LLD101 - Melee - MLD Zealot
Introduction to PvP and LLD/MLD PvP
Player vs Player (PvP for short) was an integral part of the game Diablo 2 : Lord Of Destruction (D2LOD). While the PvP community as a % of the total D2LOD population was small, the pursuit of PvP gear invariably made Player vs Monster (PvM) players rich, with players repeating the Leveling, Magic Finding, Upgrading and Selling process each Ladder Season. This pursuit of PvP items also applied at lower dueling brackets. Low Level Dueling ("LLD") encompasses the dueling brackets 9, 18 & 30 and 49, both "Click and Hold" melee dueling and "standard" dueling in the blood more. Level 9 PvP is typically referred to as Very Low Level Dueling or "vLLD" while Level 49 PvP is typically referred to as Mid Level Dueling or "MLD". There are some slight variations to the dueling brackets from time to time i.e. Level 12's competing with restrictions against level 9's and characters above level 49, with restrictions, competing against level 49's, respectively. Duels take place in the Blood More in normal difficulty ( Melee duels "Click and Hold" might sometimes take place in Inner Cloister) and Mana Potions (and all other potions) are never used. Users have played LLD for decades, spending sometimes years to perfect their characters. Some players to this day are still trying to perfect their characters in D2LOD. The Journey to perfection of a PvP character has restarted in the game Diablo 2: Resurrected (D2r) and with changes to the game (FHR, new mechanic's, new runewords, new charms, new synergies, redundant or missing guides etc.) a new set of guides is being written to support new and old players coming to the game. The pursuit of perfection involves tens of hours of effort - its a labor of love and is often frustrating (item availability in particular!), never the less, we all need a HOBBY, and for some people, this is it.
As with all PvP dueling brackets in D2r, the goal is to perfect your character as best you can in order to increase your Attack/Defence sothat you can do more damage and defend more. The lower the bracket, the more your gear will play an integral part of your success. For Melee only duels the skill lies in perfecting your character, and therefore the closer to perfection, the closer you will be to winning. In this regard players will always seek to Min-Max their characters to perfection. Min-max is a gaming term used to describe the process of minimizing your weaknesses and maximizing your strengths. This means having your character rushed through normal, nightmare and hell, completing Anya and all Stat/Skill Quests (get a friend to help otherwise you might level up by accident), getting a perfect inventory and equipping your character with the best gear and sockets possible.
Introduction to Level 49 Melee Dueling
As with all brackets, there are two types of dueling : "Open" and "Melee". This guide is specific to MELEE ONLY i.e. "Click and Hold" Duels.
(A) Limitations to dueling at Level 49 : This dueling bracket (as with all LLD dueling brackets) has skill, stat and item limitations (based on level) not seen at in High Level Dueling. Remember now, the required Level is 49. While we endeavour to ensure that each class has at least 1 viable build in Open, For Melee we are limited in what we can do. For now there are no limitations on gear for balancing purposes (noting we need to see a far more active community in order to best determine what, if any, balancing is required). The 3 main builds, at this time, are Conc Barb, Shaper (Wolf) and Smiter.
(B) Items - All of the builds at this level will broadly use the same Set, Unique and Rare gear. This means the following (easy to obtain) items would be regarded as the "standard": Eth Oath Weapon, ShaftStop, Angelic Ring and Amulet, Raven, Gores.
(C) Damage modifiers at MLD: Grief is level 59 so we dont need to talk about whether its allowed or not (hint: its not), but BOTD is also out due to its level requirements. Therefore the standard weapon is Eth Oath (355% enhanced damage). As it is easier to beat Oath then it is to beat a BOTD (nothing beats grief ok), MLD is the home for Rare Eth Rep weapons (up to 450% Enhanced Damage and potentially with IAS and 2sox). The problem we face however is that if a weapon beats BOTD then you are competing vs HLD players that usually have deeper pockets. Relating to another item that grant fantastic damage - Highlords - this is not available at MLD. In this regard alot of the standard items worn are readily acquired (Angelic Combo etc) and with no credible alternatives its a case of one item fits all (builds).
(D) Jewels & Runes - the go-to at this level bracket : As with rare weapons you are competing against High Level dueling players for jewels, noting high level jewels are typically level 42 "30ed 9str 9dex 60ar". The only exception re: Jewels MLD vs HLD is that at level 49 the best IAS jewel is 30ed/15ias. A 40ed/15ias is above level 49 and costs way more. Sockets - Ohm and Lo are both over level 49 so they are out, as are Cham/Ber. Um could be considered in a weapon if you already have enough IAS (unlikely) but a ED/AR/ REQ/STAT jewel is probably the best you can put in a rare weapon.
(E) Charms - One of the great positives of MLD is that the entrance cost to the bracket is quite cheap. While 1PC/30 Life charms still cost about 200fg, you can get 1Shape/30Life and 1Masteries/30Life quite cheap (30-50fg). Small charms 20life/36ar (450-600fg) are now quite common and have come down in price since last year. While 3/20/20's (9500-10,000fg) still remain very expensive 3/17/20's are about 900~1000fg. In this regard more players can get a perfect or near-perfect inventory at MLD that at any other dueling bracket right now.
Overview of Level 49 Zealer
Not much has changed from D2LOD to D2r for Zealers, other then that Shapers are now a nightmare of course. While Zealers reigneds as top dogs at HLD in D2LOD they always had a few problems at MLD, and now they have more. Nevertheless, Zealers are competitive. They are FAST, STRONG and have excellent DEFENCE. The only real drawback is the low life pool. Similar to both Conc Barbs and Shapers, the items required for the build are fairly straightforward: Gulli, Angelic Combo, Zaka, Oath, Raven, IAS Gloves, Gores, String of Ears & Shaftstop. Similar to Barbs, you can use several types of charms with the most common being Grand Charms 1PC/30 Life or 10Max/76ar/30 Life.
Pros to the Build
Easy to make with attainable gear
Relatively cheap inventory (compared to HLD, but 1/30 PC skillers are currently floating around 200fg each, while 3/20/20's are ofc 9.5k (3/17/20's are 1000fg, easy upgrade).
Herald of Zakarum (speaks for itself)
High Attack Rating
Fast Attack
Big Damage
Cons to the Build
Relatively Low Life
upgrading from Gulli can be expensive (Crafted 2sox Visio 10DS Casque's sell for about 5000-7500fg right now)
Jewels are more expensive at this bracket then they are at lower brackets as you are invariably competing with HLD players for PVP jewels (thankfully you dont need many jewels)
But what about Faster Hit Recovery ?
With the changes introduced in Diablo 2 Resurrected in Patch 2.4, you basically dont need any FHR.
Break Points: 0 7 15 27 48 86 (not needed) 200 (not attainable)
The Items that make the build
Helmets
1. Crafted Blood Casque Visio 10DS 2sox Enhanced Defence Life - unless you have a dream weapon, this will be your most expensive item.
2. Guillaume's Face - the starter helmet (its pretty good!)
Amulet
1. Angelic Amulet (in combination with Angelic Ring)
2. Rare Amulet 2 PC 60 life 15str 15dex (good looking finding something like this)
Its impossible to beat the AR Bonus on Angelic's but a rare ring can grant you massive life (in tandem with a rare ring).
Body Armor
1. Shaftstop- 30%DR - Hard to Beat - Used vs Paladin and Shapers.
2. Stone - can be used in high defence builds vs Barb's
3. Eth Rep High Def Armor (to replace stone)
I personally just use shaftstop but some people are using stone/rare armor. more results needed for a definitive position vs each of the classes, Shaft vs Stone.
The Weapon
With various trading platforms and more focus on Melee dueling at HLD then ever before it now realistically possible already for players in D2r to get their "end game" weapon - provided they have the fg for it. At present dream weapons (400-450ed with 20-40IAS) start from 2000fg and can go up to 40,000fg and beyond. We have not seen many of these that also come with 2Sox. The Visionary Mod is not needed as much at MLD as it is at HLD, but would be useful for paladins.
Weapons
1. Eth Oath Small Crescent
2. Rare Eth Rep Weapon 400-450% ed with IAS
3. Rare Eth Rep Weapon Fools Mod with IAS
D2:R