Re: 1.07 News, Info and Gossip
Hi everyone. I thought I'd digress from the current discussion of version-switching going on in this thread and share my experience having just recently restarted v1.07...
A few months back, my 4-y/o Dell computer started acting up. After wasting months of my life trying to fix it, I decided to scrap it and build my first computer. On June 21st I fired up my brand new $350 rig running an Intel e5300 dual-core chip (my first ever dual-core), 2gb of RAM, a 250gb H/D, an 8600GTS (my first graphics card), and Windows 7 RC-7100 (my first non-XP o/s). And of course, the first program I installed after booting up (besides Avast) was D2:LoD v1.07.
After installing D2, I grabbed a memory stick to copy over my old 1.07 save files, ATMA, Hero Editor etc, but decided against it. This, I decided would be my chance to do something I had never done before: play through all of D2, brand new, clean, legit, untwinked, w/o any help of any kind from anyone or any 3rd party program. And thus, UltimateBadness the CM/FO/Static/Warmth sorcy was born.
Within a week (I work full-time!) I had defeated Normal Baal using absolute garbage gear. I was level 27 and had 259 life and 52/45/75/61 resistances. On July 4th, I defeated Baal on Nightmare at level 48 with 512 life and 71/75/75/75 resistances. Through both Normal and NM, I completed nearly every quest and way-point, and almost always in order. After doing a couple NM cow games to get to an even level 50, I set off for Hell.
Obviously, having CM/FO combined with the unfairness of static, teleport, and the Big Purple Potion trick, Hell wasn't much of a match... even for an untwinked sorcy rocking a Bramble armor, Beauty helm, Ancients Pledge shield, and a collection of underpowered blues, rares, and lower-formula crafts. At level 63, I finished off Baal with relative ease. I say “relative†because his magical fire-mana drill killed me twice before I figured out the perfect distance to static/static/static/FO (and repeat). I only had 722 life and resistances of 75/51/75/28 when I finished off Baal to complete my first ever untwinked Matriarch. And I did it all without much more than the clothes on my back (thanks to rolling non-ATMA).
I have yet to find a single decent unique, rare, or magical item, and my crafts have been disappointing to say the most. In fact, I'm still using a FCR, +2 static orb and a terrible rare belt. I did get one happy surprise though, when I went to do my first LK run and discovered that my default Hell map has a 100%-stable Shako rack about 10 feet from the WP, with three super-chest rooms w/in a tele or two. :jig:
So now I'm off to rack myself a Harly, stockpile some gambling gold, and level up via cows. My goal is to get to 75 or 80 by the end of the weekend, at which time I will have my four main skills (FO, CM, Static, and Warmth) all maxed. I think at this point, I'm going to continue on untwinked w/o ATMA until v1.13 comes out. If the rumored “upgrades†in 1.13 look appealing, I might give it a shot. If not, I might just keep leveling UltimateBadness until D3 comes out to see if I can get past level 90, which I've never had the patience to do in 1.07.
Cheers!
And I still have very little greater blood gloves, guess I have to improve my goldfinder and play him more as I think gambling is the best way to get those.
?! Heard they were rare, but currently in act 2 NM without a single jewel having dropped yet...
