three newbie questions

[mistake]

three newbie questions

Hello there,
I had Diablo II for ages, never really played it, now I've decided to give it a try. I've made a mistake of reading some readmes, guides & faqs online, now I'm more confused then before.
So maybe somebody can help me?
1. I know that when you are running then defence = 0. But what if you are standing still but have 'always run' (r key) toggled on? Does it still count as running?
2. About 'Lower resist' curse. I was sure that it also works on magic resistance. But then I read somewhere (and now can't find it) that it's not true. So - does it lower magic resistance or not?
3. I'm planning to create Necro who only use bone spells (well, maybe also come curses) - no revives, skeletons etc. My question is: which mercenary should I use? I was thinking about Holy Freeze - I won't use corpses anyway and he seems useful. But I feel that the top priority for my merc should be survivability - so doesn't he die too often?

 

[mistake]

After I submited last message I've come with fourth question (so the title is misleading -sorry):
Should I invest in summon resist if I want to use Fire Golem? AFAIK, fire (which is the most common elemental damage type, no?) heals him, so resistance mean that he will be healed less?

 

[Gorny]

Uoi can edit any post you make, within the first hour of that ost. This is the preffered thing to do rather than double posting...which we view ad bumping.

For more take a look at the community rule thread linked from my signature.

 

[Orphan]

Hey, welcome to the forums,

Hello there,
I had Diablo II for ages, never really played it, now I've decided to give it a try. I've made a mistake of reading some readmes, guides & faqs online, now I'm more confused then before.
So maybe somebody can help me?
1. I know that when you are running then defence = 0. But what if you are standing still but have 'always run' (r key) toggled on? Does it still count as running?

No, standing still (even with the always run toggled on) will not count as running.

2. About 'Lower resist' curse. I was sure that it also works on magic resistance. But then I read somewhere (and now can't find it) that it's not true. So - does it lower magic resistance or not?

Not as far as I know. Lower resist takes down the enemy's elemental resistances. It does not affect their resistance to 'magic' spells (like bone spear, blessed hammers, etc).

3. I'm planning to create Necro who only use bone spells (well, maybe also come curses) - no revives, skeletons etc. My question is: which mercenary should I use? I was thinking about Holy Freeze - I won't use corpses anyway and he seems useful. But I feel that the top priority for my merc should be survivability - so doesn't he die too often?

I'll let someone else answer that I've only ever made one bone necro, and I didn't have a merc.

 

[Matt]

Hello there,
I had Diablo II for ages, never really played it, now I've decided to give it a try. I've made a mistake of reading some readmes, guides & faqs online, now I'm more confused then before.
So maybe somebody can help me?
1. I know that when you are running then defence = 0. But what if you are standing still but have 'always run' (r key) toggled on? Does it still count as running?
2. About 'Lower resist' curse. I was sure that it also works on magic resistance. But then I read somewhere (and now can't find it) that it's not true. So - does it lower magic resistance or not?
3. I'm planning to create Necro who only use bone spells (well, maybe also come curses) - no revives, skeletons etc. My question is: which mercenary should I use? I was thinking about Holy Freeze - I won't use corpses anyway and he seems useful. But I feel that the top priority for my merc should be survivability - so doesn't he die too often?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Your call, its all about personal prefrence, however, holy freeze is, in my opinion, a good choice.

 

[Matt]

No, standing still (even with the always run toggled on) will not count as running.

Yeah it will

-Matt

 

[cotton]

Ok, here's a shot at some help.

1. If you are standing still, you are not running, even with run toggled on. Defense penalty does not apply, and neither does blocking penalty.

2. I believe that lower resist once affected magic resistance in previous versions of the game, but I am sure that it does not now, so there is no reason for a bone necro to invest in it. Most use decrep as their primary curse or forego the curse tree altogether. There is a very good guide stickied at the top of the necro forum for bone necros.

3. A holy freeze merc is a solid choice for a bone necro. Arguments could be made for a defiance act 2 merc or an act 5 merc as well. Personally, I would not consider any but those three.

4. This is not a direct answer to your question, but...Fire golem has fallen out of favor, for some very good reasons. None of the golems do much damage anymore, so their primary purpose is to keep monsters off of you. Clay golem does this better than fire (which can actually attract monsters,) slows monsters, has more life, and comes at a lesser cost in both mana and skill points. If you decide to go with a golem at all, choose clay. And forget summon resist. If he dies, recast him. He is cheap

 

[Orphan]

Yeah it will

-Matt

Interesting, I didn't know that. I seem to remember reading somewhere that it didn't, and logically speaking, it shouldn't, but I could be wrong

 

[mistake]

Thank you all for very informative posts (although it seems that I was not the only one confused with the "runninng while standing" thing).

And sorry for double posting. Won't happen again.

 

[RTB]

1. I know that when you are running then defence = 0. But what if you are standing still but have 'always run' (r key) toggled on? Does it still count as running?

Only when the running animation is displayed you are considered to be running. So that would be a no.
Also, your defense isn't set to 0 when running, in fact any attack on you while running bypasses the chance to hit formula, leaving only your lowered block chance and/or Evade as your last defense.

2. About 'Lower resist' curse. I was sure that it also works on magic resistance. But then I read somewhere (and now can't find it) that it's not true. So - does it lower magic resistance or not?

Not anymore.

 

[krischan]

Yeah it will

-Matt

No, it won't