just hit 44 on a barb and I am having some terrible trouble leveling solo, easily takes me 2 minutes to kill a monster and I have to end up healing after every two rounds
setup is:

Mystical mithril axe,
Damage: 103 to 124,
+66% Enhanced Effect,
+1 to 11 Life per Attack,
+1 to 15 Life per Kill

Mystical imbued leather armor,
Physical Defense: 14 to 42,
Magical Defense: 9 to 36,
+29 Dexterity,
+5% Heal Mastery,
+2% Glancing Blow

Mystical lightning VI,
Spell Damage: 6 to 60,
+20 Dexterity,
+2 Life Regen,
+1 Mana Regen

any suggestions on how to upgrade this?


Could also use suggestions on how to make some fg so I can upgrade this junk.

This post was edited by Pootar on Aug 13 2010 08:24pm

With your lack of fg it will be hard to upgrade but imo 124 dexterity at level 44 is too much. The first thing I would try to upgrade is your weapon and then look for an EE armor or Str Charm.

Guide to making fg http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=39535595&f=272&o=0

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions

Thanks, must have missed that little guide -.-

so should I hit strength up now ?

Yes. Most people feel that ~100 dex is sufficient.

you should trade your charm or armor to str instead of dex
over 75 dex is needed for good crit

ahh, was reading a few guides and they suggested 120-130 for newbies.

Those guides might be a little outdated.

This is true.



I have done a lot of melee testing, and ~100 dex is fine for the beginner to average user. Power users will want more like 120, but you shouldn't really need to go over that, and this is ALSO taking into consideration that your STR should be more than your DEX if you are shooting for damage.

I like to tell people to get their DEX somewhere between 90-110, with their STR at least 10-20 points higher than that. These numbers are to be reached at level 55, wearing gear. Once you get dex to where it needs to be, whether that is by using gear or hard stat points, the rest goes to STR.



Hope this makes sense, feel free to PM me or post in our guild chat if you ever have any questions, we always love to help.