So in the past, I've always done a blizzard sorc followed by a hammerdin and eventually more niche characters.

But the sorc always feels fragile, constantly teleporting to save a merc or to dodge melee. Constantly clicking all over the screen.

Hdins usually need enigma, but I've never actually built one that walked. And not as merc dependant. The flip side is if I had a fully geared hdin then the game is probably boring by that point.

What about a summoner necro with a bit of bone spear?

I would love it if a melee / ww barb was playable but I assume people are going to tell me they are too fragile in hell.

So what character would you make if you wanted like low budget (no high runes needed, maybe a few basic uniques), area clearing, farming basic stuff, but also easy to play?

Could ask another way like what is your ladder reset char if you don't like sorcs?

I would say go with your gut. Whatever you wanted to learn more about and test out, try that. Personally i've started many hardcore ladder seasons with bowa, along with goldfind barb, and stayed in nightmare until i had good enough gear to move on to hell mode. Two characters due to quest bugged boss runs.

Summon necromancer is definitely more relaxed, but can struggle against bosses, at least in the beginning. But with proper tactics it can work. One problem in hell mode is extreme squishyness. But every character struggle with that .. but necro more than others, due to lower hit points from vitality.

I've used trap assassin this ladder, it is probably the safest and "cheapest" build overall.

A melee barb will require good defensive gear to move on to hell, but every character needs that. You can make a concentrate barb, even 2-handed. You get extra defense from the skill. You will always have to play tactically, but it can make progress in hell. Couple it with find item for goldfind purposes.

One last thing i can mention is that this season, i've made one of every character, run them through every act as one clears them. I use the same setup on them all, using them as melee - even necro and sorceress! Using cleglaw's 3-piece set, and lots of other gear to boost hit points and stats. Necro gets bone shield, amplify damage and summons. Sorc use higher level frozen shield, enchant and a few other skills, like static field (mainly for bosses) and mana shield. Ama too, only passive/magic skills, is a real strong melee fighter, lol, due to critical strike. Will also invest in inner sight later on.

Really just doing that for fun, will try to keep it that way for as long as possible, but will most likely reset the skills when the time is right. I've found a lot of mid-range gear from quest bugging diablo and baal in nightmare, so that will most likely be the natural reset point. But it's always fun to experiment.

You could run a nova sorc with crescent moon

Those are some good ideas. Bowa sounds good actually. My gut is some kind of necro but have to figure out the right kind because summons alone seem underwealming but maybe ideal for wide areas.

Or maybe hdin. That's really the only character I've ever played that didn't feel squishy.

I never actually tried any kind of sin or druid in like all the years I played D2. Have to look into the sin trees more.






Cool idea. Forgot about that rune word.

If you want something cheap, fun and could find items maybe try:

IK barb. I like the build with maximg berserk, BO, Howl. 6 hard points in warcry will stun baddies for ~3 secs. So run into a pack, wc stun, berserk, berserk, berserk, wc stun, repeat.

It kills stuff (one at a time) but it’s satisfying to see their health bars get smacked!!!!

Summon necro is a good choice, use corpse explosion tho, not bone spear. Necro can clear hell naked if they wanted.

A budget build I personally enjoy is elemental arrow mavs zon(freezing arrow and exploding arrow)

javazon always my fav

On D2R the most enjoyable PVM budget build for me has always been the Summon Druid. True it's a gear dependent build if you really want to see his true end-game power but early on without any gear it's still a very good boss killer throughout normal and nightmare. You can solo your way to the early acts of Hell without too many problems, but by then you hope to start finding some greater gear or at least a high rune or two which you can trade for the gear that you want end game. I like it because it helps me clear all content in the game without much risk of dying,. Especially useful for Hardcore play. At least the way I play it.

I maxed the Raven skill right away with my first 20 points and then immediately maxed Grizzly Bear after that. A pro like me can do that given my expertise but somebody with less experience should max oak sage right away in Hardcore. Just so my pets can help me melt the bosses. Not hard to find an amplify damage source, really easy actually, with level 15 thorns on a cheap Edge runeword that make all the bosses go down rather quickly when the boss hits your bear and eight total wolves. You can see it happening like beautiful artwork. The five ravens, specifically, do benefit from the amplify damage also. Which is a bit overkill on normal and nightmare bosses but they help you against the random mobs. Against hell bosses you want all your pets including the ravens at the highest level you can get them. Any early +skill items will make you OP in normal and nightmare obviously but it's not necessary until Hell.

A Summon Druid with cheap budget gear is good enough to magic find better gear for yourself. Even in early act Hell hot spots like 'The Pit' in tamoe highlands which can drop any item in the game. I once found a perfect Shako and a random Tal's Armor there a couple games apart one time. I put both items on my Summon Druid to beef up the magic find. When I started to find better gear I was only wearing a total of +2 to all skill gear on at the time. Which was the spirit sword. I didn't even have a Jalal's Mane. In fact I found a Ber rune before I found my first Jalal's Mane.

I found a Ber Rune on my Summon Druid two ladder seasons ago at level 64 with merely Sigon Set and a spirit sword. Most expensive item I had on was the spirit sword and an Edge runeword on weapon switch. I was just clearing my way to Dark Wood in Hell and just noticed the Ber rune drop from a random mob. I had to stare at it for 25 seconds to make sure it was real. I nearly didn't pick it up. Playing that fun Zoolander build will get you some of the valuable items and runes so that you can eventually become good or trade for the items you need. Whether on that build or another build you may want to make. All solo play mind you. If you play in parties the Summon Druid can still be useful. Everybody can benefit from oak sage if nothing else. Nobody complains with more life especially on Hardcore.

I have a lot of secrets I can share with you guys about a Summon Druid. You can message me anytime if you want some in-depth details or if you get stuck and need help. Budget build or maxed out build. And I know somebody will say, "Why go through all that work when you can just make a Summon Necromancer and corpse explosion everything on top of that?" Yes, you can do that also but I personally enjoy playing Summon Druids and they can be just as effective if you're experienced with them. And also I'd probably die and get one shotted playing a high level Summon Necromancer. Because I don't have the experience playing them like I do Summon Druids. In Hardcore especially I find the Summon Druid a lot more powerful and survivable compared to a Summon Necromancer. In Softcore, sure, give me the corpse explosion option. As Softcore play doesn't require as much risk or strategizing to be good.

As a starter build, FoH is not bad.

Tried to make one last season, i just could not get it to work properly. It must be very gear dependent. Got a link to a build?