Best Starter Character

[Mrs. Beasley]

I have Diablo 2 and the expansion pack but haven't started playing yet. Can anyone recommend a good starter character? I tend to like the kind of characters in other games where you have a good strong sword, axe or the like and swing away at all the bad guys. But spells and such can also be cool.

Any good suggestions for how to start my first game?

Thanks!

[Reanimator]

Well, if you like swinging a sword or an axe into something's head then my recommendation would definitely the Barbarian! You can specialize in several different weapon classes (Swords, Axes, Maces etc) and he also has some very cool spells, such as Shouts (these can make you stronger, or scare away enemies, as well as other things), he can learn to Jump (handy for getting out of sticky situations) and he can learn to use 2 weapons at a time - proper Windmill of Death style!!

That said, if you do want more spell-based action I would suggest the Paladin. He has more spells, plus his aura's are good, although they really come into their own if you are in a group. (I used to play on LAN with my bro - he was the Necromancer and I was the Paladin...we kicked ass! ) The Paladin is also hand-to-hand based though, so you sort of get the best of both worlds.

[Mrs. Beasley]

The Barbarian sounds perfect with swords, axes and maces! And it sounds like a good mix of hand-to-hand and spells. I'll have to try that out and then try the Paladin too. Thanks much!

[Reanimator]

No probs You'll have to keep us up-to-date on how it's going!

[Jed K]

Tip:
Even if you want to play by yourself, I would recommend playing online. Even if you don't want to trade for items or group with other people much, it is still the better option. It can be nice to have other people around at times if you aren't quite strong enough to complete something on your own.

[mattyman174]

The best starter Character i found was the Assassin, on the bases that she is well equiped in hand to hand combat and can fight from a-far. At higher levels she can also get her clone to fight for her and do most of the work while you go around the edges picking off the low health mobs or the weaker ones....

[Mrs. Beasley]

Thanks for the tips guys! I appreciate the help getting started.

[Jed K]

Have you started out yet? What are your thoughts?

[Mrs. Beasley]

No, not yet. Sorry! Still finishing up a project for another forum.
I plan to start when that is done.

[Jed K]

When you do decide to give it a go, I recommend you play on the Asia realm so that we can help one another out.