Ladder reset, start hc

[JeanMax]

Ladder reset, start hc

Hi, :wave:

I am planning on joining the hc community with the ladder reset.
I believe it will be lots of fun and I'm willing to invest some time on it.

I haven't played hc since the early 1.10 and I was wondering what kind of character would be viable to start with.

Any suggestion will seriously be taken into account.

------------------------------

In other words, to the veterans, what character are you planning to start with ?

 

[Hp_Sauce]

Javazon, Blizzballer, Summoner, in that order. In reality I have to work and sleep and all that ****, so they will probably all be half ***'d attempts.

Javazon for farming NM Cows - she has no gear requirements at all.
Blizzballer for MF'ing - It's nice to have her started when you start to find some gear.
Summoner to fall back on if the first 2 die.

my $0.02

-hps

 

[Morannon]

Summoner can go all the way to hell without stoping much on the way to gear up. As a sorc you will find that very risky. So if going fast to hell is your goal then go summoner.

If only I had another set of CDkeys *hint* I could start with a summoner and then use that summoner to help my next char to hell.

Man, if only I had another set of CDkeys I would be so happy *hint*

 

[Quentin]

Is it possible to use a melee character (Concentrate Barbarian or Berzerker) as the first HC character in the new ladder?

 

[Oddballzor]

Melee characters are most gear dependent, so i guess not. Anyway i agree with Hp_Sauce about the holy three: Javazon, Blizzballer, Summoner. But i would also consider Trapsin as a first choice, mostly because its easier to get some +skills items for her (ie gambling circlets, claws, amulets).

Ehh probably i will end with zon though =].

 

[exxoizzle]

blizzballer? is this an orber or a blizzard user

 

[Brave_turtle]

Orb/Fb woudl be my choice.

 

[JeanMax]

Looking through this site, everyone is doing fishymancers or cold related sorcs. Javazon is a good idea too.

But as I don't like to be part of the masses, I'm looking for something different, what else could be a good party member to begin the ladder with ?

I'm talking here about :
Pally : Hammerdin or FoHer (to share auras)
Druid : FClaws/Rabbies or Wind (to share Oaks (and minions))

Are they too much gear dependant or could they be viable ?
Any other suggestion ?

 

[Redzonetcsk]

A hammerdin would be a great character to start with that isn't completely gear dependent. I never make druids, but from what I hear without pretty good gear they cannot be as powerful as a sorceress or caster pally. Why not a BO barb? Right after reset is the return of a thousand sorcs, where are they going to get all their life? Personally, I always start a single tree sorc. Orb with E. Shield, or Pure Blizz or Pure Meteor. Good for running specialized MF runs, and building up an item base to trade for my new characters. Also, with so many synergies I can get away with few plus skills. See you at the reset.

 

[Kretschmer]

Windy druids are quite survivable (tons of health; elemental immune) and decently powerful.

As for myself, I'm going to do yet another avenger, for party goodness :-D

 

[Diehard]

As for myself, I'm going to do yet another avenger, for party goodness :-D

I tend to think from this perspective as well. With a sea of fragile sorcs and necros out there, I'd rather be someone who can tank early and keep the ball rolling. Frenzy barb most likely, with a low-mastery approach so I can use whatever 1-handed weapons happen to drop.

 

[Oddballzor]

blizzballer? is this an orber or a blizzard user

Check this link: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=214093

 

[JeanMax]

I like the Redzonetcsk&Diehard idea combination.

High vita/BO barb is quite resistant as well as very party friendly.
And low-mastery makes the character less gear dependant, pumping defensive skills instead, which are also often synergies of the main attack skill.

Maybe Hammerdin
Maybe Windy druid

Still undecided :scratch:

But I like how people participate to this thread. No one here is starting with a Bowzon :jig: ?

 

[wangboBW]

I believe in the power of the druid!

 

[red-sauce]

ya, im gonna start a zerker for bo and meat shield. Just max zerk, bo, howl, and shout and leave mastery for last, so you can use whatever weapon you find until you find a good endgame one. Its gonna be a blast !

 

[Full_Circle]

The goal of my first character is always simple - to collect the runes, charms, and gems necessary to make the following character (a Sorceress) shine. The first character should have a combination of survivability and potency vs mobs (not necessarily bosses, as kill quantity > kill quality for these kinds of drops).

As such, the Javazon and Trapsin stand out as the premier starting characters. Summoners beat them both in survivability, but suffer in killing speed. Of those two, I prefer the Javazon, but it truly is personal preference at that point. Both are excellent.

 

[JeanMax]

The goal of my first character is always simple - to collect the runes, charms, and gems necessary to make the following character (a Sorceress) shine. The first character should have a combination of survivability and potency vs mobs (not necessarily bosses, as kill quantity > kill quality for these kinds of drops).

As such, the Javazon and Trapsin stand out as the premier starting characters. Summoners beat them both in survivability, but suffer in killing speed. Of those two, I prefer the Javazon, but it truly is personal preference at that point. Both are excellent.

That just makes so much sense to me.
As I was also planning to make a sorceress my 2nd character, I might fall into your tactics here. It's really clever.

Many people go straight to a sorc to mf ASAP. Having a masskilling resisting character collecting items for the sorc will just make her more efficient early in her developpement.

Thanks for sharing that tip !

 

[tutata]

Hey you guys are talking alot about javazon, any hc builds for them around? I have never made one.

 

[engrsd]

I like summoners for the above mentioned reasons. I will gladly sacrifice some killing speed for survivability. The fact that they are so much less gear dependant than other classes is just gravy. Really a solid first choice to get your stable going.

 

[Kretschmer]

I was #60 on the first 1.10 EastHCL ladder (#20 Sorceress), and am less interested in extreme competition this time, around. Since other folks are outlining their strategy, here's why I'm leaning towards an avenger:

-Lack of specific item dependence. Avengers approach gear in very relaxed terms. Weapon, you say? Well, I need something 1Hed with damage. A mace, sword, axe, or frozen squid will do. Armor? Well, any armor with a combination of resists, HP, AC, skills. It's great to be excited about generic elite unique weapons, again.

-Lack of item competition. Something tells me the initial market for caster goods will be through the roof, to say the least. Generic melee gear? Much more affordable. This will come in handy if I decide to break from my untwinked code, and indulge in the purist trading that early ladder seasons allow.

-Great synergy with any party. Conviction is awesome for everyone but hammerdins and bone necros. This gets you cohesive questing groups. w00t. Also, an avenger will add more damage to a hypothetical 7 sorc group than another sorceress would.

-Solo ability. There is no immune in the game that matters to an avenger. We manufacture our own mana, ignore immunities, do solid single-target damage, and generally can plod through most areas.

-Good survival attributes: higher maximum resists, great blocking, solid defense, and free resists off of pally shields.

Downsides? Sure:

-You're right up there in the melee and going to get hit/overwhelmed and die before a ranged peer.

-Group killing power is slow. Javazons and blizzard sorceresses perk up when they see flayers. Avengers cry.

-Not a magic-finding build. Just isn't going to happen.

-Dog slow until 30. You'll be chugging mana potions and enjoying the added damage of holy freeze until that magical moment.