Hello all, i am a diablo 2 noob but i wanted to share some things that people may not be aware of. Maybe these tips or words will help someon if they are stuck or help them understand some cool game elements. Here is a few of my tips.
So builds 1 . - Everyone says you can play your own build and not to do meta builds. Well here the honest truth about it - In solo offline or while online BY YOUR SELF the damage and health % of monsters is low. The reason some builds are meta because they are carry people in 8 player groups (or 4 player groups in switch) SO an example is - If you play switch with 3 other people for players online - A paladin hammer caster build (hammerdin) can carry the other 3 players NOT because they are bad, but because monster scaling is harsh.
SO in short - Monster scaling with too many players causes us you or others to make meta builds to fight the hyper scaling.
Runes 2. Runes are so awesome. Runes can literally break the game. You can be a level 25 character and have gear that makes you stronger than a level 80 character. You need a socket weapon or armor of the right type, and you also need to make sure it’s the right item level. Putting insight in a normal level 12 spear wont work, it needs to be high item level.
WHen placing runes, it is IMPORTANT that you place the words in the right sentence order. Or you will burn your self badly. (cut no links)
Leaf needs a staff for level 19 and it needs the right word combination. so socket 1 top circle socket needs Tir and the socket 2 need Ral. Runewords are the foundation of making a godly character as well as carrying people in multiplayer games.
Stats and level 3 - I wanted to share my opinion and a few things about stats.
So energy is the worse stat to put points in. Every time you level, you get 10-15 mana and 8-15 health per level that is FREE that’s not mana or health you put into vitaliy or energy.
SO a level 80 character can have 220 health with just 15 vitality, because level ups give you free mana and health increases, ignoring stat points.
Now mana regeneration sounds bad at low levels since you have only 20 or 40 mana. But by level 80 you should have like 280 FREE level up mana with out putting a single point in energy. with 280 mana, you’ll notice a huge benefit with just 25% mana regen versus 20 mana at level 1. So for sorceroress , the warmth skill doesn’t seem very good until your mana pool starts getting huge, and then the regen scales better and it fills up faster. Math i suppose.
Dex is also interesting. Dex is with hit, which i want to talk about. Very few people know this but, your hit chance is based on dex with attack rating but ALSO level of your character. If you have trouble hitting duriel in act 2. go farm some dungeons overs and overs, gain 5 levels. With 5 more levels the chance that YOU hit duriel and the chance that duriel MISSES you increase by level. So rather than putting points in dex for hit, try getting a few level ups better hit and avoidence
(blocking is another topic, i’ll let someone else chime in)
So hit is not just putting up dex, it’s increasing your character level so you can hit targets more and dodge more physical attacks.
Strength is terrible for damage and is only good if you want to wear heavy armor or wield some kind of complicate weapon. Most builds will use enchantments from gear to bring up their strength. It requires a build theory and planning.
Vitality is so good it is your hit points and you need it to live. If you plan to do hardcore, 60% to 70% of your points will likely go in here.
Being interrupted - So when you play your character it may feel like your lagging in combat, but that’s not true. Being hit by any attack or spell will stun you for .5 seconds, But there is armor that is called fast hit recovery that helps you recover faster. THE best thing to do in combat is to dodge and not get hit. If you get hit by a swarm of enemies, you can get permently stun locked and die. So yes, you are getting stunned when hit by arrows or monster attacks, NO you’re not lagging. The game’'s monster’s attacks stop you and stun you. Bararian has concetration attack and paladin has concentration aura. THis lets you attack through visuals and swing with out being interrupt by attacks.
Gambling - 3 Gambling is another “interesting rigged” system. You may see gheed in the rogue encamptment in act 1 selling un-indentified items. THis is exactly like dexterity. A level 1 character who buys a gambling shield will probably get a crappy shield, but a level 70 character who buys a shield will likely get a yellow or powerful shield. Basically the rarity and the character level play a role in the chance value you’ll get a powerful item or a useful item. AND…Below -
Charsi imbue. Charsi will imbue your item when you complete objective 5 in the act 1 storyline. SAVE your imbues, do not use them. Wait till you hit max level 99 and then pick something useful for your character like a circlet or a mage plate armor. Then hit imbue, and your level will increase the odds of getting a powerful magic item.
Skill gear - After around level 45 and going into nightmare, you will get a lot of gear that gives skill ups, mainly on rings and amuets but sometimes on weapons and armors and chest. Skill up gear is so powerful you want to trade these or save these in your stash. Yes gold uniques are worth a lot, but don’t under estimate a skill up gear. A amulet with +1 to all lightning skills - that is hot. Lightning mages will love you. Also a +2 to all Summoning would make necromancers pay hard for it. Skill up gear is nice especially in multiplayer as they give a huge power spike. (worth money gold and trade value)
Any ways, i hope these tips help people. I know they are weird, noobish or strange, but they can make the game easier and i think that most people under value these these tips.
Well add your own tips, i know people are smarter than i am. I hope to hear some good advice from some pros.