Hi, playing again after so long..

ghostmark

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Dec 21, 2009
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Hi, playing again after so long..

Hello everyone,
after lurking on the forum for some time i decided to ask about some advice and also introduce myself here.
I first started diablo 2 back in 2001 and played until level 84.
i haven't play until then again, but i decided to start a single player game,(actually i plan on playing some multiplayer tcp/ip games later when i catch up on levels, battle-net is a no for me).
I play with sorceress and i am curently at lvl 22, act3. I have notice a lot of changes from the last time i played... some synergies and some changes in gameplay.
i decided to go for a frozen orb/energy shield sorc.
what kind of items should i go for? damage reduction?
also i read somewhere that there is a curse that really hurts sorcs with a lot of mana, what should i use to counter that?
(did i post in the corect forum btw? should i have posted on sorceress forums?)

And some forum noob questions i see some SPF SPMF (and others) stuff what does these mean?

thx in advance,
and sorry for my bad english.
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

We accomodate everyone and everything, especially since often the answers to these questions (gear etc) are different for single player. Generally speaking sorceresses shouldn't be getting hit hard or often, so damage reduction shouldn't normally be necessary. That said, integer damage reduction works well with a high level energy shield / telekinesis. You want to be looking for as many +skills as possible so as to enhance your spells. Other than that, try to get your resistances as high as possible, especially lightning.

The curse that hurts characters with large mana pools... Um, maybe blood mana? When you have this, casting costs you life I'm fairly sure. Other than that perhaps you're tihnking of the magical enhancement called Mana Burn which can spawn on unique enemies - this is the one to watch out for if you're using energy shield; it will deplete the shield in one hit.

SPF = Single Player Forum
SPMF ... dunno. MF is usually magic find though.

Anyway, welcome to the community. Read the stickies and rules and get yourself comfortable :D
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

Well, SPF refers to the Single Player Forum. SPTF refers to the Single Player Trade Forum. My guess is that SPMF probably refers to the Multiplayer sub-forum?

Blood mana isn't a curse you see much because it only gets cast on characters that have more mana than life. That's not many characters, but would almost certainly apply to an energy shield sorceress.

If you haven't played since the synergies were introduced, you'll want a heads up about what you're facing. Normally I don't tell people how to build their characters, but the game really changed with 1.10, and I don't want you to be surprised.

First, Energy shield has a synergy. Every point of damage towards life will count as two points of damage against energy, but for every hard point in telekinesis, you can reduce this, effectively making your energy shield more efficient. Many people will use a lower level energy shield with a high telekinesis. There are probably guides and suggestions out there.

More importantly, there are a lot more monsters that are immune to various elements, and cold mastery no longer pierces immunities. Frozen Orb is a great spell, but if all you do is cold damage, you're going to struggle in Hell difficulty. A Frozen Orb/Energy Shield Sorceress is certainly viable, but you may want to consider a build that has an easier time dealing with immunities.
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

+1 What rhyme said, I hear 1.10+ is way more difficult than other patches. Read up on some guides maybe?

I generally refer to the multiplayer subforum as simply MP forum.
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

Hello!

Great to hear your back in the game :)

take some time to read the stickies and some guides, it´s really worth it!

enjoy!
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

thanks a lot , i took a look into the FAQ,guides and some stickies and updated myself.
it seems that i will be able to take out those cold immune monsters with merc + telekinesis + static field.
also i learned a lot of the new mechanics. they seem fun in a way....
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

ghostmark said:
it seems that i will be able to take out those cold immune monsters with merc + telekinesis + static field.
This works well up until your merc gets swarmed. Even with maximum faster cast rate gear, you won't be able to keep them off him if the group is large enough. Remember also that the knockback on Telekinesis doesn't trigger all the time. I believe it triggers 100% of the time against small targets, 50% of the time against medium ones, and only 25% of the time against large targets. Griswold, the Ancients, and all act bosses are immune to any kind of knockback, whether from TK or not. One of the 'living tree' monsters (thrashers, I think) normally spawns as cold immune in Hell, and they are large sized and pack a whallop. Unless your merc has uber gear, they will shred him in seconds.

One tactic is to continuously pull your merc out of the fray with Teleport. This only works so long as you have somewhere safe to go, but it can help you string out enemies for the merc to handle one on one.

Another thing is that the paladin's Conviction aura and the necromancer's Lower Resist curse can break (ie, negate) immunities. Obviously, you're not going to be able to use Conviction (at least not without going multiplayer, or getting a very rare runeword), so let's ignore that. Lower Resist, however, sometimes appears on wands, daggers, and staves that you can shop for or run across during play.

The way LR and Conviction work is like this: you total the amount of -resist. If the monster is not immune to the element in question, you just subtract that from its resistance. However, if the monster is immune to the element in question (this means 100 or greater resistance), then you divide the resistance-lowering by 5. This means if you've got slvl (skill level) 5 Lower Resist charges on a wand (-47 resist all), it will only subtract 9 from an immune monster's resistance. This means any monster with 109 or greater cold resist will remain immune even after being cursed. However, for a monster with 108 or lower cold resist, it will suddenly become non-immune (but it will still be heavily resistant). Suddenly, the resistance-lowering effect of your Cold Mastery will come into play, and you'll be able to kill such monsters.

There is a problem, though. Most monsters that are cold immune have greater than 109 cold resist, so you will find you cannot break these immunities, and will need to rely on the merc.

I have three suggestions for you. The first is to not worry about Energy Shield. A single point in it is nice, and maybe some in Telekinesis so it lasts longer, but I'd recommend against a heavy investment for you at the moment. It really only works well if you have the gear to support it, namely a lot of +skills gear and point-based damage reduction. The idea here is you get hit for, say, 200 damage. ES reduces that by 90%, or 180 points, which come off your mana (you may lose anywhere from slightly less than 180 up to almost 360 mana, depending on how many hard points you spent in Telekinesis). This leaves 20 damage that makes it through your ES, and if you have items with 'damage reduced by x', you can entirely eliminate the damage. At least, that's the idea.

The second is to use two elements. Frozen Orb is nice because you don't need to spend a lot of points on synergies and Cold Mastery for it to work well. Obviously, the more points you spend, the better it will work, but it's not like some other skills that are almost useless without a lot of points. Thus, you see a lot of two-element sorceresses that use Frozen Orb along with something else. Pick either fire or lightning, get a powerful attack there, and use Frozen Orb as a backup. Chain Lightning + Frozen Orb and Fireball + Meteor + Frozen Orb (ie the 'Meteorb' sorceress) are common choices. If you decide to go for CL/Orb, then it's easier to justify spending points in Energy Shield, as it will get boosted by the same +lightning skills gear that helps your attacks.

The third, if you're dead-set on using a single-element sorceress, is to get an Act I merc. Many sorceresses like an Act II or Act V merc because they will engage the enemy in melee, keeping them in place for your spells to hit them. This works well most of the time, but when a single-element sorceress needs it most, it's useless. Why? Because keeping the enemy still so your spells can hit them doesn't help when the spells are useless against the enemy. A ranged merc will let you constantly pop around with Teleport, while your merc shoots at them with an attack that will hopefully injure them. If you're using the runeword mod, I highly recommend a Harmony (Tir Ith Sol Ko) bow. Even if you have no items now, you will most certainly have the runes to make this runeword before you reach Hell. It's great because it has good enhanced damage, and adds 55-160 each of fire, cold, and lightning, making nothing immune to the damage (no single monster is immune to physical, fire, cold, and lightning damage). Slap on some open wounds gear on the merc to stop them from healing (the 'prevent monster heal' mod doesn't work on mercs), and you'll be able to take out anything, even if it takes a while.
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

Oh.
thx a lot pharaoh this really helps.
it seems that i will have to spend some points in Chain Lighting then.

my current plan is:
(for 90 points)

Fire:
Warmth: 3
Cold:
Ice bolt: 10
Frost Nova: 1
Ice blast: 2 ( i have already 2 points becuase i use that in normal with staff+3 on it)
Glacial Spike: 1
Blizzard: 1
Frozen Orb: 20
Cold Mastery: 20
Lighting:
Charged Bolt: 1
Static field: 1
Lighting: 1
Telekinesis: 10
Teleport: 1
Energy Shield: 7
Chain lighting: 10
Lighting Mastery: 1


But what makes me worry most is the stats distribution.
i put most in energy , 2nd in vitality and some on str.
whats the max str i should go for?
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

For your skills, I'd recommend putting 20 points in anything that's going to be a main attack. Having only 10 points in CL will mean that it won't do nearly enough damage in Hell.

Here is what I would do for a Chain Lightning/Frozen Orb sorceress:

  • Charged Bolt, Lightning, Static Field, Telekinesis, Teleport: one point each
  • Chain Lightning, Lightning Mastery: 20 points each
  • Energy Shield: either no points or a single point (since you already have all the prerequisites)
  • Ice Bolt, Ice Blast, Glacial Spike, Frost Nova, Blizzard, Cold Mastery: one point each
  • Frozen Orb: 20 points
That is 71 points, or 72 if you put one in ES. Depending on the /players setting you use, and when you complete the various quests that reward you with skill points, you should reach this around level 65, which should be around mid-Nightmare. After that, you will want to pump the synergies for Chain Lightning to improve the damage. Don't worry about Frozen Orb so much. It might not kill things the fastest, but it is reliable,a nd you should have some decent +skills gear by this point.

For stats, most builds follow the same set of guidelines, which is:

  • Enough strength for gear
  • Enough dexterity for gear, or enough dexterity for maximum block (this only applies if using a shield, and wanting 75% block)
  • Nothing in energy
  • Everything else in vitality, for the life
Of course, certain builds will change this. If you're playing a 'titan' build, you will put all or almost all your points into strength. You can build a bow amazon with lots in dexterity. If you are playing an Energy Shield sorceress, you will put a lot into energy. All these approaches mean you have less life, but the idea is you trade that for something else, such as doing more damage or having a strong Energy Shield.

With Energy Shield, there are a few ways to do it. One is to just put in a single point or use an item with +ES, and just use it to reduce the damage you take. Think of it as a bonus. You'll also want to go without the ES at times, depending on what is attacking you. This is because you won't have nearly as much mana as a 'pure' ES sorceress, and getting hit might drain your mana so that you can't Teleport to safety or fight back. This type of build typically has few or no hard points spent in energy. Also, since you are still taking damage, if you have any items with the 'damage taken goes to mana' modifier, they can help a little bit.

You can also go the balanced route. The idea here is not to eliminate the damage you take, but to reduce it to a manageable level. You want enough mana that your ES won't collapse too quickly, but enough life so that if it does (and it will), you don't die instantly. Again, the 'damage taken goes to mana' mod can help. You generally need a lot of it, though, because with a stronger ES, there is a) more mana lost, and b) less damage to be converted to mana.

The final route is the pure ES sorceress. With the proper gear, you can completely eliminate almost all damage, at least as long as the shield lasts. The idea here is to put all your spare points into energy so you have lots of mana, put 20 points in Telekinesis so ES is more efficient (this means each point of damage prevented costs you 0.75 points of mana), and get ES as close to level 40 as you can (where it will absorb 95% of the damage). As you might imagine, it takes some doing to get +20 to ES from your gear and charms, so many people settle for an ES of a lower level. Since at least 5% of the damage will still be getting past ES, you also want some 'damage reduced by x' and 'magic damage reduced by x' items to eliminate this. The idea is that the amount of damage that makes it past ES will be so small that it is easily negated. Again, this happens before resistances are checked, so as long as the shield holds, you can ignore your resistances.

There are a few drawbacks to the pure ES sorcy, though. First, some damage will get through. Poison isn't affected by ES, and with your low life (you spent the points in energy instead of vitality) and probably low resistances, you will quickly be reduced to a single point of life. This means that if a single point of damage gets past your ES, you'll die. Open wounds and crushing blow are likewise unaffected, but no monsters have open wounds and only a few have crushing blow, so they don't matter as much as poison. Second is mana burn. Any boss with this mod, along with any of the pack, will probably wipe out your mana completely with a single hit. If this doesn't take down your ES, the next hit probably will, and the third hit (remember, it's from a boss or its minion, and your life and resistances are crap) will likely kill you. Third is the Blood Mana curse (the one that makes you spend life instead of mana on your spells). This one isn't too dangerous, but it is really annoying. Last is that if you've spent all those points on ES and TK, you won't have as much for a strong attack. The usual approach on an ES sorcy is to go with a lightning attack, since it's likely you'll already have a lot of +lightning skills gear and charms (remember, you want the ES at level 40). This means immunes are going to be a problem for you.

Basically, the point of all this is that you need to decide how you want to play the character, and what gear you want to use, as this will really affect your stat placement. In particular, if you have some item that gives a big boost to strength (or possibly dexterity), you can use it and save spending the points. You can then put them in vitality (or perhaps energy) instead.
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

i see now...
it seems that i have to forget the ES build.
and go for 2 element...
BTW with no energy point, would not my sorc have mana probs?
i mean how much mana u can reach?

thx a lot for your help .

btw i play with no mods d2 LOD version 1.12
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

You can get a decent amount of +mana from equipment. Rings and amulets often come with large +mana, and Harlequin Crest is a commonly used helm that comes with a big mana and and life boost (along with +2 skills and a good chunk of MF, which explains the "commmonly used" part).

(Edit: Also, earlier in the game before you find (or can use) some better armors and helms, you can stuff socketed low level armor and helms with sapphires.)

If you're willing to use the RuneWord Mod that unlocks ladder RWs for SP (most of us use it), then 'Spirit' shield adds a big chunk of mana (among many other sorc goodies) and an 'Insight' polearm for your merc provides meditation aura to give you a big boost to mana regen. Those are both easily obtainable RWs.

Even if you don't want to install any mods, though, you're still better off getting +mana from equipment than from boosting Energy. Drinking the occasional blue potion is better than dying in one shot because you didn't put enough points in Vitality.
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

my skills(edited) are set cant go back now.....CL/Frozen orb without ES

i am currently at lvl 34
and my pure stats are:
88 vit
99 energy
with my items i get:
306 life
375 mana
 
Last edited:
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

Like people mentioned, you can get lots of +mana gear, as well as gear that raises your mana regeneration rate. If you don't have a point in Warmth, I'd put one there (I forgot to mention that in my previous post). A single point in Warmth is never wasted, because it will be boosted by any +skills gear you have.

As mentioned, if you get the runeword mod (RWM) and make the Insight runeword, that will give a level 12-17 Meditation aura to whoever equips it. It can be made in polearms (so you can give it to an Act II mercenary) or staves, so your sorceress can use it herself. The downside to using it yourself is you won't be able to get as much +skills gear (it doesn't offer any sorceress skill boosts, but you can use a staff that has bonuses to individual skills). The downside to using it on your mercenary is that if the mercenary dies, you lose the aura. On the other hand, the Meditation aura has a synergy-like effect with Prayer, so if you get a merc with Prayer (Act II 'combat' merc, in Normal or Hell difficulty), the Meditation aura will heal you. When the merc activates his own Prayer aura, that will heal you too, so you get massive life and mana regeneration. With a level 12 Meditation aura, it offers +575% mana regeneration in a 25.3 yard radius (that's about a screen and a half), and a level 17 aura is +700% mana regeneration in a 32 yard radius. Needless to say, the Insight runeword is very popular for sorceresses and other spellcasters.
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

i installed the runewords but i have a question.
if i get some of those runes and then join a game that doesnt use it what will happen?
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.

If you host a RWM multiplayer TCP/IP game, it will be RWM for anyone who joins it, even if they do not have the mod installed. If you join such a game, and plan to make ladder runewords in it, you might want to make sure the host is actually using the mod. Otherwise, if you create a ladder runeword in that game, it will not work, same as if you launch your game without the RWM shortcut. However, I am told that if you later enter a RWM game with the item, it will change into the runeword, so you will not actually waste the item or your runes. I have never actually done this myself; I make my runewords in my own games, just to be safe.

Once a ladder runeword is made in a RWM game, it will remain even if you later enter a game hosted by someone not using the mod. In other words, RWM is only need to create the runeword, but once created, it will exist just fine without RWM.
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

your answer pretty much cover all my thoughts :)
btw my game version says 1.12
how can i know if i havel 1.12a , 1.12b?
and can i join games hosted with 1.12a?
 
Re: Hi, playing again after so long..

There is no v1.12b, so you don't need to worry. If your game says 'v 1.12' in the bottom-left corner of the main menu screen, then it's v1.12a, and you can join those games. Just make sure you do not join a vanilla game, since you're using RWM. You'll need to instead join a FAM (forum accepted mods) game (these tend to be more common than vanilla games, anyways).
 
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