hey guys!

so recently I decided to play HC; never played it before, solely SC all these years...
died quite a few times obviously - last time yesterday, with a 70 sorc...

my main issue seem to be dolls and... play style, I guess? tell me what I'm doing wrong:

- I go ES (about 10 base and 20 TK)
- Orb (found if most fun; and useful)
- split points between energy and vitality - roughly 1/3 life, 2/3 mana (sometimes closer to 50/50)
- enough str to carry stuff
- items - I usually go with spirit (sword), stealth, lore, ancient's pledge and whatever res other items I can find

and yesterday I died... by dolls... in WsK, NM, again - just telebombed there and was gone within a sec (merc must've killed one or two, dunno). please help out with a HC build that is able to solo grind till hell and does not die as easily by dolls...
thanks!

This post was edited by justGosho on Sep 15 2024 05:15am

The way i've seen most people play hc is basically playing it as they play sc; Teleporting wildly. That will get you killed sooner or later. You simply cannot do that in hc if you play to survive.

That's why i focus mostly on chaos runs. Easier access. Baal runs can be done, but teleporting is basically a death sentence sooner or later.

1. You need BO Barb.

2. You need max ress.

3. You need some DR% / DR / MDR.

4. You need some block.

5. You need to know where you can go and what you should avoid.

#2 has your answer. dont do blind teleports, dont skip monsters recklesly, prepare a safe escape route *before* you get in trouble

the biggest issue with orb is you lack the ability to stun monsters in too many cases and you have to stand still for a moment to aim it well to be on par with blizz dps

blizz is much preferred because you can cast it then kite your target into the blizz

orb is great for wanting to split points into an es build but unfortunately es is a bit of a trap until you get a lot of +skills or lots of mana from gear



wat... you should definitely skip monsters especially if they do more dps than you do

hc players thinking that they have to full clear areas to be safe instead of moving on to easier kills is how they die

the safest escape route is to the next map area or save&quit

thanks all!

yeah I know orb is a learning journey, but it's very efficient... and I definitely think I'm playing a lot like a sc player.
giving it one more try, this time... being more mindful

BTW also accepting ideas for a self-starter-solo build good for HC (I don't plan on spending coins; just what I find)

Orb is ten thousand times better than blizzard. It hits better and more often, i find it stuns all the time. Blizzard much more unreliable. Hydra and orb is the best. Hydra great vs bosses. Deals damage while you are free to move around.

Your ES skill level could be too low so it wouldn't absorb enough damage. You need to boost it higher perhaps with prebuff gears, (3light amulet, 3 ES ormus, 9 ES memory staff etc). Your mana pool maybe too low. You may need more, try using + max mana % gear like sojs, frostburns, spider etc. I hav e played ES sorcs for 20+ years and mine tanks dolls exploding in my face without flinching.

thanks guys, all great advice and opinions!

will give it another try... also - if you have proven solo/self-found builds - send them my way, would appreciate it

Normal+nightmare: Fire bolt, fire ball, static field. Level static to ~15. Extremely op in normal and nightmare. Skill hydra as fast as possible when reaching 30.

Hell: Must have very good gear if even thinking about going there, merc too. Orb/hydra/static are my go-to skills. And synergies+mastery of course.