Newbie takes on D2 for the first time

[Sullla]

As T-Hawk said, faster casting equipment has very little effect on skills with a casting delay since it only speeds up the initial cast and doesn't do anything to reduce the cooldown. Each class cuts out frames of animation depending on how much fast cast gear is present, with each class having different break points to remove frames. Here's the link for Druids courtesy of the Amazon Basin:

Frames 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
Druid 0 4 10 19 30 46 68 99 163

Like all classes, even a small amount of fast cast gear makes a big difference and there are severely diminishing returns at the upper end. I would say that it's definitely worthwhile to get 20-30% faster cast for an elemental druid and then after that it's more of an open question.

[haphazard1]

Thanks, T-hawk and Sullla! Very helpful info.

Fissure is a bit confusing as to how it functions. The ability description talks about the fissures "opening under enemies" but it seems to take the form of projectiles/missiles. The damage has been quite effective so far, only act 1 normal enemies obviously but also not very many points into the skill yet either.

[T-hawk]

Fissure is indeed comprised of missiles. They spawn near the clicked spot and remain stationary during their lifetime. "Opening under enemies" is just a thematic description - mechanically it's a bunch of stationary missiles.

[haphazard1]

Managed to find some time for gaming, and completed Act 1 with my druid. The fight with Andariel was...surprisingly easy. I know Cain indicated she was weak against fire, but it was still surprising.

What is typical character progrression for the end of act 1? I have been clearing all areas, doing the optional dungeons/caves/pits/holes/etc. My druid is level 17 -- maybe he is over-leveled for this point in the story line? Or maybe fire is just that effective against Andariel? Should not complain that it wasn't terribly hard, I guess. Onward to the east and crawling through the sewers of Lut Gholein.

What amount of strength should I be targeting for my druiid? I have allocated enough points to have no issues using the armor that shows up in act 1 and all but the heaviest weapons, but of course now I see tons of gear in the act 2 merchants that needs more strength. Better armor and a better belt are certainly on the agenda, so more strength points will be needed.

[T-hawk]

17 is perfectly typical for the end of act 1. I'm usually at 19 after doing most of the act on players-5, but that's a small difference. Andariel is a great job of feeling and looking way more scary than she actually is numerically - she has only 1000 health, and her damage is poison which gives you plenty of time to react. Fissure is that effective against everything, not just Andariel.

60 strength is a baseline for almost every class, to use a 4-row plated belt and most gloves and boots. More than that isn't often needed on a caster, maybe 77 for a dusk shroud (lightest type of elite armor) with some runeword later on (although I still think you'll lose interest way before you approach hell difficulty. )

You shouldn't care about damage on a weapon for fighting for much longer. Casters want +skills, fast cast, life, mana, resists; they don't use their weapons for hitting once any damage spell hits its stride which Fissure should be doing by now.

[haphazard1]

Thanks again for the info and advice, T-hawk.

At the rate I am managing to find time for gaming, Hell difficulty is a long ways off. I am hopeful other RL things will lighten up soon-ish and allow more time, but who knows? For now, slow motion Diablo it is.

I am assuming that 60 strength target is long term for late game equipment? From what I see in the act 2 merchant shops it looks like most gear at this stage would be wearable with maybe low to mid 40s strength, which is not too far out of reach.

[T-hawk]

60 str is long term, but that equipment starts showing up in act 3 and 4 of normal difficulty, so fairly soon, not exactly late game.

BTW, you should have no points in dex or energy ever; everything after strength goes to vitality.

[superdeath]

60 str is long term, but that equipment starts showing up in act 3 and 4 of normal difficulty, so fairly soon, not exactly late game.

BTW, you should have no points in dex or energy ever; everything after strength goes to vitality.

Ever? Shit... I think i usually dump half of my points into energy and the other half into vitality when i play certain classes.

[Dp101]

Yeah, I don't get how you sustain mana without warmth without energy. Do you just constantly go back to town and get more mana potions every 30 seconds?

[haphazard1]

My druid is definitely drinking a lot of mana potions. But the casting delay on fissure is long enough that the mana orb does not empty as fast as you might think. It is definitely nothing like a lightning sorcie using charged bolt with no casting delay -- check out Sullla's electric tsunami character in the Low Rent Legion to see a mana orb drop to zero in no time.

Had some time yesterday, managed to advance my druid through a chunk of act 2. He has the Horadric staff and is set to enter the palace. The Claw Viper Temple and Fangskin were much easier than with my lightning sorcie -- the druid is not nearly as fragile and had some spirit wolves along as shields/distractions (+2 from a handy hawk helm). The Maggot Lair was a huge pain, with the narrow corridors making fissure very difficult to use and also causing traffic jams with the wolves. Lots of melee bashing in places, which was slow going.

Wish I could find some better gloves. I tried gambling a few but did not get anything useful. Still using a pair from way back in act 1. Everything else has been replaced at least twice since then.

Today's question for D2 veterans: How does weapon speed work? If I have two weapons with equal listed damage but one has fast attack speed and the other normal attack speed, does the fast weapon do more effective damage per time? While my druid's weapon damage is pretty puny compared to the damage from fissure, the long casting delay often means some melee is necessary. And tight passages like the Maggot Lair can also force him to resort to melee. So he can not ignore his weapon entirely.