While playing D2R, I think something important to remember is this: “RnG” aside, how you play the game impacts your outcomes significantly. Some people do not seem to enjoy the variance of D2R (i.e. low drop rates on various chase items & runes), and so they demand changes to core mechanics that are often confusing to a majority of us. The fact is there are hugely randomized elements to games like D2R, Magic, Poker, etc. but ‘how you play the cards dealt to you’ (aka ‘game IQ’) is always more important. People that compare D2R to a slot machine are wrongly conflating things.
We can beg Blizzard to change this or that based on our own idiosyncratic impression of what needs fixing – or better yet focus on our own play in the mean time and thrive while other people blame their bad luck and fail. Here are some general tips for average D2R people that predominantly play solo PvM on Bnet. No advice here is revolutionary or original to me (I’m sure most will be pretty obvious to many of you) but is put forward with beginners and intermediate players in mind who are still struggling & frustrated with the idiosyncrasies of D2R. Hopefully some of the information will make their grind more rewarding & enjoyable in the PvM “end game” (i.e. L85+ character running high yield zones, bosses, etc):
I ) Understand what zones are worth running and which aren’t. Just because a zone is area level 85 does not mean it’s worth running (i.e. Maggot Lair 3, Ruined Fane, etc). And just because a zone is lower level doesn’t mean it’s worthless (i.e. Arcane Sanctuary, Tombs, Flayer Jungle, etc.).
At first, try to focus your energy on creating a character than can handle farming a majority (3/5) of the ‘Big 5’ Level 85 Areas on Hell Difficulty (these will likely change a bit next season): Mausoleum, Ancient Tunnels, Pits, Chaos Sanctuary, World Stone Keep L1-L3, and then branch out from there depending on their strengths (aka boss killer vs density killer or both). If you map out and plan your farming in these areas, over time you’ll get both high level item drops (that usually pay off more early in season) and access to decent rune drops (because of decent monster density). Don’t pay attention to cynics – enjoy building your character and using that character in the most appropriate areas possible based on their strengths, and results will come. Even if you feel forced into ‘less-than-optimal’ areas like L82 Crystal Passage, L83 Glacial Trail, etc. these are still very good zones with plenty of upside.
If you farm lower level areas (like L80 Tombs), you’re doing so mostly for the mob density, which often yields your best chance at runes, so make sure your character can handle killing big groups quickly (or killing high-rune-yield elite monsters like Travincal Council). Cow Level is probably the most farmed area for runes (tons of dense pacts that drop runes at 1.5x ratio), but cows are surprisingly thick, and not everyone enjoys it. When area level is low’ish, certain chase uniques like Griffon’s Eye, etc. cannot drop, but that’s OK. If you run these areas efficiently and painlessly you can offset this.
II ) High Value Uniques (Shako, Mara’s, etc.) have the most value early in a season, and lose value quickly by mid season (as they begin to saturate the market). By late season many items (like Shako) are very easy to obtain, as well as many strong runewords such as Call to Arms, 35fcr Spirits, Heart of the Oak, and so on (barring stuff like Enigma, Infinity, etc). Runes tend to stay at a higher price point for longer than most items (though some unique items like Griffon’s Eye are basically worth a ber rune or more throughout the league’s lifespan). It’s pretty self explanatory but if you play non-ladder moving forward everything is gonna be more affordable by comparison due to market saturation (and lack of demand) over time.
III ) Use a build guide and choose a build that offer a path of least resistance for the goals you hope to achieve. Sites like maxroll offer alot of solid advice & guidance – I suggest you start there tbh. When using a build guide remember you don’t need the GG best-in-slot gear they list to build a very strong farming character. There are very often ‘alternative’ gear suggestions listed that are more common, budget friendly and offer a nice power level for their cost – so don’t forget to overlook that and don’t lament because you don’t have enigma in the first two weeks you play (or even the first two months). Patch 2.4 promises to add even more viable builds that can hold their own in high-yield zones on Hell Difficulty. These are the builds I’ve used this first season (2.3) and I think they’re all pretty solid choices:
94 Blizzard/Fireball Sorceress, 95 Hammerdin , 95 Javazon, 92 Kicksin (Leveled to 90 as Light Traps), 92 Berserk Barbarian, 92 Wind Druid, 90 Summon Necromancer
IV ) Act 2 Merc is your friend and worth the investment (and possibly other Act Mercs as well post 2.4), but really doesn’t really become highly survivable until around level 90. I’d say a really nice generic & cheap setup to start with is a Tal Rasha Mask (for life leech), Duriel’s Shell (for resists and anti-freeze), and an Insight Thresher (decent attack speed, low requirements, and meditation aura). What aura you want your merc to have is somewhat reliant on your build, but Might aura is the most popular, followed by something like Holy Freeze for particular builds. Learn to use teleport (on weapon swap if a non-sorceress) to pull your mercenary back out of danger when it looks like they’re in gonna die and you don’t have a full rejuvenation potion on hand.
V ) Track down a teleportation staff for your weapon switch. You can buy a blue staff of teleportation off of certain vendors, but Naj’s Puzzler is the best choice. Even if you don’t use it much it’s just invaluable for the times when you need to backtrack, save your mercenary, and/or skip some immunes.
VI ) Find a Discord or Forum space where people are regularly forming groups and trading items (there are plenty that in no way violate ToS). This is the very best way to bypass the extremely subpar user interface we’ve inherited in D2R that prevents a lot of player-to-player interactions from happening between casuals in the first place. If this changes I think we’ll see much less complaining about issues that are tangential to this (drop rates, bots, and so on).
VII ) The best generic advice I can offer for magic finding is this: if you’re around 200-250% mf and your character can clear your choice areas pretty quickly on p1, feel free to stay where you’re at, or keep stacking MF until your killing power or defensive layers begin to suffer (just know you suffer pretty steep diminishing returns stacking MF stat beyond this – it’s up to you). 200-250 is very achievable on almost any build w/ common MF gear like chanceguards, goldwrap, skullder’s ire, nagelring, etc. and will yield pretty good unique/set drops overall.
VIII ) When trying to find higher player count games on Bnet without a prearranged group, here are some tips:
A ) Have a handful of favorite farm spots in mind that you crush through pretty easily on p1-p3 settings, and think you can handle all the way up to around p5 or p7 if necessary
B ) I understand the lobby and its lag/resetting is frustrating (e.g. cycling through games too quickly prevents their info from displaying, etc.), but you can find the ‘juiced’ games you want if you are just patient & take a couple minutes. Wait for games labeled ‘Cows02’ or ‘ChaosBaal’ or some such thing that have started recently (within 1-2 mins or so) & already have 2 or more people in them – in other words games with multiple players that will likely take 10+ minutes for the main participants to finish. I’ll avoid joining games like ‘Help Act II’ etc. because it’s my personal take you shouldn’t be messing up people’s questing games with your magic find rotation.
C ) For all intents and purposes a majority of the player base treats these as public magic find games, and you should as well. Usually half the people are off doing Cows or Chaos/Baal or whatever, and the rest are magic finding (you will be to). No one is really losing in this arrangement and is the best way to ‘juice’ our games as online players in a casual manner. Just get to your areas and farm until you or the game finishes (hopefully they keep making a new game and you can join a bunch in a row). If someone is already farming your primary location by the time you arrive, don’t waste time arguing or fighting for split drops, just go immediately to one of your other locations.
Hope some of that helps. Feel free to share any suggestions/tips you may have. GL the rest of this season and moving forward into patch 2.4 and the new ladder. Cheers.