Newer player feeling stuck

I bounced off D2R a few times when it came out and a few weeks back decided to give it another whirl. I'd never done an assassin before, thought i'd give it a try, and fell in love with how pheonix strike worked. this is currently my only character.

I've been stonewalled at the beginning of hell mode (this is apparently very normal), and can't figure out what i'm missing. I've thought of 4 possabilities but would appreciate some Insight.

I might need to:
1) Farm more gear, as my current set doesn't cut it
2) Overlevel my targets better so that their hit chances are lower
3) Change my playstyle and 'get good', possibly by avoiding any ranged packs
4) Accept this is a limitation of the build and pick a new class/build until I can farm the appropriate gear

I can comfortably and easily farm basically anything in nightmare (and have been enjoying reclearing it)

If theres a better place to point this discussion please let me know and I can move it.

Otherwise, thanks for any responses

In general in Hell there are many physical / magic / elemental immune monsters so you need specific builds or gear to deal with that.

If you really want to go solo, then I think you can just try some different builds like Cold Sorc or Hammerdin that are not gear dependent to farm some gear and then come back to the assassin when you have some better gear.
It's all about gear and builds in D2R imo. If you dont have gear then you pretty much have to use specific non-gear dependent builds to clear hell.

You can also keep in mind that its not necessary to clear all areas and monsters in Hell (and its sometimes just not possible ). You can just skip monsters you can't defeat and get to act bosses to get to Act 5 instead and farm there. I usually do

Baal runs in NM up to lvl 60 then rush through Hell. Then I farm the areas my build can actually farm without issues (for example

Ancient Tunnels with Cold Sorc, Stony Tomb with fire druid etc) and avoid areas I can't farm

Also, imo the game was designed around party play (immune monsters pretty much force that sometimes ), so for example if you are using primarily fire damage, team up with some cold damage dealer and clear hell together. If you have a team then you can get away with pretty much any gear and build.

Absolutely unfamiliar with assasin class, but just from seeing your gear i can guarantee that no class can handle hell with it.

Everything except

Belt and

Boots must go with something else, much higher uniques/runewords or set items

Also you didn't say a thing about your merc gear which is important in hell (well as everything else)

Finally, you have no torch and anni, they boost everything a lot

i'm also not familiar with assassin, but besides what n8mare said, u should fill stash with charms and leave just 8 space for loot

You can farm late nightmare efficiently until at least level 73. It's hard to clear most of hell unless your character already has "starter" endgame gear that's often found in hell. Said gear can be obtained earlier through trade with more established players. Martial arts assassins are extremely underrepresented in this game, so you will be able to get your character geared for much cheaper than what can be expected with most other classes.

Weapon-based characters generally do better when they're slightly overleveled because of how hit checks are calculated.

It's more efficient in hell to just skip packs that you can't kill quickly. All characters have issues with immunities to their main damage type, and there are some non-immune monsters with high enough resistances that are worth skipping too.

If you're having trouble clearing the game solo, then you can try copying one of the meta martial arts builds from online guides. That will help you get started, and you can customize/make it your own later on.

Yes, that is normal.
You are poorly geared and the build is not recommended for starting.
I don't see many people playing this build.

For your current build/playing.
You can put 1 point into

Fade for more resistance.
With BoS, you can ignore any monster by running lol, just skip ranged packs.

The choice depend on what you want to do later.
If you want to finish hell with all character/build without end-game gear then you accept the limitation of this build and try to finish hell with it. It is quite hard if you don't have experience with the game.
If you want to get end-game gear then the only way is for farm. In this case, sorc and pally are better option.

Sounds like you have the right attitude for advancing,

The previously mentioned is pretty on point. Gear is surely important, merc's are extremely helpful in hell as well, they provide buffs, distractions, and can even help thump some of the immune mobs you're having troubles with.

Also resistances I find are extremely important, especially when your playing something you know will get hit, or just learning. Though, there will always be serious threats..

Nihlathak's vipers, souls, stygian dolls, ect. Most of them are quirky or need some mechanical knowledge to approach safely.

You gear does seem quite lacking for Hell. Though the build you have chosen (not the class) is most definitely a tough one to bring up as a first/main character. Nothing is impossible, however.

Phoenix Strike is surely fun! This just may be a monumental hill to climb (depending on your approach and rng), especially if your taking the pure solo route.

Are you just looking to get established in general, getting your foot in the door so you can start farming to gear up and maybe get some gear for new builds you want to try? Or are your hellbent on pushing through with

Phoenix Strike?

Have you considered, with the 3 free respec and tokens available these days, about swapping to traps? Lightning trap + some strategically placed

Death Sentry +

Fire Blast (Or go pure lightning/

Death Sentry with a

Lower Resist

Wand. iirc light immunes are easiest to break. Skipping packs can be tough sometimes.

Teleport staves exist though!) makes an assassin a pretty wide reach starter Hell character. (I am less familiar with

Wake of Fire aside from leveling.)
As you are already here at diablo2.io and have linked a maxroll planner, you should have lots of template ideas for the build. The fact they can set traps and then focus on survival is also very helpful. Trapsin seems to be a very popular choice for breaking through hell for the first time. The playstyle really allows you to push further undergeared than a lot of other classes. You also gain more leeway while gearing, you can focus a bit more on survival and pick up your + skills where and when you can. Also, you can use Spirit (you could also dual Spirit when you get 4sock

Monarch), you are not restricted to

Claws (though your endgame goal may be some beauty magic

Claws.)

You may want to think about an Act 2 merc with something like Smoke or duriels shell to start, they can still get dropped but he will provide some buffs and do his best to stay in the fight. You can look into what pokin' stick you want to give him, I'm not entirely sure the comfort of Insight would be that great for a trapsin without Enigma, but that mana regen may allow you to focus more on the fight at hand. I'm assuming Infinity is out of the question for now, but there are other options. Grabbing something with decent damage and nice life leech if he doesn't have it elsewhere is a good target. You can start looking into more tried and true gearsets as your establish yourself. Though, some things just like to spank mercs, it's just the way it is. Like Trav council.

There is also coop play. As mentioned the immunity aspects do push for coop play. Infinity can help for pure element builds, but that is a whole different objective/investment in it's own. If your looking for solo play, you may want to consider strong dual element builds, or like mentioned above tried and true stuff like blizzard sorc. I personally decided to try a cold/fire sorc when D2R dropped, it was extremely viable, fairly fun, (Hell ancients solo felt like a battle of attrition.) and turned out to be the stepping Stone I needed to get into builds knew I enjoyed. Looking area level 85 farming spots that work well with your character, think about throwing them into your farming routine when you do start getting a foothold in hell. Aside from a couple archer packs catching me with my pants down, The pit was a premium spot for my sorc. There are even more lvl85 areas now too.

Torches and Anni are very nice, but not necessities. Though, these days you could look into Dclone even now if your in Act1 Hell. The Clone tracker on this site is generally very accurate these days, thanks to the nice folk who take the time to update it. You could definitely hop on a clone spawn and take advantage of the ability to ask a charitable soul who would be willing to come and pop him for you. (Also found on this site ) As for a torch, you can determine the need for that on your own, cost vs reward. The stats on these things are just as juicy as the +skills in my opinion. (If you really want to park on a suspected dclone spawn, think about dropping frame

Cap a bit, resolution, and look into the act 2 trick to not get afk booted, I think there is A1 too. You should be able to keep your room fairly cool and wait out a spawn)

So, your "I might need to" list is actually extremely accurate.. You just have a decision to make. Don't forget you can always come back to

Phoenix Strike after you have squeezed some gear out of demons.
Do what you feel is fun. There isn't really a wrong way to play this game (or any game?). Some play styles are just extremely ineffective or inefficient, but fun is fun.
I hope that whatever it is you decide on is enjoyable and allows you to really hit stride to enjoy what this game has to offer.

Goodluck!


Edit: As a post below mentioned and reminded me. AR is extremely important for melee, misses indeed equal increased TTK and that can lead to a higher chance of bad things to happen. You also don't get your leech and other goodies on misses. I'm terrible at calculating this, but hopefully you fare better. It's a rather delicate balance of AR and HP it seems. Tip the scale too far one way or the other and it can have grave results. There are means of buffing AR outside of dropping points into Dex, but I believe most of them are all scaling your base AR. Something to keep in mind. I've not played a whack of melee characters, so this is a bit out of my realm. Best advice I can give here is read up, and turn on that miss indicator if you have not, you can usually 'feel' a wiff though .

There is lots of information available.. Some of it feels like rocket science, but most people that have done the more complex math break a lot down into tables that a easier to read and reference. Also, D2 is break-point based for a lot of things. +10% attack speed doesn't necessarily just give 10% attack speed. It's +10% to the required percentage to hit the next break-point where your attack will complete with fewer frames. Reading up on this will definitely help you in gearing aspects. Example; Dropping a effective piece of gear for a piece with a +10% bonus and much less helpful stats.. You may be losing the benefits of that first piece of gear, moving your self +10% closer to a break-point that is 30 away, or possibly totally unreachable. Another reason up to date detailed planners are appreciated.

How long do you want to grind? That's the question.

The build you picked will get everyone stuck who is solo.

You can stick to it and use the next 100h playtime to get your character to a point where the fun begins or you get a proper starter class (cold sorc / hammerdin) to be able to farm hell without good gear

Slipstick wrote: 2 years ago

Sounds like you have the right attitude for advancing,

The previously mentioned is pretty on point. Gear is surely important, merc's are extremely helpful in hell as well, they provide buffs, distractions, and can even help thump some of the immune mobs you're having troubles with.

Also resistances I find are extremely important, especially when your playing something you know will get hit, or just learning. Though, there will always be serious threats..

Nihlathak's vipers, souls, stygian dolls, ect. Most of them are quirky or need some mechanical knowledge to approach safely.

You gear does seem quite lacking for Hell. Though the build you have chosen (not the class) is most definitely a tough one to bring up as a first/main character. Nothing is impossible, however.

Phoenix Strike is surely fun! This just may be a monumental hill to climb (depending on your approach and rng), especially if your taking the pure solo route.

Are you just looking to get established in general, getting your foot in the door so you can start farming to gear up and maybe get some gear for new builds you want to try? Or are your hellbent on pushing through with

Phoenix Strike?

[...]

This is a very well detailed post! Take notes, OP!

I would also add that I think your AR is very very lacking, and I don't see you using any kind of merc to aid you with that! Since the whole deal with pheonix strike relies on hitting things... TTK is going to be sloooow

with your current setup, I assume you're hitting things with an AR of 1k! That's not alot! But! A

Blessed Aim aura act 2 merc could boost that AR to up to 4k! You could also try an act 3 fire merc for

Enchant, but I hear keeping him alive is a bit of a challenge.

I was in the same boat as you with my

Dragon Tail +

Tiger Strike assassin for a while. I had to switch for might aura to

Blessed Aim. Since then I was doing pretty ok? Still struggling with some monsters here and there. I either kill em with

Death Sentry or run away from them. My merc isn't doing enough to kill them just yet. Waiting till I get an Obedience in a

Bec-De-Corbin or better. It's a pretty cheap rune word.

...Now that I think about it... Why don't you try an Obedience on your assassin? It buffs you with lvl 21

Enchant on kill. I would put it on my off hand, way till it procs and switch to your main weapon when it does. Free AR and fire dmg! for a long while

Edit: I'm calculating AR with that 225% from your pheonix strike skill. Hitting something with your finishing move is gonna be tricky considering your stats. your

Dragon Flight hits with a bonus AR of 85%, for example.

Continuation from my first post, (I know, double posting. My bad =w=) this is how I would allocate my skills for Pheonix Strike build at lvl 73.
While I play alot of assassin, I haven't tried pheonix strike at all, but I did play with the 3 elemental skills together back in LoD. Very fun to

Charge all the elemental skills and release a flurry of elemental dmg in one go

I'm halfway to tears at this point. I didn't respect such a wonderful and honest set of reponses, this is possibly one of the best communities i've interacted with, thank you all so much

Slipstick wrote: 2 years ago

Are you just looking to get established in general, getting your foot in the door so you can start farming to gear up and maybe get some gear for new builds you want to try? Or are your hellbent on pushing through with

Phoenix Strike?

This honestly really made me think. Initially my only real plan when I started playing again was to see how far I could push this build playing on my own, just because I thought it looked really cool and had 3 elements. As a result I wasted my first respec not splitting my talent points everywhere, and my second respec because i was level 60 with under 100 vitality. I've had so much fun, and your responses are so great, that i'm more and more eager to branch out form 'just pheonix strike'. I think i'm going to try a bunch of your suggestions, and if they work up to a point and i get stuck again might also try the build @peaceful_leaf suggested.

Slipstick wrote: 2 years ago

As you are already here at diablo2.io and have linked a maxroll planner, you should have lots of template ideas for the build.

I have none. When i started working through nightmare, I started reading loads of guides and found myself enjoying reading/watchnig them almost as much a playing. Perhaps its time i start messing around with what is possible in builds and making more direct item objectives.

As for the 4 items I initially posted about
1: gear) @n8mare, mockingbirdreal, luckyD3vil: i appreciate the reality check. Up until this mornings deaths leading to my post i thought i was in a pretty good spot. I'm going to try and figure out a better build based on guides and my own reading then see what i'm capable of farming (or farming as trade bait)
2: attack rating/defense) @sean, brgljez, peaceful Leaf: I actually have a bunch of AR charms i wasn't using b/c i was scared of going that low on space, but you're right i'm going to start utilizing the space for stats. Additionally i used to use an aim merc in normal, i loved it and feel it's very low cost to try it out again.
3: playstyle) @louner, mockingbirdreal: I was half joking when i said 'skip ranged mobs' not realizing that picking your battles could be so general, defenitly going to try this as well as pick good farming spots.
4: build/class) @louner, peaceful_leaf, slipstick: If i really get stuck now I feel empowered to try a new build/class now as well

Again thank you all so much, you defenitly made my day


edit:

Peaceful_Leaf wrote: 2 years ago

Edit: I'm calculating AR with that 225% from your pheonix strike skill. Hitting something with your finishing move is gonna be tricky considering your stats. your

Dragon Flight hits with a bonus AR of 85%, for example.

I actually have not had a single kick ever miss while i had a

Charge to release and the mob was within range. I think i read somewhere it had a 'smiting' trait, idk what that means but apparently it's really good.

rookjackson wrote: 2 years ago

I'm halfway to tears at this point. I didn't respect such a wonderful and honest set of reponses, this is possibly one of the best communities i've interacted with, thank you all so much

Slipstick wrote: 2 years ago

Are you just looking to get established in general, getting your foot in the door so you can start farming to gear up and maybe get some gear for new builds you want to try? Or are your hellbent on pushing through with

Phoenix Strike?

This honestly really made me think. Initially my only real plan when I started playing again was to see how far I could push this build playing on my own, just because I thought it looked really cool and had 3 elements. As a result I wasted my first respec not splitting my talent points everywhere, and my second respec because i was level 60 with under 100 vitality. I've had so much fun, and your responses are so great, that i'm more and more eager to branch out form 'just pheonix strike'. I think i'm going to try a bunch of your suggestions, and if they work up to a point and i get stuck again might also try the build @peaceful_leaf suggested.

Slipstick wrote: 2 years ago

As you are already here at diablo2.io and have linked a maxroll planner, you should have lots of template ideas for the build.

I have none. When i started working through nightmare, I started reading loads of guides and found myself enjoying reading/watchnig them almost as much a playing. Perhaps its time i start messing around with what is possible in builds and making more direct item objectives.

As for the 4 items I initially posted about
1: gear) @n8mare, mockingbirdreal, luckyD3vil: i appreciate the reality check. Up until this mornings deaths leading to my post i thought i was in a pretty good spot. I'm going to try and figure out a better build based on guides and my own reading then see what i'm capable of farming (or farming as trade bait)
2: attack rating/defense) @sean, brgljez, peaceful Leaf: I actually have a bunch of AR charms i wasn't using b/c i was scared of going that low on space, but you're right i'm going to start utilizing the space for stats. Additionally i used to use an aim merc in normal, i loved it and feel it's very low cost to try it out again.
3: playstyle) @louner, mockingbirdreal: I was half joking when i said 'skip ranged mobs' not realizing that picking your battles could be so general, defenitly going to try this as well as pick good farming spots.
4: build/class) @louner, peaceful_leaf, slipstick: If i really get stuck now I feel empowered to try a new build/class now as well

Again thank you all so much, you defenitly made my day

Don't hesitate to ask for help or advice. From what I've seen on this site, people are quite generous with their time, knowledge and help.

I think it's safe to assume that no one here wants to see you fail!

If you want to keep playing the assassin and are willing to respec to traps, thats probably the best option for now. You can always go back to Phoenix after a bit of successful farming. A trapsin can handle almost any mob with little effort when playing solo. Max light sentry and the 2 synergies above it. 1 in

Death Sentry because your just using it for the

Corpse Explosion effect and max the fire bomb skill at the top, it gets synergies from all your other skills your maxing.

Burst of Speed and

Mind Blast can be 1 point wonders, one making you lay traps faster, the other used as defensive measures to keep mobs in check. Can even put points into one of the shadows for more defensive measures. There is quite a bit variation up to you after you max your traps and you will only be level 80ish at that point.
Throw down 4 Light sentry all on top of each other for huge single target damage, or scattered around the mob to take on multiple enemies, than throw 1

Death Sentry on top of the mob and it will explode corpses and obliterate anything in the viscinity. For anything that lasts longer than 5 seconds, or is lightning immune you have the fire bomb on left click and just spam him to Death with a few thousand fire damage due to synergies in your traps.
Your merc just needs to survive for more than 15 seconds or take on lightning immunes (or you can skip them if they are lightning and fire immune and merc cant kill them) and your shadow can be the meat shield while you

Mind Blast them to keep them at bay while your traps kill them. Its honestly a really good build at lower player counts because theres almost nothing you cant kill unless you get unfortunate Light and Fire immunes, but you can skip them.
Farm with this build for a while and i promise you will have a few good items to propel your melee build in no time. The unique

Claws arent that rare so im sure you will drop some eventually. A pair of bartucs is pretty decent and it opens up the claw specific skills and mastery for you with extra damage and such. Hell you might even enjoy the traps more and just farm for that build instead. Beauty is its up to you and its only a respec/ token away

Just one additional point if you miss a lot so need attack rating: two very cheap set combos exist to boost that (if I remember well - be sure to check pages):
-

Angelic Wings +

Angelic Halo
-

Sigon's Visor +

Sigon's Gage

Gl, martial arts assassins are rare but can work good stuff.