# All Diablo2 Talk here......... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956 "2003-04-11T03:20:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 108
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2141 "2004-06-18T04:02:59Z")
Sorry, I don’t have a single player character. Personally I love starting characters, but then, I’ve always been strange… 😉 If you want to start a ladder character, just start a SDMB game. We’ll enter it just to see who’s there. Then we’ll get you to hell before you know it. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2142 "2004-06-18T04:19:14Z")
> [@Who\_me?](#): > > Well thanks to LarzX, who I believe is **Phase42** (sorry if I’m wrong) You’re wrong 😉 I dunno who that is… I haven’t been in the SDMB games lately… I may have to break down and ask for help getting my Tesladin past Hell Diablo. I managed to get him as far as the big pentagram in the Chaos Sanctuary, but once there I was completely overwhelmed. At least the Oblivion Knights weren’t Immune to Lightning. There were just too many of them (and too many of the big fire-breathers, and too many finger mages…) Note to self: Get over your pride about soloing everything and ask for help! :dubious: My wind druid is ready to start Hell Nihlathak. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2143 "2004-06-18T05:02:50Z")
**Phase42** , if it helps your pride any, I could bring in my paladin and just have him stand there. His conviction would better than double your damage, letting you kill much more quickly, but you could still say you soloed. Heck, we could even stay unpartied. And **Bear\_Nenno** , what is it that you don’t like about starting new characters? If it’s a lack of equipment or a dislike for the lower levels, that’s not a problem. We can get new characters up to power within a few days. BTW, thanks again to **densa** for the equipment gifts, especially the Lidless. With her current cast rate, my sorceress looks like she’s dislocating her shoulders four times a second. ---
**Author:** ![theckhd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@theckhd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theckhd)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2144 "2004-06-18T05:14:12Z")
iirc Larz is \*densa, though i don’t remember offhand what sdmb account that corresponds to. I haven’t been on very much lately, and i won’t get on this weekend (at least not until sunday). Didn’t get anything wonderful from my hell hellforge quests, though i did manage a pul from one of the nm hellforges. unfortunately, pul was the highest i got from any of the 6 quests. I should be up for another mule rush next week sometime, i’m certain i have the nm baal quester, but i don’t know if i have one for normal. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2145 "2004-06-18T05:49:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **Phase42** , if it helps your pride any, I could bring in my paladin and just have him stand there. His conviction would better than double your damage, letting you kill much more quickly, but you could still say you soloed. Heck, we could even stay unpartied. I can actually kill fairly quickly - it’s the staying alive part that hurts. I made a quantum leap in survivability when I got Guardian Angel from **theckhd** and/or **chronos**. But in the Chaos Sanctuary, I was just taking damage from too many directions at once, and too fast to block a sufficient amount. I’ll have to try the Chaos Sanctuary again though - I’ve only made one attempt at it so far. Maybe a different strategy would help. Actually, the best strategy is one that I can’t implement - i.e. getting my damn merc to stop running ahead of me and drawing all the monsters! ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2146 "2004-06-18T21:37:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And **Bear\_Nenno** , what is it that you don’t like about starting new characters? If it’s a lack of equipment or a dislike for the lower levels, that’s not a problem. We can get new characters up to power within a few days. Both mainly. Coupled with my lack of patience. I want my character to kick ass _now_. So where can I find you guys to play? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2147 "2004-06-18T22:03:43Z")
Damn, I posted in the wrong thread. I’m looking to start up online, and want to know if I should go east or west. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2148 "2004-06-18T23:08:10Z")
West is where all the present Doper action is now. If you’re worried about lag, I’m in Baltimore and don’t find any more on West than I did on East. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2149 "2004-06-18T23:20:49Z")
> [@](#): > > I can actually kill fairly quickly - it’s the staying alive part that hurts. In that case, I’ll bring in my singer and treat you to some level 35 BO and level 16 Shout. Two and a half times normal hitpoints will really do wonders for your survival. **Bear** , just fire up Diablo, hit “battlenet”, choose “US West”, and create an account. Join the game sdmb with password cecil (if the game doesn’t exist, create it). If you create, make sure to turn off level limits. You can add us to your friends list (will tell you when we’re online, and a few other advantages), by typing “/f a sonorhc” (without the quotes) (that’ll add me to your friends list). Other commonly-seen West dopers include **theckhd** , account name “gand”, **Yeticus Rex** , account name “yeticusrex2”, and **Who\_Me?** , account name “numbnuts” (no offense to the others I didn’t mention here; those are just the accounts I remember off the top of my head). You can also message individuals using the command “/w \*accountname [your message here]”, so, for instance, to say hello to me, you’d type “/w \*sonorhC Hello, there” BTW, does anyone need a good sword for a barbarian merc? I was shopping today and happened to notice a cruel collossus, so my barb’s old sword is up for grabs. It’s a rare balrog blade with 200-some enhanced damage and socketed with an amn. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2150 "2004-06-19T00:05:36Z")
That’s where I tried to go. Whoever made it must not have turned Level Limits off. Cause I can’t get in until I kill Baal on Nightmare… ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2151 "2004-06-19T04:00:09Z")
Yeah, you can’t get into a hell game until you kill Baal in nightmare… nothing anyone can do about that. What **Chronos** meant was turn off player level limits and up the players allowed in the game to 8. In the default mode, it only allows 4 players and players with character near to your player’s level. It was good playing with you and once your Druid gets some levels, we can rush him (bring in high lvl characters to get you all the needed quests to get you to Act5 Baal). I believe he’s level 18 now, once you get him to 20 or higher we can just rush him and do Baal runs in normal to level him quickly. Ater he gets to 50 or so, then we can rush you through nightmare, then do Baal runs to 70 or 75. Then, of course comes Hell level. By the way, don’t get discouraged if your first few characters turn out to be weak. It takes some experimentation and experience to get good Hell level Characters. Okay, I’ll admit… that may just be me… Also, I have some equipment you may like once you get high enough to use it. By the way, my account names are numbnut1, numbnut2, and numbnut3. Don’t be afraid to whisper me when you come on-line if I’m in a Hell game. ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2152 "2004-06-20T12:40:08Z")
Is anyone interested in making a lowbie startup group? We could go actually go through the game without rushing :eek: and play together. I was thinking of trying a paladin, haven’t played on at all. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2153 "2004-06-20T14:32:55Z")
Actually, that’s very similar to a suggestion made a few pages back. > [@iampunha](#): > > What’s relevant to this thread is that I’m wondering how fast y’all Westers could beat Hell … as a group, of course … without using any items you’ve found. Start completely from scratch. I won’t make any annoying requirements like “get all waypoints” or “complete all quests” (nihlathak I have always found to be just this side of pointless). I’m merely wondering how long it would take you lot to get completely through the game with no rushing, no items muled (except those you find with your new characters once this endeavor is begun), nothing. I’m betting it would take five days (not all day every day, but five calendar days). Once this effort is underway you’re of course allowed to mulerush with your new characters; say Who\_me makes a sorc and theckhd makes a hammerdin. Y’all could rush umpteen mules to get NM forge in the hopes of being able to make something useful. However, you couldn’t use any character made before this challenge started, nor an item gotten before this challenge started or any item gotten by a character made before this challenge started. > [@theckhd](#): > > Heh, i think i’m channeling punha. i was just thinking the other day of suggesting a doper purist group, but i didn’t think anyone would be interested. That sort of idea is a lot of fun though, i’ve done it before. I think 5 days might be a pretty good estimate too, you can knock off normal in about 4 hours with 4 or 5 people. It does get harder in nightmare though. > > If anyone is up for this idea, we could plan for doing it on a weekend when everyone’s available. There was quite a bit of interest shown, we just have to find a time when we can get on [b.net](http://b.net) together. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2154 "2004-06-20T16:05:02Z")
I would love to do that. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2155 "2004-06-20T22:17:57Z")
Another thing to be considered (where each of you places it on your List of Importance is a personal decision) is an idea I first saw posted at the Amazon River Basin. Basically, it attempts to eliminate the need for the NM Baal Quest by getting a Classic (non-LOD) character through the game up to Hell Cold Plains - something where the character involved has definitely been into Hell. No forges are done, nothing like that, just the act bosses from Norm Andy to NM Diablo, then a tiny venture into Hell to ensure that the character can _get_ into Hell. This will require a little work, especially since A) I am not completely sure, having not tried it myself, that it will actually work and B) y’all do not have much, if anything, from Classic play. **ckhd** said he would see if some of his friends had anything they could give to him. His basic idea (which is made much easier by having an NM A2 merc around) is to make a maxed meteor/fireball/fire mastery sorc with some cold for anything immune to fire. I think it would also be made easier by someone playing through accompanying that sorc with a paladin or barb - someone who can tank without a lot of difficulty. Sounds similar to a faux ladder reset, dunnit? ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2156 "2004-06-20T23:38:59Z")
Well for anyone interested in making low chars, I’ve got a level 10ish paladin right now, and I’m about to log on to play for a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2157 "2004-06-20T23:41:17Z")
I’m not 100% sure of what exactly it is you’re saying **punha** … If I’m correct (and I’m entirely unsure as to whether I am), you’re saying to play Classic Diablo 2 until you get into hell level. Then switch over to LOD? If that is what you’re talking about, then that is possible to do. But your characters will not be ladder and be severely underequipped since there are no exceptional or elite uniques in classic, IIRC. I remember converting my classic characters to expansion characters when LOD came out… it wasn’t pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2158 "2004-06-20T23:41:39Z")
By the way, I made SDMB1 because SDMB is a hell game right now. If anyone comes in that needs to do Den / the rest of act 1 quests you can just make a game and I’ll join and help. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2159 "2004-06-21T02:09:10Z")
> [@Who\_me?](#): > > I’m not 100% sure of what exactly it is you’re saying **punha** … > > If I’m correct (and I’m entirely unsure as to whether I am), you’re saying to play Classic Diablo 2 until you get into hell level. Then switch over to LOD? > > If that is what you’re talking about, then that is possible to do. But your characters will not be ladder and be severely underequipped since there are no exceptional or elite uniques in classic, IIRC. I remember converting my classic characters to expansion characters when LOD came out… it wasn’t pretty. I am under the impression, though I could well be wrong, that it is _possible_ (though certainly, under most scenarios, not ideal) to make a Classic ladder char. They will most certainly be underequipped. **ckhd** and I discussed, at PADope, making a sorc and maybe a barb or paladin. My thought was that, given the lack of sorc-only items, a good setup would probably be Culwen’s Point (for the +1 skill)/Sigon’s or Culwen’s/3S PDiamond shield. However, consider this setup: Tarnhelm (+1 skill, MF) nice rare +1 skill +res ammy Culwen’s Point Heavenly Garb Sigon’s/3S PDiamond Frosties (or magefist) halfway decent rings Sigon’s belt and boots for MF, r/w, res (and we can get more mods if we run the helm and armor as well) No charms, of course, no runewords and no Baal runs (plus, any D run will want to be a quick one b/c the game will close after IIRC 75 seconds). Oh, and unless I’m muchly mistaken, no transporting of mercs across act lines. So I’m saying use this girl (and maybe a helper such as that barb or paladin) to rush chars through all of Norm and NM, then have them start a Hell game in classic just to make sure they can make/join such a game. My thought was, just to be sure, have them get the Cold Plains WP (or, hey, even do Andy). Then convert them to Expansion and do their forges. **ckhd** remarked, and I agree completely, that the fist time this sort of rush is attempted, _one_ of the mulerushees should switch over and attempt to make a Hell D2 LOD Ladder game. I don’t know that this will work, but IMHO it’s at least worth a shot. The amount of time saved from getting chars to lvl 40/finding someone who wants the Baal quest might add up to quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956/2160 "2004-06-21T02:26:31Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > I am under the impression, though I could well be wrong, that it is _possible_ (though certainly, under most scenarios, not ideal) to make a Classic ladder char. > > They will most certainly be underequipped. **ckhd** and I discussed, at PADope, making a sorc and maybe a barb or paladin. My thought was that, given the lack of sorc-only items, a good setup would probably be Culwen’s Point (for the +1 skill)/Sigon’s or Culwen’s/3S PDiamond shield. However, consider this setup: > > Tarnhelm (+1 skill, MF) > nice rare +1 skill +res ammy > Culwen’s Point > Heavenly Garb > Sigon’s/3S PDiamond > Frosties (or magefist) > halfway decent rings > Sigon’s belt and boots for MF, r/w, res (and we can get more mods if we run the helm and armor as well) > > No charms, of course, no runewords and no Baal runs (plus, any D run will want to be a quick one b/c the game will close after IIRC 75 seconds). Oh, and unless I’m muchly mistaken, no transporting of mercs across act lines. > > So I’m saying use this girl (and maybe a helper such as that barb or paladin) to rush chars through all of Norm and NM, then have them start a Hell game in classic just to make sure they can make/join such a game. My thought was, just to be sure, have them get the Cold Plains WP (or, hey, even do Andy). Then convert them to Expansion and do their forges. **ckhd** remarked, and I agree completely, that the fist time this sort of rush is attempted, _one_ of the mulerushees should switch over and attempt to make a Hell D2 LOD Ladder game. > > I don’t know that this will work, but IMHO it’s at least worth a shot. The amount of time saved from getting chars to lvl 40/finding someone who wants the Baal quest might add up to quite a bit. Punha I don’t quite understand the benefit from this, are you saying leveling a char up to… something, then switching to expansion? I don’t get this… what’s the point of that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956.md?page=107) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-diablo2-talk-here/167956.md?page=109)