I sent the Cranium Basher character. I don’t have the nords anymore. I thought it was a little over the top to be constantly casting Blizzards like that. It didn’t really feel like a melee character anymore.
Thanks for the info, I’m basically just a casual player. But I wanted to help Charles bump this thread up because I think it’s one of the best patches Blizzard could do to the game.
Thank you! I’ll upload a vid and post it here with my results.
Sweet! Can’t wait to see it!
Cranium Basher, Mang Songs, And The Grandfather all deserve to be end game unique viable in my opinion.
I’ll show you the difference between a regular Basher, my eBoTD TM and you Basher.
I think the proposed buff in STR was mainly more for the flavor of the item. Another thing we could consider is removing Indestructible affix so the item can roll ethereal. We could also consider changing the min. damage and instead put flat damage similar to Grief (can we test that change?)…
The Cranium Basher
Thunder Maul
Two-Hand Damage: (119-132) To (560-632)
Required Level: 87
Required Strength: 253
200-240% Enhanced Damage
20 To Minimum Damage
50% Damage to Undead
75% Chance Of Crushing Blow
4% To Cast Level 1 Amplify Damage On Striking
20% Increased Attack Speed
All Resistances +25
25 To Strength
Indestructible
The Cranium Basher Nickie sent me, if it was legit would be the most powerful melee weapon in the game. It clears as fast as duel Grief, maybe even faster (I’m still testing). Also, it kills bosses miles faster than any other melee weapon.
Hell Diablo Kill on /p7
TCB is the fastest (legit) Diablo killer in the game. From experience, this also translates to Nihlathak, the last 3 Throne waves and Baal. Duel Grief kills Lord De Seis, his minions, and the first two Throne waves faster than anything in the game, which comes down to the speed with which they alternate hits.
I don’t know if you all are aware, from clvl 95 and on, Diablo, Nihlathak and Baal were the only monsters that gave acceptable leveling experience in D2 LoD, making TCB the best end game leveling weapon due to it’s CB, which is how it out shines eBoTD and Grief.
It is my opinion that the best way to improve melee across the board in D2R is to make Amp Damage proc on striking (lvl 5 with 15% chance to proc across the board) and added up to 110 lvl 7 Amp Damage charges to Wands and Daggers to use on switch. These two changes alone would send melee to the stars. Amp charges doubles damage for every melee weapon in the game. It would practically double melee clearing speed, which is exactly what D2R needs for the TZs.
Imagine a Grief + Death Frenzy barb procing a lvl 5 Amp curse every 6-7 hits.
ZOOOM!
Very interesting. So would you say TZ made Cranium Basher lose its significance?
I guess the one from my file is way too overpowered. The thing is I found the current version completely unplayable and not fun at all to use. The same with The Grandfather.
I think when it comes to balance the devs need to take offline vs online into consideration. Items like The CB and The Grandfather would be useful in an SSF/offline playthrough, but that doesn’t translate the same in the online environment.
The game would be revitalized if players could magic find for extremely rare unique items that were viable in PVP/End game when rolled near perfect. The fact that items like Mang Songs and Tyraels are only good for holy grail achievements (and charsi food online) is a bit ridiculous.
I think Runewords and Uniques are like apples and oranges. I’ve seen someone mention that building a grief is easier than finding ultra rare uniques like The GF, Mangs, etc (I have no idea). Maybe when runewords were released, they were ridiculously hard to make, but now, It almost seems as if finding the rarest uniques is a lot harder and less rewarding.
In the minds of the player base it was never significant. It’s only good for 99ing on single player, but it’s never the go to. As you know, it’s very very very rare, so the odds of finding are bleak at best for a SSF 99er. The fastest way to 99 a barb when playing SSF is Nilhathak runs, using Grief and Enigma, which only takes 20-30 seconds max per run. It’s relatively easy to make Grief and Enigma if you know how to farm runs in Act 3.
It wasn’t complete. I didn’t use it, I simply put your maul on my eBoTD TM barb. This barb of mine kills Diablo on /p1 in less than a second, and in D2 LoD can clear Chaos in 4 minutes or do seal runs to Diablo in 1 minute. With this barb I can kill Izual, kill Hephasto, clear Chaos, kill Diablo, kill Nihlathak, clear the Throne and kill Baal, all in under 8 minutes. Your maul makes him faster.
I agree.
I agree.
D2 and LoD came out a year apart, and I don’t think the developers had any idea how bad the hacking would get - nothing was meant to be easy, but the community figured out how to exploit everything in both single player and multiplayer. The first rune words where either underwhelming or insanely hard to obtain, but not so over shadowing of high end rares and uniques. Then v1.10 rune words came out and they dominated, breaking the established metas.
Wanted to get your guys thoughts on below…
As a potential crafting improvement, what if developers added slim chance (approx. 5%, same chance for an item to roll ethereal) to retain an affix on the magic item used as part of the recipe?
To retain an affix on the magic item, it would first roll to keep prefix, then suffix, and so forth. As an exception, if the modifier already exists on crafted item, it will skip roll. This could add more value to magic items for crafting opportunities, while mitigating power creep as affix retainment % is very low.
It feels a bit random. I’d rather add a new receipt with a higher chance to keep one of the affixes.
Otherwise you would need to collect a high amount of magic items with the stat you would like to keep (all in a good roll). And even if the 5% procs. The rest might be shi*ty and you feel even more disappointed?
Those are awesome ideas, hope blizz can put some of this in for the next season. 
That’s a good idea, how about it randomly has a chance to pick ONLY one affix from the magic item to add to the crafted item? If the modifier already exists, it can’t be rolled on.
Please, please no.
We don’t need +3 tab, +2 class, 20 FCR caster amulets, etc.
Thinking about it, recipes no longer requiring specific bases, using ethereal item to craft will cause item to be ethereal, lower recipe for re-rolling rares, and crafted items can be upgraded is all that is really needed to improve crafting as listed in OP.
Please, please no.
We don’t need +3 tab, +2 class, 20 FCR caster amulets, etc.
You realize you cannot have +# tab and +# skill affixes on the same amulet, right? This doesn’t mean you could get impossible affix combinations… all it would mean is you have more control over 1 prefix and 1 suffix your crafted item may get, and would make the magic items used to craft more meaningful in the process. Not only would you care about the ilvl, but now you would also care about the prefix and suffix.
With the drop algorithm, yes. But you’re (1) presuming that the cube would work the same way when none of its functions for using properties of items currently support that, and (2) still calling for an extra affix on crafted items when caster amulets are already the most sought amulets; and when we don’t really need to give crafted boots another +resistance; etc.
I was playing around with ChatGPT and curious what AI would say about buffing uniques in D2R…
My question:
Should developers buff uniques in D2R in next Season?
ChatGPT response:
As an AI language model, I do not have personal opinions, but I can provide information on the topic.
The decision to buff uniques in D2R is entirely up to the game developers, depending on what changes they want to make in the next season. Buffing uniques could be a good strategy to give players more options to play with, and it could also improve the overall balance of the game.
However, it is also important for developers to maintain balance and not create overpowered items that could negatively impact the game’s economy or cause players to be over-reliant on certain items.
Ultimately, the decision to buff uniques or any other item in the game should be made with careful consideration of its impact on the gameplay, the community, and the overall balance of the game.
Was playing around with it as well 3 weeks ago. Got a similar answer. Smart AI it is 
Two more questions asked to ChatGPT…
My question:
Should the developers buff base weapon damage in Diablo 2 Resurrected?
ChatGPT response:
As an AI language model, I cannot have opinions on game balance or strategy. However, buffing base weapon damage in Diablo 2 Resurrected could be a way to improve the effectiveness of melee builds, which could benefit the Barbarian class in particular. One possible approach would be to adjust the damage range of certain weapon types or individual weapons to make them more competitive with other options. Another approach could be to make the damage bonuses from strength and dexterity more impactful, which would make investment in these attributes more rewarding for melee-focused characters. However, it is important to consider the impact of any changes on the overall game balance and the viability of other playstyles and classes.
My question:
How should the developers buff 2-handed weapons in Diablo 2 Resurrected?
ChatGPT response:
As an AI language model, I do not have personal opinions or preferences, but here are some suggestions on how the developers could buff 2-handed weapons in Diablo 2 Resurrected:
1. Increase the base damage range: One of the easiest ways to buff 2-handed weapons is to increase their base damage range. This would make them more powerful than one-handed weapons, which would make them more viable for certain builds and playstyles.
2. Add unique abilities: Another way to buff 2-handed weapons in Diablo 2 Resurrected is to add unique abilities that can only be found on these weapons. For example, a 2-handed sword could have a chance to stun an enemy, while a 2-handed axe could have a chance to cleave through multiple enemies at once.
3. Make them faster: Currently, 2-handed weapons are slower than one-handed weapons. The developers could buff them by making them faster or by reducing their attack speed penalty. This would make them more useful in combat and less clunky to use.
4. Increase range: 2-handed weapons could also be buffed by increasing their range, making them ideal for hit-and-run tactics.
5. Add unique item sets: Finally, the developers could create unique item sets that are designed around 2-handed weapons. These item sets could provide powerful bonuses that would make 2-handed weapons more viable and more appealing to players.
Let´s hope devs listen to ChatGPT
Back to business.
I´ve been playing my first light sorc and finished NM. After playing a Leaf at lvl 19 I switched to Razorswitch at lvl28 and played it far until lvl 58 (rest of the gear was a Viper, Lore, random FCR rings and amy, Nats boots and some random belt and gloves). And it has been actually quite ok! The huge life and mana in combination with the res offeres a good package in terms of QoL. Biggest boost compared to Leaf is the FCR. So I really think that it would be ok or even almost good with the proposed changes. But still a 1-H Spirit sword offeres so much at lvl 25 in combination with the low and easy accessabily that there is little point to stick to a Razorswitch (at lvl 58 I switch to a spirit and later to an Occy with a Lidles).
So taking about RW I think we should discuss nerfing the three OP RW slightly (better then buff the uniques more then now proposed).
1) Spirit: Would not change it completely. Maybe lowering the +2 skills to only +1 and lift the lvl requirement from 25 to 35. For Sorcs this would give an incentive to use some of the unique alternatives (with our proposed changes), but still doesn´t change Spirit a lot. For a shield you still would need to reach the strength for a Monarch. And as a Pally you have plenty alternatives this early on.
2) Enigma: This RW is for the most chars the best armor. Period. It should remain so (with alternatives provided by change some of the uniques as proposed - Tyrael, Arcain etc.). I would still change the +2 skills to +1 skills. The armor would be still OP (even for the high price) but would easily opens up some alternatives. COH would be more appealing now (would remain +2 skill here in combination with the huge @res). Still cost/performance would be really good, especially with teleport as an O-skill.
3) Grief: Although melee has an overall disadvantage but we would need to fix this with the proposed changes to melee with the base dmg and they should work on the several skills of melee chars. So I would reduce the flat dmg by (lets say) 50. And make it shown at the char stats. To The Grandfather, The Cranium Basher and Executioner’s Justice, please enter the room now
Other then that I would buff the class specific armors a little bit (given the fact that they are really affordable).
On my light sorc a run an Act 1 cold Rouge with Peace. Not great, not absolutely terrible. But I would adjust all of the +2 skill class specific armors (except maybe Treachery - but maybe a tiny bit as well).
What do you think about the following?
A) Peace (Shael, Thul, Amn at lvl 26):
4% Chance To Cast Level 5 Slow Missiles When Struck
2% Chance To Cast level 15 Valkyrie On Striking
+2 To Amazon Skill Levels
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+2 To Critical Strike
Cold Resist +30%
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Proposed changes:
- Add +10 IAS
- Add +2-4% Life Leech
This would help make it viable for Act 1 Mercs. IAS would be nice, LL would make it viable. Skin of the Flayed One would offer more LL and more defensive goodies with @res, life, ED and ATD.
B) Myth (Hel, AMN, Nef at lvl 32):
3% Chance To Cast Level 1 Howl When Struck
10% Chance To Cast Level 1 Taunt On Striking
+2 To Barbarian Skill Levels
+30 Defense Vs. Missile
Replenish Life +10
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Requirements -15%
Arguably the worst RW out of all with only lvl 1 procs.
Proposed changes:
- Change lvl 1 Howl to lvl 5 (increasing range and duration)
- Changing 10% chance to cast lvl 1 Taunt on striking to lvl 10 Taunt (10% to proc is ok, but lvl 10 would bring the enemies AR and dmg taken from 5% to 23% what would benefit a melee barb in mid game greatly)
- Optional: Increase Replenish Life from +10 to +25
- Optional2: Add lvl 3 Iron Skin (Barb only) for +50% Defense
C) Principle (Ral, Gul, Eld at lvl 53):
100% Chance To Cast Level 5 Holy Bolt On Striking
+2 To Paladin Skill Levels
+50% Damage to Undead
+100-150 To Life
15% Slower Stamina Drain
+5% To Maximum Poison Resist
Fire Resist +30%
Already not an early armor, but I have never seen it been used. A Guardian Angel would be the obvious competition. So it should get a different taste…
Proposed changes:
- Add 5% Mana Leech
- Change 100% Chance To Cast Level 5 Holy Bolt On Striking to lvl 15 Holy Bolt
- Add 15% Change to Cast lvl 3 Conversion on striking (32% chance to convert)
Would make it an more interesting mid lvl armor. But certainly not used in late game (what would be ok, but justifies the Gul you need so spend).
D) Bone (Sol, Um, Um, at level 47):
15% Chance To Cast level 10 Bone Armor When Struck
15% Chance To Cast level 10 Bone Spear On Striking
+2 To Necromancer Skill Levels
+100-150 To Mana
All Resistances +30
Damage Reduced By 7
Not sure what to do here. The double Um hurts a lot, but the RW is actually not terrible. But haven´t seen it being used a lot as well. I guess an Viper is easy to obtain to use that instead.
I would try to place it as an alternative to Viper and Que-Hegan’s Wisdom (with the mana focus proposed change we made on this).
Proposed changes:
- Change Lvl 10 Bone Armor when struck to lvl 20
- Change Lvl 10 Bone Spear on striking to lvl 20
- Add Lvl 3 Summon Resist (+39% @res, would save you 2 skill points if you not need Golem Mastery anyways)
- Add 10% Faster Caste Rate (less then Que-Hegan’s 20% and Vipers 30%)
E) Enlightenment (Pul, Ral, Sol at lvl 45):
5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Blaze When Struck
5% Chance To Cast level 15 Fire Ball On Striking
+2 To Sorceress Skill Levels
+1 To Warmth
+30% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +30%
Damage Reduced By 7
Proposed changes:
- Change Lvl 15 Blaze when struck to lvl 20 (+20 FRW for 16 seconds to +30 FRW for 17 sec and fire dmg from 33X to 510 with that)
- Change 5% Chance To Cast level 15 Fire Ball On Striking to Cast lvl 15 Hydra when struck (when striking on a sorc armor seems strange, Hydra instead of on Fire Ball would be really usefull imho)
- Change lvl 1 Warmth to lvl 3 (+30 to 54% mana regen)
- Add 10% Faster Caste Rate (less then Que-Hegan’s 20% and Vipers 30%)
FRC the same way then the Necro armor. Not super great, but with Blaze and Hydra a nice budget option imho.
F) Treachery (Shael, Thul, Lem at lvl 43)
5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Fade When Struck
25% Chance To Cast level 15 Venom On Striking
+2 To Assassin Skill Levels
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold From Monsters
It has it´s uses an mercs, would not change anything what would affected this (in a good or bad way), but we might make it a little bit more appealing to wear it on your average mid level Sin?
Any suggestions? Adding some mana maybe? Lets say +50 or +75?
G) Rain (Ort, Mal, Ith at levl 49).
5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Cyclone Armor When Struck
5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Twister On Striking
+2 To Druid skill levels
+100-150 To Mana
Lightning Resist +30%
Magic Damage Reduced By 7
15% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
Also not used widely. I would try to make it a poor mans COH with some res?
Proposed changes:
- Adding +15% @res (Lightning would be +45% in this case)
- Adding +15% FRW (you would skip teleport but would gain some mobility with your +20-+40 FRW boots). Would mean approx +30% faster running speed with a +40% Aldurs (1.86 yards per second to 2.4 yards at 55% FRW).
- Change the 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Twister (approx 70 dmg) On Striking to something more usefull. How about lvl 10 Tornado (520-566 dmg) but when struck?
What yould you agree on and what would you change and why?