LLD101

[Jerkazoid]

All about Very Low Level Dueling (VLLD) [starters guide]
Version 1.10

1)Preface
2)Basics
3)How to begin
4)beginner builds/outlines
5)Item finding FAQ
6)Beyond beginner building suggestions
7)What now? Final words.

Preface:
Very low level dueling is generally between the levels of 9 to 16. Most VLLDs are 9
Exceptions made to characters underpowered. When reading the articles all attributes and gear is low enough to use with lvl 9's unless specified within brackets like this : Malice (lvl 15)

Many communities and forums establish balances between the different builds to create fairness for what Blizzard has not. It is up to you to either go with the flow, or be your own boss.

This guide was written focused around Softcore dueling, however it contains info HC Vllds would find pertinent.

Links:
I shall mention locations where to go for more thorough information. Rather then listing them over and over the 3 links I use most often will also be found here at the top for easier access. The number of '*' will correspond to the appropriate link:

* http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/ (Arreat Summit)
** http://www.diabloii.nu/affixcalc (affix generating calculator)
if it is not working try this one
http://diablo3.ingame.de/spiel/expansion/itemdb/affix_index.php?lang=en&version=lod&patch=111

*** http://web.archive.org/web/20070808072323/http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=551 (class statistics resource)

**** http://diablo3.ingame.de/tips/calcs/speedcalc_titanseal/speedcalc_english.php - the most accurate weapon speed calculator (that I know for most skills)

***** http://www.d2items.com/skills.php (an amazing skill planner with a very intuitive interface)
http://diablo3.ingame.de/spiel/skills/calc/index.php?lang=en (a very technical skill planner wich contains the hidden information not commonly known about many skills

LLD101 also has a sticky with added links to extra info here: http://lld101.com/viewtopic.php?t=18051

Basics
All of your attention will focus on maximizing two factors, damage and life. This is done in three parts
Rushing,
Equipment
Skills and stat points

Rushing
To assist in making your character as strong as possible, u may wish to rush your character and get the all quests that grant bonuses, further boosting what you normally receive from just leveling.

Each difficulty completed is +4skills, +20 life, +5 stats and +10% all resistance.
(Patch 1.10: it is still possible to get to hell with a lvl 1)

You do not need ancients to advance to NM or HELL; you simply need the Baal quest. To get the quest you must:
1) Be in Harrogath
2) Be partied with someone who is watching Baal as he is killed.
3) The person who watches Baal die must be getting the quest- ie: advancing to the next difficulty

When the individual witnesses Baal die, and gets the quest, you are in town partied, and get the quest as well.
When you leave the game you will be congratulated and move into the next difficulty.

Rushing = cheating?
It always best to have friends do this but at times it will be necessary to try to be a part of a public rush. It can be frustrating getting some people already rushing to extend this 1 courtesy to you because many times people will insist you not get any help, even un-partying and calling you a 'cheater'. They feel that you should be at least somewhat able to kill things and not 100% assistance from them. But really the only thing on their mind is you're trying to leech xp and drops, and they have no clue about your intentions for staying low level and very low level dueling. For the most part during rushes all you will do is stay in town to get the quest, or goto the area and immediately die to get quests without xp. This has no affect on a decent team already going through areas, in short people who don't want to extend this small favor to you, suck.

Equipment
Equipment will guide you through the basics of what to look for when choosing gear. There are two parts:
Maximizing Damage.
Maximizing Life

Maximizing Damage
There are several factors for maximizing damage
a) dmg per attack (+Damage)
b) # of attacks per second (Speed)
c) Attack rating
d) Mana
e) Misc damage

+Damage
Most VLLDs rely on Physical dmg to destroy their opponents. The best way most builds achieve this is thru the use of jewels with either X% enhanced damage , +to maximum damage, and +to minimum damage. The Ith rune (lvl 15) is also common.

Rares can now also be very viable, if not ultimate, however finding them can be frustrating.

Another option for character is charms, the most common is the Fine large charm (lvl 14)

'optimal' places to search for such jewels and charms, in general, are places within Act 2 normal. *You can access a complete database of all the gear within the game to help research yours builds best options at the Arreat summit under the items section.

Speed
High amounts of increased attack speed (ias) can be found commonly on such items as the gloves from Deaths or Sigons set. With 1 more item from the set, both these gloves unlock 30% increased attack speed (30ias). Khalimas Will is another popular item for some builds.

The speed at which you attack is also assisted with fast skills such as the Amazons Jab skill, or by the weapon you use. When choosing weapons, take into account speed as a major influence. Please use the link to the *Arreat Summits item database to further research more options, IAS also may be obtained on weapons and you can use the **affix calc to see what mods can spawn on a particular item

A Paladin that uses Charge (lvl 12) is an example of a build that does not use IAS for its attack.

****To understand how fast your character will attack, there is a very powerful speed calculator located within the links section

Another Speed angle to look at is 'Slow'
'Slows target by' is atypical, and most people who VLLD do not use it. It is considered by many to be bad mannered (bm) the most typical VLLD slow item is Cleglaws gloves.

Cold damage is the only widely acceptable form of slow and can be negated with "Cannot be frozen" (CBF) found on a common item, Deaths sash. The length your character could stay chilled is shortened by cold resistance and the mod "Half freeze duration".

Attack rating
Attack rating(AR) is a large part in determining your characters chance to hit another.
*** To learn more about this formula and chance to hit please use the link

+to Attack rating is commonly found on most of the VLLDs gear such as the 50-75 AR on the Nagelring. It is also commonly found used on:

Rings
Weapons
Paladin class specific shields
Amulets
Jewels
Amethysts (when used in weapons only)
Diamonds: (when used in armor and helm only)
Large charms
Grand charms
Small charms

*To obtain information on what amounts are available please access the Arreat Summit or use ** the affix calc to generate the available mods for a specific item

Mana
Generally speaking, without enough mana, your build will fail. Your best options for mana are % damage taken goes to mana (dtm) The Angelics amulet (lvl 12) is very common, and widely used for a number of reasons, it also grants 20%dtm. You can also find damage to mana on:

Amulets
Jewels
shields
Ith rune (lvl 15) when used in armor or shields

+to max mana is nice, as well as +to energy. These mods usually come on commonly used gear anyway and are seldom added in larger amounts. Regenerate mana +x% is hardly used either.

Misc. damage
Miscellaneous damage comes in several viable forms:
Crushing blow
Open wounds
Critical strike/deadly strike

Attacker takes damage and Damage returned are generally useless in VLLD. Crushing blow and Open wounds on the other hand can be effective on very specific builds by experienced VLLDs who enjoy playing with what can be done. ***To learn more about crushing blow and open wounds please utilize the links

Deadly strike is a property as seen on Cleglaws sword. It takes the physical dmg you do and doubles it. Critical strike is a skill-oriented property, as found in the assassins Claw mastery and it works the same as Deadly strike. ***To learn more about either of these please utilize the links


Maximizing Life
Several factors contribute to ones life (survival)
1) life
2) blocking % and blocking speed
3) recovery speed
4) defense
5) replenish
6) resistance and damage reduction

Life
To better survive VLLDs maximize their life. The best options to do this by are thru: pumping vitality, equipping Charms, and socketing Gems. You should be aware of your options on small, large and Grand charms, as well as Rubies by using the links * provided at the top.

Blocking
Vllds always have full, (or near full), blocking amount {75%}. Your character, its level, its shield, its dexterity, and whether you are walking or running, will effect the chance to block. As an example a lvl 9 Amazon with a Pelta lunata will need 45 dexterity to have full blocking. *** To learn more about blocking statistics and formula use the link

Faster Blocking speed in no way effects your characters blocking chances, however, the longer you perform those blocking motions, the less time you spend attacking. Most Vllds block so often that having fast blocking gives significant more attack time.
*** To learn more about faster blocking speed and breaks, please use the link.

In Patch 1.10 'locking' your opponent into continuous repeat blocking has been nullified. All characters are granted a small window of opportunity to attack back (about 10frames). The character will still block during this time, it just does not display.


Recovery
Faster hit recovery (FHR) lowers the amount of time a character recovers from large damaging attacks, or when hit while stunned. *** This link lists the recovery speed and breaks for each class.

FHR can be found on common VLLD items such as the Bloodfists and Twitchthroe (lvl 16). Many VLLDs will also try to obtain and utilize Rare gear that have the FHR suffixes, but most commonly it is used on grand or large charms. It is heavily debated as to whether or not Vllds need large amounts of FHR.

Defense
Your defense rating, as well as walkig or running, effects how often opponents can to hit you. *** To learn more about the formula for chance to be hit please access the link.

Defense can actually play a huge role in VLLDs. It's common to see builders trying to squeeze heavier gear onto their builds to help give them a boost. VLLDs often utilize stat saving properties to help lower requirement on heavier defense oriented gear. The most common is with jewels and the hel rune

Replenish
Replenish life is viable in special situations, but for the most part its seldom utilized for any advantage. Simply put, every +10 replenish gives just about 1 life a second.

Replenish can be found as a magical suffix on many items. * Please use the link to the Arreat Summits item database, to further research those options, or use **the affix calc to determine the amounts and lvl requirements on particular items.

Resistances
Resistances to damage is not heavily used in VLLD, this is due to the lack of strong elemental attacks and the lack of strong physical damage reduction gear. Your only concern would either be poison, or chill length. Both of which are easily negated with the commonly used combo deaths sash and gloves.

Skills
The skills that you use will help determine what the build will be doing and how effective it is. They both save your life, and kill your opponent, It is very important to know what skills can do for your build. Here are the most commonly used VLLD skills.

Amazons: Jab, Inner sight, Dodge, critical strike, avoid (lvl 12)
Paladins: Smite, Zeal (lvl 12), Charge (lvl 12), Sacrifice, Prayer, Cleansing (lvl 12) Defiance, Might
Barbarians: Bash, Shout, Double throw (lvl 12), any Mastery.
Assassins: Dragon Talon, Tiger strike, Burst of speed, Claw mastery
Druids: Maul (lvl 12), oak sage, Lycanthropy, Wearbear

(Sorceress and Necromancers are very atypical for VLLDs, they are too exotic and require innovation to make successful. They will not be addressed in this guide)

* To learn more about these skills please use the information located at the Arreat summit

How to begin
First of all you must have some idea as to your wealth and investment. What are you willing to do to make a VLLD? On ladder it can be very difficult. When I began, I would collect items that I knew could be potential for VLLD. This included

charms with +life
jewels with +dmg or -15% requirements
Uniques such as: Bloodfists gloves, Pelta lunata shield, Twitchthroe armor (lvl 16) ,Gorefoot boots, Nokazon relic amulet (lvl 10) and Nagelrings

Sets such as: Sigons, Deaths, Angelics (lvl 12), Hsarus, cleglaws sword, cow king's boots (lvl 13)

Rares like: Blade talons, bone shields, throw spears, rings, and amulets
And high-socketed items like: masks, gothic armor, breastplates, blade talons, military picks and crowns that have their maximum number of sockets

Look out for the Ethereal property on rares. Obviously the repair mod is usually needed to make any ethereal item truly useful but a good eth rare is highly sought after. Ethereal weapons will have 50% more damage then a none ethereal versions, and Ethereal armor will have 50% more defense

Rune words are not that common, however they can be an option. Please access a list of rune words here:
http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/runewords-110.shtml

Lets talk about some...
commonly sought after godly Lvl 9 potentials so we all know what to look out for in the future.

Fast, low req VS high damage ratio, weapons (commonly sought after: Military picks, crystal swords, flail, war scepters, Blade talons and throwspears)
with as many of the following u can get:

10%IAS
over 40%ed
more then 6 max dmg
more then 3 min dmg
ethereal + repair
close to 80 attack rating
2 sockets

Bronze Large charms of life (12 AR and 15 life)
Stout Large charms of life (3 defense and 15 life)
Lizards Large charms of life (7 mana and 15 life)
Large charms of life (+15) with 7% resistance to any element

Carbuncle jewels of Wraith (14max dmg)
Scarlet jewel of Joyfulness (8min dmg)
Scarlet jewel of Ease (+4 min -15% requirements)
Dun jewel of (something): 12%Damage to mana + (something)
Rusty jewels of (something): 20%enahanced damage + (something)
(rare jewels can have a combination of up to 2 preffixs and 2 suffixs. or ratio of 3:1 with affixs, using the above listing, use your imagination and you'll know what rares are possible/ideal)

rare rings with as many of the following u can get:
+2 strength
+80 Attack rating (up to 95 possible)
+2 dexterity
half freeze duration
any replenish
any resistance (cold mostly)
damage reduced by 1

amulets with as many of the following u can get:
+5 strength
+5 dexterity
any damage to mana
half freeze duration
any poison length reduction
any resistance
any replenish
damage reduced by 1

less commonly sought after are

Shields with:
+20% increased blocking, +30% increased blocking speed
any Damage to mana and
2 Sockets
[along with some of these]
half freeze duration
17% faster hit recovery
+2 strength
any poison length reduction

Boots with
10% fhr
+3 dexterity
15 AR
[along with some of these]
Half freeze duration
any resistances
25% poison length reduction

i giant list of desirable VLLD (and LLD) items has been created on the Dii.net forums, it contains a huge amount of info that can elaborate more on things i have not
http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=552978

Basic build outlines
These are the most basic build outlines for common Vlld characters. With the exception of the druid and zealot, the builds all depend on a full hell rush with all the needed quests.

Most builds will utilize the following guidelines, refere to these basic choices whenever unsure.

Put the minimum amount of str needed for your items, (usualy this is your armor).
NO stats used into Energy, ever!
Pelta lunata shield (needs 45 dexterity for 75% blocking on a lvl 9 zon,sin,pal)
3 socketed breat plate (req 30 str) or light plate (req 41 str)
3 socketed mask or crown(req str 55)
rare rings
rare ammy
Life large charms or combos with AR/defense and life

(Please refere to the bottom of the above section How to begin to get a feeling for godly/ideal jewels charms and rares.)


You can keep khalimas Will past act 3 by assembling it and equipping it. Die before you kill Mephisto and leave your body on the floor as you advance to act 4. Leave the game and re-collect your corpse and the Flail should still be in your hands.

Tiger strike Assassin
9 tiger strike (ts)
2 burst of speed (bos)
9claw mastery (cm)

Blade talons with 3 sockets (+dmg, +ar, or -%requirements)
Breast plate with 3 sockets
Mask with 3 sockets
Pelta lunata (socketed with +dmg)
Deaths gloves + Deaths sash
Any boots (rares, gorefoot or hsarus)
Ammy (rare)
Rings (rares or nagels)
Charms (life or combination)

Talons are 50/50 reqs, so its advisable you use 1 hel rune to lower it to 43/43
You will need 45 dex to have 75% blocking with pelta anyway so its pretty even
Str: 43
Dex: 45
Vitality = rest


try to hit above 1000 ar, 1000 dmg, 500 life and 300 defense.

Cast BoS, Charge up using TS and then release with normal attack. That's iT!


Jabber Amazon
Jab 1
Inner sight 9
Dodge 4
Critical strike 6

Throwpsear (rare) required dex 65!
Same armor, mask, rings, amulet, gloves, sash, boots as the TS assassin

Str: 30
Dex: 65
Vitality rest

try to hit above 600 ar, 500 life and 300 defense

You can get away with a different shield but keep it light (str wise). The throw spear will require 65 dex so u can use a 3 socketed shield (or a vulpine bone shield with 2 sockets) for more +dmg or damage to mana . Jab is a fast 3 hit skill anyway and its uninterruptible so u wont need faster blocking much.

You will need a massive amount of Damage to mana (recommend above 30%) to maintain the mana for Jab. Don't bother with +mana or anything else in charms/gems, you need the DTM, found on jewels as a preffix called "Dun". Get DTM on your ammy, and you might need a rare shield with Dtm.

Use the massive amount of Inner sight to take down 260 defense off your opponent's gear. It works before the skills such as Barbarians shout and Paladins Defiance, so its extremely effective in VLLDs. An assassin with under 300 defense will be so easy to hit, your relatively low AR wont be an issue. Characters with under 260 defense will display a negative defense rating


Bash Barbarian
9 mastery
9 bash
1 howl
1 shout

try to hit above 1000 ar, 600 life and 400 defense

str: 30+
dex: 45
vit = the rest

Try to find a 3 socket barb helm with +shout. Use the same setup as TS assassin cept you will have likely be above 41 str anyway so use a 3 sock light plate. Mana will be an issue so try to get DTM like the amazon. An appropriate weapon is 5 or 6 socketed fast one (-10wsm) with many +dmg jewels. The military pick (req str 49), flail (req str 41) and even crystal sword (req str 45) are common for a reason as well as Khalimas will. Deaths sword works good to complete the set, or even Clegs sword for 50% deadly strike, but both require more str.

bash the opponent. If u run out of mana, atleast your mastery is at its full level.

Druid
Mauler (lvl 12)
This build usually goes a little higher then 12, possibly 14 at most . ~ Many VLLD's characters at lvl12 or above ar not hell rushed due to balance. It is a small courtesy many of us stick to~

i never really tried this, but:
Oak sage 4
Maul 2
Werewolf 1
Lycanthropy 7-14
Werebear 1-4

str: 30+
dex: 45+ (!)
vit = the rest

try to hit above 1200 AR , 600 life and 300 defense

Youll want to try to find a druid helm with 3 sockets and +skills to Maul. Use Angelic rings and ammy (lvl 12). The rest is the same gear as the assassin cept for possibly cow kings boots (lvl 13). (!) please note both angelics and cow kings boots add significant dexterity, keep that in mind about blocking, save the stats untill you get to your desired level and put most of your gear on, then place points into dex to reach 75% blocking and no more.
Fine lc's Charms (lvl 14) try to get life on em as well and +10 life small charms (lvl 14)
Use khalimas Will as your weapon or Angelic sickle (lvl 12).

i have no real idea how to play this, but its probably not that different from a basher,sacrificer,zealot, or most vllds for that matter

Smiter, Paladin

1 smite
4 defiance
X might
X prayer

Str: 30+
Dex: 45
Vit = the rest

try to hit above 600 life and 450 defense

Gnasher axe
A rare spiked shield with dtm and the extra blocking
deaths sash + gloves,
any boots
you want ideal 'godly' rare rings and ammy but ignore AR as u don't need any, u need DTM!
Use rubies in the typical vlld socketed gear for life and try to get the same DTM the jab zon has using jewels.
Charms with +life or combos with mana and defense

Smite the crap out of em utilizing the crushing blow and openwounds from the Gnasher. The dmg wont be much from the shield but you will be able to knockback lock them and kill them in under 1 minute. Use defiance with tougher gear, sigons gloves and boots to make a high defense build. Or go with prayer to replenish, possibly might to give smite dmg a bit of a boost to help finish em off faster.

Note: Smite no longer causes automatic hit recovery from its stun, only the knockback will give you that advantage. Think about having something on switch to help finish off opponents a little faster.

Sacrifice Paladin
9 sacrifice
X might
X defiance
X prayer

try to hit above 1000 AR, 500 life and 300 defense

str: 41+
dex 45
Vit = the rest

Use the exact same weapon and armor choices you would have for a Bash barbarian but get a 4 socketed paladin shield with inherent enhanced dmg (55-65%wich can only come from late NM or higher) and the AR bonus. Pick any 2 auras you feel the build might need and only put skills into those.

its no different from the other builds, so just swing away.

Zealot, Paladin (lvl 12) ~it is courteous to not hell rush characters at lvl12 or above due to balance~

1 zeal
9-12 sacrifice
X defiance
X prayer with 1 clensing
X might
X blessed aim


Str: 30+
dex: 45
Vit = the rest

try to hit above 1200 AR, 500 life, and 300 defense

Similar to the assassin and Barbarian basher building. Try to get a war scepter (str req 55) with +3 to zeal for more hits and sockets and lower its reqs to about 45str. You will want a paladin only shield like the sacrificer as well. Use +dmg in your gear. angelics for rings an ammy (lvl 12). Pick any 2 auras you feel the build might need and only put skills into those.

Item finding FAQ
Q: Where is the best place to find Vlld charms and jewels?
A: All of act2 is regarded as ideal

Q: What can I do to speed up the process?
A: Stick to Canyon of magi to tomb runs within large games, i join cow or baal games often and solo those areas for tons of drops. You can also glitch andy and run her in normal to focus more on jewels. The catacombs of act one, levels 2 thru 4, are areas with the perfect level to drop vlld jewels. Also you can stock up on perfect gems to cube charms and jewels you find to reroll the mods.

Q: Where should I go for a rare weapon
A: You can imbue, gamble and Magic find rare weapons. Remember imbuing is the best way to get ethereal rare items, as the ethereal property stays. A discussion about Vlld item hunting is located here: http://www.lld101.com/viewtopic.php?t=796

Q: what else stays on imbues?
A: nothing. No +skills and not the cracked or superior type. The item becomes normal and +skills are re-generated.

Q: What level do I need to imbue at
A: the answer to this question depends on the mods you need most and the item type you are using.

Use **the affix calculator to generate the mods on the specific item you have chosen to obtain. Edit the input ilvl and re generate the possible affixes to determine what the minimum ilvl is needed to obtain the mods you want. Remember that when you imbue the item has its Ilvl set to Clvl +4

This calculator will also unlock the answers to what character level you would want to use to gamble a certain weapon. When gambling the ilvl is a range from +5 to +4 of you characters lvl (chosen randomly), you need to keep that in mind.

Q: What about when im hunting monsters
A: you will need to understand what lvl the monsters are to better choose which monster you need to kill for better odds for getting the rare weapons. The ilvl will be equal to the monsters lvl and monster levels can be controlled by area levels

In general normal Mephisto (lvl 26), Diablo (lvl 40) Baal (lvl 60) and Nightmare Andarial (lvl 49) are the best places to search for LLD and Vlld items. Each one has a particular sweet spot depending on the specific item you want. You will need to use that same affix calc to see what mods will spawn on which items from each particular boss.

Q: What do you do?
A: I use a lvl 60+ sorceress still in normal with pumped energy/teleport/static/orb, cheap gear but she teleports fast. She is used to kill Baal over and over in games where she 'cannot get quest'. Every time she kills Baal, rares or better drop. This is a slight bug that may be fixed In the future, but until then I will try my luck at getting godly VLLD and LLD items. The same trick is done in NM baal with a different sorc and ofcourse i have Andy glitched as well.

Q: Is that cheating?
A: They are "bugs" aka features, I cant tell you if accelerating your success with what you know to be 'weird' about the game to be "cheating" . But you are playing the game as-is (well i do atleast) so its not changing the way Blizzard made the game, hence not cheating imo. We dont know blizzards intention with the features, for all we know the MDR "bug" issue and anya/malah scroll are both "working as intended".

Q: Does it work? what else do you do?
A: It really hasn't yet, rares are tough to get godly. I also use this 60 sorc to look for games with many players, join. and quickly clear out as much of the canyon of magi and tombs in act 2 as fast as I can. I also collect every ethereal throwspear, blade talon, gothic and ancient armor i find, to imbue with. One can make a new character and quickly rush it to 8 and get the imbue quest in under 10 minutes if u work it out smartly

Q: why those items at such low level
A: the items don't need to have the best mods possible imo, and they are the most typical in demand rare items for VLLD. I only need a few choice mods, mainly the repair is all i ask. Many items (The throwspear for instance) can be imbued by a lvl 8 and still get mods above lvl 9, that's harsh, but it's the way it is in the game.

Q: I don't quite understand all that affix generating 'item level' (ilvl) alvl and qlvl stuff you keep mentioning.
A: Then im sorry, you will be at a disadvanatge when it comes to understanding your item options and you may have many, many questions until you do. People know these answers because they felt they needed to. Many people can tell you an exact answer if you provide them with all the info, however you could find out for yourself much quicker if you learn. In general these questions also get tedious to answer as they are specific to every item in the game and what you are looking for. Imo, It is a very good idea you teach yourself to fish, rather then ask for one. Please look into the Tutorial on how items are generated here:
http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Item_Generation_Tutorial

And please practice using **the affix calculator located at the top in the links, its not really that hard, just practice.

Q: Are there any other tools I should know about to help me find items?
A: "ATMA" is a single player self mule program that comes with a wonderful, near 100% acurate, magic finding calculator, I highly recommend it for that single amazing feature.
http://atma.diabloii.net/

Beyond-beginner building suggestions.
The options I will outline here are for general building purposes beyond the basics.

Fast is always better. If you have several options that seem to compare very close, go with the one that hits the faster break.

Dual wielding. Don't duel wield unless you know wtf your doing. It worked in .09 but will not go over well in 1.10+

Poison skills have had a huge bonus in 1.10 but the pvp penalty now applies to it. Its common to see amateur VLLDs try to pull off insane dmg with lots of charms and gems not aware that deaths gloves and the pvp penalty have taken that 1000 dmg and chopped it to 10.

Hitting under 75% blocking is a problem, but If your build only hits 73% that's..not fine. [edit] correction, going from 25% chance of being hit to 26% or 27% is sloppy, don't be sloppy, make sure you hit 75% blocking. your only excuse in doing this is if the build is intended vs attacks that can't be blocked.

Keep spare gear on hand just incase of common opponents. This can range from replenish gear, damage reducing gear, resistance boosting or pre-casting +skill items.

Extremely fast gear switching, or switching while attacking, is impossible, the game seems to require a slight pause. Don't try to make it work unless you know wtf your doing.

It's common to see melee builds with faster run/walk, but remember for characters that are not chasing or running, it's of course a useless mod.

Damage to mana (dtm). Is an essential VLLD property now. It is very important that you minimize your mana issues and DTM is the best option for vlld.

Don't even think about trying to gain life or mana from your gears leech. Leech from your gear is useless against another player. it is cut about 1/10 of the listed % and works after all damage reduction, whatever you knew about leech in 1.09 it is 1/58th as powerful now, ignore it.

When designing a new build, always plan it out on paper or ask in the forums, even go so far as to test is out in Single player utilizing an editor. Dont take the time to hell rush something experimental. Rush through normal to get a feel before going through with a whole hell rush. I recomend a skill planner ***** to best plan out your new builds.

Defense builds can be effective but they are a bit tough to pull off. This building style will almost always require lots of Strength, as a result, usually at the cost of your life, damage or both. Gothic armor has a 4th socket as well as its added defence. A build like this is usually complimented with sigons gear to help meet the strength needed and offer additional defense. The biggest drawback is its pricier to build like this, and your abandonment of deaths gloves will leave you susceptible to decent poison damage.
Ancient armor is by far the most elite defense a VLLD could have. However it can only be worn with the use of lowered requirement socketing. Trying to keep respectable damage and life makes this the most expensive setup that I am currently aware of.


You can get away without using deaths sash many times because many good VLLDs don't use much cold damage. And remember, having the mod Half freeze duration and your cold resistance effect chill time. Note: Half freeze duration is on or off, there is nothing gained by having multiple sources of that mod.

Faster hit recovery builds will generally utilize bloodfists, some rare shields, boots and some charms. This build in general can be slower than those who use sigons or deaths gloves. The Bloodfists do come with a nice life and min dmg bonus and its common to see them being used. You would need to become more familiar with your dueler to understand what weapon and ias is needed to reach its speeds. The speed calculator I listed in the Basics guide I recommend as it has the most accurate info I have ever come across. As an example when using bloodfists an Assassin must use blade talons with 10ias on the claw and will need to have BoS at 4.

No +dmg builds
Builds that dont rely on +dmg jewels or charms are remarkebly inexpensive to build (usually) and so are excellent choices for ladder duelers. Unfortunatly some of them can be a bit tougher to make effective. These no +dmg builds include (but is not limited to) the psychic assassin, smiter, and the kicker assassin.

I have already listed the Smiter build in my basic outline, and the psychic is just a novelty, but there is one in particular I feel can use a good mention.

Tiger strike Kicker assassin
This attacker will utilize the defense building style.
Use the same gear as the tiger strike assassin except you will use sigons gloves, helm and boots and you will want a 4 sock Gothic (or higher) armor. The build requires the hell rush and the lower req blade talons but your gear wont need +dmg jewels, instead build with lower reqs or gems for attack rating, and get some decent Damage to mana (20-30%).

CM 1
Bos 2
TS 9
Dragon talon (dt) 8

try to hit above 2000 kick AR, 450 life, and 450 defence.

str: 70 (base 60, sigons gloves will make it 70)
dex: 45
vitality = the rest
energy: none

You will swipe with your claw and charge TS, after you obtain 1, 2 or 3 charges use DT to kick. Your damage will only be 50-90 with sigons boots normally but 3 TS charges will boost it to about 300-450. The great thing about TS + DT is the charges will usually stay beyond 1 kick. IF TS releases, charge up again, I have killed full health opponents with the initial charges staying for up to 6 or 7 kicks. DT is also the fastest attack in the game and has a huge AR bonus

The down side to the build' I cant think of any, its cheap and does NOT require the jewels VLLDs spend so much time looking for, all it needs is the usual decent life charms, the simple gems and the required set and socketed gear. Definitely the most viable ladder VLLD I can think of other than the smiters.

Where to go from now'
You have only one option, have fun. You can search the game lists with a character in normal for Low level dueling, or very low duels, or you can make your own.(I recommend level restrictions very often)

It can be rough out there in the dueling games. You can be in a room and someone new might enter who obviously does not know how to compete, they will fight you and upon their death they shall return with a lvl 60+ and hostile you.

Lvl 9s cant even hit a lvl 60+ character, so it is usually pointless to try. However you handle things online, I don"t know, but try not to go crazy, ok?

Try not to be surprised to find a room with 70+ in one called ?low level?, to most people on battle net low level is 70 when compared to 99. One of the first things many of them are thinking it, "hostile the lvl 9, this will be so easy!!!?". And obviously you are no match for them, all these folks usually care about is high level dueling, elite gear,,, and they have no clue about low or very low, or fairness.

During dueling games you might beat people twice your level who wonder what you did, when you show them your gear some honestly don?t get it, saying the items are ?Crap? just because it wont help a lvl 60 character kill nightmare Baal.

Final word
These build are astoundingly fun and most people on Battle net haven't a clue. I have been called a noob, cheater, hacker, looser?. the list goes on. Most people find the idea of low level dueling absurd. If you mention it to them many will "lol", get used to it and remember its all just a game.

-Zoid

[B[x]]

i mentioned in your previous post that rings and amulets can both have the +1 light radius/15 AR mod. rings can have up to 95 AR and amulets can have 35. the extra 15 AR can be very valuable to those AR freaks like myself.

[Jerkazoid]

"Attack rating freaks" is not common nor is it starters, to those who wish to go that route by all means they may explore there options.

i wanted to add the 80-95 to rings,., but i suppose it did copy/paste over. but thank you i will update that

about the ammy AR.
i have made the information availible, but i specificly toned down my specificness to help keep the guide under 20 pages (its 16)

from the guide:
"+to Attack rating.......It is also commonly found used on:
Amulets

*To obtain information on what amounts are available please access the Arreat Summit or use ** the affix calc to generate the available mods for a specific item"

"Lets talk about some commonly sought after godly Lvl 9 potentials so we all know what to look out for in the future. "

getting a 20-35ar ammy is pretty lame compared to an ammy getting +5str and +5 dex,, the rings are best used for ar, the ammy for stats (imo)

But anyone who DOES want to go with ar, and go absolutle ar pumping, is able to use the links to further research the options.

[Will]

Took the time to read it all this time....really nice guide , I love it

[xZephyrX]

Very very nice Comprehensive and beautifully constructed. You get a bunch of cookies Jerkazoid

[Solartje]

on ama guide :p cs=5 u need 1 prereq skill, thats why u can only use 5 in cs. (damn so many posts to read, ill be busy for over 1 year....)

[Rampage]

Excellent work. This should be required reading for anyone thinking about trying VLLD.

[xxcrodogxx]

nice guide man wish it'd been there when i started

[Koshi]

[xxcrodogxx]

i always end up playing D2 for a bout 6 months build up a really good but not godly acct then getting bored and quitting for a while ( always just long enough for it to expire) so i end up having to start from scratch but ive been playing since about a week after LOD came out and ive been LLDing since well before 76Legit

[Lyrs]

About the rushing, it's covered in other information threads, but you may wish to add information about Classic rush than converting to LoD.

[meitou]

wow...I can't read it all, lol.......but I believe it's excellent!

[Solartje]

hehe sorry yerki, but im bored :p
add 1max dmg mod to rings as something thats nice to have.

[Jerkazoid]

hahah well..

sorry sol i dont think ill add that bc that potential 2 max dmg in relation to the ~100 u get from weapon + items is a small drop in the bucket.

your ring priority is ar and stats.

"starters guide" dude

[Solartje]

just hadnt posted in a long time, and there wasnt anything that interested me, so :p one little spam post to say high wont harm anyone.