Back into Dii: need update.

[zbjester]

Many years ago, i used to play Diablo II LOD. And me and a buddy recently decided to start up again, we found our old CD Keys and in a few days will start playing again.

I have been surfing the forums looking for the best way to start a character. But i realized a lot has changed from 1.09.

I have been reading that the best thing to start off with is a necro or a Sorc. IS this true, if so what is the best way to build these two, keeping in mind that i dont know many skills and have no way of being rushed or easily leved (if that is still even possible.)

For the most part me and my friend are just going to be playing by ourselves. If there is anything to keep in mind when building these two characters i would appreciate it.

Also, if anyone could give em a few sentence synopsis of what has been (again, if thats even possible) would greatly appreciate it.

If all these questions have been already asked and are redily avable, i appologize, and perhaps you could point me in the right direction.

thanks guys, i have always found that the best way to learn something, is to ask those who know, So where else then the Diabloii.net forums.

thanks again ladies and gents, i hope to see you on soon.

[omgwtfbbqpwned]

I would suggest a starter character be Sorceress > Necromancer.

The Sorceress is not as +Skill dependent as the Necromancer (IMHO) and has better mobility with Teleport. First 15 levels or so are a b*tch, cuz you'll have a low mana pool, low mana regeneration, and that means you'll have to wait for it to go back up or resort to melee attacks. Additionally, it's easy to load up MF on them. Good builds include Chain Lightning + Frozen Orb, Chain Lightning + Fire Ball/Meteor, Frozen Orb + Meteor/Fire Ball, pure Blizzard, Blizzard + Chain Lightning (you'll need to max out masteries and syngeries too). Intense AOE means it's particularly good at PvM. The downside to Sorceress are they are somewhat fragile, and do degree on +Skills to get their damage up to a certain degree.

PS welcome to the forums. As for the second character, perhaps a Barbarian/Assassin/Werewolf/Pally would be good, since if the Sorceress will be teleporting around, they have enough walk/run speed to catch up to her easy and can follow her place. The Barb, WW, and Pally can offer nice support skills too.

[zbjester]

damn, you guys are quick, thanks

[prion]

synopsis of what has been changed:

1)Synergies make skills that are related add power to each other
2)Hell difficulty is a lot harder requiring the use of synergies
3)new items and runewords allow you to use skills that are not part of your skill tree. These are not required for garden-variety builds but are extremely helpful.

[Sasuke42]

My personal feeling is that its best to start out with a Necro and get him to the middle of NM just to get some items/runes/gems for a sorc when I start it. I actually just got back into the game last week, and I've soloed from normal act 1-4 with a necro on Hardcore Ladder... then again thats probably exactly why I do the necro first... I only play HC.

[zbjester]

ive read many detailed and interesting Builds. I think im going to go with Sasuke's suggestion. Build a necro. I came a cross a cool sounding build called a "fishymancer". Apparently, if built right, he can beat hell Baal naked.

Sounds good to me seeing as i have absolutely no items, in fact i haven't even started yet. (wanted to read up before, yanno do my studies)

thanks for everyones help, and i hope to see you on Bnet.

[boodah]

zbjester -

Dont be afraid to post for advice in the necro forum. Lots of people in there with tons of xperience.

I have a lvl 77 fishy and yes, a very easy and powerful build. Nothing to it and plenty of wiggle room if you make mistakes (just remember the core 3 skills - RS, SM, and CE). After that you can go in a bunch of different directions. Revives and Iron golum add alot of fun to the build IMO.

Enjoy.

[Evrae Altana]

Welcome to the forums. :wave:

*steals pants and wallet*

Either the necro or sorceress is an excellent starter character. If you prefer a more laid back battling style, go with the summon necro. If you want more in-your-face action and a faster pace, go with a sorceress.

[Rice_Farmer3]

Synergies, synergies, synergies. If you don't use them and just kinda get the skills that look alright, Diablo will stomp on you and scrape off the smudge (you) with Meat Scraper Unique Lochaber Axe.
I also heavily recommend you play through normal difficulty with something easy like a barb or pally to get the feel of the game that you might have lost from the long period of rest. If you thin you are up to it, go ahead with something like Fishymancer, or Meteorb sorc. You can find these guides in the build guide stickies in sorc and necro forums. (I'm too lazy to get the links for you :P) If you have any questions, feel free to post them in newcommer, community, or whatever class forums, they will be happily answered by the gods of D2. :)