Fire Summoner vs Fire Immunes

[MightyFlameboy]

Hey guys, I'm playing a Fire Summoner and currently approaching the end of Act 1 Hell.

Lvl 65. Base Dex, base energy.

Skills:
20 Fissure, 20 Volcano
1 point in Cold tree + Armaggedon (which I regretted badly)
1 Oak Sage
1 Grizzly
1 point in Vine tree
Maxing out Dire Wolves soon

Equipment:
Islestrike Twin Axe
Jalal's Mane
Que-Hegan's Wisdom
Lidless Wall + Fire Rainbow Facet
Magefist Light Gauntlets
Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth (Random, I know)
Nagelring (Can't find a better ring)
Manald Heal
Saracen's Chance

I find it kinda funny how I avoid Fallen and its compatriot like the plague, but I can take on Gargantuans like a champ. Meeting Fire Immunes seriously slow down the pace of the game alot and puts me in a very dangerous situation. Volcano's physical damage doesn't cut it since it is rather low and requires good aiming (and stupid enemy AI to stand on top of it).

What do u guys use to deal with Fire Immunes? I was thinking whether I should use Corpsemourn (because I've seen how *** Corpse Explosion can be with my Trapsin and Necromancer). I know Corpse Explosion is similar to Volcano (it's 50% fire, 50% physical, right?), but the damage is much more focused than Volcano's randomness.

Then again, I kinda like the mana boost and FCR on Que-Hegan's Wisdom. In Hell, I realize I can't just sit around waiting for spell cooldown. Suggestions would be kindly appreciated. Also, I'm playing SP so I do not have access to Ladder runewords. Thanks!

[stephan]

As a fire/summoner ideally you would be using summons.

You are a little bit under leveled for Hell and you wasted quite a few points to get Armageddon, so if you could level some in NM with higher player settings to beef up your summons (and merc) that might help.

[MightyFlameboy]

Thank you for the reply!

I'm maxing out Dire Wolves, but it seems rather lacklustre, in comparison to my fully synergized Skelemancer. They tank better than Skeletons but deal a little over 200 damage, and I can only summon 3 wolves. 200 x 3 (Wolves) vs 300+ x 11 (Skeletons) is a world of difference!

What should I use to boost my Wolves' damage without sacrificing defense and life? For instance, I'm not sure if I should invest in HoW instead of Oak Sage (which bumps my own character's life up alot which is important in Hell!). And I'm also not sure if I should sacrifice a Holy Freeze merc for perhaps a Might merc.

Should I even invest in Grizzly? Seems like its only use is to distract and tank bosses. And what's the synergy bonus given to Dire Wolves if I pump Grizzly? Life? It's not explicitly mentioned in the game.

[stephan]

Thank you for the reply!

I'm maxing out Dire Wolves, but it seems rather lacklustre, in comparison to my fully synergized Skelemancer. They tank better than Skeletons but deal a little over 200 damage, and I can only summon 3 wolves. 200 x 3 (Wolves) vs 300+ x 11 (Skeletons) is a world of difference!
I agree that a Necro summoner works better than a Druid summoner. CE and amplify damage have a lot to do with this. If you expect the same speed, you will be disappointed. A Fire/summoner IMO has a more engaging play style though.

What should I use to boost my Wolves' damage without sacrificing defense and life? For instance, I'm not sure if I should invest in HoW instead of Oak Sage (which bumps my own character's life up alot which is important in Hell!). And I'm also not sure if I should sacrifice a Holy Freeze merc for perhaps a Might merc.

Should I even invest in Grizzly? Seems like its only use is to distract and tank bosses. And what's the synergy bonus given to Dire Wolves if I pump Grizzly? Life? It's not explicitly mentioned in the game.
Spirit wolves give an AR bonus, Dire wolves give a life bonus and Grizzly gives (you're gonna like this :)) a damage bonus.

I would take the Might Merc. HoW and Oak is a personal preference because both will be the last thing you put points in and often go on suicide missions anyway.

If you like to play with summon damage numbers check this out (http://tph.tuwien.ac.at/~gottwald/druid_pet_calculator.html).

EDIT: if you play SP and still want to have some interaction with a community (MPing or trading) have a look at the Single Player forum down below and start reading the stickies. A method explained to enable ladder RWs can be found there as well.

[MightyFlameboy]

I agree that a Necro summoner works better than a Druid summoner. CE and amplify damage have a lot to do with this. If you expect the same speed, you will be disappointed. A Fire/summoner IMO has a more engaging play style though.

Hehe yeah I agree. My Skelemancer just have to stay behind his minions and the mobs will be down in no time, and he just has to spam Decrepify. I like how imperfect a Fire Summoner is, which forces u to engage the mobs to supplement the damage done by ur summons. Definitely rewarding to see my Fire Summoner grow.

Spirit wolves give an AR bonus, Dire wolves give a life bonus and Grizzly gives (you're gonna like this :)) a damage bonus.

Yes, I definitely like the sound of that. :) I guess, pumping my summons' damage is better than trying to synergize my fire damage.

I would take the Might Merc. HoW and Oak is a personal preference because both will be the last thing you put points in and often go on suicide missions anyway.

Does ur summons and even the merc himself have problems surviving if u take Might? But oh well, I'll test that out myself. :)

If you like to play with summon damage numbers check this out (http://tph.tuwien.ac.at/~gottwald/druid_pet_calculator.html).

EDIT: if you play SP and still want to have some interaction with a community (MPing or trading) have a look at the Single Player forum down below and start reading the stickies. A method explained to enable ladder RWs can be found there as well.

Wow, that is a very very useful link! Many thanks! When I feel that I'm experienced enough to join a community, I'll look into ur suggestions. Are u an SP player as well?

[VeeSe]

Also, I don't think you have enough points left after pumping grizzly to do this, but maybe you could have put a few points here instead of getting armageddon: Points in molten boulder boost volcano's physical damage, while points in fissure boost its fire damage. On my fire summoner, I have level 20 volcano, fissure, and molten boulder, and the physical/fire split on volcano is roughly 50/50. The way you have it now, volcano deals plenty of fire damage, but almost no physical. Just for your information if you decide to try in the future. For now, you should probably pump grizzly instead.