Thank you sir! Just when I thought I had gotten away from Jiansonz he storms back and blitzes straight through Act 4. Nice going! I gotta keep up.
Lancelot was taunted by a few finds in A3, first the peasant crown in the Flayer Jungle (which would have been socketed with an Ort) and then this amulet in one of the Kurasts which would have been useful if it was permitted by the rules.
Actually entering Travincal was extremely difficult - probably the hardest bit of the game so far. There were several boss Heirophant packs and blizzards were raining down the moment we neared the end of the Kurast Causeway. Those things sting when you have negative cold resistances, I can tell you. Trying to rush to the waypoint got me yet another NDE. I didn't take any screenshots until we had cleared the worst of it.
Lancelot was able to reach those water-watcher things with his sword which was great. I hate being bothered by them when fighting the council which was fairly straightforward.
Bremm's mob was tough due to the lack of space and he was haring around like a mad thing (plus did he have conviction? I can't remember. It was certainly uncomfortable for a few moments). Anyway, they slew the merc a couple of times and I was only able to screenshot the last of his gang.
A vampire pack caused some problems in Wyand's room and I had to tempt the boss out to slay him. Wyand himself wasn't too tough without any buddies and then Lancelot dispatched the first of the brothers.
Thought i'd take one last crack at this, see if i can make it all the way through. Not sure what sort of build yet, but probably leaning towards Conviction + Vengeance pally.
Code:
Name Character Class Area Level Current Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyrax BigSword Amazon Guardian 79 SoD: Blacktongue (upped + shael)
jiansonz Marion Sorceress H Kurast 83 SoD: Strength Flamberge
Kavarin Lancelot Necromancer H Far Oasis 71 SoD: Malice 2H
Hanshotfirst Hinamori Sorceress H Rogue Camp 65 SoD: Blacktongue
jimmah Sven Barbarian H Rogue Camp 70 SoD: The Patriarch (upped + shael)
Moonfrost Bul-Kathos Barbarian N Frigid HLs 60 SoD: Soulflay (upped)
Nogan myswordisbigger Barbarian N Harrogath 64 SoD: Soulflay (upped + shael)
Kimppi ChosenOne Barbarian N RoF 55 Rare Espandon
Sixstringer Turin Paladin N Kurast 52 SoD: Shadowfang (upped + Amn)
Zuggz Zeath Necromancer N Lut Gholein 48 Sup Flamberge Flawless ruby, topaz, skull
Raver Helena Assassin N Cats 47 Rare Bastard Sword
Rhia Pointu Amazon N OC 40 Bastard Sword/El,El,rare jewel
altima Gawain Barbarian N Rogue Camp 37 Rare Flambarge
buraz Blade Druid N Rouge Camp 44 SoD: Shadowfang
Sorcererbob Snowman_Frosty Paladin Ancients Way 30 3sock claymore: EthEthTal (eth sup bastard sword on switch for bosses)
Snarfer Paul_Bunyan Druid Harrogath 32 Claymore/flawless ruby/topaz/saph
Dlav Uncle-Sam Paladin Pandemonium 25 Superior Claymore/Tal/Ral/Ith
Thaquitz Thrain Barbarian L. Kurast 26 2-H/Jwl of Envy/flwd emrld/flwd skull
Sixstringer Desdemona Sorceress Kurast 23 Claymore/Amethyst/El
Carolus Rex Conan Barbarian Lut Gholein 20 Claymore/2 ch skull
Haerviu Scorpeia Amazon Lut Gholein 20 2-H/ch-Topaz/Emerald/Saphire
sdbramwell Bladestone Paladin Lut Gholein 22 Claymore/topaz/Jewel/flwd emrld
DemonOfWrath Sardinath Barbarian Far Oasis 22 Claymore/flawed topaz saphire and skull
Baajir Orlog Necromancer Black Marsh 13 2-H / ch topaz
Nagisa Gintoki Necromancer Stony Field 10 Sup 2-H/ch saph,ruby,emerald
XxuberstarxX Manwe Paladin Stony Field 9 Sup 2-H
FaNCy Harlequin Amazon Cold Plains 7 -
NacRuno Pindleskin Paladin Rogue camp 1 Starter sword
sveinbjorn Sir_Robin Paladin Rogue camp 1 Starter sword
Ordeith Moiraine Assassin Rogue camp 1 Starter claw
Turbocannon Ashur Barbarian Rogue Camp 1 Starter axe (or whatever)
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code:
Name Character Class Area Level Current Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whommy Brynhilda Amazon H Sewers 71 SoD: Blacktongue (Up'ed) + Tal
XxuberstarxX Boxxy Assassin H Cold Plains 64 SoD: Shadowfang (upped + shael)
Raver Natasha Amazon N Pand 59 Claymore/ Tal / Ral/ Jewel
Nunka Gurloes Paladin N Travincal 58 Zweihander/12% ED jewel/2x pskull
Buraz Macho Barbarian N SpiderCave. 50 SoD: Soulflay (upped + shael)
PFSS TwoBob Paladin N Maggot Lair 44 Rare Flamberge
XxuberstarxX Elessar Paladin N Maggot Lair 48 Flamberge/2x ort/2x ral
NacRuno Vega Necromancer N Catacomb 4 45 Rare Giant Sword
Hanshotfirst Hinamori Assassin N Catacomb 4 46 Rare Giant Sword
XxuberstarxX TheBlade Paladin N Tristram 42 Rare Claymore
Sixstringer Sangar Paladin N Stony Field 41 Flamberge/Jewel of Ire/Ith/Skull
jdkerr BoneCrusher Sorceress River-o-Flame 28 Claymore w/ poison damage sockets
Justin tourny-one Barbarian PandFortress 33 GiantSword (ith, sapp, jewel (5max dam, 17 ar))
Greizer WoodChuck Barbarian Chaos Sanc. 30 Claymore (Tir+chipped skull+lol)
skoolbus Lancelot Paladin Chaos Sanc. 25 SoD: Shadowfang
Sixstringer Stormblade Paladin Chaos Sanc. 30 Claymore/Ral rune, jewel of envy
Nunka Dorcas Sorceress Chaos Sanc. 32 Sup Clay/saph/topaz/emrld
XxuberstarxX BladeSlinger Paladin Rof 25 Claymore/jwl of envy/ith/skull
JayeM Garvin Paladin D. of Hate 3 29 Rare claymore
sdbramwell Crisendon Paladin CanyonMagi 24 Claymore/JoEx2
stbay Xerber Paladin Jail Lev1 17 2-H / 3x jewel of envy
PFSS Bob Paladin Duriel 20 Claymore/+5Max/+7Max
JayeM Groo Barbarian Triangl tomb 26 Rare claymore
ShadedOne Deuxmains Paladin Duriel's 25 2-H/ch saph/ch skullx2
JayeM Howell Druid Canyon/Magi 25 2-H/ruby/skull/J.ofEnvy
sveinbjorn Elric Necromancer Tal's Tomb 24 2-H/2 ch emrld/skull
Greizer LeChuck Paladin Tal's Tomb 23 3sox Claymore/20psn jewel/12%dmg to mana jewel/empty
Greizer Sassy_Lass Sorceress Arcane Sanct. 21 Claymore (Skull+12% ed jool+flawed emerald)
jamesixgun Judith Assassin Lost City 24 2-H/ch 2x ruby/saph
LD50 Tfar_Ironhand Barbarian Radament 19 2-h sword 2xtop/sap
jamesixgun OrangeJuice Barbarian Lut Gholein 20 2-H/+3 min Jewel/fl topaz/ch ruby
sveinbjorn Begg Galoot Barbarian Stony Field 12 2-H/3 ch em
Brutass HugeWilly Barbarian Catacomb 4 18 2-H/normal sword
sveinbjorn Fafhrd Barbarian Cathedral 19 2-Hand/2 ch emrld
bcoe Walter Paladin Catacomb 3 17 2-H/JofEnvy
sveinbjorn Miyumi Assassin Jail Lvl 1 17 2-H/2 ch emrld
Rhia Baam-Baam Sorceress The Pits 17 2/H/ch topaz,ch rub,ch emerald
TLOD Norris Barbarian Black Marsh 17 2-H/ch topaz.ch skull
JayeM Leona Sorceress Monastery 16 2-H/Ch Skull/topaz/sapp
I like act 4 and Lancelot likes act 4. It's nice and short. I normally go clockwise around the outer steppes and the exit was a short way anti-clockwise so we gained most of a level. At this stage finishing at level 79 looks like a tough ask.
There were a few tough spawners. One was guarding the entrance to the plains of despair. He was shielded behind a pillar so not directly cursable and spit pups faster than Leharas could strike them down. We managed to curse him around the corner and that was that.
A conviction enchanted Abyss Knight named Dragon Killer was guarding a choke point on the river of flame effectively. We had to use the poor man's teleport (portal to town and return immediately) to take care of him and his crew. And hellforge yielded a Mal. I'm pretty much a single pass untwinked kind of guy these days and even if I wasn't I play vanilla so it seems fairly useless. Oh well...
Finally we stood before the sanctuary. Stick with Leharas or switch to a rogue? We've come this far together, let's see how it goes.
"Tell your master we've come for him. Nobody else has to die"
The dark knight stared down at the pasty figure. "Er, come again?"
"I am tired", said Lancelot, "We have slain thousands of your comrades to come here. I grow weary of the killing but the presence of Diablo is upsetting the balance and he must be destroyed."
"We have mages your equal in this sanctuary necromancer, you shall not prevail".
"So be it. Don't say I didn't warn you." said Lancelot as he blinded the knight and strode forward with his enchanted blade raised...
Most of the enemy within the sanctuary march forward mindlessly towards their fate. The only small problem is the skittish Oblivion Knights. Where possible Lancelot drew everything else out of curse range and slew them easily. And when necessary it wasn't too difficult to mug the OKs. An extra fast boss was a little more work, but eventually he too was pinned.
Ordinarily I'd be pleased about finding Riphook - remote open wounds is great, but like most things it is useless in this tourney.
If anyone was wondering why we need to stockpile gold, here is the answer - merc resurrections. A few times Leharas killed himself when under the Iron Maiden.
The conviction enchanted infector acquitted himself admirably and Lancelot had to kill the rest of his mob before him but after a couple of nervous moments he fell. You may notice that a lot of the more dangerous battles take place some distance from Lancelot. I've got to say, I really don't like the infector to be any closer than he is pictured here.
Extra fast De Seis was not the pushover we expected either but before long it was just Lancelot, golly and Diablo. This time was far easier than nightmare - Diablo focused on golly throughout and beat himself to death after a few minutes. The (fairly obvious trick) was not to stand directly behind golly so that when he used his lightning stream, it didn't hit Lancelot.
I tried a bit of crafting at the end of act 4 looking to improve the endgame equipment. These boots are a big disappointment, but this is a great buffing ammy. Clay golem can now have up to 7800HP. Nice!
[HIGHLIGHT]Lancelot, Level 76 Golemancer is in Harrogath[/HIGHLIGHT]
Great conversation at the Sanctuary entrace. Loved it!
You will probably pull ahead again, as I am having much more fun with my Green with Envy Assassin right now (just reached Hell difficulty). Marion is more challenging, but also more "work"...
You will probably pull ahead again, as I am having much more fun with my Green with Envy Assassin right now (just reached Hell difficulty). Marion is more challenging, but also more "work"...
I don't know about that - I've started planning a couple of characters following the apprentice scavenger rules and they look a bit more appealing at the moment.
I've been reading about your assassin. She sounds like a lot of fun (and commiserations about losing the full clear - shame).
Lancelot awoke from his dream with a start. The dark lancer had been chasing him with spear raised. The tension and adrenaline drained from his body leaving him calm and relaxed. But where was he? He heard a voice.
"Ah, you are awake Lancelot". He looked around and there was standing a striking woman. Dark skinned with soft curly brown hair and shining white robes, she was the most beautiful woman she had even seen. "Who are you?" he asked. "I am the goddess Sexi. Heroes sometimes pray to me when in mortal danger."
"Thank you for your help, my lady. Please will you return me to Harrogath to continue the fight against Baal."
Sexi shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry Lancelot" she said, "once I answer a hero's prayer, they can never return to the world".
So Save & Exit - effectively deeds for Lancelot. And it was completely avoidable too. So how did it happen?
We were progressing slowly and carefully (as usual) through the Ancients Way and I was keeping one eye on the experience bar which was inching towards level 78. With 1 level gained vs the ancients that would mean that Lancelot would not kill Baal without reaching level 79. So I had to start skipping things - I terrored and then blinded the first pack of teddies back into a cavern. Then we continued down the corridor and reached another pack of teddies at a crossroads.
No worries, I think, I'll blind them and sneak past. Well, that worked a treat, there were a couple of millimetres between me and the wall and me and the teddies, but the merc engaged. The golly was caught in the middle. So I'm thinking I'll pop in and out of a portal to bring the merc onto the appropriate side and then terror them back to where I've just come from. I open the portal and two things happen at the same time.
The merc takes a dirt nap and I'm attacked by a boss pack of dark lancers. Rejuve! So I sneak back past the teddies all the while taking a spear in the back, each one of which with no FHR takes a little while to recover from. Rejuve, rejuve, rejuve. But I make it past the teddies still with my mind on opening a portal. And then the golem hits the dirt. Uh oh! And then the dim vision wears off the teddie pack. Escape!
The action is frozen. The situation looks far from hopeless. Only one dark lancer is within range and the teddies are a little further behind. I've still got rejuves on both 3 and 4 (it turned out there were 3 fulls and a normal) and 2/3 of my health bulb full. Still, it looks plenty bad enough. Possible courses of action: dim vision (probably the best bet, might get the dark lancer of my back), clay golem (would be okay if the dark lancer engaged him instead), terror (which I've found is not overly reliable but may work) or even portal (highly risky). Of course, rather than choose any of those I save and exit, ending Lancelot's challenge.
Sorry for not succeding Kavarin. Was an ejoment to read your updates.
I managed to got killed in sewers after 5 minutes of playing a game after a long time (havent posted update of passing act1NM) by a two bosspacks(zombies and skeletons) and a few archers. I think P8 was a mistake. And a wine to :hammerhead:
Code:
Name Character Class Area Level Current Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyrax BigSword Amazon Guardian 79 SoD: Blacktongue (upped + shael)
jiansonz Marion Sorceress H Harrogath 86 SoD: Strength Flamberge
Hanshotfirst Hinamori Sorceress H Rogue Camp 65 SoD: Blacktongue
jimmah Sven Barbarian H Rogue Camp 70 SoD: The Patriarch (upped + shael)
Moonfrost Bul-Kathos Barbarian N Frigid HLs 60 SoD: Soulflay (upped)
Nogan myswordisbigger Barbarian N Harrogath 64 SoD: Soulflay (upped + shael)
Kimppi ChosenOne Barbarian N RoF 55 Rare Espandon
Sixstringer Turin Paladin N Kurast 52 SoD: Shadowfang (upped + Amn)
Zuggz Zeath Necromancer N Lut Gholein 48 Sup Flamberge Flawless ruby, topaz, skull
Raver Helena Assassin N Cats 47 Rare Bastard Sword
Rhia Pointu Amazon N OC 40 Bastard Sword/El,El,rare jewel
altima Gawain Barbarian N Rogue Camp 37 Rare Flambarge
Sorcererbob Snowman_Frosty Paladin Ancients Way 30 3sock claymore: EthEthTal (eth sup bastard sword on switch for bosses)
Snarfer Paul_Bunyan Druid Harrogath 32 Claymore/flawless ruby/topaz/saph
Dlav Uncle-Sam Paladin Pandemonium 25 Superior Claymore/Tal/Ral/Ith
Thaquitz Thrain Barbarian L. Kurast 26 2-H/Jwl of Envy/flwd emrld/flwd skull
Sixstringer Desdemona Sorceress Kurast 23 Claymore/Amethyst/El
Carolus Rex Conan Barbarian Lut Gholein 20 Claymore/2 ch skull
Haerviu Scorpeia Amazon Lut Gholein 20 2-H/ch-Topaz/Emerald/Saphire
sdbramwell Bladestone Paladin Lut Gholein 22 Claymore/topaz/Jewel/flwd emrld
DemonOfWrath Sardinath Barbarian Far Oasis 22 Claymore/flawed topaz saphire and skull
Baajir Orlog Necromancer Black Marsh 13 2-H / ch topaz
Nagisa Gintoki Necromancer Stony Field 10 Sup 2-H/ch saph,ruby,emerald
XxuberstarxX Manwe Paladin Stony Field 9 Sup 2-H
FaNCy Harlequin Amazon Cold Plains 7 -
NacRuno Pindleskin Paladin Rogue camp 1 Starter sword
sveinbjorn Sir_Robin Paladin Rogue camp 1 Starter sword
Ordeith Moiraine Assassin Rogue camp 1 Starter claw
Turbocannon Ashur Barbarian Rogue Camp 1 Starter axe (or whatever)
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code:
Name Character Class Area Level Current Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kavarin Lancelot Necromancer H Anc. Way 77 SoD: Malice 2H
Whommy Brynhilda Amazon H Sewers 71 SoD: Blacktongue (Up'ed) + Tal
XxuberstarxX Boxxy Assassin H Cold Plains 64 SoD: Shadowfang (upped + shael)
Raver Natasha Amazon N Pand 59 Claymore/ Tal / Ral/ Jewel
Nunka Gurloes Paladin N Travincal 58 Zweihander/12% ED jewel/2x pskull
Buraz Macho Barbarian N SpiderCave. 50 SoD: Soulflay (upped + shael)
PFSS TwoBob Paladin N Maggot Lair 44 Rare Flamberge
XxuberstarxX Elessar Paladin N Maggot Lair 48 Flamberge/2x ort/2x ral
buraz Blade Druid N Sewers 50 SoD: Shadowfang
NacRuno Vega Necromancer N Catacomb 4 45 Rare Giant Sword
Hanshotfirst Hinamori Assassin N Catacomb 4 46 Rare Giant Sword
XxuberstarxX TheBlade Paladin N Tristram 42 Rare Claymore
Sixstringer Sangar Paladin N Stony Field 41 Flamberge/Jewel of Ire/Ith/Skull
jdkerr BoneCrusher Sorceress River-o-Flame 28 Claymore w/ poison damage sockets
Justin tourny-one Barbarian PandFortress 33 GiantSword (ith, sapp, jewel (5max dam, 17 ar))
Greizer WoodChuck Barbarian Chaos Sanc. 30 Claymore (Tir+chipped skull+lol)
skoolbus Lancelot Paladin Chaos Sanc. 25 SoD: Shadowfang
Sixstringer Stormblade Paladin Chaos Sanc. 30 Claymore/Ral rune, jewel of envy
Nunka Dorcas Sorceress Chaos Sanc. 32 Sup Clay/saph/topaz/emrld
XxuberstarxX BladeSlinger Paladin Rof 25 Claymore/jwl of envy/ith/skull
JayeM Garvin Paladin D. of Hate 3 29 Rare claymore
sdbramwell Crisendon Paladin CanyonMagi 24 Claymore/JoEx2
stbay Xerber Paladin Jail Lev1 17 2-H / 3x jewel of envy
PFSS Bob Paladin Duriel 20 Claymore/+5Max/+7Max
JayeM Groo Barbarian Triangl tomb 26 Rare claymore
ShadedOne Deuxmains Paladin Duriel's 25 2-H/ch saph/ch skullx2
JayeM Howell Druid Canyon/Magi 25 2-H/ruby/skull/J.ofEnvy
sveinbjorn Elric Necromancer Tal's Tomb 24 2-H/2 ch emrld/skull
Greizer LeChuck Paladin Tal's Tomb 23 3sox Claymore/20psn jewel/12%dmg to mana jewel/empty
Greizer Sassy_Lass Sorceress Arcane Sanct. 21 Claymore (Skull+12% ed jool+flawed emerald)
jamesixgun Judith Assassin Lost City 24 2-H/ch 2x ruby/saph
LD50 Tfar_Ironhand Barbarian Radament 19 2-h sword 2xtop/sap
jamesixgun OrangeJuice Barbarian Lut Gholein 20 2-H/+3 min Jewel/fl topaz/ch ruby
sveinbjorn Begg Galoot Barbarian Stony Field 12 2-H/3 ch em
Brutass HugeWilly Barbarian Catacomb 4 18 2-H/normal sword
sveinbjorn Fafhrd Barbarian Cathedral 19 2-Hand/2 ch emrld
bcoe Walter Paladin Catacomb 3 17 2-H/JofEnvy
sveinbjorn Miyumi Assassin Jail Lvl 1 17 2-H/2 ch emrld
Rhia Baam-Baam Sorceress The Pits 17 2/H/ch topaz,ch rub,ch emerald
TLOD Norris Barbarian Black Marsh 17 2-H/ch topaz.ch skull
JayeM Leona Sorceress Monastery 16 2-H/Ch Skull/topaz/sapp
edit:now I spot that xxuberstar also got a char named blade
also dead
I played my act 1 in two sessions - I don't remember much about the first one, except that I did the first few quests, rushed up to the Black Marsh wp then realised that my rare scimitar is not in compliance with the rules. >.< (Then again, I haven't picked up any charms so far either because I thought they were not allowed.) So I switched to a white two-hander and started the second session a few days later (i.e. now). All this is done on players 8 for now. My other equipment consisted of white or empty socketed basic stuff, like hard leather armor (eventually chain mail), skull cap (eventually eth fanged helm then full helm), chain boots, belt, and a rare pair of leather gloves with some stats and basic resists.
I cleared the Hole in the Black Marsh because it was on my map already. Cut my way through the Tamoe Highland, entered the monastery and had a nice battle there against Razor Spines, Black Rogues and Devilkin. Skipped the Malus quests, planning to do this in next session. (Will likely be spent on a Barbarian helm)
Entered the Jail and encountered some tough Rat Men immediately. Suppressed Battle.net instincts to run through the area like mad and patiently cleared everything in my way. Got to Inner Cloister - the Cathedral wasn't too easy; I put a skill point into Find Potion (stopped putting points into skills at level 16, but here I was at level 17 with 2 spare points and decided to put one into it either way) to get rid of Dark Ones. Bone Ash took forever to kill for being a frail old skeleton, and all those Tainted gave our hero some trouble.
The Catacombs were passed through rather quick - I just killed whatever was in my way and got lucky with the stairs. I got to 18 and learned Concentrate - I had already decided I want this to be a nice classic Concentrator and I was glad to see it enhanced my power quite well (along with my level 10 Sword Mastery). With Shout, Concentrate and against the Dark Ones, Find Potion, I cleared Catacombs 4 and killed Andariel with one use of town portal.
I picked up the items and returned to town. Went to Lut Gholein, where I bought some better equipment, including a 3os Claymore which I socketed with a chipped sapphire and two chipped emeralds. Decided to save the Skulls (I got a normal Skull from Andy, along with a chipped one and another I got earlier) for my SoD and quit.
Code:
Name Character Class Area Level Current Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyrax BigSword Amazon Guardian 79 SoD: Blacktongue (upped + shael)
jiansonz Marion Sorceress H Harrogath 86 SoD: Strength Flamberge
Hanshotfirst Hinamori Sorceress H Rogue Camp 65 SoD: Blacktongue
jimmah Sven Barbarian H Rogue Camp 70 SoD: The Patriarch (upped + shael)
Moonfrost Bul-Kathos Barbarian N Frigid HLs 60 SoD: Soulflay (upped)
Nogan myswordisbigger Barbarian N Harrogath 64 SoD: Soulflay (upped + shael)
Kimppi ChosenOne Barbarian N RoF 55 Rare Espandon
Sixstringer Turin Paladin N Kurast 52 SoD: Shadowfang (upped + Amn)
Zuggz Zeath Necromancer N Lut Gholein 48 Sup Flamberge Flawless ruby, topaz, skull
Raver Helena Assassin N Cats 47 Rare Bastard Sword
Rhia Pointu Amazon N OC 40 Bastard Sword/El,El,rare jewel
altima Gawain Barbarian N Rogue Camp 37 Rare Flambarge
Sorcererbob Snowman_Frosty Paladin Ancients Way 30 3sock claymore: EthEthTal (eth sup bastard sword on switch for bosses)
Snarfer Paul_Bunyan Druid Harrogath 32 Claymore/flawless ruby/topaz/saph
Dlav Uncle-Sam Paladin Pandemonium 25 Superior Claymore/Tal/Ral/Ith
Thaquitz Thrain Barbarian L. Kurast 26 2-H/Jwl of Envy/flwd emrld/flwd skull
Sixstringer Desdemona Sorceress Kurast 23 Claymore/Amethyst/El
Carolus Rex Conan Barbarian Lut Gholein 20 Claymore/2 ch skull
Haerviu Scorpeia Amazon Lut Gholein 20 2-H/ch-Topaz/Emerald/Saphire
sdbramwell Bladestone Paladin Lut Gholein 22 Claymore/topaz/Jewel/flwd emrld
DemonOfWrath Sardinath Barbarian Far Oasis 22 Claymore/flawed topaz saphire and skull
Baajir Orlog Necromancer Black Marsh 13 2-H / ch topaz
Nagisa Gintoki Necromancer Stony Field 10 Sup 2-H/ch saph,ruby,emerald
XxuberstarxX Manwe Paladin Stony Field 9 Sup 2-H
FaNCy Harlequin Amazon Cold Plains 7 -
NacRuno Pindleskin Paladin Rogue camp 1 Starter sword
sveinbjorn Sir_Robin Paladin Rogue camp 1 Starter sword
Ordeith Moiraine Assassin Rogue camp 1 Starter claw
Turbocannon Ashur Barbarian Lut Gholein 18 3s Claymore (1x ch sap+2x ch eme
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code:
Name Character Class Area Level Current Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kavarin Lancelot Necromancer H Anc. Way 77 SoD: Malice 2H
Whommy Brynhilda Amazon H Sewers 71 SoD: Blacktongue (Up'ed) + Tal
XxuberstarxX Boxxy Assassin H Cold Plains 64 SoD: Shadowfang (upped + shael)
Raver Natasha Amazon N Pand 59 Claymore/ Tal / Ral/ Jewel
Nunka Gurloes Paladin N Travincal 58 Zweihander/12% ED jewel/2x pskull
Buraz Macho Barbarian N SpiderCave. 50 SoD: Soulflay (upped + shael)
PFSS TwoBob Paladin N Maggot Lair 44 Rare Flamberge
XxuberstarxX Elessar Paladin N Maggot Lair 48 Flamberge/2x ort/2x ral
buraz Blade Druid N Sewers 50 SoD: Shadowfang
NacRuno Vega Necromancer N Catacomb 4 45 Rare Giant Sword
Hanshotfirst Hinamori Assassin N Catacomb 4 46 Rare Giant Sword
XxuberstarxX TheBlade Paladin N Tristram 42 Rare Claymore
Sixstringer Sangar Paladin N Stony Field 41 Flamberge/Jewel of Ire/Ith/Skull
jdkerr BoneCrusher Sorceress River-o-Flame 28 Claymore w/ poison damage sockets
Justin tourny-one Barbarian PandFortress 33 GiantSword (ith, sapp, jewel (5max dam, 17 ar))
Greizer WoodChuck Barbarian Chaos Sanc. 30 Claymore (Tir+chipped skull+lol)
skoolbus Lancelot Paladin Chaos Sanc. 25 SoD: Shadowfang
Sixstringer Stormblade Paladin Chaos Sanc. 30 Claymore/Ral rune, jewel of envy
Nunka Dorcas Sorceress Chaos Sanc. 32 Sup Clay/saph/topaz/emrld
XxuberstarxX BladeSlinger Paladin Rof 25 Claymore/jwl of envy/ith/skull
JayeM Garvin Paladin D. of Hate 3 29 Rare claymore
sdbramwell Crisendon Paladin CanyonMagi 24 Claymore/JoEx2
stbay Xerber Paladin Jail Lev1 17 2-H / 3x jewel of envy
PFSS Bob Paladin Duriel 20 Claymore/+5Max/+7Max
JayeM Groo Barbarian Triangl tomb 26 Rare claymore
ShadedOne Deuxmains Paladin Duriel's 25 2-H/ch saph/ch skullx2
JayeM Howell Druid Canyon/Magi 25 2-H/ruby/skull/J.ofEnvy
sveinbjorn Elric Necromancer Tal's Tomb 24 2-H/2 ch emrld/skull
Greizer LeChuck Paladin Tal's Tomb 23 3sox Claymore/20psn jewel/12%dmg to mana jewel/empty
Greizer Sassy_Lass Sorceress Arcane Sanct. 21 Claymore (Skull+12% ed jool+flawed emerald)
jamesixgun Judith Assassin Lost City 24 2-H/ch 2x ruby/saph
LD50 Tfar_Ironhand Barbarian Radament 19 2-h sword 2xtop/sap
jamesixgun OrangeJuice Barbarian Lut Gholein 20 2-H/+3 min Jewel/fl topaz/ch ruby
sveinbjorn Begg Galoot Barbarian Stony Field 12 2-H/3 ch em
Brutass HugeWilly Barbarian Catacomb 4 18 2-H/normal sword
sveinbjorn Fafhrd Barbarian Cathedral 19 2-Hand/2 ch emrld
bcoe Walter Paladin Catacomb 3 17 2-H/JofEnvy
sveinbjorn Miyumi Assassin Jail Lvl 1 17 2-H/2 ch emrld
Rhia Baam-Baam Sorceress The Pits 17 2/H/ch topaz,ch rub,ch emerald
TLOD Norris Barbarian Black Marsh 17 2-H/ch topaz.ch skull
JayeM Leona Sorceress Monastery 16 2-H/Ch Skull/topaz/sapp
Sorry for not succeding Kavarin. Was an ejoment to read your updates.
I managed to got killed in sewers after 5 minutes of playing a game after a long time (havent posted update of passing act1NM) by a two bosspacks(zombies and skeletons) and a few archers. I think P8 was a mistake. And a wine to :hammerhead:
Hi guys, after my problems with graphics drivers giving me 0 fps drops ingame, I had hardware problems too. Computer wouldn't start up and I'm guessing the RAM is acting up again. I've just been too lazy to fix it and I've just been on my laptop since then. Maybe some day I'll fix my computer so I can finish hell with Sven. Been reading up some on the progress, nice going.
I decided not to go back for the Malus yet (reason: cba) and instead went down the sewers. Damage done on /p8 with Concentrate isn't that bad IMO, but then again I don't really know what's good on /p8. (Everything went down in 2 hits, maybe 3 at max, 'cept Radament of course). Radament wasn't much trouble - he decided that he can execute me with poison breath, which didn't damage me despite the fact that none of my resists are yet in the double digits. His only nasty thing was resurrecting the icy horror mage behind me; that thing might as well freeze you completely, luckily the mercenary was there to help. (I replaced the Rogue with an act 2 Defiance merc, to reduce the need of using Shout all the time. He is using a rare spear with cold damage which I found in Act 1 and some cheap white armor.)
The desert areas weren't much threat either, still on P8. Concentrate is awesome and there are no interrupted attacks - although I have to down those blue potions quite a lot, I don't have so much trouble with the red ones. Started stashing rejuvs to cube into full rejuvs later, but I won't actually put any into my belt until... hmm, Duriel? (Hope I remember to switch to /p1 for him)
Got the Cube. That halved the amount of items in the stash, or something like that.
Whacked my way to the Far Oasis, then I had to stop playing so I quit there. I didn't do full clears except for the Halls of the Dead - level 3 and 2 precisely, I was already in a hurry when I was going back.
No new equipment since last time, except that the merc's armor eventually came to be a scale mail (his headgear is a plain helm).
Not going to edit in the chart since it's same as last time, except for the level (gained a few, something like 22 now) and location (Far Oasis).
Ashur decided that he would investigate the maggot lair he found near the Horadrim waypoint in the Far Oasis - Cain told him that the maggots took a staff down there that he might need in his quest. So he did. He wasn't pleased to discover that the lighting-spitting beetles were on friendly terms with the harmless but annoying Sand Maggots and the occasional Rock Worm - a more resilient species of the former. However, in one of the chests the bugs took with them, he found a nice ring that made him feel much more powerful and ready to take on the whole lair at once! Besides improving his strength and accuracy, the ring shielded him from minor elemental attacks and also made him feel somehow... lucky? Maybe he would soon find the Sword he was looking for - the Sword of his Destiny! (49 AR, +1 Strength, +6% LR, +15% FR, 6% MF) Pleased with his new find, Ashur hacked through more beetles with renewed vigor until he found a bloated sand maggot queen. It was an intimidating and disgusting sight at once, but by concentrating hard on the battle, the barbarian was able to dispose of them efficienty and found the staff he was looking for - buried in a pile of goo. Bleurgh.
After a quick trip to town for a nice indoors bath and restocking on supplies, he went through the Far Oasis and found... a city! It was probably a glorious city once, but now it was full of black cats - Ashur hacked them all down before they could cross his path, but the poison bottles they threw were horrible. They were supported by Marauders, creatures similar to Sand Raiders he found in the sewers, and plague-infested zombies that never seemed to die to his sword. Often he would just ignore these, kill the cats and marauders, and move on. He also found a set of tunnels, but not wanting to face more zombies, he instead went on to find a small valley with a temple. Drognan told him that the inhabitants of this temple, the Claw Vipers, were responsible for the night that seemed to take unnaturally long - Ashur didn't notice much of it since he was Concentrating on the many denizens of this lost city, but thinking back, he did realise it was quite long... Combined with the fact that these vipers were holding an amulet, apparently, Ashur decided that he should clear this temple.
So he did - he found it interesting that the Claw Vipers and the much hotter Salamanders live together so well in the dark and damp halls, and was also somewhat impressed by their battle tactics, but wasn't in danger at all. On the second level of the complex, a really fast viper named Fangskin (it was inscribed on its skin, stupid) charged at him, and seemed to share the shocking characteristics of a Scarab, but he hacked him down too and salvaged a usable skull. (It was flawed, courtesy of Ashur's big claymore, but still looked good.) The small room also held a retinue of undead creatures, but there were too few skeletons for them to be a real threat. Finally, the barbarian found an altar, and smashed it apart to find an amulet. Heeding Cain's advice, he used his Horadric Cube to combine the two and got an impressive Staff as a result.
Ashur then learned that the splendid palace Jerhyn was standing in front of all day has been infested with demons. They really should be more careful with their girls, he thought and decided to see how bad the situation was. Not very, he concluded. The Palace held painfully little challenge for him - being a Hero of Destiny, this was to be expected, but the primitive zombies in the City he found usually put up a tougher fight. He found Horror Mages - Horrors are a strong kind of skeleton, but Ashur still enjoyed fighting undead since their brittle bones disintegrated so finely after each swing of his sword. He decided to do a favor to the desert people and cleaned the whole palace cellar, only leaving the icy mages alone; the unnatural chill of their spells unnerved Ashur to no end. On the last level, he finally met a decent challenge - Fire Eye, the leader of the Invader creatures, supported by more Invaders and half a dozen lightning horrors briefly weakened Ashur down to half of his life strength, but he was able to regain his strength by killing off the weaker Invaders, wheeling around to crush the Horror Mages and leaving Fire Eye for last. On his body, he found a fanged helm - it gave off power much like his ring, helping him with his ritual warcries as well as giving combat power and elemental resistance against the last few enemies left. (10% FHR - useless, okay, but... -, +1 Shout, 40% ED, +6 energy, +8% LR, +9% PoisR, Poison Length -25%)
The room Fire Eye was guarding contained a strange archway - Ashur took several minutes to figure out the metal thingy on its top activated a portal. He decided to enter it: maybe it would turn out to be the source of the demons of the palace?
This place was bizarre... unreal, one could say. Four thin catwalks led out of the intersection that held a Horadrim waypoint; Ashur quickly discovered that he couldn't actually fall off them. Even the little solid remains of the Specters here floated in midair instead of falling down the abyss, and the barbarian couldn't even put his sword through the strange energy field that prevented him from falling. Speaking of Specters, they gave him a real headache, and worse - they drained him of his fighting spirit and made it impossible to Concentrate, resulting in an increased consumption of blue spirit potions on his behalf. Physically, they weren't the most dangerous, nor were they the blood red Hell Clan goatmen, here in numbers but easily cut down one at a time on the thin walkways. It was a mistake to employ them here, Ashur thought... The same didn't apply for the Ghoul Lords, who threw fireballs at him from behind walls of Hell Clan or using the twisting stairs and other bizarre constructions to their advantage, ignited walls of fire under his feet, and up close, drained his health to strengthen themselves. And when Ashur was about to decapitate one, it would float away to lead him into another pack of its kin - GRAAGH! To make it worse, he had to go through the whole place because the first three walkways led into nothing but deathtraps laid by Ghoul Lords and their Lightning Spires - dull-looking stone spires that would emit lightning bolts and novas as he approached. When he would find the Summoner who is supposed to be here... revenge! Finally, after an eternity, he heard a long and evil sounding laugh and a huge icy comet flew at him. Clinching his teeth, Ashur dodged the spell, yelled some orders at his mercenary - not that they really made a difference, but sounding like a true leader made him feel more lively - and hacked through the remaining few Hell Clan. Two blows to the Summoner were enough. To humiliate his foe, Ashur ripped his cracked, flawed skull out of his head and put it in his stash - and as he realised he already had three, he decided to try if he can improve them like he can improve gems. It worked - the three ugly skulls turned into one much better-looking one, similar to the one he retrieved from Andariel.
He then put away the skulls and entered the red portal that mysteriously appeared when he read the book near the Summoner's corpse aloud. The book was rather boring to him, but he did manage to find out that there are 7 tombs in the "Canyon of the Magi" beyond the portal, and the one that hid Tal Rasha was indicated by a star-like shape, which was the only one missing from the symbol collection near the Summoner. He hopped into the portal.
He was out in the desert again. A real relief, for Ashur was starting to feel a little bit dizzy from the nightmare he just left. And a Horadrim waypoint? Well, these mages sure make travel convenient. He didn't have much time to look around, though, because he was met by a large host of Wendigo creatures - desert Crushers, more precisely - and Hellcat warriors. He managed to slash through them all and decided not to bother with the young maggots that were about to flood him; instead, he quickly found the true tomb and entered.
What good is a tomb without undead? Those who prepared the defenses of this one knew this very well. His enemies were Gorebellies - huge, muscular, tiny headed humanoids with clubs for arms that hit so hard, they would have stunned most men; good thing Ashur was able to concentrate on his enemies very well - and undead Guardians, with their Burning Dead bodyguards. Good choice, he thought: the skeletons would surround anyone who came in, the Gorebellies could move in for the kill, and even if the adventurer could kill them, the Guardians would ensure that the endless horde of skeletons would eventually subdue him. But not good enough, he smiled - the Guardians foolishly just sent all their skeletons straight at him, so Ashur could dodge them or hack through an opening and decapitate the Guardians so that the skeletons wouldn't rise again from their ashes. Regardless, the Gorebellies and the undead still were more challenging than almost anything he got so far - so he was pleased to find some new armor in a small treasury: an ethereal chain mail for his mercenary, and a breast plate for himself; the latter was also a rare and powerful item that, while lighter than his old chainmail, was also enchanted to be more powerful, not to mention its magical defenses (Useless 17% FHR, 34% ED, LR +5%, PR +6%, Poison length -25%). These items helped the duo to defeat the rest of the monsters. They eventually came to a strange orifice. Ashur decided that his Horadric Staff goes here and sure enough, a blast of energy tore the tomb wall open in one place. He prayed that the fight would go easier, whatever awaited him there (/players 1 for this battle - good choice, I could have died on /p8 I think) and slided down.
"Looking for Baal?" The giant slug was immediately upon him, and Ashur felt a strange frost freeze everything within him. He replied in kind, swinging his sword slooowly - and the blade connected, once, twice, thrice, while the mercenary (forgot to mention, he got a nice rare voulge in the Arcane Sanctuary) also stabbed at its layers of fat. The creature was enraged by this, because it then dealt several glancing blows to Ashur's skull! Deciding that true courage doesn't equal a foolish stand to the death and a tactical retreat is sometimes the best choice, he retreated to town to recover, buy more supplies and go back.
After three such retreats, they finally managed to defeat the slug. The tunnel was shaken heavily, and a path was revealed... at the end, Ashur met an angel! Apparently, Ashur was too late and his quest was not yet done - and Tyrael, as the angel was called, couldn't tell anything about his "Sword of Destiny" either. He eventually found out that he would have to sail with the captain Meshif to Kurast's docks where he would seek to kill Mephisto before he could meet with Diablo, the Lord of Terror and the newly freed Baal.
And here he decided to sleep for a day or two. (Ashur would never admit it, but the mercenary was real useful with his added defence and how he never died, in a very atypical mercenary fashion.)
New equipment: rare ring, rare breast plate, rare fanged helm, superior (as opposed to generic) chain boots. Stats in the story.
Code:
Name Character Class Area Level Current Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyrax BigSword Amazon Guardian 79 SoD: Blacktongue (upped + shael)
jiansonz Marion Sorceress H Harrogath 86 SoD: Strength Flamberge
Hanshotfirst Hinamori Sorceress H Rogue Camp 65 SoD: Blacktongue
jimmah Sven Barbarian H Rogue Camp 70 SoD: The Patriarch (upped + shael)
Moonfrost Bul-Kathos Barbarian N Frigid HLs 60 SoD: Soulflay (upped)
Nogan myswordisbigger Barbarian N Harrogath 64 SoD: Soulflay (upped + shael)
Kimppi ChosenOne Barbarian N RoF 55 Rare Espandon
Sixstringer Turin Paladin N Kurast 52 SoD: Shadowfang (upped + Amn)
Zuggz Zeath Necromancer N Lut Gholein 48 Sup Flamberge Flawless ruby, topaz, skull
Raver Helena Assassin N Cats 47 Rare Bastard Sword
Rhia Pointu Amazon N OC 40 Bastard Sword/El,El,rare jewel
altima Gawain Barbarian N Rogue Camp 37 Rare Flambarge
Sorcererbob Snowman_Frosty Paladin Ancients Way 30 3sock claymore: EthEthTal (eth sup bastard sword on switch for bosses)
Snarfer Paul_Bunyan Druid Harrogath 32 Claymore/flawless ruby/topaz/saph
Dlav Uncle-Sam Paladin Pandemonium 25 Superior Claymore/Tal/Ral/Ith
Thaquitz Thrain Barbarian L. Kurast 26 2-H/Jwl of Envy/flwd emrld/flwd skull
Turbocannon Ashur Barbarian Kurast Docks 25 3s Claymore (1x ch sap+2x ch eme
Sixstringer Desdemona Sorceress Kurast 23 Claymore/Amethyst/El
Carolus Rex Conan Barbarian Lut Gholein 20 Claymore/2 ch skull
Haerviu Scorpeia Amazon Lut Gholein 20 2-H/ch-Topaz/Emerald/Saphire
sdbramwell Bladestone Paladin Lut Gholein 22 Claymore/topaz/Jewel/flwd emrld
DemonOfWrath Sardinath Barbarian Far Oasis 22 Claymore/flawed topaz saphire and skull
Baajir Orlog Necromancer Black Marsh 13 2-H / ch topaz
Nagisa Gintoki Necromancer Stony Field 10 Sup 2-H/ch saph,ruby,emerald
XxuberstarxX Manwe Paladin Stony Field 9 Sup 2-H
FaNCy Harlequin Amazon Cold Plains 7 -
NacRuno Pindleskin Paladin Rogue camp 1 Starter sword
sveinbjorn Sir_Robin Paladin Rogue camp 1 Starter sword
Ordeith Moiraine Assassin Rogue camp 1 Starter claw
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code:
Name Character Class Area Level Current Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kavarin Lancelot Necromancer H Anc. Way 77 SoD: Malice 2H
Whommy Brynhilda Amazon H Sewers 71 SoD: Blacktongue (Up'ed) + Tal
XxuberstarxX Boxxy Assassin H Cold Plains 64 SoD: Shadowfang (upped + shael)
Raver Natasha Amazon N Pand 59 Claymore/ Tal / Ral/ Jewel
Nunka Gurloes Paladin N Travincal 58 Zweihander/12% ED jewel/2x pskull
Buraz Macho Barbarian N SpiderCave. 50 SoD: Soulflay (upped + shael)
PFSS TwoBob Paladin N Maggot Lair 44 Rare Flamberge
XxuberstarxX Elessar Paladin N Maggot Lair 48 Flamberge/2x ort/2x ral
buraz Blade Druid N Sewers 50 SoD: Shadowfang
NacRuno Vega Necromancer N Catacomb 4 45 Rare Giant Sword
Hanshotfirst Hinamori Assassin N Catacomb 4 46 Rare Giant Sword
XxuberstarxX TheBlade Paladin N Tristram 42 Rare Claymore
Sixstringer Sangar Paladin N Stony Field 41 Flamberge/Jewel of Ire/Ith/Skull
jdkerr BoneCrusher Sorceress River-o-Flame 28 Claymore w/ poison damage sockets
Justin tourny-one Barbarian PandFortress 33 GiantSword (ith, sapp, jewel (5max dam, 17 ar))
Greizer WoodChuck Barbarian Chaos Sanc. 30 Claymore (Tir+chipped skull+lol)
skoolbus Lancelot Paladin Chaos Sanc. 25 SoD: Shadowfang
Sixstringer Stormblade Paladin Chaos Sanc. 30 Claymore/Ral rune, jewel of envy
Nunka Dorcas Sorceress Chaos Sanc. 32 Sup Clay/saph/topaz/emrld
XxuberstarxX BladeSlinger Paladin Rof 25 Claymore/jwl of envy/ith/skull
JayeM Garvin Paladin D. of Hate 3 29 Rare claymore
sdbramwell Crisendon Paladin CanyonMagi 24 Claymore/JoEx2
stbay Xerber Paladin Jail Lev1 17 2-H / 3x jewel of envy
PFSS Bob Paladin Duriel 20 Claymore/+5Max/+7Max
JayeM Groo Barbarian Triangl tomb 26 Rare claymore
ShadedOne Deuxmains Paladin Duriel's 25 2-H/ch saph/ch skullx2
JayeM Howell Druid Canyon/Magi 25 2-H/ruby/skull/J.ofEnvy
sveinbjorn Elric Necromancer Tal's Tomb 24 2-H/2 ch emrld/skull
Greizer LeChuck Paladin Tal's Tomb 23 3sox Claymore/20psn jewel/12%dmg to mana jewel/empty
Greizer Sassy_Lass Sorceress Arcane Sanct. 21 Claymore (Skull+12% ed jool+flawed emerald)
jamesixgun Judith Assassin Lost City 24 2-H/ch 2x ruby/saph
LD50 Tfar_Ironhand Barbarian Radament 19 2-h sword 2xtop/sap
jamesixgun OrangeJuice Barbarian Lut Gholein 20 2-H/+3 min Jewel/fl topaz/ch ruby
sveinbjorn Begg Galoot Barbarian Stony Field 12 2-H/3 ch em
Brutass HugeWilly Barbarian Catacomb 4 18 2-H/normal sword
sveinbjorn Fafhrd Barbarian Cathedral 19 2-Hand/2 ch emrld
bcoe Walter Paladin Catacomb 3 17 2-H/JofEnvy
sveinbjorn Miyumi Assassin Jail Lvl 1 17 2-H/2 ch emrld
Rhia Baam-Baam Sorceress The Pits 17 2/H/ch topaz,ch rub,ch emerald
TLOD Norris Barbarian Black Marsh 17 2-H/ch topaz.ch skull
JayeM Leona Sorceress Monastery 16 2-H/Ch Skull/topaz/sapp
I'm back in. I got the itch to try my sorceress again after the disappointed death to Diablo (Normal). I am happy to say that after much patience, Diablo is finally no more.
There have been surprisingly few charm drops, but I was thrilled with this one:
Shimmering Grand Charm of Inertia
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xb53389db
All Resistances +15
7% Faster Run/Walk
I have a question about my Sword of Destiny. Unless I find a particularly useful unique, I am likely to end up with a runeword. The realistic and practical options seem to be:
Passion for teh Zeal. Be sure to use Berserk though if there's any sign of Oblivion Knights. ...Or was it a Ladder only RW? Not sure tbh, but it's the best if it isn't.
I've been thinking of entering some tournament again since I've nothing better to do and gave away all of my Ladder wealth. This may be it but I'm not sure yet. I'm surprised noone else has cleared Hell yet (and Cyrax did it so quickly!), and few have even made it there.
RWM is not allowed in this tourney so Spirit isn't an option.
Personally I was impressed at how good Malice was throughout hell and without the option of a utility weapon (for PMH) on switch I would choose it again.
Passion for teh Zeal. Be sure to use Berserk though if there's any sign of Oblivion Knights. ...Or was it a Ladder only RW? Not sure tbh, but it's the best if it isn't.
Passion is available, but without uniques / sets you can't get any +skills. I had the runes for Passion but still chose Malice - no regrets about that either.
The equipment rules are possibly more restrictive than they first appear. Without gambling, blues, sets and uniques you can only use rares you find in the field supplemented by crafts. Oh, and you can't socket those either.
Personally I was impressed at how good Malice was throughout hell and without the option of a utility weapon (for PMH) on switch I would choose it again.
If I go this route, the logical thing to do would be to get the base weapon and runes ready now. I can then wait until the unique drops. If I like the unique better than 'malice' (unlikely), I can use it. If I like 'malice' better, I can immediately make it so I don't have to dump stat points into equipping the unique. Right?
The equipment rules are possibly more restrictive than they first appear. Without gambling, blues, sets and uniques you can only use rares you find in the field supplemented by crafts. Oh, and you can't socket those either.
After the Diablo fight had drained nearly a million in gold, I thought I was going to get a break in early Act V, and build up the cash reserve again. Wrong! The Foothills was crawling with pesky fire immune Quill Rats with poisonous needles that they shot at us from unbelivably long distances.
There were two CE boss packs (with other nasty abilities as well) that I thought I was never going to make any progress on. No matter what direction we approached from, poor Jemali had to suffer a multitude of painful hits from the whole pack. I think he died at least 6 times against those packs alone. The number of super healers and TP scrolls I bought and used in this act was extreme. I used my full two columns of super healers to feed Jemali and then went to town, like 3-4 times for each and every one of those CE minions! Trying to take on the boss when it still had artillery backup left would probably have been even worse. But we got through it. :jig:
Much more easygoing gameplay in Frigid Highlands (Death Maulers, Burning Dead Archers and Vile Archers) and Arreat Plateu (Carvers, Demon Gremlins and fire mages).
I sold a Ral rune to Malah by mistake. That´s one Caster Amulet craft I missed (as I still have a PAmethyst). I was still in Green with Envy mode...
No real interesting finds, but I collected enough gems (and Qual-Kehk´s runes) to make two more body armor crafts. As you may remember, I am trying to score at least +12 STR on the merc armor (instead of the current +10) so he will be strong enough to wield an ethereal Colossus Voulge I want to imbue. I have still not imbued it (so I don´t know if it will be better than the current stick), because I am still holding out hope for another ethereal elite with less severe requirement.
The other way for Jemali to get strong enough is to gain one more level. But that will take quite a while. Over these first five areas (three very large, two smaller), Marion went from level ~86.05 to level ~86.2 (sigh!)
On the plus side, I am back at maximum gold. :thumbsup:
[Highlight]Conqueror Marion the Enchantress and Jemali, her Holy Freeze bodyguard, level 86, Hell Crystalline Passage next.[/Highlight]
A couple more areas cleared, and with Malah´s scroll, fire and lightning resists are now 67. Not bad...
I have almost changed my mind about which Succubus type is the nastiest. Marion and Jemali fought both types in Frozen River and in one of the lava areas. The Succubus/Hell Temptress type can be really dangerous if it´s a tight pack (especially boss backs; I usually need to move far away so the 'boss leash' is broken). Sometimes they are really stubborn about staying in place and firing. It´s not easy to tempt a Temptress into attacking in melee. :wink:
(Of course, it doesn´t help that their Siren buddies keep Amping us all the time...)
Driften Cavern was the biggest challenge this session, with Succubi, goatmen and cold-hitting Rogue archers. We started on the central island, had to flee to the little island straight ahead and managed to kill the four goats there. Now we had:
* A huge pack of goats backed by a large pack of Succubi waiting at the outer edge (SW corner) of the level so it was not safe to teleport over there to make progress. Plus the Succubi started firing at us as soon as we got close to the shore of "our" island.
* At least two Champion archers on the central island close to the stairs, and a Conviction something boss pack of goats (main reason I fled) just to the left of the starting block.
* A boss pack of Succubi (doing cold damage) over the SE island.
Whoa, talk about being sandwiched! I slowly inched my way forwards, nailing one foe here, one there. The whole place took about 50 minutes.
Not of use in this tourney, but I thought the Anya reward was really cool. Great caster abilities, and if you have a sorcie capable of hitting enemies, you can bop this orb over their heads to good effect (there is even +1 LM to boost the lightning damage ). Heck, even the name is cool!
This is the first Dimensional Shard of any quality that I have seen, but I decided to not count it for my base item grail. I realized I want the item types to actually drop from monsters/containers.
[Highlight]Conqueror Marion the Enchantress and Jemali, her Holy Freeze bodyguard, level 86.7, Hell Nihlathak´s Temple next.[/Highlight]
(sick number of bosses today - XP bar is slowly getting there...)
When entering the zombie garden, I thought to myself "Where is the calmest spot in the area that is a bit away from the red portal?" That has to be one of the back corners. I chose the upper.
The temple areas were mentally draining, and very hard work. Huge packs of melee Flayers (FI) on the first floor. Second was even harder, with Spike Fiends, Invaders and worst of all, we often found ourself in brutal battles with these punks. Even two normal ones was sometimes far too much for us to handle. Both the mothers and the little ones had a poisonous bite that I have not noticed before. I had long periods where I spent more money on potions than I gained from selling stuff that dropped.
Nihlathak´s floor had even more poisonous monsters. This time, fire immune spiders. I bought antidotes to give to Jemali after each slain spider.
The necromancer´s lair had some archers that took a long time to lure out. There were two that I finally decided to kill in there. Jemali bravely suffered the CEs. When I was down to only newly summoned Ice Spawns, we attacked. Teleport is great skill here, so you can follow his teleporting and give him less time to do some summoning.
Between two sessions, I took the opportunity to cash in my imbue from Normal. Not too shabby, but I think I still prefer the faster ctc Amp Hyperion Spear. Jemali leeches so well when Amp has triggered.
I had found a Sol rune, and used that for a weapons craft. Nope, gotta get much better damage than that to justify the slow attack speed. I was about to craft a Ghost Spear that dropped earlier, but I saw the insane DEX requirement, so I skipped that.
[Highlight]Conqueror Marion the Enchantress and Jemali, her Holy Freeze bodyguard, level 87, Hell Arreat Summit next.[/Highlight]
Nice to read about your progress. Seems like not many others are still running. Taking on Nilly, in HC no less, takes some guts (or if i would do it: great stupidity:crazy. Hope you can complete the journey.
And gratz on completing your HC tournament sept offcourse.
Was an ejoment to read your updates.
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