Anything Goes D2 Lounge!

[Zedwardson]

Okay, going to ask a dumb question.

Which of these weapons are better for a HC Zealot?

Bramble Hew Axe One Hand Damage: 5 - 18 Durability: 24 of 24 Required Level: 6 Required Strength: 32 Item Level: 11 Version: Expansion 1.10+ 45% Enhanced Damage +3 to Maximum Damage +76 to Attack Rating Adds 1 - 2 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames) Repairs 1 Durability in 33 Seconds

or

Rixot's Keen Short Sword One Hand Damage: 9 - 14 Durability: 16 of 24 Required Level: 2 Item Level: 10 Version: Expansion 1.10+ 100% Enhanced Damage +5 to Minimum Damage 20% Bonus to Attack Rating 25% Chance of Crushing Blow +25 Defense +2 to Light Radius

Is it Bramble Hew for most things, and Keen for bosses due the the crushing blow?

 

[ziambe]

They are both so low level and damage that i dont think it really matters...there is a good chance that you will find a better damage weapon by the time you can use zeal, or shortly thereafter. Keeping the sword on swap for bosses would be handy.

Also consider weapon speed: generally speaking swords swing faster than axes for pala but every base has its own speed. This is very important for zealots who will be locked into the 5 swing animation while be pummeled from all sides.

 

[Zedwardson]

They are both so low level and damage that i dont think it really matters...there is a good chance that you will find a better damage weapon by the time you can use zeal, or shortly thereafter. Keeping the sword on swap for bosses would be handy.

Also consider weapon speed: generally speaking swords swing faster than axes for pala but every base has its own speed. This is very important for zealots who will be locked into the 5 swing animation while be pummeled from all sides.

Doing untwinked play and I am level 19 going into act 2.

I will keep the sword till I can find something better.

 

[Tatterson]

Did anyone try gomule in the D2R alpha? Did it work?

 

[BullHorn]

Someone modified GoMule to work in D2R, search for pairofdocs/gomule-d2r on github.

I'm interested in getting into SPF, but there is so much to read through and I'm feeling overwhelmed. I'm not sure where to start and who to talk to. Can someone point me in the right directions?

 

[maxicek]

@BullHorn

Single Player Rules - Read first before posting

Introduction and Site Rules Welcome to the Single Player Forum. Despite the name the community is very interactive. We often multi-play (MP) with others and have competitions such as the Magic Find Olympics (MFO) and many Hardcore (HC) tournaments. Please read the rules, including the spoiler...

www.purediablo.com

@Tatterson I'm hopeful that the GoMule offshoot works properly, but we need to review it once D2R actually gets released. I will be checking it as quickly as I can, but it won't officially be permitted until that has been done. I will post nearer the time in more detail.

 

[ziambe]

@BullHorn
what exactly do you mean? you can read specifically for your goals or you can browse the libraries! the world is your oyster :!

welcome

 

[BullHorn]

I've read the rules, I think I may have even found something that needs correction or clarification (I @ you on the Discord about it). It's all making sense, although I'm a bit sad that Sven's glide wrapper is the only one allowed, there have been really amazing advancement in this field in recent years.

So maybe some more questions for you guys:

1. Is this forum the main platform for communication and hangout for SPF or is there an IRC/Discord/other?
2. Is there recommended SPF video content that I should check out?
3. How are SPF players really held accountable? What stops them from breaking the rules?
4. I've never used GoMule before. Do you actually have to create mule characters, or does the internal GoMule 'stash' get the job done? Is there an ideal way to use it?
5. Clearly I'll be starting from scratch again, would you say the best way to start strong is to just make a Sorc and run /p7 LK till at least Infinity/Enigma?
6. Are there plans to transfer SPF progress from D2 to D2R, or will there be a full reset?

I'll probably have more questions later

-EDIT: Some more rule-specific questions:

1. Slinging now comes bundled with CNC-DDRAW instead of Sven's Glide Wrapper. Is it still allowed?
2. 1.14d can be played with Sven's Glide Wrapper, but only if adding the '-3dfx' parameter to the game's shortcut. That's not explicitly allowed, but in my infinitely oblivious stage, I think it probably should be. Right?..

 

[Pb_pal]

@BullHorn - Welcome I'll give a go at some of these answers here, but someone more rulesy will have to answer your final two.

1. There is a general PureDiablo Discord but in terms of SPF-specific posts/content/updates, the forum is probably the place to be.

2. Videos are littered throughout the SPF in Mat/Pat threads, the Untwinked 99er thread, previous MFO/RFL competitions, and all sorts of other places. There isn't one single channel or thread that compiles it all or anything, but there is a ton of video content to be found if you go digging.

3. Nothing really stops them from breaking the rules, aside from getting banned for breaching forum policies. The SPF has always been a really straight-shooting type of forum, and the community has a way of attracting like-minded individuals. That said, a lot of us have been around for literal decades dating back to the old site and we've seen all sorts of un-SPF-like behaviour. It tends to get exposed and stamped out quite quickly.

4. The internal stash mechanic does it all. It creates a separate file that you can store all your items. You can make as many as you want, and even divide your charactes/stashes into 'Projects' to make cross-contamination less likely if you don't want it (ie. between HC/SC, tournament characters, etc)

5. That's a good start, yeah. Typically it would be a race to LK for mid-high RWs like HoTo, CtA, CoH, Fort, Infinity and then blasting the Ancient Tunnels/Pits to gear out the rest and gain some XP. Check out the Untwinked 99er Thread as well as its former incarnation in the archives for all the information you could possibly need or want in regards to quickly building wealth and gaining levels.

6. I think as far as we know it will be a pretty seamless transition for those that want to switch, since you can just import your save files and keep on going. I'm sure there will be wrinkles, but there always are in life.

 

[NorthDakota]

1. How are SPF players really held accountable? What stops them from breaking the rules?

The answer to your question is - the relationships, and it's more fun. You're betraying the trust of people who are helping you, people who are friends, people who you talk with for potentially years. How would I feel now if I cheated and the people who I've spoken with for nearly a decade found out and I was banished? Also if you stick around for any amount of time you realize it's more fun.

I started on the SPF forum nearly 10 years ago. There are many who have been here far longer. When I first started I wasn't sure how invested I was, but I fired it up and started playing single player, slowly sharing and chatting with people around here. I was really enjoying myself, the game was fun again, the people were fun to talk to about the game. A while in, I broke the rules, I justified it to myself however I wanted at the time (I'm playing single player, the modifications I used didn't change the experience in any real way, it's basically the same as everyone else, etc etc). As I played more I found that I had to hide it, it was a source of constant worry for me. The relationships I had made here and the conversations I had with people were valuable to me, I didn't want to lose it. Eventually I came clean to @Thyiad and begged to be allowed to continue to participate here.

So I deleted everything, started over, I have no temptation to cheat anymore. It's not worth it. I believe I had a probationary period of some sort (couldn't trade, people knew what I did, black mark, beware of this dude, etc etc). It's been so long I hardly remember now. I could cheat no problem, I hardly post here anymore. But let's say I find something now and I want to come post it now, or the next time I play the game, if I'm cheating I won't really feel like I have anyone to share it with. I won't feel like I can share it with these folks who have played so long and have such respectable accomplishments. No one in my personal life plays the game and will care if I do something awesome in D2.

Also you're facing some of the most experienced and knowledgable d2 players in the world. If you're posting here regularly and cheating it's very likely that you'll be found out. There are many ways but usually it's just someone inexperienced cheating thinking they're hiding it well when in reality it's obvious.

 

[Skezla]

I second what ND just said. Though I've never been much of a real participant in the community (preferring to lurk) I have been around a long time and find that the cheaters a) never last and b) never seem to have as much fun as the ones who stick true to the rules. Those are probably related. After all, why stick around if the fun is gone?

There are always reasons, like ND said, to justify one thing or another to ourselves. For me, my temptation was strongest when a character I had been playing for several hundred hours ended up dying because I had to attend to a sudden real life event and didn't S&E or pause like I thought I did.... The loss was immense. But I knew that if I revived that character, the fun would be over. I even tried to convince myself that it wasn't so different from certain famous community member(s) resurrecting their characters who died to the infamous FE bug back in the day... but I just couldn't.

At the end of the day, it's about community. No one here will tell you that you cannot play X way and have fun; but if you want to be a part of this specific community (and that's a big if).... the rules are the rules.

You could try and have the cake and eat it too, but secrets have a way of coming to light, and if (by that time) you're attached to the community, it could cost you friendships and any trust you've garnered.

So, to put it succinctly, cheaters get caught or get bored eventually; the result is the same. The community withstands all tides.

 

[Kartongen]

4. The internal stash mechanic does it all. It creates a separate file that you can store all your items. You can make as many as you want, and even divide your charactes/stashes into 'Projects' to make cross-contamination less likely if you don't want it (ie. between HC/SC, tournament characters, etc)

4. As above, except for essences which should be stored on a mule. (Never exit gomule with it in a stash.)
Reason is that it can cause stash corruption, from what I've understood.


I have only little time to write now, but to try to answer your other question...
The rules may seem very strict, and maybe some implementations sound off. But trust me, the community you get from it is well worth it.

Very welcome to the forums. I look forward to hearing about your adventures.

 

[teddeeboy]

hi @BullHorn

Welcome to the forums

The other aspect your question 4 is the ability to play/start Diablo 2 in previous versions. Basically you can start a version of the game and forward selected items to later patches based on approved process.
This gives you a different experience. The time travel guides are really good for reviewing this process

The games is challenging and rewarding in different ways.

@Kartongen

Hey I never knew that point about storing essences in go-mule either. I have a go-mule stash for essences only as I use ATMA for most other stuff and ATMA does not store essences. Currently have only 3 essences .

What is the circumstance/story the happened?

Edit: To avoid a double-post

 

[Kartongen]

hi @BullHorn

Welcome to the forums

The other aspect your question 4 is the ability to play/start Diablo 2 in previous versions. Basically you can start a version of the game and forward selected items to later patches based on approved process.
This gives you a different experience. The time travel guides are really good for reviewing this process

The games is challenging and rewarding in different ways.

@Kartongen

Hey I never knew that point about storing essences in go-mule either. I have a go-mule stash for essences only as I use ATMA for most other stuff and ATMA does not store essences. Currently have only 3 essences .

What is the circumstance/story the happened?

Edit: To avoid a double-post

When my first essence dropped I just remembered reading about stash corruption, but I guess it was for ATMA as you say. My mistake.

 

[BullHorn]

Cool experiences and stories, thanks for sharing!

I reinstalled the game and stripped it of all mods, but I'm finding it very hard to enjoy the game without one specific mod. I might have to wait for D2R before joining SPF...

 

[Vildecor]

-EDIT: Some more rule-specific questions:

1. Slinging now comes bundled with CNC-DDRAW instead of Sven's Glide Wrapper. Is it still allowed?
2. 1.14d can be played with Sven's Glide Wrapper, but only if adding the '-3dfx' parameter to the game's shortcut. That's not explicitly allowed, but in my infinitely oblivious stage, I think it probably should be. Right?..

I can cover these 2 really quickly.

1. The Singling files we have in the Community & Links thread contains the only version I know of that is cleared. AFAIK, the only thing this version does is allow multiple instances of D2 to be run in 1.14d (at least that's the only reason for its use out of the few people I know who use it).

2. Yes, the '-3dfx' command line is accepted and should be added to the list (@maxicek can fix this).

Edit:

Hey max, could you also add a link on that page for Oskros's MF timer? I only saw silospens Run Counter Advanced in the list.

 

[BullHorn]

I was able to install the latest version of Singling (for Ladder runewords + CPU fix in menu + mouse cursor FPS unlock in Singleplayer) and deleted ddraw.ini and ddraw.dll to disable that new glide wrapper. Then I just installed Sven's glide wrapper and added -3dfx to the shortcut.

Is that fine?

 

[Vildecor]

I was able to install the latest version of Singling (for Ladder runewords + CPU fix in menu + mouse cursor FPS unlock in Singleplayer) and deleted ddraw.ini and ddraw.dll to disable that new glide wrapper. Then I just installed Sven's glide wrapper and added -3dfx to the shortcut.

Is that fine?

Probably not, as it includes some no-no stuff for older patches. We have the RWM for ladder-only runewords you can use.

 

[BullHorn]

I think a sticky post with a guide on how to setup the game for SPF would help. There's the Rules and Technical Support threads which I've read, but it's difficult to figure everything out.

I could write one for 1.13/1.14 once I figure it out, but I'm assuming it would be different for 1.00-1.12 (which I'm not interested in).

 

[Vildecor]

I agree, there could probably be some use for a Forum Accepted Mods (FAM) modding guide. In general, anything linked in the 2nd post of the Community & Links thread is fine to use. Any specific questions can always be directed to @maxicek in a PM if you are unsure of something.