Difference between revisions of "Guide:Fire Trapper, v1.10 by Shadow752"

Latest revision as of 09:30, 14 August 2021

• Patch: v1.10
• Gametype: PvP
• Class: Assassin
• Specialisation: Fire Trap Assassin
• Author: Shadow752

Introduction[edit]

Hi, I'm Shadow and I know I haven't been on the forums for long but I have played a fire trapper for a little over 2 years now, so I consider myself pretty knowledgeable of this unique and powerful trapper build. For starters this is for PvP ONLY. I am writing this guide based on my experience with this build and general knowledge of the class. This guide is also based on public dueling games where anything goes so keep these things in mind as you read. Now, what is a fire trapper you might ask? A fire trapper is an assassin that uses the Wake of Fire skill in combination with Mind Blast to severely stun-lock an opponent until death. Fire trappers can handle a variety of situations and still come out on top, so feel free to duel any class you wish with confidence :)

Fire or Lightning?[edit]

This section is here to help you decided for yourself which is better by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of both fire and lightning traps.

Fire's Advantages[edit]

• Fire traps don't cost as much mana as lightning traps.
• Fire traps stunlock far better than lightning traps.
• Fire traps have a wider radius than lightning traps.
• Fire traps allow for more skill options, because they only require you to max three synergy skills where lightning requires four.
• Fire traps have a balanced minimum and maximum damage so you will always get good damage.
• Most duelers expect a lightning trapper so being fire you have an element of surprise.

Fire's disadvantages[edit]

• Fire traps have a low maximum damage.
• Fire traps have a hard time hitting opponents that run in a straight line.
• Fire traps do not shoot as many times as lightning traps.
• Fire traps don't do as well in PvM but this is a PvP guide so this shouldn't matter to much.
• Fire traps rely on a continuous stream of mind blasts to keep opponents stun-locked.

Lightning's Advantages[edit]

• Lightning traps have more maximum damage than fire traps.
• Lightning traps have a longer range (not radius)
• Lightning traps are more effective against opponents that run in a straight line.
• Lightning trappers do not have to rely on mind blast as much as fire trappers.
• Lightning traps shoot more times than fire so you don't have to recast them as often.

Lightning's disadvantages[edit]

• Lightning doesn't stun as well as fire.
• Lightning has a very low minimum damage.
• Lightning traps cost more mana than fire traps.
• Lightning traps are often ineffective against opponents that run in random patterns.
• Lightning trappers are very common so it is more likely that the opponent will be prepared for you.

Note on fire traps damage: Although it may seem very low, the damage of these traps racks up very quickly. As you can see lightning and fire are pretty equal and neither is best, so it is all a matter of preference and playing style.

Assassin Breakpoints[edit]

Here is a list of breakpoints for the assassin. All of this info was taken from the assassin FAQ at Diabloii.Net so credit goes to all that figured this technical stuff out. Thanks guys!

Faster Cast Frame Rates

• 0% - 16 frames
• 8% - 15 frames
• 16% - 14 frames
• 27% - 13 frames
• 42% - 12 frames
• 65% - 11 frames
• 102% - 10 frames
• 174% - 9 frames

Hit Recovery Frame Rates

• 0% - 9 frames
• 7% - 8 frames
• 15% - 7 frames
• 27% - 6 frames
• 48% - 5 frames
• 86% - 4 frames
• 200% - 3 frames
• 468% - 2 frames

Block Frame Rates (applicable for both shield block and weapon block)

• 0% - 5 frames
• 13% - 4 frames
• 32% - 3 frames
• 86% - 2 frames
• 600% - 1 frame

Stat Allocation[edit]

Here I will list 3 different stat set-ups for different types of builds, however this is not the "Beat all End all" stat allocation, just what I consider to be the best, I recommend you follow your own preferences.

Wep/Shield with max block:

• Str: Enough for all of your gear.
• Dex: Enough for max block on your shield.
• Vita: All goes here after other stats are complete.
• Energy: None or about 50 points, your choice.

Note: I will leave it up to you to find out how much dex you need for max block on whatever shield you may use.

Wep/Shield without max block:

• Str: Enough for all of your gear.
• Dex: Enough for all of your gear.
• Vita: All goes here after other stats are complete.
• Energy: None or about 50 points, your choice

Claw/Claw:

• Str: Enough for all of your gear.
• Dex: Enough for all of your gear.
• Vita: All goes here after other stats are complete.
• Energy: Your choice here, but I recommend putting some into energy as using 2 claws can hurt your mana.

Note: I do not recommend going C/C as it makes it harder to get good mana, cast rate, and resist. I also do not have any experience with a C/C fire trapper so I can't help much.

Skill Allocation[edit]

Martial Arts

• 1: Dragon Talon
• 1: Dragon Claw:
• 1: Dragon Tail
• 1: Dragon Flight

Trap Tree

• 20: Fire Blast
• 20: Wake of Fire
• 20: Wake of Inferno

Shadow Disciplines

• 1: Claw Mastery
• 1: Psychic Hammer
• 1 : Cloak of Shadows
• 1-20: Weapon Block
• 1-20 Mind Blast
• 1-20 Shadow Warrior
• 1-20 Shadow Master
• 1-20 Fade
• 1-20 Burst of Speed

Notes on Martial Arts tree: You should only use dragon flight, the others are just pre-requisites skills. Only invest points into this tree if you DON'T intend to use the Enigma armor.

Notes on the Shadow Discipline tree: The expression "1-20" means 1 through 20, not 1 or 20. This is where your variety comes in after you have maxed your traps. It is up to you to decide what you want to put your points into. I recommend at least 1 point into Burst of Speed or Fade (your choice) or more into Fade if you need more resist and at least 1 into Shadow Master or Warrior (your choice) Try to add a few points into mind blast for extended stun duration.

Gear Set-ups[edit]

Here are my suggestions for what I consider "optimal gear" keep in mind these aren't the "Beat all End all " gear set-ups, and it is best to use what you feel is right for your budget and preference.

Weapon[edit]

Heart of the Oak: This godly flail is the best choice for a C/S assassin. It provides excellent mods such as: 15% to max mana, 30-40 resist, 40 faster cast, 10 to dex, and 3 to all skills!

Wizard Spike: This is another strong choice that provides insane amounts of resist, cast rate, and mana, but it just cannot compete with the awesomeness of the HoTo.

Bartuc's Cut Throat: These claws are nice for a C/C trapsin as they provide useful mods such as: 20 to dex and str, 30% faster hit recovery, and 2 to assassin skills.

+3 Trap Claws: These claws are mainly used for higher damage. Try to find one that adds 3 to traps and 2-3 to Wake of Fire and you will have yourself a godly claw.

Jade Talon: Need resist for your C/Cer? Then this is the perfect claw for you providing a great resist bonus of 40-50 as well as 30% faster hit recovery, and 1-2 to shadow disciplines.

Note for Fade users: If you're casting you traps to slow you can always put a shael rune in your claws/wizard.

Weapon Switch[edit]

Call to Arms: This is probably the most common and expected choice, but how can it not be as it provides you with a very large increase to your life and mana. Use a Sigons shield or Lidless Wall to boost the skill level of your Battle Orders.

+3 to Shadow Claws: These are pretty useful for getting a higher level burst of speed, fade, and/or shadow master/warrior.

+3 to Trap Claws: These are useful when your in the field waiting for your opponent, just switch weapons and get a nice bonus to your trap damage.

Lightsabre/4 Lo'ed shield: This is extremely useful for duels with lightning using assassins as it allows you to absorb some of their damage and raise your resist to an amazing level. Downside is this is kind of cheap

Monarch Shield socketed with 4 Perfect Topaz: This is great for anti-FoH as it completely negates their conviction

Shield[edit]

Stormshield: I'll bet you could see this coming from a mile away, anyways, this godly shield is great for damage reduce (35%) as well as 25% added chance to block, 35% faster block rate, and very nice cold and lightning resists. Can't forget about the great defense either.

Lidless Wall: This is a great shield to use it you don't need the damage reduce of the stormshield. It adds 1 to all your skills, 10% to your mana, 10 to your energy, and 20% faster cast rate.

Whitstan's Guard: This shield makes it much easier to get max block as well as a nice 40% faster block rate.

Armor[edit]

Enigma: This armor has many helpful uses, they include: 2 to all skills, 45% faster run and walk, 5% bonus to your life, 8% damage reduce, 1-74 bonus to your str, and the infamous +1 to teleport that will allow you to zip around the Blood Moor like a sorceress. Try to make this in a light armor such as a dusk shroud.

Chains of Honor: Use this armor mainly for its 65 to all resist mod, also includes 2 to all skills, 20 to str, and 8% damage reduce. This is also best used in a lighter armor.

Stealth: Don't underestimate this seemingly weak armor as it includes great mods like: 15% mana regen, 25% faster hit recovery. 25% faster run and walk, 25% faster cast, 6 to dex, and a nice 30% bonus to your poison resist. Best made in a high defense light armor.

Shaftstop: Great choice if you need damage reduce coupled by nice defense and bonus to life.

Helm[edit]

Shako: An all time favorite. This great helm has remained godly through all the years and it still provides you with it's wonderful mods: 2 to all skills, 1-148 life and mana, 10% damage reduce, and 2 to all attributes.

Kira's Guardian: If you're ladder and you need some great hard-to-come by mods then look no further than this magnificent circlet. Mods include: +50-120 defense, 20 faster hit recovery, 50-70 all resist, and the oh so lovable cannot be frozen.

Veil of Steel: Surprise! This helm may have a steep str requirement but it provides 15 to str and vita, 50 all resist, and nice defense.

Crown of Ages: Another helm with a steep str req. I kind of like to think of this helm as a cross between a Shako and a Veil of Steel. Mods include: 1 to all skills, 20-30 all resist, 30% faster hit recovery, 1-2 sockets, and nice defense.

Belts[edit]

Arachnids Mesh: 20% faster cast, 1 to all skills, 5% to mana, and high defense, what more can you ask for?

Thundergods: A nice belt that adds 20 to str and vita, has nice defense, and gives you great protection from evil lightning trappers.

Gloom's Trap: Another nice belt that does a lot for your mana (15% to mana and 15% mana regen) also adds 15 to vita.

Trangs belt: Belt with good defense, 66 to life, and cannot be frozen.

Gloves[edit]

MageFist: Ah, the perfect fire trapper gloves. The only reason you shouldn't use these is if you don't have them. Mods are: 1 to fire skills, 20% faster cast, and 25% mana regen. Don't forget to upgrade these to exceptional or elite if your on ladder.

Trangs Gloves: These gloves are nice but are out matched by Magefist. Mods are: 20% faster cast, and 30% cold resist. There are more but they don't help trappers.

Boots[edit]

Waterwalks: Good boots that add to your life, run and walk, defense to missiles, and 15 to dex. Also add 5% to your max fire resist which is helpful against fire users.

Silkweaves: Good boots. Adds, 200 defense vs. missiles, 10% to your mana, and 30 faster run and walk.

Marrowwalk: Good defense boots that add 20% run and walk, 17 to dex, 10-20 to str,10% mana regen, and level 33 bone prison charges incase you wanna be mean to melee opponents

Rare boots: Rare boots that add to run and walk, resist, stats, and faster hit recovery are nice.

Amulet[edit]

Mara's Kaleidoscope: This is probably going to be your best choice with 20-30 resist all, 5 to all attributes, and 2 to all skills.

Rising Sun: You can use this if you don't have Mara's as it adds 2 to fire skills. Also helpful against fire but can be considered cheap.

Rare/crafted amulet: Look for faster cast, 2 to assassin skills, stats, resist. These are hard to find but very good if you do.

Rings[edit]

Stone of Jordan: Great ring that adds a large amount of mana and 1 to skills.

Bul-Katho's Wedding Band: If your evil enough to steal this poor mans wedding ring then Diablo will reward you with 1 to all skills, and 1-49 life (based on level)

Rare Ring: Try to get faster cast rate, stats, resist, life and/or, mana.

Raven Frost: Good ring to use if you need cannot be frozen, also adds 15-20 dex, 40 to mana, and cold absorb for pesky sorceresses.

Dwarf Star: In short: life and 15% fire absorb. I'm sure you can guess what to use it on.

Wisp Projector: Good ring most noticed for it's 10-20% lightning absorb which is great for duels against 10k damage light trappers and some Sorceresses. Another cool feature of this ring is it gives you Oak Sage, Heart of Wolverine, and Spirit of barbs charges, use 'em well.

Charms[edit]

10x Trap Grand Charms with life, faster hit recovery, or stats (whichever you need or want.) 1 Annihilus Small Charm 9x Small Charms with life, mana, resist, faster hit recovery, or stats. Again that's which ever you need or want.

Socket Advice[edit]

Basically you want to use things that increase your resist, damage reduce, faster hit recovery, mana, or life. Once more this is all a matter of what you need and/or want. Below is a list of runes and jewels that have helpful mods.

Um rune: 15 all resist when put in helms and armor. 22 resist when put in shields

Ber rune: 8% damage reduce when put in helms, armor, and shields.

Jah rune: 5% to max life when put in armor and helms.

Shael rune: 20% Increased attack speed when put in weapons (good for trap laying speed) 20% faster hit recovery when put in helms and armors. 20% faster block rate when put in shields.

Sur rune: 5% to max mana when put in helms and armor.

-15% requirements and 15 all resist jewel. This is good for items with a high str requirement such as stormshield or crown of ages.

Fire Rainbow Facet. This jewel can increase your fire damage by a percent (3-5%) it also has a - enemy resist mod but that DOESN'T work on traps.

Leveling Advice[edit]

I won't go into too much detail as this isn't a PvM guide.

Levels 1-12 Act1: just kill things with Fire Blast and your mercenary. Once you get Wake of Fire you can lay waste to monsters pretty easily.

Levels 12-18 Act2: just go through the quests, you gain a surprising amount of experience doing this.

18-25: Arcane runs and/or Council runs.

25-45: Ancients and norm Baal runs

45-70: Nightmare ancients and nightmare Baal runs.

70 and up: Hell ancients and hell Baal runs.

Note: Once you get into hell you won't be able to dish out that much damage as monsters life and resist are pretty high as well as fire immunes, so it is best to just stick behind your party and lay traps. Also, you can help with stuff like casting battle orders if you have it, using cloak of shadows to lower monsters defense and blind em, using mind blast on champion monsters and others like Lister, and lastly you can use psychic hammer on normal monsters to keep em at bay while your partners kill them off.

Goals[edit]

Try to aim for at least 2k life although you can get up to 3k+. Get at least an 11 frame mind blast I think that anymore is overkill but that is my opinion. Try to get at least 800 or so mana. Try to get around 1000 trap damage or more. Try to get 75 all resist in hell mode (don't forget Anya) Try to get decent trap laying speed.

You can set your own goals for faster hit recovery. I personally don't worry to much with it, I have 32% and I rarely get in a situation where I need anymore.

Dueling Strategies[edit]

These strategies are based on my experiences as a dueler and I can pretty much guarantee that there is more, so please experiment some and find what you feel works best for you.

Amazon[edit]

Ahh, the amazon, the former queen of dueling has fallen and the assassins have risen. Enough of that, lets get on to the outline.

Bowazons: Most of these amazons will just sit as far out as possible and try to pelt you with their guided arrows, but you can take these. Just tele out to her or Dflight her and lay your traps, Mind Blast and she is dead. If she doesn't die just repeat this process as there isn't much the amazon can do once she is locked. Now bowazons that constantly run can be annoying as you may never be able to lock them, but be patient as they cannot win a duel simply by running and they will have to stop to fire eventually, when this happens just lay a trap and if it hits her try to get in front of her via teleport or running and Mind Blast her into that trap then lay more and you should have her.

Javazons: If this amazon is just using jab then lay some traps and your feet and watch as she comes right into it, Mind Blast her some and she will fall. Beware however that some amazons are smart (yes they exist) and will try to throw at you when this happens just go to her and she will most likely try to jab you then you know what to do. Even if she keeps throwing she will most likely just get hit by your traps when you lay them next to her. Now, the Charged Strike is a little trickier while almost the same as the jabazon there is one big difference. They hurt!. Now, it is usually best to try to create some distance between you and her, not to much though, and then trap and Mind Blast her. If you find yourself taking a lot of damage and you have to retreat then do so by running in sort-of a zig-zagish pattern because if you run straight the charged bolts will just keep hitting you causing mass damage, and you don't want that. If you have access to enigma's teleport then just tele behind her and keep going she wont be able to keep up. Lastly, we have the plague javaelin amazon. This amazon basically tries to poison you to death by throwing you a nasty java at you. Surprisingly this is a very easy duel just lay traps at her feet and run or tele when she throws her java as it is easy to avoid the java and it's radius. When she throws her java at you it will take a second for her to throw again use this time to stunlock her to death.

Assassin[edit]

Martial Arts: Well first off if you ever see a dueling assassin that uses a charge up skill, please tell her to remake her assassin that these types of dueling assassins are dead. If they even try to duel you just fry them and show them how dead they really are. There are also kicking assassins, now, these assassins can do a lot of damage very fast, usually via venom and open wounds and sometimes magic damage. However, these assassins have to get to you to hurt you, so just lay some traps and try to get her to come to you then stun her. Against these types of assassins try not to run as they will just dragon flight you and really hurt you instead let them flight you then stun them. Another trick these sins can pull off is to Dflight out of stun lock right into you so try not to stay out of your traps radius so they cant do this to you, and don't forget to fire blast them!

Whirlwind: Now, these assassins can be really tough to kill with a fire trapper. They have very high life, can block your traps, escape stun lock via Dflight and whirlwind, can't be stunned while whirling, and can do major damage very quickly. With that said you might wonder how you can kill these assassins. First, don't worry about trying to Mind Blast them a lot as it won't do much good just lay traps and run as they whirl. If your at a safe distance and the sin is still in whirl animation then hit her with a Mind Blast and when she stops you can get her in a little stun lock, but don't expect it to last very long as they will whirl right out. Never try to tank these assassins as they will almost always rip you to shreds in a head to head duel.

Trapper: Well a duel with your own type. Most of the assassins you encounter will be lightning and they will most likely think that your lightning so you have the element of surprise to help you, but don't rely on this alone as lightning trappers are very deadly. First off if the trapper plays offensively they will most likely lose, because, they will come to you and you will easily overcome this. When they get to you they will still most likely get a couple of traps around you so just run around them and periodically set another trap or 2 and Mind Blast them. Defensive trappers can be hard to kill as you don't have their kind of range. The best advice I can give is to try to lure them out of their defensive stance by using wake of inferno or by tossing a few fire blast over there. Once they run attack them aggressively and you can probably drive them into an offensive stance where you have the advantage. Never ever try to out defend them, and never think you can run right up to their defended area and win because you won't. With fire trappers it is going to be an evenly matched duel (most likely) and whoever has the most skill and luck will probably be the victor, so good luck.

Necromancer[edit]

Bone: These necromancers are kind of hard to deal with but they will usually just stand and Bone Spirit you then all you do is trap and stun em. If the necromancer starts to teleport then chase after them but don't run straight or else you will run right into a line of spirits and spears. Once he is in sight just lay like 1 trap and mind blast just to get a lock going then lay more traps and press your advantage. Some necromancers (the good ones) will teleport and spam teeth which can really hurt after a while and you won't be able to get close to him. Against these necromancers you might lose, but try to retreat as you can escape teeth with fast feet and/or teleport in this case he will probably follow and you can have traps set up for him. A good method to use on these necromancers is to set your traps in random locations in hope that he will teleport over them and you can get a lock. One more tip with these necromancers is that once you dodge their teeth they will likely pursue you trying to chase you with teeth so try to plan where you will run ahead of time and lay traps there and try to lure him to them.

Poison: These necromancers are pretty hard to kill if the player is skilled. Basically they will just try to Poison Nova you and let their golem or other spells finish you once you have 1 life. Beware that once 1 nova hits you with the lower resist curse on you, you will likely be at 1 life. Try to lay traps in sort-of a circle at about the same radius as the nova itself so when they necromancer runs or teleports to nova you, you will have the same range as he will and you can mind blast him into a lock. That's pretty much all I know about these necromancers as I haven't dueled very many, but one more tip I have is to not chase them just let them come to you, and don't panic if you have 1 life as this will probably happen, you still have a chance to win even at 1 life. Any melee poison necromancer is pretty much dead, just lay traps and stun.

Summoners: Surprise surprise, summoners duel now. The best way to deal with these necromancers is to focus on the necromancer himself. Even though you probably won't be able to directly target him, lay traps as close to him as possible and they will hit him and any summons in the area. Do the same thing for mind blast as it's radius will stun him and the other summons. If this necromancer teleport then it just play into your hands as tele-ing gathers all of his summons into one large bunch right by his feet so you can kill them all at once. One thing that you should look out for on all types of necromancers is the decrepify curse this can really hurt your ability to cast traps and run so watch out.

Barbarian[edit]

Whirlwind: The majority of barbs you face will probably be this type. Treat these barbs like the whirlwind assassin as the same rules apply. If this barb uses teleport from the enigma armor then you should try to anticipate his tele and counter it with a tele of your own. You can usually cast a lot faster than a barb so you should get out of the way in time and he will be punished for his mistake by some of your traps. If you don't have a way to teleport then it becomes a little bit harder. You will still want to anticipate the barbs tele but try your best to have some traps at your feet. Once you see him go into teleport animation you should cast Mind Blast at your feet or wherever you think he will land. The reason for doing this is to interrupt his casting of whirlwind, this works because, they have a slight delay before they can whirl once they land so a quick stun with traps should buy you enough time to get out of range.

Concentrate: These barbs are pretty straight-forward, they just run or teleport to you and poke or slash. Sounds easy to beat right? Just lay traps and watch as the pour soul struggles to get out of stunlock, right? Wrong, it's not that easy as the concentrate skill is uninterruptible. This basically means that he can still attack you while he is being stunned. With that said it is best to stay about a half of a screen away from him and never let him get to close, this way you can still stun but you won't be hit that much. Beware though as barbs usually have a lot of faster hit recovery and/or access to whirlwind, so it can be hard to keep them stunned.

Berserkers: This type of barb can do a lot of damage if you let him get close. Fortunately these barbs are pretty easy to evade and stun. Still though, beware of high life, faster hit recovery, and whirlwind.

Paladin[edit]

Zealot: Ahh, an old classic. These paladins got a nice upgrade in the 1.10 patch. Their zeal can now rip you apart in seconds and even worse than that zeal is now uninterruptible. Use the same rules as with the concentrate barb the only difference is they can't whirlwind. These paladins will almost always have access to charge as well so beware of that as you get away from them they can also use this to help get out of stunlock and then slice you to pieces with their zeal. There isn't much you can do against this, so just try to keep him as stunned as possible.

Smiter: Another old paladin type. These are pretty much the same as ever, just run up to you and smack you with their unblockable, never missing, shield bash. At least it is interruptible. Same rules apply to this paladin as with the zealot you just don't have to worry about him hitting you in stunlock, but this paladin also has access to charge so it is fairly easy for them to escape. Once again just retreat and stun if he gets to close.

Blessed Hammer: First things first, this paladin will kill you in 1-2 hits. Now, with that said it is very simple...DON'T GET HIT. Good news is, these paladins are pretty easy to predict and avoid. The most common move of all hammerdins is to teleport to you, switch on their aura, and kill you. Now, since we don't want to be rude, we need to welcome them with traps at your feet. Another common tactic of the hammerdin is to run or teleport and toss a few hammers expecting you to follow and get hit, don't do this, instead just tele or run around the area and let him know your on to him, maybe tossing a few fire blasts or traps his way will persuade him, once this happens he will probably realize that it isn't working and will go back to the teleport in your face trick.

Fist of the Heavens: Also known as FoH or the Templar. The deadliest thing about these paladins is their aura. Without the aura their FoH will do very little damage. Fortunately they have a casting delay on their FoH so it is pretty easy to lock them and keep them that way. If this paladin teleports then you can use this to your advantage. Go out a good distance and lay traps, this will provoke him to teleport to you which requires him to turn off his aura for a second, use this time to set him up and stun him. Even if the paladin runs to you it will still work in your favor as any time the paladin isn't casting is a good time for you. If you find yourself getting beaten then just teleport away and let that aura go away, then you can re-enter and continue the duel or try to get him to come to you. If you can't teleport then don't even try to run as it will almost surely get you killed. The real weakness of this build lies in their greatest advantage, their aura, take this away and you take them with it. A good way to do this is to wear a shield socketed with 4 perfect topazes (160% lightning resist)

Charger: This is a hard match as these paladins are hard to stun and even harder to avoid, to top if off most of their victories are through 1 hit kills. In this match you do not want to run doing this will allow the paladin to charge you repeatedly while your helpless to stop him, if you don't have teleport from enigma I really don't know what to tell you here. There is some hope however, some things you have on your side is their low minimum damage, and the fact that charge only hits once unless her continues to charge. The best tactic I know of is to teleport to a wall and lay traps, the paladin will come after you and will either hit and kill you, hit and almost kill you, or not hit you because you blocked or he missed. The thing is you just have to get lucky as they will always get at least 1 charge on you, your not fast enough to stunlock him before he hits so you have to rely on your block or their low minimum damage. By standing by the wall you eliminate his ability to immobilize you. Once the initial charge is over you have the chance to stun him, use it well. One last tip is to always try to keep a shadow as close to you as possible, I say this because, the paladin has to click your name to charge you successfully and if there is a shadow close to you he might mess up and click the shadow instead of you, and you will need every advantage you get. Good luck.

Sorceress[edit]

Fireball: Probably the most common sorceress type. Some of these Sorceresses will just stand still and shoot fireballs at you in hopes that they will hit you, if this is the case cast a trap at her feet and mind blast her into a lock then press the advantage with more traps. Should she teleport away before your traps hit her, just repeat or next time you get the opening hold a Mind Blast lock on her and then cast a trap after a couple of blasts then press the advantage. A skilled FB sorceress will teleport a lot and fire ball you periodically, you will probably see some hydras pop up too. Against these Sorceresses it is usually best to lay traps in random locations and hope for that lucky break where she comes to you, see the strategy for the bone necromancer as this match will almost be the same as that one. Something to take not of is, never try to rush up to a teleporting sorceress as she will probably have some hydra's and fireballs waiting for you, just be patient.

Blizzard: This type of sorceress is kind of like a hammerdin in a sense that you will die in 1-2 hits. Now, the best thing to do here is to stay on the move or else you will get hit by a blizzard. Never ever run when a blizzard is right on your head instead teleport or dragon flight out. If she likes to teleport a lot then do the same as you would for the fire sorceress, most of the time these Sorceresses are cocky and will just stand, but I always try to think of my opponents as very skilled until I can make an accurate assumption of their true skill, I suggest the same to you. Even in stunlock don't drop your guard as she can and most likely will get a blizzard going so try not to stay still, once you have your lock on her just run a little periodically stopping to cast traps and Mind Blast.

Lightning: These Sorceresses use the lightning skill to deliver large damage. More often than not the damage isn't high enough to kill you in one shot due to the very low minimum damage on this skill, but you should still be careful of it. In order to get good damage on you the sorceress will often have to keep a steady stream of lightning on you. By doing this she stays in a some-what immobile state so cast a trap and Mind Blast her then cast more traps and you should have her locked down.

Frozen Orb: If you ever see a good synergy orb sorceress, you will definitely see that orb Sorceresses are not dead at all, they are alive and kicking. This sorceress is almost always going to be on the move via teleport and the range on the orb is great enough to stir you out of a defensive stance. The best advice I can give for this duel is to lay traps in random locations and hope for a lucky break. Do try to avoid the orb at all cost because, if you get hit by one you could very well lose about half of your life. Sometimes this type of sorceress can be impossible to catch so you just have to hope for the best in these cases.

Enchantress: You should already know what to do, just stun and trap. Only thing to be aware of is this sorceress will probably have access to teleport and can use this to get close to you and whack you or use it to tele out of stunlock, although these Sorceresses often have slow cast rate, so it shouldn't be to much of a problem. Most enchantresses will also have Energy Shield and that can take a while to knock out, but you will get through.

Druid[edit]

Fury Wolf: Just stunlock them, they really have no way to get out of it. Any summons they have will die once you lock him, the only exception might be the spirit as it likes to drift away from your range. If this is the case just mind blast it once and toss a fire blast at it and it will die. Some druids can give your mana a run for your money with their high life and possible high level cyclone armor, so hang in there and if your mana get low just run around letting it replenish, it is unlikely that they will catch you.

Rabies: Same rules as the fury wolf. Just be extra careful when he gets close to you. 1 rabies and it will probably take you to 1 life, luckily this process takes time, so you have a good window of time to finish him even if he does get a bite off on you. Be warned that if the orange aura like thing that surrounds you when your bitten is on you once your life hits 1 you will actually die from the poison, so be alert.

Maul Bear: This match to should be approached like a fury wolf duel. These druids don't do much damage but they do attack fast and stun, but this shouldn't be that bad or difficult. Be warned that these druids have massive life, so hang in there and remember to take out their spirit.

Fire Claws: Same drill as the previous druids, the only exception is these druids can often attack so fast that one mistake will lead to your death. Just try to keep some distance between you, about a half of a screen. You might encounter a fire claws druid that casts Armageddon before he morphs, just stay out of the range and you will be fine.

Wind: Probably the most common druid now, ironic how something that was previously so weak has become so strong. These druids operate like the hammerdin, they will teleport to you and cast in your face, so greet them with traps and Mind Blast. If they don't try to tele to you they will probably just try to stay about a half a screen away and shoot tornados at you just dodge and cast traps in a wide circular pattern and you will get him eventually. The other pattern they follow is to just teleport past you letting hurricane hit you, if this is the case just use the circular technique on them. These druids will also have a high level cyclone armor so they can take quite a bit of traps before their life starts to deplete, but it will fall pretty quickly. They to have high life, so remember to kill the spirit.

Fire: This druid uses fire elemental spells to kill you, it is actually pretty unique and equally as impressive on the visual side, but don't look at the graphics for to long or you might find a molten bolder rolling on you and we don't want that :( Now, the main tactic of these druids is to either run and let Armageddon kill you, or stand still and let you come into their range then pelt you with fissures flying rocks and giant boulders until you are flattened, or burned to a smoldering pile of ash. If they are the running type, follow them, but don't get into their Armageddons range, instead wait for them to realize they are getting nowhere, when this happens they will cast another spell on you, this spell will keep them still for a moment, this is your chance to get them, lay 1 trap and mind blast then press the advantage. For the standers, just cast and trap. These druids usually won't have a high level cyclone armor and their life will be lower since they have so many synergy skills to max, regardless kill the spirit.

Ending Comments[edit]

I hope you have enjoyed my guide and I hope to have inspired some kind of good emotion for you towards the Fire Trapper. I would like to thank Diabloii.Net for being a great source of information and interaction for Diablo players, I want to thank Blizzard for giving birth to the assassin class that I love so much, I want to thank all my friends for making Diablo worth playing, and thanks go out to all my dueling partners over the years, without all of you I could have never wrote this guide. Feel free to tell me about anything I may have left out. If you want to drop me a line on USWest non-ladder my account is Shadow752. Happy dueling :)