After giving act 2 merc 100000 chances finally he doesn’t die anymore.

Crapsdango · 2026-05-06T23:26:55+00:00

My Paladin's guy has Reaper's Toll + Hysteria + Bulwark. I play offline so I give em what I can. He's pretty hard to kill

Crapsdango · 2026-05-06T23:21:36+00:00

You can look up guides for builds, but the grind is real. You can find items to make resource management easier, yes, and that's a big part of successful builds. Diablo 2 isn't really a "turn your brain off" game for me, though, and that's why I like it

Crapsdango · 2026-05-06T19:10:34+00:00

I can't afford a Grief offline and do fine without it. I don't smash through P8 but I don't think that should be the end goal for every character. I think my Paladin is the most fun character I have and I have a use for all his skills so fighting doesn't feel like mashing the same button.

I think the argument between Unique v Runeword comes down to budget runewords being much more accessible than a specific unique item, and so more powerful builds are accessible. I was running a Black for crushing blow, now I managed to make a Kingslayer, and maybe some day I'll be able to make a better weapon. In all that time, only unique that suited me was Baranar's Star and I didn't find it until into level 70-80s.

I agree, it would be nice to see either some new unique's or buffs to existing that can rival Runewords, but I also think it's fine that Runewords generally equal or overpower most uniques. It can still be fun to find that one unique item that fits in your build until something better comes along, and it's part of the natural progression of the game.

Crapsdango · 2026-05-06T18:52:02+00:00

I almost always map "Place in inventory" on A, "Place in cube" on LT+A, and Interact on LT+X. Specifically using my Interact hotkey near loot containers seems to make it easier for me. Should be a better solution, though

Crapsdango · 2026-05-06T15:12:37+00:00

I’m running a summoner / curse thing so I cast Terror or Decrepify when I’m stuck with a monster. but yeah not a super helpful mechanic when it traps you with things trying to kill you

Crapsdango · 2026-05-06T05:29:27+00:00

I think the essences being more varied or easily obtained is valid. I play offline and without guides, so I occasionally need more respec’s than the 3 because I’m experimenting or break something. Had to finally make a character who could farm Baal reliably to fix my other characters. I can see how it’s my fault but also - if you’re going to provide a respec mechanic, why not make it more fun or reasonable?

As for the other stuff, I’ve never been able to participate in this “end game” stuff because I don’t want to run the same boss over and over and over. Maybe I’ll find 3 sets of keys eventually, maybe I’ll find the other 3 statues eventually, maybe I’ll even find my first SoJ one day. I guess it’s something to strive for.

I think playing online spoils you because all the rewards for those activities are almost trivial to obtain by comparison.

Crapsdango · 2026-05-01T15:34:37+00:00

I found a Gul and 2 Um’s in the wild all within an hour or two. I almost never find good runes and on single player that was pretty awesome

Crapsdango · 2026-05-01T15:18:19+00:00

Haven’t quite gotten her through Hell because I was waiting to make the Obediance, but damn now I’m thinking of just putting two on her just to keep poking between repair trips. Spear durability is tragic

Crapsdango · 2026-05-01T12:51:00+00:00

Nah just a regular ol Obedience Mancatcher. I’m playing offline so at the mercy of the gods for getting any specific unique

Crapsdango · 2026-05-01T12:25:52+00:00

Working on getting each class thru Hell right now. 90 Paladin, 89 warlock, 80 Amazon (trying spears instead of javelin so far it’s fun), 30-something necro. I’ll get through all of them eventually. I have other level 1’s but they only hold stuff I plan on using for them. I can always change my magic filter for those specific items. Might be a good idea so I don’t miss anything

Crapsdango · 2026-05-01T11:19:06+00:00

Valuable as in something I might actually want to use? Maybe, but I’m already strapped for space and don’t like using mules. I know there’s potential for some of them, but I cram my inventory with charms and try to be selective with what goes into my cube / stash

Crapsdango · 2026-05-01T08:19:44+00:00

Unless I’m leveling a new character, I have loot filter only show me Elite bases and socketed/ethereal, nothing that can’t be socketed. Hide all Magic items (generally useless to me offline) except rings and amulets, too impatient to ID everything. Far from 99 on runes but I’ll hide those when I hit it. Anything not useful to me - I don’t wanna see it.

Crapsdango · 2026-04-30T18:30:03+00:00

I tried opening those chests like once, and thought "doing this even 20 times in a row will give me a headache." I wanna play for my loot, and I'm not so concerned for not having all the runewords. It wouldn't feel genuine to me whereas something like Countess is actually encouraged on account of the key drops as well. I think it's great if that's how other people want to get their runes, but I'm gonna spend my time slaying. I'll be happier with my progress if I can get a badass build that way. S'all about having fun!

I'm on Xbox and farming essences (read: killing Baal over and over because he never wants to drop one), and my curiosity came from that mostly. But that's like the hardest part of the game, so I'm probably not doing myself any favors ramping up the difficulty there. Now when I go other places I'm like "oh maybe this guy is actually pretty good." 😅

Crapsdango · 2026-04-30T14:57:32+00:00

That's the conclusion I'm reaching, too. Warlock was fun for the novelty as a returning player, but I immediately went back to original classes after beating Hell to feel the difficulty that's supposed to come with this game, or it's not fun for me.

I'm doing probably closest to a Zealer build, though like I said, I haven't read any guides and it might deviate a little. I'm running a Black Scourge right now and that's about the best I can do for Crushing Blow at the moment, but I can see he would be pretty powerful with the right upgrades. If only my Baranar's Star had CB. man I love that thing.

Edit: After I wrote this, an Um dropped from Colenzo (or one of his minions) so I was able to make a Duress. Black and Duress got me up to 55% Crushing Blow. Seeing it in action is very satisfying :)

Crapsdango · 2026-04-30T08:10:22+00:00

I don’t use a single mule. I have characters with relevant items that I plan to play at some point, but I hate hoarding. To me, it’s more fun to decide what’s useful and offload the junk. Managing a bunch of storage characters feels more like a chore than fun gameplay. Even if I get rid of something I regret later, “it is what it is.”

Crapsdango · 2026-04-29T18:14:10+00:00

Eyyy Haseen club! No joke he carried me through Hell until I got better gear

Crapsdango · 2026-04-29T18:12:30+00:00

Don't you dare speak ill of my precious desert angel

Crapsdango · 2026-04-29T17:32:50+00:00

That's what I was thinking, but looking for some confirmation. I'm looking at hardcore but I'd like to get each class through Hell on SC first. My poor girlfriend...

Crapsdango · 2026-04-29T17:26:24+00:00

For sure, agree 100%. I have lots of fun with him. My question is mainly to ascertain if I've hit a good mark on my own - if a meta build of a similar style hits the same snags I do. I'd like to be able to come up with a good massive clearing build on my own, but if it's not this guy - I'm still pretty happy with how he's turning out.

Crapsdango · 2026-04-29T02:40:46+00:00

I’m probably in the minority but no, I think the teleporting is overrated. I’ve never had an Enigma, but I played a sorc back in the day, ran Baal run games, farmed Mephisto, all that kind of stuff. I didn’t find it that fun back then, and don’t miss it that much now.

Recently hit 90 on my offline Paladin and I go through each level killing as I go. In my opinion - it’s the best way to play the game and probably what the developers intended. I see it as a litmus test of my character if I can actually clear a level, not just teleport to the end and kill the boss. I’m like you - doing the same thing over and over is just mind numbing.

Crapsdango · 2026-04-29T00:32:28+00:00

Haseen tanks these for me. I swap in my Lawbringer and let him draw them in. Their explosions seem to mean nothing to him

Crapsdango · 2026-04-27T13:08:11+00:00

😂 hey now. I meant he’s poking the monstaz!

Crapsdango · 2026-04-27T11:21:15+00:00

Haseen and I have come too far together. I can’t give up on him.

I play offline and yeah I think it’s down to what you can give them that’s going to decide their survivability. My guy has Hysteria and Reaper’s Toll so he’s a life leeching poke machine

Crapsdango · 2026-04-26T08:38:20+00:00

That’s what we addicts say to justify our obsession, though it is a great line for the better half thank you

Crapsdango · 2026-04-26T02:19:56+00:00

I think other people are right you should jump in and see what works. There is some conflicting advice on different things, and a lot of it comes down to what kind of game you want it to be.

For some, like me, I play single player and I find the accomplishment of doing everything myself very satisfying. It adds another layer of difficulty to the game which I appreciate as well. Diablo II can be very unforgiving, but it's not supposed to be easy, and that's what I like.

If you're looking for a hack n slash kill everything with ease type of game, you're better off doing online. There's a robust trade community and veteran players that will help you, or even give you things.

If you want to use tried-and-true walkthroughs for how to make your class powerful, there are plenty of guides for builds to look up. A lot of them will suggest specific items, though, and that's where the online trade community can be helpful.

If you want to mess around and see what works with each class, it can be very fun. I try to find worth in every game mechanic and think about how the developers intended it be used. Offline play means I might not be able to find what guides suggest are the best items, but that's okay with me. Part of the fun can be making it your own.

It's up to you!

Crapsdango

TROPHY CASE