hey there i just started LS hardcore obviously and as im lvl 30 i got to the point where i receive more damage than i deal. eating fish like there was no tomorrow and im just curious if the game is designed to be like that or am i doing something wrong?

First piece of advice would be get 100 vitality
Enhanced effect on weapon/armor and str or dex on charm.

going for 0 fg run throughs are extremely difficult and even experienced players spend a good 48 hours or so of actual play to reach level 71.

Main issue is that you have added 0 vitality, as each point of vitality increases health gained each level up by 1 as well as immediately gaining equal to your level in health when you stat it.



So to answer your question, yes the game is supposed to be this hard, If you're able to locate a level 30 weapon which you can use you'll find it significantly easier, or you can ask one of the kind souls on HC if they can get you an item, however especially for HC you're probably better off starting a new character and statting full vitality for a HC runthrough
Here' a topic offering freebies, might have some myself: https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=92825383&f=35


So i personally would recommend either rerolling (just resets your level back to 0, you keep proficiency which adds very small amounts of damage as you collect it) or starting a new character and statting vitality earlier.
on the plus side you have a crazy good tier 3 weapon in that club so getting back to level 30 again shouldn't be too much hassle.

This post was edited by Bigheaded on May 22 2022 09:20am

depending on the the weapon choice you decide upon will determine what charm you'll want either dex or strength on. if you choose to go with axes, daggers and staves, you'll want dex, pretty much any other weapon would be more strength based.

enhanced effect on the weapon would help you tremendously as well as one that is suited to your level/tier lvl 30/ ( IX ) ..

also.. using a level 10 armor at level 30 could be part of your problem as well. again you would want enhanced effect, or as a last case scenario an armor with str/dex on it to assist with killing damage.




I am currently climbing with my son who is new to slasher as well. you are more than welcomed to join my group ( Mudblood2 / Pronto )

damn right.. i was like "lets go full strenght, i will live longer if i kill things faster.."

looks like i was so wrong knowing that vitality increase hp gains per level

so the question - is barbarian a better poor man's starter than fighter?

You are not actually wrong in your thinking, but you need to have the other equipment to back up that thinking.

A full vit build will kill slower. Absolutely. But it will allow you to stick in the cata for long enough to kill at least 1 mob. Rinse, regen, repeat.

Barb and fighter are pretty identical.

Better starting stats as strength > dex for fighter/barb and barb starts with 60 instead of 50. Especially noticable if you use clubs. Also starts with 10 more vitality.
The main reason why you might choose fighter is preferring power strike over retribution, however after playing on HC i actually prefer retribution as well, so basically all good things for barb imo.

Basically want to stat retribution all the way to level 25-30 then power strike till level 40, then upgrade both of them as you feel till 71.


The full strength thing works when using good gear as yes all the mobs die before you take too many hits and can use EE armor to reduce incoming damage significantly.

alright thanks every1. i will start over with a barbarian :)

If going pure melee... Barb... use two (2) abilities: Retribution and Knockdown (believe Knockdown is a Barb ability.)

100 vita then rest strength.

Upgrade your armor just from drops if you are using a Tier V (level 10) armor, you are better to use a white TierX (or junker). I use a level 25 Chain that has 40 strength up to at least level 55 ... BUT, that is a good armor and I Melee/Heal, not pure melee as a Guardian (I don't recommend going Guardian, just stating my preference).

Goodluck and have fun, all others gave great advice.