Trying something new

[gimlisam]

Hey, all. I am willing to admit that I am not the best of players, but I am intrigued by Hard Core. I have never played a HC character before, and I think that it is about time that I do so. I have two questions for all of you. First: what are some general pointers, as it were, on what to do/not do? Second: what build is, ah, friendly to new HC players? Thanks in advance!

GimliSam

[Blue Eagle]

Why the heck would someone want to put that much time and effort into a character that can be gone in an instant? :huh:

[Assur]

Why the heck would someone want to put that much time and effort into a character that can be gone in an instant? :huh:

No risk, no fun

P.S. I would suggest a summoning Necro or a BF Assa for your first char in HC, both relatively safe and not very item dependent.

[Swarmalicious]

Why the heck would someone want to put that much time and effort into a character that can be gone in an instant? :huh:

Because I can say I beat the game on 'one quarter', and you can't. :P



HC is lots of fun, Gimlisam - really, because of it, D2 is one of the few games that can actually make your heart jump... the sensation of almost getting killed after putting "that much time and effort into a character" can be pretty intense... comparable perhaps to the way you feel after nearly having a car accident, or hitting that first drop on a roller coaster.
Dying's always a drag though - doubly so if you lose your character to some foul means, such as being pk'ed or losing your connection in the middle of a fight.

"No risk, no fun", as Assur asserted. :)

I second that necro-ing it on your first try is a decent way to start - safety in numbers, and equipment is no prob.

Some other rules of opposable extremity -

- pump all available points into vitality
- max your resists
- learn which combos are one hit kills (dolls + cursed, for example) and find strategies to deal with them effectively.
- forget public games, if you can help it. I suggest becoming a proud member of The Basin if you aren't already.

Hope you find this helpful.

Intrinsically,

Swarmalicious

[Wyrm]

Why the heck would someone want to put that much time and effort into a character that can be gone in an instant? :huh:

Because sooner or later we're all going to stop playing the game, and it'll just feel like less of a loss if you don't have 50 softcore characters sitting on the realm servers that you don't really want to lose because of all the time invested in them, yet still can't bring yourself to actually play them anymore. HC helps you make a good clean break with less to hold on to when your characters die.

As for a "safe" character, Skelemancer. 20 Raise Skeleton, 20 Skeleton Mastery, 20 Dim Vision, about the safest you can get.

[Casperi]

Why the heck would someone want to put that much time and effort into a character that can be gone in an instant?

Because (for this someone) the fun and satifaction I get out of this game comes from the journey, not the destination.

There's a hardcore guide at the Amazon Basin that is excellent. You can't have too much life. You will probably lose a couple chars when you start, don't sweat it. Adjust your builds for more safety at the cost of damage.