My Hardcore Barbarian Finally Dies

Damn... well, there you go. My Hardcore Barbarian finally dies right in Act 1 of Nightmare, just before I entered Leoric's Manor.

I encountered TWO Elite Packs in this area where I used up all my offensive skills to dispatch the first one. I didn't see the second pack until it was almost on top of me. With my offensive skills still on cooldown I was caught vulnerable, pinned by the Elite's jailer affix, and unable to run.

I didn't feel as bad as I thought I would but I have to be honest and say I didn't expect to die so soon (not after breezing through Normal with very little difficulty). It was my mistake. I got complacent. I wish I could say it won't happen again as I won't be attempting Hardcore again.

One thing this has taught me though, is how strong Barbarians really are. My first Diablo 3 character was a non-hardcore Barbarian but, because I had a hard time getting a grasp of the game that early, I ditched that character at Level 16 and went with a Monk. And it was with a Monk that went the distance until Level 60.

But now I've gotten a better handle on the game and a better handle on Barbarians that I've revisited my Level 16 Barbarian and I'll be taking him from there. It will be the character I will be playing for much of the time from now on.

Killed Diablo on Hardcore, Normal

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I finally killed Diablo on Hardcore Mode, Normal Difficulty.

Because my Barbarian is probably on a very high level for this stage of the game (he's currently Level 32) and bearing some really good gear for that level, it wasn't really that difficult dispatching Diablo.

Diablo barely made a dent in my hitpoints (life level) and at no time in the battle did I feel in danger of dying. I'm pretty sure that will all change when I enter this character into the next level of difficulty, Nightmare.

But for now, I'm just gonna take this in. I just can't believe I was able to actually finish the game without dying once.

I was never able to do it in Diablo 2.

Hardcore Barbarian, Level 30

My Hardcore Barbarian has just killed Azmodan, the boss of Act III, and now I'm currently on the last Act on the way to killing Diablo.

To be honest, I never expected to make it this far.

Yeah, it's Normal Difficulty but since I'm not a hardcore gamer (I like to think of myself as just a casual gamer) this is quite an accomplishment already.

I could have taken Diablo tonight but my connection to Battle.net seems to be lagging at the moment. I had to stop because dying a "lag death" is very possible and very real. It's happened to me several times with my softcore characters.

I would be running and fighting and then all of sudden everything stops but my character. The monsters stop and even my mercenary stops. I can still move my character and I can still make it attack a monster but nothing happens. It's like time stopped and I'm the only one moving.

And then, a few moments later, everything starts moving again trying to catch up and, apparently, the monsters had been hitting me all this time and now I'm already dead.

LAG DEATH.

It's one of the many problems of the always-on-connection of Diablo 3. This would never happen if this game had an offline mode.

And with a Hardcore character (a character that cannot be revived once it's died ), I can't afford dying because of something stupid as this so the very first indication of lagging, I immediately stop playing and close the game.

Looks like Diablo can breathe a sigh of relief...at least for now.

Hardcore Barbarian, Level 21

My Hardcore Barbarian is still alive at Level 21!

I'm currently on the search for Zoltan Khule in Act 2 and it's going good so far.

I must admit, I almost died a couple of times. One time was against those huge Elite Bull Creatures and that huge mace weilding monster guarding the gate to Alcarnus. I thought I was a goner that last time but I managed to pull through.

I've been going very slowly making sure to search every part of the map, opening chests, and breaking pots. I do this so that I would level up more before progressing further. This makes my character stronger and more durable.

Whatever gold I make, I buy the best armor and weapons I can find at the Auction House. Low level items generally costs dirt cheap on the AH, as compared to Level 60+ items that range in the millions.

My hardcore character would most likely be dead long before then so I'm not really worried about spending that much.

I figure this character will die when he goes up against Belial, the boss of Act 2. I died there plenty of times with softcore characters before but since I've been really buffing this character up level wise and gear wise, who knows?