Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

[JMW]

Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

First time poster, please forgive any slights.
I played Diablo 2 LoD many years ago, but was never able to make it past the first few levels of hell difficulty. I bought the game again a few months ago, and I was under the impression that this time I had a much more "cookie cutter" build but I'm really getting my back end handed to me as early as act 5 of nightmare. I don't remember the game being this hard! I have several questions for the more technically inclined players, first and foremost whether or not my character is even hell viable (salvagable?)
The Important Specs: Level 63 Druid. Act V (Nightmare). Single Player only. v1.12
Str: 141/Dex: 90/ Vit: 178. Dam (Fury) 733-1662/Atk (Fury): 3993/Def: 832
Life: (Werewolf) 1264 Resists: Fire: 80/Lightning: 71/Cold: 61/Poison: 55.
Skills: Werewolf: 13/Lycanthropy: 13/Feral Rage: 11/Fireclaws: 14/Fury: 21 + Prereqs
Gear: Weapon: Rare Partizan. Dam: 101-216/187% ED/30-80 Fire Damage/9-23 Cold damage/other minor mods.
Armor: Holy Embossed Plate Def: 598
Helm: Rare Tiara. Def: 41. +63% to attack rating based on char level/+46% damage to demons/+88 AR vs demons/+33 life/+12 All Resists/-50% poison length
Gloves: Rare Sharkskin. Def: 37. Misc + to resists/Half freeze duration/80% extra gold.
Boots: Waterwalk unique
Amulet: Rare. +1 Shape shifting skills/+6 Str/2% life stolen per hit/Misc Resists/Half freeze duration.
Ring: Rare. +74 AR/Str +11/Misc Resists
Ring: Rare. Misc Resists/Half Freeze duration.

Merc: Ice Arrow Rogue (level 63) Dam: 112-494/Dex 165/Str 110/Def: 1298/Life: 828
Gear: Skystrike Bow (socketed with Ral)
Helm: Undead Crown
Armor: Godly Full Plate Mail of Protection (Def: 460)

Game Plan: Charge up feral rage on left mouse button, attack mobs with fury on right mouse button, let merc hammer on stuff from a distance. If dealing with PI, switch to fire claws. Planning to max fire claws, add one point for each synergy (+22% per synergy sounds like alot), then max lycanthropy for extra life.

Question: Should it work, and why isn't it working now?

Couple other things. If I find the right runes, I wanted to upgrade the skystrike because it has good mods. Is that even possible on 1.12 single player without patching the game? If I can't upgrade skystrike, I already have the runes to make Harmony (I just need a good bow). Can I make that without patching the game somehow? I have a nef and lum to make Smoke in an armor for myself (Just not the armor). I realize my chances of lucking in to another lum rune might be slim. What is the lowest armor I should stuff it in if I hope the armor to carry me through hell? (The +50 Resist All from Smoke is how I'm planning on coping with the extra -resists in hell) I noticed that the +63% to Attack Rating based on char level on my helmet doesn't seem to do much to my overall fury attack rating on my stats screen, why? What gear is servicable and what gear should I get rid of? I almost feel like I need everything I have regardless of whether it has good other mods just because it has good + to resists. Should I abandon the two handed weapon and take a shield because I have low def? I have four perfect diamonds to stick in one, which will let me take those rings I have off. Is my two handed weapon doing a respectable enough amount of damage for my level? I have almost every rune through Ko, but I don't know what of them might be any use to me. Any advice on runewords? Is it considered fair practice to patch the game to be able to use all of the runewords including the online ones, and should I do it? Thanks for putting up with me.

 

[Cyrax1]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

Hi, welcome to the SPF. Hope you enjoy your stay here and don't forget to read the stickies.

Wow, that's a ton of questions. Don't think i can answer them all, but let's see how far i get.

First of all, i think the char is salvagable but you picked an item dependant build. In other words: not an easy char to get through hell untwinked. Another thing i noticed is that you're only lvl 63. If you're going to hell i'd recommand getting some extra lvl's under your belt. I'm usually ~70 when going there.

As i see it there's two ways you can get there. First is running a target with the p8 command, maybe something like shenk/eldritch. This would get you the necessary lvls pretty quickly. Another is running Meph (on p1 unless you can kill him fast enough on higher playersettings). This would be slower lvling, but you might find some nice items which it seems you need pretty badly.

As for upgrading the skystrike: it is possible, but i wouldn't recommand it. It's a decent bow entering NM, but nothing more than that. Harmony in a good bow would be better, but you'd need RWM (= RuneWord Mod) for that. It's a forum accepted mod that allows you to get all the runewords that are available. It can be found in one of the stickies. Lots of people here use it, but there are others that don't, so it's really up to you.
Having said that, i'd recommand doing neither. Since you don't seem to have either a spirit or a bear (or wolves) you can really use another meatshield. Either get a might merc (boosting your damage and his own) or a HF merc if you like more safety. Personally i'd go with the first.

Smoke is a nice way to get your resists up if you have limited resources. I'm almost certain you can make it without installing the RWM first. As far as armor choices go i'd prefer an archon plate, but i think you need to get to hell to find one. There are enough other good options that can be found in NM though. Since it doesn't give you a huge boost in defense there's no real need to postpone making one in the best defense armor around. As long as you got a good armor that'll do.

You ask whether to go 1 or 2 handed. Both can be done. But remember that for most 1-handers you get less damage than with a 2-hander. Which doesn't matter if you got something great like grief, but since you're untwinked i'd stick with 2-handers. You can however use a 1-hander on switch. IIRC for fireclaw druids it's custom to use a 6x shael'd phaseblade (physical damage doesn't matter there, only speed). And since you'd be using a 1-hander on switch you could also get yourself a shield for resists. Just remember that for a 4-socketed shield you'd need at least 156 str (monarch) which you don't have atm. Oh, and for a phaseblade you'd need more dex then you have atm too. Not to mention you'd have to find one first. Until then i'd go with a weapon that's as fast as possible if you're using FC. Doesn't even matter if it only does 1-2 physical damage since you'd be using it for applying the fire damage of FC.

As far as gear goes, you'll need (a lot) better if you want to make it through hell. That's why i'd recommand lvling at Mephisto since he might drop you some decent gear. Now where to start?

I'll list some items (no particular order) that you might actually be able to get a hold of. In most cases there are better options, but if there's virtually no chance you can get them there's no point in listing them here.

Weapon: Pierre tombale couant, spire of honor, hone sundan, honor RW in a decent 5 socket 2-hander and maybe a black RW on switch since the crushing blow will help you getting down Mephisto.

Armor: Goldskin, duriel's shell, shaftstop, skin of the vipermagi, lionheart RW, smoke RW, duress RW, stone RW

Headgear: rockstopper, jalal's mane (if you can find this, that's your endgame helmet)

Gloves: laying of hands, chance guards (only for MFing at Meph), bloodfists, anything with resists.

Boots: gorerider, nat's boots, IK boots, aldur's advance, or your current boots since they're not all that bad.

Amulet: highlords, atma's scarab, or just anything with lots of resists. Even something like mahim oak's curio would give 10 resist all and some extra statpoints.

Rings: ravenfrost, other than that do what you're doing now. Get resists and if possible LL and/or ML.

Belt: nightsmoke (cheap option, but gets you some resist all), string of ears, anything with resists (and maybe some FHR depending on your next breakpoint)

I may have forgotten to mention some viable options above, but i'm sure some other people will jump in and list them. Other than that i purposely left out some good items since the chance of you finding them isn't that great going untwinked, with hardly any MF and most of them start dropping at some point in hell.

Hope this helps and don't be afraid to ask more questions if you have them.

 

[gedda-d-e]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

Hey and welcome JMW,

Agree with Cyrax, that is a mighty first post just buzzing with questions! I agree with what has been said, I am playing that exact same char at the moment (level 68 Act5 NM, just saved poor anya) and it is a bit of a struggle. I've gone down a bit more agressive run than you have however. I wen't with maxing Fury, lycanthrope & werewolf first, and now I am currently working on getting a strong summon, something which I think you may have overlooked!
I would suggest that you invest some skill points in 1) a spirit (I have gone for damage but this build would work just as well with the life one) and maybe 2) dire wolves/a bear, they will give you crowd control and make it easier for you to pick off monsters without getting hit. That way, you wont have to focus as much on getting defense either. And on that topic, you might want to consider switching your mercenary to an "Offensive" Act2

Second, your level is really too low - as noted above, try and kill shenk/pindle/eldricht a few times on higher player settings, it really helps out to have the extra levels even when going down to face baal.

Finally, about your gear. Don't look past the really basic runewords. I was playing with a "stealth" armour and a "lore" druid helm with + skills up until A3 NM, and they work just fine. If you can, when using fury, like zeal & whirlwind, try and find things like Crushing Blow, Deadly Strike, Open Wounds etc on your weapons. For example, "Black" and "Strength" are two very cheap and VERY good runewords which can be made in both 1H and 2H weapons. The 40% Crushing Blow from black will see your killing speed go down significantly.

That's all I can think of for now Best of luck with your druid, will see you on the finishline!

Third, your gear. It is somewhat pulling

 

[JMW]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

Taking your advice, I've begun doing Shenk runs on NM with /players 8. It's somewhat painful, but doable as long as I keep the life leech from feral rage up and don't allow myself to get mobbed. (And don't unluck in to skeletal archers or the small bird critter as the primary monster types.) Maybe I'm missing something here, but although I am noticing my experience going up by gobs at a time, the monsters involved are still dropping crappy useless items. Are you having me do this for the purpose of rapidly making level 70, or for the purpose of finding better items? I can't run the area with MF gear, because to be quite honest, I don't have any. The painfully small amount of room in my box is dedicated to holding runes, several perfect diamonds, a couple + resist all gems that I'm dreaming I might do something with some day, and a ton of charms that had useful mods, but not useful enough to permanently sacrifice inventory space on. (If I hear about how he can't carry anymore weight one more time, I'm going to smack him in to shape myself.) I have noticed that the items that do drop seem to be worth more overall to the merchants, but who doesn't have 1.5 million gold all the time anymore, right? If it ain't rare or unique, it ain't getting no play.

Speaking of 1.5 million gold, is there actually any point to gambling at my level? It seems like the only reason I do it these days is because I run out of gold space in my box and I like the thrill of wasting money on nothing. Do some gambling merchants pay off better, or have better base items? Any specific item I should be trying to gamble for if I want something I can actually wear?

Also, I mentioned in my earlier post that I had the runes to make both Harmony and Smoke. In fact, I have almost every rune through Ko. Problem with that is that most of them seem to be one shot wonders; found it once and ain't found it since. Although I have the runes, I don't have the bow and I don't have the armor. (Really, I don't even have the patch, but if I had the bow or the armor I think I'd find myself a lot more willing.) Problem: higher level socketable bows and armor aren't dropping, much less ones with the right amount of socketability. Believe me, I've been watching for the last four acts. Is there a certain area I can run with a greater chance of finding said items at or before Act V Nightmare?

I'll continue doing shenk runs until level 68-70. It would help me tremendously if someone would give me some ideas of what I might hope to get from him item-wise. Please be realistic.

One more thing, my 2hd weapon does 101-214 damage with a bit of extra fire and cold. With /players 8, stuff isn't exactly dying off left and right. Should I be doing more damage? It's the best weapon I've found. Am I just getting a bad run?

You guys rock.

 

[jamesixgun]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

I'll just hop in and suggest you have a look at GoMule... a forum-accepted muling program. You'll never run out of room for gold or runes again. (There's also ATMA, but I'm a mac user and ATMA is PC only, so maybe have a look at both. Some people seem to swear by ATMA.)

And, you're running shenk/eldrich for experience. They might drop something, but it's unlikely. If it's items you're after, hit up Meph, as he has a far better likelihood of giving you some useful stuff, and even if the stuff he gives isn't useful for you now, GoMule (or ATMA) will ensure that the loot will be useful for some other character.

Realistically, I have no idea what shenk and eldrich will drop, but there are some drop calculators around that could give you an answer, and there are people around here with a much better grasp of drop mechanics than I'll ever have.

Good Luck!

 

[Justa]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

Runeswise as soon as you hit Hell A1, go visit the countess and you'll quickly see everything El->Fal with frequency and if your lucky Lem->Ist. It's also a fairly manageable area althought PI ghosts may cause trouble if your fire claws is weak, alternatively you can just run past.

As for your current situation I'd suggest running Nightmare Mephisto a few dozen times at either players_1 or players_3, pick up any rares you could upgrade to and watch out for those uniques, I recently found a titans there while paired with a javazon in MP, good stuff!

However - make sure you get that level 70 first, the difference will seem unnoticeable but for many small reasons a higher lvl makes for an easier game (e.g. monster hit chances).

 

[Cyrax1]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

@gedda-d-e: I agree a good summon can take away a lot of the heat. And also a spirit is nice to have. However i didn't recommand either since i think he might need the extra points in FC (and synergies). Haven't played a FC myself (yet), so i'm not completely sure how he'd do with less points there. But since he's already a hybrid i doubt there'll be lots to spare.

@Justa: In itself it's a good idea for him to run the countess. I just don't think his char is up for it at the moment. He might get through, but it'll be more a struggle than a run down there.

@JMW: First of all, if you are struggling with stash/inventory space than i'd take a good look at Jamesixguns' suggestion. I think most people here use either ATMA or Gomule. It's simply great. Before i had ATMA i ditched a Hoz i found with my druid as i had no way of getting it on my pally and it took too much space. Something i've regretted for a long time (happened only a couple of weeks before discovering ATMA).

Secondly, as i mentioned in my first post, what you should run depends on your goal. Shenk/Eldritch is more for leveling up and not so much for items. Mephisto is less leveling, but more good items.

As for what's realistic for you to get, i tried as much as possible giving options that can be found at NM Meph. Though certainly not all that i listed there can be dropped by him. If you do decide to run him, just remember that he won't drop you exactly what you need in 10 runs or so. Well, he might but odds are you'll have to run (a lot) more than that. Especially since you don't have any MF.
So what's realistic really depends on how determined you are at running a target like Meph (or an area) to get some good items.

 

[corax1]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

get a bear as the next thing you do when you level. receastable meat shield makes the game go from hard to cake walk even in hell. Simply cast him between you and the baddies then whilke they are munching on him you are free to swing without taking damage or having fury interrupted(a big problem in hell as it easily spells death).
FC is alright as a backup skill but is nothing special that a furying elemental weapon on switch can't match. especially with some of the RW shield options available.

but remember


BEAR!!!!!

its just silly not to use it

 

[JMW]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

Thanks Cyrax, others,

I'm going to start running NM mephisto today. I had latched on to shenk just because he was in a good spot to take a run at, and progress with /players 8 is, well, somewhat choppy. I understand now that if I want items, that's what I have to do.
I should note for everyone that I do not really consider myself a fireclaws druid. I consider myself a fury druid that is pumping points in to fireclaws because too many faqs and threads have caused me to develop a fear of hell PIs. As per the tone of the crowd though, I'm getting the impression this may be misguided thinking. Am I to gather that Fury is going to soon pale to fireclaws in damage? I had planned to max fireclaws, put a single point in to each of its synergies (This will take until, roughly, level 78), and then put whatever remaining points I have in to lycanthropy. Is it more reasonable to ignore lycanthropy which is at level 13 and pump syngeries with every additional stat point I get?

 

[JMW]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

And, unless I get to the point where it's the only way I can continue playing, I don't really want to mod and third party client up my game. The only mod I would even consider at this point is the one that allows me to use all runewords.

 

[JMW]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

And I had considered summons. Notably, spirit wolf, bear, and oak sage. The logic I used was that just about anything that kills me, kills me quick. Anything that kills me quick will kill my summons ten times quicker. That probably translates in to a lot of one hitter quitters on summons, and I don't have 20 skill points to throw in to something to make the beasts beasty. What I had wondered though is whether or not it might be worth dumping just five points in to summon spirit wolf just to get a bunch of extra stuff running around on the screen at the beginning of a fight. and spreading the monsters a bit.

 

[corax1]

Re: Please help with 1.12 Druid build.

spirit wolves are rubbish. dire wolves are ok in some places if you have alot of +skills. oak sage is pretty well rubbish as it dies instantly in any hard fight(the ones where you really need it) but bear is awesome. trust me. bear is king. 1 points is enough for him to be useful as a distraction and meatshield, especially if you team him up with a might or holy freeze merc from act 2 NM.


remember BEAR!

Fireclaws can get some pretty hefty damage but rely on a superfast weapon speed and maxing lots of synergies. If you go this route you don't need to place a point in each different synergy, as each point in any of them will add the +22% for each point. so 5 points in firestorm will add 110%


remember BEAR!