yea i know that. it not just wave 2 and 5 thats a problem. using ww just feels bad to play for me@Pax1990 use War Cry to help with wave 2 and 5 (you can even lower /players for wave 2 to help without losing too much exp)
Probably not the build for you then considering the time investment for 98-99. Try something else.yea i know that. it not just wave 2 and 5 thats a problem. using ww just feels bad to play for me
Warshrike
Winged Knife
Throw Damage: 77 - 131
One Hand Damage: 90 - 117
Quantity: 200
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 45
Required Dexterity: 142
Fingerprint: 0xf01a147d
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
25% Chance to cast level 9 Nova on striking
+30% Increased Attack Speed
Piercing Attack
237% Enhanced Damage
50% Deadly Strike
Replenishes quantity
Blood Horn
Winged Knife
Throw Damage: 86 - 148
One Hand Damage: 101 - 133
Quantity: 102
Required Level: 69
Required Strength: 45
Required Dexterity: 142
Fingerprint: 0xc77dd230
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+40% Increased Attack Speed
275% Enhanced Damage
+2 to Maximum Damage
+104 to Attack Rating
Adds 12 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
7% Life stolen per hit
Required Level +12
Bramble Barb
Flying Knife
Throw Damage: 98 - 230
One Hand Damage: 98 - 230
Quantity: 200
Required Level: 48
Required Strength: 48
Required Dexterity: 141
Fingerprint: 0xa5d0f74a
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
327% Enhanced Damage
+67 to Attack Rating
4% Life stolen per hit
Poison Resist +13%
Replenishes quantity
Havoc Spike
Hyperion Javelin
Throw Damage: 107 - 212
One Hand Damage: 80 - 219
Quantity: 100
Required Level: 55
Required Strength: 98
Required Dexterity: 123
Fingerprint: 0x5764d4ee
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+40% Increased Attack Speed
284% Enhanced Damage
+1 to Maximum Damage
Adds 1 - 2 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)
Required Level +7
Grim Lance
Stygian Pilum
Throw Damage: 120 - 381
One Hand Damage: 85 - 326
Quantity: 90
Required Level: 80
Required Strength: 118
Required Dexterity: 112
Fingerprint: 0x8cd9497b
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
392% Enhanced Damage
Adds 17 - 12 Damage
+174 to Attack Rating
+9 to Strength
Required Level +12
Skull Bar
Harpoon
Throw Damage: 62 - 241
One Hand Damage: 45 - 175
Quantity: 80
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 118
Fingerprint: 0x62dac7b3
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Increased Attack Speed
247% Enhanced Damage
+8 to Maximum Damage
+46 to Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
+1534 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)
Required Level +5
Soul Sunder
Winged Axe
Throw Damage: 10 - 205
One Hand Damage: 16 - 199
Quantity: 125
Required Level: 82
Required Strength: 96
Required Dexterity: 122
Fingerprint: 0x6521ecd6
Item Level: 92
Version: Expansion 1.10+
49% Enhanced Damage
+116 to Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
+1534 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)
Adds 6 - 30 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
7% Mana stolen per hit
4% Life stolen per hit
+19 to Life
I really hope u got a source of manaleech, do u? U almost certainly wanna use String/Coif + ML RIng! If u don´t have, u can even go for a Tal´s Mask! (I know guys...but better Tal´s than no ML, right?)....better than having no ML and Gulli really only needed for w5 + Baal!i realized that iam still missing a dual leech ring to fix my mana problems. i run out of mana alot and pots dont always help enough. so i hope gameplay gets smoother once i dont
Thanks for all that good advice @ffs.I wholeheartedly agree that Baal running is the absolute worst thing in this game. However, I've been grinding Ball with WW a bit earlier this year, maybe a few tips:
- Listen to some good music or podcast or watch something, because it will always be boring to some degree at least...
- Use War Cry like @Jpy said. Definitely recommend to use it a lot especially when starting out – just go back and forth between WC and WW on RMB frequently (don't use weapon switch just because you might have more FCR there). In particular against W2 and W5, but it also helps against W1 and W3. You can always reduce WC casts as you get more comfortable, but they honestly cost basically no time and will make runs much smoother. Against W5 at some point I just started going for 100% uptime of WC stun until there's only a few left – some random W5 mana burn roll can cost you much more time than those WC casts over time.
- Add a good amount of cold damage sources/duration. Ravenfrost and/or charms are good ways to do that. It makes runs safer and easier to clean up the waves.
- Not sure which helm you use but if you have survival issues, consider Arreat's. It is a lot safer than GFace and not much worse. It's only when including Baal himself where GFace pulls away in performance.
@Pax1990 - I endorse the advice from @ffs whose advice also helped me get past some frustration with Lister mana burn, in particular. Casting WC on damage switch rather than cast switch after the initial cast on spawn point made a big difference for me. Also, AR was a challenge for chance-to-hit so that may be something to see if you can shore up.
Can you please remind on your Barb's level, stats and gear? There may be some possible gear tweaks that will also help, given what you have available from untwinked playthrough. CBF on merc made a big difference for me, particularly on Wave 2 and Baal. For reference, Death's updates from when he started Baal begin here for a few posts in the archive, then 96.5, 97, and 97.5 showing some key gear improvements and approach to the runs, as well as points where frustration came through Final stats and gear at lvl 98 are here. On gear, if you have String of Ears, I recommend prioritized a mana leech ring (rather than dual) or even amulet if no Highlord's yet.
I also agree that Baal runs can get tedious, especially if the character is missing a key piece of gear. The other idea I'd offer is having another project or two to take breaks when you get a few bad spawns in a row. It helped for me to be able to do LK runs or quest some characters through, and sometimes even a 30-minute break was enough so I came back fresh. The positive about Baal runs is that it's a finite number to whatever mid-point goal you set, and so it helped me to keep setting one that allowed meaningful progress toward it and then moving to the next one.
That said, the most important thing is fun, even more so if the goal is pushing to lvl 99. Hopefully some of the feedback helps make the runs more enjoyable, and the gear upgrades to make the runs more comfortable may be good little prizes along the way.
Thanks again to everyone being so friendly and helpful. I really love this community =)