The 1on1 MLD Orber

Introduction
Goals/Breakpoints
Stats/Skills
Items
Duelling Strategy
Final words

Introduction
Hey my name is Jannick, and ever since I started playing Diablo II many years ago, the orber has been my favorite. After a long time of badmannered highlevel duels,
I heard of MLD, which I joined about a year ago and havent regretted since. There are many ways to skill/gear the orbers, and often (especially in HLD) people tend to think
im out of my mind when I state my builds. This is my 5th remake of a MLD orber and by far the best choice if you ask me.

Goals/Breakpoints
FHR/frames:
0% / 15
5% / 14
9% / 13
14% / 12
20% / 11 (Will be using this)
30% / 10
42% / 9
60% / 8 (And this)
86% / 7
142% / 6
280% / 5
1480% / 4

FCR/frames:
0% / 13
9% / 12
20% / 11
37% / 10
63% / 9 (Will be using this)
105% / 8
200% / 7

Lol why not use the 105fcr breakpoint like everyone else?!?!? Before you start flaming, just think about it for a second. Personally I chose this breakpoint because its more than enough for teleport, and you would have to sacrifice to much damage
and -res to reach the next breakpoint. On top of that Frozen orb has a casting delay, which means that you wouldnt gain extra dps like fireballers/lightsorcs etc. "how will you catch 105%fcr fireballsorcs then?" - Pretty simple since the orb on top of the casting delay,
moves extremly slow aswell. You will not catch defwhore fireballers, not even with 200%fcr, so dont worry about it. "How will you escape then if the chase you?" - If we are so lucky that they actually chase us, you shouldnt try to escape, but rather dodge the fireballs
and bring a world of pain in the short range (where the orbers are strongest).
About the low fhr breakpoints. Most of the time people will stay away from you, which means that if they hit you and you move into hitrecovery animation, it will be a one time affair so you wont have any problems getting out of it again.
if you are duelling some who are a bit aggressive and will pressure you alot, then use the 60%fhr breakpoint (which by testing seems to be enough for me).

Stats/Skills
Stats:
Strength : 70 (enough for a gothic plate)
Dexterity : Enough to have maxblock using waterwalks/whitstans
Vitality : Nothing
Energy : All remaining points

"Why not using energyshield, and why the hell should I put all remaining points into energy if you play vitasorc?" - Like I said before, ive tested many build (including a es build with 1012life/2115mana). The problems you will run into here is the fact that frozen orb has
a very high mana cost (around 50mana), youll have high teleport cost (unlike lightsorcs) and low manaregen (unlike firesorcs). Es will make you tank more yes, but you also sacrifice alot of damage on that behalf which in the end will make your opponents tank even more.
As for putting the rest of my statpoint into energy, is actually the fact the you will drain you manapool way to fast if you dont (high orb/tele costs). Compared to the items I wanted to use, I found that its easier getting a decent amount of life without having to
cut your damage (this way i end up with about 1xxx-11xx life and 8xx-13xx mana depending on builds). Might seem freaky, but you will realize once youve drained a 1300mana pool in 30secs and have to refill with insight, that youve made the right choice.

Skills:
Warmth : 1
Telekenesis : 1
Teleport : 1
Iceblast : 1
Glacialspike : 1
Frostnova : 1
Blizzard : 1
Frozen orb : 20
Coldmastery : 20
Icebolt : remaining points

This way you will achive optimal damage, making it as hard as posible for opponents to outstack you (with support from a good amount of facets)

Items
I have tons of builds, so I chose just to post the items that I use myself. Hopefully this will give you an idea of how I make it work (if not questions is always welcome)





Duelling Strategy
I will classify the opponents as Easy Medium Hard
Do not feel offended if the char your playing isnt getting the rating you think it deserves (its mostly compared to other chars)
Most chars played right can be tough.

Amazon:

Bowa - Hard
These guys have the range advantage, so there is no point in waiting. Teleport in a unpredictable patern as quickly as posible and start raining orbs. If you get lucky you will be able to hold them in a dodgelock (where they cant run because they either are dodging or dying)
However most good bowas will know your trying to do this and will constantly run while firering 1 or 2 guides arrows at a time. when they do this you should teleport infront of where they are going and shoot the orbs back against them.
Even though you are a heavy underdog, then its a really fun and actionpacked duel. Luck is a big factor here since the amazon relies alot on dodges/crits/amp etc and you rely on block.

Java - Easy
Javazons have the great disadvantage like most melee chars do, that they have to chase you. This makes it alot easier for you to get in "full orbs" (a hit where the final orb explodes inside your opponent, or when the opponent is caught in the middle of you and the explosion. Max damage taken from the orb)
They do have lightningbolt to make you stay sharp, since its hurts aswell, and if you lets them get to close they will finish you of instantly.

Psn Java - Easy
If you get hit your hp will drop to 1 in a matter of seconds. I have tested builds with 75%poison length reduced + stacked res, but I still dropped to 1hp no matter what. Ignore res and choose damage. Anoy them with blizzard and wait for the right time to strike.
If the poison do hit you, then you should teleport on top of them instantly and start spamming orbs (poison wont kill you, so they will have to switch to guided arrow or lightning bolt to finish you of).

Necromancer:

Boner - Medium
This duel is pretty even, however its one of the harder duels to play. They will play very defensive always having huge amounts of of bonespirits on the map. the trick is to aim a blizzard at them, and when they start to run away from it you teleport after them and rain orbs.
Always teleport infront of them and shoot the orbs backwards. If they dodge well and get of some spirits, then get out of there and repeat the strategy.

Venomancer - Easy
Pretty much the same duels as against psn javas, however you will have to rely more on blizzard here, since the nova hit every angle, which makes it hard to sneak up behind them and orb.

Assasin:

Trapper - Impossible
This was my absolute favorite duel with my HLD orber, However after trying many many times in MLD ive realized that there are just some chars you cant kill.
Best advice is to refuse to duel them for fun, and ff if you bump into them in a tour.

Wof - Medium
High fhr is recomended here. They will stun the hell out of you (remember to run a litlle bit before trying to teleport if they mindblast you). A defensive playstyle is a must here, with the posibility of you jumping them once for a quick orb before getting the hell out of there.
Watch his movements so you dont teleport into a trap of traps. Blizzard will be your main skill is this duel.

Kicker - Easy
They will have to come to you, and simply cant deal enough damage compared to you if you teleport the right way (teleport in short areas, and often after your own orbs)

Druid:

Eledruid - Meduim
these guys are pretty hard to take down, because of the fact that there are allowed to recast their cyclone armor. Cyclone armor just absorbes your damage without caring about the fact that you have tons of -res. They will have alot of frw so you should really watch out for sync here.
Use maxblock setup, because you might be able to block the first damage taken from tornados. Use short distance teleports here because you will need to hit him a few times in a row to damage him before he recasts cyclone armor.

Fissure - Easy
They hurt like hell if they actually do hit you but they often dont. Teleport infront of them and fire orbs backwards. Keep them running until they die.

Rabies - Easy
Even though you have the advantage here, 1 mistake will result in a loss. They will have high frw so watch out for desync here. They will play defensively and try to catch you if you teleport to close to them while chasing. (they often have a bit longer range than most other melees)
Barbarian:

WW - Easy
They will have to come to you, but be aware of the fact that these guys tank a sick amount of orbs. Patience is the key to victory

Paladin:

Libby - Hard
This duel gets extremly boring really fast, since you will never ever see them on your screen. They will desync, then after a while desync again and then finally desync some more. If you feel like gaying a bit you should use corners and lakes you make it easier on yourself you gues where they will come from.
Charge/smite - Easy
If you predict their sync (which shouldnt be that hard) you will land a hell of alot full orbs on them, which makes this a very short duel. Use lakes/rocks to your advantage to break their charge.

Sorceress:

Firesorc - Hard
If they defwhore all the time, your in for a 15-20min duel you cant win. Most firesorcs arent that gay though and this can be a very enjoyable duel for both parts. Play a bit passive (without whoring, since we dont wanna provoke them to do the same) and try to land some good orbs before retreating a bit
to repeat. If they namelock alot you should try walking southwest while firering orbs northeast, thereby avoiding the first fbs from the namlock and dealing tons of damage. (often 1full orb is enough to win)

Lightsorc - Hard
Not as hard as firesorcs, but very close to. They dont have the same range advantage but their thunderstorm makes them alot more dangerous on midrange. Use shortrange teleports anf often in triangles, to make the take the most damage when engaging you.
They will win most of the times, but these are often close and fun duels.

Coldsorc - Medium
Iceblast have a short range, and not nearly as much damage as lightning or fireball, and blizzard is a bit harder for them to hit you with. Play against them as a combo of lightning and a firesorc. Namelock evade like against firesorc if they rely on iceblast and shortrange teleports like against lightsorcs if they use blizzard.

Final words
This guide was made due to the fact that many people have asked me quistions about my orber via pm, but also in hope to inspire more people to make them since its a enjoyable char to play.
If you like many others dont like some of the things in my guide (like not using 105fcr) feel free to post any comments. Always remember that your chars should fit yourself, so if you duel worse without the 8frame teleport then by all means go for it.
Gladly accept any comments (but be gentle if I made some spelling mistakes, since im not english).
Regards

gozi m8

very nice guide mate. another one that must be stickied

This post was edited by SirEdwards on Oct 14 2009 07:20am

good job. i like your build & strategies. nice to read as well.
some duels?

Just read over it quick but seems like a very nice guide and well explained , and a non c/c build which is always fun to read about.

why not use a % dr setup ?

I like the strategies a lot
Who knows maybe should I make a orber like my barb & fb sorc?

i like

could be the only playable mld orb build (nones but energy stated and 63 fc)

seems cute m8
was just wondering.... no maxblock?

he probably switchs life vs fc circ and soj vs raven for mb