Starting Hardcore

[Epheira]

Starting Hardcore

Hi all, im a veteran when it comes to D2, but dying in games happens a lot.
I want to play hardcore now, and i havent a clue on how to start.
What should i look out for ? Whats a good starting char ?
Are pubs dangerous, or should i only play with friends ?

Thanks people

 

[Socialism1]

What to look out for:
- the search function in your hardcore forum can be your best friend; most likely anything you can ask has already been addressed somewhere in its greatly disorganized archive ad nauseum
-

Good starting characters:
- it's good to learn survivability early on -- and most people want a baseline "MF" character they can kill, survive, and treasure-hunt with; builds that allow (excel at) this cheaply are summon necromancers (look up NightFish's guide in the necromancer forums), LS/DS trappers (similar concept; make a corpse, blow it up), and on the slightly harder end, the Orb/TK (20 orb, 20 cm, 20 telekinesis, divvy up rest) or standard Blizzard sorceress (though I'm working on a Blizzard/TKer).

Public / friends:
- public games are dangerous as soon as you hit PK-ability and/or wealth -- you'll either get killed or scammed if you're not watching out for yourself and being both careful and logical
- make friends here; message me at *Flicker on HCLEast if you want some nooblar gear (I just started playing again myself, so I'm in dire poverty... as usual)
- sometimes, you need to play public game to make friends; I'd look for people more interested in builds/playing than UBAR ITAMZ GIEB PLESE (these are rare and hard to find)

Pz.

Socialism

HCLEast
*Flicker
*Mirager

 

[Hp_Sauce]

but dying in games happens a lot.

That is not true... and it is also not a good thing!

Welcome to HC, its better here!

The HC Faq is a great place to start learning about HC, its stickied at the top there. Also you can read some of the RIP Our Fallen Friends thread, as reading how other people died will help you learn to avoid it.

As Socialism said already, summoners and trappers are great starting characters. Some people think wind druids hold up pretty well when untwinked, and many people swear by hammeradins. An untwinked blizzard sorc could reach NM Meph without too much troubles if you wanted to start building an item base that way.

Also, whatever character you were the best with or had the most fun with in Softcore is a good choice for HC as well since you will know thier good and bad points already.

-Resists are MUCH more important in HC then they were in SC
-Be patient
-Beware of playing drunk
-Always carry Juv's
-Vitality is more important then resists
-Don't under estimate max block

there is more... so much more, but i'm going to bed.

-hps

 

[bigD72]

Delete everything from your brain that you know about how to build a character. As it was for me in Softcore and probably for you too, damage is the reason why I chose to build characters. Don't worry so much about the damage, as long as you can live, you'll kill it eventually.

Max Block, Max or Near Max Resis, a little DR, and any where you can get life from is helpful.

Hit me up *lord_naphtali, I'll help you out or play a new character with you.

 

[User MXI]

Sticked HC FAQ is absolutely must to read! Actually I did it many times before I remembered every word of wisdom there.

From you short info I guess you are playing in Europe realm. Then you may contact ether me or any other Europe HCL player who is on these forums. Quick list from my memory: mopsi, ra_plant, s4nder. Usually we play together and exchange stuff for free or for friendly amount of perfect gems. Personally I may give you Sigon set that I and my friends use to start a new char.

To start I suggest you to use a character you familiar with, if you think that it can beat NM using only Sigon set.

*user_mxi@Europe

 

[MapleBarb]

Hi all, im a veteran when it comes to D2, but dying in games happens a lot.
I want to play hardcore now, and i havent a clue on how to start.
What should i look out for ? Whats a good starting char ?
Are pubs dangerous, or should i only play with friends ?

Thanks people

I'm rather new to hc myself. So far here's how I've done it. Started a summoning necro. Instead of the usual lets get rushed and go to baal runs asap what I did was the exact opposite. I played the game mostly by myself and instead of rushing I've made sure I walked thru every act. Including getting exp by finding the wps, and putting the flail together. In nm this tactic paied off by giving me 19 lvl ups between act1 and ancients

Re public games: I really have stayed clear of. Only time I did do some was yesterday where I helped baal a friend in normal.

My biggest problem up to now was in act2 in hell trying to clear arcane sanctuary. And this because of the physical immunes. What worked for me was go with a combo of iron maiden, fireball, and then once I have a couple or so of them dead I also use ce a couple of times. This aint exactly the fastest but did the trick against them. I'm still not 100% sure on how good I'll do against council. But I still have a whole act to walk thru lol. So I'll worry about them if and when I get there.

and no I realize I'm no pro at hc, but I figured I'd toss my note in since ,,, well just thought you'd like to hear from another hc noob who, if I say so myself, aint actualy doing half bad thus far

 

[MrZip]

I'm going to second or third what has been already said, resists, life, max block, dr and FHR are all more important to me than dmg. What good is doing 190349585k dmg if you're dead?

My biggest problem up to now was in act2 in hell trying to clear arcane sanctuary. And this because of the physical immunes.

Can't you just amp them to remove the phys immunity?

 

[Epheira]

Thx all, i forgot to mention i play Europe, will probably start when new ladder arrives.

Ill read that Faq, and even hook up with some euro players soon.
Thx, guys on HC seem nicer

 

[BlueOctoberFan]

What should i look out for ? Whats a good starting char ?
Are pubs dangerous, or should i only play with friends ?

Some quick points:
1. Look out for fire enchanted creatures. Even if you think you're doing great, they can drop you or give you a small heart attack. Let the merc get the final blows, and make sure resists are up at all times. (the Council is a pain because of amp and FE, so it's good to isolate one at a time)

2. My favorite for a starting char is the LS/DS assassin. They have good killing power, and you need little more than an Ancients Pledge shield and Fade to have moderate resistances in nightmare, which can be maxed with little issue given all the other equipment/charms you find along the way.

3. Pubs are only more dangerous if you're not aware of what's going on around you. About half of the time, people will warn of a PK, but otherwise, just check people's levels when you come in so you can see if you should watch out for anyone in particular. When Baaling, don't just stand in front of the minions. You can often be safer moving to either side, or even slightly behind the throne, as there will be more bodies to soak up a TPPKer's damage. I make this point because, no matter how long your friend list may be, there will end up being plenty of time when few to none are on.

 

[ychuang]

A few more things to add:

1. Don't get rushed. As MapleBarb put it, you learn a lot about hc, inherent dangers, and also level appropriately to where you are playing. It's the easiest way to learn to play in HC.

2. If you seek help for some particularly tough end bosses, do it in a private game with people you know - non-ITAMS people who won't grab and dash. The first time you kill an end boss, you get a better drop. Starting out in HC again (i started 2 months ago after 2 years off), i did all my end bosses privately. Even if uniques didnt fall, the rares really help.

3. Collect flawless gems. You can pick up really good equipment for the price of a couple pgems, and great equipment for 20-40 pgems as well (skulders, um, low shako, shaft, occy, stuff like that is all pgem priced).

4. Don't be afraid of pubbies. You'll need to level somehow before progressing between skill difficulties - it'll make it safer for you (more life, better skills). I usually use as a benchmark of lvl 42-45 for moving from normal to NM, and lvl 70-72 for moving from NM - hell. Typically, this is when experience from baals starts to drop. Pubbies (more specifically baals) arent usually a problem in normal. Take notice of unusually high characters, but sometimes they're just there to help level a friend or another character. Learn which characters can tppk (these are the ones to worry about, legit pk's in baals are easy to avoid. Go back to town), and stay away from them. In NM, be a bit more careful. Typically, you need to be aware of everything that is going on around you. If someone starts throwing guided missles out near you, stay far far away from them and leech exp instead. It isnt as quick, but it'll keep you alive.

5. Learn to ESC, Quit Game very quickly. Whether you get hostiled, you are block-locked and in trouble, or you suddenly notice while you're in the middle of a mob that the guy pounding on you is multi-shot, LE, FE, extra strong. Valour is useless at that point. There's no pride in HC. ESC-quit is a great way to get out of trouble.

GL.

 

[abbithedog]

5. Learn to ESC, Quit Game very quickly. Whether you get hostiled, you are block-locked and in trouble, or you suddenly notice while you're in the middle of a mob that the guy pounding on you is multi-shot, LE, FE, extra strong. Valour is useless at that point. There's no pride in HC. ESC-quit is a great way to get out of trouble.

GL.

Ahh, the hostile timer. Best friend you'll ever have.

A) Watch out for chars just hanging near the town gates, they're dieing to PK you! There's no hostile timer as you head out the gates.

B) Do NOT, NOT, think you can take a char that hostiles because they are 10-20 levels below you. My 27 pally makes a career out of PKing in baal games, since he's tweaked to the hilt. You will not be able to take a PvM char and win against a tweaked out PKer, so don't even try.

C) And don't think that since you're not with the group, you won't be found. I'll hunt people down if I even have the slightest inkling of where they might be - you hear the warning, you get your *** to town until the PKer is gone.

 

[Epheira]

B) Do NOT, NOT, think you can take a char that hostiles because they are 10-20 levels below you. My 27 pally makes a career out of PKing in baal games, since he's tweaked to the hilt. You will not be able to take a PvM char and win against a tweaked out PKer, so don't even try.

C) And don't think that since you're not with the group, you won't be found. I'll hunt people down if I even have the slightest inkling of where they might be - you hear the warning, you get your *** to town until the PKer is gone.

So you kill random people then ?

 

[PhatTrumpet]

How sad is that

It can actually be rather fun.

So, we not only welcome you to Hardcore, but also to the PKing debate. Don your flame-retardant suit and strap yourself in.

 

[abbithedog]

So you kill random people then ?

I won't go after anyone who's below me intentionally (sometimes they are in the way and aren't smart enough to take off), and tend to aim for chars level 30-45 with my level 27 pally.

Usually join a norm baal/diablo/meph game and wait until they're in the throneroom/chaos sanc/level 3 and then hostile. They then have not only 10 seconds before I can even use the WP, they have 2-3 minutes before I can even get my fat butt down there. Figure that's fair enough, and those that want to stay and fight, can.

I've had sorcs try and trap the RoF Wp before and have gotten nailed pretty hard before....but remember I'm pretty tweaked (700ish life) for norm, so they usually wind up paying the price. And then their own friends start reminding them of their own stupidity.

 

[abbithedog]

It can actually be rather fun.

So, we not only welcome you to Hardcore, but also to the PKing debate. Don your flame-retardant suit and strap yourself in.

And yes, it can be fun. For both sides - a lot of PvMers really, really want to see how bad*** their chars really are. And come away surprised and a little bit wiser as to the ways o' building good chars.

You'll find hardcore players are, well, smarter than the average bnetters. As previous posters have mentioned, damage is no longer the main goal - it's surviving, which although it seems intuitive, really makes you consider your gear/builds in a whole new light.

Take for example a single element sorc, or any other sorc. Since skills are TIGHT for sorcs post 1.09, there's not a point to spare. So how many softcore sorcs even bother with Eshield? And if they do, do they max the synergy as well and waste 30-40 points, when they can blast out another 10k in lightning damage with those points? What softcore player would do that? None. Now, how many hardcore players have significant points into eshield and telek with their MF sorcs? Probably more than you think.

 

[MapleBarb]

A few more things to add:

1. Don't get rushed. As MapleBarb put it, you learn a lot about hc, inherent dangers, and also level appropriately to where you are playing. It's the easiest way to learn to play in HC.

my non rush paied off today in trav. I got a unique dwarf star . And I also killed meph with rather ease. I was beyond shocked. So next time I play I start on act4. I'm still grinning. Cause I mean ok I aint exactly a speed demon. I'm lvl 79 and for most of you here I'm sure you'd probably laugh that I havent attempted act4. but to me, being a total new player in hc this is completely great since never in my wildest dreams did i think I could made it this far. Now lets hope I have a nice rune from the forge

3. Collect flawless gems. You can pick up really good equipment for the price of a couple pgems, and great equipment for 20-40 pgems as well (skulders, um, low shako, shaft, occy, stuff like that is all pgem priced).

lol thats something I've been doing. I believe I have about 60 some odd p gems.

5. Learn to ESC, Quit Game very quickly. Whether you get hostiled, you are block-locked and in trouble, or you suddenly notice while you're in the middle of a mob that the guy pounding on you is multi-shot, LE, FE, extra strong. Valour is useless at that point. There's no pride in HC. ESC-quit is a great way to get out of trouble.

I came close (or to me it was) to dying once. was almost like someone slapped me in the face lol. taught me a lesson. I been AGES more careful now.

 

[BlueOctoberFan]

Can you actually trade pgems for a Shako? I tried a couple of weeks ago, and all I saw was "LOL", "NEWB", "you serious?", etc., etc.

 

[MapleBarb]

Can you actually trade pgems for a Shako? I tried a couple of weeks ago, and all I saw was "LOL", "NEWB", "you serious?", etc., etc.

then again some people will call others newb no matter what.

 

[BlueOctoberFan]

So would a shako go for 40 then? What about Skullders and Occy? No one has ever been able/willing to answer how much things generally go for (I've tried asking in the trading forum, but people just respond that the forum is not for getting values).

 

[abbithedog]

So would a shako go for 40 then? What about Skullders and Occy? No one has ever been able/willing to answer how much things generally go for (I've tried asking in the trading forum, but people just respond that the forum is not for getting values).

Best bet is to try and find a trading game, or try the channels in bnet. There's not many, but be patient and don't be annoying.

"Offering pgems for shako....plz /w me with price" or something like that should work.