Diablo II Lord of Destruction - Read 2001 times!

[Togakure]

Breath of the Dying is very nice, particularly when made in an ethereal weapon as it's indestructible.  I tend to avoid making powerful rune word weapons in anything that loses durability, especially in Superior weapons, because repair costs go through the roof, especially with fast multiple strike attacks like Zeal, Whirlwind or Frenzy.  This is why I made my barb's Griefs in Phase Blades instead of Berserker Axes (BAs have higher damage, but PBs are indestructible, and are the fastest base weapon available).  I've heard a lot of barbs complain after making Grief in a BA because of all the gold spent repairing the damn things.  No issues with BotD though, thanks to the Zod.

If anyone on EU wants the scepter just let me know.  I've held on to it simply because it's one of the nicer rares I've found, but I won't be building a pally so I have no use for it.

Ort+Amn+ Perfect Sapphire in cube will upgrade it from War Scepter (10-17 base damage), to a Divine Scepter (16-38 base damage).

Fal+Um+Perfect Sapphire in cube will upgrade the Divine Scepter to a Caduceus (37-43 base damage).  Add in the Max Damage based on character level, and the outrageous Attack Rating that the Fool's mod gives, and it becomes a pretty nice weapon (though the spread between min and max damage is pretty wide--typical of a Fool's mod weapon).

Socketing it would allow more customization with a nice jewel, or a rune.

 

[Togakure]

Double-posting with intent as this is an announcement:

The ladder will be reset on Monday, March 28th: http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=27800569996&sid=3000

This means all current ladder characters will become non-ladder.  You'll retain all gear, but certain Ladder-only items can't be found on non-ladder, and certain rune words (many of the good ones) cannot be made.  They exist because they can be carried over if you make them on ladder before the reset.  Because they can't be found/made on non-ladder, these items are more valuable as they have to be traded for and supply is somewhat limited (somewhat, as non-ladder includes everything from all previous ladder seasons).

Just a heads-up.  I won't be playing on the new ladder unless others are going to be on regularly and want to play in co-op games.  It would be a good opportunity to play "pure/untwinked" as everyone will be starting from scratch and good gear will be rare initially, and expensive.  Conversely, things that aren't normally valuable will be quite valuable early on (Sigon's and other low sets useful for leveling, for example).

Shogun 2 is out, and it looks like I'l be coming into an unexpected amount of cash which will allow me to replace my aging PC (yay!).  Hence, I'll probably focus on it, as I'm an old Total War veteran from the original Shogun and Medieval days, and also moderate at totalwar.org.  So this may be my final D2 LoD hurrah ... though I will definitely check out Diablo 3 when it's released if I do get a new PC.

 

[Orion]

6-month resets are ridiculous. That just increases demand for high-tier items on short notice, and the most readily available sources are those stupid item sites that are likely scams. That's one helluva way for Blizzard to slap long-term players in the face and indirectly encourage botting. I know a guy who bots, and he gets more stuff in a single day than I get playing legit in 2 weeks. These ladder resets will only encourage that, as that will be the most reliable means of getting desired items in the short time-frame that Blizzard is enforcing.

[Edit]

I'm sick and tired of all of the damn physical immunes in Hell. Every single unique monster I ran into in my last game was immune to physical. Every single one, I kept track. I've got nothing for that, and when they're also lightning enchanted it's a pain in the ass trying to wear them down with whatever extra meager damage types I have. They're the only things I can't life leech from, as my Dracul's cast life tap fairly often and that even lets me leech from skeletons but it's still based on physical damage. Bloody infuriating, I don't remember nearly this many running around years ago. It seems to me it was a relatively uncommon occurrence. Then again, I was using a Baranar's Star years ago and that has 1-200 lightning, fire, and cold damage on it, so it wasn't as much of a problem and I might not have noticed it so much.

Maybe I can trade my berzerker axe BotD for a Colossus Blade BotD and make a vengeance pally after all. Nothing is immune to all damage types.

 

[Togakure]

Orion, I feel your pain, as I've been there before.  This is why I hit the Hell wall with zealers and other melee builds in the past (aside from Oblivion Knights and Iron Maiden, which are no longer an issue).  The primary challenges of Hell difficulty are:

• Enemies have greatly increased life, damage and speed.
• 
  Resistance penalties are increased (-40 NM; an additional -60 in Hell).
• Super-Uniques and Bosses spawn additional random powers, and almost always have at least one, and sometimes two immunities.  I've noted too, that they tend to spawn immunities to the character's primary attack forms.

There are a couple of solutions available to a melee-oriented character in dealing with physical immunes:

• High elemental damage on a switch or stashed weapon.  For a pally, this can be amplified by switching to a Conviction aura; for other classes, using Infinity on a merc or on self for the aura.
  
• Curses that partially or totally remove the Physical Immunity: Amplify Damage (100% removal for almost all enemies), or Decrepify (50% removal, and slows enemy movement, attack speed, and halves their damage).

I prefer the latter.  Wands can be bought or found with low-level but effective Amplify Damage or Decrepify charges.  These cost a lot to recharge, but work in a pinch. 

Atma's Scarab unique amulet has a 5% Chance to Cast Amplify Damage on Striking.  This works, but can be a little dicey as it doesn't always trigger at a convenient point.

Lacerator unique Winged Axe has a 33% Chance to Cast Amplify Damage on Striking, and is a popular switch weapon for many melee-oriented builds.  Basically you smack away until Amp triggers, then switch back to your main weapon.  There are a few other items with CtC Amp on them, but these two are the most widely used to handle Physical Immunes.

The Rune word Lawbringer (Amn Lem Ko in a sword, hammer or scepter), has a 20% Chance to Cast Decrepify on Striking, and with a fast attack like Zeal, it will trigger often enough.  My kicksin uses this and defeats most Physical Immunes in Hell diff relatively quickly as a result.  Lawbringer has the added bonus of a Sanctuary aura, pulsing a push-back effect against all undead in a radius, removing undead resistance to physical damage, and allowing you to leech many of them (not all, but many).  This is my favorite solution.  Note that it can also be given to an Act 5 Barb Merc, but he needs to be near you, and has to hit often and fast to trigger Decrep in time (hence a fast sword and additional IAS from gear are important--for a merc I usually make it in an Eth Legend Sword and put him in a Treachery rune word armor for the 45% IAS it gives).  This works best for a character with Teleport, which can be used to bring the Merc to you at will.  Still, I don't recommend it, as even with Treach and a fast Lawbringer, oftentimes he doesn't trigger Decrep fast enough and you find yourself in trouble.

Since Lawbringer can be made in a scepter, I would suggest a finding a 3-socket Caduceus (fastest, and best base damage), hopefully with bonuses to Zeal and/or Fanaticism, and/or Sanctuary.  Such a weapon on switch would allow you to continue using Zeal/Fanat, would trigger Decrep quickly enough in most cases, would allow you to leech most undead, and pulse those nasty fast Dolls away from you.  It even has 7% Life leech on it, and some decent elemental damage to boot.  Just don't run with a necro--it has Monsters Rest in Peace on it as well  .

Finally, I totally agree with you about the reset frequency.  Though I've been contested vehemently on other forums, and despite the fact that Blizzard publicly denounces such operations, I still believe that Blizzard is in bed with the dupers, botters and online stores that sell virtual gear for real money.  It's all about real money, after all, and Blizzard isn't in this for the **** of it.  Hence, shorter ladders and economic resets are in their best interest.

Edit: P.S.  If you're going to make Lawbringer, do it before Monday if you're going to continue playing your pally on NL.  It's a Ladder-Only rune word.

 

[Orion]

I'll probably have to hit up my botter friend for Lawbringer's Lo, I don't think I'll get anything terribly valuable before Monday to trade for one. I've got everything else for it, and getting a base wouldn't be that hard. I try not to get anything from him because I don't particularly agree with botting, but if Blizzard's just going to increase the need for bots I don't think I'll make an issue of it. It's not like he's rushing me, though he has a bot for that too.

Well, time to find a 3-socket base weapon for Lawbringer. Or I'll check around and see what other runewords there are that might offer something similar. So much for that, nothing else will cast Decrepify or Amplify Damage on striking/attack.

[Edit]

I'm blind. Amn Lem KO, not Lo. I have all of those.

 

[Togakure]

Reaper's Toll unique thresher (eth is coolest ofc) is often used on an Act 2 merc for it's CtC Decrep, but here again, the issue is, the merc's attack isn't nearly as fast as Zeal, and he might get whacked before decreping a group of say, Frenzytaurs, and then you gotta run away fast.  Without tele, it's also easy to get somewhat separated, and the low-level decrep has a short duration and small radius of effect.  Decent solution for a tele character, but a no go in my book otherwise.

My personal bottom line is: the CtC weapon is best wielded by the character, using a very fast attack method like Zeal, Dragon Talon or Blade Fury ('sin), Frenzy (barb), Strafe, (zon) or Fury (wolf druid).  Whirlwind will not trigger CtC on Striking effects.

One other option is the unique phase blade Azurewrath (Tyrael's sword):

One-Hand Damage: (102-114) To (115-129) (108.5-121.5 Avg)
Required Level: 85
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 136
Base Weapon Speed: [-30]
+230-270% Enhanced Damage (varies)
+30% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 250-500 Magic Damage
Adds 250-500 Cold Damage, 10 sec. Duration (Normal)
+1 To All Skills
+5-10 To All Attributes (varies)
Level 10-13 Sanctuary Aura When Equipped (varies)
+3 To Light Radius
(Ladder Only)

It has Sanctuary aura like Lawbringer, but no CtC Decrep.  Instead, it has a +skill, and huge magic and cold damage.  With Zeal and a high Attack Rating so most of your swings hit, this would work pretty well too.  I used it on my Fury Wolf for a while and it worked well enough.  Just make sure you have good AR, - X% to Target Defense, or both, so you hit most of the time.

If you have a Jah rune lying around (  ), you could socket it for Ignore Target Defense, which basically means an automatic hit against anything but super-uniques, champions and bosses.  Against these, AR would still matter.

I've used both.  My preference is Lawbringer because the Decrep curse is extremely useful against anything--especially Act bosses.  Start with Law, trigger Decrep, switch to BotD, and cream them very quickly.

One thing I should mention about Lawbringer: it has no on-weapon Increased Attack Speed, so it's important to have IAS off-weapon, and to make it in a fast base weapon, hence why I recommended Caduceus (-10).  Hammers have big damage but are too slow.  Speed is more important than damage when the goal is to trigger CtC.  Phase blade is the fastest base (-30), but requires 136 Dex and has low base damage for an elite weapon.  This isn't a problem for a kicker as her boots determine her damage, but for other classes, damage does matter.

 

[Orion]

I looked through the uniques and saw Azurewrath and thought "hey, that would be pretty good too with the Magic and Cold damage!" But then I realized it was Azurewrath and I probably wouldn't get one before the ladder reset. Also, I'm not level 85, though I do have 136 dexterity.

If I make a Lawbringer, it will most likely be in a Phaseblade or Caduceus. I'm using a Highlord's Wrath amulet right now which gives 20% IAS, which doesn't seem like a lot at first but I also have Fanaticism to give another 35ish percent. I wouldn't be looking to hit something hard, I need to hit something repeatedly until Decrepify casts. Then I tap W and smash some faces with my axe. The hard part here is finding a 3 socket Phaseblade, because next-to-nobody keeps those as the 5 & 6 socket Phaseblades are much more desirable.

I've actually started carrying my Lightsabre around (it even has a Shael rune in it for kicks n grins) for the Magic damage it has. I can kill the unique monsters I find, but not anything with tons of health. I couldn't even kill Radament with it and that's just sad.

 

[Togakure]

Lawbringer will render Rad moot quickly as he and his minions are undead.  In his case, it might be better to just use Law, as its power vs. undead due to the Sanc aura is formidable.

With Fanat active, you'll need 20 IAS with a PB and 40 with a Caduceus to hit the max Zeal breakpoint.  Here's a link to the speed calc if you don't already have it:

http://diablo3.ingame.de/tips/calcs/speedcalc_titanseal/speedcalc_english.php

Laying of Hands gloves from the Disciple set are great: 20 IAS, 350% Damage to Demons (!), and 50% fire res.  Should be easy to get if you make a game "Bring LoH" or something like that.  I'd offer a Pul max. I'd think some crafters would trade it for a handful of pgems as they're pretty common.  Second to these, I like Lava Gouts for the nice bonus to AR when Enchant triggers.

There are a few places where socket items are more likely to drop--the first two levels of Nihlathak's lair in particular.  It's better not to have a lot of MF active when socket questing.  Certain monster spawns will drop more, hence are better.  Stabby midget hordes are the best because there are so many, and they drop a lot of weapons.  If I get a ****ty spawn (e.g. thorn-shooters or flesh-spawners), I just make another game.  I'd avoid the Vaught level because of the possible pit vipers and the nasty poison bug that makes their ranged attack so lethal.

It might be possible to find a 3 soc phase or caddy in this area NM, but I'm not sure.  They're elite class weapons, so much more likely in Hell diff.  If you're just looking for CtC, a Divine Scepter or even a War Scepter has the same speed as a caddy, just much less damage.  This would preclude you from benefiting much from the Sanc aura against undead though, as the weapon has to be active for the aura to be active.

Trying to type with a broken SHIFT key is ****ING ANNOYING!

 

[Orion]

I think I can get into Nilhathak's temple on Hell just fine, actually.

Also, funny thing to note about my Lightsabre: According to the speed calculator, I would need only a single point in Fanaticism to reach the attack speed ceiling with Zeal.

[Edit]

I've found a 4 socket Phaseblade, 5 socket ethereal Naga (what I would give for it to be a Berserker axe), a 5 socket War Axe (2 minutes after the Naga, of course), and a 3 socket Monarch. The game is trolling me.

[Edit]

Ugh, a 3 socket crystal sword. Oh, and maybe a dozen Troll belts. Go figure. The game is sending me a message. Tell you what, first day after the reset I'll get a 3 socket Caduceus with +3 Zeal and a 5 socket Berserker axe. Maybe an ethereal 4 socket Cryptic Sword for kicks n grins.

 

[Togakure]

I feel this way a lot too.  When I'm just cruising around, I find all kinds of things that could be useful but aren't immediately.  When I start questing for something specific to make a rune word, I still find all kinds of stuff, just not what I'm looking for.  It seems the game is psychic and knows how to bait us on.  Before I know it I have a dozen mules, full of stuff that "could" be very useful, but isn't at the moment.  This is why I tend to develop multiple characters of different types concurrently--more good items actually get used.

I collect and upgrade flawless gems.  I'm probably hallucinating, but I swear that I tend to find two of each type before the third of a type starts showing up so I can cube them up to perfects.  This is something that could be programmed in by checking a character's inventory/stash, and I can't help thinking that Blizzard programmers are unduly sadistic about things like this.

 

[Ilex]

Haha, died in Halls of Vaught on nightmare. Damn buggy vipers. Took whole half a second for my barbarians health orb to deplete. ;D

Dang he was nice too; all equipment self-found (naturally, I play offline); He was cleaving through enemies with his upped (shael) butcher's pupil and crescent moon small crescent. Well I guess it's time to go pala for a change. Found Heaven's Light for late game, so I know he can make **** dead.

 

[Togakure]

Gah, the enthusiasm for this seems to have dissipated considerably; the thread even slipped to page 2! 

I've changed my mind and will play a bit on the new ladder, at least until I get my new PC and I can play Shogun 2.  However, since you EU folks are dead as nails, I'll be going back to USeast. 

I've made some new friends and over 3200 forum gold in the last 48 hours, while trading charms and gear from four seasons worth of old characters.  When my reserve deals complete, I'll have about 4,500 forum gold, which should be helpful getting a good start on this last ladder.  To put that in context, $100 USD will buy 3,300 fg (for those dumb enough to spend real money on virtual gear).  All of mine was a made trading accumulated gear for fg.    Yeah, shameless self-plug ... but it was a lot of work so I feel like tooting my horn a bit.

Anyway, if any of you decide to play the new ladder, I'll be on USeast from tomorrow on.  It was fun while it lasted, Rev.  Peace, out.

 

[Orion]

I guess I'll be making a new ladder character on USEast, though I have classes Monday through Thursday so I won't get much serious playing in for the first few days. My account name is SgtShwat if you want to add me.

 

[Revilo]

Gah, the enthusiasm for this seems to have dissipated considerably; the thread even slipped to page 2! 

I've changed my mind and will play a bit on the new ladder, at least until I get my new PC and I can play Shogun 2.  However, since you EU folks are dead as nails, I'll be going back to USeast. 

I've made some new friends and over 3200 forum gold in the last 48 hours, while trading charms and gear from four seasons worth of old characters.  When my reserve deals complete, I'll have about 4,500 forum gold, which should be helpful getting a good start on this last ladder.  To put that in context, $100 USD will buy 3,300 fg (for those dumb enough to spend real money on virtual gear).  All of mine was a made trading accumulated gear for fg.    Yeah, shameless self-plug ... but it was a lot of work so I feel like tooting my horn a bit.

Anyway, if any of you decide to play the new ladder, I'll be on USeast from tomorrow on. It was fun while it lasted, Rev.  Peace, out.

Aye, it was. It's also entirely my fault - I've been tied up with college exams and other work and as such my enthusiasm has just slipped and slipped - there've been many times that I've come on for 10 or so minutes, only to log off again. I don't know why. We did have a good time, regardless. I'll hit you up if I suddenly get another surge of enthusiasm, but I rather suspect that Diablo is done for me until Diablo III comes out. Perhaps I'll see you on there - I'd like that.

 

[Togakure]

Gah, the enthusiasm for this seems to have dissipated considerably; the thread even slipped to page 2! 

I've changed my mind and will play a bit on the new ladder, at least until I get my new PC and I can play Shogun 2.  However, since you EU folks are dead as nails, I'll be going back to USeast. 

I've made some new friends and over 3200 forum gold in the last 48 hours, while trading charms and gear from four seasons worth of old characters.  When my reserve deals complete, I'll have about 4,500 forum gold, which should be helpful getting a good start on this last ladder.  To put that in context, $100 USD will buy 3,300 fg (for those dumb enough to spend real money on virtual gear).  All of mine was a made trading accumulated gear for fg.    Yeah, shameless self-plug ... but it was a lot of work so I feel like tooting my horn a bit.

Anyway, if any of you decide to play the new ladder, I'll be on USeast from tomorrow on. It was fun while it lasted, Rev.  Peace, out.

Aye, it was. It's also entirely my fault - I've been tied up with college exams and other work and as such my enthusiasm has just slipped and slipped - there've been many times that I've come on for 10 or so minutes, only to log off again. I don't know why. We did have a good time, regardless. I'll hit you up if I suddenly get another surge of enthusiasm, but I rather suspect that Diablo is done for me until Diablo III comes out. Perhaps I'll see you on there - I'd like that.

No fault, my friend.  Your priorities are in order, and I'm glad you have the wisdom being the young whipper-snapper that you are (yes, I'm jealous) to recognize and act on them.  It was indeed fun, and I'm glad we got to hang together for a while.

4,621 forum gold in three days .  I'm obliged to play a bit; need to put that to use.  I haven't started yet though.  We found out today that the primary administrator and beloved leader of totalwar.org passed away suddenly on Friday, at the age of 38.  He had been a dear e-friend of mine for several years, and I am necessarily devastated.  Another raw and unrelated incident on the forum provoked me, and I spoke my mind in a manner unbecoming of a staffer (on that forum anyway  ).  Hence, I felt it necessary to resign my post.  All in all, it has been one suck of a day, taking the fun out of accumulating so much virtual wealth.  But, such is Life.  Cherry blossoms do bloom.

***

Edit: company is always more fun, Orion.  I don't compete on the ladder; I just play as always.  Mainly I enjoy the effect of the stunted economy (well, kind of, since everyone suffers for a while), and eventually working out of it.  I'll add ya, and message you when I see you on so you can add me.  I don't have a new ladder account as of yet.