First Melee Build

[qscwdvefzrax]

In my whole d2 playing career, the only melee char I built was a Whirlybarb, and a very sucky one at that. I have decided once again to venture forth into the melee arena with a WWFury druid. One reason for this was boredom with casters (although I will still be trying to get my hammerdin to 99), and a piece of good luck with crafting. I crafted an ammy with +2 Druid, 6 FRW, 2 LL, 29 Strength, 10 Energy, 10 Life, All Resist 8, and decided to use it.

I intend to use this build for PvM for the most part, and PvP only vs friends. Here is my theoretical build as it currently stands, and I am hoping for you to make suggestions to finish it.

Ammy ;:+2 Druid
6 FRW
2 LL
29 Strength
10 Energy
10 Life
All Resist 8

Ring1: Ravenfrost 22x,18
Ring2: BK,4% - until I have more luck crafting and get a dual leech/resist/stat ring

Armor: +2 Valor, Shael'd

Belt: Verdungos, 13/39

Boots: Treks 12/14

Helm: Jalals

Gloves: Dracs 14/7

Weapon: ???

Charms: 2x SS, 1max, 6poison
14/17 zon torch
Several (10/11)single resist/life sc


Skills Distribution:
Lycanthropy, 20
Werewolf, 20
Fury, 20
Oak Spirit, 20


Things I need help with
First and foremost, Weapon.
I have several options. Hellslayer shael'd, Windhammer shael'd, Bonehew 2x shael'd, +4 Ariocs shael'd, (z)none of the above you n00b, get something better.

2. Prebuff gear. Is it really needed for PvM where I will most likely not have time to come to town and reshift. If so, what is suggested? 2x spirit? Fleshrender + Spirit shield?

3. Resists. Looking at my gear, I will probably have to put an um in my Jalals to up my resists. And a better torch, preferably a Druid torch. Any other way to upgrade resists? Im on a budget, so anni is out of the question unless i get lucky or something.

4. FHR, related to #3. With the current equipment setup, my FHR will be 110. Should I remove the shael from my valor and put another um in it to up my resists? I will still be hitting 90 FHR which is above the bp needed for 3 frame recovery.

5. Dmg charms. Never having played melee chars before I have some general questions about charms. Max dmg charms are counted as physical dmg or magic dmg? Poison charms, do they reset damage each time the monster is hit? Are elemental charms useful, and if so, what are the best type to use?

6. Merc? Might/HF/Defiance? or other act?

7. Skills. What other skill should I max? I was thinking of perhaps feral rage or grizzly.

8. Is this a Hell viable build, or will it end up in the same humiliating position my Whirlybarb is in, as a mule gathering crappy items.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

EDIT: The goal will be to get this char to lvl 91.

[UltimateOmen]

Skills Distribution:
Lycanthropy, 20
Werewolf, 20
Fury, 20
Oak Spirit, 20

STOP RIGHT THERE!...don't max oak. Instead max the skills in this order:
1.get lycanthropy to 20
2.get ww to 10
3.max fury
4.get feral rage to 10
5.max ww
6.max feral rage

with the equipment you stated you should have about 6 +skills in oaksage as it is so you only need 1 point in oak.

[qscwdvefzrax]

STOP RIGHT THERE!...don't max oak. Instead max the skills in this order:
1.get lycanthropy to 20
2.get ww to 10
3.max fury
4.get feral rage to 10
5.max ww
6.max feral rage

with the equipment you stated you should have about 6 +skills in oaksage as it is so you only need 1 point in oak.

Ok. Those skills will be maxed at level 69. What to do with the rest of the skill points? I can still max oak at that point right?

[xpumafangx]

Resists, for cheap items that will give you a butt load of resists go with disapules full set. You will get like 20 str, 10 dex, 3 to all skills, and next to max resists in hell. I would have to say use a 2 handed weapon. Now your weapons you have are ok. But they are not all that and a bag of chips. Get a zod vex and all the runes to make a ebotd and a eth greater pole axe and make a ebotd in it. You will never need another weapon other then at one point you will kind of want a 1 handed greif. For a little p v p you want anglics rings and amulets. Hey I even use it for pvm. Well honestly since the point I was high enuff level to use anglics I started using them and never looked back. I would only use raven frosts and a bk ring if I was forced to switch amulets. Then I might use 2 ravens.

Out of all the weapons I see you have listed. I say do not use the hellslower. Its too dang slow, Other then that use the weapon with the lowest sr and dex needed. But you have to balance that with damage. If you are on ladder get a ribcracker up grade it and sheal it. Then wait till you can get a ebotd greater pole axe, or a eth 3 soct tomb reaver then put 2 40/15% ias jewels and a zod in it.

[UltimateOmen]

Ok. Those skills will be maxed at level 69. What to do with the rest of the skill points? I can still max oak at that point right?

wrong...theres 4 skills you need to eventually max...max means slvl 20...4 x 20 = 80...so you will be AT LEAST 81 before they're all maxed...at which point feel free to spend the rest of the points in whatever you want.

[Masas]

wrong...theres 4 skills you need to eventually max...max means slvl 20...4 x 20 = 80...so you will be AT LEAST 81 before they're all maxed...at which point feel free to spend the rest of the points in whatever you want.

Wrong. 81-12 (Den of Evilx3, Radamentx3, Izualx3)=69.

[Tor]

why would you put 10 points in feral rage, i use it base level with + skills and it works fine in hell, baal and cows. wasting points.

pvm i suggest you get a grizzly, it's a nice thing that can take and deal damaage adn distract all the monsters from you

one of my favorite pvm weapons is the shael/ XXX IK maul, crushing blow, crazy damage, and it hits 9/5 fpa, 2 shaels get it to 8/5 but i dont think the initial strike matters that much. wind hammer is alright, same speed, less damage IIRC

if you want to pvp with it you might consider a 1 hander with max block and dr

ebotd archon staff is the pvm ownage period :P

[UltimateOmen]

Wrong. 81-12 (Den of Evilx3, Radamentx3, Izualx3)=69.

i never was good at math :teeth:

[UltimateOmen]

why would you put 10 points in feral rage, i use it base level with + skills and it works fine in hell, baal and cows. wasting points.

pvm i suggest you get a grizzly, it's a nice thing that can take and deal damaage adn distract all the monsters from you

one of my favorite pvm weapons is the shael/ XXX IK maul, crushing blow, crazy damage, and it hits 9/5 fpa, 2 shaels get it to 8/5 but i dont think the initial strike matters that much. wind hammer is alright, same speed, less damage IIRC

if you want to pvp with it you might consider a 1 hander with max block and dr

ebotd archon staff is the pvm ownage period :P

either way he's gonna have a ton of point left over...so why not max it...might make a slight difference...and the points arent exactly wasted. :teeth:

[qscwdvefzrax]

Thanks for your replies so far. From your advice, I will try out IK Maul.

However, the rest of my questions still stand.
2. Prebuff - Spirit and Fleshrender OR Spirit and CtA
3, 4. What are the real FHR bps? I have read the guides, and they all give the same table. I have also seen posts where people talk about numbers that are not in the tables I have seen. Definitely need clarification of this before I put an Um in my valor.
5. Damage charms? I suppose I will traipse over to the stats forum for a better answer.
6. I think a HF merc will be best for me, to slow down monsters and not get hit quite so often. A might merc would be redundant, IMO, because I will (hopefully) be doing lots of damage anyways. Besides, with the new patch, switching mercs is easy.
7. Mostly I need my grizzly to be a meat shield. Looking through the skill synergies, I noticed that Dire Wolves synergize the grizzly's life. Consequently, I figure on 7 points in Dire wolves to get the grizzly to 2k life. So the final skills distribution would be :
20 ww
20 lyc
20 fury
20 oak
7 wolf
1 grizzly
the rest in Feral Rage and prereqs

Thanks again for looking.