Followup 6 - Weekend Report - Apr/25/2000

It was a particularly nice weekend, with a marathon 20 hr gaming session on Saturday. Some highlights:

- D2Beta 1.10 patch released and working well. It has toned down Amazon Multishot and Sorceress Static Field (yay)

- Saw GFrazier in channel (Blizzard rep, and wonderful informant on the Blizzard Beta Buzz Forum http), with a cool Avatar with a Blue Cape Was nice to eavesdrop and hear some more direct answers to questions met Gaile (DiiNet beta reporter who's done some great write-ups), as well as Negromancer (2nd highest HardCore character who died at around clvl 22) [Next day I saw him with a brand new lvl 21 Hardcore Necro...]

- First D2 Ironman game - was a blast, 5 person, although we went down in flames to the Countess. (Technically Bolty may still be alive - he went AFK and if he ever returned, he may have noted everyone was gone and the Countess was still alive) (Ironically, Jarulf's first IM game ever, I think. I've now added a new section on D2 IM rules :)

- 'Bone' Necro got his teeth up to slvl 7, and a +3 yew Wand for 11 teeth flying, each doing 10-12 pts dmg. The "Molar Maw" attack :P

- Pal stuck one point in 'Charge'. I figured that was sure to be useless, but actually... it worked well. You run up and whack your target, do +100% damage, and do a knockback which stuns him for about a second. Hit Zeal and get in a few more whacks, run a few steps back while he recovers and charge again. This I did on "The Smith" who normally beat the tar out of my Pal. I'm not sure he ever hit me this battle. This Pal also is forsaking Dex and going for a Trident attack. Using Might and Sacrifice, wow, he packs a monster punch.

In D2 it seems that 2H weapons may be a VERY viable option! Unlike D1, where virtually all damage came from the character str bonus, and nothing but Civerb's Cudgel multiplied TOTAL damage, it's the opposite in D2. Character dmg bonus seems tiny, and wpn dmg has a huge range, including Bardiche and Voulge which can do ten times as much damage as a dagger if found in Superior form. ALSO, there are many skills which affect the total damage, such as Might, Sacrifice, Amplify Damage. The larger weapons tend to be slower, BUT, skills like Zeal, Jab, Fend, give multiple attacks which compensate nicely. So to my great surprise, my Paladain is running around with a Fine Trident of Alacrity, and hoping to find a nice Voulge soon.

- Found the sweetest armor I've yet seen in the beta. Not only a great item, but it fit the theme and color of the character in game. (Special tnx to Llorac and Sacred-Blood for graciously letting me keep that piece of the booty). CSena, Javazon, now wears:

The Centurion
Hard Leather Armor DR 53
Rare (I think, colors are too similar to Uniques)
Replenish Life +3 (regeneration)
Reduce damage taken by 2 per hit
+25 Attack Rating, +30 Defense Rating
+15 mana, +15 life
+15 stamina
And a very deep, deep red color.

Before this game she was REALLY struggling in the tougher sections. She got hit alot and took too many swings to kill things, so her 'mana' would run out right away on jab, etc. In that game, with her armor, extra replenishing, and the "Might" aura, she was kickin' some serious tush. Her health and mana were virtually stuck on full (lost little, and regen real quick). Such a nice change.

- On Stunning... In D1 there is a 'stun' threshold, below which you have massive troubles and above which you tend to sail. In D2 there is no such stun threshold, BUT there is a point where mana regen rate equals usage rate, and life regen+steal is about same as rate you take damage. Below this point, potion consumption is just out of hand, you 'wait' frequently to regen some. Above this point, life is very vrey good. Mind you, the boss packs are still furballs, but overall resource consumption is very reasonable. Those who have played "Living Off the Land" style know what I mean - you find yourself trying to find the edge where resource usage about equals what you find. Below this point and your EXP and drops are very poor, and beyond this point it's a losing battle. On top of this, add 10% total gold loss per death, and if you're beyond that edge... you will end up with virtually broke.

Better catch up on my sleep now...

 
Charis