Where to start

[bmbeeman]

I've never really gotten anywhere in this game to be honest. All of my characters can make it through normal, but once I hit nightmare I hit a brick wall and can't kill anything. After digging through the forums I realized that i had no idea how to build a character. I've never been ab le to obtain top gear and usually grow bored of the game before I reach hell and take a break. With the coming of Diablo III I want to actually finish the game and get at least one character to level 99. I've been pouring over the forums and have identified two possible options, a summon based necro and an orb based sorc. Are there any other viable characters that can be played untwinked? Classes that I am most interested in are the Paladin and Druid.

I'm also looking into MP options. I used to play single player and on LAN with friends and used ATMA as a muling tool. From what I've seen Open B.net is full of hackers and PKers. Are there any legitimate games on Open, or do I have to go to the realms for thiat?

[mackemradge]

Hi,

You have answered your own question in your post m8. If you have no gear and need to go untwinked then a Fishymancer or OrbSorc is, IMO, a good starting point.

Pala and durid can be gear dependant (depending on build) but it is much easier to go with one of your original ideas. Personally I would go with the Fishy. I have a Lvl 85 Fishy who can solo hell with very average gear. I have gradually collected MF gear for him and he now supports my other characters with gear and tradeables.

As for other untwinked classes, have you looked at the Assa? Never tried it myself but have read of assa trap builds running through the game naked.

My advice, build a Fishymancer and run the usual MF lv85 areas, gear will drop to support all your other builds and you will find gear to trade.

Have fun and good luck. :thumbup:

[lAmebAdger]

all characters have a lot of builds which are viable untwinked, so there are plenty of choices for said paladin and druid:

-you should try a zealot, or even an even less gear-dependant elemental zealot: http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=542

-for the druid, i'd go with one of the shapeshift-melee builds, like fury druid or the fireclaws bear, both have some degree of gear-dependancy, though, so if you really want to go untwinked, get a variant of the summoner druid, follow this guy's build, if you want an example:

http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=548935&highlight=cosmo

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

A lightning sentry-fireblast trapper can go through the game untwinked. Have a look at JRichard's Untwinked trapper guide.

Also, look at the stickied threads in the single player forum. You'll see recommended builds as well as builds others have taken through hell. There are also tips about using gambling at different points in the character's "life" to get certain equipment as well as things that you can shop for that are helpful.

With a little patience and strategy most builds can work.

Oh, have a look at this thread:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=712994