Diablo 2: Resurrected
Pandora - LK Runner
Loved by many and hated by others there's no doubt that Lower Kurast is perhaps the most rewarding area to farm for anything but Uniques. Often targeted for it's popularity to find High Runes, Lower Kurast's treasures don't end here. Valuable Skillers, Small Charms, Jewels and Gems in abundance combined with the ease of running the area, the short running time with pretty much any undeveloped character put LK on top of everyone's farming spot. But even though it is particularly very easy and fast to do LK runs reducing your run times will eventually benefit you in the long run.
In order to maximize the efficiency of your runs, the best possible scenario would be to roll a circular map where you open the chests and end up back in the Waypoint to go to Act4. As widely known, Act3 is the least desired place to spawn for its long distance to reach to the Waypoint thus, heading to Act 4 after finishing your LK run is more profitable. With an easy access to Teleport, Telekinesis to open the chests from distance and able to achieve the highest FCR in the game, a Sorceress was all you needed. A regular route would look like this.
Considering that the Teleport issue is solved with Enigma, any character with FRW skills is a good candidate to test out. Out of the 7 Characters, with a quick look we can already dismiss Amazons, Necromancers and Druids since they offer no mobility at all. Paladins have Vigor aura which seems exceptionally good for this case but at level 20 it grants 43% FRW which is outperformed by Assassins and Barbarians, not to mention that Vigor can be provided by the Harmony Runeword which Paladins would still be unable to stack while the other Characters could with their own FRW skills. This leaves Paladins far behind.
So, we are left with 3 characters.
Meet Pandora - The princess of LK!
In Greek Mythology, Pandora was the first mortal woman to be created by the Gods. Pandora opened a jar, known as Pandora's Box, which released all types of suffering against the humanity. The chests in Lower Kurast are no different than Pandora's Box. Each chest is slightly sucking the life source of Pandora until one can drop a valuable gift which will restore her faith!
This character is exclusively made for Lower Kurasts runs so we only need to focus on gear and skills that will help us save time. The only skill that can help us here is Burst of Speed. You can literally leave the rest Skill Points unspent so most of the build's development is based on the gear. Regarding the Stats, put enough in Strength and Dexterity for the gear and add the rest into vitality. At level 80 you will be able to wear all the Gear mentioned below so there's no need to go beyond that. Hireling also doesn't matter much, just pick one to carry an Insight to make sure you never run out of mana.
Since FRW has no limit, there are three routes that we can follow with our Assassin.
At this point we have to test out which one is more important. Does the last Assassin's FCR breakpoint saves us a second? Or the FRW is actually more profitable? Personally, I am aiming for a very High FRW because it is going to be super funny and extremely easy to achieve. In any case, we will test both scenarios to figure out which build is the best but most importantly how they perform against a 200% FCR Sorceress.
All characters are close to 25-27 seconds once you hit "Save and Exit".
The FCR Assassin seems to be doing a second better than the FRW while the Sorceress is somewhere between those two but with a much worse map layout.
General Tips
Aside from the Character and the build that you decide to follow for your Lower Kurast grind, there are several stuff that you can do with any character to take advantage of every tiny detail to invest the least possible amount of time for a run. Some these are only available in D2R but the rest can be used in both D2L and in D2R.
Item Label Display - In the options menu, enable the setting to make the items always be visible once you hit Alt once.
Alt Beforehand - In the beginning, press ALT to enable the show filter. Once you reach the chests you won't have to worry for hitting Alt anymore.
LK Waypoint - Enabling only the LK Waypoint will make it easier to detect it instantly. It also removes the chance of traveling to a wrong location.
Sell Keys to Ormus - Instead of running to Hratli, you can sell keys with low quantity to Ormus and by them back in full capacity.
Harmony - Keep your Harmony on switch without Arrows. The notification with the missing arrows is an extra hint to know you are on switch.
Switch before WP - Before you take the WP to LK switch back to your main Weapons so you can start immediately teleporting to the the chests.
Light Armors - Armors will have an impact on your FRW. Make sure to choose "Light" types to keep your FRW as high as possible.
Gheeds - Chests drop too much Gold and since in D2R you can auto-pick them up, Gheed's will increase the amount for future investment.
1.07 items - As said above, some 1.07 items can be particularly very effective since they can provide stats that these items can't. Specifically, Mavina's Belt adds 40% FRW (currently 20%) while Valkyrie's Wing 30% FRW and 30% FCR. A crazy item overall that can help you keep the highest possible FCR along with highest possible FRW.
Conclusion
To sum up, a Sorceress is hard to be de-throned since she has some heavy advantages which are ideal for players who lack Enigma. Other than that, Telekinesis can also be used for maximum efficiency and in combination with the highest possible FCR in the game it grants her great mobility since a part of the FRW issue can also be solved with Harmony on Switch. Unfortunately, Engima once again is a vital part of running LK efficiently with any other Character so if you are missing it you have no alternatives but to go with a Sorceress for the best possible result. However, for the reasons we mentioned above, characters with FRW can get a chance to shine in D2R and Assassin's unique ability to open locked chests while being the fastest character in the game can put a challenge to the queen of LK.
Pandora - LK Runner
Loved by many and hated by others there's no doubt that Lower Kurast is perhaps the most rewarding area to farm for anything but Uniques. Often targeted for it's popularity to find High Runes, Lower Kurast's treasures don't end here. Valuable Skillers, Small Charms, Jewels and Gems in abundance combined with the ease of running the area, the short running time with pretty much any undeveloped character put LK on top of everyone's farming spot. But even though it is particularly very easy and fast to do LK runs reducing your run times will eventually benefit you in the long run.
In order to maximize the efficiency of your runs, the best possible scenario would be to roll a circular map where you open the chests and end up back in the Waypoint to go to Act4. As widely known, Act3 is the least desired place to spawn for its long distance to reach to the Waypoint thus, heading to Act 4 after finishing your LK run is more profitable. With an easy access to Teleport, Telekinesis to open the chests from distance and able to achieve the highest FCR in the game, a Sorceress was all you needed. A regular route would look like this.
- Start in Act4
- Waypoint to LK
- Open Chests
- Back to LK Waypoint
- Act 4
- Save and Exit
Considering that the Teleport issue is solved with Enigma, any character with FRW skills is a good candidate to test out. Out of the 7 Characters, with a quick look we can already dismiss Amazons, Necromancers and Druids since they offer no mobility at all. Paladins have Vigor aura which seems exceptionally good for this case but at level 20 it grants 43% FRW which is outperformed by Assassins and Barbarians, not to mention that Vigor can be provided by the Harmony Runeword which Paladins would still be unable to stack while the other Characters could with their own FRW skills. This leaves Paladins far behind.
So, we are left with 3 characters.
- As already mentioned, Sorceress has Teleport, Telekinesis and the highest FCR. Harmony on switch can also help with the Running that needs to be done.
- Barbarians have Increased Speed, same FCR breakpoints as the Sorceress and can Dual Wield. A level 20 Increased Speed grants 43% FRW and Dual wield can help reaching the massive 200% FCR much easier.
- Assassins have Burst of Speed. A level 20 Burst of Speed grants 61% FRW, faster than any class and has the ability to unlock chests without keys.
Meet Pandora - The princess of LK!
In Greek Mythology, Pandora was the first mortal woman to be created by the Gods. Pandora opened a jar, known as Pandora's Box, which released all types of suffering against the humanity. The chests in Lower Kurast are no different than Pandora's Box. Each chest is slightly sucking the life source of Pandora until one can drop a valuable gift which will restore her faith!
This character is exclusively made for Lower Kurasts runs so we only need to focus on gear and skills that will help us save time. The only skill that can help us here is Burst of Speed. You can literally leave the rest Skill Points unspent so most of the build's development is based on the gear. Regarding the Stats, put enough in Strength and Dexterity for the gear and add the rest into vitality. At level 80 you will be able to wear all the Gear mentioned below so there's no need to go beyond that. Hireling also doesn't matter much, just pick one to carry an Insight to make sure you never run out of mana.
Since FRW has no limit, there are three routes that we can follow with our Assassin.
- Prioritizing FRW with 102% FCR
- Hitting 174% FCR while filling the gaps with FRW
- Both of the above with 1.07 items
Equipment | Prioritizing FRW (262%) | Prioritizing FCR (174%) |
---|---|---|
Weapon | Wizardspike | Wizardspike (50%) |
Shield | Lidless | Spirit (35%) |
Armor | Enigma (45%) | Enigma |
Helm | Rare Circlet (30%) | Rare Circlet (20%) |
Gloves | Trang-Oul's Claws | Trang-Oul's Claws (20%) |
Belt | M'avina's Tenet (20%) | Arachnid Mesh (20%) |
Boots | Aldur's Advance (40%) | Aldur's Advance |
Rings | 10% FCR x2 | 10% FCR x2 (20%) |
Amulet | Cat's Eye (30%) | Crafted (10%) |
Switch | Harmony (36%) | Harmony |
At this point we have to test out which one is more important. Does the last Assassin's FCR breakpoint saves us a second? Or the FRW is actually more profitable? Personally, I am aiming for a very High FRW because it is going to be super funny and extremely easy to achieve. In any case, we will test both scenarios to figure out which build is the best but most importantly how they perform against a 200% FCR Sorceress.
All characters are close to 25-27 seconds once you hit "Save and Exit".
The FCR Assassin seems to be doing a second better than the FRW while the Sorceress is somewhere between those two but with a much worse map layout.
General Tips
Aside from the Character and the build that you decide to follow for your Lower Kurast grind, there are several stuff that you can do with any character to take advantage of every tiny detail to invest the least possible amount of time for a run. Some these are only available in D2R but the rest can be used in both D2L and in D2R.
Item Label Display - In the options menu, enable the setting to make the items always be visible once you hit Alt once.
Alt Beforehand - In the beginning, press ALT to enable the show filter. Once you reach the chests you won't have to worry for hitting Alt anymore.
LK Waypoint - Enabling only the LK Waypoint will make it easier to detect it instantly. It also removes the chance of traveling to a wrong location.
Sell Keys to Ormus - Instead of running to Hratli, you can sell keys with low quantity to Ormus and by them back in full capacity.
Harmony - Keep your Harmony on switch without Arrows. The notification with the missing arrows is an extra hint to know you are on switch.
Switch before WP - Before you take the WP to LK switch back to your main Weapons so you can start immediately teleporting to the the chests.
Light Armors - Armors will have an impact on your FRW. Make sure to choose "Light" types to keep your FRW as high as possible.
Gheeds - Chests drop too much Gold and since in D2R you can auto-pick them up, Gheed's will increase the amount for future investment.
1.07 items - As said above, some 1.07 items can be particularly very effective since they can provide stats that these items can't. Specifically, Mavina's Belt adds 40% FRW (currently 20%) while Valkyrie's Wing 30% FRW and 30% FCR. A crazy item overall that can help you keep the highest possible FCR along with highest possible FRW.
Conclusion
To sum up, a Sorceress is hard to be de-throned since she has some heavy advantages which are ideal for players who lack Enigma. Other than that, Telekinesis can also be used for maximum efficiency and in combination with the highest possible FCR in the game it grants her great mobility since a part of the FRW issue can also be solved with Harmony on Switch. Unfortunately, Engima once again is a vital part of running LK efficiently with any other Character so if you are missing it you have no alternatives but to go with a Sorceress for the best possible result. However, for the reasons we mentioned above, characters with FRW can get a chance to shine in D2R and Assassin's unique ability to open locked chests while being the fastest character in the game can put a challenge to the queen of LK.
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