Diablo 2 Resurrected

[dr. b 492]

Bump  Anybody else still playing? @h2ojunkie @webhead

 

I am still putting a lot of time into D2:R. My Frenzy Barb is now in Act I Hell. Nightmare offered almost no challenge at all. I think Hell will be a different story though. My gear might start limiting me soon. I also started a summoning Necro, which has always been one of my favourite builds. I wasn't going to do it again, but I had to scratch the itch. This character is in Act II NM right now and got there at a blazing fast speed. This is such a fast and fun (and safe) build. 

 

At this rate, I might as well go for a Pat/Mat with every class.

 

• Druid -- Summoner Druid, later re-spec'd into Wind Druid -- DONE  
• Sorc -- Fireball Sorc, later re-spec'd into Frozen Orb / Fireball Sorc -- DONE  
• Barb -- Double Swing / Frenzy Barb -- In Act I Hell, if lack of gear becomes a problem then I might re-spec into a Singer to increase my odds of finishing Hell
• Necro -- Summoner / Corpse Explosion -- In Act II NM and can probably clear Hell in a few more days if I don't get distracted
• Amazon -- Charged Strike / Lightning Fury Javazon -- I found some great gear with my Druid and Sorc, so it should be very doable
• Assassin -- Trapsin probably -- Traps-based builds are less gear-dependent and I haven't found decent stuff for a Martial Arts build
• Pally -- Hammerdin probably -- Never played a Hammerdin and they're not super gear dependent, though I could also probably make a Zealot work... but I tried building a Zealot many years ago and found the style of play rather boring. Blessed Hammer might be more fun to work with...

 

[h2ojunkie 96]

Got distracted by rogue's tale. Going to take my sorc through hell for sure. 

[dr. b 492]

My Switch year in review thingy says I've put 220 hours into D2R     It hasn't even been out 3 full months yet   

 

I haven't played games this much in ages! Feels good. Still having lots of fun in D2R. 

[dr. b 492]

Been a while since I bumped this thread. Another character is through Hell, Patriarch gallagher, the summoning Necromancer  

 

• Druid -- Summoner Druid, later re-spec'd into Wind Druid -- DONE
• Sorc -- Fireball Sorc, later re-spec'd into Frozen Orb / Fireball Sorc -- DONE
• Necro -- Summoner / Corpse Explosion -- DONE  
• Barb -- Double Swing / Frenzy Barb, re-spec'd into Singer / War Cry build -- DONE  
• Amazon -- Charged Strike / Lightning Fury Javazon -- Started a character and got her through to Act II Normal a couple weeks ago
• Pally -- Zealot, maybe re-spec'ing to Hammerdin in later difficulties -- Cruising through the game, in Act V NM now
• Assassin -- Trapsin probably -- Traps-based builds are less gear-dependent and I haven't found decent stuff for a Martial Arts build... still yet to create this character...

 

edit: Got another Pat, my Singer Barb: Patriarch ken. It seems I forgot to grab Wirt's leg when I went through Act I Hell, so no Hell Cows for ken  Oh well. This was by far the easiest trip through Act V Hell so far. It's a super safe build. My Paladin is next up to take on Hell, as he's sitting in Act V NM right now. So far, no need to change away from the Zealot built. He's walking all over everything.

[dr. b 492]

A bunch of new runewords have been previewed by various D2 YouTubers in the past couple days. Lots of changes coming in the upcoming patch 2.4. New runewords, class/balance changes to encourage the use of a variety of different skills instead of just the cookie-cutter builds for each class, and I think they're also trying to make the Act I, III, and V mercenaries more viable too as most people only use Act II mercs. This is some pretty exciting stuff! A few of the new runewords I looked at look really solid, but sadly they have high runes that I will probably never have as a single player guy. Get those Cham runes outta here please!

 

In other news, my Pally is in Act IV Hell. Pretty smooth sailing so far. He's not the fastest killer, but I have massive defense with maxed Holy Shield, and crazy resistances from my gear. I can't think of a safer melee build than a Zealot, even with crummy self-found single player gear.

[dr. b 492]

Now my Pally, Patriarch zed, is finished with Hell. ?

• Druid -- Summoner Druid, later re-spec'd into Wind Druid -- DONE 
• Sorc -- Fireball Sorc, later re-spec'd into Frozen Orb / Fireball Sorc -- DONE 
• Necro -- Summoner / Corpse Explosion -- DONE  
• Barb -- Double Swing / Frenzy Barb, re-spec'd into Singer / War Cry build -- DONE  
• Pally -- Conviction Zealot -- DONE  
• Amazon -- Charged Strike / Lightning Fury Javazon -- Started a character and got her through to Act II Normal a couple weeks ago
• Assassin -- Trapsin probably -- Traps-based builds are less gear-dependent and I haven't found decent stuff for a Martial Arts build... still yet to create this character...

A typical Zealot would use Fanaticism as their main aura, but I went with Conviction because I happened to have some gear that would add a lot of elemental damage. The defense and resistance debuffs from max level Conviction are great. Very easy play through overall. Zeal + lots of Crushing Blow gear made Act bosses a breeze. Hell Baal went down so fast  The biggest challenge for this character was probably Hell Ancients. I had a lot of bad luck with them.

 

Next up is the Javazon.

[dr. b 492]

Matriarch sonus, welcome to the fold. Six down, only one left to go!

• Druid -- Summoner Druid, later re-spec'd into Wind Druid -- DONE 
• Sorc -- Fireball Sorc, later re-spec'd into Frozen Orb / Fireball Sorc -- DONE 
• Necro -- Summoner / Corpse Explosion -- DONE  
• Barb -- Double Swing / Frenzy Barb, re-spec'd into Singer / War Cry build -- DONE  
• Pally -- Conviction Zealot -- DONE  
• Amazon -- Charged Strike / Lightning Fury / Freezing Arrow Javazon -- DONE  
• Assassin -- Fire Trapsin

My plan was to go all-in on Lightning Fury / Charged Strike and all of their synergies, as a pure Javazon, but I decided to re-spec in Hell and make her a hybrid Javazon / Bowazon to make lightning immunes easier to cope with. In the end I maxed Lightning Fury and Charged Strike for my main attacks with javelin, and Freezing Arrow (and almost maxed Cold Arrow as a synergy) for when I would swap to the bow. This charater was a bit of a glass cannon, and I had to play more cautiously than I did with the Pally that I Pat'd just before, but overall it was still pretty easy. Lightning Fury melts mobs of monsters that aren't lightning immune, and Freezing Arrow freezes everything so that adds some safety.

 

Next up: A Fire Trapsin. I'll have to mix in something else, most likely Death Sentry or maybe the Blade traps, in Hell when fire immunes start popping up all over. But a pure Fire Trap build should get me through Nightmare without much trouble.

[dr. b 492]

They are finally going to allow the Druid to summon all his different pets at once! Ravens, Spirit Wolves, Dire Wolves, and Grizzly. You can use them all at once. That’s a big change. I’m really looking forward for this new patch to drop. 

[webhead 519]

Oh wow.  I can't wait to see builds on that.  I always was meh on Druid because of that lol.

[dr. b 492]

A Summoner Druid still won’t compare to a Necro for speed. Curses and Corpse Explosion are a big advantage. But allowing the Druid to use all his summons will make it a much more viable build to get through Hell comfortably. Just Dire Wolves or a Grizzly alone struggle to stay alive in Hell. Note this should be a really fun “sit back and let the pets do the work” kind of build. 

[webhead 519]

Yeah, I'm thinking it of it as something like a Necro but maybe a little more involvement (Wearbear or whatever thrown in).  Or a pure pet build potentially.  I'm curious how viable pure pet builds would be.

[dr. b 492]

A couple points in the Shapeshifting tree to get Werebear and Shockwave would help a lot. Stunning monster packs with Shockwave would make life easier for the summons. Throw in a Heart of the Wolverine and an Act II merc with Might aura, and those summons should hit pretty hard. 
 

Speaking of mercs, they’re also improving the other Act’s mercs in the new patch to make them more useful. Saw this video last night testing out the new Act V Frenzy Barb merc and he absolutely slays. (At the start of the video he’s got fairly expensive gear in the merc, but it looks like he’ll perform well with cheaper equipment too)

 

 

I’m super excited for the patch to come out. 

[dr. b 492]

My seven Pats / Mats are complete!  

• Druid -- Summoner Druid, later re-spec'd into Wind Druid -- Patriarch howlinwolf
• Sorc -- Fireball Sorc, later re-spec'd into Frozen Orb / Fireball Sorc -- Matriarch fira
• Necro -- Summoner / Corpse Explosion -- Patriarch gallagher
• Barb -- Double Swing / Frenzy Barb, re-spec'd into Singer / War Cry build -- Patriarch ken
• Pally -- Conviction Zealot -- Patriarch zed
• Amazon -- Charged Strike / Lightning Fury / Freezing Arrow Javazon -- Matriarch sonus
• Assassin -- Fire Trapsin, re-spec'd to Lightning Sentry / Death Sentry trapsin in Hell -- Matriarch dee

When I got the idea to complete Hell with each class, I wasn't sure if I'd follow through on it... but I've done it! All solo single player, though I did hire mercs to make life easier.

 

Back in the old days, I don't think I ever played a pure trapsin. I was more into the Martial Arts skill tree. Playing this character was a real eye-opener. Incredible clear speed even with very cheap gear. Lightning Sentry is just too good. And then the Corpse Explosions from Death Sentry make short work of lightning immunes). I'm going to move all my Magic Find gear over to the trapsin because she should be able to run pretty much any area of the game pretty efficiently.

 

I also have two other characters on the go: ikea, a hybrid Werebear / Summoning Druid (need the new patch to drop to continue this guy!); and summerbabe, an Enchantress. I think I have just enough high-end-ish gear to make an Enchantress viable in Hell, though it won't be easy. I will probably mix in a lightning spell with leftover skill points. Maybe Nova.

 

It continues to shock me how much I can keep replaying this game without getting bored.

 

[dr. b 492]

Patch 2.4 is supposed to be coming tomorrow. Here's hoping there are no last minute showstoppers! I'm really looking forward to some of the balance changes. Gonna be fun to try out a Druid that can summon all the wolves, ravens, and bear at once.

[dr. b 492]

Patch is live! I only had a few minutes last night to test out a couple of my characters. Zoo Druid is fun. My Singer Barb seems to be killing more efficiently too. War Cry got a damage buff and the mana cost was cut down a bit.

[dr. b 492]

I have been having a blast playing since 2.4 dropped. I'm still offline single player only, didn't bother going online to create a ladder character. Since I finished my 7 Pats/Mats, I have since Mat'd a Blizzard Sorc--probably my fastest clear of the game yet, wow Blizzard kills fast! And then I Pat'd my Summoning Druid. Playing with the whole zoo was great. Not quite as fast as a summoning Necro, but still a pretty fast and easy character to play.

 

I have also been doing quite a bit of MF'ing with my Fireball Sorc. I've got a nice little farming route I do that mostly doesn't have any fire immunes: Andy; Countess (if I'm looking for runes); Stoney Tomb (new alvl 85 area in Act 2); Arachnid Lair (another new alvl 85 area, in Act 3); Meph; Pindle; Eldritch. I can also run Crypt/Mausoleum and Maggot Lair, but the monster density in those places ain't great. Slow and steady I'm improving my gear, upping my MF %, etc. Got quite a few nice drops the last couple days.

 

And then tonight ... Eldritch dropped a Zod!  MF doesn't affect rune drops, so it was just a random thing, but still... crazy! First time I've ever got a Zod. Still almost can't believe it. 

[dr. b 492]

Patch 2.4.3 dropping tomorrow -- patch notes here

 

Some very nice quality of life improvements in here. Console people are getting a bit of love:

• Added a new "Loot to Cube" skill for controllers in the general skills menu. Using this skill on an item will pick it up and place it in your Horadric Cube, if there is space.
• Players can now bulk assign stat points using a controller.

 

Finally characters with full inventories can pick up items straight to the Cube without having to drop stuff out of inventory first. Much less tedious. Re-spec'ing will also be a million times faster with the ability to bulk assign points.

 

Cain can now also ID unidentified items that are in the Cube. That is a nice little time-saver.

 

Finally, the changes to Whirlwind sound nice. I am keen to test them out.

 

All the online stuff doesn't concern me as I only play offline single player... but the Magic Find event sounds fun, even if 50% added MF isn't that big of a bonus.