Getting Started
So yesterday I decided to replay Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction patch 1.13c for nostalgia vibes. Wanted something easy for new players, so I picked Sorceress – heard she’s the most noob friendly. Opened *, made a ladder character named FrostyGal.
The First Hour Struggle
Immediately got wrecked by zombies near Rogue Encampment cause I forgot how slow starting is. Did three things right away:
- Put all early points into Strength just to wear basic gear
- Grabbed every health potion like a squirrel hoarding nuts
- Spammed Firebolt like it was going out of style
Died twice to Blood Raven because my dumb ass stood in her arrow shower. Finally beat her by running circles around gravestones like a headless chicken.
Act Boss Strategy
Andariel was scary until I cheesed her with doorways. Stood outside her room shooting Frost Nova through the crack like a coward. For Duriel, chugged like 20 thawing potions beforehand – still got pancaked twice by that charging bug. Lesson learned: portal scroll before entering boss rooms!
Mid-Game Power Spike
Finally hit level 18 and respec’d to Blizzard. Holy crap what a difference! Started melting monster packs like butter. Farmed Countess in Act1 for hours – got exactly zero useful runes. But she dropped a sweet rare staff that carried me through Act3. Mephisto runs became my bread and butter – teleport to him, drop blizzard, grab loot, repeat like a mindless robot.
Final Stretch Madness
Baal waves took forever with my janky gear. Those damn oblivion knights kept cursing me. Died more times than I’d admit when Lister’s gang cornered me. Won by spamming mana potions and kiting like my life depended on it (it did). Killed Baal with hands literally shaking – took 8 full minutes of running away and chipping his health.
Real Newbie Tips
If I started again tomorrow:
- Ignore all fancy builds – fire/cold spells only until nightmare
- Pick up EVERY gem and chipped skulls – vendors pay good gold
- Stop hoarding scrolls – use identify/TP constantly
- Mercenary dies every 5 minutes? Just accept it
Finished normal difficulty in about 12 hours. Still got my ass handed to me in Nightmare though. Moral of the story? Diablo 2 will humble you no matter how many times you’ve played!