THE BASIN |
VI. Game Play
VI. Game PlayOkay! Playing a Javazon, especially a Ranger, should be pretty simple, no? Throw Lightning Fury at everything that moves and watch them suffer and die? Well, not really. Even the very act of throwing your Javelin is really not as simple as it may seem: you want to maximize your killing power, and to be a mean killer you have to be very efficient. Even if you’re using Titan’s Revenge, with the huge stack and replenish, the killing power of every javelin that leaves your hand must not be wasted! Using your skillsPoke, Poke, Ouch! To execute the three melee skills you have to stand beside the enemy you want to poke, obviously. Jab is the fastest way to inflict melee damage to a single target, so this works wonders if you’re packed with stuff that ignores how much physical damage you’re inflicting. Elemental damage and crushing blow is carried by Jab, so this is the skill to use if you’re trying to kill that PI using your elemental damage javelin . . . or if you’re trying to kill that monster with insanely high HP (Izual would be a prime example) and you’re carrying Crushing Blow equipment.
While Impale is purely for variants, Fend would be the skill you’ll be using the most, unless you’re playing a variant build which relies on Jab (high elemental damage, high CB). Fend can attack multiple enemies (and so making this the best skill to use when you’re swarmed by non-PI) and has a very nice damage and AR boost to boot. When you’re closing in for a Fend, try to summon Valkyrie or Decoy (or both, ideally) next to the enemy before you actually get there. The benefit of this is twofold: one, you let either one to tank for you so that there are less enemies attacking you when you actually get there, and two, each of those entities equal one extra attack on your Fend cycle. An example is when you’re alone facing Lister, with your decoy being kicked around like a soccer ball (you cast her next to him before) and your Valky trying to hurt him (yeah, right) and your trusty merc jabbing him too. Three entities, so if you stand next to them and poke Lister, you’ll poke him four times, quickly, with the cost of 5 mana. Not as fast as Jab, true, but remember that each Fend thrust hurts a hell of a lot more. Be careful not to take on more enemies than you can comfortably handle.
Poke, Poke, Zap!Bah, too depressing really. If you really insist on using the middle part of the Javelin/Spear skills, good luck to you. Like the physical skills, you have to stand right next to the enemies to deliver your attack, so your advancing tactic should be the same. Skills like Charged Strike and Lightning Strike, however, are best delivered with the enemies behind or slightly to the side of the enemy you’re targeting, packed as tightly as possible, especially considering that each chain of LS has a ‘searching’ radius to jump from enemy to enemy. But again, good luck.
What’s that smell?I’m going to skip Lightning Bolt and Poison Javelin (their use should be straightforward - just hurl them toward stragglers) and go straight to Plague Javelin. Right now, the only use for PJ would be to stop enemy life regeneration, since the poison damage is quite pathetic. But PJ would make a great skill to use as prelude to your other attacks, like LF (although it’s rarely done) or more likely, Jab/Fend. When aiming your PJ, look for the biggest clump of enemies, of course. Before you use your PJ, know how big the poison cloud would be, and mentally estimate which area would approximately contain the most enemies. Do not count on Pierce for PJ: the overlap is nice to extend the range of the cloud, but it will only reset the poison damage timer. Do look out for potential targets beyond the initial target, however, since Pierce does help the cloud to spread somewhat faster. And as always, try to aim at a specific enemy with your javelin to allow you to leech.
I am the hand of Zerae. Ph33r me!Let me open this chapter by first telling you my foremost pet peeve: people throwing LF at non-PI single targets that you can easily reach, when there are more enemies lurking around. To reiterate, the power of LF lies on the fact that the effect multiplies with more enemies you’re aiming this at. If you notice, the listed damage on a single bolt of LF is quite low, and when you’re throwing it at single enemies, that’s all the damage (plus the physical part) you’re going to inflict!
Before I move on into the best way to deal with single enemies, let me give you this scenario: you’re faced with a clump of non-LI monsters. How would you maximize the killing power? LF works by splitting the bolt, each carrying the same damage, to all enemies around the unfortunate target, and the bolt pierces (the lightning part only) and damages all enemies behind the target. If you’re lucky enough to have the physical part of the Javelin piercing the target, and if it hits another enemy behind it, the process is repeated again. With that in mind, the best way to throw LF is to line yourself up with that enemy clump such that your javelin can hit as many enemies as possible in a straight line. The physical javelin can pierce as many as four times, so try to line up five enemies before letting go. Aside from damaging the entire pack, each physical pierce would allow you to leech as well. Don’t you want to leech from five enemies with each attack?
Special mention must be made regarding walls. If you’re lucky enough to aim such that after piercing all the enemies, the javelin hits the wall, there will be an awesome backlash of lightning energy from the wall, hitting all the enemies as well. When you’re facing a clump, which you estimate to have less than five enemies in a line, always try to aim such that your shot will end up on the wall if it pierces every enemy. This also gives rise to an interesting strategy of bouncing your shot off the wall when you’re facing a group of enemies you just refuse to tank around the corner. For example, Oblivion Knights in the Chaos Sanctuary. The wall is your best fifth enemy.
Now, to deal with non-PI single enemies. Actually, I will extend this to clusters of enemies of perhaps at most four or five. Against these, LF loses its effectiveness due to how it works. Here, you have two options: herding (discussed later) or simply approach (that's right!) and poke using your physical skills. Poking is cheaper than LF, it conserves your javelin, and you leech faster too. Don’t forget your Valkyrie or Decoy (or both) to help you if you decide to tank. Trust me, you won’t kill slower than if you’re using LF. Throwing LF against single targets are only advisable when the target is PI, running away from you, or simply refuse to come to you (and they’re too dangerous to approach . . . say, a multishot Oblivion Knight) and even then, look for walls. If you're a ranger with not much life and resists, however, please resist the impulse to tank, and instead look for more enemies so that you can herd them together, unless you're feeling confident that you can leech back faster than the enemy can damage you. In particular, never tank with a dexazon (pure dexterity) hybrid.
The alternative to the above method, if you really wish to use LF against single melee monsters (or if you’re ill-suited to handle the rigors of tanking those enemies) is using a technique we call herding, termed such because this is very often used in the Secret Cow Level. The idea behind herding is leading stragglers and clusters to larger clusters (that you know exists - you’re sure to find large clusters in Moo Moo Farm) so that you can LF them altogether. You’ll need to pace yourself carefully when you’re herding: attract their attention, let them chase you, don’t be too slow that they catch up with you and chop you into bits, but don’t be too fast and make them bored. When they start to wander off, approach them until they are attracted again, then retreat again, until you get the clusters to coalesce. Just be careful at all times not to get yourself swarmed! The technique of herding can be used as well to get your enemies to follow you in the straight line, therefore achieving a line of five enemies (the prime target for your LF). Note that herding will never, ever work against ranged enemies, so in those cases, you’re supposed to chase them instead. Decoys and Valkyries, placed in strategic points, can also be used to herd. See below section for more information on what I mean. Your typical gaming strategySo, combining all those above, you would normally use your ranged attacks against non-LI packs and physical for all others. Of course, if you have ranged support, you might choose to bury yourself in the packs more. For a LF tanker, for example, my usual strategy is to weaken the enemies with PJ and LF from afar, summon Decoy and Valk to group them together and lead them away from you, and if necessary, chase down and poke the stragglers. Against a high HP mob (such as a special enemy pack) plop a Decoy, throw a couple LF, then a PJ while I dive in to tank. If you have ranged enemies, or enemies such as Leapers, be prepared to poke or throw LF depending on the situation. Also, don’t forget to herd when the opportunity arises. But above all, be flexible. Herding ExampleThe following series of pictures illustrates a way to herd the enemies. Your objective in herding the enemies is to make them group together such that they can be demolished using your mass-killing skills. In this case, Lightning Fury.
Since one picture worths a thousand words, I hope I've made enough words to make my grade school English teacher proud. Conquering the gameOkay! Now that you’ve read those descriptions, you can’t wait to make your own Javazon! Where should you start? Well, all things start in the Rogue Encampment, or at least, that’s how it is in the Diablo II world. In the following section, I will not go through the storyline, of course, since the quests are fairly straightforward. Normal Difficulty (all destinies begin this way . . .)The Normal Difficulty is relatively easy if you’re a Javazon. The enemies won’t hit you too badly, they have no immunities, and they have mostly manageable life points. Your shield should block most attacks, and there are no penalties for resistances. Mana is not a big problem at this point, since your primary skills require so little mana anyway, and poking normally with your javelin would usually result in painful death for your enemies. The strategy is almost the same for melee and ranger Javazons, since rangers will usually be developed well around level 40. It can be argued, even, that ranger Javazons would have a harder time starting out if they eschew melee fighting early in their life. Act 1 - This is your introduction to Diablo II. A nice Fire Resistance would help in most parts in Act 1. Most of the enemies in this act are puny and easily killed. Fallen Shamans can be annoying at first, but they can be pretty easily disposed. In later parts of Act 1, you’ll get a preview of some enemies you’re going to face later: spiders, rat men, fire-using vampires, and lightning beasts. Your starting javelin should take you a long way, especially if you’re starting to use Critical Strike and Jab, but consider buying a nice magical pilum from Gheed or Charsi (or if you feel really lucky, gamble one), which would give you nice damage boost. Depending on how thoroughly you play it, you should be between levels 12-18 when you finally arrive at Catacombs Level 4, although I certainly recommend level 14 to finish up Act 1. Lightning Bolt and Poison Javelin helps to kill stragglers, but you’ll mostly Jab your way through this act. Andariel - This is your Act Boss. Pretty imposing lady, with four extra appendages, and clothing that looked like it belongs more in a soft core porn movie than a hack-and-slash RPG game. Where was I? Oh yes, Andariel. There are three major attacks that she can use against you, two of them poison based. Her Poison Strike will poison the enemy facing her, and her Poison Cloud spreads out before her, damaging all enemies in an arc. Her third attack is a quite painful melee. Despite this, she shouldn’t be a real problem to you. Throwing Lightning Bolts while letting her chase you is feasible, but keep in mind that she has 50% LR. I usually just stand beside her and jab away. Leech helps in this case. Carry some antidote potions and quaff them when the poison gets thick. She has -50% FR, but unfortunately you don’t have too many things you can use to take advantage of this.
Act 2 - Fresh off the confrontation with Andariel, you travel to the deserts of Lut Gholein. The deserts feature many physically resistant enemies as well as enemies which you cannot leech from, but at this point that shouldn’t pose any problems for you. Watch out for Greater Mummies (who can resurrect their lesser brethrens) and try your best to kill them first. If you have anything that adds cold damage, use them, since shattered corpses cannot be resurrected. Arcane Sanctuary and Canyon of the Magi should be great places to level up in this area. Aim to have level 21-24 by the time you’re done with this act. You get Plague Javelin to help out here, but you’ll be in much better shape if you have access to your level 24 skills. Duriel - Often called "the bug" (or little D, or even 'Betty') this act boss is the bane for ranged attackers, and basically a major PITA. He has Holy Freeze aura (which cannot be nullified even with CBF) and very nasty stunning melee attacks, as well as deadly charge attack. A Javazon shouldn’t have too much trouble with him, however. Your shield should help to reduce hits (high blocking helps) and to prevent him from charging, try to be in melee range whenever possible. Your merc can help you take hits, but you might have to resurrect him/her several times. Just Jab him until he’s dead, basically. If you hug the wall, Duriel will not charge you and will use normal attacks instead, but doing so might deprive you of breathing space when you need it.
Act 3 - This is a very expansive Act, as there is a vast jungle that lies between the docks and the ruined city of Kurast. Don’t get lost! The area should be more manageable once you get to Kurast, though. There is a slew of new threats in this area. The rat men are back with a vengeance, with their Inferno-breathing shamans who can roast you in seconds. Be very wary of shaman packs like Endugu’s! Corrupted Zakarum priests can drown you in a hail of Blizzard as well as healing each other, so again, be wary against them (and be very wary against packs of them). And watch out for undead rat men dolls. These monstrosities will explode when killed, damaging everything within melee range. The explosion strength depends on their HP, scales with more players in the game, and is affected by auras. One good doll explosion can instantly kill any character, no matter how much HP she may have. Doll explosion is among the top killers of melee characters. By this point, you may have access to Fend to help you when you’re swarmed, as well as Decoy to take hits and to scout, so it’s not that bad. Potentially hazardous areas: Kurast Bazaar (the Ruined Temple, where you’re often faced with a swarm of melee enemies), Travincal (council members, Zakarum priests, vampires) and Durance of Hate level 3 (discussed below). Aim to have levels 24-28 by the time you set foot on Durance 3. As for equipment, Pilums would do, or Short Spears if you want more power, but you can start gambling Throwing Spears depending on your level, and these should be superior to Pilums. Glaives aren’t fast, but they hit hard, so that’s another option. Mephisto and Durance of Hate level 3 - the first of the prime evils. Actually, he’s not terribly hard compared to some other enemies you may encounter in Durance 3. Aside from doll packs, your primary threat should be the pack of Council Members guarding the arch to Mephisto’s lair, led by the infamous Bremm Sparkfist. Bremm is always Fire Enchanted and has the Conviction aura. Conviction lowers your resists and defense, making you more vulnerable to attacks. Try to fight this pack without Blood Lords (vampires) around - meteors and firewalls can really hurt when you’re convicted! Watch out for hydras (cast by the Council Members). Use Decoy to tank and to lure enemies so that you can fight them one by one instead of altogether. Once Bremm is dead, you just have to fight one more unique Council Member to get to Mephisto. Mephisto has five attacks: regular melee, poison cloud, ice ball (part cold, part physical - can really hurt, but is blockable and avoidable), lightning and charged bolts. He’s relatively easy, however. Just poke him.
Act 4 - this is a fairly short but brutal act. You start in Pandemonium Fortress, the last bastion of Heaven in Hell. By this time, you should be nearing level 30. You can start buying Throwing Spears from the vendor. There are a couple nasty enemies in this act, but Abyss Knights should especially present quite a problem with their ranged elemental attacks if your resists are weak. Use the combination of physical attacks and ranged (Lightning Bolt and Plague Javelin should work nicely, coupled with Decoy) to counter these. Hephasto the Armorer (Extra Strong, Conviction) resides in River of Flame, and he can quickly chop you up if you’re not careful, so beware. Diablo and the Chaos Sanctuary - the namesake of this game resides within the Chaos Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is the hardest part of the game, although bowazon players would likely to disagree. Anyway, you’ll be presented with the usual mix of enemies, with one deadly addition: Oblivion Knights, which not only wield ranged elemental missiles but able to curse you as well. Watch out for Iron Maiden curse: this returns physical damage to you, so use ranged attacks when cursed this way. Some possible curses: Amp Damage, Weaken, Iron Maiden, Decrepify, Life Tap, and Lower Resist. See the Arreat Summit (Necromancer curses) for description and picture of each curse. Special mention must be made for Lord de Seis’ Oblivion Knight pack, which will always spawn with Fanaticism and Extra Strong. The mods aren’t particularly useful for Oblivion Knights, but treat them as you would treat any group of Oblivion Knights. Diablo himself will be a real pain to kill. He has insanely high defense rating, as well as blocking. In addition, he can attempt to cast Bone Prison on you or your town portal, and he has two deadly attacks: lightning breath (mix of lightning, fire and maybe a little physical) as well as firestorm (which deals an incredible amount of fire damage). These two attacks are avoidable if you’re fighting him from point black range, however. He can cast fire ring and firewall too. Magic Damage Reduction and high Fire/Lightning resists help here, but expect a long battle since your physical attacks will only very rarely connect. Lightning Bolt will be helpful in sinking your javelin. If you have access to level 30 skills, Valkyrie would help you to take some damage.
Act 5 - your journey ends with Diablo if you’re not playing the expansion pack, but otherwise, Tyrael will escort you to the icy town of Harrogath. This is a fairly long but easy act, and this is where you finally have access to all your skills and begin maturing them. You can buy a lot of good weapons from the vendors here. The monsters are all new, they’re quite deadly, but special mention must be made about the Minotaurs, who hit hard and fast, especially when they are frenzied. The snow version of the huge beasts that you first encounter in Act 1 can be pretty nasty as well. By the time you end, you should be on the early 40s. There are three special areas of challenge in Act 5: Nihlathak - the rogue necromancer resides in the Halls of Anguish, surrounded by the pig monsters. What makes him so feared is the ability to do Corpse Explosions, and just like the Necromancer skill, it explodes the corpse for the damage equal to the corpse’s HP. This may amount to a lot . . . but thankfully it doesn’t scale in multiplayer. Still, be prepared to take significant damage. The explosion is part fire and part physical in characteristic. Before taking on Nihlathak, lead his ammo away from him, finish them, and then come back for the Necromancer. Or use your Decoy and Valk wisely and let him blow them to smithereens. He can teleport, though, so be careful when chasing him, and take care not to chase him into a fresh minefield. At higher difficulty levels, high level CE means increasing radius of effect, so don't be surprised if he managed to kill you before you are even aware of him. The Ancients - the three Barbarians guard the entrance to the Worldstone Keep, and while defeating them may grant you significant boost in experience, they’re very hard. Talic specializes in Whirlwind, Korlic in Leap Attack, and Madawc in both Double Throw and Shout. Each of them might not present significant problem, but put three of them together, and you’ll get quite a nightmare. Lightning Fury doesn’t work that well with three of them, so just use your physical skills. At higher difficulties, they may get additional mods as well, and they may simply be unkillable then - but worry about that later. Baal and the Throne of Destruction - the last of the prime evils hide behind his minions in the Throne of Destruction, beneath the Worldstone Keep. You must defeat everything before you can get to him. By this time, if you have Lightning Fury, use them to quickly clear the five boss packs that Baal will throw at you. Always cast Decoy and Valkyrie by the throne to take the first hits. The first pack would be Warped Shamans led by Colenzo the Annihilator (Fire Enchanted), which should be no problem. Second pack consists of Unravellers lead by Achmel the Cursed (Poison Immune) and Bone Magi (ice) which should be cleared pretty easily by Lightning Fury - watch out, however, for Achmel has a very nasty poison attack that would drain your life very quickly - save an antidote pot or warp back to town to heal, for your next enemy would be: a pack of Council Members, led by Bartuc the Bloody (Lightning Enchanted). Fight them the way you fight Bremm’s pack, or lead them away from the throne room if you can’t fight them (Baal will summon the next wave of minions if you lead them away). If you survive Bartuc, the next pack will feature Venom Lords, lead by Ventar the Unholy (Extra Fast) - this is a very similar fight to Infector of Souls back in the Chaos Sanctuary. And for the final pack . . . featuring the lag-o-riffic Lister the Tormentor and the Minions of Destruction. They’re strong, they’re fast, they’re insanely tough, they stun, and Lister is Spectral Hit to boot. Decoy and Valk placements are very important: be prepared, for these guys can very quickly make mincemeat out of you. Again, lead them away from the throne room if you can’t fight them. Assuming you still survive at this point and wanting more, Baal will now leave the room. If you follow them, you finally get to fight this pansy. He’ll attempt to hit you with Decrepify, and when you finally face him, he has several attacks: Incineration Nova (the lesser cousin to Diablo’s Fire Nova), Hoarfrost (ice wedge that chills and knocks you back), Mana Rift (halves your mana), and Destructive Strike (the painful drill-like attack). In addition, he can summon tentacles and make a double of himself. Just concentrate on the real him and poke, poke, for he has neither Diablo’s high defense nor his blocking. If he is too close to his tentacles, throw a Lightning Fury or two. Despite his myriad attacks, he shouldn’t be too difficult. Defeating him ends the game.
Note: the screenshots taken above were all taken in Hell difficulty level. Bremm and Lister will spawn with only one mod in Normal as opposed to three in Hell. The Secret Cow Level - Yes, you can access this even in Normal. To start making BBQ with your newfound Lightning Fury, you will need to have killed Baal. Now, you should go to Tristram and claim that poor bastard Wirt’s leg. Transmute that thing with a tome of town portal using your Horadric Cube, and a red portal will open to the Secret Cow Level, home of several hundreds of Hell Bovines. Happy Cowing, and don’t get surrounded. Oh, and the cows are led by the Cow King (Lightning Enchanted) who is within a specific corral (we call it the Pen). Once you kill the Cow King, provided you haven’t killed him before, you (and everyone in your party who haven’t done so!) will lose the ability to reopen the cow portal, so beware if you still want to return! In higher difficulty, he is Lightning Immune, so you would not be able to kill him accidentally with LF, but still . . . Why are Javazons highly successful in Cow Level? Because it is the perfect playground for Lightning Fury. Lightning Fury works best against clumps of enemies, preferably slow moving for easier herding, and will work even better with the presence of walls. The enemies also must not be Lightning Immune. The Secret Cow Level has all those - Hell Bovines, while able to hit hard, are slow and lacking in any lightning resistance.
The Secret Chicken Level - there is no chicken level. Or is there? Nightmare Difficulty (ooh! A glutton for punishment?)You get to do everything above all over again! Easy? Well, not really, for now various handicaps are placed on you, and monsters get more enhancements as well. First of all, your resists suffer a 40% penalty, although Anya’s resist scroll from Normal will cut this down to 30%. Then, your life/mana leech is cut in half (ouch!), which should hit you pretty hard, especially if you’ve been relying on your just-enough leech to get by. Compensating for your lost resists and leech should be your top priority, and remember that lack of leech can be compensated also by increasing your damage. Start shopping and gambling for better javelins, and start praying for Titan’s Revenge to fall from the sky for you (it’s possible to drop in Nightmare). As if that’s not enough, monsters hit harder and have more hit points. With some exceptions, monster levels are raised by 35, with the maximum of 70. Special monsters (except Act bosses) will also receive one additional random modifier, and so nasty combinations are now possible. Some of these will be detailed later. In addition, some monsters get their immunities boosted such that they are now immune to one element, so watch out. Some monsters with inherently high physical resistance (like vampires or mosquitoes) may even get physical immunity if they spawn with Stone Skin mod. Chill and curse times are also cut by half. Despite all this enhancements, a Javazon shouldn’t have too much trouble in this new environment. You might actually find that for a well-developed Javazon, Nightmare difficulty would be easier than Normal difficulty. Here, her skills are slowly being honed to perfection . . . she gets better developed offensive and defensive passives, as well as offensive skills. In addition, better items can drop in Nightmare difficulty. Some poor, brave souls would’ve attempted to leave Nightmare on the low or high 50s, but I certainly recommend high 60s to early 70s before you can attempt the next level . . . Hell Difficulty (so, you think you are tough, huh?)Hell Difficulty . . . this is the ultimate test for a Javazon. You are further handicapped in this difficulty by having your resists cut by a further 60%, although an Anya Quest in Nightmare would offset this somewhat. Monsters hit harder, has higher hit points, get another 35 levels (with cap of level 90) and now endowed with a global physical resistance of 50%. Meaning that your leech is now even less effective. Now, all bosses with Stone Skin mod WILL spawn as Physical Immune, and there will even be PI enemies (mosquitoes, wraiths, some Minotaurs, some Death Maulers). Chill and Curse durations are cut again in half. In addition, bosses spawn with one more mod, meaning that the nasty combinations are even more possible, and you can even have uber nasty combinations (Conviction Multishot Lightning Enchanted, anyone?) Oh, and all enemies will generally have at least one immunity (with some exceptions) so watch out for the Lightning Immunes, too. But most of all, this is the difficulty that demands rangers to be rangers, and tankers to be tankers. Ranged characters can tank in lower difficulty; in this difficulty, however, tanking is often left to the experts. By this time, your passives should be fully mature, allowing you to become a very sturdy tank (if you’re built as a tanking Javazon) while the ranged characters provide cover fire. Go ahead, impress the heck out of them, but watch out for the nasty combos. Hell, no one would rightly expect anyone to tank something as nasty as Conviction MSLE, but you sure would charm the pants off your playing partners if you are crazy enough to do so. The Secret Cow Level in Hell Difficulty is perhaps the best leveling area in terms of experience/time. Javazons with LF also happen to be an excellent performer in the Secret Cow Level, so much so that people make Javazons just to slaughter cows and get a lot of experience and items. But notice that even danger lurks within the Cow Level, as it is elsewhere in Hell Difficulty. Personally, I can think of several better things to do than killing thousands of virtual bovines every hour, but whatever floats your boat. Nasty Combinations (the bane of tanks (and unfortunate rangers) everywhere)Special enemies spawn with eight times the HP of a normal monster, and are accompanied with several minions, the enemies of the same type but with twice the HP of normal enemies. In addition, all special enemies spawn with special mods (one in Normal, two in NM and three in Hell). Some of them annoying, some of them not so deadly, but some can be outright deadly. Here, I will attempt to list the mods that lead to these combinations, and explain how they work together. Lightning Enchanted stands at the top of the hierarchy. This mod allows the enemy to emit charged bolts in all directions when struck, as well as adding lightning damage to its attacks equal to its physical damage. What makes this ability so nasty is that the level of the Charged Bolt is equal to the monster level . . . an Act 5 Hell boss monster is mlvl-93, which means charged bolts are emitted with 91 damage . . . each. Ouch! To add insult to injury, an LE also gains 75% LR.
Aura Enchanted - depending on which aura that spawns, this can be merely annoying or outright deadly. The possible auras are Might, Conviction, Fanaticism (each at mlvl/4), Holy Freeze, Holy Fire and Holy Shock (each at mlvl/2) and Blessed Aim (at mlvl). High blocking and points in Dodge/Avoid/Evade can lessen the effect of Blessed Aim, and Holy Freeze and Holy Fire are merely annoying, but Might, Conviction, Fanaticism and Holy Shock can be outright deadly. Holy Shock not only deals pulsed lightning damage, but also adds a huge lightning damage to each attack. A slvl-46 HS deals 204-213 in pulse, but adds 1-1625 lightning damage to attacks. Major ouch! Considering even items like Thundergods’ Vigor only absorb 20 of those, one hit by HS may mean instant death if you don’t have good lightning resistance to back up your TGV. And I’m not even talking about the situations when there’s a Conviction boss nearby . . . Fire Enchanted - can be deadly if you're unprepared. It adds an equal amount of fire damage as physical for each attack, but when such creature is killed, it acts like a corpse bomb, dealing 60%-100% of its total maximum HP in equal amount of fire/physical damage to everybody within melee range, just like Corpse Explosion. This damage is based on the maximum HP of the monster in normal difficulty, and doesn't scale with number of players. Thanks for Tharn, Brista, tommi, Hammerman and RedFin for correcting me here. For example, Lister the Tormentor is a unique Minion of Destruction. A Minion of Destruction has a maximum HP of 805 in Normal. Upon dying, a Hell Lister may deal 403 HP in fire damage and 403 HP in physical damage. The physical damage portion is blockable and avoidable. I'm not even counting chance of doing critical strike (5%) with this explosion. There might also be another unknown multiplier to take into account. Ouch! Bottom line: be careful! Cold Enchanted - not as nasty as the other two enchantments, but quite something to be wary of. In addition to the usual cold damage enhancement, Cold Enchanted monsters, when killed, will release a Frost Nova-like missile of (mlvl/2). A mlvl-93 explosion thus deals 186-188 cold damage and chills for 48 seconds, with the duration further affected by your cold resist. Thanks to Kyrene and nookiestar for correcting me here. That translates to a very long cold duration, and this may be deadly if you don’t have CBF.
Multiple Shot. This mod only spawns on monsters with missile attacks, whether the missile is physical, or magical. Things like Venom Lord’s breath are counted as missiles. Multiple Shot acts like the Amazon skill of the same name, allowing the monster to shoot several (typically three or five) of such missiles at once (but they’re not cut to 75% effectiveness!). It may be just annoying or deadly, depending on which enemy gets it. Multishot Oblivion Knights should be approached very carefully. Spectral Hit acts like enchantment, but at random. Each hit deals the equal number of elemental damage as physical, and the element is chosen before each attack. The monster also gains some prismatic resistance. Extra Strong multiplies the physical damage output of the monster by 3, and increases its AR by 25%. An Extra Strong monster hits very hard, especially if it has high physical damage to begin with. The physical damage modification applies to the base damage. Why this is so important is going to be obvious. Cursed gives the monster a 50% chance to cast (mlvl/4) Amplify Damage curse upon attack. The curse works like when a friendly Necromancer casts it, of course, making you more vulnerable to physical attacks. Extra Fast gives the entire pack double its original speed, and the special monster’s attack rate is doubled. This is basically IAS for the monsters. Mana Burn falls under borderline deadly - this mod allows monster to inflict four times the physical damage it inflicts upon you on your mana reserves. It also gains 75% MR and 100% AR. Vulpine (damage taken goes to mana) mod in your equipments help to combat this creature, since mana from Vulpine is added after mana is taken off by the creature’s attack. The more annoying mods are: Teleport (chance to teleport, and heal slightly if less than 1/3 health), Stone Skin (80% physical resistance, triple defense), Magic Resistant (40% prismatic). Immunities: Any monster that you cannot kill quickly would definitely present some problems, especially when the monster has other nasty mods as well. In particular, look out for Physical Immunes (as said earlier, any boss monster in Hell with Stone Skin mod will be Physically Immune) since you cannot leech back from this monster when you tank. Lightning Immune monster packs would also present some problem since skills like Lightning Fury will not work against these packs. Physical/Lightning Immune monsters will be a nightmare to kill unless you are in a party or have a bow switch and invested on Fire Arrow. Fire Arrow skill is currently bugged to convert the physical damage of the bow into 50% Fire and 50% Physical, giving you a cheap way to handle non-Fire Immune PIs.
From the descriptions above, you can probably guess how some of those mods may work together to create a truly nasty monster. Elemental NastinessLightning Enchanted + Cold/Fire Enchanted (Nasty)Perhaps little known is the fact that cold and fire damage may be added to the lightning bolts if the monsters are enchanted with the other elements. The cold damage that the CE monster will emit on its death throes will be carried by each lightning bolt within the range of its death Frost Nova, with the cold damage dissipating outside this range. This also works similarly regarding to FE explosion damage within range of FE explosion (which is quite small). Regardless on how it works, a triple enchanted monster will emit triple death from its body, so be careful when tanking such enemies. Thanks to Kyrene for correcting me here.
Lightning Enchanted + Multiple Shot (Very Nasty) I said earlier that Multiple Shot works with any missiles, right? Now you know why people are so afraid of these MSLEBs: those lightning bolts emitted by LE monsters are counted as missiles. As a result, instead of emitting charged bolts, these charged bolts are bundled together in bunches of three or five. Three bolts make three times the damage! Slow Missiles will slow, but not stop (after a certain distance) these bolts, and worse, make them invisible. Fortunately, items like TGV will absorb lightning damage from each individual bolt, so if you’re already immune to lightning bolts from regular LE, chances are you’re also immune to the bolts from a regular MSLE.
Lightning Enchanted + Multiple Shot + Cold/Fire Enchanted (Also Very Nasty)See above, but add the elemental damage to the bolts as well. If it’s Cold Enchanted, it will also die with three or five Frost Novae. Scared yet? The best is yet to come. Lightning Enchanted + Multiple Shot + Aura Enchanted (Conviction): (Don’t Even Think About It.)Attempting to tank a conviction MSLE is almost like committing a suicide. A slvl-23 Conviction lowers your resistance by 140%, so it’s going to hurt your lightning resists like never before. Now, imagine yourself as a wild-eyed tank with -65% LR in Hell, facing an MSLE. Forget it, unless you have really good leech, really good luck of being able to predict how those packets will come out, and a confidence that you will leech enough to take the hits (if it’s not PI as well). Most of the time, that’s not the case. Hell, even a Conviction + LE is usually dangerous enough to earn the rating “Very Nasty” from me. Run! Leave that tanking of such nastiness to dual Lightsabre-wielding Barbarians, or Paladins equipped to handle such enemies. Aura Enchanted (Holy Shock) + Lightning/Cold/Fire Enchanted (Very Nasty)I would group Holy Shock as nasty on itself, but now imagine adding the elemental damages to the attacks in addition to Holy Shock. Shocking, baby. Take this one with extreme caution. Luckily, it won’t be able to flash Holy Shock/Conviction, so just be careful of any Conviction bosses nearby, or it’s lights out for you.
Aura Enchanted (Conviction) + Fire/Cold Enchanted/Spectral Hit (Nasty)Less nasty than Conviction + LE, be aware that the Conviction will also lower your resistance such that you will take a lot of damage from the additional elemental damages. Also beware of FE explosions. Physical NastinessCursed + Extra Strong (Nasty)This is a fairly common combination, unfortunately. If you’re tagged by Amp damage, the special monster essentially is dealing SIX times the normal damage to you, and all its minions will be doing double damage at you. Not good. Cursed + Extra Strong + Extra Fast (Nastier)Like above, but now imagine the monster swinging twice as fast.
Oh, but this is nothing yet! Aura Enchanted (Fanaticism/Might) + Extra Strong (Really Nasty)That triple damage is multiplied now. Slvl-23 Might increases damage by 260%, and slvl-23 Fanaticism by 424% (as well as 150% AR and 36% IAS). Even if the base physical damage is quite low, those multipliers do add up. And when you tag this to Hell Bovines (the strongest physical attacker in the game) or Moon Lords (very fast attacks, high AR) expect some really devastating blows.
But as if that’s not enough: Aura Enchanted (Fanaticism/Might) + Extra Strong + Cursed (Prepare the Body Bag)Even if you have some serious DR%, you won’t stand for too long when you’re tagged with Amp Damage and facing a pack of Moon Lords with this mod. Fanat + ES multiplies, since ES is applied to the base damage, so the special enemy will hit fifteen times as strong . . . but with Cursed on you, it effectively deals THIRTY times physical damage on your fragile body. Major ouch! Several testing conducted with full DR% characters with a lot of life indicated that Fanatic/ES hell Moon Lords mean almost certain death. You better pray that your passives are really good if you’re trying to tank enemies like this! (or you can just run . . .) PartyingWith all those nastiness that await our intrepid heroine, teaming up with other players would be an excellent idea to ensure survival. Unless you’re a Single Player (in which case, I can only say . . . best and best of luck, and do consider a bow hybrid build!) you will advance through the game faster in a party, despite the fact that monster’s HP scales with number of players. The main reason for this is because different characters cover each other's weaknesses, and even similar characters would be able to work together to spread their attacks. Expect to meet a variety of teammates during your stay in the Diablo II world. Recognize that you’re a character that can take a lot of punishments with a limited ability to do cover fire (melee) or a character that works best against mobs of enemies (ranger) before considering your role in a party. Here is a small guide on what can you expect from every party member, and what can you give in return. If you're a Melee Javazon...With Other AmazonsYour strategy here really depends on the build of the other Amazon. The easiest is when the other Amazon is a Bowazon, in which case you can expect her to provide cover fire and catch stragglers, leaving you to tank (and occasionally throw your javelin). Ask for Freezing Arrow in particular, this is a great skill to keep you from getting swarmed! Partying with another Javazon is quite tricky, but the best strategy is to share the tanking job (2 Amazons + 2 Valkyries + 2 Decoys amount to quite a number of bodies) to take the heat off each other’s back. If the other Javazon shows the tendency towards being a Ranger, it’s your job to tank, letting her provide cover fire instead. If the other Amazon is a Spearazon, be aware that despite being melee, she can’t tank as well as you do, so always volunteer to get to the heat of things first, leaving her free to dive in after you to inflict massive physical damage. She needs to leech to survive, so leave her some enemies. In return, spearies are typically very skilled with their Decoy and Valkyrie placements, so expect her to use them wisely to take the heat off you. With AssassinsAssassins are independent lots, and your strategy depends on her build focus. An MA sin will rely on melee to deliver her attacks, and she can actually do significant damage, but she’s not as good as you in tanking, so cover this for her. A trap specialist will rely on a tank, so give it to her. In return, a good Assassin has a slew of crowd control skills up her sleeve (Mind Blast, Cloak of Shadows, Phoenix Strike, Shadow Warrior/Master) and expect her to use them wisely to help you tank. Oh, and Assassin can get really fast with their Burst of Speed, so try to keep up. Beware of their Shadow Master. She likes to use Mind Blast and when she converts an enemy, the aura that affects your party stays for some time. You really don’t want to tank a Might-enchanted monster, do you? The same goes for some Trapsins who rely on Mind Blast for crowd control. A smart trapsin will know when and when not to use this skill. With BarbariansThe Barbarian is built to tank, so expect him to share your job. He’s the master in melee combat, so try to utilize your mass-killing skills to maximum effect. He has several warcries he can use intelligently to help the party. He can end your PI problem with his Berserk skill. Regardless of build, Barbarians can take a lot of punishment (unless he’s a Warcry barb) due to his high HP. Expect him to share this benefit with you (Battle Orders) to make you even tougher. Your passives give you the advantage in tanking, so you might be able to hold out longer against certain enemies, but overall, expect him to do most of the tanking. Use your Decoy and Valkyrie to support him. Expect Warcry Barbs to take the heat off your back by stunning the hell out of your enemies, and in return, tank for him. With DruidsAgain, there are two types of druids. The shape shifter can change into a Werewolf or a Werebear, and in this form, he’s a formidable melee fighter. Expect both to tank beside you, and additionally, expect the Werebear to use his awesome crowd-control skill, Shockwave. Both of them usually rely on a good buffer of life to tank, however, so treat them as you would treat a Spearazon. The elemental druid does exist, and it is your job to tank for them. In return, all druids typically have a spirit and summonable minions to help you tank. Whether the minions consist of one big grizzly or several ferocious wolves, expect them to take the heat off you. The spirit can increase your life (very good), your damage and AR (not bad) or cast Thorns on you (tolerable), so protect the spirits as well. With NecromancersWorship the Necro. This pasty white fellow may look fragile, and he typically is, so tank for him. But he can give you so much in return. Expect him to help you with a slew of curses to help you survive (Weaken, Decrepify, LIFE TAP!), tank less (Attract, Dim Vision, Confuse, Terror) or kill faster (Amp Damage, Lower Resist). (Note: if you meet a necro who uses Iron Maiden exclusively, you’ve came across a bad party necro! Haven’t they heard of Thorns merc? Just grin and bear it . . .) If he has minions (golems, skellies, revives) expect them to take the heat off you. Also expect cover fire from the Necro. His bone skills provide Magic damage (very rarely resisted in the game - also ends your problem of Physical Immunes), poison damage, and hell, even Corpse Explosions for mass killing. Which reminds me, leave plenty of corpses for the Necromancer (less a problem for Javazons, of course). A Necro with a great tank (you) can be almost unstoppable. With PaladinsPaladins rely on their shield and their auras to tank and give out damage. Depending on the aura of choice, he can give you so much. He can boost your physical abilities (Fanaticism, Concentration, Might, Blessed Aim), your elemental damage (Conviction), and your survivability (Cleansing, Salvation, Defiance, Holy Freeze) as well as many other auras that may prove useful in other situations. Salvation might just be the answer you’re looking for when tanking that Conviction MSLE. A versatile Paladin knows what aura to use in the right time (again, if you have a Thorns Paladin, be aware that you’re partying with a bad party Paladin, and beware if he starts using Conversion as well - he’s trying to kill you!). In return, recognize that you can take it better than he can (he has shield and perhaps defense, but you have shield and your passives) and so; work with him to take the heat off each other’s backs. Paladins can be extremely strong against elemental nastiness, so talk with them about how to take care of such monsters. Some pally builds will concentrate on using ranged attacks (Fist of the Heavens, Blessed Hammer) so tank for them. With SorceressesSorceresses can dish out an almost unbelievable amount of elemental damage, but they normally can’t take it, so your duty is clear: a tank, while they provide cover fire. Since her damage is elemental, she effectively ends a thorny problem of yours: Physical Immunes. Some sorceresses are built to tank (defense, blocking, DR%, resists) but they are definitely less sturdy still than a well-build melee Javazon. If they insist on tanking, though, share the burden with them (Decoy and Valk, again!). A good party sorceress knows that she lies either behind you or beside you, but if you have a sorceress going ahead of you and coming back leading a huge pack of enemies, you’ve met a bad party sorceress. The same goes for Sorceresses who attempt to orb a pack of Cold Immunes consistently. If you're a Ranger Javazon...With Other AmazonsAgain, your strategy here really depends on the build of the other Amazon. Regardless of the build of the other Amazon, recognize that 2 Valkyries + 2 Decoys can tank better than 1 Valkyrie + 1 Decoy. Partying with a Bowazon means that both of you will be spreading different kind of missiles around the screen: physical/ice/fire for the bowazon and physical/lightning for you. Recognize the enemies' immunities and provide cover fire for the other Amazon, especially when taking on physical/fire immunes. If the other Amazon is a Javazon, hope that the other is a tanker, and let the other do all the tanking job. Otherwise, just work with the other ranger and try to avoid overlapping missiles. If the other Amazon is a Spearazon, be aware that despite being melee, she can’t tank too well, and so you'd need to help her with cover fire as well as Decoy and Valkyrie to prevent her from getting swarmed. More than tanking Javazons, Spearazons need leech to survive, so try to leave her some warm bodies to leech off. With AssassinsAgain, there are two main flavors of Assassins. An MA sin is a fair tank, but in addition she'll have great killing power as well. Suggestion: just keep up! A trap specialist needs a tank, so in addition to her Shadow, be smart with your Decoy/Valk placements. If she uses Death Sentry, your skills will help her to get the first few bodies she'll need to start the grisly corpse chain reaction. In return, she'll be able to utilize her great crowd control skills to help you both from getting swarmed. Make sure you have a lot of run/walk, especially if the assassin is very fond of Burst of Speed. Beware of their Shadow Master. She likes to use Mind Blast and when she converts an enemy, the aura that affects your party stays for some time. This is less a problem with you, but be careful regardless. The same goes for some Trapsins who rely on Mind Blast for crowd control. A smart trapsin will know when and when not to use this skill. With BarbariansThe Barbarian is one of the premier tanks in Diablo II. He’s the master in melee combat, but he's not very good against mobs, so try to utilize your mass-killing skills to maximum effect. He has several warcries he can use intelligently to help the party. He can end your PI/single-enemy problem with his Berserk skill. Regardless of build, Barbarians can take a lot of punishment (unless he’s a Warcry barb) due to his high HP. Expect him to share this benefit with you (Battle Orders) for extra security against death. Use your Decoy and Valkyrie to support him when he's facing some particularly nasty enemies. Expect Warcry Barbs to take the heat off your back by stunning the hell out of your enemies, and in return, demolish the packs he had stunned. With DruidsAgain, there are two types of druids. The shape shifter can change into a Werewolf or a Werebear, and in this form, he’s a formidable melee fighter. Expect both to tank for you, and additionally, expect the Werebear to use his awesome crowd-control skill, Shockwave. Both of them usually rely on a good buffer of life to tank, however, so treat them as you would treat a Spearazon. The elemental druid does exist, and since he's weak in lightning/poison, provide these for him. In return, all druids typically have a spirit and summonable minions to help you tank. Whether the minions consist of one big grizzly or several ferocious wolves, expect them to take most of the heat. The spirit can increase your life (very good), your damage and AR (marginally good) or cast Thorns on you (tolerable), so protect the spirits as well. With NecromancersAgain, worship the Necro, for this pasty white fellow can help you kill even faster. Expect him to help you with a slew of curses to help you survive (Weaken, Decrepify, Life Tap), meet less enemies (Attract, Dim Vision, Confuse, Terror) or kill faster (Amp Damage, LOWER RESIST!). A well-placed Lower Resist curse can increase your killing power to the point where you'd hardly believe your own power! (Note: if you meet a necro who uses Iron Maiden exclusively, you’ve came across a bad party necro! Haven’t they heard of Thorns merc? Just grin and bear it…) If he has minions (golems, skellies, revives) expect them to tank - Golems in particular are very resilient tanks. Also expect cover fire from the Necro. His bone skills provide Magic damage (very rarely resisted in the game – also ends your problem of Physical Immunes), poison damage, and hell, even Corpse Explosions for mass killing. If your Necro loves Corpse Explosion, do provide him with the first corpses using your skills. With PaladinsPaladins rely on their shield and their auras to tank and give out damage. You know that you've met a good Paladin when he knows exactly what auras to use in specific situations. He can boost your physical abilities (Fanaticism, Concentration, Might, Blessed Aim), your elemental damage (Conviction), and your survivability (Cleansing, Salvation, Defiance, Holy Freeze) as well as many other auras that may prove useful in other situations. Salvation might just save you in places when you need a lot of resists, and Conviction is just like the Necro's Lower Resist curse... it will allow you to kill at a phenomenal rate. Note: if you have a Thorns-only Paladin, be aware that you’re partying with a bad party Paladin, and beware if he starts using Conversion as well – he’s trying to kill you!. In return, Paladins are typically not very good against packs and mobs - that's your job. Paladins can be extremely strong against elemental nastiness, so talk with them about how to take care of such monsters. Some pally builds will concentrate on using ranged attacks (Fist of the Heavens, Blessed Hammer) so use your own minions to tank. With SorceressesBased on experience, ranger Javazons are on par with some specific sorceress builds in the ability to clear the cow level. This shows that in general, sorceresses are like rangers in that they're able to dish out a lot of elemental damage. So, with some exceptions,just treat them as another ranger, able to (hopefully) use different kinds of elemental attacks to bypass those pesky immunities. Some sorceresses are built to tank (defense, blocking, DR%, resists) so if you meet one of those, be happy to let them. Most sorceresses are well-versed in at least two skills from two different skill trees, and therefore monsters with the right double immunities would be unkillable for them: kill these buggers for them (you might actually have to utilize your physical side if the monster happens to be Cold/Lightning Immune, for example).
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