Fastest untwinked builds for Normal

[Gynli]

Hiya. I've recently started my sept and decided I wouldn't trouble myself with /p8 normal anymore.

I'm looking for the fastest - or easiest - builds to clear Normal, with respect in mind after Baal.
The chars will be untwinked, played on /p1 with certain /p8 stops for exp along the way.
I also plan to pump energy as main stat for any casters.

Some builds I have in mind are :
Assasin - fire trapper
Paladin - holy fire zealot
Sorc - charged boltress

but am quire unsure of the rest.

A quick search on the forum suggests
Necro - summoner - i guess nothing beats the summoner at this stage of the game
Barb - double swing into frenzy
Druid - Fire druid.

Which leaves out Amazon.
I'm torn between fire arrow and plauge javelin atm.

That also got me wondering,
do you find normal part of the "fun",
or has it become a chore before the "real" part of the game begins?

 

[srrw]

Amazon - Jab/Charged Strike would be fastest (massive blue pot addiction, leech helps a bit)
Assassin - Fire Trapper or DTalon (needs mana leech) or DClaw (needs mana leech)
Barbarian - No idea
Druid - Fire Druids are great for Normal
Necromancer - Dentist (massive blue pot addiction) or Summoner
Paladin - HFire Zealot
Sorceress - Charged Boltress or Fireball

That also got me wondering,
do you find normal part of the "fun",
or has it become a chore before the "real" part of the game begins?

Really depends on the build. In recent times it has become a bit of a chore, yeah.

 

[coju]

Barbarian, I'd say dual wield, double swing, or whatever that skill is called. Since it looks like you are wanting to respect anyways, just maxing bash and double swing for the baba. And all his utility skills, yaknow.

 

[voyaging]

Speedrunners are the players to look at if you want to blast through normal as quickly as possible. The builds suggested by the world record holder for most characters are as follows:

Amazon: Poison Javelin + Power Strike/Charged Strike
Assassin: Wake of Fire + Fireblast
Barbarian: Double Swing w/ Mace Mastery
Druid: Firestorm + Fissure
Necromancer: Teeth + Bone Spear (with occasional Corpse Explosion)
Paladin: Holy Fire + Zeal, then Blessed Hammer
Sorceress: Charged Bolt + Nova (plus Static)

Because he is a speedrunner, if you are rushing will beat Baal shortly after lvl 20, so no lvl 30 skills will be available. Current WR for normal mode on a brand new untwinked character is 1h 19m 09s with Sorceress (Assassin is a close second with 1h 25m 43s, Druid a close 3rd with 1h 32m 28s, other classes are very far behind those three).

More info here: http://pf-mail.wix.com/d2speedruns

 

[Ergroilnin]

On speedrunarchives there are assassins under 1 hour...

 

[helvete1]

Those are segmented runs, which in "real" time takes a LOT longer than one-segment runs.

 

[Ergroilnin]

Oh okay then.

 

[krischan]

Segmented runs don't make sense to me. For example, you go shopping and only measure the time for the one visit which gives you what you want. You craft something and if it isn't of your liking, you restore the saved game and try again. I'm not even sure if the same map is used for all of it.

It's a bit a bit like setting up a ten bottles of beer speed record by drinking three bottles a day and adding up the quickest ten.

Regarding the topic, it also depends on the purpose. Is it OK to skip non-essential quests, even those with good rewards, in order to finish them later? I think a charged boltress is probably the quickest. Apart from CB being an excellent low-level skill, teleport gives her an advantage when avoiding certain encounters.