annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

[BewareOfLag]

annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

OK so I have been playing d2 on and off for a long time, with one constant: not having very good equipment. Having full trangs and tals is about as good as i have had. with a new ladder having started not too long ago, i decided to try using a necromancer to start MFing and looking for good equipment, in the mold of the explosionmancer build. i went with a necro because IMO they are less gear dependent than other classes, so i could have some MF without sacrificing much in terms of killing power or resistances.

hes level 76 right now, but i cant really venture into hell because my resistances arent good and my merc's equipment is crap. i have basically been running pindle, shank, and eldritch in nightmare over and over again, which i know isnt a place to get real good high end stuff, but i was hoping to at least get some decent merc equipment. also, i happen to have gotten to hell but am stuck in act 2 because EVERY hell game on bnet are baal or chaos runs.

anyway, even when i had a pretty good MF sorc (lightning/frozen orb with full tals set), i never really found anything great after i dont know how many pit runs, meph runs, etc.

so i'm kind of just asking in general, whats the best way to get good stuff? I've never found a rune better than Mal, so how do people have all these ists, bers, etc? I'm guessing since the odds of finding a high rune are almost zero, what are the best things to look for to trade for them, and the best way to go about that?

I think maybe part of the issue is I can't stand playing most of the cookie cutter builds, just don't like hammerdins or smiters. i do like my necro right now and have a vengeance/conviction paladin and bowazon sitting around that i could potentially build up. i'm thinking i should have probably gone with a strafer as my first character instead of a necro, but no going back now, right? a

anyhow just looking for some general pointers from the pros. maybe this ladder i can finally get a decent HR and make one of the high end runewords.

 

[DoomBoy]

Re: annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

Sounds like you need to mf more!

The only way to get "good stuff" is by trading and at this point in ladder (I am assuming of course, since it's been awhile since the reset), most rich folks will pay a hr or two for crafting or rolling sets (just because they can). If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a look in the horadric cube linky at the Arreat summit page.

I play mostly non ladder but here's the general trading prices for last ladder:

20 rals or 20 purples for one hr
40 pgems for 1 hr
40 craft jewels for 1 hr

5 spirit sets with hel for 1-3 hrs
5 insight sets with hel for 1-3 hrs

4os monarchs for lem
4os cryptic axes/threshers/colossus voulges for pul-hr

These prices are in US West.

Those are basic stuff you can get easily, if you grind for them, of course.

For a game like D2, if you want to be rich, you'll have to trade with the rich already (and know what they like).

Hope that helps a bit.

Oh yeah, take a look in the trading forums and maybe you'll find some good deals for upgrading some gear.

 

[btessito]

Re: annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

Run bosses like nightmare meph and baal who can drop good items for you and your merc like Skin of the Vipermagi which gives plenty of resists, or shaftstop, which is important for your merc in that it has DR%. Tal's mask, Crown of Thieves, or Vampire Gaze are nice helms for your merc as they give much needed life leech. Once your resists are better you can start to tackle hell more safely.

Make early runewords like lore and a spirit weapon/shield.

Make sure to find a 4os eth polearm from NM cows to roll insight in; even if it is made in an exceptional base your merc should still do enough damage with it to get you through the pits in act 1 hell where you can farm for an elite ethereal base, such as a cryptic axe or a thresher. Less magic find is actually better to farm socketables.

Get the runes for insight from NM countess.

Once your resistances are good and your merc can actually kill things for you in hell, try to either build up your magic find and find good items to trade with/use or opt to go the pure killing speed method of finding quality socketables and higher runes (runes not as hard to get as they used to be).

Either way you go, be prepared to spend a LOT of time killing to get the items you want, as nothing will be handed to you. Good luck and Happy Hunting!

 

[SnickerSnack]

Re: annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

For your necro, run NM meph about 500 times and you're fairly sure to get a few items that will help you.

As Doomboy has hinted, one of the most important parts of gaining wealth on bnet is knowing what things are worth.

One thing that I think held me back a little when I played on bnet is that I kept too much stuff. I took the time to mule off things that were worth ~15 pgems when I could be out mfing for things worth um+ (this was at a point in the ladder when Um =~ 60 pgems).

Well, those are my thoughts. I hope they help.

 

[jjsera]

Re: annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

hi, i started about a week ago (after about 5 years off)
and i found some nice stuff on baal runs (lucky i guess).

basically what i did was baal runs for a few hours a day and by just some random stroke of lucky i got some drops then was about to make some trades along with leveling up my sorc to be able to do mf runs.

 

[Bad Ash]

Re: annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

Make a sorceress and run hell Meph. Really realllly easy to get a sorc who can do hell meph cause you dont need a ton of +skills cause you can dodge every single meph attack run, orb, run, orb rinse and repeat. use a high resist shield, you can find a rare orb thatll get the job done and just go with what you find or mid level gear and youll be find. Itll take time but youll find good stuff eventually

 

[Knarlfist]

Re: annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

Dude.. it sounds like you play on Bnet on Ladder - you could probably have an Ist in a day.

Make NM games, and clear Countess and then do a full Chaos run. Collect each and every rune and flawless gem you find. Save up a full inventory of pgems, and then make a Bnet trade game and sell them off for a nice Rune.

Cube all low runes to either Tal or Thul, start collecting Spirit Rune sets and sell them off as well. People pay well for these.

Have you found no runes at all? You are on Ladder, there are a wealth of runewords available to you, not the least of which include Spirit sword, Spirit Shield, Insight, Splendor, Smoke, etc. You should be having zero difficulties in Hell... at the most with a Necro you might need to gamble/find an Amulet with Teleport charges (and that is only for places like Maggot Lair).

Insight in the first Elite polearm you can find, plus Treachery if you find the runes for it (or trade some bulk pgems for it), pretty much solve all your merc problems. Double Spirits or Spirit + Splendor plus Smoke and maybe Lore, and your Necro's problems are gone too, even in Hell mode. You have tons of advantages by being on Ladder... I suggest you start capitalizing on some of the easier ones.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Re: annoyed with being equipment poor - suggestions plz

I play a summoner necro every ladder.

Its really pretty simple. But, not until you've been through it a few times.

The following is something I wrote long ago, but its still valid.

http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/s...d.php?t=758633

That will easily get you into hell for the price of picking up some pgems.