I realize this game is not on GOG, but some advice would be nice anyway.

I really liked the look of the builds over on maxroll, as they spell everything out very plainly. The only thing is that the leveling guides (and maybe all the build guides there) look like they were designed for speedrunners. That is not how I play D2 (or any other game). I am a completionist who believes a game needs to be savored, whatever the context is for "savored" for a particular game. In Diablo 2's case that means thoroughly exploring each area to complete the map, as well as clearing out each area once, as well as seeing/hearing all the game's dialogue possible, preferably on each difficulty.

What I would like to know is: in anyone's opinion, can the builds on maxroll work for a longplayer like me?


https://maxroll.gg/d2/

Upgrade to Grim Dawn, and you'll never need to ask the same questions again. Which is in GOG!

Peak game of the genre. And pretty much better than D2 in every way. It's very compatible with playing full clears and the game's entirely about enjoying the ride. There's very little "repeated grind", too, until very much for top-level gear at the end... Which I suggest you just move on to another character anyway. It's about the journey to max, and not "game unlocks once you get there" like some of the other more recent ARPGs.

Thanks, but I really like Diablo 2. I just want to know if anyone thinks the builds on maxroll will work for a longplayer.

Have you tried the others? Diablo 2 is explicitly designed against your type of play. :(

I played Diablo 2 just fine with that type of play many times long ago. I'm only into single player anyway. I'm just trying to get restarted with Resurrected and I'm simply looking for a build (for each character class) that can take me through Normal and Nightmare, at least. (I'm slightly curious if I could do Hell, but it is very hard.)

It is perfectly possible to play Diablo 2 longplay, if you're playing single player. I just want to know if those builds on maxroll will work. I know you mean well, but please stop trying to convince me to play another game.

I don't think you could go wrong going with a Blessed Hammer Paladin build listed there. It's even stronger in D2 LOD compared to D2R due to holy bolt working on baal wave 2 in hell with magic immunes. Not 100% sure on ubers as I haven't tried it but I heard it works alright/good.

Edit: as for other builds it should be alright - though I don't know if they update each season for each class(in D2R), in general most builds are getting more viable each season due to buffs in items (sunder charms) and new runewords.

Thanks. I'll try one of those builds soon.

One thing more:

The leveling builds on maxroll all rely on farming the Countess repeatedly for runes in Act I on Normal. However, their description of how to best farm the Countess on another page makes the painfully obvious point that, if you're really going to do this, you need some form of teleportation or it turn into an endlessly tedious slog as you have to fight your way from the waypoint to the Countess over and over (and I'm pretty sure you only get one rune each time you kill her). How does an Act I Normal character get teleportation? I can't even recall if the Sorceress can likely access it at that time.

Bah, runes. Along with a ton of other stuff (like monster immunities), they are the worst thing that has happened to Diablo 2 with Lord of Destruction release. I honestly never really bothered with them much, mostly due to the abysmal drop rates.

As for teleportation, you can just assume Enigma runeword unless playing Sorceress. Because someone thought giving all classes access to a class defining spell was a good idea.... You aren't getting your hands on teleport until late, laaaate game with the Enigma runeword. So until Hell, you are doomed to either run the Countess on foot, or just ignore it (the better option).

The game is perfectly playable just by going through it seamlessly without grinding on Normal and Nightmare. You are going to hit a roadblock on Hell though, as everything randomly has immunities on it because reasons.

Yes, in general, the builds will work for a longplayer. Just remember you can customize them to your heart's content, and if you want a challenge, build it for the final build from the beginning.

Not 100% on all the builds of maxroll, but on icy veins, they always come with a "leveling build" and an "endgame build". I guess you do get 3 free respecs, but I try to save those for emergencies and accidental brain farts.

Most of those builds are doable with less than "top tier" drops or runewords. Keep that in mind. I recommend trying summoner necro at least once. I just used my final free respec going from bone spear to summon, just got him to level 84 yesterday. He doesn't have top tier gear at all, outside of maybe the hoto runeword (look that up).

My top advice is don't worry about meta builds so much at this point. Full clears are great, worthy of your time, and in fact that's where you get the best drops. They're also called "Walking" the difficulty like "Walking hell" or "Walking nightmare" etc.

Good luck. Enjoy it, savor it, send me a friend request if you want some more free advice. Diablo 2 is one of my favorite games, these forums are not one of my favorite places these days.

If I see the friend invite I'll accept and we can DM. Don't worry about enigma. The chances of you ever getting the runes you need without spending IRL money is very low.

Since D2:R came out, I've found exactly one Ber and zero Jahs, and you need both for Enigma.

It's easier to wrap your head around farming or trading for run speed small charms vs farming for ber and jah. Just my humble opinion.

Seriously, don't try to get an enigma. Unless you have a diablo sugar daddy that doesn't care, you'll probably never get one without grinding hundreds or thousands of hours.

I do rather prefer zy-el mod for Diablo 2 which adds and changes so much it's not even the same game anymore.

Those guides on maxroll are generic and fit pretty much any play style. Treat them as general tips for your own purpose.

Beating Countess repeatedly will give you a lot of low level runes. To make every run to her much effective you don't need teleportation (although it's a best skill to scout the surroundings) - you can use any gear with +% Faster run/walk. Playing as Barbarian you can use Leap to jump over groups of monsters.

As for teleportation: you will find it useful during Act III and V. You'll be able to purchase a Staff of Teleportation approximately at level 20 at Ormus (Act III). But you will only be able to use it starting level 24, so it wont help you much with Countess runs much as you would want to have your runes by that time.

Does the Countess drop only one rune per run? Maxroll said on single player there was a pretty good chance of more than one. Does that only apply on harder difficulties? (I am currently on Normal.)

She can drop up to 3 runes as far as I have noticed. But the Countess Farming guide on maxroll says that sometimes she can drop none, though I have never seen this.

She can drop up to 3 from her "rune" table which is separate from her regular loot table. She can also have a nodrop and not drop any runes. I've seen it in both single player and multi player, in classic, LOD, and D2:R.

She can also drop any rune in the game from her regular table in hell, iirc, but it's an incredibly small chance of getting anything higher than an Um, I believe.