Patriarch GoblinMaster

[SimontheBulletFreak]

Well, this is my third patriarch in pursuit of the goal of all character classes mat/pat. I had never played a necro before but after reading so many guides I decided to make a go of it since it didn't sound too complicated. I've always been a melee character guy. Casters frustrate me for some reason. Probably all the hot keys. So, here he is:

Patriarch GoblinMaster
lvl 78 skellymancer
max raise skeleton, skeleton mastery, corpse explosion
others distributed to amp damage, decrepify, raise mage, revive, summon resist

Stats with gear:
STR: 142
DEX: 170
VIT: 213
EN: 47
All resists at 46% in hell
life: 945 mana:818

Harlequin Crest Shako w/Ptopaz
upped Skin of the Vipermagi with a resist all 9%/-15 req jewel
Marrowwalk
Frostburn
Homunculus w/PDiamond
Arm of King Leoric w/12% resist all jewel
Raven Frost/Manald Heal
Golemlord's Amulet of Worth (+3 summoning/+3 minimum dam)
crafted belt with 7% FCR/regenerate mana 8%

Gheed's GC, +1 Curses, +1 Summon/+27 life
all other charms combined gave 131 life, 168 mana and a few odd stats

Act 2 NM Might merc with Reaper's Toll, Tal's Death Mask and Duriels' Shell

I am very glad I decided to give this character class a chance. It was hands down the easiest run through the game I've ever had. I died six times, half of which could be attributed to the bone prison on the Leoric wand shoving me into a crowd of things and a couple more due to Hell Ancients. Had to do that three times. Hellforge dropped a Mal and no drops worth mentioning on either Mephy or Baal. Not even a green breast plate.

Next up I'm thinking about trying the druid class. Anyone enthusiasts got a favorite build for a newbie?

[Derrick1001]

I just tried a maul build (around level 79 now) and it's alot of fun. I went for high def+def merc+big fast hurty weapons as the general build. Never copped out and raised his vit instead of str. either. I wanted him to be a strongman, and so he is .

Fury werewolf builds are fun I hear. I've never played one though.

[LordMay]

Congratulations on the mat. I hope you can get your other mats and that other pat.

I really enjoy playing fury wolves alot. They aren't too hard to make and dont need the best gear(mine didn't) Definetly give one a shot sometime. I don't think you will be disappointed.

[Dodgydave]

Not even a green breast plate.

Some would say that's good luck.

Next up I'm thinking about trying the druid class. Anyone enthusiasts got a favorite build for a newbie?

I found a Shockwave Maul bear quite fun. (Only druid I've made.)

As for different classes. I really enjoy my MS/Strafe zon and also the enchantress.

Congrats on the Pat BTW.

[EnerSense]

Congrats on your Pat!

[Nightfish]

Congrats.

Druids never really were my piece of pie but fury is pretty straight forward and quite fun if you have a decent weapon. You really do depend on weapon damage, though, so if you are very poor this won't be too much fun. My main beef with that build was that you basically need just two or three hotkeys. I get bored when I can't switch skills more.

[Vargas]

Congrats for the pat ^-^.

BTW, the wind druid is a good choice. You can see a great guide here
wind druid . But if you like a little more of work, you can try a bear/armageddon druid (I'm playing one ). Anyway, good luck with your next char!

[Thrawn_II]

i've taken a werebear druid to beat the game, he was only lvl 68. i beat him w/ a friend. i enjoy werewolf more tho, i like the speed. definitely get a bear summoned, they do abround a 1000 dmg when maxed, and evry skill pt adds lots of dmg. i've always stayed away from elemental, and you said you were a melee guy, you prolly wanna stay away from it. fury btw, is just like zeal (pally skill) and instead of +AR, it's +dmg. oh, and druids are by far the coolest chars, as far as what they say and everything.act3 cold merc, check them out.

basically the wb has more dmg and def. (actually fury gives the wolf mor dmg),
and the wolf has faster attack speed and attack rating.

give the werewolf build a try. its awesome. if you have any questions, i play druids all the time, so pm me.

and congrats on the 3rd pat/mat.

[SimontheBulletFreak]

Thanks for all the input folks. I believe I will be attempting a Fury druid but only one question. All the guides I have read for this build do not give a very definitive answer to the PI problem. For this necro, the answer was amp damage. Anyone?

[Artagas]

Thanks for all the input folks. I believe I will be attempting a Fury druid but only one question. All the guides I have read for this build do not give a very definitive answer to the PI problem. For this necro, the answer was amp damage. Anyone?

the shockwave-Maul build is a big, lovely, fluffy thing, that you ought to try. i tell ya.

My solution to PIs is a range merc with a double-shael Witchwild string. She either owns them down, or if it is some really high-hp nasty eventually amp damage kicks in and they get pawned (there is few who are still PI after amp-d but that is rather rare). Also it isnt hard to simply avoid them having so many tank options. (i have a point in all summons).
This solution would be frowned upon by many as your damage is signficantly better with the might merc. If you want a might merc, you will need a weapon (or weapon swap) that gives you some nice elemental damage. A partial IK set comes to mind. (Though i don't like having to put enough points into str to have 225 after mods, because vitality really counts a lot for that build, but many guides out there will advise you to wield those heavy weapons so i am sure they are not all that bad).
I am in early hell with mine, and i am way more afraid of large archer packs (since i lack blocking) than PIs.