Hardcore Survival Essentials

Hardcore
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As a longtime Hardcore player (going back to D2 vanilla) I thought I’d offer a few tips for survivability in Hardcore.

  1. Do not use wireless anything!

Wireless is easily interefered with by a myriad of signals and causes, including sudden dead batteries. Use a wired keyboard, a wired mouse, and a wired cable from your computer/laptop/console to the monitor/TV. No wireless anything, especially no tethered connections, etc.

  1. Do not use shared bandwidth.

Shared bandwidth, such as on a home cable network, can get you killed when your brother decides to stream the latest hot movie or download a recent season of some Netflix series. Network boosters can help, and some cable companies now let you set priorities on certain computers, but be very wary playing on shared bandwidth.

  1. Don’t run past monsters in tight areas.

I see too many good players die this way. They’re impatient and want to finish a dungeon and they run past an elite spawn without realizing it, and next thing they know they’re caught in a dead-end somewhere with their cooldowns spent, potions gone, and facing death over … impatience. We all love the adrenaline rush (except maybe me, hahahah) but be aware of what you’re running past. This kind of thing is a bigger killer than most realize.

  1. Beware of elite affixes.

Study and be aware of the type of monsters and affix variations you are facing. This way, you’ll get a feel for how they function and how to react to them. (Credit to STARS)

To be continued… I encourage you to add your own tips and I will keep this updated with good ideas from us all. Some of you might remember me as the Diablo 3 Hardcore MVP for 5 or so years (until Blizz did away with the MVP program back then.)

See you all in game! Stay safe and get lucky tonight! :wink:

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My first time running hardcore and doing it under WT2 exclusively. Lost 7 heroes so far.

  • There are some one shot mechanics on champion monsters that you wouldn’t expect, especially in trait dungeons. Be careful.
  • Learn about crowd control and vulnerability-inducing skills from monsters. They can lock you into dying.
  • Not sure if WT2 is worth it tbh. The benefits over the increased danger doesn’t seem worth it. Still I will stick to it to learn more.
  • Going into areas above your level is risky. I lost two heroes like this.
  • Barriers are very good. The furthest I’ve gotten is with an Earth Druid and keeping fortify up saved me many times.
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Thank you for these awesome tips, @NeverEnding!

WT2 is brutal for especially melee heroes atm. I must agree with you there!

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Essentially I would say that the benefit of Veteran World Tier II Diff is the feel and experience firsthand that you will see that will prepare you for what will be in Nightmare. After all, the capstone dungeon to get to Nightmare World Tier III, is in World Tier II. Great post.

These are just my own tips.

  1. Don’t feel the need to have to rush. Take your time. Rushing has it’s risks and benefits. For solo HC play, it would be best not to rush. For group play however, that is where rushing can be a benefit. Of course, it is no guarantee of this.
  2. Try to max out the first three stages of the renown bonus’s. They offer great perks.
  3. Upgrade your good items for the big fights. Don’t wait till the last minute to do so. Could mean the difference between life and death.
    4.Study and be aware of the type of monsters and affix variation’s you are facing. This way, you’ll get a feel in how they function and how to react to them.
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Any thoughts on wireless controllers?

I am strictly a console player these days cuz my age 50ish old hands and coordination don’t do KBM anymore… And no KBM support for consoles right now anyways.

Also I still can’t decide if it’s really worth it right now to try the HC thing… Network issues are still a big wobbly unknown and just hurts so much more when that’s a ‘cause of death’… I can accept a stupid personal decision that we can all actually work together to game plan for…

A D/C death is completely out of our hands no matter what we might try and convince ourselves otherwise… By this I mean, I can tell myself that welp my little Suzy started streaming that 4K Bridgerton show so my bad for not declaring all my home internet is off limits while I play my game today… Or I can realize that it might have actually been a glitch of a network substation somewhere or a battle net server blade blip but no matter bye bye to my Lvl xx toon that just copped that first sweet legendary tunic and survived that scary boss battle

Again I’m partial to just playing normal mode to finish the campaign first.

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Great tips, @Stars, but this:

If anybody wants to play Hardcore seriously into the endgame, you must have an understanding of the affixes/damage types! Early in the game, these elites are a nuisance. But suddenly, they become a certain death when they incapacitate you. Pay attention to what the various damage types and tells mean, and learn which of your potential skills can combat or prevent them.

I’m adding this to the main post. Thank you for your tips!