Anything Goes D2 Lounge!

[Fruit]

Yeah, fair enough. I'm not blind to the value of knowing your exact odds for any given HR, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered making some program that figures out exactly that. in my initial rant I already said that I agree that that the benefit is of the limited seed; that it is plausible to figure out which exact patterns there are, thus knowing exactly what odds you have for any rune, for any given superchest. But the limited seed does not magically make chests drop better, so if they had a 64bit seed and someone had done the math, I think people would still run LK because the math would've shown us what to expect. I just feel like the 16bit hype was never really so justified. But like I said, it was just a rant. Sorry.

Similarly I doubt many people will ever consider running act 1 cottages or maggot lair super chests unless they already know that there is something good there. The reason people were upset about the RoF chests was that everyone expected a great find (Jah, Cham patterns) and it was snatched away from them.

Right, good point. LK can have a lot of superchests near one another and close to a waypoint, it's tough to beat that. I was kinda hoping that some other areas are also worth running, if only for the variation. I don't mind some grind, but goddamn, always the same area, it kills me. I just noticed btw that Sewers Level 1 (in act 3) has superchests & sparklychests. I assume it still won't have anything over LK, but it makes me wonder if there are more areas of which I didn't know yet they can have such chests.

4 billion possible drops

There are significantly more than 4 billion patterns; over 18 quintillion. Two unsigned 32bit seeds.

 

[jjscud]

Yep, that is actually a know pattern, just one lost over time.



I probably should have put a HC warning there.

Traditionally, "special chest" refers to the chests that have a limited seed and only drop blue or rare items. Sparkly chests refers to the ones that can drop sets and uniques too and do not use a 16 bit seed for drops (they still drop a lot of stuff and should be quite nice in 1.13/14). Super chests traditionally referred to both. I say traditionally because I'm not sure that it was a technical reason, mostly just convention so that we could all talk about the same thing easily.

I always looked at it like this. Lets say you have two people roll a 6 sided dice 30 times. You wouldn't really expect to see each number appear 5 times but the odds will show a little. Up that to a 100 times and it should be a reasonable distribution. Now you put in two intermediaries (seeds) one rolls the dice 30 times and writes each number on a card. One of the original people then draws from those cards (with replacement) 30 time. The end result would be indistinguishable from a true dice roll. Up it to 100 times and maybe you would begin to see the nuances of what was actually written on the card. Our second pair do the same thing, except the first person only rolls the dice 3 time and writes those numbers on three card and the second person only draws from those three cards. This time the odds would be clearly broken with 30 rolls. You may end up with 0 3's and 10+ 6's If you pick 100 times there's no improvement.

Its the same thing with the seed. As long as the seed size is significantly larger than the odds, it doesn't matter much, but if it becomes much smaller, its a crap shoot if the number (item/rune...) appears but if it does it can break the odds significantly. With various places and player settings, we can, with some effort, locate the ones that break the odds in a favorable manner and go with it.

 

[pharphis]

I recognize that image!

I definitely googled "jjscud zod" many times.

 

[Fruit]

Yep, that is actually a know pattern, just one lost over time.

Damn, and I thought I was contributing finally. Thanks for chiming in and shattering my dreams!

Sparkly chests refers to the ones that can drop sets and uniques too and do not use a 16 bit seed for drops (they still drop a lot of stuff and should be quite nice in 1.13/14).

They do, though. The only proof I can really offer is a PM with a screenshots of my debugger where you can see the "16bit seed" as I use a sparklychest. The cause is that the function that initializes sparklychests gives them this limited seed. This is not the same initialization function as the one used for normal & super chests, but both functions will write to the object this limited seed. In case you're into debugging I can give the locations of the functions for 1.13d or 1.07.

 

[jjscud]

They do, though. The only proof I can really offer is a PM with a screenshots of my debugger where you can see the "16bit seed" as I use a sparklychest. The cause is that the function that initializes sparkly chests gives them this limited seed. This is not the same initialization function as the one used for normal & super chests, but both functions will write to the object this limited seed. In case you're into debugging I can give the locations of the functions for 1.13d or 1.07.

Interesting, we probably missed it back in the day because sparkly chests are usually a bit tougher to get to than special chests and I think there's always just one in any given location. (its a bit of a crap shoot what I remember exactly and what I've completely forgotten these days).

 

[srrw]

Yup, it seems the only thing I got was a lone Ist

 

[Luhkoh]

Better untwinked druid playthrough: windy or fireclaws bear? Trying to decide which way I want to go with him.

 

[art_vandelay]

Wind Druid is obviously going to be much much easier but it should be said that for FC WB you can basically get through with a 6os CS/PB, Infinity and some physical damage source other than volcano. (Seriously, Volcano sucks)

For the FC bear it's a good strategy to max the synergies benefiting Fissure first so if there's a tougher group of enemies you can throw fissures from afar to weaken them before you go in with FC.

Also it's advisable to level the Wind Druid to 75 before you have gone through most of hell so you can give the Merc Reaper's and play with that. Without it you only have the Hurricane Cold Damage for immunes.

 

[Luhkoh]

@art_vandelay ok great I honestly want sure which would be easier untwinked since i haven't played either. I figured it was windy, but with FC you at least get good dmg, high health, and immune solution easy. Nice advice on the fissure use

I doubt I'll have reapers on an untwinked playthrough, but I could farm up a lawbringer from hell countess if needing decrep.

 

[Jocular]

It depends on how much farm and luck, as with any untwinked playthrough.

I've done both untwinked, and I was lucky enough to find athenas without having to mf too much, that druid scythe. Honestly I think it was a quest drop from meph or Diablo, maybe even andariel? Can she drop it? Don't remember. Uppd with a shael, it's everything I need as a fc/maul hybrid. I find it more fun to play it as a hybrid. When you're just FC you lack (meaningful) leech and you're going to be facing a TON of fire immunes in hell. Like a lot. That's just no fun unless you have a robust physical attack as well. Might as well invest in your physical skills as well if you're going to invest in your gear to make it that much better.

I'd agree that windy is easier. I had a lot of fun with both builds.

 

[Jamie]

What are the best places to MF or farm and play around with on a Trapsin? I have one built pretty well, with max resists, Enigma, Infinity, 200ish MF and 7.5k damage traps. I am finding my Mercenary getting owned quickly and her having some trouble in spots. I am still only level 83, so I am sure leveling ill help the Merc. What gear goes best with Infinity and Holy Freeze Merc? Should I use Holy Freeze for crowd control or Might for his sake?

Also what do you guys usually do with all of the left over skills? I have a bit saved back after all the traps and synergies and the important shadow disciplines. I have max resists, so more into Fade seems pointless.

 

[Jamie]

Am I not looking in the right places to find good guides on this website? The ones I am finding are from like 2004 and offer up the suggestions of not even maxing some of the synergies to LS. It is obviously a terrible guide and from someone who didn't seem to understand the new patch at that point. I'm sure this was before Infinity was even a thing either. What am I missing? I want to find the answers to the questions I had before.

 

[srrw]

Most of the guides here are seriously outdated and wrong. Either stick to the recent ones or don't bother at all. Visiting the Mat/Pat/Guardian thread and all of the 99ers threads is usually a much better approach. Information is a bit scattered but much more accurate and up to date.

What are the best places to MF or farm and play around with on a Trapsin?

The Pits.

I am finding my Mercenary getting owned quickly and her having some trouble in spots. I am still only level 83, so I am sure leveling ill help the Merc.

You're on the right track. Leveling up will help him survive much better. Until then you can pull him back to you more frequently via Teleport and play a bit more defensively in general.

What gear goes best with Infinity and Holy Freeze Merc?

It depends on what you want to do. The general consensus is 'Cham' Andys + eBugged Fortitude. While it's really good you can get away with much cheaper alternatives. I for instance use Treachery+Tal's Mask very often with great success.

Should I use Holy Freeze for crowd control or Might for his sake?

I'd pick Holy Freeze. Most SC guys would pick Might. It's a personal preference.

Also what do you guys usually do with all of the left over skills? I have a bit saved back after all the traps and synergies and the important shadow disciplines. I have max resists, so more into Fade seems pointless.

Leftover skills? On a Trapsin?

DS/LS/CBS/SW - 20
FB - 3+ (Synergy to DS, powerful backup)
Shadow - 1 in everything except Venom (and Shadow Master/Warrior if you don't like them/need them)

 

[Jamie]

@srrw Thank you. I did LS/DS and all the LS synergies and then put 1 into all the Shadows, minus Venom and my claw has +2 Shadow Warrior so I have been just using a Shadow Warrior. I wasn't sure how much better Shadow Master was and if it was worth putting 1 into each of those and not worrying about the SW my claw gives.

I was entertaining either putting points into Fire Blast or into one of the Fire Traps, but thought the Fire Traps would be weak with the amount of skills I could put into it. I am level 84 with 7 skills free. I have Fire Blast on my left click, but it does low damage. I wasn't sure if maxing it was worth the addition it would give to DS and if it would make it viable vs Lightning Immunes on its own.

I guess Fire Blast looks like the way to go. Is it worth putting 1 into Shadow Warrior and Master? Or should I just rely on the +2 Shadow Warrior I have on my claw?

SIDE NOTE EDIT @srrw : I ended up moving a lot from the Trapsin to my level ** Javazon that has a Griffon's on her. I am starting to wonder if putting Enigma on her and using Infinity on the Merc, will make for a stronger lightning damage MFER, with more areas to do. It seems like she is a lot stronger maybe, with LF and CS. I really noticed that Hell Cows drop like flies with Infinity and on any player level. It is a little harder for me to get her resists high though.

 

[Gripphon]

New age guides covering all important details.

General efficiency playing
Build Efficiency 101 – Overview & Resource Compilation by ffs

Rune hunting areas
LK vs Travincal vs Cows Rune Finding Guide by Gripphon

Best MF areas: Pit and AT
Trapper has points in Fire Blast to have secondary damage source
Infinity is irreplaceable for many elemental characters with exception for Blizzard sorc

 

[helvete]

I leveled to 95 on p8 pindleskin. Very quick to run, harmony on switch with burst of speed and the high frw from enigma and wartravs.

Merc setup I used was infinity, shaftstop and vamp gaze.

Max mf made for slow teleport, but it's only two or three to lay traps in the chokepoint.

 

[art_vandelay]

What was the trick for recovering your map after clicking NM? I just terminated the D2 process in the task manager but the map was lost nevertheless.

 

[ffs]

@art_vandelay thats how it works but only if you did it immediately, not leaving town, maybe that’s what went wrong?

I have been keeping track of builds and tweaks to add to the 101 thread following discussions and new ideas that people came up this RFL, will get around to it after it ends.

 

[art_vandelay]

I brought up the task manager immediately because I noticed my mistake right away (it's an AT map). When I clicked the 'end process' thing for the diablo 2 process it 'felt' like pressing the close window button on the game itself. There was that black flash that I always get when I close out Diablo.

I guess the lesson here is to use the N key for map rerolling.

 

[pharphis]

Ending process SHOULD work. At least it always has for me. Maybe there's some intricacy I'm forgetting (I very rarely use task manager anymore and it has changed over the years)

an alternative if you're desperate and worried is to copy + paste the .d2s file before closing the game (to make a backup) or even setting the file to "Read-only" under properties. This will prevent saving ANY changes.