How to Start Your First Character

[ChrisH36]

How to Start Your First Zy-el Character​

By: Chris on Jan. 29, 2009​

You have installed the game, and now you have started to play. However, your first hirdle in this game is right in front of you: Starting it. Many players have quit because of this mod's difficulty. Long before they get a roll going. But there are plenty of players on the D2M Server who have made it or almost made it to 10000. So it is doable.

This guide will help you start off. So you can get to Level 10. From there, you can do Den of Evil.

Getting the Starting Gear​

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When you first look at your inventory screen and character screen, you get this:

As you can see, you are completely naked. And you have some minor items.

You must do the following to earn cash:

1. Transmute the Chipped Diamond with the Chipped to Flawed Scroll
2. This will turn your gem into a random Flawed. Sell the outcome of this, if it becomes a Flawed Skull, you will get more money
3. Buy 6 keys individually, do not stack them.
4. Transmute each key with each Key to Chipped Gem scroll. IT will give you a random chipped gem.
5. If you get 3 of a kind, combine them into a Flawed. Sell some/all of the gems gained.

Now that you have some income, you can now go to Charsi and buy some weapons/armor.

You can do as you please with your armor, try to plan out your costs so you can at least cover your entire body, and have a shield. However, the weapon you buy will determine your survival.

Here are some good ones:

• Spiked Club - +50% damage modifier against Undead. Helps against Zombies and Skeletons in Blood Moor.
• Short Sword - Well rounded weapon
• Short Bow - Only ranged weapon. You will however have to buy your own ammo. This weapon helps in engaging Quill Rats and some beasts without attracting others.
• Javelins - Like the Short Sword, but with higher damage output when thrown. Good for nailing most monsters from a distance.
• Scepter - If you find one or xfered one from another character or bought one, its basically a more lethal version of the Spiked Club. Good for Paladins or any other melee.

Tip: Should you find socket weapons or weapons that have something like CtC Amp Damage on striking, then purchase them right away. If you have gems left over, the add-ons they offer may help you at this early stage.

You should have something like this (the books however are optional, but expensive):

WARNING: Do not, under any circumstances sell or drop the Magic Collector, as it costs 7500 Gold to replace. More will be explained on it later.

 

[ChrisH36]

Leveling up in the Field (Untwinked)​

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Well, you are now armed, and apparently dangerous. Let us engage in combat. However, there is a tactical approach you must take with this. This is no longer a version of Diablo II where you can run into monsters, weapons in hand, and hack and slash and hope it falls without you dying. This will lead you to many deaths and frustration, guaranteed.

I have started a Zy-el character about 10 times, so I will guide you through what you need to do.

The Blood Moor​

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This is the format I will be doing for my monster lists:
Name - (level X) X=Monster's Level - Special abilities or notes - XP when slain

Note: In regards to the XP when slain field. This number only applies should you be playing on Players1, your Level is >= the monsters, and you aren't under the influence of a XP Shrine.

Monsters:

• Kobold* (Level 1) - Easy to kill - 3 XP
• Quill Rat (Level 3) - Chance to Poison on Attack, Drops Arrow/Bolt Quills - 5 XP
• Spike Field (Level 6) - Multishot, Chance to Poison on Attack, Drops Arrow/Bolt Quills - 10 XP
• Zombie (Level 7) - Undead - 8 XP
• Skeleton (Level 9) - Undead - 9 XP
• Fallen (Level 9) - Demon, appears as unique monsters/minions - 8 XP (non-Minion/Unique)
• Pecker* (Level 13) - appears if a barn is on the map, Invisible on Maphack - 10 XP

*New Enemy added to game
Note: Invisible on Maphack means this monster won't display as an X when Display Monsters is enabled. It does appear on the screen.

Strategy​

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Level 1​

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As you can tell from the Monsters list, you are not going to be in for a cake walk like you normally would. As I said stated above, this isn't a mod where you can run blindly into combat and hope for the best (especially if you are just starting). You will only have a 20% or so to hit Skeletons, Fallens, Zombies, and the Pecker if its there, but they got a 95% chance against yourself most of the time. Spike Fiends are also not safe to attack at this point.

Your only hope at Level 1 of gaining XP and Levels is thru Kobolds and Quill Rats. So they will be our first targets. At level 1, you will have a 95% chance to hit against Kobolds, and 37% against Quill Rats, but Quill Rats dont have much HP. The rest of the monsters will have to be evaded for now.

Caution: Although Kobolds are weak, try to avoid getting surrounded by them at this level. If you do, kill them quickly so you can escape.

Tip: If you find Arrow or Bolt Quills from fallen Quill Rats, use these with your (X)Bow. These are ammo for your ranged weapons, but with added on poison effects. These will greatly help when taking down monsters from a distance. Zombies and Skeletons carry some resistance to the Poison. You will need to Identify the Quills to use them.

WARNING: If a Skeleton or Pecker spots you, run from it. These are the only 2 that will fully pursue you (except struck Zombies). If the abundance of monsters in the area are not Quill Rats or Kobolds, then remake and try again.

Level 3​

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You will have a 95% chance of hitting Quill Rats and Kobolds. Plus Zombies can be 1on1ed more easily. Should you engage with a Zombie, make sure you lure it away from the other ones.

Tip: Bows and Javelins help in doing this. Zombies tend to not help thier other comrades unless you get too close.

Level 5​

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You will be able to take on more than one Zombie. Spike Fiends and Skeletons can now be engaged.

Caution: Don't get surrounded by Skeletons. They appear in decently large packs.

You also get your first skill to put points into.

• Barbarian gets Find Potion. Although 7% at level 1, you can get Light Healing Potions from Corpses. This allows you to fight longer.
• Amazon gets Inner Sight. Although its a crude spell in general, it drops Defense and illuminates monsters. This allows you to hit them easily, especially the Skeletons.
• Necromancer gets Raise Skeleton. Without Mastery, all this creature can take on is Quill Rats and Kobolds without assistance. Even then, the Skeleton won't last long.
• Druid gets Raven. Although 1 Raven is not impressive, a flock can help you get through A1 with minimal difficulty. They ignore defense when attacking.
• Assassin gets Psychic Hammer. It's weak, but knocks back. It only helps in luring Zombies away from large parties.
• Sorceress gets Firebolt. Same as Psychic Hammer, it only helps in luring Zombies away.
• Paladin gets Prayer. It helps when healing yourself and other members of your party (should you be starting with a friend).

Level 8​

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If you have obtained ~10000 gold, you can purchase a Cold Mercenary. If you do, equip her with basic items you would buy to start off. As for weapons, they can equip anything now - including melee weapons. But not class-oriented stuff.

But that is just the icing on the cake. If you got her a level after you acquired her, she will start firing Baal's Cold Wave at monsters instead of Cold Arrows (she fires these at 40). It doesn't do much damage, but it can slow and knockback a lot of monsters, it kills Quill Rats and Kobolds easily. Don't do Cold Plains without her.

As for monsters, you should be able to clear the map easily. You may want to restart the game at this point should you have destroyed everything in Blood Moor. You need to get to 10 here.

Without shrines and stuff, you should have ~3000 exp if you did it in 1-2 games.

Note: There is a bug with the Rogue's experience when you get her at 8. Her experience will be > than the next level one. You will need to level a few times yourself to correct this bug.

Level 10​

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You can move on to Cold Plains here, but clear Blood Moor anyways. As I stated in the Note above, you get full experience from monsters that are >= to your level.

You also get your second skill:

• Barbarians get Bash. It increases your base damage by a set amount, %, and attack rating with a knockback effect. You will be using this spell a lot till you get Frenzy, Whirlwind and Double Throw.
• Paladin gets Smite. This spell will help you greatly in this game as it would in Vanilla D2. It bashes, does decent damage. It helps when controlling the powerful monsters, so you can stun them and leave them open for better attacks. This skill also ignores Defense values.
• Sorceress gets Warmth. It will be needed later when you get more powerful spells. It goes up 12% per level starting at 30%.
• Necromancer gets Amplify Damage. It will double the damage yourself, Rogue, and the skeletons can do on monsters. However, in this mod, the radius DOESN'T increase. Only the duration does. This spell is necessary for survival.
• Druid gets Werewolf. Although it doesn't last long until you get Lycanthropy at 20, it will give you the necessary boosts you need for combat. Plus, its the most devastating melee character in this mod.
• Amazon gets Jab. Only useful if you are using Javelin melee. But most people in this mod use Bows, or throwing javelins to do the Lightning/Poison damage.
• Assassin gets Tiger Strike. If you are doing melee assassins, you will need this spell to finish off monsters faster. Make sure you use the charges wisely. You dont want to waste them on a Fallen, when an Ogre Demon is coming for you.

Tips to get from 1-10​

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• If you see an item called a "Yum!", its food. You transmute it to make potions for yourself. Red or meats make Healing, Yellow or fruits make Mana. You only need 1 fruit to make Standard Level potions. They can stack of thier own kind to 3. More on using Food here
• Pick up any gold you find from monsters. Sell anything useless for now.
• If you pick up a Magic item, and you don't want to use it: Transmute it with the Magic Collector.
• If you find a Well, Healing Shrine or Replenishing Shrine, remember these spots. But use them wisely
• If you find an Experience Shrine, use it as soon as you can. This will give 50% more Experience.
• If you find a Fire, Strangling Gas or Explosive shrine, lure A LOT monsters to it, then activate it. It will weaken/destroy most or all of the monsters in the area. Remember to use a potion if you touched a Fire Shrine. Pick up the Potions for later use.
• If you encounter a unique monster, check its attribute. If its Holy Fire or Holy Shock enchanted, ignore it or lead it away to an area you are not going to explore if its a Kobold. These can kill you in 2 intervals.
• If an enemy drops an Elixir or Jewel, sell these. Elixirs can be broken down for 50 collector points or used for transmutations later, when you have money to spare that is. Jewels can be horded for Magic Collector points or to make Rares.