First post here. I have been getting bored with D2 recently i have played off and on for years. I have never played hardcore before, so three days ago i started playing hardcore exclusively. I want to finish the game in Hardcore untwinked and make gaurdian. Over the last 3 days i have started a barb who is currently level 58. I have put him on hold as he is not going to be the best first time untwinked HC char for me
. So i started a Sorc leveled her to 71, and died to a soul one hit in A5 throne of destruction. So this is here i am now.I have decided on either a Trap assasin utilizing death sentry mind blast or a Wind druid.
Since i am bored with Soft Core and i am commited to plunging into HC i want to create on of these 2 chars because i personally find them fun. My question to this community is which one of these 2 builds would be more durable in hell mode?
Right now i am leaning towards the wind druid because i have never built one before.
I do have experience with assasins.
So i would like to hear from Your experiences in this matter?
thanks,
-Humansuck|||Hi there and welcome to the forums.
My specialities are untwinked amazons, necros and sorceressess so there are others better qualified to offer advice on assassins and druids. Have a good trawl through their forums above.
General advice would be that soloing untwinked through the game in hardcore is more challenging to some builds than others but virtually any build can be made durable when taking time to acquire levels and gear for both character and mercenary. Durability and an intelligent play style counts for more than absolute damage output.
Levelling in acts 1 to 4 to say lvl 90 and finding gear in act 1 level 85 areas is an incremental way of proceeding before attempting to rush through the act 5 quests. Finding items with fhr/fcr/lightning absorb/teleport charges, getting skill levels to around level 30 and finding some good charms could be first goals.|||Well they both have their weaknesses.
Trappers can be a little tough in hell, but often times a good merc/shadow combined with Mind blast can get the job done. Other trappers swear by an investment in Fireblast, and now with the respec option makes that sacrifice a little easier to swallow. With good utility spells like Mind Blast, fade and Cloak of Shadows, the assassin has a lot of survivability.
Wind druids are a little scary to me. With the close proximity of both Hurricane/Tornado, you will be up close and personal to a lot of monsters that you wont want to be that close to. Also before you get an enigma its a little harder to close the distance on ranged mobs like archers.
Both builds are definitely do-able if you play it smart. I'd say a trapper would have a little more safety untwinked, if staying alive is your goal. It's also a much cheaper build, being able to shop +3 trap claws and make cheap runewords for. Dual claw also allows you to get Claw Block, and dump almost every single point into vitality while still having a way of blocking physical/elemental attacks. Best of luck.|||I hate druids.
I've played 4 trappers through, 2 untwinked, and never had anything that even really resembled a close call.
I'm sure you can figure out my vote.|||Thanks for the replies.
Yea so, after rethinking through some of the uses of this char after its leveled to 90 ish would be for mfing. I am leaning for the assassin now because of my experience with them.
I will piddle around the forums abit and gather some more useful tips thanks fellas.
-human|||keep hold of your pants!|||I lvled up a trapper without any real big problems, you get block with claws and high resistance with fade, it even decreases damage for every point in fade. It started to get slower in Act3 and 4 tho without good gear, dealing with LI can be a bit slow.
I haven't tried many classes untwinked HC but I would say trapper or summon necro.
I consider lvl up a new hc trapper
|||Update i started an assassin and she was doing wonderfully. Until i got tired and reckless..... i was soloing baal in nm for the 7th time in a row and got rushed by a bunch of assassin hating assailants..... Dead. I will start again this time i believe i will utilize max block with a shield rather than dual claw.
more to follow..
- human|||Quote:
Update i started an assassin and she was doing wonderfully. Until i got tired and reckless..... i was soloing baal in nm for the 7th time in a row and got rushed by a bunch of assassin hating assailants..... Dead.
I will start again this time i believe i will utilize max block with a shield rather than dual claw.
more to follow..
- human
Assassin's should never be rushed by anything. CoS removes the enemies ability to overwhelm you with ranged attacks, and Mind Blast deals with everything else. If you ever feel like you're being rushed, or about to be rushed, or unsafe... just lean on the Mind Blast button. The only exception to this would be the ancients (who can't be knocked back), but in that case you should never be standing in one place long enough to get swarmed anyway.
The Wind Druid you mentioned can get a larger life pool, and more damage. But the Assassin comes with so much more crowd control. Imo, she is a hands down win between the 2 in untwinked play.
CoS can't be spammed, so use it with care... only when there are many ranged beasts in the area. Mind Blast can be spammed forever, so use it, a lot. Even if you are not in danger, use it anyway, just to get into the habit.
Walk into an area -> LS, LS, LS, Mind Blast, Mind Blast, DS, DS (All your traps are up at this point). If you're feeling safe, observe your traps and decide if they could be better placed (to hit more monsters in one shot) -> reposition traps, LS, LS, DS, LS, DS (all traps are up again), if you're still feeling safe, start pitching Fire Blasts. If you're not feeling safe -> MB, MB, MB, MB, retreat a few steps, LS, LS, LS, DS, DS, MB, MB. If your merc is in danger, MB, MB, MB, retreat (to give him a 'pull'), MB, MB, reposition yourself behind your merc, LS, LS, DS, MB, MB, etc.
You should be using those 3 spells constantly (with a twist of CoS), so that when you get to late NM/Hell, you've got the habits in place, and you don't even have to think about it anymore.
The only downside of Mind Blast is that sometimes a converted monsters will unconvert behind you, and come to grief you. This can easily be avoided by making sure they are all dead before you move forward.
Sure, anyone can make a mistake and get themselves killed (lord knows I've done it a bunch), but if you get the good habits into your game play early on, the monsters will have a tough time of catching you off guard.
-hps|||Im a big fan of windy druids. Always play at least one every ladder. that being said, untwinked trapper is safer. I like to call windy druids suicide druids, because they're a caster, but they operate best right in the middle of the pack, rather then far away. so health and block are bigger necessities for them then a trapper. and keeping your defensive spells up. did I mention block?
yeah, you live and you learn with stuff like that. I never thought about mind blast until I got caught in a similar situation. didn't die, but it was close enough to make me start looking at my CC alternatives (this was early on). saw mind blast, and kicked myself for not using it before
.Oh, and don't disregard claw block to lightly. You may want a few more points in it, especially if your low on +skills, but in many ways 50% claw block is better then 75% shield block. shield block only works against physical attacks, claw works against spells to. I usually found that my trapper got hit mroe often by ranged/spells then physical attacks. Course, shields up your defensive stuff more then dual claws, so either will probably work.
CoS and MB are now staples with my trappers. they give you the cushion needed to get away (and let your merc head in). FYI (you prob already know), go with holy freeze merc. and make sure your using your summon liberally. i tend to cast her like im casting my amazon's decoy (not quite as often). she'll draw crowds and give you some breath room as well.
It helped me to think of my trapper as a crowd control class, rather then an offensive caster (like a sorc). get into the mentality of "organize mobs first, kill second", and it can help. think more like a necromancer then a sorc. let your summons/mercs (minions) pull groups, and use your MB/CoS (assy's version of curses) to reduce ranged damage and sneak attacks by extra fast extra strong "kill the assassin" aura buffed whatevers.
Or just go gutsy and go windy! They're a blast to play, though a little scary in HC at times. I distinctly remember one pack i got mobbed with in hell (probably frozen river) I just remember seeing multiple auras, and gloam lights flickering off in the distance, then I was surrounded (literally). I think i sprained my finger spamming alternating tornadoes and my cyclone armor. survived, but i think I peed my pants. twice.
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