Contrary to popular belief, I'm quite alive and chipper. And, now I've returned to my weekly column duties. Of course, I have some explaining to do. Why haven't I imparted my wisdom on all you mighty and scrawny adventurers out there? Well, I took a two week vacation to a well-known, well-appreciated (by the men of Sanctuary, at least) resort in the lower Twin Sea. Where, you might ask... well, everyone knows I'm quite a fan of Amazons, and most women in general, so I traveled to the place known for the largest amount of them wearing the least clothing -- the Amazon Islands. Yes, I ventured to all three islands, Skovos, Lycander, and Philios. It's surprising how organized the beach resorts are, though hundreds of Amazons are running around worried about their tans. And, of course, I had a few wonderful experiences getting a bit more personal with a few of the natives, but I won't get into specifics.
I wasn't in those resorts for as long as I've been away, but when I returned home, I found that since I had been delaying work, I had an extremely large pile of questions to answer, plus millions of angry customers who had been waiting for my shop to open again for some time. Well, you know that part. Anyway, I've been working on answering the many, many queries and troubles sent in by you fans of Gheed, Eventually, as you see now, I've caught up with the work, and the column is back in business!
From: Reymar
Subject: Armor Question
My dear friend Greed... er Gheed,
I have a somewhat "newbie" question regarding armor defense ratings. How do they work. Do the defense points simply accumulate as armor items are added?
For example, would a helm, gauntlets, and greaves totalling 300 defense give the same protection as a suit of mage plate with a 300 defense to it? And would it equal 600 defense if worn all together?
How does this math stuff work anyway?
Thanks,
Reymar
Reymar,
Defense rating is determined by the sum of all the armor you are wearing and the amount of character statistic points you have allotted to Dexterity. Without any armor equipped, your defense rating would be determined by: Dexterity / 4 = Defense Rating. The more points in Dexterity, the higher your defense rating will be.
For the second part of your question, it doesn't matter what item is contributing to the Defense rating -- the damage done by monsters isn't affected by your Defense rating, only their chance to successfully hit you. Let's say that you had a helm adding 10 defense. You then equipped gloves with 20 defense and dropped the helm your character was wearing. Though in real life your unarmored head would be vunerable, your defense rating in Diablo II is the same, so nothing would be changed.
From: Smelly_Vojacy
Subject: Isn't it scary?
yo gheed...
I was just wondering what it's like for you to live in Rogue Encampment...I mean, with all the demons and monsters everywhere. After all, let's face it--the campgrounds are pretty pathetically guarded, and I bet even I could tear the place up (if I wanted to--lucky for you we're allies), me being a level 37 lance barb. So my question: why doesn't/didn't Andariel just come in and destroy the place? Aren't you afraid this will happen?
Smelly_Vojacy, lvl 37
Smelly,
Though it may appear that the Rogue Encampment isn't guarded very well, the Rogues are actually very potent with their weapons. Never once has there been an invasion of Diablo's minions in the Encampment that has lasted more than a few seconds. Trust me, powerful you may be, you would never be able to overtake this town without an army of level 99 Barbarians. Besides, how could you ever threaten poor, innocent Gheed? Andariel is a powerful and wicked creature, but she's not stupid enough to throw herself into a position of weakness -- her minions are fearsome, but no match for adventurers such as you. As long as you're fighting her, we'll have little trouble. Now, get over here and gamble some.
From: The Stormbee
Subject: Spears, Treads, and the rest.
Oh, great and glorious giver of glimmering, glowing, and (occasionally) great gear...
I hate to start off on such a negative footing, but first off, 2 postings ago some guy named J mentioned throwing spears, the highest level normal (non-exceptional) javelins. You automatically assumed they were regular spears, and you know what happens to those who assume...
2nd) There are no rare throwing weapons (yet). This includes all javelins (and short/throwing spears). Superior/exceptional, yes. Magical/rare, not 'til LOD comes out.
3rd) My friend thanks you (at least, I think it was you--may have been the pack rat from the Desert Rain--if it was we each owe you 12.5k) for the Treads of Cthon his hardcore Amazon picked up (while talking about what the Treads were, no less). I've gotten little good from you, but you can't win 'em all. Besides, what's the use of gold if you can't spend it on something useless--especially when you're almost at your limit?
4th) And finally, great site, some good advice despite the occasional mistake. From what I've seen of the site, though, I have to ask--how long 'til you finally make your move on the barbarian babe? (Talk to Akara sometime--that's what she'll tell you Charsi is, just not in the same words.)
I'll see you back in the Encampment, (hopefully with a SOJ, maybe an Eye for the lower three characters--I won't even bother with the guy loud enough to wake the dead...)
The Stormbee
Stormbee,
Thanks for the corrections. Now let's talk Charsi. I've recently come to the conclusion that I'd rather get with one of those babes from Lut Gholein, though they don't talk as much as Charsi -- sometimes a good thing. Well, many times a good thing. Charsi can talk your ear off all night, and while I like "spending time" with her, it's time to move on and start some major p1mping again.
From: Nick
Subject: Experience Equation
Hiya Gheed my ol' buddy ol' pal,
Sorry for the familiarity, but I've noticed how friendly you get when I've got a few coins in my stash, so I thought we were friends... say it isn't about the money, is it buddy?
I've got a bit of a question on experience. I seem to have misplaced the link that directed me to the experience equations. I'm somewhat familiar with the equations for lower level characters fighting monsters between 6-10 levels above them. But I thought they didn't apply at higher levels. So... please tell me (or point me in the direction of) an equation to describe experience gained based on mlvl and clvl, especially for higher level characters.
Thanks comrade,
-nick
Nick,
Of course I'm your pal -- as long as you gamble regularly! Hey, I notice some coins in your pack and a full stash; don't forget to come by. Time to do some (cha-ching!) business. For the rules and equations of Experience in Diablo II, they do apply no matter what level you are. There are different rules for (1) characters under level 25, (2) characters level 25-74, and (3) characters over level 75. You can find the equations here, and you can also find more information and a useful tool at PlanetDiablo's Experience Calculator.
From: Ben
Subject: Redemption
Gheed-
I have a level 39 Paladin and just noticed something weird. As you know, bringing up the skill tree and holding your cursor over any skill will give you a description of what it does. The description for Redemption--that wonderfully useful level 30 aura--reads (and I quote) "When active, aura attempts to redeem the souls of slain enemies to give life and mana to you and your party." Now, you and I both know that this is wrong! Redemption only refills the health/mana of the Paladin, not his party or hirelings, right? So what's up with the bogus description?
Ben,
Redemption does only add to your life and mana; I'm guessing that Blizzard Entertainment simply forgot to correct this error in the last patch, or possibly they do not know about it yet. I have informed PlanetDiablo's gurus to tell Blizzard about this error. Thanks for the notice!
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