Post by Yiazmat on May 8, 2007 0:36:12 GMT
I've beaten this module twice; once with a different private party (my friends and I over LAN every weekend), and once solo (A tiny, tiny shred of hackage was needed to beat Hell diff. ).
As you've already pointed out, a sorc can basically specialize in fire, cold, or lightning, with several sub-specializations. I'll break each one down:
Fire: Fire is good choice, IMO. In higher levels they deal solid damage with both fireball and meteor, if you choose to specialize in those two (along with the synergies of Firebolt and Fire mastery). With some + to skills and increased casting speed, just about anything not immune to fire will die incredibly fast. An enchanter is insane if we get a significant number of melee chars in the party, or a summoning necro (An additional 20k+ fire damage in Hell dif. on each of his ~20 skeles will be nice ) Only cons with fire sorcs is that fireball and meteor don't have large areas of effect, so against massive hordes she'll only be dealing said massive damage to a small section of it. Faster cast rate will be a big help in overcoming this flaw. Enchanters tend to be a bit boring, as sorcs don't really get the stats and skills to be useful in melee. Thus, they kinda just sit on the sidelines, watching the other chars mow down everyone with the uber-fire weapons.
Cold: Cold is probably the best. A sorc specializing in Blizzard can deal upwards of 12k+ cold damage PER SECOND, over a decent area of effect. In addition, these attacks slow creatures, making it easier for everyone else in the party. Throwing in Cold Mastery, which lowers all enemies' resists to the sorcs attacks, and you get quite the killing machine. However, to compensate, the creator of HU made it such that slightly more creatures have complete immunity to cold, and all others have increased resist. With the right gear and/or support, though, this isn't a problem (Certain auras and curses can remove complete immunities). A very, very good choice overall.
Lightning: Lightning sorcs are fun, though probably not the most utilitarian sorc around. Lightning sorcs get massive, ubermega maximum damages, but tiny minimum damages. Thus, a high-level sorc might have a damage range of 98-56,000. Basically, any given lightning bolt can be no more powerful as a static shock via a doorknob, or it could have enough damage to power New York City for a few days. Chain Lightning is great for groups, and plain ol' Lightning does alot to a single target. It all depends on how much you want to deal with the overly huge random damage range.
A few skills are handy for any sorc. These skills should have a few points thrown in 'em, regardless of specialization: Teleport, Static Field, Chill armor, Warmth, and Energy Shield.
Hope that answers your question Dod. As for a sample party comp, it all depends on what the others want to be. I plan on being a Paladin, either of the zealot or hammerdin varieties. I don't want to force anyone into being something they'd rather not, and I'm sure we can make due no matter what classes we end up having.
P.S. - Anyone else interested as of yet? If not, we'll begin the planning and playing soon.
As you've already pointed out, a sorc can basically specialize in fire, cold, or lightning, with several sub-specializations. I'll break each one down:
Fire: Fire is good choice, IMO. In higher levels they deal solid damage with both fireball and meteor, if you choose to specialize in those two (along with the synergies of Firebolt and Fire mastery). With some + to skills and increased casting speed, just about anything not immune to fire will die incredibly fast. An enchanter is insane if we get a significant number of melee chars in the party, or a summoning necro (An additional 20k+ fire damage in Hell dif. on each of his ~20 skeles will be nice ) Only cons with fire sorcs is that fireball and meteor don't have large areas of effect, so against massive hordes she'll only be dealing said massive damage to a small section of it. Faster cast rate will be a big help in overcoming this flaw. Enchanters tend to be a bit boring, as sorcs don't really get the stats and skills to be useful in melee. Thus, they kinda just sit on the sidelines, watching the other chars mow down everyone with the uber-fire weapons.
Cold: Cold is probably the best. A sorc specializing in Blizzard can deal upwards of 12k+ cold damage PER SECOND, over a decent area of effect. In addition, these attacks slow creatures, making it easier for everyone else in the party. Throwing in Cold Mastery, which lowers all enemies' resists to the sorcs attacks, and you get quite the killing machine. However, to compensate, the creator of HU made it such that slightly more creatures have complete immunity to cold, and all others have increased resist. With the right gear and/or support, though, this isn't a problem (Certain auras and curses can remove complete immunities). A very, very good choice overall.
Lightning: Lightning sorcs are fun, though probably not the most utilitarian sorc around. Lightning sorcs get massive, ubermega maximum damages, but tiny minimum damages. Thus, a high-level sorc might have a damage range of 98-56,000. Basically, any given lightning bolt can be no more powerful as a static shock via a doorknob, or it could have enough damage to power New York City for a few days. Chain Lightning is great for groups, and plain ol' Lightning does alot to a single target. It all depends on how much you want to deal with the overly huge random damage range.
A few skills are handy for any sorc. These skills should have a few points thrown in 'em, regardless of specialization: Teleport, Static Field, Chill armor, Warmth, and Energy Shield.
Hope that answers your question Dod. As for a sample party comp, it all depends on what the others want to be. I plan on being a Paladin, either of the zealot or hammerdin varieties. I don't want to force anyone into being something they'd rather not, and I'm sure we can make due no matter what classes we end up having.
P.S. - Anyone else interested as of yet? If not, we'll begin the planning and playing soon.