Hello to one and all!

[Telveck]

I would just like to say hello to everyone, as this is my first post on the boards!

Recently my friend had gotten me this awesome game and the expansion pack for Christmas. I have been playing only a small bit up until two days ago, the game really caught my eye after I sat down and started to play on B.net with my friend.

Currently I have the following characters ~

Telveck - Level 27 Barbarian
and
Lejak - Level 27 Necromancer

It took a few days of playing, but I have finally gotten to - and even beat in one try with my Barbarian - Diablo himself.

My knowledge of the game is lacking - as is the equipment i'm using, i'm sure - but still I think the game is awesome! If any of you have tips for me, concerning class skills, or equipment I should be looking for, please it would be appreciated.

If you wish to come and play with me on B.net, it would also be cool, seeing as how I have been playing alone trying to level and find some nice weapons and armor.

I know for sure I will be re-doing my Necromancer, as he is a total gimp =/
As for my Barbarian, i'm happy with him. But I would like a quick opinion or two on his current stats and skills.

------------------------------------------

Level: 27

Stats:
Strength: 90
Dex: 60
Vitality: 60
Energy: Base (10)

Skills:
Sword Mastery: 20 (Maxed)
Howl: 1
Shout:1
Battle Order: 2
Iron Skin: 2
Bash: 1
Stun: 1
Concentrate: 1
------------------------------------------

I plan to put points into Leap and Leap Attack, as they are prerequisits for Whirlwind, which I have been told is a awesome skill to have.

Later I will max out the following ~

Iron Skin
Whirlwind
Battle Orders

Which if I am correct.. will leave me with about 24 extra skill credits. In which case, I want to max Natural Resistances... or Shout. As they seem to be a very handy skills. With the last four, maybe a point or two into, Grim Ward? Berserk?

Any suggestions? I'm just going off what my friend has told me to do, but I want to make this my own Barbarian.

Thanks for reading! Hope you guys can give me some insight.

[Epi]

Hail to you Telveck and welcome to the world of Diablo! :)

You plan for Barbarian looks good for me - except that I would recommend to max Shout instead of Iron Skin. The defense bonus is the same, but (1) Shout also affect party members, and (2) it is a synergy skill for Battle Orders that you're planning to use anyway.

For other comments/suggestion I would recommend to visit Amazon Basin forums - there forums for every class there, with lots of valuable information and good reads.

And, BTW, if you want to find a companion for your B.net play, it does not hurt to tell what realm (East/West/Europe/Asia) you're playing. ;)

Best regards,
-Epi.

[Telveck]

Thats a good idea. Thanks for the advice.

But now it makes me wonder, the synergy bonus from Shout into Battle Orders would be nice, however. I do play solo most of the time, trying to level and find my own items, so Iron Skin seems to be a slight bit better then shout in my opinion - as it is a passive ability - and I would not have to worry about it running out in a crucial fight.

Another thing is.. what about Natural Resistances? I've heard on Hell level that Resistances are what save your ass.

Does the skill itself raise your resistance to fire and the such to be helpful while playing on Hell difficulty? Because if it does not, instead of maxing that, not only will I have enough to max out Iron Skin, i'll also have enough to max out Shout.

In which case i'll be getting a double bonus to my defense, and the rest of my party can reep the benefits also.

Any suggestions?

Quick Edit : I play on U.S. West

[the Langolier]

One point into berserk for physical immune monsters you will come across in hell difficulty. That skills changes ALL of your damage and then some into magic damage.

As for defense, in my experience it isn't that helpful. Well, OK, a third of you total skill points to max shout/Iron skin will probably make your defense helpful... but we are talking about 40 skill points. That's from level 30 to level 70. Also, even with extremely high defense you will STILL get hit, and I'm pretty sure that DR is heftily penalized while running to boot.

[Phyloxerra]

Howdy,

I hope you get as much fun as I have out of the D2/LOD world. It is truly a great game and will serve you well for many long hours. If you ever switch to east and need help/guidance just gimme a yell. I'm almost always on AIM ( never leave it at away) or on bnet at scooter-others. Good luck and see you around.

Scotty

[Yrrek]

I wouldn't give up on your necro just yet, very powerful once you get farther along, slow moving at first, but very viable! :) Stick with it!

[Obi2Kenobi]

You probably don't want to max natural resistance. Ten points into it is probably the highest you should go, because it slowly lowers its effectiveness over time. You should definitely get a point into Berserk. However...

One point into berserk for physical immune monsters you will come across in hell difficulty. That skills changes ALL of your damage and then some into magic damage.

isn't true. It doesn't convert all your damage into magical, like some poster said, it converts all physical into magical (which less monsters resist). So any charms or elemental damage on weapons will still stay whatever element they are.

Does the skill itself raise your resistance to fire and the such to be helpful while playing on Hell difficulty?

Yes, it does.

Also, even with extremely high defense you will STILL get hit, and I'm pretty sure that DR is heftily penalized while running to boot.

True... unless you are a Ribcracker barb with a defiance mercenary, max iron skin, max shout, and a godly elite armor, defense isn't that useful. But it still helps. Your defense rating is actually removed entirely while running, blocking is reduced to 1/3, and the character/monster level is also removed from the chance to hit equation (so monsters get a 95% chance to hit you). :o

[the Langolier]

it converts all physical into magical (which less monsters resist).

Thanks for clarifying though.

[War_Master_Ares]

Doesn't shout grant a higher bnous than Iron Skin? Also, I would recommend 3-5 points in Nat. Resist. 10 just seems to much, but that's just my opinion.

[AtomicKitKat]

For skills like Salvation/NR/Fade/Summon Resist, with pretty early/steep diminishing returns, I generally go by the basic rules of "50% and no more" and "if it adds only 1% or less, it's not worth it" 50% NR is already what, 2 perfect diamonds? 3? Thereabouts. Any points you put after that, if they only raise 1%(and usually, by about 50%, or around 5-8 points, it's thereabouts), are not worth it, since resistance charms and mods on items are a dime a dozen(pretty true for Paladins).

[Telveck]

I'd like to thank you all for the input.

Today I hit level 30 after finishing the third quest in Act V, I got Whirlwind, which does not seem that great. To much mana and the - 50% damage does not help at all. I know it will get better at higher levels, so I am not giving up on it yet.

I will probably get a few points into energy for it as well.

As for skill distribution I have decided on the following.

Max -
Sword Skill (Already Done)
Iron Skin
Shout
Battle Order
Whirlwind

That equals up to 100 points.
I have spent 5 on prerequisits to get Whirlwind already, so the last 5 will be spent like this.

1 - Into Berserk
4 - Into Natural Resistances

What do you guys think?

[Caaroid]

You should not be so ready to spend them. I do not know how dedicated a player you are, but if you're moderately busy real life-wise, OR just not EXTREMELY patient, it is RATHER tedious to get to level 99.
Even in 1.09 I only got one character to level 92, and I mostly did it (after lev 80) by leeching in large games while writing homework or coding something. In 1.10 it is even more terious, after level 85 it takes serious dedication IMHO.

Then again, we're not alike, however I'd suggest that you plan your builds along the lines of 84+12 = 96 skill points, and see about the rest later on.

ABout the barb: if I were you, I'd leave Iron skin for last
The build otherwise seems cool.

[Telveck]

Level 99 is a goal I have set for myself. One I will try to accomplish, no matter what.

I play a bunch of online games, Asheron's Call, Everquest, Ultima Online, Asheron's Call 2, and in each one of them I have a Max level character. (Ultima it's more like a Maxed Skill point usage character. He makes a great Necromancer Warrior.)

My job let's me do this - as I work at a Lan Arcade - and have unlimited access to a computer and internet all day.

My paitence is also not a matter, i've been through the worst of it all. So look out for a level 99 Barbarian in the future =)

[the Langolier]

I think you will meet up with physical immunes WAY before you get to that 106th skill point.

[Obi2Kenobi]

That equals up to 100 points.
I have spent 5 on prerequisits to get Whirlwind already, so the last 5 will be spent like this.

1 - Into Berserk

I think you should get Berserk at level 30-35. This way, in case of a Physical Immune, you can beat it. :) And it only costs 2 mana at level 1, so you can use it against the enemies for quite some time.

Today I hit level 30 after finishing the third quest in Act V, I got Whirlwind, which does not seem that great. To much mana and the - 50% damage does not help at all. I know it will get better at higher levels, so I am not giving up on it yet.

I've found that your 1 point in Concentrate is much better than whirlwind until you get a few points into it. Also, you're going to need either a lot of mana potions, or a mana leech weapon if you want to use Whirlwind as your main attack.

[whyBish]

Level 99 is a goal I have set for myself. One I will try to accomplish, no matter what.

I've been playing since the start (mainly HC) and the highest char I ever got was a lvl 90 HC sorc.
Not trying to put you off, but I would suggest that you try out at least a couple builds of each available character before you decide to push one or more to lvl 99. It will help you learn which ones are viable to do so within a reasonable time, and will help you gather the equipment. Note also that the skills that are most helpful to get from lvl 85-99 are not necessarily those that get you to Hell the fastest.

[Lady Vashj]

I'm new to this forum too, but not to the game. My first and still best char is a lvl 96 Bowzon, followed by a level 83 Barb, a level 79 Assassin, and a half-dozen other chars that never quite made it to level 60.