General Questions from a long time newbie

General Questions from a long time newbie

I've been playing Diablo II for a long time yet I still feel like I have a lot to learn everytime I play. So it's about right to say I'm a long time newbie. I remember my first build ever was some kind of retardedly imbalanced iron barb with about 4000 defense who could deal very little damage. It was actually a very humorous build considering I could stand in the middle of a massive crowd for about two to three minutes desperately trying to kill SOMETHING. I barely made it past about level 60 with that.

So anyway I'm getting better and since then have tried a few other builds with the assassin who I got to level 77 pretty easily but I found it became next to impossible to progress further.

So I'm just wondering a few things...

Is Hell difficulty supposed to be next to impossible or do my characters just suck?

Is there ever a point where your character can coast through Hell or am I just dreaming?

My latest Barb did awesome in NM but when he got to Hell he's worthless? So that's normal right?

On Hell difficulty around what percentage should my chance to hit actually be? My latest barb (who became crappy) hit for about 71. Should I expect that?

SO basically there is this huge wall I keep hitting and it's called Hell. What's going on?

Just for a point of ref my last barb had about 165 str 100 dex and 160 vit. And I'm playing 1.10 (which is awesome).

I feel like I have a dozen other questions but I guess I'll just stop there. Hope I wasn't too redundant.

 

1/ Hell isnt supposed to be impossible, but since i guess your chars dont 'suck', i guess they are wrong planned or equipped

2/ Yes, loads of chars (well planned and equipped) can roam freely in hell without having any major problems, even in 8player games.

3/ Read under '1'

4/ Aim for at least 75% chance to hit. Though, i prefer 85%. 95% is max, dont bother to reach higher if you reach 95...

5/ Too low equip or maybe you need to rethink about your strategies.

6/ Generally, there is no fixed values you "should" reach, since it all depends on your style of play, and what items you use. As long as a barb has no points in mana, it can be ok.

I suggest you go to the barbarian forum, check it for guides, and learn from the pro's
And about questions: Keep having them coming. Thats what these forums are for!

enjoy!

 

Okay thanks a lot. That makes me feel better.

I'm guessing a few Baal runs would have been a good idea. Would I be right in assuming that every player finds themselves doing it at some point in the game?

 

Baal runs are great for exp. Cowing was going pretty slow, so I got into a Baal run to see what the big deal was, and the leveling is fantastic. It's faster than cows too because it's just the throne room.

 

Melee characters are pretty item dependant, too. You could build the perfect barb, but if you're swinging a rare long sword in hell, you'll just tickle even the puniest fallen. A lot of good equipment is available for perfect gems--as stated before, check the barb forums for guides. All of them list equipment that will work and most have a list for the not-so-uber-rich.

Good luck.

 

I want to reiterate what cotton said. Melee Characters are very item dependant. Youll want a lot of Life leech and a good %PDR. Its still hard in hell even with this. It took a stormshield and Dracs gloves for my concentrate barb to make it through hell difficulty. Also, what level is your barb? It shouldnt try hell til at least lvl 70, just lvl up on NM baal runs.