What was your most fun build?

[Twizman]

I'm interested for a new player, what are some of the strongest/easier builds to play?

If possible type the build basics out!

[Billybgame]

Well, I know you were already talking about your amazon, but I love the throwing javelin build...Plague Javelin is so cool, and not gear dependent. I think a lot of people think Sorc's are good starters, but boy, mine haven't done so well deep in tourneys. But, Blizzard and Meteor builds are pretty straightforward. Fist of the Heavens Paladins are fun, and I always liked Frost Zealots too. A very sturdy, strong, build is a Concentrate Barb. Elemental/Summoner Druids can be a lot of fun too.....Creeping Doom just rocks.

Those are just some of my faves, of the less complicated sort. Guess it all depends on if you want melee or ranged. I've also started an Immolation Sorc in one of the challenges....and wondering why I didn't earlier....very interesting.

[blackduck]

Nothing would beat multiple shot amazon ...if they had infinite quiver. Now it gets tiresome to refill it every few minutes. I still used to enjoy strafe+multishot a lot but it is not as much fun as just spamming multishot would be.

If it comes to being beginner and poor I would recommend barbarian as they have very solid tools for many different builds thanks to all the 1-point wonders. I've fond to Nova as it works very well with Ancient's Call, Nova is *real* aoe with no casting delay and it packs enough punch to be able to devastate everything with enough gear. (It is also easy to begin with as before you have good enough gear to go in the middle of enemies Thunder Wave will deal with everything without the need to get close.) Immolation sorceress is very similar except the novabarb can take like 10x more punishment before they die. The only advantage for Immo sorc is that they have Teleport natively so if you play untwinked that can be a big deal. However the very moment you find your first ring/amulet with +1-4 Teleport (or just get some other item with Teleport oskill) the Sorceress loses this advantage. (In short I find sorc being bit sad in ES as barb just makes them look so bad in comparison.)

Anyway.. In ES you can make a lot of different and fun builds and most of them should be able to finish the game on hell p1 just fine. If you like farming stuff fast and efficiently then you'll likely want to slim the options down a bit and pick whatever you enjoy playing (and deals lots of aoe damage ;D).

[Twizman]

Wow, awesome!
I'm partial to melee, but I read in the ES faq that starting out with a javelin is a great way to level. And like you said, not particularly gear dependent.
Could you tell me how to distribute skill and stat points for the Plague Javelin build?
I'm also really interested in those two Paladin builds, and Conc Barbarian!

[thepsycho2]

Since Energy will increase elemental damage, try to aim for STR/DEX up to your preferred throwing weapon of choice. Try to aim for the lowest-requirement exceptional/elite javelin. (Gilded Spikes / War Javelin is alright, but you may want some extra STR for gearing -- I'd say a hard limit of 100 if you can manage some charms.) You'll be using Pyre Javelin often, so raise that until you get Plague Javelin - and increase that until Lightning Fury. One point that, max Plague Javelin, then you could either use Lightning Fury or Pyre Javelin as your next max. Important to at least have one of those two alongside Plague if you encounter poison immunities.

Holy Bolt paladins are pretty nice, however the best weapon they can use ("White") requires a gold rune ("Ro"). However trying to get those up and running isn't that difficult, if you can get some Mana Per Kill and Regenerate Mana bonuses on your gear via gems (Sapphires!). Protection From Evil is the aura of choice. One extra thing you should work with, after Holy Bolt at 28 (+4 bolts), try to get Conviction 1-pointed and max Fist of the Heavens - you'll need to use that late Hell and that extra lightning resist dip on the monsters will make your task easier. For bosses, consider 1-point Meditation for the mana regen + %FCR boost. Your target for max cast is +105% FCR.

Finally, I've done an Iron Claw Druid, preferably Elemental Form, for the increased damage and defense. Open Wounds and Crushing Blow + considerable % damage boost works well if you get Maul charged up completely (And you need EF to use Maul). The only downside is that you'll need at LEAST Mana steal if you plan to run that often, and you decide on Werewolf + Feral Rage to help with life steal. The only downside is that in order to have moderate sustain you'll need to get the Lv.30 Druid set, Tsu-forge the weapon and get a blemished+ amethyst in a socket. (You can try Perfect, but remember the level req climbs to 35; if you base-up the weapon, it becomes 41.)

Those are the three I can recall that usually has low maintenance to start, but like most potential builds, usually requires a search for more powerful stuff. If you go the Druid route, try for a 5-socket spear and use "Duress" ES runeword until you can get a very good rare/craft to replace it. As for the amazon/paladin, you'll just need to have a weapon that will benefit the class alongside a good shield.

[GeorgeBroussardIRL]

My only experience was with an MA/PA HC Amazon on a private realm a few years back but last year I started over single player with a summoning druid. My friend with no experience wanted to play so he made a paladin planning to get some summons and stand back and help out with auras. Fast forward a year of on and off play and I'm 98 and he's 97.

Summoning druid is really powerful especially with every boost that matters. Solo I can take p5 or 6 without any trouble and slowly get through everything on p8. Merlin's Legacy is really easy to gamble and so good I'm still wearing it. Need to find some nice okill amp rare to do better.

Probably not the fastest for cows or any of the endgame stuff but it's done damn well for me. For an untwinked HC start I can't recommend it enough.

Anybody feel free to PM me if you want to play HC tcp/ip.