Icy's Basic Guide to Classic

Written by Icy in 2011, for patch 1.13. Reproduced here with light spelling and grammar corrections.

Hi, I thought I'd write up a guide to Classic for those interested or who have questions. This will just be the basics, as it's still very similar to Expansion, which I'm sure most of you know all about already.

1. The Appeal of Classic · 2. What's Missing and What's Different? · 3. What Character Should I Make? · 4. Cookie-Cutter Items · 5. How Do I Get Rich? · 6. Closing

1. The Appeal of Classic and Why You Should Play

Classic is much simpler than Expansion, which some players may find interesting. Most builds run on Rares as opposed to Uniques and Runewords, so stats, bonuses and skills are a lot smaller in number and frequency. With Rares being the desired items, this also makes the economy much more interesting, as players' characters are not copy and paste of each other and often have very different items, which makes trading and MFing a lot more exciting. There are still some Sets and Uniques that are commonly used, but for the most part, players can have vastly different items. Rares tend to be the true unique items in that manner.

Classic is also a lot more difficult than Expansion. In Expansion any high level character can cruise through the game without any effort, while in Classic even the richest players will still have some difficulty surviving if they're not careful. This means that skill and stat allocation are a lot more important and the game requires a lot more brain power. The endgame area (Chaos Sanctuary) also tends to be more difficult than the Throne of Destruction, more so because of the items, but also because Chaos Sanctuary is a lot more "active" than a Baal run.

Classic also offers a lot of possibilities for those seeking to get richer in Expansion. Classic rushing is the most common, which easily allows a player to get to the endgame and skip the Ancients. It also offers a method of rune collecting through Hell Forges, due to being significantly faster than Expansion. Some items are also easier to obtain, including Magefist, Frostburn, Chance Guards, Goldwrap and the Stone of Jordan. With the lack of Expansion items, these are somewhat more common, and could be transferred during a conversion. Another possibility is seeking nice Rares, due to fewer junk affixes and Rares being used more commonly by players. One example would be looking for nice +2 Skill Amulets: as there are no Druids or Assassins, searching for one of the other five classes' +skills is easier.

Of course, though, Classic is not for everyone and may be lacking in what others find fun.

2. What's Missing and What's Different?

There is no Act V, no Druids and no Assassins.
Many item affixes are not in Classic, including sockets, procs, charges and others.
Ethereal items do not exist.
Armours cannot have sockets, except by the SoJ socketing recipe.
Exceptional and Elite Sets and Uniques do not exist, but Exceptional Rares, Magics and Whites do.
No Runes, Jewels, Charms, Essences, Keys or Crafts.
No class-specific items (Targes, Orbs, etc.), and no magic or rare throwing items (Javelins, Throwing Axes, etc.).
The stash is only half-sized (however, there is less you'd want to keep in the first place).
Static Field has no difficulty penalty.
Dexterity is not involved with blocking, and the chance to block is the true percentage.
There are still synergies, the Cow Level and Akara's respec.
All monsters except Act Bosses and a few others have fast and high life regeneration.
The resistance penalties are reduced to −20 for Nightmare and −50 for Hell.
No weapon/shield switch.
Mercenaries cannot have gear, cannot be healed, and won't go to other acts (they're basically useless in Classic).
Some Act Bosses have lower levels (important: Nightmare Andariel can't drop the SoJ; farm her in Hell).
Diablo Clone can spawn, but won't drop anything.

3. What Character Should I Make, and Why a Sorceress?

Sorceress: since there is no way for another class to get Teleport, Sorceresses are the ultimate rushers and MFers. However, there is no simple way to handle immunes and no Mercenaries to help. They're best for specific roles and aren't superb for general tasks. I'd suggest knowing exactly what you want to do with a Sorceress before planning out your skills. Due to low +skills from items, it's not possible to do any one-point wonders, though I'd still suggest using them as they're helpful (Static Field, Warmth, Teleport), but it's not uncommon for these skills to have additional points. Energy Shield is not as useful in Classic due to fewer +skills, and skill points are a lot more valuable, though it could work with a pure Frozen Orb Sorceress. I'd also suggest putting points into Energy if you dislike chugging Mana Potions, and Strength/Dexterity for gear. 75 base Strength should be more than enough, and 51 Dexterity is necessary for using Spectral Shard.

Some builds include the Blizzard Sorceress for general MFing and Chaos (though she needs help for Seis), Orb/Fire Ball and Orb/Chain Lightning for Classic rushing and solo Chaos, and the Fire Ball Sorceress for Andariel SoJ farming and MFing. Other mixes and hybrids can work too, and Static Field on its own can almost be used as a secondary element. However, for fighting against the fast regeneration, I'd suggest having a nice finishing move (could be via a backup Staff), or using a weapon with Prevent Monster Heal.

Paladin: by far, Hammerdins are the best character for soloing the Chaos Sanctuary, and are still superb at everything else. Paladins do trail behind Sorceresses for MFing due to the lack of Teleport, but Vigor still helps. Paladins are very versatile and can still be used in a number of ways, including Blessed Hammer, Zeal, etc., but physical builds can become gear-dependent. Holy Shield is also amazing in Classic, as it nearly automatically gives 75% blocking. FoHdins and Tesladins are also excellent in PvP. For the most part, most Paladins will be Hammerdins, just like in Expansion. Smiters are also not as viable, due to no source of Life Tap and Static Field doing what Crushing Blow already does.

Barbarian: Barbarians are incredibly helpful in Chaos runs with Battle Orders, Shout and Battle Command, and can do a fine job soloing. They're also superb at running Travincal and finding gold. While they mostly work as supporters, the incentive for using a Barbarian is Find Item, and also being able to dual wield Gull (75% more MF than Milabrega's shield). Natural Resistance is also nice to cover the trickiness of maxing resistances. Whirlwind is still the best skill, though Frenzy and Concentrate could be used. And for style, Sword Mastery, Axe Mastery and Mace Mastery can all be useful, so you can use whichever you like. When using a Barbarian, I would suggest sticking with Whirlwind.

Necromancer: Necromancers suffer a bit in Classic, not being able to MF or Chaos quickly. However, Summoners are by far the safest build for everything, especially Chaos, and aren't as gear-dependent. Necromancer gear also tends to be cheaper and isn't necessarily made up of Rares. Poison is also powerful, as it stops monster regeneration, but without the +skills and Poison Skill Damage of Expansion, the damage isn't as amazing and requires a lot of Mana. The same applies to Bonemancers. Necromancers overall aren't amazing in PvM, but with Bone Prison and other skills, they make excellent PvP characters.

Amazon: Amazons are the least common character in Classic. While they are versatile and have no immunity problems, they aren't very fast at MFing or PvM in general. Poison Javazons have the same problem as Necromancers, lacking the poison gear of Expansion, while Bowazons are incredibly expensive, as high IAS combined with a superb bow can be difficult to achieve. They can still be used and are still a lot of fun, but for the general mindset of getting rich and levelling high, they're probably not the best character to use. For specific tasks, though, such as running the Cow Level or Travincal, Amazons can be top builds. They're also amazing in PvP.

4. What Are Classic's Cookie-Cutter Items?

While Classic runs mostly on Rares, Unique items can still work as great starter items, and some are great for high levels too. These are the main items to look out for:

Weapons: Spectral Shard for casters due to its 50% FCR, nice skill Paladin Scepters and Necromancer Wands, and Rare physical weapons with around 200% ED and other nice bonuses such as −Requirements, IAS, Barbarian skills, AR, etc. For SoJ socketing, I'd strongly recommend a Perfect Amethyst, or alternatively a Perfect Skull, but only do this for superb Rares, as this is for the very rich.
Shields: 3x Perfect Diamond shields are great starter shields, The Ward is a nice alternative, and most builds will ultimately want a superb Rare shield (30/20, All Resistances, ED%, +2 Paladin skills, Strength, etc.). The very rich can SoJ socket a Perfect Diamond into a superb Rare shield.
Helms: Tarnhelm is great for casters and MFing, a 3x Perfect Topaz helm for more MF, Wormskull for Necromancers, and nice Rares are also great (FHR, All Resistances, ED%, etc.). When SoJ socketing, I strongly suggest using a Perfect Ruby, or alternatively a Perfect Sapphire.
Body Armour: Twitchthroe is great for adding huge blocking, Goldskin for All Resistances, Silks of the Victor for +1 skills and Rockfleece for physical damage reduction. Others can be used cheaply, and nice Rares can be better (FHR, ED%, resistances, etc.).
Amulets: almost everyone will want a +2 skill Rare with bonuses like All Resistances, Strength, etc., with other bonuses depending on the character using it. +1 skill amulets, +3 skill tree amulets, Etlich and Mahim are cheaper alternatives.
Rings: if not SoJs, casters use superb Rare rings with FCR, All Resistances and other nice stats. Physical characters prefer similar Rare rings but with dual leech.
Gloves: Frostburn is great for casters to help with low Mana, Magefist for FCR, and Rares work for everyone else. Rare gloves should have resistances, FHR, IAS for physical builds, and other nice stats.
Belt: since the Unique and Set belts are poor (except when using Iratha's set), almost everyone will have a Rare belt. Rare belts with triple resistance, FHR, Strength, ED%, etc. are superb, and it's desirable to have a belt with 4 potion rows.
Boots: like belts, Unique and Set boots tend to be poor, so nice Rare boots are desired. They should have similar bonuses to belts, like triple resistance, ED%, FRW and MF.
MFing gear: Gull, Tarnhelm, Milabrega's Orb, Goldwrap, Chance Guards and MF boots are all excellent for MFing. Since no body armour has MF, it's common to use Tancred's armour and amulet to gain 78%. For Sorceresses, switching between Spectral Shard and Gull manually may be desired for faster runs, but both are small, so it's usually not a problem.
Iratha's set: by far the most used set, Iratha's is an excellent way to cover resistance problems without taking too many important gear slots. Iratha's also adds 10% to Maximum Resistances, which is helpful for the Chaos Sanctuary. Ideally a rich player would have Rares or Uniques that can replace Iratha's, but most people can use it.

Due to the high variance of Rares, and certain bonuses becoming uncommon because fewer items have them (Prevent Monster Heal, Cannot Be Frozen, etc.), you can be very versatile in selecting your equipment. Remember that in Classic, combinations of equipment are more important than individual pieces, so it may be wise to hang on to multiple amulets, for example. If you get a nice amulet and a nice pair of boots, but neither covers Fire Resistance, you may want to use different combinations. Everyone uses different equipment and needs different things.

5. How Do I Get Rich?

In Classic, most Uniques and Sets can drop at all points in the game, so even a poor player can MF in Normal difficulty and still find nice items. It is of course easier to find them in higher difficulties, but this lets all characters MF for endgame-viable items. Rares, however, are better searched for in Hell, because certain affixes have a high level. Hell Andariel is the best place to find SoJs (Nightmare Andariel can't drop them), and Nightmare Mephisto is an easier alternative; both are very valuable. Hell Chaos has the best chance to drop nice items per monster, and Hell Diablo is the only one who can drop +2 skill amulets. The Cow Level is also great for finding imbueables and 3-socket shields.

For imbuing and gambling, I suggest waiting until your character is at a high level, as the Rares can be very nice. Since your characters probably want some nice Rares too, it's best to imbue whatever you specifically need. In general, though, boots are great, as their affixes are lower level and everyone needs nice boots. I'd suggest waiting until at least level 67 before imbuing, but the mid 70s are fine. Gambling follows mostly the same levels and can be used in a similar way to imbuing, but it can be very expensive. If you plan on gambling for +2 skill amulets, your character will need to be at least level 86 for even a 10% chance of a high enough item level. In other words, farm Hell Diablo instead.

Levelling works the same way as in Expansion, except that Hell Chaos is the endgame levelling area. When planning skills and stats, bear in mind that reaching a very high level is not really practical. At 70 it already takes multiple players-8 Hell Chaos runs to gain a level, and by 80 it takes about a dozen. From 90 and up it takes several hundred, and soon thousands, to gain a level, and let's not forget that Classic is more difficult. 70–80 is a good end point, though it can vary by build. Still, levelling very high can be fun and a nice goal, but don't expect it to be easy.

A note on Hell Chaos etiquette: leeching without doing anything can be rude, as runs are a lot of work, and even weak attacks are appreciated. Like Wave 2 in Baal runs, Hell Diablo is glitched so that only the killer gets experience in an 8-player party, so the lowest level in a full game should leave the party before fighting Diablo. And if there's an Experience Shrine, the highest level should take it, and save it for Diablo; because of the curses from Oblivion Knights, it's best kept for Diablo himself.

6. Closing

If anyone has any questions or is interested in Classic, feel free to ask or contact me for help. I'm glad to help anyone out, and I have a lot of high-end gear to give away (and I'm extra kind to those not just in it for Expansion ;D).