Man, trying a Hammerdin felt like rolling the dice at first. Who knew it would end up owning everything? Here’s how that went down.
Just Skeptical at First
Honestly, I loaded up Diablo 2 thinking “Hammerdin? Really?” Seemed slow and clunky watching other players early on. But everyone kept yelling “ENDGAME KING!” online. Figured I’d grind out the boring Paladin levels just to see for myself. Patience wore thin real fast running around hitting stuff with a crummy club. Respecced out of my basic melee junk around level 30 when I finally got Blessed Hammer.
Things Got Weird (Then Awesome)
First try throwing hammers was a disaster. Died embarrassingly quick trying to aim those slow spinning things. Felt terrible. Got annoyed, looked up guides (reluctantly). Two things saved me:
- Sticking to tight corners: Found cramping enemies in doorways or tight halls made those wild hammers suddenly hit everything. No aiming needed.
- Manually picking ONE aura: Maxed out Vigor first for ridiculous running speed. Then dumped everything into Blessed Hammer. Concentration aura felt weak at first, so I ignored it temporarily.
Bam. Suddenly Act 1 Hell caves became a joke. Just sprinted through like a madman, shoving monsters into walls, and let the hammers shred everything like cheese. It was messy, but effective. Didn’t need fancy gear – just kept stacking mana potions like they were going out of style.
The Gear Grind Started Clicking
Started noticing why gear mattered later:
- Faster Cast Rate: More hammers = room clears faster. Shoved that on every ring, amulet, helm I found.
- Manaless Items: Hit the jackpot finding a “Mana After Each Kill” scepter early. Suddenly didn’t need as many blue potions. Game changer.
- +Skills Stuff: Got lucky with a cheap Spirit shield from my stash. More hammers, more damage. Simple math.
Concentration aura became useful later when my hammer damage started plateauing. Flipped it on for bosses and tough elites. That synergy actually did something.
Witnessing the Domination
Then came Hell Chaos Sanctuary. The place where builds go to die. Ran in with my janky gear setup. Skeletons? Gone. Infector’s mob? Shredded before reaching me. Diablo? He might as well have been waving a noodle around. Tanked his fire circle thing while lazily tossing hammers. He died before phase two. Felt like cheating. Seriously.
Tried Baal runs next. His minion waves? Didn’t even slow me down. Just ran circles around them, hammers doing the work. Baal himself stood no chance. Realized why Hammerdin rules:
- Boss delete button.
- Crowded places? Easy mode.
- Doesn’t need god-tier gear to function.
- Moves crazy fast across maps.
Saw other classes struggling with Chaos runs, needing perfect gear and perfect play. Meanwhile, I’m just… spinning and winning. No stress.
The Verdict After Playing
Hammerdin feels broken, man. Tried Sorceress later for magic finding. Felt like glass. Tried Frenzy Barb – expensive to gear. Always came back to the Hammerdin. It isn’t flashy, it isn’t fast-moving while attacking, and the aiming sucks. But nothing, and I mean nothing, matches how stupidly powerful it feels just running through Hell difficulty like it’s Normal. Build just rocks. Period.