It looks like 5 frames is the cap for attacks, according to the guide. Not sure where you are in the game progress wise but 4 frames for fhr should be fine. 280 is a lot and likely only an end game goal, if at all. I haven't looked at the gear/socket fillers but jewels can roll 15% so if the build u...
Navigate to your Diablo II folder and delete patch_d2.mpq. Then run the launcher (as administrator) and see if that works. If not, download the patch manually from the link below. Unzip the file and copy all of its contents into your Diablo II folder. https://www.moddb.com/mods/medianxl/downloads/me...
Most of the issues you're experiencing are probably a result of the cube being made available. Over the years the cube has been used for several recipes so having it available was in act 1 was necessary. If you can't get into the palace, talk to Drognan. If that doesn't work, use blink from Pax Myst...
Generally speaking, when there is a new ladder, all characters get moved to non-ladder. When there have been significant changes made to the game, character wipes can occur. There will be a character wipe when Sigma is released and everyone will be starting fresh.
Hard points also increase the mana cost. This could mean having to sacrifice a piece of gear to compensate and that might reduce kill speed/defense/etc.
I pulled this from a previous page Icarus was a solution (frw) to surviving terror Fauztinville for the Black Road Challenge and I kept them because they had 2.4k defense in the glove slot (t6 gauntlets) which was nice given the low strength requirement. At that point in the game, there aren't a ton...