I'm male, 23 going on 24 yo, student in physics, pass time is diablo 2, among others. I did some closed bNet, then I did some modding (mostly Median XL), and while looking for an alternate plugy (I play on Mac, so user-switching muling is a pain), I found GoMule, which works... for vanilla diablo.
So here I'm back to D2LOD, version 1.13 something, I got the Mac RW patch to get ladder runewords working, and am starting a new life in single player !
Objectives, in the long run :
- a grail !
- have fun !
- try out funny builds !
At the moment, I got a lvl 29 summon necro, and a lvl 14 lightning sorc. :P Going slow. I went meteorb online, and... well... no fun anymore, so lightning it is, for a refreshing start. It will get a bit hard getting these two chars untwinked to any kind of MF career, but that's the challenge.
So, I'll be posting very episodically around here about my progress. Any advice is also welcome, as I never got anywhere near a grail online.
What do you think of my starter chars ? I plan on doing some Hell countess runs with my lightning sorc, hoping to get some nice mid-high runes. (I know Vex is her absolute highest limit, and Mal is the highest I'm likely to find) No other real plans, except alternating between necro and sorc, as the gameplays are very different. I hope the fishymancer (endgame, CE will be the main focus) will be able to do his MF job correctly.
So, that was my first wall of text. Talk to you soon.
Welcome, please enjoy your stay! I'd say the best starting chars are those you enjoy the most. Personally, I usually go with a Blizzard sorc, but lightning will do very well also, as is a summon necro.
Welcome, fellow Physicist! (Well, I didn't end up in Physics in my career, but that's what my degree is in)
Watch out here - there are reports of shin-kicking and wallet-stealing with new SPF members.
Good luck on your young characters. Summoner is obviously a cookie-cutter, but the lightning Sorc as an untwinked gear-getter is a bit off the beaten path. I'll be interested in hearing about your progress.
Some things you might not be aware of - 1.09 Hell Countess dropped up to Vex as her special rune drop, and that was her absolute limit - consistent with your understanding, but 1.13 Hell Countess only drops up to Ist as her special rune drop (but at a much higher rate than pre-1.13), but can also drop up to Lo as her item drop.
That lightning sorc should destroy some Countess runs (I'm making a Nova sorc for some 1.09 Countess runs specifically for that Vex you referenced) - but be careful if Corrupt Archers spawn near her - they are LI.
You might also consider a Frost Zealot, Hybrid Zon, and Lightning Trapper as those are commonly referenced as decent starter characters. I can't personally speak to their effectiveness as I've yet to actually play 1.13 (been hooked on 1.09 for almost 2 years). Lots of folks have also been making Barbs for Council runs for the runes Countess can't drop (need some gear, but not a ridiculous amount).
W00t!11 physics ! (I know, most don't end up doing physics... :( )
Little update on my progress.
Necromancer... level 30, in the crystalline passage, just saved Anya. He's no fun at the moment, no mana for CE, and slooooowww killing speed with the skeletons. It should get better when I get closer to level 50, getting those 20/20 points in RS and SM. (yay, points in SM !)
Sorceress... got her level 24 while killing diablo ! Found a +2 lightning orb. Twinked "Ancient's Pledge" from the necro to her. (btw, twinked a nice head from the sorc to the necro, with +1 SM. better than nothin')
Also falling in love with GoMule. Seperate stashes for uniques, nice rares and blues, sets, runes, and a last one for "carp items", like full rejuv's, jewels of all kinds, perfect gems...
A nice find :
Victorious War Scepter
War Scepter
One Hand Damage: 10 - 17
Durability: 56 of 70
Required Level: 18
Required Strength: 55
+150% Damage to Undead
+2 to Blessed Hammer (Paladin Only)
+4 to Mana after each Kill
Maybe my first inkling of a thought of making a hammerdin ? (I know there are much better ones out there, but hey, lvl 18 !)
Lightning sorceress. She's currently level 70.8, doing some p3 NM Mephisto runs, and going the detour of doing Pindle (gives nice XP for the time taken to kill him) and Andariel. (you never know if a SoJ is possible, and Andy is easy)
Notable finds :
A Mal rune in NM CS !
A Pul rune from NM Hellforge !
I'm close to completing most low-level sets, I have lots of uniques I'd never heard of (in the normal versions.) My arc2 HF merc was using an etheral Hawkmail, until I recently found an etheral Venom ward. Now that last armor is marvelous against Andy's poison, and Mephy's poison too. He only takes physical damage now, only needing the regular red pot, and the occasional purple. I'm considering up'ing it until I find a good merc armor.
The best MF item I found is Goldwrap, and Seleia (sorceress) is still using a jeweler's Great Helm with 3 PTopazes inside it. Her resists are terrible in Hell, and I can't really ditch the spirit sword nor the ancient's pledge for other items. She's still using Stealth, and I'm desperately hoping for a Vipermagi to drop sometime. Rhyme shield is looking my way, but the resists are needed. I can't seem to find any Monarch's yet (white or 4os, Larzuk is waiting) to get myself a proper spirit, or find a good lidless...
Anyway, Lightning is a lot of fun, even though the cast speed is a little slower than what I was used to. If I can keep 63FCR for teleport, I plan on taking up a Crescent moon, for the -35%ELR, which will boost me a long way. I get bored too fast of shopping for that Lower resist wand, so still nothing there...
I also started leveling another sorceress (going cold, lvl18), and am having some fun with some other characters (pally lvl 8 , barb lvl 5 )
lightening is a lot of fun until you are in hell without a infinity. I think a barb or HFdin or dual-tree sorc might be easier to start with. even the summon necro is relatively easy. pure lightening is really difficult when you not have good items.
Your right most of us never actually work as one. 40 years and I never got close. However, the degree will prepare you for a lot of different opportunities.
If you like smashing things beside atoms look at a barb. they can be very effective without twinking. the only untwinked character I ever finished was a 1.09 hybrid thrower barb. Way too much interest in throwing on all the neat stuff I've found over the years.
Talk to you soon.
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(I know, most don't end up doing physics... :( )
) 
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