Diablo 3 Hardcore Character Tips

Hardcore character tips submitted by DevRW.
  • Always pay attention.
  • Learn all your skills well, and really look at your skills that function solely or double as defensive moves (retreats, avoids, absorbs, heals, etc.). Do not blindly follow a build you find-- you need to know how your class can tackle every situation and how skills work together.
  • Take your time moving through areas, especially indoors. Clear everything you move by if you think you may have to kite down that way later.
  • Use a companion. I prefer Enchantress, but your mileage may vary.
  • Over-level and over-gear as best you can. Do not waltz into a fight with the bare-minimum where a mistake will kill you.
  • If you haven't done a run in SC to Diablo yet, I suggest it. If you don't want to, at least take the time to watch every boss fight on YouTube. Then learn all the elite affixes, and how to deal with them.
  • Always read the elite pack attributes and prepare accordingly. If you have to reskill to take on a specific pack, don't hesitate. If you absolutely cannot get by, just restart the quest and pray to the RNG.
  • Waller + Arcane Enchanted hurts.
  • Upgrade your jewelcrafter as high as you can, as soon as you can. Gem yourself properly.
  • Your stash and artisan levels carry over to new characters. Keep that in mind and prepare for your inevitable death. Good blues/yellows for your next character, extra gems, extra pages, potions for all levels, and so forth.
  • If your latency meter is red, either pause and wait, or stop playing your HC character for now. You will get screwed, and it's the worst feeling in the world when you lose it all to lag.
  • Be cool with the fact that you can lose your character for the most bs reason, and sign a mental contract with yourself that you will not post on the forums complaining to Blizzard that you'll quit the game because of a lag-related death. It sucks, but that's the hand we are dealt as HC players.