Lightning Sentry PvP/PvM

[Kikia]

1 Fire Blast
20 Shock Web
20 CB Sentry
20 Lit Sentry
20 Death Sentry


Heres the two tricky parts.. Attributes and the rest of my skills..

I hear to max shadow master or max Mind blast, but I can't pick between which I need to max. Is mind blast a 1 pointer for use in pvp, or what? I can't figure out which I should do.

Secondly, I don't know what to put my STR/DEX at, because I don't have equipment BEFORE I made the character, so I can't put "Str for equips" like everyone says.. So what are good values for STR/DEX or a possible set of gear I should be shooting for so I Know what my STR/DEX should be..

Thanks for any help

[Kikia]

Mind blast can be used in pvm and pvp equally well, but SM is only for PvM, correct? And does the stun on Mind blast work in pvp, or just knockback? If its just the knock back wouldn't it be better just to use 1 point in it?

[DukePukoze]

MB do actualy total nothing.. Just it looks visualy cool. No either knockback or so, i realy hadnt used effectively this skill yet. People say need at least 63% faster cast rate to make this skill usefull

[KaUgA]

Im making a trapper like yours right now, or shes been made, however you want to look at it. Your skills look good, but why did you max death sentry? It doesn't enhance the corpse explosion damage, if I'm correct. I'm currently going between maxing shadow master and Shock Web. I don't know what lvl you are, but get ready for hell. It sucks. I never noticed how many lightning immunes there were (Never played a lightning only char before). ROF is full of them, as is Act 2 and Act 3. I use mindblast sometimes, when there is a big crowd of monsters and I want to convert a few to act as meat shields, when the party and myself are attacking a single monster for the stun effect, and sometimes during pvp'ing. I'm pumping Vit right now. I have 1k life without doing the +20 life quests with the exception of Act3 normal. I wear dual bartucs so that gives me something like +40 str. I would say deff get these so you can wear some good equiptment. I stopped pumping str when I reached 75 and stopped pumping dex at 100 (I stopped pumping both when I reached the requirements for Bartucs so I don't know the exact value). I would say pump the hell out of Vitality, you need a ton. I have enough life that I can deal with the Souls in A5 Hell and not have a problem. I put 1 point into a Martial Arts skill, can't remember which but it increased the dmg. This was to deal with the lightning immunes, it isn't a deffinite but it helps out. I like this build because if something is lightning immune I have enough life to sit there and attack them while waiting for my merc and Shadow Master to kill them. I like having a few points in Burst of Speed so I can run fast, not required either but it's a nice addition. I have 4 or 5 points into claw mastery, which was a total loss of points. Don't put any points in here. Put some points into claw block if you are using dual claws, it helps a ton. One or two points in fade is good. I use fade when A) Dueling a Sorc B) Have to deal with the monsters in RoF who throw the elemental balls. Thats about it I think. Have fun.

PS. Pump pump pump Vitality. I can take more hits then some barbs because I have a lot of life and a block rate of 45%

US EAST *kauuga

[UndeadBehlial]

MB do actualy total nothing.. Just it looks visualy cool. No either knockback or so, i realy hadnt used effectively this skill yet. People say need at least 63% faster cast rate to make this skill usefull
Umm MB is actually incredibly effective in PvP... i have it at lvl 1, with all my +skills items its like lvl 7. I dont think i have much FCR...well actually on my second weapon slot I use a Wizspike. Regardless, when you lay traps, most chars can dodge them to an extent. MB will slow them and they'll get hit more often, and it will also stun them. However, realize for PvP many people come prepared for a Lightning Trapper and have some kind of Lightning Resist/Absorb gear. For those who dont, you should be able to kill them. Getting hit is your worst nightmare, so the stun, even for a fraction of a second, is actually incredibly useful, and it also DOES knock them back.

The only reason I wouldnt recommend more than 1 point is because you will need your points. I recommend about 8 in either Fade or Burst of Speed (I prefer BoS so I can outrun every other dueler, including a charging pally :) ). SM I have a few points in, he's a good distraction. I have about 5 pts in SM to help me when I was lvling. Max LS first, then Shock Web, because then you can have out 5 lightning sentries and lob shock webs if you feel you have the time to throw them and not get hit. It gives a 12% synergy so thats your best choice.

I'm PvP and PvM, and I do pretty well against all that isnt lightning Immune (PvM) or gets into battle fast (PvP). One thing is for sure I realized too late...put points in Dragon Talon. I know it'll take away some sunergy pts from LS, but when people and mosters arent getting killed by lightning, you cant always run away. A good Dragon talon will give you 4 kicks (about skill lvl 16 I believe, use +skill items to help, I wouldnt recommend putting in 16 actual pts, thats a lot. prolly 9-10.) and get Gore Riders or Shadowdancers. Although you'll only have a little strength, get some +str gear too. I cant recommend anything because I dont know how well off you are, but Enigma is probably the best option. Ideally each kick will get to maybe 400? dmg in your case, but keep in mind at the lvl with 4 kicks you're doind 4 right in a row so the dmg is really about 1600 total if you hit.

Any other Q's just ask.

[DukePukoze]

I think running speed is very very usefull for trapper. Its good to use even crapy mavina's belt with adds +20 % speed, ant inertia charms of course. So nobody catch me, even those stupid charging paladins, missiles, bone spears, teeths, lol and other crap. Speed = life, so .. actualy i am thinking isnt +speed % capped?

[UndeadBehlial]

I think running speed is very very usefull for trapper. Its good to use even crapy mavina's belt with adds +20 % speed, ant inertia charms of course. So nobody catch me, even those stupid charging paladins, missiles, bone spears, teeths, lol and other crap. Speed = life, so .. actualy i am thinking isnt +speed % capped?
hmm i dont believe it's capped, but eventualy when u run the game will actually lag lol. I have 29 5%FRW scs and a lvl like 13 BoS. Yeah I can out run everything, but the best part is that when i'm running to do a baal run, i can run thru packs of monsters and they dont react :)

[Kikia]

"Your skills look good, but why did you max death sentry? It doesn't enhance the corpse explosion damage, if I'm correct."

Because... its a 12 PERCENT synergy for lightning sentry? :P lol

So you guys think Mindblast is just fine with 1 point? I will probibly use more in burst of speed I suppose.

[UndeadBehlial]

i wish i knew what items you planned on using, but just know that +skills help :) and yeah 1 pt is fine

[Kikia]

I already said to make all judgements based on the fact that I dont know what items ill have.

[franzjosef]

Oh look, it's my very first post!

I, too, am thinking about making a dueling trapazin. In theory how much damage can a trapazin do? I was thinking of assembling the Ultimate Gear for the Ultimate LS trapazin and I'm near the limit of my D2:LoD knowledge. Is there such a thing as a 3 socket claw with +3 traps already on it? If so they would be Uberclaws.

If so, then I know what I want for Christmas:
2xUberclaws
6x5LD rainbow facets (to load said Uberclaws)
A bunch of trap GC
+2 skills amulet
2xNagelrings
some head gear with +2 skills, socketed with yet more rainbow facets
either big +2 skills armor with sockets OR Ormus' Robes socketed
+skills elite belt

I'm thinking I could conceivably get up to lvl 40 mastery in addition to reducing LR in opponents by up to 50%. Could this really be possible? Or is it all hopeless wishing?

[Perfectionist]

I have actually played a LightTrapper thoroughly in L1 season. She was tough the first time but lacking because I made a few mistakes. Pure light is not the way to go, build up the first level one instead of shock web. Its called Fire blast and is incredibly useful in pvm vs the light immunes. Its small AoE makes for a lacking crowd killer, but it synergizes with every skill on the trap side of the tree I believe.

Also, SM is a Godly assistant throughout the entire game. Her skill levels, if it hasn't changed, is equal to half your SM skill level +1. There's only two skills she doesn't get, Both are shadows. At slvl 20, her gear is incredible and her slvls are 11. Not extremely high, but consider this:
She has a total of 28 of the skills you can get, all at slvl11. That's over 200 additional skill points acting for you with the expense of twenty. Additionally, she's got the best AI for a minion in the game. Many times I've watched her MB a pack, then lay traps, and close in and polish off the leftovers. How smart! (She plays better than alot of people I know...)

Lastly, MB does stun in pvp. Read ANY dueling guide and you'll understand why people hate dueling sins...That's right, because of MB. Stun circles force you into recovery when you're under attack, and this means you sit while my sin crushes you. With lousy gear I could wreck alot of season one builds with my old sin.

She's (Assassins) easily the most versatile build if you hook her up right. And I want to give credit to jrichard for his incredible build about the sin. I should have done her you're way the first time. Yes, its a pvm build, but it works fantastically in pvp despite the (slightly) lower dmg.

Perf

Forgot to mention, for the SM there's a great bug to be exploited in pvp which makes her insane if you've got a point in tele... But you'll have to look that one up in another thread!

[Naliworld]

Oh look, it's my very first post!

I, too, am thinking about making a dueling trapazin. In theory how much damage can a trapazin do? I was thinking of assembling the Ultimate Gear for the Ultimate LS trapazin and I'm near the limit of my D2:LoD knowledge. Is there such a thing as a 3 socket claw with +3 traps already on it? If so they would be Uberclaws.

If so, then I know what I want for Christmas:
2xUberclaws
6x5LD rainbow facets (to load said Uberclaws)
A bunch of trap GC
+2 skills amulet
2xNagelrings
some head gear with +2 skills, socketed with yet more rainbow facets
either big +2 skills armor with sockets OR Ormus' Robes socketed
+skills elite belt

I'm thinking I could conceivably get up to lvl 40 mastery in addition to reducing LR in opponents by up to 50%. Could this really be possible? Or is it all hopeless wishing?

+% damage/-% resist on Facets and similar items(Ormus, etc.) do not work with Traps...check the FAQ (http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=538) for details.

Kikia: Without max FB, you're going to have a tough time against LIs in Hell...be sure to train a stong Merc which'll be able to kill a few monsters relatively quickly and allow DS to start a CE chain...