→Melee Combat
| Line 69: | Line 69: | ||
His to/hit isn't very high either, and his dexterity tops off at just 60 points. Warriors need to add a lot of +dexterity gear to maintain good accuracy on hell difficulty, and it's strongly recommended that they use swords that add to/hit and damage, rather than just damage alone. New warriors are advised to stick all of their level up points into dexterity for at least the first 5 or 6 levels, since the character's accuracy is fairly poor right from the start. | His to/hit isn't very high either, and his dexterity tops off at just 60 points. Warriors need to add a lot of +dexterity gear to maintain good accuracy on hell difficulty, and it's strongly recommended that they use swords that add to/hit and damage, rather than just damage alone. New warriors are advised to stick all of their level up points into dexterity for at least the first 5 or 6 levels, since the character's accuracy is fairly poor right from the start. | ||
The biggest difficulty long term is dealing with monsters that run away. Goatmen and skeleton archers first show this habit in the early levels, but they are slow of foot and slow to run, and the rooms in the Church and Cats aren't that large. Witches are the true pursuit problem, and running them down in Hell is one of the bigger nuisances for a Warrior. Timing sneak attacks is one way to deal with them; retreat around a corner and wait a moment, then move back to the edge and start swinging. Witches can often be caught and slaughtered just as they walk around a corner in pursuit. The more advanced way to deal with witches and mages is by telekilling; more on that | The biggest difficulty long term is dealing with monsters that run away. Goatmen and skeleton archers first show this habit in the early levels, but they are slow of foot and slow to run, and the rooms in the Church and Cats aren't that large. Witches are the true pursuit problem, and running them down in Hell is one of the bigger nuisances for a Warrior. Timing sneak attacks is one way to deal with them; retreat around a corner and wait a moment, then move back to the edge and start swinging. Witches can often be caught and slaughtered just as they walk around a corner in pursuit. The more advanced way to deal with witches and mages is by telekilling. | ||
====Weapon Selection==== | |||
Melee weapons in Diablo have varied effects. Blunt weapons deal 150% damage to Undead and 50% to Animals. Swords deal 50% damage to Undead and 150% to Animals. Both types of weapons deal 100% damage to demons. This means it's better to use a blunt weapon against undead, and a sword against animal, and whichever weapon does the most damage against Demons. Since almost every monster in Hell is a Demon, and none are Undead, and since swords do more damage than blunts, this makes for a pretty easy weapon choice. | |||
See the [[D1 Monsters|Monsters]] page for a listing of every type of monster. To generalize, the Church is mostly undead (zombies and skeletons) with a few animals. The Cats are a mixture of animals and undead. The caves are mostly animals with a few demons. Hell is almost entirely demons (Lava Dogs are animals). In Hellfire the Hive is mostly animals with some demons, and the Crypt is a fairly even mixture of the three. On the whole, the only area where a blunt weapon is preferred is in the Church; the first four levels of the dungeon. Since swords do more damage than blunts, virtually all warriors use a sword for their long term weapon. | |||
What type of sword is a fairly unanimous choice, too. A bastard sword KSoH (King's Sword of Haste) is the choice of every character who can find or buy one. Both Griswold and Wirt can sell them, though the odds are very low that they will. Lower quality swords can be almost as good; [[D1_Swords|broadswords or claymores]] will work fine, if a bastard sword can't be found, and [[D1_Modifiers#.2B.25_To.2FHit_and_.2B.25_Damage_Done|Master's or Champion's]] is almost as good as King's, etc. | |||
Warriors need +To/Hit as well as +%Damage, so King's or other prefixes in that family are at the top of the list. Of haste or of speed are the most desired suffixes, since both give the fastest possible swing speed; fast enough to stun lock any monster. Other suffixes can be useful; heavens, titans, precision, or other attribute boosters, or swords that add mana or life leech can be helpful as well; life leech especially. But in almost all cases, [[D1_Modifiers#Faster_Weapon_Speed|faster swing speed]] is the best suffix to find on a weapon, since there are no other items that boost swing speed in Diablo or Hellfire. | |||
====Life Leech==== | |||
Life leech is very hard to obtain in Diablo and Hellfire. It's almost always found as a weapon suffix, and while leech is handy, faster attack rate is better. In multiplayer Diablo, the only way to get life leech, other than from a weapon, is from the ultra-rare [[D1_Unique_Helms#Helm_of_Sprits|Helm of Sprits]]. (Life leech is fairly easily obtained in single player, since the Skeleton King drops [[D1_Unique_Helms#The_Undead_Crown|The Undead Crown]] every game.) | |||
Life leech isn't required to survive in the game; after all, a red potion is an instant full life fill any time. But life leech allows Warriors to heal without drinking potions or using the [[D1_Spellbooks#Healing|Healing skill]], and that lets them stay down in the dungeons longer. Expert players measure their skill by how quickly they can clear levels, and by how few potions they drink, and life leech allows the longest play without potion consumption. | |||
Life leech is obviously a trade off; weapons with life leech mean doing without faster attack rate, and the helms that offer life leech have very few bonuses, compared to other top unique or magical helms. Rated by killing speed effect, life leech is a negative; it's primarily something advanced players enjoy for the ability to clear multiple levels without having to run back to town to buy more potions. | |||