The hardcore challenge.

In The Name of Zod

In The Name of Zod

Active member
The hardcore challenge.

Hello, its nice to be back for a while now that 1.13 is finally upon us. Its so easy to get used to the privilege of have such a great game like D2 being constantly updated for us isn't it! Got to do my fair share of aKissing too.

Its been a while since I've even considered the idea of playing HC [little lone D2] but with the removal of IM makes it at least feasible to do almost - damn glooms.

Which brings me to the point of this post. If one was to play HC then where is the reward for taking on the extra challenge? Simply playing the game is the reward, right?

So I was wondering how other people are going with finding challenge in the game now and how many of you have been considering or have officially gone HC too?
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

I have gradually been playing hardcore more often these days. Last night I was taking my sorceress through Hell Act 2, and it was quite exciting. Fangskin's tomb was housing a fair number of snake monsters, and my heart was beating a pretty nice clip by the time I had my hands on that amulet.

I don't have much item-wealth in Hardcore, so most of my characters are untwinked. I don't play too much either, so Hardcore is just more fun for me when I do.
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

I'm about 50/50 HC/SC as the mood takes me. I have a separate folder within my Save folder where I keep whichever it is I'm not playing at the minute.

The tedium of Sc (endless runs) gets me sometimes, the instant deaths and accompanying item-loss of HC gets me other times. Once this happens, a switch to the other mode shakes me out of my despondency and I'm back to D2 like a shot.
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

I go HC from time to time, that excitement you get from facing near death experiences (as JoeBruce says) is hard to come by in SC and it demands a different playstyle. On the other hand the loss of a character can be quite harsh, it's not for everyone. If I were you I'd give it a try, you can always go back to SC after all and perhaps you'll find HC to your liking :)
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

To be perfect honest, play HC is pretty much playstyle switch, nothing else.

If "remove of IM" made you think it is easy now, then you are not really ready.

Sometime in 2006, I switched to HC and never looked back. For me, what patch doesn't really matter that much. The highly bugged 1.10 FE damage is much more dangerous.

For me, SC PvM is sort of like playing FPS with god mode, it just doesn't have the feel of danger. What it gives you, is the feeling of ultimate god like power. We all want to be God from time to time.
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

Yeah I get the bit about playstyle change. Playing it this way you've always got to err on the side of caution. I've also noticed that you've got to sacrifice a far amount of damage output in order to improve safety. It also makes me think about the merc differently since they are so disposable now, kind of like a reusable missile.

I guess having as much DR% is a pretty high priority for you guys?
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

SC can only really be considered "godmode" in normal. The loss of experience can be very painful, especially when you get to a high level and suffer multiple deaths trying to retrieve a corpse. Hours and hours of workign toward that next level can go down the toilet very quickly, and that, to me at least, provides a significant motivation not to die.
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

@Zod: I think merc for HC is only slightly different than you would normally do in SC. HC play in its core, is all about dependable character and not been reckless (there is a big different between reckless and aggressive). All your plan must be based on surviving without merc, kill without help, etc. Therefore, you should be slightly less relay on merc. However, it is also more important to look after your merc and choosing the best merc for your build, since it will greatly help more than it does in SC. PDR is something nice to have, but you don't always have the option (eg. play a bow zon), so don't worry too much.

@Jason: multiple death is only annoying if you go for lvl99, and/or insist on retrieving body. You could simply exit, reload the game, then the body is magically appearing in town, you lose only a little bit of XP and gold. Plus you can never lose a level (therefore, there is always a cap how much XP you can lose). This is as close as "godmode" as you can get in D2. If you are lucky (say just hit a new level), there could be practically nothing to lose.
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

Jason makes a good point in terms of lost time, which is a major pain.

For me, once I went HC I could never go back. Once you get a couple of characters that can run Meph a few times, your gear is easy enough to get to an acceptable level. However, even in my tournaments (untwinked) I have been able to get resists to max almost every time through the game.

My instant deaths usually revolve around a boss death explosion or a one hit knockout by a really sturdy bad guy. I try to keep resistances maxed out in hell difficulty, and when I see monsters that have damage multiplying auras on them, I am extra careful. A monster with might or fanaticism can easily put you in recovery, which raises the likelihood of deeds greatly.

As I have played (I think I have 33 guardians now) more and more hardcore characters, the other types of deaths, such as getting surrounded or being too slow on the purples or failing to properly position the merc or failing to disengage in time when the battle is going the wrong way, have slowly faded away and are no longer much of an issue.
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

DeathMaster said:
If "remove of IM" made you think it is easy now, then you are not really ready.
Click to expand...
This is definitely true. I can't remember losing a single character to IM ever.

Sometimes I fire up SC and just go die. I run around trying to get back my body dying even more. It's good for a laugh or two, then I go back to HC with all the dying (hopefully) out of my system.

The things to look out for in HC are the exploding dolls, FE/CE boss explosions, Archers, Gloam boss packs, and Frenzytaur boss packs. That's where all my instadeaths happen. Everything else shouldn't be any problem if you're careful.



 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

@skoolbus: add those quill rat to your list. They can do surprise amount of damage, particularly if the boss has MS. Low resistant (especially poison) could mean almost instant death.

I think the last time I ever had death because of IM, was at time of my first start playing this game, when I didn't know what that little thing on top of head would do.
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

I've got to add that its nice not having to worry about the atma bug, this can be a source of death in SC. Its good to hear so much confidence about handling HC from you guys - which build would be the hardest one for HC anyhow?
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

ATMA bug? Or do you mean Anya bug?

The hardest HC build? Maybe naked statless, skilless sorc.

However, I think you really meant to ask what is generally harder. Which would always be the build/class you are not good at, and/or crazy hard build (like naked skilless sorc).

In general, melee is harder than ranged/spell caster. Controllable skill is easier than uncontrollable skill (eg. I wouldn't recommend HC frenzy or ww barb, unless you know exactly what you are doing). Class with crowd control skill is easier than class without.
 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

ZeN said:
What's Anya bug?
Click to expand...
When you die, the resistances you get from the scrolls for saving Anya don't work any more. It's annoying in SC because you have to S&E to get the bonuses back, but in HC you don't need to worry about it.



 
Re: The hardcore challenge.

Wasn't that fixed? I don't recall seeing my resists drop 30% after death (although I do tend to over-stack).

EDIT: if it wasn't - clearly it's not that big of a deal if I haven't noticed it for the past year playing. :wink:
 
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