Starting all over again...

[cky]

Alright boys, I've quit for a year and a half, but theres just something about D2 that keeps bringing me back to it. It's my second time coming back (first being the begining of ladder). Anywho, I'm just starting again like I did before I quit, with a hammerdin. Except this time around I don't have a rich friend to lend me decent gear, so I just need a little help on a budget hammerdin.

Right now I'm wearing:
Peasent Crown
Vipermagi
Wizardspike
Steelclash
Magefist
Rare boots with 30frw, mf, resist, +dex
+3combat ammy
10fcr ring with mf and a manald for mana regen

Only things I have on me worth trading right now is a Mal that I just got from Hellforge. I read on trade forum that I can probably get a HOTO for it. But I'm a little iffy on trading it cuz it's a legit rune and I don't want to get something back that could very well dissapear.

Other than that, I was just wondering if anybody has any suggestions on how I can improve my gear with a minimal budget? Right now I'm just hoping for a 4soc shield that I can make a spirit with, which can also bring me to 125%fcr. (BTW, whats the best shield for this? sacred rondache or targe?) My biggest problem in hell right now is my block rate and defense. How much base dex should I have approximately? 90? 100?

Also, I got my hammer, concentration and blessed aim maxed, and have about 10 in holy shield. Should I max holy shield or go for vigor for more dmg? Or should I put a little in smite? But I'm doubting if I'll benefite from smiting since I don't have a very good shield anyways and my gear doesn't seem like I can run keys or anything of that sort. :sad2:

EDIT: Another question, why the hell is HoZ so expensive nowadays? The price tag on one is ridiculous, is it cuz of the emergence of hammerdins? Maybe I've just been away for too long, but multiple HRs for it still seems out of the world to me :undecided:

[MegaFlame]

First of all, keep the mal and ignore the hoto, a wiz spike is very very nice for a poor guy like you.
And when making a spirit, make it in something like sacred targe or rodache since they have the most block chance among the pal elite shields. Still they might require a ton of dexterity from you to reach max block (sorry to say but it might be 150+ dexterity we're talking about at lvl 80+). That's why some people prefer hoz which only needs about 100ish. Still, a ravenfrost would be really nice in place of that manald heal. Its "cannot be frozen" mod is just necessary.
Speaking of which skill to max next, I would say probably holy shield since defense is crucial in hell mode and you want to get 10k+ to be completely save. But if you can't (since you use spirit, vipermagi etc which have low defense) then 8k ish defense will probably be alright.
Also you might wanna get a shako, it has all the stuff you need and it's cheap as heck. Let alone the huge life/mana bonus, just the +2 skills and 50% mf chance are just worthwhile by any means.
And since I can't exactly predict the prices on all the items. Just be aggressive on trades and be patient, just make sure you can get as much of what you need with what you have.

[Evrae Altana]

EDIT: Another question, why the hell is HoZ so expensive nowadays? The price tag on one is ridiculous, is it cuz of the emergence of hammerdins? Maybe I've just been away for too long, but multiple HRs for it still seems out of the world to me It's because the HoZ is pretty hard to find, and it has an extremely high demand. Combine those two factors and you get a pretty expensive piece of equipment.

[kingdryland]

Not only hammerdins are very popular since the birth of 1.10, the new uber quest show the rise of smiters and zealots as well.

[cky]

First of all, keep the mal and ignore the hoto, a wiz spike is very very nice for a poor guy like you.
And when making a spirit, make it in something like sacred targe or rodache since they have the most block chance among the pal elite shields. Still they might require a ton of dexterity from you to reach max block (sorry to say but it might be 150+ dexterity we're talking about at lvl 80+). That's why some people prefer hoz which only needs about 100ish. Still, a ravenfrost would be really nice in place of that manald heal. Its "cannot be frozen" mod is just necessary.
Speaking of which skill to max next, I would say probably holy shield since defense is crucial in hell mode and you want to get 10k+ to be completely save. But if you can't (since you use spirit, vipermagi etc which have low defense) then 8k ish defense will probably be alright.
Also you might wanna get a shako, it has all the stuff you need and it's cheap as heck. Let alone the huge life/mana bonus, just the +2 skills and 50% mf chance are just worthwhile by any means.
And since I can't exactly predict the prices on all the items. Just be aggressive on trades and be patient, just make sure you can get as much of what you need with what you have.


Thanks for the input, I had no idea I'd need that much dex for blocking. And if I don't trade my mal what should I do with it? Also, why is lem such a popular currency?

[kingdryland]

Lem=goldfinding rune. Goldfind=gambling, gamblind=crazy rare tiaras, Crazy rare tiaras=wealth. :)

[cky]

Lem=goldfinding rune. Goldfind=gambling, gamblind=crazy rare tiaras, Crazy rare tiaras=wealth. :)

ahh, thanks :thumbsup: