what char would be best to start on bnet with

[snjits]

been playing D2 for few years now
mostly sp or tcp/ip with friends

types of char I like most

wind druid
tesladin
avenger
shadowsin (max dragon claw and main focus on shadow skills)

dont like playing sorc/necro/amazon
and barb is just boring

oh yea, I'd also like it to be somewhat pvp viable, but not sucking at pvm :p

[jimmah]

2 best options would be fishymancer or a mf sorc, but since you don't like them and out of those you listed, maybe tesladin is the easiest. I think the other 2 are more item dependant.

[Aldeth the Foppish Idiot]

I agree that a tesladin of those listed is probably the easiest. As stated, the others are very item dependent. Another possible idea would be a variant of the tesladin - and there's even a guide on the paladin forums for this - the telefroster. It uses both the holy freeze and holy shock auras, switching off to avoid immunities on monsters. The only downside to that build is you need a TON of skill points before he gets really good.

[snjits]

if I'd go tesladin I'd prolly get zeal as backup
so 20 in holy shcok and 20 in res light
then 20 zeal and 20 sac
or mayeb I should go zeal and try to make a dreamer of it

and I listed 4 chars, why u say the other 2 :p (dont overlook the sin :p)

[Aldeth the Foppish Idiot]

If you go tesladin, I'd recommend throwing some points into holy shield. You can get by with as little as 4 points in zeal - you get a bigger damage boost by pumping sacrifice as opposed to pumping zeal - and place about 10 points into holy shield. The enhanced defense is great by itself, but the true benefit of holy shield is increasing your block rate, which will save you a ton of dexterity points. However, while the defense is a linear progression, the chance to block has greatly diminishing returns at the higher levels. So if you want a defense build, I'd max it out, but if you only want holy shield for the improved blocking rate, something on the order of 5-10 skill points should be sufficient.

I did not comment on the assassin build, because I've never been particularly proficient with that character class. The last thing you need is advice on a character class from someone who isn't particularly good at playing that class.

The avenger is a fine build - PIs will be a joke - the problem with that is mana can be a problem. It's not that vengence costs much mana - especially if you put points into the synergies instead of the skill itself - put rather since you're doing so much elemental damage, leeching becomes impractical. If you go this route, I'd highly recommend throwing 4 points into zeal as an emergency backup to quickly leech mana back.

Finally the wind druid - very item dependent. There's a couple of decent wind druid guides on the druid forums, but all make use of very specific gear, and if you don't have the gear, you won't be dealing damage like them. We're talking +skill items that get their skill levels in the 40s. Since you're just starting off, you'll probably have skill levels in the 20s, which will greatly hurt your damage.

One word of warning regarding PvP: The only paladin that is viable in PvP is a Hammeradin. A Tesladin works great in PvM, but you'll get owned in PvP. You'll never get close enough to hit a fast teleporting sorc or necro, a hammeradin will kill you before you even get a chance to hit him, and barbarians and any weredruid will tank you because they will have more life than you, and deal more damage than you.

[muzzz]

The 'sin and windy are just too item-dependent for a first character, unless you plan to spend more time trading than killing to get the gear you need.

I think the 'sin might be doable, to some extent. But it would require a fair deal of planning in order to get the right mix of resists, speed, and plain ol' damage. Getting a good Treachery might be a start, if you can manage to hit a comfortable breakpoint with your other gear.

EDIT: Just remembered that Treachery has CtC lvl15 Venom, which I think will override whatever slvl you cast yourself once it triggers, meaning you'd still be hurting for damage. Might not be that doable after all...

[inanefedaykin]

I vote hammerdin. They're simply the best chars for building up wealth.

[helvete]

Another vote for hammerdin. They're so easy to just play melee until hammers get strong. Even a base strength build is easy as long as you rerun certain areas and gamble belts and gloves for +str items.

[snjits]

thanks for replies so far
regarding hammerdin, I tried that in SP once but didnt get it higher than lvl 18 (didnt finish act 1 with it) the mana drained too fast and since it's magic attack it doesnt leech mana does it?

anyway one more week of exams then I'll see what I do :)

[jimmah]

thanks for replies so far
regarding hammerdin, I tried that in SP once but didnt get it higher than lvl 18 (didnt finish act 1 with it) the mana drained too fast and since it's magic attack it doesnt leech mana does it?

anyway one more week of exams then I'll see what I do :)

All your mana problems disappear at lvl 27 when you can make a Insight polearm for your act 2 merc. It has meditation aura which gives insane mana reg!

Until then, just drink those mana potions!

btw, what realm are you playing on?

[snjits]

none yet :D
but will be europe

[jimmah]

If you want to play an assa I could give you 2 barctuc claws.

[Villesmerf]

One word of warning regarding PvP: The only paladin that is viable in PvP is a Hammeradin.Sorry, I do not agree. Among my duelling friends very popular and viable is smiter. Here's quick guide for cheap one:

Astreon Iron Ward (shael rune)
Cleglaw glowes
Skin of Vipermagi (upped, um/ ias jewel)
Herald of Zakarum (upped, um/ ias jewel/ HEL rune)
Guillaume's Face (um/ias jewel)
Gore Riders
Thundergod belt
Angelic Amu+Ring
Ravenfrost

Skills:
fanaticism - max
holy shield - max
smite - max
defiance - max
holy freeze -1
vigor - 1
charge - all the rest

Stats:
Str: 111 (to carry belt)
Dex: for 75% block with Holy Shield
Vita: all the rest
Ene: base (no needed)
With this gear you'll have 6fps attack speed, 83% Crushing Blow, slow target 50% and bash attack, so if you hit your opponent with charge and switch to smite (always hits in range), he is able only to watch his red pool going quickly down :evil:
Only problematic monsters in pvm are physical immunes, so you'll need invest some skill points in vengeance or get a Passion runeword (for +1 berserk). This smiter can do UberTristram, but needs LifeTap (Dracul's Grasps or necro wand with LT charges on switch).

[helvete]

Paladins? PvP? Hmmm....

FoH pala
Smiter
Charger
Zealot (the high def ones are strange beings)
Hammerdin (hit hard, but hard to hit)