Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Is anyone else playing this tournament still?

Anyway, I'm having a blast. Just got through Duriel entering act 3 now at lvl 26. I basically did players 8 all the way around for everything, except for Duriel. I read some posts earlier about deaths to Duriel so I was willing to play it safe and sacrifice a better drop for an easier kill. Duriel turned out to be extremely easy, my merc could probably handle her himself. He had a gemmed spetum (before duriel dropped a nice rare spetum), a splint mail, and a gemmed hat with a jewel that had some nice poison damage. he does a huge amount of damage, clearing out most areas by himself in a players 8 game. I'm pretty proud of my merc.

I've still been using the usual cobra/tiger/talon combo, along with a cloak to bring down monsters' defenses. it's been a pretty easy time so far. I'm worried most about the shaman in act 3 who spit fires, my res is pretty low (zero in fact, except when I use fade). Fade pretty much saves me most of the day.

i don't think act 3 will be too difficult, but there are much more dangerous zones in act 3 that require more patience and more caution.


No dramatic moments so far surprisingly. I got impatient at times but cobra strike saves my *** every time.
Anybody else join???
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Nice progress, sheyua! :thumbup:

But if you were on /p8 and still got only to level 26, you must not have been very thorough in cleaning out the False Tombs, eh?

sheayua said:
my merc could probably handle her himself. He had a gemmed spetum (before duriel dropped a nice rare spetum), a splint mail, and a gemmed hat with a jewel that had some nice poison damage. he does a huge amount of damage, clearing out most areas by himself in a players 8 game. I'm pretty proud of my merc.
Click to expand...


Act II mercs are powerful (one could even say overpowered in Normal difficulty). And there is an easy way to get him an even better weapon; this recipe:

Kris + belt (any) + staff (any) + diamond (any size) -> Savage (+61-80% damage) polearm

You can get any polearm base type from Bardiche to Battle Scythe. The best one at this stage for you is the Halberd, closely followed by Lochaber Axe and Poleaxe. (Partizans are even better, but he won´t be strong enough for it until a bit into Act V).

If you are lucky, you may get a useful suffix, like cold/poison damage, life steal or IAS.

Anything except the diamonds can easily be bought from vendors. Krises from Fara (for about 1100 gold), Short Staves and Sashes in Act I for almost nothing.



 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Well it's been pretty slow going for Cador at the moment, still only only P1 and it seems to take forever to get anywhere. But he just finished the tower quest and that tightass countess didn't drop a single rune, considering she aint that tough maybe i should of bumped up the player level, oh well nevermind. And another first for me also, i actually gambled a unique. Been gambling like mad trying to upgrade my war hammer and i ended up with the Ironstone, bit of an improvement in damage, still looking for something a little faster.

Sheayua: I am still playing, though splitting my time between 3 different tourney's at the moment. Pretty sure jiansonz is still playing also, when he get's a chance.

[highlight]Cador, Nightmare Black Marsh, lvl 42[/highlight]
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

XxUberStarxX said:
and that tightass countess didn't drop a single rune, considering she aint that tough maybe i should of bumped up the player level, oh well nevermind.
Click to expand...

Actually, raising the players setting makes her drop fewer runes on average. That´s because she drops more other items, so the special rune drop has less room to work with (as there is a limit to the total number of items she may drop). Not getting even one rune on a low players setting is rare indeed.

XxUberStarxX said:
Pretty sure jiansonz is still playing also, when he get's a chance.
Click to expand...

I am, but I am enjoying my Gren with Envy assassin in mid-Nightmare too much to play other characters.



 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

This looks like a ton of fun! So I am gonna join in!

Apparently I'll be rolling a Necromancer with an Act 2 Offensive merc.

Updates to follow-
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Hehe.

My character/merc combo is ridiculously powerful - it rolls over the opposition like nothing I´ve played in the current game version.

The only time it was tough for my merc (3 deaths in the doorway) was an end room in the Maggot Lair with two boss packs (maggot + beetle). Fanaticism something.

I brought three Revived Bone Warriors to Fangskin´s lair. Good thing I did, because it became a huge fight where the room opens up. Everything was Cursed, including us. There was an Embalmed boss pack in there as well. I Revived a fallen Embalmed minion. Something else died, and Pete went nuts with CE. Whoa!


[Highlight]Conqueror Pete the Necromancer and Drus the Barbarian merc, level 82, Hell Palace next. [/Highlight]
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Since Morathi got me to host up another Tournament, it renewed my interest in DII. I've made some progress on Moonchild.

I just cleared the Claw Viper Temple, and only had one dangerous situation. Guess where that was? No, really. I'll give you ten guesses. :P

I received Psychic Hammer in the Dry Hills. HOLY COW, I had NO idea this was going to be so useful! With it, I can:

  • Force enemies away from Aliza (her Cold Rogue) so she doesn't run
  • Direct Aliza to target only one monster by keeping the others farther away
  • Scout nearby monsters by moving then holding right click down
  • Namelock a boss and force them back several screens so I can deal with them later
  • Back difficult monsters up against a wall and put them into constant hit recovery
One common tactic that I used in the Maggor Lair and in doorways was to set Aliza to where she could see in the room, then hold down the right button at a spot in front of the door. Every time a monster tried to enter my room, it would automatically target them and knock them back. Amazing! This is by far my most used skill. (I certainly used it more than I attacked with my claw.)

In really crowded areas in temples, I would use Dragon Tail in the doorways. Right before the CVT, I received Claws of Thunder to add to the power.

Fangskin was scary, of course. As always, I inched forward one step at a time. Killed every Bone Warrior over and over until they shattered into ice cubes, and got several stray vipers. Then I woke up Fangskin's pack and created a merry-go-round of death. I had set up a Town Portal in the far corner though. I lured them to the stairs, ran up, took the Lost City waypoint back to town, portaled down, and made a run for the altar. After that Aliza killed everything.

I also got a point into Dragon Flight. Is it still possible to summon a Shadow, then put DF on the left click and unsummon on the right (so you can target her) and teleport on her?

No good finds at all, so far.

[highlight]Moonchild, Assassin, level 25, with Aliza the Rogue (cold), Palace Cellar next[/highlight]
 
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Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

A little late, and I'm new to the forums, so hi!

I'm stuck in a rut worrying about how fun or viable my characters are, and this is a nice twist! I don't have to do any thinking xD

So I've rolled a Necromancer with Act 2 offensive merc, let's see how it goes :)
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

wakiki said:
I also got a point into Dragon Flight. Is it still possible to summon a Shadow, then put DF on the left click and unsummon on the right (so you can target her) and teleport on her?
Click to expand...

No, that was removed in v1.10.

Nice progress, btw. Cool that the Hammer has been so useful. It´s not uncommon in this type of tournament that you find uses for skills you haven´t thought of before. Because you have so little to work with, you need to make the most out of what you have.


Pendeleu said:
So I've rolled a Necromancer with Act 2 offensive merc, let's see how it goes
Click to expand...

Welcome, fellow Necromancer. :wave:

Is that merc Normal Offensive (Blessed Aim) or Nightmare Offensive (Might)?



 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

I rolled Blessed Aim. Grateful just to have an Act 2 merc, really. I don't think I could make it much further than Act 2 alone.

Progress is slow, Agatyr rolled mostly in Teeth and Poison Dagger, it's not the worst of combos at this stage. A few skeletons help to 'tank'... not enough points to do any damage. My last roll before retiring for the night was clay golem, should be a little more helpful :P

This is a nice challenge. I can see my guy getting weaker and weaker as the game goes on, but I'm looking forward to it anyway.
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Time for me to join... I'm shifting more and more towards casual HC playing. Actually I'm seriously considering playing only tourney characters from now on. Anyway, this sounds fun, so it's time to roll a character!

Rolled a necromancer accompanied by a fire rogue.
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Welcome, LprMan!

Interesting character/merc combo. At least you´ll have an easy start. :thumbsup:



I´ll get back to my own necromancer as soon as I have finished my character in the Sword of Destiny tourney.
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

... a few unsuspecting virgins were sacrificed to RNG gods, and thus ADHD was born - as a old, grumpy man, into a muddy and dreary camp in another dimension. Was it just bad karma or an evil twist of luck? Either way, knowing his ways of dealing with things it was clear he wouldn't spend much time befriending the people wandering around in the encampment. Off he goes, into wilderness, poking hostile units in the eye with a wooden stick... until he gets bored and tries something else.

Well... smooth going so far :) Starting out was a bit slow, but it got a bit better when I rolled RS and could vendor the starter wand to get something more pointy/punchy in its place. I've been using some sort of javelins almost exclusively - enough melee damage and option for ranged attacking by throwing them.

There was a neatly placed skill shrine in the den, which made fighting Corpsefire much easier. First harder fight was a boss Gargantuan pack at the beginning of Cold Plains. I didn't have a golem yet, and my single skellie didn't last long. I could't tank them either, so I ended up running in circles, throwing javelins at them. Eventually they fell. Found a nice wand with bonuses to RS and SM, which I have on switch for casting skellies. Throwing potions were utilized against both Coldcrow and Blood Raven, who was easy to kill. I didn't use a single pot vs. Blood Raven. Getting a merc sped up things noticeably. Gheed was nice enough to sell a 3os/15ed/2ar superior long bow earlier, which I saved, knowing it would be useful. Put a chipped sapphire in it, the remaining sockets are still empty.


Current stats/skills:

STR 29 (+14)
DEX 39 (+14)
VIT 29 (+14)
NRG 38 (+13)

1 SM / 2 RS / 1 CG
1 Teeth / 2 BA / 2 PD / 1 BW
2 DV

Stats are very evenly distributed. Some bad luck on the skills though, still no points in Amplify Damage. Firstly, it would speed up killing nicely (while speed isn't a problem yet, it will be at some point), and it would also open the way to IM. If I don't roll Amp soon, the chances I can use IM vs. Andariel are slim, and I have to deal with her in the "traditional" way. Might get a bit messy.


[highlight]ADHD, Stony Field WP, Lvl 12[/highlight]
 
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Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Okay, some more playing done, on p8 all the way. Nothing really special has happened on the journey. All the MF I have managed to scrape together has started to pay off, which is a good thing. Some finds:

Cleglaw's Claw
Bane Ash :p
Coil of Glory
Felloak
Isenhart's Horns
6% Shimmering Grand Charm (not really due to MF, but still, me likes)
Blood Crescent (weapon currently in use)
26% Nagelring :loveblush:
Shadowfang (secondary weapon)


I was hoping Countess would drop some better runes, like Ith/Tal/Ral. Oh well. Blood Crescent dropped somewhere along the way and I promptly started using it. Fighting Andariel was much easier than I expected. Of course, both ADHD and Annor drank half dozen antidotes before the battle and Cleglaw's shield was utilized along with Bone Armor. Her drop was sold except for the gems, none of the items were useful.

In act 2 I've been using Poison Explosion against big mobs and when there are some Greater Mummies around. Against some enemies I have used Shadowfang - it has nice damage and long enough range to hit things over my golems shoulder. I think the Nagelring dropper in Halls of the Dead, nice surprise. Maggot Lair has been the most annoying area so far. Too many corners left my merc out of the battle or alternatively she kept shooting the walls.


Current stats/skills:

Stats
Summoning
Poison & Bone
Curses
Mercenary

The stats are not as evenly distributed anymore, energy and strength are falling behind. I rolled way too any points into skeletons, and I'm not overly fond of 3 points in Poison Dagger either. Curses are probably the weirdest part, only 1 point in Amp and 3 in DV.


[highlight]ADHD, Claw Viper Temple completed, Lvl 25[/highlight]
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Welp, the bug bit me again. And what better way to get back into it than a jiansonz-run tournament (even if it isn't particularly "current" :p). Doing this with a class TBD, but named Bill regardless.

Looks like I'll be Bill the Assassin, accompanied by an Act 3 Cold Wolf. Off we go.

Haven't got my screenshot groove quite down yet, but I did manage to snag this tasty little guy a few levels in. If only I'd been a Pally... and had 11K lying around. I'm up to the Underground Passage right now, level 13 and chugging right along at P8. For a while I wondered if the random stats were ever going to grant me a point in Vitality: after 9 points in the first 6 levels, I managed only 5 more point from 7 to 13. My first three skill points went to Tiger Strike, and further points gifted me with Dragon Talon and, just this past level, Cobra Strike, a skill I haven't used since LoD first came out. And boy, is it a doozy. I'm a little less worried about keeping my lucky point in Burst of Speed happy, I'll tell you that. On the down side, I have 3 points in Fire Blast and 1 in Shock Web. 1 in Claw Mastery, too, which goes nicely with the rare Hatchet Hands I just gambled. Speaking of rares: I found a rare ring in the Den of Evil, which is certainly the earliest I've ever found a piece of rare jewelry. Not bad, either: some AR, Cold Resist, and Str iirc. I found another rare ring near Bishibosh, but it didn't have quite as many mods.

Anyway. Much time gone from day. More play later.

Bill, Level 13 n00bsassin, Underground Passage
 
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Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

@Lostprophet: Welcome, and good luck!

Assassin has many skills that work well with just a few points, but it will be tough to make progress in Hell without a weapon based merc, I think.




My necromancer Pete is rolling on in Act II Hell. I rarely play him, but when I do, it´s usually safe and easy. Revives provide a lot of safety for both Pete and his merc. I was curious about how things would work out in the Palace (what with the threat of ranged attackers) but I drew mainly a lot of meleers. I can´t remember a single archer boss pack. There were some mages, but they are pretty harmless to us.

[Highlight]Conqueror Pete the Necromancer and Drus the Barbarian merc, level 82, Hell Arcane Sanctuary next.[/Highlight]
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

ok, im in! this sounds a lot of fun, and probably quite quick considering a rolled a druid with act 5 merc! hoping to get a LOT of summon points

only doubt is no area running, im a bit sick of single pass tournies, but the random nature makes up for it

i had also been thinking of ways to include randomness, but still get somewhat servicable builds out of playing (and maybe a few new builds that work well) by randomly assigning groups of skillpoints rather than single points, so even though its random at least skills can be powered up a bit. currently odds say everything will be so split up that you can never really get a 'build' going

anyway, will get started over then next few days. no idea what to call an unthemed character though!
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

Joined yet another tourney xD

Going as Randint, a Sorceress with an Act 5 merc
 
Re: Tournament: The Randomly Challenged II

hmm ... cant really remember much about him, including his name, but my druid is level 9, just cleared the cave

currently a poison creeping werewolf, with a few in firestorm. could make a nice FC/rabies build! any bets?

inventory full of +str charms to be able to use the 3soc chainmail with a cingle chippy for a massive 9% MF

for some reason the random.org gods decided i needed 40 energy

anyway, proper update when i have actually got somewhere
 
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