Hardcore Guide to Hardcore.

[old.Tohtori]

Found this on a US forum post, pretty good advice all around;

Especially cool that you can store gold/items and the crafting stays even on death. Just have to remember to STORE that gold

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What is it?

Hardcore is the same game as normal. Same monsters, same bosses, same loot.The only difference is that when you die, it’s over. Instead of finding your character resurrected a few feet from your death you will be prompted back to the character screen. You will see a ghostly visage of your character and if over level 10 you can archive it into the halls of the dead.

Can I play with people playing softcore?

No you can't, nor can you trade or acces there auction house or even the items on your own softcore chars

Why should I play Hardcore? It seems like I’d just be wasting my time if I died.

For myself and countless others it’s about the journey. You will die playing Hardcore, but in the deaths you learn and get better. It can be frustrating, but that frustration leads way to a much greater feeling of success then simply hurling your corpse at a boss until he gives you loot. In looking back at Diablo 2 I don’t recall finding the items I had been looking for, or defeating Diablo for the first time, but each death ( both my fault and out of my control) stand out and remain distinct and clear. Diablo 3 will fade, like all games, but those memories and the feeling of what you did will stay with you for much longer.

How is Hardcore unlocked?

In order to play Hardcore you must have played a soft core character to level 10. You do not have to keep that character after hitting level 10 and it can be deleted to allow more space for your Hardcore characters.

How do I make a Hardcore character?

After reaching level 10, you can then go into character selection and click on Create Hardcore character. After naming your character you will then be prompted to accept the fact that if you die Blizzard will do nothing about it. If you do not see that warning, congratulation you made a soft core character… go back and try again.

What do I lose when I die?

Everything on your character! However anything in your stash(including your gold), and your Artisan’s progress, will remain in place for your future characters.

If I’m about to die and disconnect I’ll be okay right?

Nope, pausing and disconnecting will cause you to initiate the ten second logout. Which should lead to your demise.

What about Lag?

Lag can get you killed and Blizz won't revive even if that happens. The best advice is if it’s feeling risky don’t do it. If you don’t trust your connection then maybe Hardcore isn’t for you.

Who should I play with?

Friends family or maybe forum members you've talked to and seem alright. Random people you don't trust give an extra dimension. fighting the forces of evil and keeping an eye on your team members is exhausting and dangerous.

I died what do I do?

Start over! A tip: try to level two characters and keep them around the same level, that way if one dies you have the other to fall back on. It can be kind of harsh to have to start back at zero and even a few levels can be the difference between restarting and quitting. Other than starting over take note of how you died, what caused it? What can you do to prevent that in the future? those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

How can I stay alive?

Don't rush, be aware of your surroundings, Use the area to your advantage, keep an escape path open and save some resources for that "OH !@#$" skill to get out safely. Other than that Toque has some nice rules:

Rule #1: Get comfortable. Starting off you’re going to have zero idea of what you can and can’t get away with, so approaching every pack of mobs should be done so with the mindset that they could kill you.

Rule #2: Your shield is your best friend. Giving yourself a chance to block full damage from attacks makes shields an HC players best item for survivability.

Rule #3: Don’t be a hero. If you don’t feel like your character is ready for a specific fight, then don’t go running in guns blazing. This is especially important for bosses. Go farm, craft some gear, grind some levels, then go fight that next boss. If you actually have no clue how to know if you’re ready, judge it by how easy the mobs before the boss are. If the mobs are hard, the boss is going to wreck you.

Rule #4: Gear accordingly. If D2 is any indication, certain bosses will be easier with certain gear.

Rule #5: Don’t ignore resistances.

Rule #6: You will die! Never think for a moment that you are safe, complacency is what kills HC characters the most. Thinking you’re never going to lose a character is probably the worst attitude you can have.

Rule #7: farm lvl 1 boars till 60
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[Raven]

Sounds like a terribly shit way of playing!

 

[Aada]

Fuck that shit.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Well it certainly ain't for all, but a welcome added challenge and i'm REALLY glad they kept it like it was in D2 with permadeath.

 

[Aada]

I'll certainly have a bash at it i haven't died so far on my normal game but then is normal really easy?

 

[old.Eyez]

When I played D2.. i was always playing on hardcore.. died a few times.. but ended up with plenty of lvl 99 toons

 

[Zenith]

Playing hardcore was the ONLY way I had fun in D2 after my initial playthrough. Nothing, up til this date, have come close to the adrenaline and fear of playing a Hardcore character. My 96 Zerk Barbarian is still my most cherished character

 

[LordjOX]

I've died twice in normal SC and countless times in nightmare SC so far.

Also beware of the green exploding mobs or end up like this: http://de.twitch.tv/arch00/b/318387466

 

[eksdee]

Haha. That's some serious smackdown.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Personal experience here, on a demon hunter with 2x 1 hand crossbows(but can be applied i guess);

What is enough health on normal?

Act 1 <1000
Act 2 1500-2500
Act 3 3000-3500
Act 4 4000+

This will avoid one shots, but you still might bite the bullet if things stack, so it's not enough to "relax"

Also worth noting that i had a lot on lifesteal/life after kill/life on hit, but i most likely overdid that(and probably vitality in general).

If you stick rest to damage(for example dex with demon hunter), should be enough.

Level should be enough also, if you clear out most of the content before going forward. On normal there's no need to farm(even if many say it's a good idea ).

 

[old.Tohtori]

Here's another lil tidbit if you're full on hardcore like i am;

5 classes, 10 slots for characters, plan writes itself really

Make 5 HC characters, each class as your "gaming slots".
Make another 5 HC characters, each class again, as your bank characters.

Now you have two of each class, one for gaming and one for storing gear for that class. So strength gear goes to your barbarian bank and so on. Witch doctor and wizard might overlap, and DH and monk ofcourse.

This way, WHEN you die, you'll have a clean and fast way to re-gear your character with a starter set and any sets there after. You don't need more then 10 character slots as you move your dead Hc character to the hall of heroes(or whatchacallit).

I try to keep a set every X levels, so for example a set for level 5, then 10, 18, 25. MAkes it a lot easier to advance again if you ever have the need.