Login | Register


All times are UTC - 5 hours


It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:34 am




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Virgin to HU.
PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 6:42 pm 

Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:58 pm
Posts: 21
Just started a Fire Soso and im wondering if there are any links that I should read over to get a better understanding on how to build her the correct way.

Any info would be fantastic.

Matt


Top
 Offline Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Virgin to HU.
PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 10:17 pm 
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:28 am
Posts: 1136
Location: Vancouver, BC
I guess the best place to start is to state what build your sorc will be.

If your play style is to stand far away from the mobs, then consider a Meteor sorc. If you want to play as a party-helper, then consider an Enchant/Hydra sorc. If you'd rather something fairly uncommon, then consider a Blaze sroc.

For any of the builds, the skill distribution is pretty simple, since you just need to max the main skills the build is named for along with their synergies. Hybrid sorc builds aren't too common or powerful in HU since -%Res (e.g. unique Facet jewels) is plentiful (the challenge is in breaking the immunities).

1) Getting around -80% to enemy fire res is very important by the time you've reached Hell, and about 50% before then is a fine idea. Rubies in your weapon will do most of that if you can find nothing else.

2) Energy Shield works very well with DR/MDR (i.e. diamonds in armor and hat), since EShield diverts damage to mana before the DR/MDR goes into effect (e.g. with 50%ES and 50DR/MDR you lose no HP from 100 damage). You don't need ES for norm, but if you plan to stick with DR/MDR then you'll need it for late NM and Hell.

3) Blaze and Meteor have a damage-per-second effect that stacks, so if you build up their patches of fire before leading monsters to it then the monsters will die very quickly. It would be a good idea to get a tank (party or merc or something) that will lead monsters to the patches of fire and keep them in the patch until they die.

4) The +Fire damage added to attack from Enchant, charms, and items will all add to the "Explosive Arrows" mod on some bows.

5) Read the FAQ point 3 for quite a bit of information related to items.

If you have more questions, consider searching the forum for them before asking. If you still can't find an answer, then please be very specific. Consider posting your finalized build idea with a question at the end like, "How would you change this". If your question is too broad, then people won't know where to start when answering, so they won't bother.


Top
 Offline Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Virgin to HU.
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 2:48 pm 

Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:58 pm
Posts: 21
Wow, thanks for the very constructed reply.

I decided to go with Es and Fireball/Meteor as my main build.

I have a few questions regarding Es.

First, is dr/mdr better than dr%? I come from only playing pvp from vanille and I never had the need for dr/mdr. Dr% was always what I would shoot for.

Is there a cap on dr/mdr? I know Dr% is 50 in vanille.

Secondly, since I am Es, should i dump the bulk of my stats into energy?

Would you recommend going Max Block?


Top
 Offline Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Virgin to HU.
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 3:50 pm 
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:28 am
Posts: 1136
Location: Vancouver, BC
I did a quick search for EShield information (albeit I knew what I was looking for) you might like. I was looking mostly for the order in which damage is defelcted in D2.

That aside,
1) DR/MDR is just different from dr%. DR% has a cap of 50%, so it will never do more than effectively double your life against physical attacks. In HU, DR/MDR almost always comes as a pair (if only due to prevalence of diamonds), can reach pretty high numbers. I'm not aware of a cap on the total DR/MDR a player can use, but I'm sure the list of mods in the text files will show the max value that can appear on an item.

2) Your call on whether to dump your stats into Energy. I usually do, but I do it more for the fun factor than for survivability. There aren't a huge number of choices for getting high mana in HU unless your base mana is already very high, so you'll probably want 50% or more of your points spent on energy. Grand charms are usually a good source of 30-60 mana, but your first few characters might not find these. Items that give +%MaxMana will not affect mana received via "+Energy" or "+Mana/level" mods.

3) If you intend to tank, then Maxing block is a great idea, as is getting a massive defence. These points are why I looked for that order of deflection post.

Just so you know, poison will be a big problem for you. Your life will be low, and in HU poison damage and durations from the enemy are very high (I think some are upwards of two minute durations). Antidotes are your friend, as is 75%PoisReduction. It was once mentioned that the Doubling of chill and poison durations in Hell was achieved just by adding 100% duration, so 175%PoisReduction in Hell would be needed despite the 75% cap for that mod (i.e. it's not a 75% cap, it's actually a 25% minimum duration). I've never had the gear or opportunity to verify that claim. If you're interested in trying, then Nat's armor or a rare shield with 75%PoisReduction mod and 4xEmeralds in it would work well.


Top
 Offline Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Virgin to HU.
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 6:39 pm 

Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:58 pm
Posts: 21
Thanks!

Now I just need a tank merc.


Top
 Offline Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Virgin to HU.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 5:08 am 

Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:58 pm
Posts: 21
Is there a thread the explains which merc in each difficulty gives which bonus?


Top
 Offline Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Virgin to HU.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 10:07 am 
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2010 6:02 pm
Posts: 1627
http://blue.arimyth.com/ check faq/mercenaries sections, it's still outdated(phys mercs were removed) but should be a good knowledge for you.


Top
 Offline Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron