KoP's Screenies & Random Rambling

[KingOfPain]

yeah, this many games for many folks makes diablo look more like a playground or toy more than just a game.

Unfortunately, Blizzard is apparently only interested in one game, that of the character editor users, mindless farmers, and item sellers. i.e. the casual grief circle.

Wow! I thought I was only being a grumpy old man and didn't say anything about it...

I thought Bliz had Really Dumped Down when they promote and perma-link to DBrunski on its official BNet interface, when they granted LlamaSC in-depth interview with the devs - both of them openly use Maphack and such, and a host of editors; who also buy/sell items online.

[Boro]

I havent even followed those people enough to know what they are using/doing. especially the buying/selling of items. Do you have any juicy sources? would be fun.

As for being grumpy old, yeah it fits me, despite probably being half your age. Although I did see people complain on PTR about it being geared towards already finished ubertweaked characters.

I don't know how to otherwise break through the ice. nothing short of a group effort to promote a different playstyle will register on the messed up blizzard forums, and I don't know what other places might be worth looking at. Youtube certainly not, since it's algorithm is made to be a lottery for anyone who isnt a weekly/daily/etc video maker that is already established with viewers.

[T-hawk]

Every game supplier gravitates towards its greediest players. The Magic the Gathering crowd figured that out 25 years ago.

Amazon Basin and Lurker Lounge are the other sites with variant D2 talk. I'm not sure how much activity they've had with Resurrected.

Buying items is really never necessary in D2. There's nothing you can't do with good-enough equipment from a reasonable amount of farming in hell areas. Your kill speed with good-enough gear will be something like 25% slower than ultimate gear. But of course everybody thinks they deserve that last 25% and that they're trash without it.

As for KOP's runeword - it's not versatile at all, but my favorite runeword in that range is Chaos, to make a Whirlwind assassin, which is one of the most fun builds there is. If you don't want that, then yeah probably Grief. Or the other option is Fortitude, which has that +300% damage that makes up a lot for builds with low damage%, particularly a whirlwind barb or bowazon or blade 'sin.

[KingOfPain]

Yea, you know the price difference between a perfect roll from a 1 less than perfect roll is night and day. They are not just looking for the last 25%. That's the same mentality for those who grinds to lvl 99 (on or off ladder). I have to plea guilty myself, in another game, I had farmed-a-lot for in-game vanity - that rare elite skin and the perfect dyes.

Chaos is considered but in reserve in the B tier because its class specific. Fortitude is still in the running, only problem is it's a melee build piece. So mostly end up as merc gear. Of course ranking high, I am still balancing it if I want absolute defence rating, and or damage reduction for HotBowBabe.

To be honest, I have never paid much attention to higher runewords, because I simply look at the runes required and move on. Why I need refreshers and suggestion.

[T-hawk]

Fortitude is physical damage but not necessarily melee - actually its best use can be for a ranged physical attacker, since those skills tend to have low damage multipliers. Bowazon, Blade Fury 'sin, throw barb.

And just make it in a dusk shroud for close-enough-to-max defense with an easy strength requirement. Archon plate if you really want although the base is scarcer to find.

[Boro]

The Amazon Basin seems to be down for good for the past six months. Lurker lounge is still there, more threads than us, but fewer content. Still I doubt it will make a noticeable enough blip for blizzard to even consider changes. I have to concede to T-Hawk here, that its just how game companies operate.

I think the bnet class forums have some potential for converting some players. they are not overly filled with traffic, so threads can stay visible long enough to be seen by many.

Finally I'm going to quote this player from a thread complaining about streamers, because it's just hilarious. (emphasis mine)

bline:

i love dbronksi and all of the crap that is written here about him or streams in general is just that, crap. Im so thankfull to dbronski for all of his guides and videos, so that i understand what i need to do to build the strongest character possible. Because thats the only thing that i want in the game, doing maximum damage and survive teleporting to baal waves.
I dont have time, nor any interest in destroying my character by wrong builds. i need not less than the optimum. And therefore engima, hoto, infinity and all the stuff is absolutly necessary

[KingOfPain]

Fortitude is physical damage but not necessarily melee - actually its best use can be for a ranged physical attacker, since those skills tend to have low damage multipliers.  Bowazon, Blade Fury 'sin, throw barb.

And just make it in a dusk shroud for close-enough-to-max defense with an easy strength requirement.  Archon plate if you really want although the base is scarcer to find.

I had only considered the ED as secondary. Now that you mention it...

That might be a nice armor for a enchanted Demon Machine build. HotBowBabe with her upgraded Demon Machine might just have enough Phy Dmg to make Fire Immune easier - not that it's a real issue atm.

As for Throw Barb, there's better way to get that extra (and maybe more) damage from armor, but at the expense of all the other bonuses Fortitude offers.

Would be lovely for Bowzons and Blade Sins... But all for the extra damage. In a perfect world, a range attacker has no need for the other bonuses.

I just can't get over the 200% Defence, plus Chilling Armor, plus Damage reduction, and Dmg Goes To Mana. Clearly huge bonuses for someone to get up close and dirty. That's an awesome piece of armor for HotBowBabe to go melee with, especially with her Defiance merc, perfect blocking and damage reduction from a Stormshield. (when HBB goes melee, Phy Dmg is only gravy) Oh so tempting!

Hmmm, maybe it's good for a variety of builds. Definitely would do this rather than a CTA.


[Boro]
LoL at quote

I have been to some public games where some of these people just melt the Baal waves in player 8. I mean melt as in I don't even see the Lister wave fully materialize before they are all killed; and by the time I load Baal, he's already dead... What is the point!?

[Boro]

exactly. Baal is the anti/climax depending on whether you fight the boss itself or the waves.

I'm playing another game, completely focused on grind, called Disgaea 5, except it's not merely grind to grind faster once the game is finished, there are culminating points to the grind (which is quick and varied enough to be bearable even for me) in the form of postgame "superbosses". It makes sense to have nutty stats there. Not so much in Diablo 2.

[T-hawk]

The damage on Fortitude is indeed the chief reason to use it. It wasn't designed that way - it's one of those cutesy ones where someone realized they could write runewords to work in both weapons and armors - the 300% ED is meant for the weapon side, but the math of the mechanics for off-weapon ED means it has even more impact on the armor side. It's an accident of design but so are half the mechanics in the game, like the entire existence of hammerdins.

Fortitude also has resists and life, those are more important than the damage reduction (7 is tiny and it's just from the Sol rune) and dmg-to-mana (that doesn't even work because mana burn is applied after it.) The defensive stats aren't anything special, plenty of others exceed 200% defense. Only the chilling armor is unique, and you can go stand in a fire to trigger it if you really want.

[Kylearan]

I thought Bliz had Really Dumped Down when they promote and perma-link to DBrunski on its official BNet interface, when they granted LlamaSC in-depth interview with the devs - both of them openly use Maphack and such, and a host of editors; who also buy/sell items online.

At least MrLlamaSC also does a lot of variant content on his streams - no skill runs, a Bradley Ultimate D2 Guide Assassin run, a pirate run (can only use items from chests), etc. Yes, of course he also has ridiculous GG items and builds, but if you're spending so much time playing and streaming one single game, I can understand that he explores all sides of the game and think it a bit unfair to hold sometimes using editors and buying items against him. In fact I like his versatility and that he's not only single-mindedly focused on one side of the game.

DBrunski on the other hand...