Hi guys, I have recently started playing D2 again after a couple year hiatus thanks to a friend who is interested in playing the game for the first time. He is making a WW barb and after like an hour of trying to decide I'm going to make a WB druid. I could've made a wolf, but to be honest while the killing power of Fury is absolutely insane (I have a lvl 87 wolf) my old bear was one of my favorite characters that I ever made. Basically bears > wolves :P
Anyways enough of that. Right now for gear I'm looking at this:
Helm - Jalal's 15ias/15 resist jewel
Chest - CoH (anything better than this?)
Wpn - IK with 2 ed/15ias jewels
Wpn switch - Demon Limb for the sexy enchant (on my old bear he needed the AR)
Gloves - IK
Belt - IK
Boots - IK or Goreriders (is the 4th set bonus worth more than the mods on Gore's?)
Ring - Ravenfrost
Ring - dual leach
Ammy - Highlord's
Charms = 1 old anni, some 20 lifers with good mods here and there (resists if needed and some AR)\
Merc
Aura - Might
Helm - Vamp
Chest - Duriels upgraded or Stone
Wpn - Reaper's
Skills (almost called them talents....curse you WoW!)
20 Lycan
20 WB
20 Maul
20 HoW (again AR and damage are huge for a bear...plus I'll have BO sooo yeah)
1 Shockwave (possibly more to help get to the lvl 15 mark)
1 Grizzly
And of course all the pre-reqs that I'm to lazy to list. Any additional points would go into grizzly or dire wolf. Or I could get hunger. Is it worth the 3 or 4 points it'll take to get it?
Alright that's it so far and I think he'll come along nicely. My main question was do you guys think IK compares well to Tomb Reaver + random unique/runeword set up or are there any other wpns that really compare for a PvM mauler? I don't have an eth Tomb Reaver so the damage difference isn't quite as great, plus it's nice to have the elemental damage. With IK I'll be swinging at 7fpa and I think Reaver is 6. The fact that I can equip IK at lvl 76 is a pretty big plus too.
I spent quite a bit of time browsing through the forums and guides looking for this, but I don't think I ever saw a definitive answer. I did get a few laughs at all the Bear vs Wolf stuff though .
Anyways if you guys have any suggestions or anything like that I'm all ears. As always, thanks in advance
That gear looks pretty spot-on. Just be sure to check the TheDragoon's Wereform IAS/FHR calculator to make sure you hit the mauling speed you want with ed/ias jewels in the IK maul as opposed to shaels (actually just checked an both swing at eight frames if I plugged everything in right). Also, the IK boots make for a nice life and ar boost, so you might as well go for the forth piece of the set (this provides another set ar bonus as well). As for the socketing of the Jalal's, save yourself the trouble and expense of finding a, ahem, commonly duped ias/res jewel, just stick an um in it if you're needing the resistances. The Highlord's will provide plenty of OIAS.
Also, if you wanting to incorporate summons into the build, take a look at Safetypro's Town Dump Werebear. The gear you're planning to use is almost entirely what is recommended for the endgame in this particular guide (this is actually what made me think of pointing you in its direction).
Well with 60 non wpn ias (highlords + Ik glove bonus + ias jewel in jalal's) I hit the 7 fpa speed which is why I didn't want to go with the Um rune . I need to take a look at my resists and I might just be able to stick a 15 ias jewel in there instead.
I looked at Safetypro's guide but decided against going heavier on the summons since I'll have a friend with me (barb + BO + 2 mercs + bear + shockwave = enough safety for most situations). I liked his gear set up since it was very similar to my WB that I made years ago, but I'm gonna stick with a pure mauler for now .
That's a really great start. I really like IK, its a fun all around set for 2handers and the IK Crusher just owns. Generally if I build around 2 hand with bear I go massive leech (aka Dracs, 8% String, Gores, leech ring/raven) for survivability, however if your killing speed is good enough I highly suggest investing points in carrion vine till you get a good ~10%+ per corpse, its amazing its like getting mini juvs nonstop I highly recommend.
Thanks for the tips Jary. If I decide to swap out the set later on I'll definitely use dracs. Do you recommend Hunger for emergencies? I remember my old bear having it but I don't think I used it very often so I dunno if I want to sacrifice those 3-4 points. Oh and do you guys usually go base dex for 2 handers (or at least minimum required for gear which in this case is still base)? I'm pretty sure the AR you get is minimal compared to gear and charms, but it's been so long since I've played that I just wanted to make sure.
Nah, I wouldn't recommend Hunger for anyone... even maxed with lvl 35+ it still sux don't buy into the hype.
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my 2 cents over the years...
It can be a lot of fun, I've tried many different setups such as up'd Ribby, Stormlash/rain/SS etc, Stormlash/Dream/Dream(shield)/trangbelt/anghellics/Treachery etc (really fun with all the procs), Azurewrath/SS/Guilliames, etc.... but to tell the truth besides occasional mana recovery Hunger sucks big time in latter hell, it's leeching capabilities are talked up way too much (subpar at best) and effectiveness with high cb is talked up too much also (even with dual dreams dealing 2-3.5k elemental). Even with one frame faster attack speed I've actually tested that I kill Mephisto much faster using ordinary Maul attack, and same goes with just about every monster in the game.. it sorta got to the point where I was like "why do I even use this skill might as well invest 20 points somewhere else :P" It's all about style points, it looks really cool and its kinda fun to use interchangeably but in the end no clear advantage having both maxed maul & Hunger. Another misconception is ppl say use Hunger against mana leech souls and stuff, but problem is HUNGER COSTS MANA TO USE TOO lol, by the time you hit a monster with it and gain mana back you get struck again and are back to zero... all that time you coulda been building up charges on maul and doing real damage. sry I'm done with my rant ^.~
Haha rant all you want man. Yeah it seems that with enough leech Maul would still usually be the better bet. Especially since it costs almost no mana to use (yay cheap attacks!). I might still consider 1 point in it since I will have a few random skill points to play with. How bout the base dex?
going Base dext is more of a wolfie thing... especially if you're going Ribcracker and using anghellics.
Personally I put a lot in dexterity, a good 60-80 points 'cause since you don't hit at 4-5 fpa like wolves or FC's you want every hit to count, u can't be swinging air ^.~ Sounds funny since you dont need to block... but whatever u feel comfortable with
Don't be afraid to put a lot into it, vitality doesn't give great returns for life with Druids and most of your life comes from +life gear/charms, so my advice is don't overdo it... but dont feel stingy and hold back either. I'd say shoot for a good ~12k+ attack rating, and if you're only at ~8k say then u may wanna infest a lil more. common sense I guess but ah well :P
12k really? Even for just PvM? Hmm we'll see how it ends up. The Demon Limb on swap will help a lot so I'm sure I'll easily be around 10k. Having 50 points or so in Dex will probably help push that without sacrificing much life. I guess since I'm not pvping it's ok to sacrifice a small amount of health.
Thanks for all your help Jary. I can't wait to get this Bear into Hell!
I would put a point in Hunger. Whenever you see your red orb going down simply switch to Hunger for a few hits and you're fine. Obviously if you're like Jary and have massive life leech you should be fine anyway, but with Hunger you can wear an extra Raven, Verdungo's, possibly upped Bloodfist, and you're still fine.
Haven't tried investing extra points in Carrion Vine yet.
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