or Combat?

Only ones I remember are the might Merc (offensive) and the prayer Merc (combat).

	14-05-2002 08:35									#22
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Last time I played as a paladin, I struggled against Baal. Playing as a barbarian however, I mopped the floor with Baal's ugly face, and at the lowly level of 36 (normal difficulty obviously) and didn't die once (in fact it was no longer than a minute and a half before Baal was the one to die). My struggling paladin was level 40 and died at least 30 times before I could beat the SOB.

Anybody have a decent approach to developing a paladin so that he has little to no trouble at that point in the game? I'm so tired of being discouraged from using a paladin.

	14-05-2002 12:18									#23
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LA: If you are well and truly bored, you can try a strategy that somebody (not me!) actually used at the CS lab last year when D2 was popular there. The "ThornySmurf," a Paladin who pumps literally all his points into Thorns and Vitality. You can have 1000 hitpoints after completing Normal. You can't wear good armor, but who cares, because you want to get hit (okay, Magic Resist is useful, and Darkglow ring mail only requires Strength 35 I think). And your weapon, aside from Thorns bonuses, is utterly irrelevant. On the downside, the "game" now consists of running around and getting hit and drinking potions.

The other fun CS lab strategy was "Rings and Fields" (a pun on the Math course). One Sorc with massive amounts of Static Field. One Sorc with massive amounts of Nova. 6 other random characters who sit in town, if there are enough free machines at the lab. The enemies have 8x normal HP and give tons of XP, but Static Field rapidly whittles them down to nothing all the same, and then the Novas finish off every enemy nearby Rings. Really only works in a lab where you can have the extra characters there to burden up the enemy's HP/XP, but still interesting.

	14-05-2002 16:37									#24
	Put an end to popups!

Snowfire -

I can type "players 8" in an sp game and watch the HP of all the monsters jump up high.

That improved stash is awesome. got to make sure I keep it.... No more patches for me.

The enourmous cube now lets me walk around without getting full for a loooonnnggg time.

	14-05-2002 16:54									#25
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Glad to hear you're enjoying it!

My good deed is done...

	14-05-2002 19:16									#26
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Chowlett: All the relevant info on the Mercenaries can be found on the other end of this link.

Thorns and Might mercs aren't available until Nightmare difficulty unfortunately.

Your options on Normal are Prayer, Blessed Aim and Defiance. None of them are great, but all have their uses.

	14-05-2002 20:48									#27
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FB: Really? This one of the changes of LoD? Interesting... I never patched because I liked my fast-throwing Glacial Spikes over the change to slow firing rate but more damage versions in LoD, as well as the fact that I heard that money was useless in LoD since gambling didn't get you uniques anymore.

	14-05-2002 23:57									#28
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I think that 'players X' (doesn't have to be 8, i think you can have 'players 64' if you want, although i've never tried) wasn't in the original LoD release, but was patched in at a later date because the fans wanted it. It's a pretty neat feature.

Gambling can get you uniques .... theoretically ... but the percentages have been slashed so thoroughly that it is very very unlikely now. Not really worth bothering with.

You don't need to gamble to get good uniques now anyway ... it is really easy to load up on a ton of +% magic find items and kill bosses like Mephisto on Nightmare and Hell difficulties over and over and over and over and over ... far more lucrative than the gambling ever was, and it is slightly more exciting .... but only slightly.

	15-05-2002 01:10									#29
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Players X is a player mulitplier.

If you have 8 players in a game and you type "Players 5", it will compute monster strength as if there were 40 (8x5) players.

Fighting Baal can get pretty crazy when the game thinks there are 64 players after him.

	15-05-2002 03:07									#30
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Aaahh .... thanks ... I get it now.

I've never used Players X before 'cos I only played multiplayer after LoD came out.

Yeah, wow ... fighting Baal (or even worse: Lister) with 8 people when the game thinks there are 64 players in the game ... it would take AGES to kill him.