Online community + few beginner questions

[Var]

As I figured. Also, if it gives any credence to the advice of this thread (and the helpfulness of the members here), I was ranked 18th in my ladder around lvl 45 last night! Had to call it quits when bnet started giving me issues. Leveling up fast is easy with a good party, I must say .

I'm on U.S. east. I ask, do people do multiplayer boss/area "runs" for MFing? Because when I was Baal running, people just clicked for the loot, it wasn't very cooperative. So I'm guessing no. This leads me to ask: Do people really play online with one another, other than trading+pvp+rushing+leveling? The community seems to be very efficiency-oriented, because I couldn't find many "let's have fun and quest together" games, granted it was the first day of the ladder.

Okay, I'll broaden my question up: What are some general fun community things that people do? The whole online game can't just be PvP and getting the best gear!

[Noodle]

Var, I really like the way Single Player forum members play together. Say there's going to be a group of SP'ers doing Hell Baal runs. The custom is to take turns with the loot, so that everyone knows who has the rights to the loot on any given run. I've lucked out and gotten some good stuff dropping in MP games, and no one I've played with has ever tried to snag anything when it's not their turn. If you can get a regular group together, you may be able to set up something similar.

[royalairfarce]

Play EU, and u will rarely find any open games with cooperative play. U don't know the folks so it's a "grabbing as fast as u can" mentality with the "sorc teleport", "portal plz" etc. Take a peek at the "player matchup" sub forum if u want a party with some better behaviour.

If look at my previous ladder I have to say 95% has been trading+lvling+MFing solo. Rest partying up with some friends to MF, helping to boost. Might sound strange that u play a 10y old online game solo a lot but I have tried many other action RPG's. D2 has still big flaws but I can't find any similar fluid gameplay in any other game but D3 perhaps (but for me D3 has some serious lackings in certain area's that ruin it for me to play it for months on end).

There are not many folks around that lvl with just questing, I still like to do that though.

So chatting would be one of mine the community things to add. There is still a lot to learn about the game and other players.

[Archone]

I usually join Diarun/Baalrun games(Which fill up pretty fast) and do my runs. More players = better/more loot.



EDIT: Oh btw, I got my first tempban today! During muling ofc!
It will be a looong day without d2.

[Sigiloso]

I was just about to start a new thread and spam newbie questions about diablo 2 online but this thread is just amazing and filled up all my gaps in information i needed to get started. Thanks a lot Var for asking and Archone i tried to send you a private message but your inbox is full lol.

I am also looking for a group of friends who play diablo 2 and use skype or are trustworthy to hold some items for me while i swap to a second character or the like, i'm going to give it a shot playing on ladder this game is vast and deep.

Best regards to all.
(If you would like to party with a mega noob like me with a funny accent let me know i'm still learning my skype name is Sigiloso but i'll return to this thread to keep reading questions and answers.)

[Var]

Appreciate the continuation of advice - I might try out singleplayer, or perhaps just find a group of similar-leveled friends and have fun with them. Tough luck on the temp ban, Archone!

Glad my questions could help you too, Sigiloso! I'd take you up on your offer if I wasn't so swamped with school work at the moment! I have a feeling that you'll be able to find some friends for sure around there, though.

[Var]

Now level 72ish, and feeling great!

Another question: Can someone give me a run down of selecting a good "base" for rune words? I know it has to be a socketed non-magical item... but I'm not really sure what this means. If a item has grey text but blue modifiers below it, can you make a runeword with it? What about gold text? Also, where does one find these items without trading? I had to resort to a really bad base for an insight because I couldn't find any good polearm drops.

Also, can I have a rundown of the basic trading policy on d2? How common is trading online? Are there special trading forums that people use? The most trading I've seen is just people making games like "bring shako" or something. Seems pretty inefficient for getting the items you want.

[Noodle]

Var, if you decide to give SP a try, I can help outfit you with gear and play with you. I'm afraid I haven't really played online since the end of the first ladder of the 1.10 patch.

[Var]

Thanks Noodle -- not sure if I'll take you up on that offer just yet, since I wanna explore the whole ladder culture, but I'll keep it in mind for the future. While we're on the subject, what exactly is the appeal of single player? The mods and general ease of use? Because most of the time online is spent alone?

Other online questions still open

[Noodle]

Thanks Noodle -- not sure if I'll take you up on that offer just yet, since I wanna explore the whole ladder culture, but I'll keep it in mind for the future. While we're on the subject, what exactly is the appeal of single player? The mods and general ease of use? Because most of the time online is spent alone?

Other online questions still open

1. You can use the '/players x" command to simulate having other players in your game. This makes the monsters tougher, but also increases your rate of experience gaining, and magic finding. Very useful.

2. No realm down.

3. No temp bans.

4. If you want to repeatedly run a boss (like Hell Mephisto) for magic find reasons, you can keep the same map game after game. I've found maps where I can get to Meph in only a couple teleports, which saves a ton of time.

5. Unlimited storage of items through ATMA or GoMule.

6. No spam / ad bots

7. Secure trading by e-mail. No scams.

Like I said, I switched to SP from online play after the first season of 1.10. I've found it much more enjoyable, although of course your mileage may vary.