Completely new to Diablo!

Hi everyone,

As the title states, I'm completely new to Diablo and ARPG's as a whole. I've been looking at people talk about the game and videos on YouTube and there's ALOT of depth.

I'm unsure whether to follow a structured build so I'm able to complete hard content or to just go in 'blind' and have fun. I'm somewhere in the middle as I don't want to pour in hours played into a character to realize it's total garbage and I have to re-run the game anyway to clear the final sections of content.

What would you seasoned players recommend, go in blind and experiment with the game or save myself some hassle and run a 'meta' build?

TIA! - Felsyn

Welcome to the greatest game on earth! (no really)

As for your question, a lot of the joy we all got as kids was experiencing it all for the first time blind and making all the many classic mistakes. However, this way tends to frustrate a lot of newer gamers to D2 since it can be pretty unforgiving in a lot of ways. Like you only get 1 respec per difficulty to re-do your skill and stat points so you have to be super careful what you choose or have to start over.

I'd say go in mostly blind at first. I created this D2: New Players Guide which basically has everything you'd need to know in an ordered list, glance over the first few sections and then go in. Come back to the guide (or post in the forums) if you get stuck and need some help.

Felsyn wrote: 3 years ago

Hi everyone,

As the title states, I'm completely new to Diablo and ARPG's as a whole. I've been looking at people talk about the game and videos on YouTube and there's ALOT of depth.

I'm unsure whether to follow a structured build so I'm able to complete hard content or to just go in 'blind' and have fun. I'm somewhere in the middle as I don't want to pour in hours played into a character to realize it's total garbage and I have to re-run the game anyway to clear the final sections of content.

What would you seasoned players recommend, go in blind and experiment with the game or save myself some hassle and run a 'meta' build?

TIA! - Felsyn

Welcome, welcome!

My personal recommendation is to pick a character that looks fun to play and go for it. Learn new things along the way. There is really no way to 'mess up' a character in normal difficulty and optimization can always come later. I always play through both Normal and Nightmare difficulty on my own before I even start worrying about trading, gear optimization, builds, etc. But that's just me.

I wish I could go back in time and experience it for the first time all over again, so enjoy!

Hoost07 wrote: 3 years ago

There is really no way to 'mess up' a character in normal difficulty and optimization can always come later

well kinda, but.. if he starts maxing out things like

Prayer,

Defiance,

Warmth,

Telekinesis,

Inferno,

Bash,

Howl,

Shout,

Poison Dagger, any martial arts or

Psychic Hammer ... he's probably gonna have a bad time. xD

I remember my very first sorc i made i was mostly maxing out

Warmth and

Telekinesis and wondering why i couldnt even get through A1. lmao

Welcome to the biggest time sink of a game ever (in a brilliant way).

I'd second the above in that you should go with a character that looks fun to you. Don't worry too much about guides and meta builds and all that. Fact is, some of them aren't even going to be all that good for you (or not as good), depending on how you yourself prefer to play. There's little gained by having a superbly geared cookie cutter farmer that you actually hate playing or because of your own preferences end up playing "wrong".

When it comes down to it, every class has at minimum one solid end-game spec, typically more than one. And since you can always re-spec (3 times total per char for free, infinite times for a not-too-hard-to-get token after that), you really can't "go completely wrong" and "waste a character". And even if, rushing a new char through and powerlvling up to par really doesn't take long either.

Additionally, a lot of the meta endgame builds require specific not-so-easy-to-get gear to really shine. Take the classic light MF sorc for example...if you don't have an Infinity yet, you won't be all that happy.

All that having been said, there's a reason so many people went with a Sorceress for their first char when D2:R released and do so in a new ladder season as well because early on, when you don't have Enigma yet, it is the only class that can actually

Teleport which makes a massive difference with regards to effective farming. Even that however I would only worry about as a veteran trying to get their ladder char geared asap and not as a new player. You can still farm on other classes as well, it just ends up being different areas and/or being a bit slower until you get that first Enigma due to having to walk instead of

Teleport.

First of all, welcome!
Second, if you drop a

Ber, it is worthless so you can give it to me.

Welcome!

I agree, go at least partially blind.
My first character was a paladin with a horrible build that could barely go through nightmare. Still some of my best memories.

Most guides you will find online are tailored for high level character who already accumulated some Wealth but you can still look for beginner's guide or leveling guide if you feel overwhelmed.
Or just ask questions as you discover the game, lots of old player here are always happy to give advices

Chipolattack wrote: 3 years ago

Second, if you drop a

Ber, it is worthless so you can give it to me.

Don't listen to him, give it to me.

Welcome!

going in blind is a good way for new players to start. Reading a beginner's guide doesn't hurt tho.


Once you have a look at skills and their synergies ingame, it's bit easier to figure out a good build. Just don't go "1 Point into every skill" .

Hope you're going to enjoy the game.

Ber joke aside, I have a hammerdin and can give you tips if this is a character which seems fun for you. You can find budget builds which don't need too much investment.
If you are lucky enough with a high rune drop, you could also buy almost all of your stuff immediately.

Felsyn wrote: 3 years ago

Hi everyone,

As the title states, I'm completely new to Diablo and ARPG's as a whole. I've been looking at people talk about the game and videos on YouTube and there's ALOT of depth.

I'm unsure whether to follow a structured build so I'm able to complete hard content or to just go in 'blind' and have fun. I'm somewhere in the middle as I don't want to pour in hours played into a character to realize it's total garbage and I have to re-run the game anyway to clear the final sections of content.

What would you seasoned players recommend, go in blind and experiment with the game or save myself some hassle and run a 'meta' build?

TIA! - Felsyn

I'd probably ask you to think back on your previous game experiences. I'm assuming you've done both in the past before: playing blind (or mostly blind), or using a guide/internet the whole way through. And which did you enjoy more? I think it really depends on the person

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! Also,

I'd say go in mostly blind at first. I created this D2: New Players Guide which basically has everything you'd need to know in an ordered list

amazing stuff! i'll refer back to this as i'm playing.

After a thoughtful drive home from work and reading through your recommendations, I think I'll just log in and go for it. I don't feel like I'll get to experience the story and immersion fully if I'm constantly concerned with my first build.

I'm gonna store all my runes initially and check if I've won the lotto later on in the game!

Thanks everyone

-Felsyn

The #1 thing that I feel needs to be hammered home, the one thing I wish I'd been told at the beginning of the game before I made anything or placed a single skill point, is this:

Respeccing your character, resetting your skills and abilities, is not easy to do. You get one free pretty much right away, and you won't get another one until you've cleared the game completely. You get a total of three free ones over the course of leveling a character to endgame, and after that, you have to farm like mad to get the ingredients to make more.

This means that every skill you pick, every ability point you allocate, has to be thoughtfully and carefully chosen. You can't ctrl-z and undo that misclick; you can't reallocate a skill that turns out to be not as fun as you thought. This makes trying out a new skill an investment, rather than a curiosity. It means that if you want to play a fire sorceress and a lightning sorceress, they can't realistically be the same sorceress. They can share gear if you don't mind swapping it around in your shared stash, sure, but you'll have to level them separately, or spend a lot of time and resources switching between the two skill setups.

Despite this glaring flaw*, the game is so damn good that we're all here playing it 23 years after initial release.

*Some might argue this isn't a flaw. I respect their point of view; I just don't understand it.

I can tell you a quick way to get money real easy and fast.
if you're just starting out, and its online game-not the offline.

you go to any game name in the lobby that says "cow" or "moo", and just farm anything that has value, above few hundreds. you'll see. and you can net a few 30k even on lvl1. without ever going fighting. since that was a cow level that everyone clears as a way to farm monsters.

also, when you finish the game on NM, don't forget to watch that animation youtuber that does diablo2 jokes.
it will be sensless to watch it before, you won't get the jokes.

Maxing out

Prayer in SP...good times

Just play the game, and ask what you don't understand, that's my advice.

Welcome to the game. I suggest you play through normal mode once with a character you like. Then you can either try a new character and do that again, or you can find a tried and true build that fits your play style with the first character and play to build towards that. You can experiment if you like, but remember that thousands of players have already done that for you over the years and have found optimal builds that work in hell difficulty.

Hey everyone! I've not managed to play as much as I'd liked since the start of this thread, but I've just completed act 1 playing as Barbarian! Having a great time with it, hit level 16 or so and just about to head over to act 2. Heading down towards the

Frenzy talent and I've made it so

Double Swing is now 0 mana and my main attack. I only just discovered in the last 2 levels i can use

Leap to go through jail bars which was a nice touch for looting.

What's your thoughts on playing the game solo the first run through or would i be having a better time going into multi-player lobby's?

I recommend discovering the game on your own for now, online games tend to be quite hectic, because everyone just wants to get to the endgame as quickly as possible once they've heard all the Lore and story behind it. If you ever hit a complete brick wall, let us know here and I'm sure someone will be able to help you out.

Also: welcome to the greatest game of all time

Cheers,

PrincipalOShagH

Welcome. If you really want to learn, watch llamasc youtube channel, it explains 99% of the game lol. Even with the updated on rune prices which will prevent you getting scam.

Welcome
I would recommend starting blind..
I recalled my journey 20 years ago...

Started with a Barb, coz he stood at the center of character selection screen, and he looked the coolest
Met the "High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye", wow, that sound ominous..
Met

Kashya.. hmm, seemed bitchy?!

Starting equips were an

Axe and a Shield.. so *obviously* I started to add skill points to

Axe Mastery and

Bash

...

Well, now things are even much better than 20 years ago... You have 3 free chances to re-spec your characters, and even if you use them all up, you can farm/trade for more chances, and it's not difficult or expensive...
With shared stash, re-starting a character is effortless too...

So you can go blind first and enjoy the amazing journey.. And afterwards, it will be much easier to read all the online guides, coz they will start to make sense