Diablo 3: An Item Shop's Tale

[Crow.Why, of course!I'm clearly insane! .]

Details are still sparse, but here's what I've seen to access the secret level

The items needed:
Black Mushroom spawns in cathedral level 1 ACT1
Shinbone is located randomly in the fireplace in leorics manor ACT1.
Liquid Rainbow is located from the Mysterious Cave in the Mysterious chest in the Oasis in ACT2. You will know its the right place when you save the old man and he opens it up. the spawn point is always the same for the event.
Wirts Bell is sold from one of the merchants in the city on ACT2
Gibbering Gemstone drops randomly from the mobs in either of the caves which generate in the battlefield before the bridge on ACT3(The area where you destroy the ballistae)
The plans drops randomly from Izual on ACT4.

I almost have everything for Secret Pony Level. Going to introduce Izual to World of Warcraft-style farming later tonight for the pattern.

I'll post again when I get everything so we can lead a group and conquer it in the name of Ponygoons.

[Octavia]

I have THE WORST luck with crafting. I'm playing a barbarian and I'll try to make a new belt for myself, but it ends up taking 6 combines and 12000 gold because the first 5 results will have like +45 Int and +30 Health Globe Life

[RagnarWhat's older? Unicorns, or stars?]

I have THE WORST luck with crafting. I'm playing a barbarian and I'll try to make a new belt for myself, but it ends up taking 6 combines and 12000 gold because the first 5 results will have like +45 Int and +30 Health Globe Life

From what I hear, the best way to get new gear is the auction house, and crafting is for the late game.

[Val HelmetheadDamn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!]

From what I hear, the best way to get new gear is the auction house, and crafting is for the late game.

But... but... crafting is so much FUN. (And I got insanely lucky the last three things I wanted to make)

I feel like I'm leveling at a breakneck speed. I've cleared only Act II, Part 2 just today, and I'm already sitting at lvl 25. I'm pretty sure I saw early 30s people in Nightmare.

Then again I haven't really partied up with anyone yet. So friend me if you're working on Act II, or you want a 25 Wizzard running around flinging lighting from his fingers like it ain't no thang.

Also, I got disintegrate. It is everything I had hoped for. Bit weak for boss DPS, but AMAZING for chokepoint trash clearing, or getting rid of that ONE PESKY RANGED ATTACKER that's behind all the melee.

[Frosthawkwhat is this. what is this SHIT]

For the record, if anyone else needs guest pass access for any reason, I'm probably never going to use mine, so PM me if you'd like!


Also I just beat Act I on normal today. Lhet I don't know how you fuckin' do it.

[ArtificerGoes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.]

I am slow and am only part way through Act 2.

Also, I have kept my yellow-rating armor for a long time, and have started seeing armor that may be better but are blue! I am bad at playing a wizard and I am bad at this game since I really can't tell what pieces are better and what sort of enchantments are most important for a Wizard.


Also I can't help but be attached to the armor that I have dyed a pretty shade of blue.

[Crow.Why, of course!I'm clearly insane! .]

Just look at the comparison it shows. At times, I had to use Bows with no int, over items with some int because the Bows just had so much more raw dps. You can also compare with your character sheet, under Damage. Note that it doesn't take into consideration your offhand item. So if you switch between a 2hand and a 1hand+offhand combo compare it in the Damage section, not in the little comparison window/tooltip.

[ArtificerGoes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.]

So are damage boosts basically the only thing important for Wizards, then?

Also, DuskGleam in her current pretty pretty armor.


Still can't shake the Azula vibes though. Not sure if I want to.

[Huitzil]

My Demon Hunter is around level 18 in Act 2, if anyone wants to play with me.

I don't see how I would ever, ever use any of the other right-click skills. Why throw a single knife or a chakram when I could recreate the Dagger Item Crush from Symphony of the Night, only with FLAMING ARROWS?

[JaceNVTo save one from a mistake is a gift of paradise]

I just run with both on my Demon Hunter. Rapid Fire for smaller groups and single targets, but as good as it is, Chakram spamming seems to be really damn good AOE.

I'm not very keen on most of the Demon Hunter skills to be honest. I could take or leave most of them, not like the Barbarian where I wish I had twice as many skill slots. DH is a fun class but it just doesn't feel as polished or something, a number of skills just seem kind of half-assed.

[Dan Backslide]

Double chakram spam is extremely effective for aoeing, but you will run into corridors which make it not so good, so elemental arrow with the lightning rune really shines. I personally prefer EA over Chakrams, even in open areas, but that is just me. Impale is very, very situational with the stun rune. Though, it is pretty decent if you need to stay mobile to avoid mobs or fire on the ground since the damage is all upfront.

I will say the entirety of Devices and Archery are only good for a laugh, and not much else. The utility the other trees offer is way too useful.

[ArtificerGoes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.]

My Demon Hunter is around level 18 in Act 2, if anyone wants to play with me.

I don't see how I would ever, ever use any of the other right-click skills. Why throw a single knife or a chakram when I could recreate the Dagger Item Crush from Symphony of the Night, only with FLAMING ARROWS?

I'll play with ya.

[Perpetual]

I am slow and am only part way through Act 2.

Also, I have kept my yellow-rating armor for a long time, and have started seeing armor that may be better but are blue! I am bad at playing a wizard and I am bad at this game since I really can't tell what pieces are better and what sort of enchantments are most important for a Wizard.


Also I can't help but be attached to the armor that I have dyed a pretty shade of blue.

Here's the quick and dirty version: Int (and to a somewhat lesser extent vitality) on as many pieces you can in the highest numbers you can manage, +damage on rings and amulets whenever possible (+damage is added in before the int multiplier so these have a huge effect), highest dps weapon one-hander you can find with a decent mage offhand ideally (these have +damage as well so they'll generally have more value than another weapon or a two hander, unless you can find a really good mage staff).

The amount you need to min-max is overstated a bit, the only attach that is totally worthless for wizards is I can think of off the top of my head is thorns, but if you want to do more damage Int and your base damage is what you want to focus on. If you need to up your survivability then vitality is the best bang for your buck as far as I can tell, as well as keeping your armor rating up by using higher level gear. Item rarity only increases the number of affixes and changes the range/requirements of affixes generally, you can't really assume a yellow will be better than any given blue even within the same level range.

I will say the entirety of Devices and Archery are only good for a laugh, and not much else. The utility the other trees offer is way too useful.

Lies and slander!

Strafe is actually really good for small groups of very mobile enemies, and evasive fire is the best hatred generator the DH has in many situations.

[W.T. FitsSpoilers, you say? Well, in that case, I suppose I should avert my eyes.]

Haven't been playing as much as everyone else, only up to level 14 on my Barbarian and 9 on my Wizard, still in Act I on both.

I'm actually kind of torn. On the one hand, I'd like to play more with other people and just goof off and have fun. But on the other hand, I kind of want to experience the story and all the little side conversations and it's kind of hard to do that when I'm lagging back at town for whatever reason and all of a sudden whatever quest I'm on is suddenly completed because someone else in the group triggered the next event flag. But then I feel like a jerk for wanting to play solo when I've got all these people on my friend list I could be playing with, both from here and from my WoW guild.

[RagnarWhat's older? Unicorns, or stars?]

Haven't been playing as much as everyone else, only up to level 14 on my Barbarian and 9 on my Wizard, still in Act I on both.

I'm actually kind of torn. On the one hand, I'd like to play more with other people and just goof off and have fun. But on the other hand, I kind of want to experience the story and all the little side conversations and it's kind of hard to do that when I'm lagging back at town for whatever reason and all of a sudden whatever quest I'm on is suddenly completed because someone else in the group triggered the next event flag. But then I feel like a jerk for wanting to play solo when I've got all these people on my friend list I could be playing with, both from here and from my WoW guild.

Playing alone does not make you a jerk. It's not your responsibility to play this game in any way except the way you most want to.

You could also just play half the time with your friends using one character, and the other half on your own with a solo character. After you experience the story once, you can just drop one character and play with your friends.

[Lhet]

I unlocked the rainbow unicorn level.
HOURS AND HOURS OF FARMING/GRINDING

But it's awesome.

[Frosthawkwhat is this. what is this SHIT]

I'll play with ya.

I'm around this level too so if you guys want a third person, I'm down.

[ArtificerGoes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.]

Haven't been playing as much as everyone else, only up to level 14 on my Barbarian and 9 on my Wizard, still in Act I on both.

I'm actually kind of torn. On the one hand, I'd like to play more with other people and just goof off and have fun. But on the other hand, I kind of want to experience the story and all the little side conversations and it's kind of hard to do that when I'm lagging back at town for whatever reason and all of a sudden whatever quest I'm on is suddenly completed because someone else in the group triggered the next event flag. But then I feel like a jerk for wanting to play solo when I've got all these people on my friend list I could be playing with, both from here and from my WoW guild.

I have the same problem, and I would honestly not mind at all waiting for conversations to get done. Sounds like we could party sometime.


Edit: I just watched a level 28 Barbarian friend with over a thousand armor stand there and just bash on [spoilers]Belial[/b] until he won. I can't do that in my Wizard. What's Wizards got going for them? He has higher DPS than me too. Worst wizard.

[Val HelmetheadDamn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!]

I've been sitting through all the conversations. The story isn't too bad. I'm really enjoying how you can find tomes / satchels / notes / etc. for more story. My big problem though is sometimes I accidentally interrupt dialog by clicking on the lore box and hearing something else interrupt the banter.

[Vorelas]

Wizards have the ability to light up everything on the screen going for them. They are primarily crowd control via damage from my experience. I usually have more trouble finding decent single target attacks, as opposed to aoe spells where I'm a Swiss army knife.

[Val HelmetheadDamn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!]

Wizards have the ability to light up everything on the screen going for them. They are primarily crowd control via damage from my experience. I usually have more trouble finding decent single target attacks, as opposed to aoe spells where I'm a Swiss army knife.

That's definately the case. Plus the whole "glass cannon" thing means that the final boss of ACT IV (you know who he is) is wrecking my shit in stage 3. It helps that I've got enough latency that by the time I see the attack that freezes me in place coming, it's too late to dodge.

I only have so many buttons to push to keep me alive damn it! And my single target DPS isn't that good. It's pretty much "Ray of Frost" and hope for the best.

[RagnarWhat's older? Unicorns, or stars?]

That's definately the case. Plus the whole "glass cannon" thing means that the final boss of ACT IV (you know who he is) is wrecking my shit in stage 3. It helps that I've got enough latency that by the time I see the attack that freezes me in place coming, it's too late to dodge.

I only have so many buttons to push to keep me alive damn it! And my single target DPS isn't that good. It's pretty much "Ray of Frost" and hope for the best.

No idea what stage three looks like, but can you kite at all? Hydra and blizzard don't require that you sit still, so you can just throw them out there and let them work while you run like a squirrel. Diamond skin is purportedly awesome and I think frost nova actually works on bosses. Getting another player to help should work best, though, since your follower can't come.

[Val HelmetheadDamn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!]

No idea what stage three looks like, but can you kite at all? Hydra and blizzard don't require that you sit still, so you can just throw them out there and let them work while you run like a squirrel. Diamond skin is purportedly awesome and I think frost nova actually works on bosses. Getting another player to help should work best, though, since your follower can't come.

Diamond skin and frost armor are already my two bestest friends. Frost nova is nice, but I've gotten away from that for the Force Push or whatever it's called. The one that knocks enemies away and does 200% damage. I did confirm that the boss can be frozen (thanks frost armor!)

As to the fight - Kiting is... possible but not 100%. Hydra kiting might work for cheesing while I just dodge everything and anything... I'll have to give that a try and see if I get chased down. My biggest problem is I'm doing a kite, stop, fire method right now, and I'm running myself into a corner, then getting gibbed while my pot / diamond skin are on cooldown.

[Octavia]

Just beat Diablo on normal. Time to move up a difficulty level!

[RagnarWhat's older? Unicorns, or stars?]

Diamond skin and frost armor are already my two bestest friends. Frost nova is nice, but I've gotten away from that for the Force Push or whatever it's called. The one that knocks enemies away and does 200% damage. I did confirm that the boss can be frozen (thanks frost armor!)

As to the fight - Kiting is... possible but not 100%. Hydra kiting might work for cheesing while I just dodge everything and anything... I'll have to give that a try and see if I get chased down. My biggest problem is I'm doing a kite, stop, fire method right now, and I'm running myself into a corner, then getting gibbed while my pot / diamond skin are on cooldown.

Get Octavia to help you

I found at least one Youtube video of someone beating Big D with a solo wizard. I only watched the first few minutes, but it involved firing disintegrate for a half second and then running away, rinse, repeat. The video was 18 minutes long, although, to be fair, it might include the final cutscene.

I wouldn't know, but I feel like any attack in this situation the requires you to stand still for its duration is a losing proposition for any player who isn't both stubborn and lucky.

Have you tried gearing up on the auction house? Great weapons are pretty cheap right now. I know I mentioned that already, but I think it's worth saying again.
e:

Jeez, two +3-6 damage rings and one +3-6 damage amulet take my 1H/OH DPS from 200 to 296. You can buy damage rings from a vendor, at level 25 and probably much sooner, by hopping in and out of town - I just bought a +3-6 damage/+7% attack speed ring and bumped from 296 to 317, and upgraded my other jewelry to +3-6 damage/+magic find. If you're looking for a way to upgrade while the AH is down right now give it a try.

[W.T. FitsSpoilers, you say? Well, in that case, I suppose I should avert my eyes.]

Frost nova is nice, but I've gotten away from that for the Force Push or whatever it's called. The one that knocks enemies away and does 200% damage.

My wizard's still a lowbie (just made it to level 4 of the Cathedral earlier today), but I actually enjoy combining those two.

Step 1: Let mobs surround me.
Step 2: Frost Nova.
Step 3: Force Push.
Step 4: If anything managed to survive (and most trash mobs don't), Magic Missile them down individually, or some of them wound up clumped together, Arcane Orb them.

It's immensely gratifying to see in action.

[ArtificerGoes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.]

My God. Some of the random drops like the liquid rainbow and the gibbering gem are mindbogglingly hard to get.

[Crow.Why, of course!I'm clearly insane! .]

My God. Some of the random drops like the liquid rainbow and the gibbering gem are mindbogglingly hard to get.

This should help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI3hWQDRufY


Just takes some patience.

[AramekYour MRI results have shown total infection to now be approximately one fifth of the full mass of the tissue."So you're saying..."Your brain is about 20% tumor.]

Know what's been awesome?
Playing with y'all.

[Lhet]

My God. Some of the random drops like the liquid rainbow and the gibbering gem are mindbogglingly hard to get.

liquid rainbow is terrible. Be sure you have all speed boosting abilities hotkeyed, then port and go straight downish to the one area hoping the guy is there. Repeat 1000 times.
gibbering gem is actually not bad. I bumped the difficulty to nightmare: that way it felt like farming, and I made about 70k.

[ArtificerGoes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.]

liquid rainbow is terrible. Be sure you have all speed boosting abilities hotkeyed, then port and go straight downish to the one area hoping the guy is there. Repeat 1000 times.
gibbering gem is actually not bad. I bumped the difficulty to nightmare: that way it felt like farming, and I made about 70k.

I've tried about 20 times for both. I haven't gotten it yet. The fact that the guy can be there and the caves will be opened yet the chest won't necessarily spawn is literally the most terrible grind thing ever.


Edit: Aaaaaaaaaaand three attempts later after typing that, I get it. Time to go for the other one. Still was terrible though.

[The great MPinke Torte das Pony.---]

I got the liquid rainbow on my first try

Secret level is OK, but not as cool as the cow level was.

[ArtificerGoes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.]

I got the liquid rainbow on my first try

Secret level is OK, but not as cool as the cow level was.

Still gonna need the last thing, but since it's in an area closer to my level, I'm not as bothered by it.

[Huitzil]

I will say the entirety of Devices and Archery are only good for a laugh, and not much else. The utility the other trees offer is way too useful.

Blithery-poop. Multishot is just preposterous damage on a gigantic cone of enemies. It's like a God-damn crossbow shotgun of death.


Also, since I don't think the game ever tells you and I never figured it out until looking it up: Dual-wielding does not add the damage of both your weapons. It averages them, then gives you a 15% attack speed increase for dual-wielding. If you have one weapon that's markedly better than the other, dual-wielding brings your damage DOWN.

Also rebind 1234 for your skills to QWER, it's SO much easier on your fingers.


also also also, I said I wanted to play with people but never gave out my name/ID, so: Huitzil#1778

[Crow.Why, of course!I'm clearly insane! .]

I now have the Pony Level key. Let me know if you want me to open the door for your group or want to see it! If you're low level, I'm pretty sure I can still take you through. The mobs are tuned to about level 40. My Wizard is level 51 at the moment so they don't have a chance.

I got a few pony achievements, but I'm not sure if they're from just entering the level or obtaining the Staff of Herding. Either way, this is my new standard:

[Highbrow DashAJ, Rarity! What's happening?]

So what's a fun Diablo 2 class if I'm thinking of playing through it again now?

The only ones I've tried are a Paladin with the "1 click = 30 attacks" skill and a skeleton necromancer, which apparently are the absolute worst classes I could have possibly picked

[Val HelmetheadDamn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!]

Cleared normal and off to Nightmare. Damn, single target DPS boss fights are a pain.

Strategy was "stunlock cheese". I think I had something like a 7 second cooldown on my frost nova, between passives and glyphs. Any time I got below half life I'd run away and quaff a potion / drink the health well. I had a familiar to help with my DPS and went with slowing glyph instead of + damage after 1.5 seconds on frost ray. Storm armor instead of frost armor helped with taking the hits.

[ArtificerGoes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.]

I now have the Pony Level key. Let me know if you want me to open the door for your group or want to see it! If you're low level, I'm pretty sure I can still take you through. The mobs are tuned to about level 40. My Wizard is level 51 at the moment so they don't have a chance.

I got a few pony achievements, but I'm not sure if they're from just entering the level or obtaining the Staff of Herding. Either way, this is my new standard:

I'm still hunting down the ingredients myself. I would like to take a shot at it, though.

[Crow.Why, of course!I'm clearly insane! .]

Really Blizzard? Really? Invulnerable fucking mobs?

This asshole (not invulnerable) and his pack of minons chased us throughout the map. We literally could not touch them.

[RagnarWhat's older? Unicorns, or stars?]

Really Blizzard? Really? Invulnerable fucking mobs?

This asshole (not invulnerable) and his pack of minons chased us throughout the map. We literally could not touch them.

Those are the ones where you have to kill the main guy before you can harm the others, right?