Axe & shirt

[weirwood]

With all the different variants that have been made up over the years, I'm certain someone has already tried playing with light armor and axe. I want to try it out myself, and would be grateful for any tips and item builds for such a character.

Is it worthwhile to try a zen approach, or should I just stick to basic harmony?

How useful is speed/haste on axes when it comes to stunlock?

[Tris]

Been there, done that ... except I used ring mail IIRC (prefer the look of mail + the extra durability is NICE without a shield). An absolute necessity is a strange axe of speed/haste {if having to hit issues against targets} and eventually a king's axe of speed/haste. Even with a fast axe, your still going ot have problems with balrogs and lightning demons.

[Arkain]

IMO there are two interesting ways doing it: with Bloodslayer and without BS.

You will face one problem, even if you use a KAoH: stunlock problems. Even with a speed/haste suffix you will never be able to stunlock certain enemies. Mages are extraordinary annoying. Happy hunting in 16.
Another problem (if you are not used to low AC) will be the... um... crowdcontrol. You cannot take on more than two storms with a normal LAW (been there, done that... I usually hit new game when I face storms:P)... so imagine what happens without a shield. The same is true for maws, well actually for likely every melee enemy there is. So you have to seperate the enemies into smaller groups and use several tactics like sliding to keep them in small groups. Might be a problem.
If you plan on using BS you should be able to kill most enemies in one or two blows (save for maws). Problem: the equipment. Think about it... you need three very good Gold/something (like Gold X of the Heavens or of Perfection;)) jewels, along with some decent resistancefe helm and armor. Think Obsidian X of the Lion/Mammoth. Otherwise your resistances will be too low (= death) and you life will be quite... well, low (= quicker death, especially when combined with low resistances ^^) and you will not be able to actually hit anything. Bloody annoying. On the other hand it is really nice to see a Bloodknight die in one hit ^^

I did not try zen harmony - maybe it is useful. Maybe not.
I am rather convinced that it's not that useful afterall. As you lose a lot to gain this superior recovery time which is just 0.05 faster than something of Harmony. While you may argue it is good for an axe warrior to attack quickly after he got hit you are likely going to die fast anyway if you get hit often. Keep in mind you need 0.4 seconds to land the axe on the enemy's head... and you have no AC. A group lands some blows? Retreat or die, anyone?

[weirwood]

Yeah, zen is probably not worth it. I'll still try to assemble the components for it, though.

How about going for -80% light radius with Nightscape and a ring of the dark?

[ismael.]

If you want send me a note and I can show you my Bloodslayer (no AC in Hell) & some useful gameplay.

Problem is, he needs some fairly rare equipment (except BS of course, something along the above lines) which needs to be found first with other characters, otherwise its unplayable.

The one monstrous hit is always fun & the last character I really play and enjoy in D as it always remains a challenge (even at lvl 49).

No experience with ordinary axes though... the 1-2 hit advantage (except for maws - and I die most often to them (but then, does anyone to something else? :-) ) is a huge one - but I guess it could still be playable.

[LemmingofGlory]

Yeah, zen is probably not worth it. I'll still try to assemble the components for it, though.

How about going for -80% light radius with Nightscape and a ring of the dark?

Stealth is always a fun option for soloing.

At -80%, resists aren't necessary due to how caster AI behaves; they rarely get a shot off. But this level of darkness is somewhat slow. Activating monsters without removing a "Dark" item can be a chore: monsters only activate when you're directly above, to the side, or below them; they'll ignore you if you're at a diagonal to them.


Now, -70% Light (RC/Nighty/Dark Jewel) is another viable option. It messes with caster AI while still allowing you to wake up enemies more easily than at -80%. This wakes up monsters for you, but not too many at once. You may want resists, however.

If -80% is like being an assassin, -70% is like being Batman. So, pick your poison or your parents are dead.

-Lem

[weirwood]

Stealth is always a fun option for soloing.

Now, -70% Light (RC/Nighty/Dark Jewel) is another viable option. It messes with caster AI while still allowing you to wake up enemies more easily than at -80%. This wakes up monsters for you, but not too many at once. You may want resists, however.

If -80% is like being an assassin, -70% is like being Batman. So, pick your poison or your parents are dead.

-Lem

It's the goddamn batman!

Yeah, I've tried -80% for a bit now, but it's not that much too my liking. -70% sounds interesting. Is -60% (nightscape, night) too little for stealth play already?

I'm playing Diablo infrequently right now, but I'm looking forward to the day when I have the equipment to skulk on tiptoes through the darkness braining unsuspecting monsters with a big axe.

[LemmingofGlory]

Yeah, I've tried -80% for a bit now, but it's not that much too my liking. -70% sounds interesting. Is -60% (nightscape, night) too little for stealth play already?

I don't remember if I've tried -60%. Give it a whirl. If it's effective, go with it.

-Lem

[Ell_man]

-mispost

[ethanjoshua]

I was really not aware about anything like that. I like to know more, and this has added a good knowledge. I came to know that how speed/haste on axes when it comes to stunlock. Good work done by you all.