A problematic stage.
#1
Well I'm at lvl 28 on a warrior. I've been doing night mare church and witch runs a lot to get my stats up with elixirs. My problem now is I get practically no exp until I attempt Nightmare/hell... I lost my helm the last time I went down there.

My gear is quite... pathetic to say the least. Where is a good place to try and find decent warrior gear before nightmare/hell?

Here is my current set up:
All items are legit...

My best item being stormshield

I'm using doombringer but a another player has let me use their King's sword of blood for a time

blessed plate of the stars 74 def +9 to all

Jade ammy of stars resist all 28% +8 to all

ring1: +54 life +48 magic resist

ring2: +52 mana +25 vita

Helm: I need to buy one since I lost mine.

Yes.. improvements are needed but besides the gift and the borrowed sword... everything else is self found and I expect the rest of my gear shall be as well. Another problem I'm having is that my killing ability is so non-existant that in coop I'm getting little to no experience. But I cant solo nm/hell... suggestions please.
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#2
It sounds like you could use some more time in normal/hell.
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#3
Quote:It sounds like you could use some more time in normal/hell.

Just to elaborate, the prefixes and suffixes in a given level in normal difficulty are the same as in nm or hell difficulty. The difference come in the base items. However, by the time you reach dlevel 13 most any creature can drop any base item (the notable exception is armor, and even then most creatures can drop full plates, which are the best - the other exception is that cave vipers can't drop gothic shields). In other words, regular difficulty level 13-16 runs are almost as good of a method of finding items as nm and hell runs. And, the only items you can't find are full plates from lower level creatures who can't drop the best prefixes anyway (the best if you want meaningful ac that is, and if you don't then you don't need a full plate anyway). Until level 31-33 you will also be getting pretty good experience from regular difficulty 13-16 runs (see http://home.att.net/~dsf.glossary/diablo-exp.html for more exact numbers).

On another note, stormshields are more useful for the other classes than they are for warriors. The ac 40 and indestruct are nice. Warriors have fast block anyway. The +10 strength isn´t important for lifting equipment as warriors have enough str anyway, and is therefore only useful as in giving a bit more damage, which is offset by the +4 damage from enemies. In other words, it is about as useful as a blessed shield of the ages 100% on 20 ac. Thus, if you find (at griz or in the dungeon) a shield which gives you more ac even if it has no suffix or about the same ac with a hit point adding suffix (such as the wolf or tiger) you should probably switch.
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#4
buy an obsidian or even a jade helm and shield, that'll raise or even max your resisitances.
save up your money and shop grizwold for an awesome full plate armor. but don't hold out for one with a suffix, they're very rare, so grab the first thing he offers.
keep looking for an obsidian amulet to replace the jade, a 'mini ob zod' amulet is nice, but 28% is low, when you could be having 40% or close to that with an obsidian.
keep shopping adria for a book of teleport, 20,000 gold. then do 'laz runs' on normal hell and hopefully they'll drop something nice. maybe even a royal circlet helm, 40 ac; or a gotterdamnitrung helm (don't id this and it's still a wopping 60 ac helmet).
if you want to go one step further, hunt down 'witch moon' on level 15; and sir garbage on level 16, he might give you his vaunted 2 ac buckler of the ages, or even his split skull shield! woot!
if i might add, now that you can buy elixirs, start putting your 5 level up points into vitality, because you can always buy elixirs for magic and strength, i'm assuming your dexterity is maxed by now.
good luck and up the irons!
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#5
[quote name='weakwarrior' date='Feb 10 2009, 09:27 AM' post='161418']
Just to elaborate, the prefixes and suffixes in a given level in normal difficulty are the same as in nm or hell difficulty. The difference come in the base items. However, by the time you reach dlevel 13 most any creature can drop any base item (the notable exception is armor, and even then most creatures can drop full plates, which are the best - the other exception is that cave vipers can't drop gothic shields). In other words, regular difficulty level 13-16 runs are almost as good of a method of finding items as nm and hell runs. And, the only items you can't find are full plates from lower level creatures who can't drop the best prefixes anyway (the best if you want meaningful ac that is, and if you don't then you don't need a full plate anyway). Until level 31-33 you will also be getting pretty good experience from regular difficulty 13-16 runs (see http://home.att.net/~dsf.glossary/diablo-exp.html for more exact numbers).

this is a great link. keep playing normal hell to level 30, then attack hell diff. church, you'll quickly level up twice, and have ALOT of gold after that too! then you can really shop grizwold for goodies. and my personal preference is to put level up points into vitality and buy the elixirs as i go.
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#6
Quote:shop grizwold for an awesome full plate armor. but don't hold out for one with a suffix, they're very rare, so grab the first thing he offers.

The only suffix griz can sell on an awesome full plate is of the ages.
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#7
Thanks for the tips folks, as of now my base stats are:

117
50
60
76

I'm doing as suggested putting all into vitality and using elixirs to supplement strength.

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#8
If you are following the advise of the others to play normal/hell, then you're on the right path.
Nevertheless, I can't leave a remark like this uncommented:
Quote:Well I'm at lvl 28 on a warrior. I've been doing night mare church and witch runs a lot to get my stats up with elixirs. My problem now is I get practically no exp until I attempt Nightmare/hell... I lost my helm the last time I went down there.
There is an exp cap in D1 which means a clvl 28 character can gain a maximum of 5600 exp from killing a single monster, regardless of how high the monster's base exp is. Thus, any monster in nightmare dlvl 11-16 will give you 5600 exp. On dlvl 10 you might meet Illusion Weavers who will only give you 5000. Even Toad Demons and Mud Runners give 5600 exp and they can be found on dlvl8!
What I am trying to say is, for your character Nightmare/Hell is actually a very bad place to get exp. You'll get max exp from a lot of cave monsters, and the rest will still give you decent exp. On top of that you'll have a much easier time killing them, so your exp/hour might actually be higher. Nightmare/Catacombs might even be a good choice if caves is also difficult for you.

I hope you'll agree that "I get practically no exp until I attempt Nightmare/hell" is a silly statement. I suggest you read the parts of Jarulf's Guide which describe calculating exp gains. It will give you a true understanding of how this works.

All this being said, I still believe you should follow the advise of Nystul and others to play Normal/Hell for the time being. As weakwarrior describes, this is a great way of getting better equipment and as long as you feel yours is pathetic it's probably worth improving. Just keep in mind that you don't need Obsidian/Zodiac or King's Sword of Haste to make a good warrior. Try to keep your equipment expectations reasonable. The game will be more enjoyable if you're thrilled about finding a Jade Ring the Heavens, instead of being sad because it wasn't an Obs/Zod.
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#9
Quote:All this being said, I still believe you should follow the advise of Nystul and others to play Normal/Hell for the time being. As weakwarrior describes, this is a great way of getting better equipment and as long as you feel yours is pathetic it's probably worth improving. Just keep in mind that you don't need Obsidian/Zodiac or King's Sword of Haste to make a good warrior. Try to keep your equipment expectations reasonable. The game will be more enjoyable if you're thrilled about finding a Jade Ring the Heavens, instead of being sad because it wasn't an Obs/Zod.
This should be written above Tristram Cathedral entrance.



Well, in time, you will need sword with at least 80% ToHit. And haste sword as a magekiller aswell. But definatelly not right now.
If your warrior can wear stuff bought at Gris, I suggest to do Normal/Hell runs and shopping in the same time. In dungeon, you will find a lot of items. Sell them and try to shop a bit. The worse items on you, the bigger chance you will buy something useful. Spend your money and go for another run. Your gear will improve very fast this way.

BTW:
Dont forget about books, when youre seeking for the elixirs at Adria. Read as many Healing, FW, FB, CHL, SC, TLP book you can. As for the rest, at least one of a kind is highly resomended !
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#10
don't count on finding an obsidian jewel of the zodiac, if at all, ever. this is such a rare item, i've never found one in 1.000.001 times playing, and it's not critical anyway. an obs jewel of dexterity for a warrior is fine, or any other suffix really.
if you really want to waste massive amounts of time and really get into this game, and appreciate the value of the items you find, try a 'living off the land' variant. or even the 'ultra pure' variant.
as for me, i'm playing a barbarian in D2 LoD and it's actually fun.
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#11
Quote:don't count on finding an obsidian jewel of the zodiac, if at all, ever. this is such a rare item, i've never found one in 1.000.001 times playing, and it's not critical anyway. an obs jewel of dexterity for a warrior is fine, or any other suffix really.
if you really want to waste massive amounts of time and really get into this game, and appreciate the value of the items you find, try a 'living off the land' variant. or even the 'ultra pure' variant.
as for me, i'm playing a barbarian in D2 LoD and it's actually fun.


I actually have a Classic Diablo character who is just for living off the land, it adds an extra challenge to the game. (I used to make some contests and "game modes" up when playing Diablo 2: LoD to make the game more interesting. So I'm used to these types of difficult concepts)...
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