Need more resists on my barb, what to do?

[kyluth]

I just got into hell mode with my barbarian(lvl 63) and his resists are pretty crappy. He's a frenzy barb

My resistances right now are
Cold:-16
Fire:24
Poison:-26
Lightning:16

I'm just curious about what gear i should get to help my resistances. My gear right now is decent for my level, but pretty much none of it gives me any+resistances, most of my resist comes from the natural resist skill. Here is my gear right now

-Guillahelms face
-Mahim oak curio amulet (which i plan on switching out for highlords in 2 levels, but the problem is it gives 10 to all resists and my resists will suck even more than they do now when i do...)
-Honor runeword phase blade
-Lightsabre
-raven frost ring
- IK belt/gloves
-gore rider boots
-spirit forge link mail


What's some gear that has good resist boost that would be worth replacing one of these items for? Is it worth it to put more points in natural resistance? Next point i put into it will give me +4 to all res (that's with my +skills) which is pretty crappy. Man i just dont know what to do. Funny i never had this problem with my necro or my paladin.

[mysticc]

Honestly, a better strategy is to get your gear before you make melee characters as they are really gear dependent. It's best to have it all planned out and acquired before leveling. D2 is not really a game where you just pick any class and go with it - a sorc is pretty much necessary when you start.

Anyway, you are due for a torch/anni. This should solve a lot of your resist problems.

Chains of honor or fortitude will give you some more. Fortitude is probably best.

Arreat's face is a fine choice for helm.

Stormshield can help as well as provide a lot of other defense bonuses.

Bk ring gives +1 skills, which in turn gives more resists.

And of course, Metalgrid/Maras if you need more (doubtful). Highlords gives some lightning res. +2 barb rare amulet with 15-20 to all resistances would help too.

My guess though is that a lot of this stuff might be totally out of your price range, but this is what people generally use. Like I said, it's not wise to make melee characters in D2 if you don't have the gear to support it in advance.

[hubb]

@Mysticc: He's using Frenzy, so SS is not possible. Bk is a terribly overrated ring for melee chars, he'd be much better off with a dual leech/AR rare or another Raven.

Willowisps, Hydras, Inferno and fire or lightning enchanted uniques are really the only elemental monsters/attacks you have to worry about, so the only resists that need to be maxed are fire and lightning. Spectral hit or cold-echanted packs can hurt and poison is annoying but with your HP they aren't a big problem.

Highlord's will be a step in the right direction. The AR from IK boots will definitely help you more than Gores at this stage, otherwise the fire resist and HP on Aldur's is great. Get rid of that terrible armour and make yourself Smoke, Treachery or Gloom depending on what you can afford and you should be close to maxed out The Fade on Treachery (60 all res, 15% physical resist) is also something to look at.

*Also, Hell is going to be tough at that level, so go back to NM Baal for a bit.

[mysticc]

Okay, no stormshield then (was thinking ww). Bk would still give resist. I don't think it's the best ring, but if he got a 3% for really cheap, it would give him some resists. Frankly, a good rare ring is totally out of this guy's price range I think. I feel bad for even suggesting a fort.

I think a lot of my other recommendations though are valid and aren't a waste. He can equip a fortitude almost immediately. Same with maras if he should decide that highlords isn't worth it right now.

I think you're right though about baal - get to 70 and get an anni in play. These are so important to get. The +1 skills on it will also bump your resists on top of the natural resists you get from this charm.

[Scoobydoo]

I just got into hell mode with my barbarian(lvl 63) and his resists are pretty crappy. He's a frenzy barb

My resistances right now are
Cold:-16
Fire:24
Poison:-26
Lightning:16

This is likely to get you killed often in hell games; even for a barb.

Here is my gear right now

-Guillahelms face
-Mahim oak curio amulet (which i plan on switching out for highlords in 2 levels, but the problem is it gives 10 to all resists and my resists will suck even more than they do now when i do...)
-Honor runeword phase blade
-Lightsabre
-raven frost ring
- IK belt/gloves
-gore rider boots
-spirit forge link mail

I will simply offer some advise on your non-weapon gear.

Helm: Arreat's face is pretty much an all time favorite barb helm for its skills, lifeleech, stats, and resists; plus it useful right out of lvl42, which is when most characters kill normal baal and move onto nightmare games. Try trading for one, and if you aren't picky on the def, it shouldn't cost you too much. A low ed arreats might even sell for pgems, or if you're lucky maybe even free.

Should you prefer to stick with Guil Face set helm, you can consider socketing it with an Um rune for an additional 15resist, or a 10-15resist jewel if that is cheaper or you having one laying around somewhere.

Amulet: Any +skill amulet or Barb specific ones will help increase your resist by boost the skill levels of Natural Resistance. Maras or Metal grid are popular choices for those who have access to them.

Armor: IMO, Spirit Forge simply wont cut it in Hell games. The following are three runeword type armors that I think might suit your needs. #3 should work nicely with a Frenzier.

1. Smoke (Nef + Lum) - 50resist & 20FHR.
2. LionHeart (Hel + Lum + Fal) - 30resist, stats & life.
3. Treachery (Shael + Thul + Lem) - offers Fade proc, 45IAS, 20FHR, 30cold resist.

Additionally, you can consider picking up some resist charms if you have space in your inventory to accommodate them. A low barb torch shouldn't cost you too much, and has resist & +3barb skill (which in turn enhances your Natural Resistance skill to give additional resist too).

[Spankeh]

Number one thing to get before you do anything else is get Arreats Face.
Barb Torch wont go astray either.
Treachery not bad on the cheap (rune wise) for the time being, eventually moving to Fort (for non ubers) or Chains Of Honor (for ubers)
Get Laying of Hands gloves for 4 or so pgms

[hubb]

If you want to look like a clown and do less damage the number one thing to get before you do anything else is get Arreats Face

I fixed that for you

[minuses]

Im assuming you want cheap gear and not expensive gear am I correct? If so I would go with lionheart, credendum, hlords, loh, and arreats if you can but they should be easy to get. Also put 1 point into natural resist for more resist. A low barb torch should be very cheap too. If I found a low barb torch I would just give it a way free in game since it wont get you anything anyways.

[jamesL]

do Baal's minions in NM till level 70
its actually quite fast
if you're online there's no shame in joining a bot game
he'll open a town portal to WSK 3 then you can join him fighting minions and killing Baal

you probably won't get much loot (bots grab everything instantly) but you'll level up quickly and safely

[Spankeh]

Hubb,

If he's fully built with max resists|damage reduction|Hi level (like 90)|Hi Damage weapons|Hi life| lots of +skills from items|Hits final 5fpa breakpoint|Hi life leech, then fine, dump Arreats for Guillaume's.
But he is none of those things, so Arreats is the go.