My Stupid Struggles & How I Barely Survived Act 1
Okay, so I fired up Diablo 2 again, right? Feeling all nostalgic. Hit ‘New Game’, rolled another Barbarian ’cause I never learn. Act 1 seems easy… until it isn’t. Man, it sucked.
First big wall? The dang Den of Evil. Sounds simple! “Clear out the cave.” Yeah, no. Went charging in with my starter axe swinging wildly like an idiot. Got instantly swarmed by those stupid Fallen dudes. Fell over dead twice before I even found the cave entrance properly. Felt stupid. Ran out of red potions faster than I could blink.
Finally got smart(ish). What worked:
- Stop Leeroy Jenkins-ing it! Seriously. I started backing up constantly. Pull a couple Fallen, whack ’em, run away before the pack gangs up.
- Chugged blue pots like soda just to keep using my weak-ass Bash skill more often.
- Checked every corner and dead end like a paranoid squirrel. Found the last monster hiding behind a damn barrel.
Phew. Den cleared. Felt good. Next headache? Blood Raven. Oh, this witch. Her corpse explosion nonsense shredded my poor Barb. Trying to hit her while she zips around? Nightmare. Skeletons everywhere. Died like five times. Almost rage quit.
My desperate tactics:
- Hired that Rogue mercenary chick in the camp. Absolute game-changer! She shot from far away while I distracted the skeles.
- Stacked Fire Resistance gear like crazy after realizing her fire arrows hurt. Found a crappy ring with +10% FR in the Stony Field. Lifesaver.
- Ran circles around the gravestones like a madman. Made her chase me while the Rogue pelted her. Took forever but finally knocked her down.
Finally, the act boss: Andariel. The big bad chick in the Catacombs. Wow. Just wow. First try? Walked into her room. She spit poison all over me. Died in maybe 3 seconds. My screen was green. Not fun.
What I learned the hard way:
- Max Poison Resistance is NON-NEGOTIABLE. Seriously. I farmed Countess runs until I got a Tal Runes for that “Ancients’ Pledge” shield runeword (+43% all res!). Drank antidote potions constantly.
- Hit & Run like your life depends on it (it does!). Whack her, IMMEDIATELY run away from the poison spray. Repeat. Patience is key.
- Used every thawing potion I could buy. Chugged ’em all before going in. Extra poison duration reduction? Yes please!
Took a couple more tries, but man, finally seeing her collapse felt amazing. Act 1 down! Mostly feels hard because you have garbage gear and no skills. Don’t be dumb like me early on. Farm a bit. Be careful. Resistance matters!