It's been a long time since I've posted here! Starting Hardcore for the first time.

[DCStar]

I've been playing SP on and off even since I last posted here but now it's about to get real.

After playing D2 since its release date I am starting my first serious hardcore character.

I figured a skelemancer would be too cheesy for my first character, but I also wanted to not set myself up for failure. I decided on a concentration barb.

If anyone has any hardcore tips that I wouldn't have learned all these years playing SC let me know. Also is it considered lame to respec on your first run through? I haven't been on the forums much or created many characters since they patched that in.

 

[HC Gunther]

Re: It's been a long time since I've posted here! Starting Hardcore for the first ti

There is jiansonz's Guide to Untwinked, Single-pass, early game Magic Finding and my expanded version of it. I am working on a much better version.

 

[FredOfErik]

Re: It's been a long time since I've posted here! Starting Hardcore for the first ti

My most appreciated hc tip: keep and cube every purple you find. And drink one each time you would normally just drink a red one.

 

[crawlingdeadman]

Re: It's been a long time since I've posted here! Starting Hardcore for the first ti

I've been playing SP on and off even since I last posted here but now it's about to get real.

After playing D2 since its release date I am starting my first serious hardcore character.

I figured a skelemancer would be too cheesy for my first character, but I also wanted to not set myself up for failure. I decided on a concentration barb.

If anyone has any hardcore tips that I wouldn't have learned all these years playing SC let me know. Also is it considered lame to respec on your first run through? I haven't been on the forums much or created many characters since they patched that in.

Not lame at all. Respec early and often, I say. It's particularly helpful at the end of each difficulty or near the end of Hell at the very least.

If you want to play a Necro, but not a lame Skelemancer, I suggest Bone/CE. Here's my version of the character. I have links to a guide and its updated version at the start of the thread.

 

[japanzaman]

Re: It's been a long time since I've posted here! Starting Hardcore for the first ti

First of all, skelemancers are actually deceptively tricky for HC if you are going untwinked. You'll coast for most of the game, but your margin for error is extremely low once you enter hell. One stray arrow or quill while your amped, or a cold-enchanted while you are under conviction can be an instant game over. There are several characters I consider to be easier for HC than a skelemancer, and the concentrator just happens to be one of them, along with a Trapsin and Javazon.

This means you are actually doing yourself a favor, as Concentrator Barbs are about as stable as they get. Just follow the typical build patterns, and drop a point into Berserk and you'll beat 99.9% of what the game throws at you, though just not as quickly as some of the other builds. Learn to use some of the utility skills like Taunt and Howl and you'll find that there really isn't a situation you shouldn't be able to handle with some caution.

Whether or not you respec is up to you. Obviously not doing it raises the challenge and thus the satisfaction of finishing. I think most people use respecs as a matter of practicality- for example, I'll often use fire traps for assassins and then respect later once they begin to get weaker as it allows me to plow through Normal mode rather quickly. For a Barb, I guess it could allow you to drop some points in a weapon mastery and not worry about wasting them later.