Quote (Belarathon @ May 21 2015 11:31pm)
I was so sure that I had the best lvl 9 sin in existence with my plain 9 maxer jewels. Meitou had already made a full min dmg ts sin at this point and I had no chance, I was hooked!
e/ can anyone find a link to Warchicken's level 9 assassin guide??? As far as I know this is the earliest lld guide out there, I wish I had saved it back in the day... having trouble finding it now but it would be amazing to save for posterity!!!
Found this, not sure if it's authentic from WarChicken, but the wording matches very early Diablo 2 play:
Quote
Level 9 PvP Assassin Guide v1.0
Author: WarChicken V 1.09
Navigation
Introduction
Skills/Stats
Equipment
Inventory
Belt
Combat
Mercenaries
Class-specific combat
- Paladin
- Barbarian
- Necromancer
- Assassin
- Druid
- Amazon
- Sorceress
Picking Fights
Introduction
This guide has been written in reaction to the monotony in high-level D2 dueling in Diablo II: LOD v1.09.
The idea behind a Level 9 Dueler is to make the most powerful dueling character at the lowest possible level allowed for dueling. The dueler described in this guide can handle most characters under level 30 with great ease, and can kill even higher than that with practice. The following is a culmination of much in-game experience at level 9 dueling/pking and extensive discussion in the Diabloii.net forums.
Skills / Statistics
A powerful Level 9 Dueler always has its Matriarch status going for it (note: some might argue that defeating Baal in Hell is not vital to this build, arguing that a “Champion” title will make your power less obvious to your opponents… it’s your call). It will take either good leeching skills or a patient friend, but completing all of the quest bonuses in the game will give you an advantage over other level 9’s by 12 Skill Points, 15 Stat Points, 60 Life, and 30 Resist All. Combined with your regular leveling bonuses this gives you 20 Skill Points and 55 Stat Points to work with.
Keep in mind that your level 9 status will never let you get more than 9 points in a level 1 skill or more than 4 points in a level 6 skill. With this in mind…
4 Burst of Speed – The four points in this is just enough to help you meet the speed breakpoint on blade talons, and faster run will help you catch the enemies that flee when they realize mid-fight that you are not the weakling they had thought you were.
9 Tiger Strike – The idea behind this build is to hit fast and strike hard at the end, therefore the more TS you have the faster you will shatter enemies. This skill will be your main melee attack.
7 Claw Mastery – Decent damage bonus, and the Attack Rating (AR) bonus is invaluable to you in melee.
Your strength and dexterity will vary based upon the equipment you choose to wear. Keep in mind however that toting the “big guns” will come at the cost of precious life points. As far as dexterity is concerned, you will want to raise this attribute enough so that you can achieve max block rate with whichever shield you choose. For the purposes of Pelta Lunata (best shield for this character) 45 dexterity is required for max block.
Final stats placement
Strength
30-40 (+10-20)
Dexterity
45 (+25)
Vitality
30-40 (+10-20)
Energy
25 (base)
Equipment
Being a level 9 will leave you with very few ways to customize your dueler compared to the options that are usually available to you in dueling. You need to accept this and not be tempted to level up to 10 just so you can use that item with a little bit more kick to it… your equipment selection at level 9 is actually quite strong and varied!
Helm: Some people swear by uniques when they build characters, and if that’s you then Biggin’s Bonnet is your helm of choice. Socketed, this helm will give you better mods than most helms available to you at lvl 9. However, the helm is one of the few pieces of your gear that will allow you to have customizable sockets, which can help you make up for mods that you might be missing on the rest of your gear. If you choose to customize your own helm (like myself), aim for a 3-socket mask. For the poor man, flawed rubies will grant you +17 life for each one you socket (+51 total). For the dedicated warrior jewels with Attack Rating, Damage, or Poison will be best since the life lost from having no rubies can be easily made up with charms.
Note: The extra defense from “Superior” armor adds virtually no extra protection when you calculate chance-to-hit against a significantly higher level.
Armor: If you like uniques, Greyform is your best bet with 5% life steal and extra DEX. Don’t forget that you are dealing small amounts of damage as a level 9, so don’t expect leech to work too well. If you are doing 100 damage with your attack, you will only leech back 2.5 life in pvp with hits like this. Not worth it, in my opinion. A better choice is to go with the 3-socket breast plate with rubies or jewels, customized to suit your build.
Belt: Death’s Guard. Do not substitute anything for this belt. Its “Cannot Be Frozen” mod is invaluable to you since your build relies primarily on attack speed and secondarily on catching your opponent.
Rings: Two Nagelrings are your best bet. Coming in at clvl req 9, these rings will give you up to 75 to your attack rating EACH. More AR means better chance to hit… which means you win more often. Some rare rings will offer you both AR and another mod such as resists or life regeneration… grab these if you can find them, but don’t worry if you can’t.
Amulet: Level 9 amulets are very unimpressive. I use a +20 to AR with damage reduced by 1. As you can see, you won’t get much bonus from your amulet at level 9. Go for AR or Life here.
Boots: Two choices here – Hsaru’s Chain Boots or Gorefoot Boots. Both give 20% Run/Walk, but Hsaru’s gives 25% fire resist while Gorefoot gives you extra defense. As was stated above, defense does little to nothing to protect you against higher level characters, so the smart choice would be to eventually upgrade to Hsaru’s Chain Boots. Fire resists can help greatly against assassin traps, sorceress fire spells (yes, firewalls will be used on you!), and of course Fire Golem.
Gloves: There is one and only one glove you want – Bloodfist. Bloodfist is an amazing glove that will give you a boost in attack speed, damage, life, and will provide most of your hit recovery.
Note: Some people recommend Death’s Hand from the Death’s Disguise set for it’s 30% IAS (with Death’s Guard Belt), but for the weapons you will want to use, the extra 20% IAS will not help you meet faster breakpoints.
Shield: Pelta Lunata. This shield will grant you an unbelievable faster block rate (FBR - how fast you recover from a blocked attack in frames) which keeps you from getting block-locked in melee. I cannot stress the importance of FBR for a level 9 dueler. On top of this, it gives dandy bonuses to life and mana.
Claw: Oh yes, the spice of the assassin. This is where people will vary greatly depending on how long they search for their weapon. First off, you should be looking for a blade talon. This is the fastest claw that you can get out of the higher-damage normal claws. Socketing blade talons with two Hel runes will bring the requirements for it down to 30 str / 30 dex. My standard claw is a Fine Blade Talon of Quality with +40 AR, 24% ED, and +2 min damage. I once found a talon with chance to cast amplify damage (which is good in theory, but seldom triggers when you need it to). Basically, search for a claw that adds to AR, Damage, or Leech if you decide. Shop at the Anya portal for these.
While scouring the cow level I have found a couple of 3-socket ethereal blade talons. Keep in mind that while ethereal weapons are powerful and have lower requirements, they also tend to break very often. If you don’t want to spend all of your time looking for new claws, then a magical blade talon is fine for battle. If you decide to use ethereal weapons make sure to plan ahead… nothing is worse than not being able to equip them on a character that you built to support magical talons.
Weapon 2: Short Battle Bow (5 sockets) or Composite Bow (4 sockets). The purpose of the bow is to finish off the players who realize in the middle of battle that they must flee in order to stay alive. The other purpose is to allow you to fight turbo-melee characters (think Zeal and Double Swing) outside of hand-to-hand combat. Your strength will determine which bow you will be able to use. The advantage of the Short Battle Bow is that it has an extra socket and a little bit more damage than the Composite Bow. The advantage of the Composite Bow is that it has a lower strength requirement and it is one frame faster than the Short Battle Bow with Burst of Speed activated.
Your AR will drop dramatically when you switch to a bow since you no longer have Claw Mastery or Tiger Strike boosting your AR. With this in mind, I feel that the best use of a bow is to socket it with poison jewels… since you won’t be hitting as often, you want each hit to deal the most amount of damage, even if it’s over 2 seconds. For this reason my personal preference lies with the Composite Bow since more shots fired means more chances to hit. In-game experience has shown that it is very difficult to hit a running target with a bow: yet another reason why I favor of the Composite Bow’s faster attack rate.
If you have the drive, you can create different setups for different battles. Having a +Life set, +AR set, +damage set, or +poison setup ready to select from your stash will give you a keen advantage over a variety of situations.
Inventory
Your inventory will be FULL of charms. First off, you want to make sure that you get three grand charms of balance (12% Hit Recovery Each) because with the 30% Hit Recovery from your gloves you meet the 3 frame hit recovery at 63% for an assassin. If you spend your time reeling from attacks you will never land the hits that you need to win. Some second mods that work well on these charms are cold damage and AR. Cold damage is a great way to slow your opponent “legally” in a duel, and as fast as you will be hitting you may not need a long cold duration to be effective.
The rest of your inventory should be filled with Large charms of Life, each giving 15 life. Sometimes these charms spawn with AR bonus to them, but don’t expect to see too many in your level 9 range. With a full inventory of these charms you should be able to hit up to 500 life at level 9 (not bad huh?) or 600 life if you opt for flawed ruby armor/helm.
Belt
You shouldn’t use potions during matches, but it couldn’t hurt to put some in here for safety. You’re going to find that the only time you will need these is when a 3-man ambush falls to your claw and is coming back for their second wave before you can make it back to town. Keep the last slot open for a Scroll of Town Portal in case you do need to get away.
Notes on Charms and Jewels:
Decent low-level charms and jewels are hard to find. Most people discard them as useless, so trading for them will take longer than you think. For jewels, keep your eyes peeled for Tin (+40 ar), Carbuncle (+5 damage), Envy (+20 Poison Damage), Wrath (+9 damage), and Freedom (-15% req… enables you to wear heavier armor). The best place to search for these items is the Act 2 Sewers in normal. Any jewel or charm found in this area can be cubed using the recipe “3 Perfect Gems + Magical Item = New Magical Item of the same ilvl” to get you the level 9 mods that you are looking for. Some players might have low-level rare jewels from version 1.08 that have up to five of the mods you want on one jewel… probe your friends for these. You can also re-cube rare jewels by tossing them in the cube with six Perfect Skulls.
Combat
There is not much to say here that actual experience won’t teach you better. Your melee drill is simply to charge up TS on the attacker or their minions then release it on your attacker with your normal attack. Hand-to-hand combat is your specialty but about half of the players you face will run from you before you can finish them off. This is where your bow comes in handy. If you weapon switch while still locked on a player, your bow will remain locked on that player. This is very useful for catching runners, especially if they are running directly away from you in a straight line.
Most characters will simply charge at you though, so you want to practice timing your TS release as soon as you hit three charges. This will usually stun them (my fully-charged attack displays 550+ damage (with poison), which is enough to stun a low-level), so you will find that you will get a couple of hits in immediately following a release of charges…. Use this opportunity to finish off your opponent.
Mercenaries
Using mercs can be seen as poor dueling tactics by some, but remember… this is not a traditional dueler that you are building! Your choice of a mercenary is just another piece of equipment that sets you apart from other lvl 9 duelers. Before I go on, keep in mind that you can beat every character that I talk about below WITHOUT a merc, but it can be a great help when you are being PK’ed by a group of high lvl enemies.
The best choice that I have found for a merc is a lvl 9 cold merc from Act 3 in Hell. His attack is just as strong as your claw attack, and he chills your enemy bringing yet another advantage to you. My merc has a 3-socket breast plate and 3-socket mask filled with flawed rubies for an incredible amount of life. A 3-socket shield and 6-socket ethereal crystal sword will give you more sockets in which to add +life jewels. If this merc should happen to die, the resurrection cost for a level 9 merc is less than what most players will drop when you kill them.
An alternate choice that has been proposed is an Act 1 merc filled with poison jewels. While it is true that you can achieve around 240 poison damage per arrow, the reality of this merc is that it seldom hits its target. Also, since all of its +life gear has been sacrificed for poison damage gear, it has little to no life. I had lvl 9’s (not the kind in this guide) killing this merc in ONE HIT. Good as a one-shot damage cannon, but that’s about it.
If your opponent whines about your merc winning your battle for you, remind them that it’s just a lvl 9 as well!
Class-Specific Combat & Strategies
This section will focus on the notes and strategies that I have gathered facing each class below level 30. Any character above level 30 will give you exponentially more trouble not only because they have more skills, items, and life, but also because their clvl is simply far too high above yours for you to land hits consistently, let alone land hard ones. This is not to say that you can’t beat higher levels (my record is a lvl 41 Barbarian, not including the lvl 76 Druid that seemed too lame to be considered a true victory), but it will not be as clean of a winning streak.
Paladin – This will be your biggest challenge at all levels. Blocking is extremely good at anywhere from level 12 and up, which means you hit FAR less often. Couple this with Zeal, Charge, and Smite and you will be lucky to land hits as the paladins increase in level. My advice to you is to treat every Paladin as though he has 10 levels added to him. You will simply have to hope to land hits. More AR might help in this case. Be sure to make use of your bow.
Barbarian – This is the second hardest class you will face. Most barbs hit hard, so you will have to make your kill and make it fast. Occasionally you will find a double swing Barbarian that will hit so fast that you will not be able to land very many hits. Typically these barbs invest well in dexterity, so their weapons aren’t very hard-hitting. You can beat these barbarians with only minor worry. It isn’t until they reach level 24 that they become as threatening as a paladin. Frenzy WILL rip you up. Be very cautious of them. Flawed ruby suits might help if you find Barbarians to be a problem (although they will never be too much of a problem, since they have to be exchanging blows with you to win).
Necromancer – Yes, Necros come in third. The only threat that necros pose is when they have a lot of skeletal mages. They will tend to get in your way and deal lots of damage from all directions. It can be hard to target a necro that runs through his army. My advice for these guys is to run wide and pick off their minions. They typically will not go for more mages before challenging you again, making your job a whole lot easier. At low-level the highest golem that most necros have is Blood Golem. I don’t know why, but they keep casting them during combat. All you have to do is charge and release on their blood golem once and by the time you mouse over the necro he will be at ¼ life. If you see a blood golem consider the win yours. Necros typically have very little life so you will kill them before your third charge up. Watch out for Iron Maiden… if you are under this curse take out your bow and pick him off, or let your merc do the work. Note: I have never been able to kill a necro above lvl 35. Bone Spirit becomes a real threat at that point.
Assassin – Going claw-to-claw you will find that you come out ahead in most cases. Cobra Strike becomes a problem if they start releasing charges, but most won’t have the time to charge up Cobra AND Tiger Strike against you, giving you the advantage either way. The most deadly feature of an assassin is her traps, especially if she hits level 24 and gets lightning sentry. More lightning resist should take care of her. I wouldn’t recommend ever dropping your shield for a bow against this class, since they will simply take the free unblocked charges you have given them. Do not be discouraged if you cannot beat higher level assassins in melee, because they might be using the same tactics that you are using on them except with better gear! “Malice” rune word talons, for instance, will give you much trouble in almost every case.
Druid – These guys can summon an army every round, but if you know how to attack the army you are golden. Charge up on their Oak Sage first, then release charges on the druid. Charge up on the Oak Sage again, which should kill it and send the Druid’s life plummeting, and release on the Druid. He will typically morph out of wolf or bear form and be stunned for a second. Simply claw up his gut. These big oafs are easy.
Amazon – These little brats are always on the run. Once you catch them they are toast though. Make use of your bow and merc if they keep on running. Often times they are so busy focusing on your merc that they don’t see your arrows hitting them, and that is a LOT of poison damage to miss. The shoot-and-run amazons who use guided arrows can also be a problem for this build. If you don’t allow too much distance to grow between you and your opponent they become stuck in the position of chancing a claw in the boob every time they stop to shoot.
Sorceress – No comment. They stink at most levels up to 30. The tough ones will use firewall on you, but only when you are stationary in their face, which is right where you want to be. 1 or 2 hits max to take out these ladies.
Picking Fights
The most rewarding feature of a 9-Dueler is to walk into a game with a confidence that most people will find completely non-threatening, being laughed at and taunted by other players, and then being asked to see your gear one death later. Here I’ll tell you how to get the most out of setting up your fights.
Never forget that your greatest asset comes in being able to pick your fights so that you can surprise your opponent. You will want a character that HASN’T beaten Baal in normal that can scout out normal games for you, since your matriarch will be unable to see normal games. When looking for a game, look for act 1 or 2 games with many people, under level 30 if you can. Arcane Runs and Bloody Foothill Runs are best for this. You can also make your own game, but typically people won’t come to a low-level duel game unless you consider their level 50 to be low-level. With the addition of the “Normal Cow” channels in the channel list, cow games are now also a great place to find real challenge since most cowers will be between 30 and 40.
When you walk into a game and hostile the crowd, 90% of the time the first thing you will see on the screen is “lol”. That is your first target. The idea is to taunt him to the point where he has completely convinced himself that you are a pathetic mosquito and he feels the need to prove it to everyone in the game. When you kill him you will see rounds of “lol”, except this time they aren’t for you. People begin flocking one at a time to wherever you are dueling to give you a shot. After you have faced a few you have had enough experience to size them up and take them on two, three, even four at a time. Learn who to charge up on, and who to release on. I came out victorious in many 4-on-1 battles, all players over level 20.
You will get many people calling you a hacker, cheater, or demanding to see your gear (I usually tell them that they can only see if they beat me… this frustrates them even more, and you get a few more battles out of it!). Don’t cave in to them. You spent many hours and much wealth to build yourself up. Have fun with these players if you choose, but don’t let them get under your skin. These players will often leave and come back with their level 70+ dueler and demand a fight. Never forget that you can’t even land a hit consistently on characters above level 40. Just laugh at these people who need level 80’s to take down a level 9.
This completes this version of the guide. My thanks to Beldaws and Noir for their forum discussions and in-game testing. Additional thanks to all of the people who have supported v0.5 of this guide in the Diabloii.net forums. Hopefully we’ll see it in the strategy section soon! Support this guide!!!
This post was edited by Vincenzo on May 21 2015 09:58pm