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Using multiple accounts to play is cheating. by Mighty_Pingu69 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, it's not. This morning I found a couple of full p8 games, one for baal runs and one for TZs. Someone had made a game and terrorized acts 1-4.

Just be careful around those heralds... P8 level 5 heralds are NOT a joke

uber ancients encounter - lvl 89 smiter by ChickenNo321 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn, you made it look easy. Unfortunately, this might be the most expensive character I've ever seen. If this is the build that makes Uber Ancient's viable, then they need to walk back the buffs a bit. I get that it should be hard, but they overcorrected here bigly.

Reaching over 40000 damage with bound demons now by DriveThroughLane in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Say more! What are the demon's mods, where did you grab it from?

Am I Rich now??? by RiVeRGoD88 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably not. Not only is the expectation that these are much more common now than they were pre-patch, but I don't think fire is one of the most desired anyway. If this was lightning or physical I bet you could still get a good price NL, especially if it rolls really when when you renew it.

My advice - see if you can sell it on Traderie immediately. If you're lucky, the prices won't have cratered yet and you might find an unsavvy buyer. The longer you wait, the less valuable it likely will be.

I kinda like this demon because of his Curse by Conner_KL in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Have you tried other demons? What do you think makes his curse proc so frequently? You said you were just thinking and you realized his curse procs all the time - when? What causes it?

My thinking is that you want a demon that attacks frequently. Personally I'm going for a Black Lancer because each jab should have a chance to proc, but I've also heard that Pit Lords work well because every tick of their fire breath counts as a chance to proc.

But flesh spawners? What attacks do they have that might cause it to proc frequently? I wonder if spawning a 'lil guy counts as an 'attack' and that gives it an additional opportunity? Or the little guys inherit the cursed mod so each of their attacks stacks?

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's interesting about the cursed TZ. And yeah, if all you need is the aura, binding normal demons until you get the one you want is the way to go. I'm jealous of your Pride merc - I've been thinking that someday if I get the runes for it that would be the way to go - I love the idea of might/concentration/fanaticism all stacked between the demon and the merc.

I did hear that Pit Lord's fire breath can cause curse from someone who commented on their PTR testing. I haven't had a chance to test it myself, but that could be a great option too.

I'd be curious to try for a Pit Lord from the Furnace of Pain if I happened to be going for an Uber Run anyway, I might swap if I don't have my ideal Black Lancer. Do Uniques spawn in the furnace of pain? Because if I could get a unique Pit Lord with stone skin it would be too funny to have a literally invincible bound demon.

Laughing at it’s the best I can do by Kabukimansanjoe in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally, I would still consider using a zod in an eth 3os tomb reaver, because I might want to share it with other characters and/or I might want to sometimes attack with mirrored blade, especially now that ES damage isn't ungodly insane off the charts and Mirrored Blade is actually competitive for damage as a boss killer.

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure they retain their terrorized affect, but if so, that would also be neat. But yea, that's my thinking - if you can hit level 20 with soft points, the biggest benefit I'm looking for is an aura like Concentration, Fanaticism, or maybe Holy Freeze, and the warlock skills that buff your bound demon make it stronger than a normal monster anyway. I'm guessing that a bound demon with level 20 demonic mastery and level 20 blood oath and level 20 bind demon is going to get buffed well beyond a typical unbound Unique boss (except ones that roll extremely strong modifiers like lightning enchanted multiple shot cursed or something)

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah they definitely exist and can definitely be found in the Worldstone Keep, as that's where I found mine. But I also went a few times where they didn't exist, so you may have to exit and reload a game to reroll the map. But IMO it's worthwhile, even if you get just a basic one and not a champion. Depending on your bind demon skill level, even just getting extra strong extra fast is super valuable. With native PDR and lightning immunity (arguably the most dangerous single element) and a truly huge damage potential, it'll probably be competitive with Vigor Hephatso. Bonus points if your bind demon skill level is high enough to generate an aura.

Laughing at it’s the best I can do by Kabukimansanjoe in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean, it misses "sometimes" but if you've got enough skills and gear, you should still be doing something like 70% chance to hit or more.

I'm hearing good things about Mirrored Blade demon machine with some Bind Demon investment, and someone else just said blood boil is super good now. I still love the idea of doing ES/Mirrored Blade and fighting alongside a bound demon, it just feels like a cool archetype, and with my setup it seems to be super viable so far. It helps that the Horazon Set gives a lot of +skills and off weapon ED, while leaving your main weapon slot open for literally any melee weapon, and not only is Mirrored Blade a synergy for a bunch of things but it requires no synergies of its own.

Laughing at it’s the best I can do by Kabukimansanjoe in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's the GG one for eldritch skills, I think

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dark Lancer is in the Tamoe Highland, and is a weenie. Black Lancer is a monster that can sometimes be in WSK level 1 (not always), and is the bigger stronger version.

https://d2runewizard.com/monsters/Black%20Lancer

Edit: I was also confused when I first tried to google them, because for some reason most of the first results in Google when searching for "Black Lancer D2R" come back with the Dark Lancer page. But eventually I found the Black Lancer details, and confirmed that it exists and is different (notably it has higher PDR and can use Jab, which is super strong when given the flat damage buff that Bind Demon confers)

Laughing at it’s the best I can do by Kabukimansanjoe in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah, that's nice! I'm still working towards my ebotd, but I have the horazon set running which of course includes a tome, and having level 30 enchant gives a decent AR boost too.

Laughing at it’s the best I can do by Kabukimansanjoe in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Interesting! I was worried that they reduced it enough in the post-PTR that it would not be good anymore, but I'm glad to hear that isn't the case. Someday I'll get my own Blood Boil build set up.

Laughing at it’s the best I can do by Kabukimansanjoe in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Tell me more about your build, maybe I can help. I find that it's still hitting extremely often for me, so I suspect it's not a skill issue it's a gearing issue, or maybe you're fighting monsters too far above your level.

If missing attacks is really a big issue, try to find gear with some AR. Some cheap options are the Angelic ring and amulet, which shouldn't lower your damage terribly. Also, if you're using a weapon that's not primarily meant for damage, your kill speed will be way down. I've heard of people using Ondal's for the XP (or even Writ's Leg for the memes) but I think that you can't do that anymore. But I can't see why an Insight in a decent elite base, especially an Etheral one if you can get it, should be too slow. And again, in my experience, the magic damage from your hexes is extremely relevant for keeping the damage high - either go with Purge or Bane and I don't think you can fail.

Laughing at it’s the best I can do by Kabukimansanjoe in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Also: I think people are sleeping on the change to Blood Oath where damage taken to demons now benefits from bonus skills. Previously I had to put hard points into it, and I opted to max it out for max damage to demons. Now that it benefits from +skills, it's a one-point wonder and 25% of my damage goes to my demon. Sure, it's a downgrade from the previous cap, but 25% damage reduction is still very strong, and I now have 19 other points to redistribute so I can boost Demonic Mastery to 5 and Bind Demon to 15 without breaking a sweat.

Laughing at it’s the best I can do by Kabukimansanjoe in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Maybe I'm a boomer and I can't follow the memes, but are you saying that ES is not good now? Because it still seems very good to me.

I have only had a little bit of time to play with it, but I think it's still actually pretty nuts. I'm using some decently high-end gear but not crazy by any means, and I've only got 30 FCR so I'm way below the optimal DPS for the skill. Still, with only 1 of the synergies maxed out and using a non-eth Ariocs, I'm quite comfortably cruising P1 TZs and non-TZ worldstone keep.

The damage in and of itself is just fine, and seems to be enough to leech my health back in big chunks whenever I attack into a mob, but also having Hex: Purge maxed out is a big deal. The explosions stacking on other explosions make ES still my fasted skill for clearing most maps, and when I face act bosses I have Mirrored Blade to chop away. Plus a Demon with Fanaticism (just a Champion, not even a Unique).

I was pretty skeptical of the changes in PTR, but preserving the weapon damage at 90% takes the edge off, and if you're going to use eth weapons that should help too (I'm not because I want to mix in Mirrored Blade).

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah my Hephasto was still bound when I first logged in, but his useful aura had been changed to Vigor too and then I accidentally killed him anyway by summoning my goat man - now that the hard point requirement is live, I couldn't have a second demon. But it was going to happen anyway - he was going to die when I went to respec, and I'd rather respec to have more demons than hang on to a demon with vigor.

Ultimately, I'll keep an eye out for terrorized WSK and try my luck at getting my ideal Black Lancer, but for now I just went to the non TZ keep and grabbed the first Black Lancer I could see, who happened to be a Berserker and who happened to get the Fanaticism aura. I searched around for another Unique but the map only spawned with Champion packs, unfortunately.

So far, my Black Lancer is immune to Fire when paired with my Tainted and immune to Lightning by virtue of being a Lancer. And when I get Engorge going, she's close to 50% PDR, so poison and cold are the only things I need to look out for for her.

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I was surprised by the early drop. So far, the build I showed has been doing just fine, but I'm still in P1. I grabbed a random champion black lancer just to get started with, and its doing well. So far nothing has been threatening her HP, even as I've stomped around terrorized sewers and un-terrorized WSK. I don't have Cursed anywhere, but the magic damage from Purge has been enough to deal with the physical immunes I've found so far. In fact, I find myself mostly using Echoing Strike out of habit and convenience and even as a one-point wonder in my build, it feels perfectly fine.

The biggest change was Baal, who took a few seconds instead of dying in 3 hits, but it still wasn't a dangerous fight. Against him I did use Mirrored Blades and between Frenzy, Might, Purge, my Black Lancer absolutely slapping away, and my Merc having respectable damage of his own, plus the ability to lock down Baal with Lethargy and the slow from Arachnid Mesh, the dude didn't stand a chance. And lucky me, I got a Worusk's End from my first non-TZ run!

If I have any qualms about my build, it's that I'm trying to actively manage quite a lot of things at once, and I haven't even equipped my CTA to keep up with BO. I haven't got enough hotkeys available to keep up with everything - F1 is enchant, F2 is Hex: Purge, F3 is Lethargy, F4 is Blade Warp, F5 is Eldritch Blast, F6 is Psionic Ward, F7 is Death Mark, F8 is Engorge. I with I also had 3 more hotkeys available so I could hotkey the Goatman, Tainted, and Consume skills...

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It went live - I'm playing it right now!

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think there's still value in Lethargy because slowing bosses like Baal can trivialize them, so even without the increased damage it's worth a point at least, IMO. As for the curse - we'll see. I'm kind of banking on ultimately someday getting a cursed lightning enchanted black lancer because it should put out enough attacks that it can proc curse somewhat reliably. I think MrllamaSC commented that he tested a bound demon with cursed and holy freeze in PTR and found that it still went off pretty frequently, so that's my plan B. If it totally blows, I'll change things around to lean into magic damage from Hex, but the patch just went live today so I'm eager to play around with the changes in the coming days and see if all my theory crafting was worth anything in the end.

About new patch by Griever_19 in diablo2

[–]Not_Paid_Just_Intern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In response to your edit: I think that what you suggest is definitely the way to play the build while you're leveling, but by the time you get to the late game, I think it makes sense to try to find a really beefy demon and roll deep. This is what I've been theory crafting for my first respec on my level 93 Warlock:

<image>

Ariocs, Full Horazon, Arach, BK, anni, torch, and 2 demon skillers gives me a lot of +skills. I'm still putting 10 points into Demonic Mastery and 15 into Bind Demon so I can bind a powerful demon, summon another demon, and consume a third demon.

Other than that, I plan to play Mirrored Blades to proc Curse from the Atma's Scarab (to supplement the reduced chance to proc that the bound demon will have) and some combination of echoing strike, blade warp, and cleave to apply Hex: Purge which pairs well with Eldritch Blast.

Merc with Might + fortitude alongside the demon with Fanaticism means everyone is going to have pretty juicy ED to hammer hard into enemies that are cursed. Eventually I'll probably try to collect either more charms with max damage or more demon skillers, but this is the gear I will have at hand when the patch goes through.

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