my concentrater runs out of mana fast

[Cheul]

my concentrater runs out of mana fast

I just picked up the Diablo Battle chest at my local gaming store and decided to give it a go ($19.95 baby boy!). I tried the original diablo back in the day but never got that far because I was too busy with Asheron's Call and Baldur's Gate.

Anyway, I made a "Concentrater Barb after reading about it on www.gamefaqs.com and now that I'm level 18 & have 3 points invested in concentrate it's almost useles because I run outa mana fast.

I'm at work right now so I cant give details on my equipment but I do have a socketed chest piece that helps recover mana I think. Am I supposed to have concentrate bound to the left mouse button and use it as my primary attack? If so, how do I regen mana so I don't run out? My sword is a really good gold/yellow one I looted with life leech and 5 other attributes so I don't think trading it for a mana leech sword or somthin like that is a good idea. Also I tried a mana leech sword (*2 I think it said) with the same/similar results.

Any help or input would be appreciated.

My Build

 

[Oscuro]

Re: my concentrater runs out of mana fast

Look for items with "x% mana stolen per hit," most often found on weapons, jewelry, and some set/unique items if you're lucky.

 

[Hrus]

Re: my concentrater runs out of mana fast

Any character at level 18 have usually problems with mana. But with each level, you get some mana and later in game you will get items witch add mana or mana steal. Just don't despair and mix your concentrate attacks with normal attacks, use mana potions when necessary etc. Don't put any statpoints in energy, you would regret later...

BTW Concnentrate barb isn't the best starting character, his damage is quite low and while he is safe, he kills very slowly and it gets boring soon.

 

[TheReadMenace]

Re: my concentrater runs out of mana fast

You can also keep an eye out for "%damage taken goes to mana." As a frontline fighter, he's bound to take some hits and that'll help replenish that mana. It's not uber common, but it can be found on some set/unique gear.

You can also buy a 3soc armor, 3soc shield, and/or 2soc helm and run the Countess (found in the Tower in the Black Marsh, Act1) for Tir runes. Each gives +2 mana per kill, so up to 8*Tirs give +16 per kill. Those can help out quite a bit. Though I will say that's pretty overkill for mana recovery since most monsters can be dropped with only a few Concentrate swings. I use this setup (helm & shield w/ Tirs) for my early sorcs, and it works quite well.

Hrus' advice about mixing up Concentrate with normal attacks is solid, too.

 

[Cheul]

Re: my concentrater runs out of mana fast

Thanks for the advice guys. So I guess that its normal to not have the mana to support a "concentrater" when I'm low level? Thats good to know. The guide makes it sound like mana is not a problem ever. Guess I'll keep an eye out for the gear you all mention.

1. If concentrater barb is boring, what is a fun/good build in your opinions?

2. If i need to switch from concentrate to normal attack, do I bind them to F1 and F2 and switch back and forth between the two until I can spam concentrate non-stop?

3. Will I ever be able to spam concentrate non-stop?

4. Any other tips or advice for a noobie?

 

[Oscuro]

Re: my concentrater runs out of mana fast

2. If i need to switch from concentrate to normal attack, do I bind them to F1 and F2 and switch back and forth between the two until I can spam concentrate non-stop?

Yes, that's one method, but remember that you can bind whichever keys you like to switch skills. Z, X, C are some of my favorites because they're near shift and alt. You can also put Concentrate on one mouse button and normal attack on the other mouse button , or if you are lazy, just mash concentrate forever and the game will automatically use normal attacks when your mana is insufficient (note that this will leave you dangerously low on mana if you need some to get out of an emergency with Whirlwind or Leap Attack).

3. Will I ever be able to spam concentrate non-stop?

Yes. The mana cost is always 2, so as you improve your gear and skill levels, you'll do more damage and be able to leech more mana back, which will soon be greater than the cost of Concentrate.

 

[Hrus]

Re: my concentrater runs out of mana fast

Guides are usually written for end-game. In hell difficulty, mana is really not a problem for Concentrate barb.

1. Concentrate barb is boring once you get in later difficulties. Without an uber weapon he just do mediocre damage, stands there and just use his slow single monster attack. Having a stronger character who can kill faster and preferably with multi-monster attack is what I call more fun. (aka week is no fun at all) Take a look at Begginers guide to build selection in the stickies. I would probably start with some sort of caster or a character with skills that add elemental damage to your attacks (they don't need uber weapons, but are still effective), if you are more of a melee fan. Some builds that I consider very fun: Frozen arrow amazon, Lightning amazon, Tesladin, Hammerdin, dual tree sorceress.

2. That's a good strategy.
EDIT: It's better to assign and use all of your melee attacks on right mouse button. This way when you fight the pack of monsters and miscklick (click on floor behind the monster you attack), you will not start to walk/run to the place you miscklicked, but you will attack the nearest monster in the direction you clicked instead.

3. Probably yes, when you get to higher levels, you will have enough mana to get good mana regeneration (mana regeneration is the time to fill your full mana pool and this time stays the same, so higher mana=faster mana regeneration + you can use the spell more times in a row). I mean you will probably not be able to use it non-stop, but when you count the time between monster encounters, you will have enough. On top of it, mana leech is really common later, and usually very small amount is enough to overcome the low Concentrate mana cost.

4. You can get mana leech on rings too. Mana leech starts to generate around lvl25 (act 3). You can also start to gamble rings around lvl30.