06-30-2006, 07:16 PM
Quote:Well the title says it all, I'm thinking about reinstalling D2 back on my computer. I have plenty of games on there already like Oblivion, Dawn of War, FEAR, etc., but I have been bouncing this idea around for a bit.
Last time I played it was during 1.09. I kept track of 1.10, but quickly lost interest a little later and fell off the bandwagon. I have a few questions, and I'm not looking for detailed answer, just little summaries, cause I can search the forums for details later.
1. What is the general thought on the skill synergies?
2. How is the monster randomization and item drop randomization in Act V?
3. Is Act V still the xp well it was in 1.07-1.09? Specifically the Bloody Foothills and the Ancients.
4. Are the classes "balanced" by now? Meaning is the Orb sorc. or Firewall sorc. still a goddess when it comes to killing baddies? Will my CE necro still be powerful when mixed with LR and Bone Spirit and AD? What about my Trap'sin?
5. How are the new rune combinations and weapon crafting? Does everyone still go nuts over "chippies" in order to get that Cruel Mega Blade thing with 6 sockets?
Maybe I'll think of a few more later.
I too just recently began playing D2 again. I stopped well into the days of 1.10 though, dropping just days after 1.11 came out. I picked up the game again roughly 2 weeks ago, but due to a very untimely and unfortunately physical Hard Drive failure everything is gone (the platter literally came unsettled).
The best answer I can give is that things are different in 1.10 than they were in 1.09. If you haven't looked over Ashock's comments in MonTy's Barbarian thread, then be forwarned that physical attacks are damn near useless in hell. Certain physical attack based builds can hold their own, but cannot come anywhere close to the casting builds. Some of the strongest 1.10+ character types I have found are Hurricane Druids (probably the easiest to start brand new with), Lightening Fury Javazons, and Hammerdins. Frozen Orb sorcs Blizzard sorcs and Lightening sorcs are strong, though unfortnately damn near everything is Fire immune, negating the awesome strength of fire sorcs. Sorcs of course still seem to be the soup de jour for magic finders.
The other classes and builds can ally play relatively well in Hell, though they are not dominant killers (am I forgetting any major build?). Of course, if a very strong hell character is not your focus then your mileage will certainly vary:)
Are you looking to play D2 on battle.net or in single player? I was a very large Battle.net player and was very involved with trading and high level chars, but when I restarted again I began playing single player hardcore and it was an absolute blast. Could be something worth looking into. Many builds are a ton of fun to play through nightmare, but become terrible upon the leap to hell. In single player hardcore there is plenty of fun to be had just getting through nightmare.:)
That's the best general summary I can give. As for your specific questions:
1.) Skill synergies are great. For the first time 100+ skill points can feel like not enough. A bonus to synergies is if you are trying to make a uber character, you no longer wait until level 30 to start distributing your skillpoints. Many formerly poor skills are very powerful under synergies.
2.)The monster randomization is frustrating for me. Rather than Boar spawns and Maulers in Bloody Hills there are Skeletons, Jav throwing Spearcats, and the little bat like creatures from act 1. You must be very careful going to Baal, since the lightening shooting Ghosts (think Plains of Despair in Act 4) are extremely powerful in 1.10 and are everywhere on Worldstone Keep.
3.) The cow level doesn't give the fun exp it used to. The last time I play battle.net Act 5 was still where the exp was at. Mostly Baal runs, though this may have changed.
4.) A CE nec can be extremely powerful, but they have become very item dependant. I had a level 93 Nec in 1.10 that was all CE, Iron Golem, Amp, and Iron Maiden. I Iron Maidened monsters and let them hit my golem, once one died I amped and CE'd everything in sight. It killed as fast as any uber build, but the problem was the high cost of equip (I had +23 skills in summons tab, +20 in the poison bone, and +19 in curses). Bonespear and Bonespirit are weak in Hell with anyone else in the game, making a Nec a poor soloing class without a lot of + skills equip. As far as Trap asn's, I personally dislike their power in 1.10. Though I believe there are other loungers out there who feel they are strong, so I'll leave it up to them to explain their strengths:)
5.) Since its been over a year since I last logged onto Battle.net, I won't pretend I know. Although very high end rune words were the top items when I stopped.
Hope it helps a bit,
Cheers,
Munk