Questions from a new player...

[Sardonic]

Okay, so this is my first real time getting into D2X, which has been awesome. It's been quite enjoyable so far, even though I still haven't made it past Act 1 yet on Normal, but that's neither here nor there, right? ;)

Anyway, my second admission is that I'm only playing SP right now. It turns out that my internet connection isn't that stable and there are many times that I don't have it, so I just play SP and that way I can enjoy myself on my own, which has been fun.

Okay, so right now I have two questions.

I've been browsing around these forums and GameFAQs, looking for a good starter character (obviously untwinked), and I think I decided on a Hammerdin. I want something that I can solo the game with... because there isn't really any other options. Now, I have a question, after reading the levelling guide somewhere around here, it's best to lvl to 18 in Act 2. Can I ask how in the heck a Hammerdin is supposed to get to Act 2 to level? Can I actually beat Andy at level 14ish (where I am currently) with untwinked gear?

My second question is... can someone explain to me what the whole "/players 6" thing is? I know how to do it, that's not the issue, I just don't get what it is. Is there any way that someone could let me know?

Also, I suppose I should just ask this here, is there a better untwinked build for a new person to start out with? Should I be a Concentrate Barb? A Skelemancer? These are just a few questions... thanks!

Also, as a side note, I think I would prefer to be either Barb or Pallie. Thank you in advance for all your help!

EDIT: I guess a large part of the question above is also, how the heck do you level a Hammerdin before he gets Hammer?

[Are]

The /players X function gives you more experience and more drops per monster kill. At the same time, the monsters gain more hit points and deal more damage. Most people at the Single Player Forum use /players 8 throughout Normal and Nightmare difficulties to gain levels faster during regular questing (since it eliminates the need to do leveling runs).

Most people then switch to /players 1 again for Hell difficulty (and also for Ancients, some act bosses and some areas that are particularly annoying at high players settings for certain characters; the Maggot Lair in Act II for Hammerdins/Summonmancers, for instance)

Before you get a decent-level Blessed Hammer, you should go around whacking things with a decent melee weapon :) Some of the low-level runewords, such as Steel or Malice, will do wonders.

My first character was a MeteOrb sorceress (but any sorceress should do fine). Hammerdin (although I find the build boring) and Fishymancer would also be great as starting characters. LF/FA Amazon should also work fine. Having really played any Barbarian, Assassin or Druid builds, so I can't comment on those.

Btw, you should check out the sticky threads in the Single Player Forum. Especially ATMA is a great tool for SP, since it allows you to mule off items for use by other characters.

[SnickerSnack]

To level your new hammerdin, you have to run around and kill things with the standard attack. It will be a bit slow and tedious. If you spent your early skill points correctly, then once you hit 18, you should be able to use hammers pretty much exclusively for the rest of the game.

As for Andy, you've got a point in smite, right? Just fill your belt with health, mana, and antidotes, and smite away. Or, you can get a bow with cold damage (to slow her) and run/shoot/run/shoot.

The /playersx command tells the game to behave as though there were x players in the game. So, if you use /players6, then the monsters will have health/damage/drops as though there were 6 players in the game. It's there so that you can level more easily.

The fishymancer is a very easy build to play. http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349093

I think pretty much any barbarian build will be gear dependent. It will work for normal and nightmare, but you will have a hard time in hell unless you luckily find some good weapons along the way.

EDIT: I played an untwinked trapasin through most of nightmare, and it was pretty easy. It actually got kind of boring.

[lionheartthebrave]

The /playersx command tells the game to behave as though there were x players in the game. So, if you use /players6, then the monsters will have health/damage/drops as though there were 6 players in the game. It's there so that you can level more easily.


These players count as unpartied, so /players6 simulates 6 unpartied players in the game. Unpartied players count as half a partied player

[Sardonic]

Thanks so much for your answers, guys... that was really helpful. The Hammerdin is not hard to level with the players thing set at 8. I started a new one and he's already at lvl 12, and hasn't even done the Tree and whatever that portal place is called yet. Whereas, my other one, was at lvl 14 and ready to go fight Andy.

This really helps out a lot and makes the game WAY easier to play in my opinion.

Also, thanks for pointing out those links. To be honest, that was like the only recent/stickied thread that I hadn't read yet.

You guys are awesome! :thumbup: