Hi... to all Ladder Slasher Community.

Intro: I am a nub... but a 5 week old nub, that has been gathering information over this time.

I am wanting to write up a something similar to a FAQ | Tips | Suggestion Post. There seems to be an increase of newcomers to this game... and I thought (just like many of you when you started)... what if some of the simplest questions could be answered, without telling them in game.

Well... I have started with some questions and answers... also put my little twist on things... but I am still a nub and need more information,
so this needs to be answered by this well established community.

Anyway... below are some of the questions and suggestions that I have already come up with... I was wondering if you can add to this... even point out some other things that maybe incorrect in what I have mentioned. Thank you to all those that have participated, read or even commented to anythigng in this thread.

I will add any information to the list, and give credit to those that have added input...

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I want to make a "Caster"... what charms should I use?
This is dependent on your personal preference... and what charms you can get hold of at the time...
Once you find a good charm... start getting those and higher Tier levels... try to collect up plain ones
so that you can "Well" them to get mods... then mute them and so on...

How do I heal other people in Catacombs?
Ensure that you have selected your "Heal" charm slot or Acc charm slot (the one with healing capabilities)
There are two (2) ways to do this:
1. Use your cursor to click on the icon at the top of the screen showing you the "Blue Cross" heal charm
2. Using the "Quick" Keys: Q = Weapon... E = Charm... R = Acc Slot
Now place your cursor over the person you want to heal, and start clicking... you will heal x amount per second.

Even though I play softcore, does dying effect my character in anyway?
Yes... you lose a percentage in your "experience" and also (most importantly) your "proficencies". I would suggest that you do not die at all.

What does the "Proficencies" do for me and my character?
Proficencies help you get more damage (weapons/attack charms), heal (healing charms)... this is adds "Enhanced Effect"... same goes with other things
like "Transmuting", "Fishing" etc...

Okay... I can see now that "Proficencies" help my character, but how can I get those proficencies up faster?
Well... there two ways.
1. Doing catacomb runs in groups to get you to level 71 and then doing your MQ... this will re-roll your character whether you pass/fail.
.. If you have "0" fg when doing this... you will most likely die alot as you do not have good enough items... also some people will kick you from game.
2. Do catacomb runs in groups up till you are level 5/10 or 15 and then re-roll your character... or do Arena's to help you get items and levels.

What happens if I succeed or fail my "Master Quest"?
When you succeed you "unlock" a new class... first one is "Samurai". Your Guild (if any) gets a Guild Points. If you do not succeed, your guild will receive Guild Points. Once your character has attempted an MQ, he is re-rolled with all items and proficencies, you lose experience. Also you gain an extra stat point to place when you remake character. (normally start with 10... now you will have 11)

I have level2 Lightning Proficency and my character is level 1, and when I use my charm, my proficency does not go up, why?
Your character has to be higher in level to your proficency to get those that proficency up.

If I join catacombs with my caster, I do not have those items, and people pick up or go through catas so fast I can not grab anything, what should I do?
The simple solution is to let them know that you are new to the game and ask them if they can give you time to pick up a few things, like a Lightning and wild heal charm.

Okay... now I have tried out my caster for awhile and re-rolled a bit... now I want to re-roll him and make him a Melee character... what do I use and what type of melee character to make?
Well... since I look at the "Basic" game mechanics, I only use a Barb or Fighter, this is also what I suggest.
Items: Base starting... use "Bronze" (tierIII) Sword and Plate Mail

Why "Bronze" and Sword/Plate Mail?
When beginning your character at lvl0... you can use "Bronze" items... which have better damage/defense properties than rusted/copper. Using a Plate Mail yeilds better defense. Once again, I will use the "Proficencies" reasoning to using a "Sword"... three (3) of the "UNLOCKED" melee characters use "Sword"

What is better when starting a new character... Arena or Catacombs?
This is really dependent on what you want to do... I can only suggest what I have done...
I started to do Arena for about 1 hour to see what that was like... I got bored.. so I tried catacombs...
this was good with some good players... and I noticed how fast things were happening... so I liked this.

Okay... What can I expect when doing Catacombs... and how?
Let us start with "How"...
..1. You will see at the bottom right: Front | Middle | Back.... and "Engage"
.....a... Front | Middle | Back (Most | Some | Less) damage received from monsters... so "Casters" & "Low Defense" characters tend to go "BACK"
.....b... Engage: This starts the map that you want to explore.
..2. Driver: This is the person who "Creates" the game... this person gets to "engage" map... If you are creator... you use the "Arrow" keys to move around
"What to Expect"...
..1. "Room Spins"... this is where you are transported to another location on the map.
..2. "Warm Light Heals You"... self explanatory... only a portion of life/mana healed
..3. "Trapdoor"... If there are no "Rogues" or "trap" identifying characters in party... you fall automatically... or you may need to press "Z" to explore.
..4. "Evil"... these are stronger monsters... best thing is if entire party concentrates on one monster at a time.
..5. "Objectives"... certain level characters can help activate these objectives... you must complete with full party to get objectives.
..6. "Monster Waves"... they come in either "1" to "9"... monsters appear from left to right (1,2,3) then up left to right (4,5,6), then up again (7,8,9)
..... 7,8,9
..... 4,5,6
..... 1,2,3

Are there any benefits of doing "Catacombs" by myself at the start?
There are alot of benefits... especially if you have "0"fg or even if you have like 3-15fg.
..1.. You can find "Splintered Fishing Rods"... this come in handy to help you fish
..2.. You can find "Comfreys"... these plants give you life or mana
..3.. You can find some basic starting gear for your character
..4.. You might find some junk items to sell for 1fg each... this helps with starting on 0fg

OKAY... I want to do "Solo" catacombs at the start... how should I go about this with only the starting items (or 3fg)?
Starting Character: Barb (more life/damage)... if you have no items... first 10 points into Vitality (more life, last longer)... if items then "Strength"
Starting with 3-15fg: buy yourself Bronze Sword/Plate Mail (1fg each) and a Charm with alot of Life and mods
... If you can get life on your armor & weapon... that is a bonus at this stage... try for 100+ life on each
...... "Why Life?"... because at low levels... you can last longer in catacombs by yourself... getting items and xp
... If you want... buy a "Heal" charm for your Acc Slot... one with 30+ EE and is tierI level... this helps with gaining Proficencies.
...... "Why TierI Heal and not a TierIII, also, why Acc Charm slot?"
...... Barb starting only has about 10 Mana (unless items have +Mana/Intellegence)
...... Acc Slot only uses 75% COST... and only deals 75% damage... meaning you can cast a few more times.
...... NOTE: as you progress in that Proficency... of course you will use higher Tier level to get more experience.
Equip Items... you need time to get your life full... go "Arena" kill things and pick up the junk items and put them in shrine... might find something good to keep.
Get your experience bar upto about "50%" and then proceed to "Catacombs" (ensuring you have full life)
Before creating... uncheck both "X's"... Press "Create"... and then "Engage"
Now remember to watch your life... as soon as you get to 30 life remaining... leave game and heal yourself and remake again.
You will find many things the longer you last... you can find some "Mythical" items that you may like... I have even found upto "Godly" from solo'ing at low level.

Some other things I would suggest... collect up the fishing rods and comfreys that you find... transfer them over to other characters for storing.
Get yourself fishing as much as possible... this can help you in catacombs as well... when you get to level5... re-roll your character... equip what
you want if you have found better items and try it again... once you are familiar with how it works... get to level5 and then try to join up with other
cata runs... this will help you get up levels and you may also have the chance to pick up some items for you later on... Remember: if you think you have
found a good item to sell... get it price checked first... you could be surprised...

Example of what I use when I re-roll character:

Mythical bronze axe
Damage: 23 to 27
+2 Dexterity
+249 Max Life
+2 Critical Strike
+1% Life Steal
+3 Jubilance

Rare bronze plate mail
Defense: 9 to 27
+257 Max Life
+3% Critical Flux

Mythical wind III
Spell Damage: 6 to 27
Mana Cost: 25
+13 Dexterity
+207 Max Life
+1 to 5 Mana per Kill
+1% Block
+4% Heal Mastery

As you can see from above... I have approximately 700+ Life added... this gets me through catacombs easy and I remain there till I am level5.
NOTE: I am using Axe because I already have 5% Sword Proficency... but need Axe Proficencies: Pricing: About 3-8fg (pricing differs).

I have life/mana/dex/strength on my charm which does not show up on my character... why is that?
I would say that you have that charm on your "Acc Charm" slot... you only get the bonuses from your charm, if it
is put in the "Charm" slot... not the Acc Charm slot.

What is "Fish Stacking"?
This is where your "Proficencies" help you stack fish, saving you space and being able to heal more life faster.
Example to stacking: Fishing Proficency 2 (you should be fishing for Rank3 now) and your "Cooking" proficency is 1.
You can stack "Cooked Fish"... upto 4 on one slot (NOTE: They can not be BURNT [-xx% cooked])
Suggestion: Fish as much as possible... once you have stacked them... transfer them to other characters (they stay stacked)
When fishing... only save the ones that are 30+ Life or Mana... if you fish a "Rare" (Life + Mana) keep those for sure.
You can only stack fish by their name brand: Sardines with Sardines, Herrings with Herrings etc.

Alright... Now I have some fish... but I do not know how to use them when I am in Catacombs.
First off... you can only use fish/comfreys when you are not "engaged" in combat...
Open your "inventory" (press the letter "I"... note when cursor is on map... not in the text area)
Drag your fish to the squares located near the top: These are numbered: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
When not in combat, and only in the map area... Press the number that the fish/comfrey is seen.
This will use that quick item slot, and "wholla"... you have used that item.
NOTE: Stacked fish: You have to press that number for each stacked fish. e.g. box 1 = 4 uses (fish) = Press 1, 4 times
NOTE2: Using fish on Party Members.... drag the fish onto the characters Life bar (if life fish) / Mana bar (if mana fish)

I was driving in Catacombs and I pressed the "TAB" key by accident... then I could not use any Arrow keys or quick keys... how do I fix this?
Point your "Cursor" in the "Text" box (msg box) and then point onto map... you should be reset now to carry on driving in catacombs.

Which Item is Better?... (Mag) Bronze Chain Mail... 35-45% Enhanced Effect (EE) / (Mag) Bronze Plate Mail... +180 Life
Okay... everyone says that you should go with EE items, they are the best... this is the case with higher levels
but not necessarily at lower levels.... With those two (2) particular items, you should look at the "Defense" of
both items... you will see that the Chain Mail has less defense than the Plate Mail... so the Plate Mail is better
because you have more life to last longer. Personally... even if it had 60%EE on the Chain (a bit more def)...
the life on the plate mail is better..

This post was edited by izParagonzi on Jun 21 2009 06:53pm

http://forums.d2jsp.org/index.php?showtopic=18560908&f=272
You mean something like that?

your lvl 0 suggested gear is absolutely horrible

wow, took some time to read part of the rest
this is more detrimental to new users than it is helpfull
with good or noob gear, there is never ever any reason why you would want to solo catas from 1-5, unless you're just looking to feed yourself shrineables, and even then, using EE items and killing faster is way better than lasting longer because you have retarded life gear
you really really shouldn't be posting junk like this, someone might take it seriously

This post was edited by jbpellerin on Jun 21 2009 06:53pm

question. i have made lvl 1 cooking. what do i have to cook to get to lvl 2? hmmm... be good ppl and slash on.

and just exactly what is the name of your guild lol.

This post was edited by gameplr124 on Jun 21 2009 07:02pm

This.



And this.

I really think that there are enough guides and helpful hints on questions like this already and this one has information that many people may disagree with.

Thanks for taking the time to write a guide. Hopefully someone will extract some info that may be helpful to them.

no need for this -- there are good guides already that have stood the test of time.