Killing Heralds in Hardcore can be dangerous

This guy almost killed me in Hardcore with a single hit, and I have 2k life, Stormshield, maxed resistances...
What frightens me the most is that it wasn't even Extra Strong or had some physical damage aura like Concentration.

Beware of those!

I usually kill them from distance using a Bowazon with Knockback and slow target. And, with my other characters, I just run away...

Anyone else freaked out by Heralds or is it just me playing this really badly?

my main zon is not unlikely to die to a tough Herald with 3.3k life and Slow Missiles on. luckily i play softcore. so you are not alone, these guys are extremely dangerous, i wouldn't go anywhere near them on hardcore.
also an observation, it seems like they buffed heralds' (and their packs') physical dmg to the extreme, and fortunately forgot to buff the elemental dmg

Yes, Heralds can be very dangerous depending of their host monster that spawned them. In your case it was tough monster in the first place, making it a Herald being a very hard opponent.
You were lucky to not die to it as it's Tier 1 Herald, the "harmless" of all 5.
If it were T5, Herald of Terror, you surely were dead in that blow you received.
The Thorn Aura is also quite dangerous, is a "passive" damage that you take from him.

@ganseng I went back with my other zon and sorted it out from the distance, but yeah getting at close range like I did was irresponsible. I wanted to take it down with Charged Strike, which in hindsight was a stupid idea.

@Florian_G Yeah, the other Amazon can fight those without trouble, but not because she kills fast, but because of Knockback and Guided Arrow. If it wasn't for that one, I'd probably be skipping those guys every time they show up.

Btw, I think what happened is that it hit me with Frenzy, applied Amp Dmg, and then hit me again almost instantly.

i also died to Thorns on heralds, dunno what Thorns lvl their aura is but it reflects so freakin much

if i would need to guess... i would say Thorns 35+

Amantho wrote: 3 days ago

i also died to Thorns on heralds, dunno what Thorns lvl their aura is but it reflects so freakin much

if i would need to guess... i would say Thorns 35+

It seems to be causing flat damage these days, I remember reading that somewhere in a patch note. So, it's not as bad as Iron Maiden back in the glorious days of patch 1.11b, but yeah still pretty dangerous.

Yes, they are super dangerous. I'm "hunting" heralds in A1 now. Fallen and zombies are relatively safe, even if T5. I'm not ready to encounter many of the A3-5 monsters yet.

@vued that's not a bad idea. I did notice some Heralds are much easier than others. I wonder if anyone dared to fight a Stygian Doll

@KsAzAgRaX Yeah, I also noticed what looks like a bug: if the Herald's "spawn lightning" strikes near your hero, you can't move at all. I had to Save & Exit a couple of times due to that "feature".

Never have i ever been super close to heralds ever since i lost my lv 98 bowlock to a pack of t5 quill rats. I always try to deal with them in range and try to not spawn ranged ones. Because holy hell they hit hard. Especially when they get cursed/extra strong/might/conc.

stygian dolls, as any other heralds, t5 lister pack included, are not a problem as long as you have a strong Valkyrie to tank and shoot Arrows from behind her back

on hardcore you would need to be extra careful with positioning and possible Teleport affix of course

Use Life Tap bro. Make some gear adjustments if necessary too.

My 95 HC FoH smiter (who I eventually lost to fucking Pindleskin, lol) had killed basically all the worst kinds of Heralds you could think of (nearly all on P8 too) and that's how I did it.

BigD wrote: 3 days ago

Use Life Tap bro. Make some gear adjustments if necessary too.

My 95 HC FoH smiter (who I eventually lost to fucking Pindleskin, lol) had killed basically all the worst kinds of Heralds you could think of (nearly all on P8 too) and that's how I did it.

Basically treat them as a Uber, gotcha

Yeah, I have FoH smiter at clvl 93. Can't go wrong with those vs Ubers, but I am still worried about getting in close range vs Heralds. By far the most dangerous enemy in the game depending on the type of monster you get.

Amantho wrote: 3 days ago

i also died to Thorns on heralds, dunno what Thorns lvl their aura is but it reflects so freakin much

if i would need to guess... i would say Thorns 35+

Probably not level 35. Monster Auras are usually the mLvL ÷ 6 or 8, with the more powerful auras like Fanaticism usually having a higher divisor.

Yes, killing heralds in hardcore can be (very) dangerous. This season I had a level 88 Double Swing barb (azurwrath Doombringer combo). While doing some Baal runs, unfortunately the Lister pack spawned a Herald. I briefly thought about quitting the game, but instead I was able to pull a few of them out of the throne room and killed them this way. Then the Herald came out of the throne room with one of his companions. I got hit and lost almost half of my life (total life 3.5 k). Then I pulled back a bit, used a rejuv potion and thought that this is manageable. I then approached the Herald again and the screen turned Black. He probably hit me, but I do not really know, I was just dead lol...

My new Barb is now at level 90 and I have changed my strategy a bit regarding dealing with heralds. I only fight those who I know I can likely deal with realtively easy. Mostly undead act 2 heralds (due to the azurwrath). The other heralds I just skip. As extra protection for heralds my barb is also now wearing a ring with Sigil Lethargy charges. With this strategy my barb has found two sunder charms up to now and most importantly, he is still alive...

DKBam wrote: 2 hours ago

Yes, killing heralds in hardcore can be (very) dangerous. This season I had a level 88 Double Swing barb (azurwrath Doombringer combo). While doing some Baal runs, unfortunately the Lister pack spawned a Herald. I briefly thought about quitting the game, but instead I was able to pull a few of them out of the throne room and killed them this way. Then the Herald came out of the throne room with one of his companions. I got hit and lost almost half of my life (total life 3.5 k). Then I pulled back a bit, used a rejuv potion and thought that this is manageable. I then approached the Herald again and the screen turned Black. He probably hit me, but I do not really know, I was just dead lol...

My new Barb is now at level 90 and I have changed my strategy a bit regarding dealing with heralds. I only fight those who I know I can likely deal with realtively easy. Mostly undead act 2 heralds (due to the azurwrath). The other heralds I just skip. As extra protection for heralds my barb is also now wearing a ring with Sigil Lethargy charges. With this strategy my barb has found two sunder charms up to now and most importantly, he is still alive...

Yeah, I think melee characters are the ones likely to die. Even ranged ones without safety gear can die, to be honest. I have 5 HC characters, and only the Bowazon can take down Heralds, even high-tiered ones. The trick? Cleglaw's Pincers + Nosferatu's Coil + Raven Frost, which knocks back the bastards and make them extremely slow. Then Crushing Blow and Amplify Damage eventually kick in because of Witchwild String, Atma's Scarab and Gore Rider, which helps killing them a bit quicker.

I tried killing Heralds with my Smiter and, without Uber gear, it simply can't. I need to go back to town and wear Dracul's, proc Fade etc. as if I was killing Uber Meph itself... Pretty much what BigD mentioned in this post.

By the way, this is not a rant. I actually like that challenge, but I'd be really frustrated if my character died because of a bug like a Black screen.

DKBam wrote: 2 hours ago

Doombringer

<3
Back to 1.09 !

ChristianKiss wrote: 1 hour ago

Yeah, I think melee characters are the ones likely to die. Even ranged ones without safety gear can die, to be honest. I have 5 HC characters, and only the Bowazon can take down Heralds, even high-tiered ones. The trick? Cleglaw's Pincers + Nosferatu's Coil + Raven Frost, which knocks back the bastards and make them extremely slow. Then Crushing Blow and Amplify Damage eventually kick in because of Witchwild String, Atma's Scarab and Gore Rider, which helps killing them a bit quicker.

I tried killing Heralds with my Smiter and, without Uber gear, it simply can't. I need to go back to town and wear Dracul's, proc Fade etc. as if I was killing Uber Meph itself... Pretty much what BigD mentioned in this post.

By the way, this is not a rant. I actually like that challenge, but I'd be really frustrated if my character died because of a bug like a Black screen.

Hmm, my Frenzy Barb is really good in hunting heralds. I'd say he is one of the strongest and safest among my heroes. He can even kill wisps and other dangerous foes. The only monster I avoid 100% is dolls.

Indeed, Smiter/Fanazealot sucks. Paladin has zero crowd control, which is crucial when fighting heralds.

But given that the game tends to lag a lot and my internet provider cuts my connection once per day at random times, doing Hardcore is a no go for me. Kudos to anyone who does.