Matt lives and breathes D2 still

I'm on!

I am west coast but PM me to schedule a time

Nice guide homie...you're matt/joey's friend?!?

We have been playing together for like a decade.

SR is the top weapon when used correctly.

You can use the this calc to see if more dex/ar will help or not: http://www.democracyresources.com/d2calc

ive added extra dex for ages incase of gear changes here n there without tokening, all in all the spare dex seems like it helps a little or feels like it at times, but doing the numbers it really doesnt help at all u add like 90+dex its only like 1% not even just alot of wasted life for a slim to none chance of it helping just my feels on it. Also great guide and infos as always bud!

I was looking through some PM tutorials I gave to other people from years ago and am reposting this one:

I know the temptation is to always build for maximum vitality, but this isn't necessarily what wins.

Example matchup:

Zealer
2500-7200 damage
92% deadly strike
----
9312 average damage
791 average PvP damage after damage reduced % and .17 penalty

46k defense
22k attack rating
4300 life

vs

Fury
2600-8400 damage
52% deadly strike
8360 average damage
710 average PvP damage after penalties

4k defense
22k attack rating
10.4k life

In this situation, it takes (on average) the zealot 13 successful hits to kill the druid (10,400/791), and it takes the druid 6 successful hits to kill the paladin (4300/710).

So this becomes a factor of how to get in 6 hits before the zealot gets in 13 hits.

Assuming you're the same level:

22k attack rating vs 46k defense = 32% chance to hit, 8% chance to hit after max block is factored
22k attack rating vs 4k defense = 84% chance to hit, 21% chance to hit after max block is factored

Use this calculator to make it easier: http://www.democracyresources.com/d2calc

Both zeal and fury do 5 attacks, so when you look at the chance to hit after attack rating, defense and block are factored, you see one hit out of every instance of a 5-swing zeal attack will connect. In the druids case, you need to do between two and three full 5-swing furies in order to land one hit.

So it's a 2.625-to-1 ratio (21/8) of hits vs swings. If the druid has hit 5 times, the zealot has already hit 13.125 (game rounds everything down so 13) times, which exceeds the threshold and means this duel is almost always going to come down to whoever gets in the first and last hit, and usually favors the zealot at the last hit, especially if the druid doesn't get the first hit.

Alternative scenario:

Everything stays just about the same except druid attack rating goes up to 26k and life comes down to 9.6k.

• 9600/791 = 12 hits to kill the druid
• Still takes 6 hits to kill the zealot

26k attack rating vs 46k defense = 36% chance to hit and 9% chance to hit after max block is factored.

So this is now a 2.3-to-1 ratio of hits vs swings (21/9)

If the druid has hit 5 times, the zealot has only hit 11.5 times. So it can swing to the druid winning or the zealot winning, and now you have a practically equal matchup just by ditching some life in order to boost your attack rating. 50/50 win/loss vs almost always losing.

Play with those #s with a friend. Get their exact numbers, plug it into the formula, then figure out what ratio you need to aim for to land more hits per swings than they do.