The "no stupid questions" thread

LeonTheFrog wrote:

i got superior

Monarch 14 ed and i want to sell it, should i sell it with 0 socs or is it worth to use

Larzuk to increase its value

Ah, a Superior

Monarch with 14% Enhanced Defense! This shield is indeed a valuable item, especially for those seeking to create a sought-after runeword like Spirit in a

Monarch shield due to its reasonable strength requirement and good block percentage.

When it comes to maximizing the value of such an item, you have a couple of options:

1. **Selling it with 0 Sockets**: Some players prefer to socket items themselves using the

Horadric Cube recipe or by saving their own quest rewards for specific needs. Selling it with 0 sockets allows the buyer this flexibility, which could be appealing to certain players.

2. **Socketing with

Larzuk**: When using

Larzuk's quest reward, he will add the maximum number of sockets to the item, which for a

Monarch is 4 sockets. This makes it immediately ready for creating a Spirit shield or another runeword that requires 4 sockets, increasing its convenience.

In general, using

Larzuk to add sockets can increase the item's attractiveness since it removes the uncertainty and effort for potential buyers. However, some buyers might still prefer the un-socketed version to use their own methods.

Consider your prospective market and whether you believe more players will value the convenience of it being pre-socketed or the flexibility of adding sockets themselves. Often, socketing it with

Larzuk for the guaranteed 4 sockets can make it more appealing to a broader audience looking for a ready-to-use option.

Seems like old

Deckard Cain forgot that only

Larzuk has the powers to add sockets to Superior items.

Another question that I keep asking myself is whether 'magic damage reduced' applies to elemental damage. Some say it's just pure magic damage, but based solely on observation, I think it also reduces elemental damage. A pair of

Dwarf Star rings with 95% resistance makes your hero pretty much immune to most non-physical damage, but I might be wrong. What do you think @

Deckard Cain?

ChristianKiss wrote:

Seems like old

Deckard Cain forgot that only

Larzuk has the powers to add sockets to Superior items.

Another question that I keep asking myself is whether 'magic damage reduced' applies to elemental damage. Some say it's just pure magic damage, but based solely on observation, I think it also reduces elemental damage. A pair of

Dwarf Star rings with 95% resistance makes your hero pretty much immune to most non-physical damage, but I might be wrong. What do you think ?

Ah, a wise question indeed! In the world of Sanctuary, understanding the mechanics of damage reduction can greatly enhance your survival.

The attribute Magic Damage Reduced by X specifically reduces incoming magic damage, which is one of the five damage types: magic, fire, cold, lightning, and poison. This means it does not directly reduce elemental damage such as fire, cold, lightning, or poison. Instead, it only mitigates the damage inflicted by pure magical attacks—those that are explicitly labeled as magic damage in the game.

Elemental resistances, such as fire or lightning resistance, are what you need to lessen the impact of elemental attacks. The combination of high resistances and an item with Magic Damage Reduced by X could give the impression of increased survivability against various forms of damage, as you're reducing magic damage and resisting a large portion of elemental attacks through resistances.

However, the

Dwarf Star ring provides more than just resistance; it also absorbs fire damage, which further enhances your protection against fire-based attacks, potentially adding to the perception of near invulnerability against certain elements. Always remember, though, the distinction between reducing magic damage and mitigating elemental damage—they require different strategies to effectively handle.

Why do the monster types get so randomized in Nim/Hell Act 5? This has always bothered me, it makes A5 feel less distinct and is the only act that gets legit boring for me in Nim/Hell

Am I stupid, currently installing Diablo 4... I uninstalled it at the end of season 5 because the season 6 patch ruined everything (the dlc patch) by nerfing everything but the OP dlc class.
I just want to see how the game is doing today and if it even works anymore as people still complain about crashing and other various issues.

Noticed there is also a sale... Id love to have the dlc(s) to this game but doubt I'll ever get any of them. Im too poor for that.

All items have 3 versions: normal, exceptional, elite.

Only

Circlet/

Coronet have 2 normal versions in addition to the exceptional/elite ones (

Tiara,

Diadem).
Why is that?

ChristianKiss wrote: 6 days ago

Seems like old

Deckard Cain forgot that only

Larzuk has the powers to add sockets to Superior items.

Another question that I keep asking myself is whether 'magic damage reduced' applies to elemental damage. Some say it's just pure magic damage, but based solely on observation, I think it also reduces elemental damage. A pair of

Dwarf Star rings with 95% resistance makes your hero pretty much immune to most non-physical damage, but I might be wrong. What do you think @

Deckard Cain?

Well, ol’ Cain gave you an incorrect answer. It reduced all kinds of magical damage, whether it’s elemental or actually ‘magic’.

The game has some confusing terminology at times. Sometimes physical damage is simply called “Damage” (without the ‘physical’ qualifier), sometimes all magical damage is called “Magic Damage”, sometimes “Magic” refers specifically to the actual ‘magic’ damage type (like in the case of magic resistance granted by some crafted safety items), sometimes you see all 3 kinds on the same item!
That’s a

Safety Shield

Bytarial wrote: 6 days ago

Why do the monster types get so randomized in Nim/Hell Act 5? This has always bothered me, it makes A5 feel less distinct and is the only act that gets legit boring for me in Nim/Hell

When LoD was released originally, act 5 had the same monster types on all difficulties. There were no guest monsters on nightmare/hell. Guest monsters in nightmare/hell act 5 was introduced in patch 1.10, as part of a set of changes designed to make the game more difficult. I guess the devs felt that the natural act 5 enemy types weren’t difficult enough.

Blizzard wrote:

1. Increased difficulty for high-level players to reduce future exploitation of the game system
   
   Made monsters tougher
   
   • Beefed up monster difficulty in Act V, Nightmare, and Hell difficulties. This was accomplished by improving monster stats (hp, defense, etc.) and by boosting their AI/behavior in NM and Hell difficulties (that is, by making decisions more often and by simply moving faster).
   • In Nightmare and Hell difficulties monster damages have generally been increased -- dramatically in some cases.
   Reduced the effectiveness of Experience runs, power-leveling, and leeching
   
   • Added randomized (especially ranged-attack) monsters to Act V -- e.g., Burning Dead, Imps, etc.

ShadowHeart wrote: 6 days ago

ChristianKiss wrote: 6 days ago

Seems like old

Deckard Cain forgot that only

Larzuk has the powers to add sockets to Superior items.

Another question that I keep asking myself is whether 'magic damage reduced' applies to elemental damage. Some say it's just pure magic damage, but based solely on observation, I think it also reduces elemental damage. A pair of

Dwarf Star rings with 95% resistance makes your hero pretty much immune to most non-physical damage, but I might be wrong. What do you think @

Deckard Cain?

Well, ol’ Cain gave you an incorrect answer. It reduced all kinds of magical damage, whether it’s elemental or actually ‘magic’.

The game has some confusing terminology at times. Sometimes physical damage is simply called “Damage” (without the ‘physical’ qualifier), sometimes all magical damage is called “Magic Damage”, sometimes “Magic” refers specifically to the actual ‘magic’ damage type (like in the case of magic resistance granted by some crafted safety items), sometimes you see all 3 kinds on the same item!

image.png

That’s a

Safety Shield

Thank you for clarifying that up. You mentioned in a different post that the game files can be checked to verify the logic; gotta do that at some point :p

I knew I wasn't crazy about the magic damage reduction. I have a Paladin with 95% in all resistances anda perfect rolled Dwarf Ring. His life barely drops even when a pack of Burning Souls are attacking him.

In addition - both PDR (physical damage reduced by X) and MDR (magic damage reduced by X) have an additional effect when it comes to dual damage type effects. If an attack deals two damage types (such as fire + physical), and one of the damage types is reduced to zero, if there’s any leftover PDR/MDR it will “spill over” and reduce the other damage types as well with the remaining value. For example, if an attack deals both fire and physical damage (such as Diablo’s

Firestorm), and you reduce the fire portion via resistance+absorb+MDR to zero, any leftover MDR will help reduce the physical part of the attack’s damage. And vice versa for PDR.

Willowisp lightning bolts actually deal both lightning damage and physical damage. It’s believed to be a bug that was introduced in 1.10, where the lightning bolts also apply the

Willowisp’s physical melee hit damage. It deals more lightning damage than physical but it makes them more dangerous than they otherwise should have been.

Anyway - due to this, if your lightning resistance + lightning absorb is high enough to reduce the lightning damage to 0, any MDR you have will work on the physical part instead.

The Amazon Basin has some excellent articles on the subject -

PDR:
https://www.theamazonbasin.com/wiki/ind ... ge_Reduced

MDR:
https://www.theamazonbasin.com/wiki/ind ... ge_Reduced

Order of defensive stats priority in damage calculations:
https://www.theamazonbasin.com/wiki/ind ... e#Defender
(the excess PDR/MDR comes in last)

One more thing - MDR actually works individually on each damage type in case an attack deals multiple types of damage. If you have 20 MDR and you’re hit with an attack that deals 20 fire damage, 20 lightning damage, 20 cold damage and 20 magic damage simultaneously, then all damage types are reduced to 0. Granted, there are very few cases where this matters - not sure if there’s any at all in PvM (can’t think of anything at the top of my head).

Do locked chests contain more valuable items versus their un-locked counterparts?

Is BigBikeFan a big fan of bikes or a fan of big bikes?

@

Deckard Cain, what do you think?

vued wrote:

Is BigBikeFan a big fan of bikes or a fan of big bikes?

, what do you think?

Ah, this matter seems to be outside the realms of Diablo 2. But if we were to delve into such mysteries as we do with the Horadric Scrolls, I'd say it could be either or both! Alas, my expertise is in identifying demonic forces and unraveling ancient Lore, not discerning intentions from names.

Ngl I'm not a huge fain of the LLM and its reddit ass way of speaking

ghostpos wrote: 5 days ago

Do locked chests contain more valuable items versus their un-locked counterparts?

Yes. The drop calculator on max roll can also confirm this.

ShadowHeart wrote: 5 days ago

One more thing - MDR actually works individually on each damage type in case an attack deals multiple types of damage. If you have 20 MDR and you’re hit with an attack that deals 20 fire damage, 20 lightning damage, 20 cold damage and 20 magic damage simultaneously, then all damage types are reduced to 0. Granted, there are very few cases where this matters - not sure if there’s any at all in PvM (can’t think of anything at the top of my head).

Elite packs with the "spectral hit" would be one where it matters

ChristianKiss wrote: 6 days ago

Seems like old

Deckard Cain forgot that only

Larzuk has the powers to add sockets to Superior items.

Another question that I keep asking myself is whether 'magic damage reduced' applies to elemental damage. Some say it's just pure magic damage, but based solely on observation, I think it also reduces elemental damage. A pair of

Dwarf Star rings with 95% resistance makes your hero pretty much immune to most non-physical damage, but I might be wrong. What do you think @

Deckard Cain?

Llama did a video on this where he also talks about the Immortal sorc build and confirms that MDR reduces every kind of incoming elemental damage (but not poison).

EDIT: Original post I made was wrong, it is in fact ABSORB that comes after % damage reduction & elemental resists, not integer DR/MDR which comes before those.
I had it confused with Absorb. Thanks for the correction.

BigD wrote: 5 days ago

ChristianKiss wrote: 6 days ago

It's also important to note that both Damage Reduced By "X" (flat integer as opposed to %) and MDR are applied AFTER elemental resistance % and PDR%, which makes them a more powerful modifier than most people realize or give them credit for, especially when you consider that most enemies in Hell difficulty aren't hitting you for more 130-140 damage per attack (before any modifiers such as curses, auras, etc are taken into consideration).

where did you read that? I have read the opposite everywhere. MDR and DR are brefore the % -based and reduction. Absorb is after

Is there any reason to make a non-expansion character these days, or is that still in the game just for feature parity with legacy D2?