Newbie-ness

[C Elegans]

@Nightmare: Sounds like you need more Fire resistance then! Lightining and fire are the most important resistances.

@Chanak: Most item effects stack, such as skill levels, resistances, damage enhancement etc, but Half freeze duration always cuts the duration in half only once - unfortunately, since it would be nice if it stacked. One has to look out for the Cannot be frozen modifier if Half freeze is not enough.

[Chanak]

@CE: "Cannot be frozen" sounds like it would have helped my Bowazon against Duriel, who toasted her pretty quick the first time. This was where my paladin had an advantage; I actually found that boss fight easier for him.

Agreed re: fire and lightning resistance, I've discovered this for myself in Acts 2 and 3. Though I would add being freeze resistant also doesn't hurt.

One thing I have noticed....my bowazon, for some reason, has come across nicer loot and more monsters in her game than my paladin has in his game. She already has 3 components of two different set items, while my paladin hasn't found one yet. I suppose this is random?

[Silver Knight]

In Act 2 my Paladin has one item from each of three different sets.

Has anyone done much gambling to get good loot. I lucked out and got a really nifty pair of boots on my first gamble. Since then I haven't done so well, I have gambled away hundreds of thousands on nothing. Even if you get something really good it seems that no trader in Act 2 will pay more than 10k gold for anything.

I definitely need more lightning resistance and more poison resistance. I hate those Unravellers and those beetles. And why, oh why, when clearing out the false tombs of Tal Rasha did I have to pick the one with Ancient Kaa the Indestructible in it first? He and his unraveller buddies kicked my butt well and good. Several times. In the end I had to lure them out one by one and dance round them, out of range of their poison and lightning whilst peppering them with arrows. Not very dignified tactics for a Paladin but at least I was alive at the end of it.

At least fire resistance is not a problem, I have a mace that gives plus 50%.

[C Elegans]

@Chanak: Unfortunately Duriel has a Holy Freeze aura at Nightmare and Hell, same as the Pally skill, and that is magic cold, why Cannot be frozen does not help. Nothing helps against Holy Freeze. Cannot be frozen is however good against many other monsters, especially in Act VI.

Item drops are random, although if you wear a set item you have a higher chance of getting another item from the same set. At least in theory. I always end up wearing 1736 not so good set items (you have to have them equiped) because I want another item from those sets, but I don't think it has ever worked The higher level the monster has, the more likely it is that it drops a better item, and you can only wear items with Magic Find to increase your chances of getting Magic, Rare, Set and Unique items.

@Silver Knight: I gamble as soon as I have plenty of money. The odds aren't very good, but as you character increase in level odds to get good items improve. The best stuff to gamble are IMO boots, gloves and lower level weapons. Armour, rings and amulets are seldom worth it since they are so terribly expensive. Remember though that Magic find does not affect gambling. In each act there is a fix level of how much money you get by selling items to the shops, and the limit is 10k in act II normal, just as you have noticed.

Heh, Ancient Kaa the Soulless He is my favorite monster in the entire game, he can be tremendously difficult

[Silver Knight]

Ancient Kaa the Soulless. Maybe I should have remembered the name after he had nearly broken his foot off kicking my butt several times. Duriel was a weenie compared to him.

I was a bit gutted to lose the Horadric Staff, it was great for scything through crowds of burning dead to get to the unravellers. Before I go on to the next Act I think I shall don all my equipment which improves the chances of finding magic items and clean out the rest of the tombs. Sometimes I think I only play these games to acquire loot

[C Elegans]

@Silver Knight: I thought Ancient Kaa the Indestructable was a very apt name

Finding good items is a large part of the game. Once a character has beaten Baal at Hell difficulty, I always turn them into MF (magic find) characters. High MF is always a trade off, but if you are very lucky you can find these very good items that has both high MF and high resistances, + to skills etc.

[Silver Knight]

Help, please! I can't find Khalim's eye. I know it is supposed to be in the spider cavern but I have been through that place twice and I cannot find it. I presume that what is referred to in the quest log as the "spider cavern" is in fact the arachnid lair in the spider forest? Am I missing something.

On a similar note I also seem to have misplaced the great marsh. Hard to do, maybe, but I have managed it. I note that the waypoint for the great marsh is listed before those in Kurast. I have been right through the spider forest and the flayer jungle but I can't seem to locate the great marsh. Doesn't sound like a particularly nice place but there may be lots of things to kill there

[Silver Knight]

Ok, I feel very silly. I just hadn't been looking at the map properly. I was right though, lots of things to kill in the great marsh

[garazdawi]

if the quest log sais you have to go to the spider cavern then why should you go to the aranrchid lair? I know that aranarnichids are spiders as well, but still.......

so as you can understand by the above you are in the wrong place , on the automat there is a clear mark to help you see where in the cavern the eye is.......the fact that tehre are two dungeons in the spider jungle has caused great confusion for many players including me.......

[C Elegans]

LOL Yes, you have the Spider Cavern and the Arachnid Lair, then in the Flayer Jungle area you have the Flayer Dungeon (with a quest item) and the other dungeon with no quest item (I can't remember the name right now, I never go there since I hate dungeons).

[The Z]

I hate Kurast. The jungle is so confusing and there are too many dungeons that just seem to go on and on and on....

[Nightmare]

Well, I suppose thats why I have trouble with a bunch of monsters....my resistances are almost nil.

[Chanak]

I hate Kurast, too. I think the game designers made a goof when titling the chapters...I think Kurast was supposed to be called "Hell." Those little jungle dudes really suck.