Hammerdin vs. Fishymancer solo NM Baal runs

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Hammerdin vs. Fishymancer solo NM Baal runs

I currently have a level 73 Hammerdin, my bro has a level 70 Fisshymancer. He can do a solo Baal run in nightmare no problem, however quite slowly. On the other hand I CANNOT solo Baal run in nightmare, no way. The road to Baal, especially the 4th floor is loaded with enemies that own my *** instantly.

Are there any Hammerdins out there that can successfully do this solo? I'm guessing the Hammerdin relies heavily on his equipment, which I'm lacking currently being a hardcore noob. Here's my rig:

3 topaz helm
4 topaz gothic plate/Haemosu's Adamant (str too low for Shaftstop)
Milabrega's rod
Kickass rare protector shield with +1 skills, 75% block, +18 resist all, etc
Gloom's Trap belt
Frostburn
Natalya's Soul
+80 mana, +35 mf amulet
nagelring
Manald Heal
my block rate is currenty 56%

As you can see I'm quite the noob here... do I need to acquire better equipment before I can solo NM Baal, or is it out of the question entirely for a Hammerdin?
 
Fishymancers are well known to be safe and slow and a completely different playstyle compared to Hammerdins, so you can't really compare the two.

Make sure you max Blessed Hammer, Conentration, Blessed Aim and Vigor as early as possible to increase your Hammer Damage. I don't know what your stats are, but typically you only have enough strength for gear, enough dex for maximum block (wait till you get your end-game shield and plenty of points in Holy Shield though) and all the rest into Vitality. Resist the urge to put points in Mana.

Mana is likely a problem for you, as Hammers need to be spammed to reach full effectiveness. Get an Insight runeword for you merc... do Nightmare Countess runs until you have the runes.

The next thing you need is lots of Faster Cast Rate. Try to have at least 75% or 125%. Use Spirit runewords (a sword and a shield) if you can't get a hold of Wizardspike or Spectral Shard.

Make sure your resists are good - a high resist Pally Shield with four PDiamonds is what I tend to use early in the game.

BTW, it gets much, much much tougher in Hell. ;)
 
Lanceor said:
Fishymancers are well known to be safe and slow and a completely different playstyle compared to Hammerdins, so you can't really compare the two.

Make sure you max Blessed Hammer, Conentration, Blessed Aim and Vigor as early as possible to increase your Hammer Damage. I don't know what your stats are, but typically you only have enough strength for gear, enough dex for maximum block (wait till you get your end-game shield and plenty of points in Holy Shield though) and all the rest into Vitality. Resist the urge to put points in Mana.

Mana is likely a problem for you, as Hammers need to be spammed to reach full effectiveness. Get an Insight runeword for you merc... do Nightmare Countess runs until you have the runes.

The next thing you need is lots of Faster Cast Rate. Try to have at least 75% or 125%. Use Spirit runewords (a sword and a shield) if you can't get a hold of Wizardspike or Spectral Shard.

Make sure your resists are good - a high resist Pally Shield with four PDiamonds is what I tend to use early in the game.

BTW, it gets much, much much tougher in Hell. ;)
Click to expand...

Good advice, by the way I have Concentrate, Blessed Hammer and Vigor all maxed. I almost have Holy Shield maxed out to prevent getting my *** handed to me. I've probably dumped too many points into Vitality, around 200, and have been working on Dex for the past 10 levels or so. Currently I have arund 110, I'm thinking it'll take at least 150 to increase my block rate to 75% which I think is feasible.

I have two Spectral Shards actually but didn't think faster cast rate was all that important, aparently I was wrong. I'll give it a try.

My merc is an unstoppable force so that part I'm not worried about. Kelpie Snare with an Amn Rune, Shaftstop, 3 socket topaz helm.


 
fast cast is very important to get those hammers out, you need at least 48%, 75% would be better.

If you're on ladder or SP, make a Spirit sword and ditch Milabrega's.
 
If you have a pair, I always liked wearing Dracul's Grasp (gloves) on my hammerdin, simply for the +Life per Kill mod... paired with Redemption & the occasional potion, I didn't have any problems on some safe Baal runs - in Hell.
 
once you get high level gear, you will outspeed your brother, but until then, a fishymancer is known to be able to do any area without flinching or missing a beat - that's kind of its appeal
 
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