What do you pick up?

[theGrimm]

When you create a new character and play through his early career...

-When do you start bothering to check through the drops for useful items?
-What do you look for, especially in the early game?

Personally, I start right away, and I collect:
-chipped gems (not flawed, though), for possible cubing.
-green and golds. I'm not technically grailing, but I do like to keep at least one of everything. More if it could be useful. And TC 3's could be anywhere (or nowhere, it seems).
-Orbs and staves (for the money. No idea why, I could just use the ATMA bank. bad habit, I guess)
-Wands and heads, in the hope of finding white +3RS/+3SM. Or for the money (see above).
-Charms. Resistance and life charms can be useful, as can elemental damage, for future twinking.
-Runes. Heck knows why I need ANOTHER Eld. Habit.
-I struggle not to pick up gold. I could make as much gold with my necro in five minutes as I could through the whole of normal with a new char. But it hurts to leave it there...silly, huh?

[jiansonz]

When you create a new character and play through his early career...

-When do you start bothering to check through the drops for useful items?

Right off the bat. I always play untwinked. In the first act, I pick up and sell every potion I donīt use, except minor healers/stamina/antidote/thawing. After the first act, I pick up and sell everything worth at least 40 gold per inventory space, a habit I keep up all the way through the game. As I donīt repeat any areas/bosses, I feel a need to scrape up all the resources I can.

-What do you look for, especially in the early game?

* Scepters and Spiked Clubs with sockets. I know I can buy them, but that costs money..
* Useful rares, especially shields, jewelry and javelins in the first act.
* Small Charms can be end-game worth already in the first act.
* Jewels of Envy (can be nice in merc gear, to stop monster regeneration. Much easier to find in the early game than later).
* TOPAZES!!!
* Rejuve potions are always good to have in decent numbers.

[piscene]

I pick up the same as you, although I usually stop picking up gold pretty quickly...its just so hard to leave it lying there on the ground...yeah, yeah, I know its not real money, I just can't help myself.

I also pick up all rares. I have found some rares that are better than low-level uniques, so I never skip them. Even early in the game, I just can't leave them lying there and risk missing one good mod.

[theGrimm]

I always play untwinked. <snip> As I donīt repeat any areas/bosses, I feel a need to scrape up all the resources I can.

(Hijacking my own thread, here... :lol: )

What player setting do you use? I assume you sometimes need to partially redo an area when you start from a waypoint? How do you manage characters that are slightly more gear dependant? Do you use ATMA or some other way to extend the size of your stash? Weren't you going to do Duriel runs at some stage? (Sorry, unrelated question...)

[Atil]

I play Barbarians at the moment and always start them twinked with Sigon's Set and Rixot's Keen and then a Rare Maul at Level 11.

I pick up Uniques, Sets, Jewels, Charms and Gold. Lots of lovely Gold. My MF Barb easily gets horked stacks of 13000+ but I can't resist every early 3 Gold pile.

Currently ATMA has 21 million which my highest level character will soon gamble away on Amulets and Rings.

I think I need therapy.

[Hrus]

I think that jiansonz clears the whole area, then doesn't kill anything in the new game, just goes to the next area. Or if he is forced to kill something, because he is in danger, he doesn't pick up anything. Am I right? The Items from Duriel were deleted. And it's P8 Normal and NM and P1-P3 for Hell.

When I am MFing, I have at least 2x4 slot free in inventory. If I do bosses like Meph, I try to pick at least some valuable item that I sell in the next game (if no unique dropped) - like wand, staff, exceptional armor....
If I am pindling, I try to not pick up anything to spare the time.
But everytime I pick up:
>=TAL rune
rare ring,jewel, amu circlet type, sometimes dimensional blade/crystal sword, sometimes rare elite weapon of "good" type.
magic ring, amu,jewel,charm, sometimes Coronet/Tiara/Diadem/Druid Pelt.
Flawless gems
various grey items for potentional runewords.

Early in the game untwinked I look for
chippies,
all the money makers,
jewels,
TAL (for Stealth)
Gem shrines,
boots with FRW
any equip with MF

[LitmusDragon]

When playing a new character, I save every gem found and cube them up as I go. This will usually net me an extra perfect or two by the end of normal.

In normal I also pick up any rares/staves/wands and also any throwing potions. The rares/staves/wands may end up being some good twinking equipment. The throwing potions I sell to vendors.

Of course I always pick up charms and runes TAL and above.

In NM I don't pick up rares so much (except jewels/rings/amulets).

In Hell of course I pick up all rare weapons that drop except for dagger and throwing type weapons (exception: Javelins). The rare armors I will leave unless it's something that I know will sell for 35k.

In NM and above I will always pick up the blue Amulets/Rings that drop in case one of them is Fortuitous of Fortune. (A related note: damn those things are rare. I've found only two of the rings, and none of the amulets in what must be thousands of rings and amulets by now.)

As a rule I'll pick up any gold that drops. I figure that more gold is always better than less gold.

Most rare/white staffmodded items that drop I will pick up to consider for runewords or twinking. Except for the "Horned Helm" type of Barbarian helm, which looks completely ridiculous. I don't care if that thing had +3 sword mastery and +3 BO, I don't want to wear it.

[Shagsbeard]

I pick up just about every greyed out item. Getting a nice socketable with good staffmods can be daunting. I'm still looking for a +3 hydra grey with two sockets for Leaf long after my Hydra Sorc bit the dust. I twink, but not to the degree some do. I never twink in charms for example, except skillers. So I pick up and ID all charms. Jewels can surprize you too... ID those. Blue rings can have MF greater than 30%, rare, but true. I'm IDing those before leaving them on the ground. I keep any unique that has a variable stat to compare with those in my ATMA stash. I keep two of any unique item, and ethereals don't count. Some items I keep up to four, if they are commonly used in pairs (nagles, for example).

Right now, I'm picking up all blue gloves, since I need one with a +3passive mod for an amazon.

Lot's of gold items I let sit... typically weapons or armor I couldn't see myself ever using, even if upgraded to elite with nearly ideal mods. I probably miss some really nice stuff this way.

[jgreg7]

I personally love to find throwable items with low level characters, especially potions. These items take up very little space (1-2 per item), yet have a very high resale value. Anything with staffmods is also great for cash. (Except claws - I never touch any of those.) Mid-game I haul back any body armor (plate mail or better), since even non-magic armor also has relatively huge resale value.

[Baal]

I pick up almost every single item and keep what I want, and sell what I don't. I generally leave certain potions and items alone though that aren't worth selling (the profit isn't worth it and it'd be easier to kill another creature and get something better).

Generally I fill my inventory, warp back to town and sell or stash, then go back out and keep picking up drops.