Got bored with normal, maybe because I got through the altar too fast, so I decided to start over in HC. It’s not been going great (tried to kill Malth with a frozen orb LoD Wizard and he was contemptuous) so I had some questions.
Which follower is best? I was using an Enchantress but my Wizard got double procced and died as though the Enchantress cheat death did nothing. Seems like the Wizard one is pretty bad too.
If you already did the Primal-Soul-O in normal, do you still need to clear a GR 70 solo in HC to start getting primals? I’ve gotten none so far after getting more than I knew what to do with in normal. My highest GR in HC so far is 60.
What do you recommend when your first HC toon dies and you don’t have much gear or resources collected yet? Is it just start the grind again, or do folks usually ask for some help gearing up?
Does anyone ever do public bounties? Is it only T16? Is there a time of day you’re more likely to find a group?
Do most people sacrifice damage to build extra tanky toons or do you just rely on your cheat death and playing skill?
Check if your Enchantress has Smoking Thurible (her immortality token).
Yes, these are separate, just as the cube, stash, mats etc.
Well, focus on getting backup gear prior to pushing too much, if you do not feel very strong. But this is advice is really pre-death, not post-death viable
From what I’ve seen (and cared about), bounties at T6, T10 and T16 are the most common.
I just try to play more safely. Dunno what others do.
Depends but I will often use the Templar for a while until I feel comfortable not needing the extra healing or monster redirect (yes, the taunt ability is quite useful if you need to get some enemies off your back.)
Yes, different mode so everything is “reset”. This include the Altar.
I use a Challenge Cache often. Also, I try to ensure that, as I am leveling my main, the things I put into the Cube will be useful generically, like Pox Faulds. Obviously it can’t all be, but I don’t want my Cube to be class-heavy until it needs to be. I will also not just play the single character but alternate. This keeps things fresh for me and it helps with level disparity.
No idea. I don’t play that way.
I go for speed and damage, but will sacrifice for defense when needed. Most often this is just adding the Esoteric Alteration gem.
1. Which follower is best?
A lot of people prefer the Echantress because of her CD reduction, but if you are looking for “safety” the Templar hands down has towns of “save you stuff” plus the cheat death.
2. If you already did the anything in normal…?
HC and Norm are 100% separate and nothing carries over except for the “Collections” stuff (wings, pets, etc…)
3. What do you recommend when your first HC toon dies?
You toast to your toon’s honor with several glasses of wine, remember it’s just a game, and laugh. And then before you sober up, you get back on and make another. Wine=VICTORY! (sort of)
4. Does anyone ever do public bounties?
D3 is a dying game and HC has always been very niche. If you join an active enough clan you can usually get 1 or 2 clanmates to run with you.
Two thing you need to realize is
A) never trust that “Playing Adventure Mode” indicator. No idea how it works but the number never seems to relate to your odds of joining an existing game or creating a new one. Never hurts to create a game as public people will surprise you and join. But most things below T16 are going to be scarce.
B) In a public game, NEVER! EVER! collect a bounty until all bounties are ready to be collected. The instant anyone collects a bounty, your game is taken out of the load balancer and there is no hope of anyone new joining it. Then you’re stuck doing everything without help.
5. Do most people sacrifice damage to build extra tanky toons or do you just rely on your cheat death and playing skill?
Some do and some do not. Personally I do sacrifice a little bit of dps for more survivability usually by selecting the cheat death passive in addition to the follower’s cheat death and gravitating towards gear sets that include damage reduction. But I kind of suck so. Meh. You have to find your own comfort zone.
Thanks to all of you for your replies, but most of all to Tinker. I was pretty unhappy about it. Had to walk away before my computer accessories got hurt.
