LvL 9 Dueler

[Albion Child]

I thought it might be fun to build a level 9 dueler. Here is my plan and what I have to work with.

20 Skill points (8 from level up, 6 fron Izual, 3 From Radaments Lair, and 3 from the Den of Evil)

55 Stat Points (40 from Level up, 15 from Lam Esens tome)

I plan to put 4 points into multishot, 1 into magic arrow, and the rest into Dodge and Critical Strike.

Here are my questions...

1.) How should I split the points between Dodge and Crit Srtike?

2.) I forsee mana problems and need advice here. Mana steel is probably to high level requirements and plus xx mana after each kill won't work for dueling. Either way my Damage will probably be too low to leech enough anyway. Are there any low level items that add a substantial amount of mana and are usefull for this character?

3.) Is it worthwhile to pump Dex a bit or should I go for the minimum Dex possible to get more life?

4.) Does anyone have any equipment suggestions. I have 2 good plans, but NO ideas for jewelry and I probably will just add charms as they become available instead of looking for specific ones.

Here are 2 possibilities:

Full Arctic set(Flawed topaz in bow, Flawed ruby in armour), Biggin's Bonnet(Flawed ruby), Gorefoot

or

Death's Glove and Sash, Biggin's Bonnet(flawed ruby), Gorefoot, Greyform(Flawed ruby), Arctic Horn (Flawed sapphire)

Both have their advantages and dissadvantages.

Here are the things they are equal at:

Both give "Cannot be Frozen"
Both add 15 to mana
Both add 20% to Attack Rating
Both have 2% mana Stolen
Both have 20% Fast run/walk
Both have ATD of 2

Here are the differences:
Arctic has better Cold resist (75% vs. 35%)
Death's is better fire resist(35% vs. 10%)
Death's is better lightning resist(15% vs. 10%)
Death's is much better poison res (50% vs. 10%) and has Poison length -------reduced by 75%
Death's gives an 11 frame atack vs. 12 frames with arctic
With minimum dex and str, Arctic will give + 159 to life while Death's gives -------109
Arctic adds more AR (152 vs. 30)
Arctic getc a damage upper with cold damage of 26-44 vs. 3-5 and lightning -------damage of 1-14 vs. 0
Death's gives 13% life steal vs. 0 with arctic
Death's adds Magic Damage reduced by 3


I can't decide. Perhaps keeping both on hand would be best?

EDIT: Major changes to whole thing

[NERDmanWhippy]

Dex and Str large charms with other mods will be a nice little boost for you....also, Id suggest Deaths set belt and gloves for the IAS bonus that the partial set gives ....I think it gives a Little Life leech also for partial set..............


J

[Baajikiil]

Iratha's set is lvl 15 IIRC. Cathan's seals and amulet are lvl 11 required. I don't have much experience with low lvl duelers, or I'd add more.

There is at least one guide on d2.net which might be useful, but it is for low lvl assassins...

[Baajikiil]

also, Id suggest Deaths set belt and gloves for the IAS bonus that the partial set gives ....I think it gives a Little Life leech also for partial set..............

One of the major advantages of using death's gloves and sash is the Cannot Be Frozen mod on the sash. Few duelers should be without Cannot Be Frozen, and there are very few ways to get it at lvl 9...

It does add 8% life steal for wearing 2 pieces as well.

[kier]

Leechers are parasites.

This char of yours will show this. His items will probably be sigons set, or maybe irathas?

Unless you play hard core there is no need to leech/rush, and if I saw you in a hell game you'd be hung, drawn and quarted.

Flame, over and out

[Albion Child]

Leechers are parasites

Good job and way to pay attention Bozo...

This char of yours will show this. His items will probably be sigons set, or maybe irathas?

It has already been pointed out the Iratha's is too high level and Sigon's has a sheild...not exactly usefull to a bowazon and all of the items are too high strength requirement.

Unless you play hard core there is no need to leech/rush, and if I saw you in a hell game you'd be hung, drawn and quarted.

Also, I am not one of those annoying little pests who runs around begging and pleading for free rushes. My D2 friends and I regularly rush each other and I personally guarantee you wouldn't see me in a hell game as the game would be passworded. I also despise you for your hippocracy as I fail to see a difference between the morals of leeching/rushing in HC and SC.

It has been discussed dozens and dozens of times on this site. Leeching/rushing/twinking is kind of cheep/cheesy whatever, but it is not cheating.

Flame, over and out

If you call that a flame, you should ask Pete, Nicodemus Phaulkon (Spelling), or Occhinelda(Spelling again) for some advice on how to flame.

You tried to Flame,
oh what a shame,
for what you said,
was rather lame.

(Thanks to Occhi for inspiration) :)

[SwiftSlayer2]

Ouch... :P

Man that was harsh, but I agree with all of it.

Swiftslayer2

[Bowa]

I think Pluckeye (unique short bow) has 3% mana leech, which you can pair with Hand of Brok (sp) for 6% total.
<shrugs>

There's a lvl9 assassin dueler guide somewhere - I think you may use most of the same gear...

[Albion Child]

Pluckeye is nice because it adds 10 life also (not alot but still...at level 9, I suppose it is substantial. The damage is a little low...like half of arctic horn though.... Well, If I come acromm a Pluckeye in my adventures I'll probably hand on to it.

Great news!!! I was digging through hell looking for some gems (because I really wanted a perfect emerald to throw in a zon helm.) and found a 13% enhanced damage/+9 max damage jewel...with level 9 requirements!!! Needless to say I was quite happy. :D

I think I'll put it into the biggin's bonnet so it can be used with both equipment combinations.

Hmmm..... I'll have to check out how rare these type of jewels are and perhaps a 6 socketed bow full of those would be best.... Arctic horn with a flawed gem and damage from the jewel (not to mention the Bonnet's ED) will do for now...

[Wapptor]

Kier,
He's not a leacher, he wants LIFE LEACH, and he wants to duel at lvl 9, not ruin your precious cow games.

Dolt... <_<

-Wapptor

[Wapptor]

Albion Child,
The jewel you have found is 2% ed less than perfect and incredibly valuable among low level duelers. I'd suggest you be careful with it and not place it in a biggins bonnet. From what I've seen in my little experience and from my friend who low level duels a lot, unique and set items are kind of rare in low level duels.

People tend to use socketed items, gems, jewels and magicals. I've seen characters with 3 socket helmets with jewels such as yours plopped into them, weapons the same way, magicals with low base damage. I've also seen armors filled with rubies of the highest possible grade and/or ed +max jewels. The weapons are generally of superior (+%ed) quality with sockets and either poison or ed jewels. From what I can tell, most of everything goes into life, damage is eschewed in favor of speed since low level characters do not have much in the way of blocking and doding. I would suggest you go into a few low level duel games and look around, it is much more brutal than you would think. If you assume the high lvl ways and favor uniques and pre-made, easily bought items, prepare to get "pwned". This stuff is expensive and hardcore, people are just as serious about LLD as normal duels. Look around and good luck!

-Wappptor

[kier]

a) I never said it was cheating

B) I am against rushing as well as leeching, as this is not the way the game is played

c) The iratha/sigon was sarcasm, but sigons boots/gloves go very well

d) Raaaaaaah :P

[Taem]

I thought it might be fun to build a level 9 dueler. Here is my plan and what I have to work with.

20 Skill points (8 from level up, 6 fron Izual, 3 From Radaments Lair, and 3 from the Den of Evil)

55 Stat Points (40 from Level up, 15 from Lam Esens tome)

I plan to put 4 points into multishot, 1 into magic arrow, and the rest into Dodge and Critical Strike.

Here are my questions...

1.) How should I split the points between Dodge and Crit Srtike?

2.) I forsee mana problems and need advice here.&nbsp; Mana steel is probably to high level requirements and plus xx mana after each kill won't work for dueling.&nbsp; Either way my Damage will probably be too low to leech enough anyway. Are there any low level items that add a substantial amount of mana and are usefull for this character?

3.) Is it worthwhile to pump Dex a bit or should I go for the minimum Dex possible to get more life?

4.) Does anyone have any equipment suggestions.&nbsp; I have 2 good plans,&nbsp; but NO ideas for jewelry and I probably will just add charms as they become available instead of looking for specific ones.

Here are 2 possibilities:

Full Arctic set(Flawed topaz in bow, Flawed ruby in armour), Biggin's Bonnet(Flawed ruby), Gorefoot

or

Death's Glove and Sash, Biggin's Bonnet(flawed ruby), Gorefoot, Greyform(Flawed ruby), Arctic Horn (Flawed sapphire)

Both have their advantages and dissadvantages.

Here are the things they are equal at:

Both give "Cannot be Frozen"
Both add 15 to mana
Both add 20% to Attack Rating
Both have 2% mana Stolen
Both have 20% Fast run/walk
Both have ATD of 2

Here are the differences:
Arctic has better Cold resist (75% vs. 35%)
Death's is better fire resist(35% vs. 10%)
Death's is better lightning resist(15% vs. 10%)
Death's is much better poison res (50% vs. 10%) and has Poison length&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; -------reduced by 75%
Death's gives an 11 frame atack vs. 12 frames with arctic
With minimum dex and str, Arctic will give + 159 to life while Death's gives&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; -------109
Arctic adds more AR (152 vs. 30)
Arctic getc a damage upper with cold damage of 26-44 vs. 3-5 and lightning&nbsp; -------damage of 1-14 vs. 0
Death's gives 13% life steal vs. 0 with arctic
Death's adds Magic Damage reduced by 3


I can't decide.&nbsp; Perhaps keeping both on hand would be best?

EDIT: Major changes to whole thing

Hail Albion Child,

I also have a 9th level low-level dueler in mind and was looking for suggestions. Keep in mind that these statistics are based on the maximums possible in regards to defense and +damage. This is not a realistic attempt at setting up a low level dueler, unless you have easy access to this type of gear. I made it more as a proof of concept of what I would like to eventually acquire for my low-level dueler. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Barbarian:
Skill Points: 20 = 12 points from quests; 8 points from levels
Stat Points: 60 = 45 from levels; 15 from quests
+Life: +60 from quests
Resists: +30% from quests

Barbarian starts at 20 Dexterity. He requires 90 for 75% block with a tower shield! 70 MORE dexterity!
Barbarians start at 30 Strength. He requires 75 for Tower Shield. 45 MORE strength!
Barbarians start at 25 Vitality and 55 life. They get +2 life each level up and +4 life for each Vitality.
+45 statistic points into Strength first to equip items; +15 statistic points into Dexterity; still need 55 Dex.

Crunched Statistics:
Total Life: 133
Block: 75%
IAS: +30% (12 FPS)
Defense: 911 (Average 15-25% chance to hit me)
Attack Rate: 1708 (Average 80-90% chance to hit)
Damage: 136-218 x 2; (well, 17% Critical Strike)
PvP Damage: 34-54 x 2; (well, 17% Critical Strike)
Life Steal: 22%
Fire Resist: 40%
Light Resist: 70%
Cold Resist: 80%
Poison Resist: 90%

Skills:
Warcries: Shout (2) (+1 = 120% Defense)
Passive: Mastery (9) (+1 = +73% Damage, +100% Attack Rate)
Combat: Bash (9) (+1 = +10 Damage, +95% Damage, +65% Attack Rate)

Items:
Death’s Touch War Sword: (+20% ED) 10-25 Damage: 4% Life Steal; +25-75 Cold Damage
Death’s Guard Sash: 22 Defense: Cannot be Frozen; +15% Resist All
Death’s Hand Gloves: 3 Defense: Poison Length –75%, +50% Poison; +30% IAS
Set Bonus: 8% Life Steal; 40% Attack Rate, +25% Resist All, +10 MIN damage
Sigons Boots: 15 Defense: Faster Run, 40% Cold; +50 Attack Rate
Sigons Helmet: (+4 Dexterity Gem) 60 Defense: +2 Attack Rate per clvl
Sigons Armor: (+4 Dexterity Gem) 168 Defense: Light 30%; Attacker damage of 20
Sigons Shield: (+20% ED) 24 Defense: +20 Block, +1 Skill Levels
Set Bonus: 10% Life Steal; +100 Defense
Magical Ring: Prefix: Steel (+60 Attack Rate); Suffix: Dexterity (+3 Dexterity)
Magical Ring: Prefix: Steel (+60 Attack Rate); Suffix: Dexterity (+3 Dexterity)
Magical Amulet: Prefix: Bronze (+20 Attack Rate); Suffix: Dexterity (+3 Dexterity)
Charms: 10 Grand Charms of +4 Dexterity and elemental damage,
10 Small charms of Blight (+9 Poison Damage)

Problems:
Low life: I could substitute the 10 small charms of blight for +1 strength or dexterity ones allowing me to put 10 into vitality, but, ill loose a 30 poison damage at the cost of +40 life.
Bad hit recovery: 5 FPS! I’ll be stun locked for 1/5th of a second. Could be bad against smiter!
Suggestions: Berserkers Hauberk Splint Mail 95 Defense and Berserkers Headgear Helm 33 Defense. I keep the +2 Attack Rate per clvl, but loose light 30%, attacker takes damage of 20, and 173 defense, but gain 25% fire, +1 skill levels, +50 life, and +3 Defense per level! All in all with the +1 skill and everything, I’ll have a +10% to be hit but a +1 Minimum and Maximum PvP damage.

[Albion Child]

Perhaps you should scrap Sigon's set for something that requires a little less strength. I suggest Isenharts full set coupled with Death's Sash and Glove. and Gorefoot boots and stick with your suggested jewelry.

Why choose this?

Isenharts set gives 20% IAS...Coupled with Death's IAS bonus it gives you 50% total IAS and Death's Touch and Isenhart's Lightbrand have the same base speed.

Resistances 41 Prismatic + 50 poison AND Poison length - 75%...About equivalent to your equipment as far as dueling is concerned.

71 % blocking for a barb... Higher than sigon's and lower str and dex requirements means more life. Also you will be getting an extra 16 dex and 10 Str from items over what your eq suggests.

Total of 40% faster run walk and in light armour meaning you will be noticibly faster than if wearing Sigons. (Or is Breastplate medium?)

+2 to leap....May prove useful to give extra range to leap if you wish to take advantage of it's knockback effect.

13% total life leech. Lower but substantial.

Mana leech. 2% isn't much but better than none I guess.

I didn't calculate to see is this setup offsets the 50 life added by Sigons, but my guess is that it does. This set may allow you to substitute rubies for stat gems also.

One dissadvantage of this set is damage, but perhaps this could be offset with max damage jewels to replace the stat gems?