Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

[sevenOfDiamonds]

Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Hi all,

A pleasure to join this great forum.
Being playing right from 1.0 classic 10y ago but done most of my time in 1.11 LOD and now 1.13.
Playing sorcs mostly, but are trying out different melee builds atm - which is great fun btw.

Working in finance/math/statistics hopefully I can contribute to the more nerdy side of this forum.



Whenever I plan a build I usually end up needing Larzuk to punch holes in two to four of my gold gear which create some sort of equilibrium in the sense that my builds gets the socket needed and uses most socket quests. Thus I have usually very few socketing quests left for utility socketing, i.e. socketing the purple nightdress or Reaper's or whatever nice-but-not-critical-to-have-socketed item.

So what is your strategy for Larzuk-rushing? Some SP-MPing possible here? Any special build just to rush to A5-Normal and then start all over again? Is it worth it at all or is it better just to create more "playable" builds and save some sockets along the way?


-D7

 

[baqarah]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Two words:
Raven Claw.

You need to reach lvl 15, equip RavenBazooka (1.07 or 1.09 version brought forward) and rush to act 5. I'd say enchant sorc would be the fastest (tele + additional damage).

If you don't have/dont want to use Raven Claw - fireball sorc can be good.
Full Sigons + Khalim Will + cathan's ring + amu as a starting gear will easily get you to level 19 when you equip +6fireball leaf/stealth/other fcr/+mana gear and tele through all the acts killing only required monsters.

I'd go /p8 until when you equip your "end game" gear, lower /p setting to kill fast and gain 18 lvl fast (teleport!) and after that /p1 for the rest.


Other solutions (cheesy for me, but totally valid):
- MPing with 40+ lvl enchant sorc
- several chars rushed by high level char for multiple rewards

 

[zoo]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Pure fire skills is a great start but I wouldn't recommend Full Sigons since is will require 65 str to wear it all. On a sorceress I would go with three piece angelics from clvl 12 and a Khalim's Will if you feel like digging through act 3 for the pieces. Later on either Leaf (rlvl 19) or Spectral Shard (rlvl 25) + Wall of the Eyeless (rlvl 20).
A 3 socket mask with 3x PSapphire (rlvl 18) works well for extra mana. For gloves I'd use Chance Guards (rlvl 15) or Magefist (rlvl 23). Sander's boots (rlvl 20) for 40 faster runspeed and to help out with the dex and str requirements of Spectral Shard.
Str + dex enough for equipment, base vita, rest in energy.


Also, for normal quality items that are easy to find, I have started to use the cube recipe for socketing rather than Larzuk, even if I want the maximum amount of sockets possible. This might help you save a couple of quest rewards to use on magic/rare/set/unique items instead.

 

[baqarah]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

I love my sigons and I always twink my chars with it. That's why I socketed my shield with a freedon jewel (-15% req for 63 str req), armor and helm with envy jewels (20 poison damage). With an inventory filled with +str charms I dont even have to put 1 point in strenght.

Yeah, I know that advising someone, who is after Larzuk quest, using sockets its kinda counterproductive, but I find my uber Sigon set very useful for every char I start.

Angelic combo is not really needed imo (esp. with sigons), and cathan's amu+ring gives you additional fire damage which is always nice.

 

[zoo]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Angelic combo is not really needed imo (esp. with sigons), and cathan's amu+ring gives you additional fire damage which is always nice.

Angelic combo? If you are refering to angelic amulet+ring for the attack rating bonus, this is irrelevant for a caster. However, Angelic armor, amulet and two rings gives you:

50 mana
115 life
10 dex
+1 all skills
100% mf

And you've still got room for Chance Guards or Magefist for example.

Full Sigon's gives you:

50 mana
20 life
10 str
+1 all skills

Ring and amulet slots are the only ones open after this (weapon is optional for both setups compared).

Ofcourse, I only focused on bonuses I feel are useful for caster builds here. The Sigon's set might be better for a build focusing on melee. And Sigon's only require clvl 6 to wear compared to clvl 12 for Angelic.

Sorry for the lengthy post here, but I wanted to give a bit more detail in the kind of setup I was suggesting before.

 

[JihadJesus]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

I pretty much stopped having issues with this when runewords became the go to - since I play mostly melee, I almost always have at most two sockets to punch (shield + helm) and most often I'm either recycling those or something. I get two spare sockets quests out of almost every character which has been plenty so far.

 

[RobbyD]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Socket rewards are a happy benefit to Hellforge rushing.

Cow King boots are pretty nifty for twinking, if you want to go the self-rushed route.

 

[sevenOfDiamonds]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Thanks all,

Is the general consensus that sorc (i.e. teleport) is the preferered char, even though she would be doing melee for two thirds of her short career?

@Baqarah: Doing the time travel and finding the bazooka might well take alot more time than just rushing characters?
@Baqarh: /p8 until tele then /p1 sounds like the way to go for a sorc.
@Zoo: Agreed Larzuk is for yellow/green/gold/sup/exotics. Cube for the rest
@Baqarah: A socketed Sigon's is actually on my "wanted"-list
@JihadJesus: I don't do lots of builds, so I have the opposite problem. Getting a lot of items but no more sockets.

Will def. do some testing, just need to pat my zealot first.
I think my first approach will be a tele-enchanter, i.e. focus on high warmth for enchant and more teleing. I think melee > fire here, because the build wil only end up with 25-35 skill points. Any comments?

 

[potter]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Efficiency-wise, you only need certain points in the game to level at(on /p8).
Den of Evil -> Rakanishu runs -> Bone Ash etc etc..
And do bosses on /p1.

If you have twink gear available, a fire sorc could probably get the job done the fastest.

Start off with 'Envy' gear. That'll take you all the way to Andariel if you want to, though it gets a bit slower in the catacombs.
Stealth armor + +6 Fireball Leaf staff + Magefist.
Teleswitch: Maelstrom Yew Wand (until you can equip Spectral Shard and then Suicide branch) + Wall of the Eyeless. Fill in on fcr jewelry for needed breakpoints
Hsarus' Boots/Belt -> Vidala's Boots/Ammy -> Tancred's Boots/Ammy and so on..
I second RobbyD's comment on Cow King Boots.

A 3 socketed mask with Tir or pSaphire.

Chug a whole lot of stamina/thawing/antidote potions for added duration
Use charms to fill in on mana/strength/dex etc..

Lots of twink possibilities.

 

[zoo]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

I think my first approach will be a tele-enchanter, i.e. focus on high warmth for enchant and more teleing. I think melee > fire here, because the build wil only end up with 25-35 skill points. Any comments?

At character level 25 you will have 26 available skillpoints if you cleanse the Den of Evil and avenge Atma.

The base skill point allocation of a sorc build would probably look like this:

• 1 Warmth
• 1 Telekinesis
• 1 Static Field
• 1 Teleport

If you then go the enchant route the rest of the points would be placed like this:

• 1 Fire Bolt
• 1 Fireball
• 8 Enchant (max slvl at clvl 25)
• +12 Warmth

Result:

• +174% Mana regeneration
• +40-59 Fire damage to attack

If you go the Fireball route it will instead look something like this:

• 8 Fire Bolt
• 14 Fireball (max slvl at clvl 25)

Result:

• +30% Mana regeneration
• 255-299 Fireball damage
• Fireball cost: 11.5 mana
• Area of effect damage

This is all calculated on a naked character (no +skills from gear etc). A leaf staff with +3 to Fireball would for example increase the damage of your Fireball to 422-480.

However. With no cap on static field in normal and if you after, say, act II decide to only go for the bosses, maybe a build focused on lower cost for teleportation and wider static field radius might be a better choice. This would require a good weapon to be able to quest through the lesser monsters in the first acts. I have never tried a similar build myself so I don't know if it's a viable option.

 

[Corrupted]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Better invest in a teleport build with a few extra points in static. A +3 firewall leaf on switch should be all you need to kill monsters and p1 bosses, just make sure your merc doesn't drop instantly. I think level 25 is overkill for beating normal diablo when playing this kind of rush-style. Get 63 fcr breakpoint through maelstrom+wall of the eyeless+a crafted amulet or two rings at 20, then you can use a 3 sock armor with pruby/psaphs.
When questing/exp'ing through act 1 in partcular take note of where you have mana regen shrines.
Also, if you have a steady collection of 30-40 mana GC's this will help you alot.

There's really no reason to use Sigons on a sorc if you don't need the strength, Death's gloves+belt gives you cbf which is more important as well as decent PR against Andariel.

You should end act 2 as level 20 and pretty much stop exp'ing there beyond killing bosses.
I think < 2 hours should be a reasonable goal.

 

[zoo]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

With a powerful attack like Fireball leveling to clvl 25 will be done rather quickly. Not sure how time consuming the leap from clvl 20 to 25 is though. At clvl 25 you will have the option of going for the 105% fcr break point and Teleport will cost 17 mana instead of 22 if you max it.

 

[Corrupted]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

With a powerful attack like Fireball leveling to clvl 25 will be done rather quickly. Not sure how time consuming the leap from clvl 20 to 25 is though. At clvl 25 you will have the option of going for the 105% fcr break point and Teleport will cost 17 mana instead of 22 if you max it.

I don't think ~0.4 extra teleports per second will be worth the extra time. Furthermore you'd have to give up the armor and lose a chunk of health or mana (or Bloodfist). With the firewall build you can max warmth and have a level 3-4 teleport at clvl 20 any way.
The main difference is how much time you can save from clvl 12 to 19 I suppose.

 

[zoo]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

I don't think ~0.4 extra teleports per second will be worth the extra time. Furthermore you'd have to give up the armor and lose a chunk of health or mana (or Bloodfist). With the firewall build you can max warmth and have a level 3-4 teleport at clvl 20 any way.
The main difference is how much time you can save from clvl 12 to 19 I suppose.

Spectral Shard (50) + Wall of the Eyeless (20) + Magefist (20) + 2*fcr rings = 110% fcr.

I don't have much experience rushing through act I. I always do all the quests and at p8 that will mean you leave act I when having reached a clvl of around 19-20.

You are probably right in that it can be done quicker with some tuning. With mana GC's as you suggested and helm and armor filled with perfect sapphires you will have at least 300 mana at clvl 18, going /players1 from then on might save more time than having more skillpoints and faster cast rate will do later on.

I will definitely try out a Fire Wall build next time. It sure looks like it can do some decent damage. Coupled with high Warmth I'm sure it will shorten traveling time through more frequent use of Teleport.

 

[Corrupted]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

Spectral Shard (50) + Wall of the Eyeless (20) + Magefist (20) + 2*fcr rings = 110% fcr.

Yeah, Bloodfist are really good for teleporting though. Especially in act 3. But a lowlevel crafted amulet could work too since you're already sacrificing your angelic combo.

 

[JanuZ]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

I have been reading up on the quest for ber thread where dune6836 is running characters to hell hellforge. I have done a couple of those chars now to hell hellforge and there are a couple of things in that thread you can take for socket quest running aswell.

• Dune6836 uses abouth 1hour 30min to finish act2 normal then uses about 2hours to get to hell hellforge from there so if you are running for the normal socket quest you might as well run for the nightmare quest as well.
• Depending on your gear availability you might want to go for the hell socket quest as well.

Though he does mention that he could do act1 and act2 quicker but he uses more time there to make the rest of normal allot easier.
Not sure what times you could expect, I just started playing again from scratch so don't have alot of gear yet(main piece missing is Skin of the Vipermagi) and I haven't timed my runs exactly. I think I used abouth 2hours for Act1 and 2 normal, then about 45min to finish normal and run Baal to level36.
Used about 30min to finish Act4 NM but am lacking some survivability so loose alot of time on Baal running to lvl54. Hell takes a little longer but should be possible in 30min aswell, but I have problems teleporting through the forrest in act 3.

• On gear choices, Envy gear early on is the way to go. I don't have enough envy jewels yet so I have a Envy Breastplate and use khalim's to level5 then switch to flawed emeralds bow.
• Angelic Amulet and Rings at lvl12
• I switch to flawless emerald bow at lvl15 that is ok if you don't have a 1.09 ravenclaw. I also give a flawed/flawless emerald bow to a Act1 merc adding Twitchthroe at lvl16.
• at level18 I switch to 4P Sapphire Ancient armor and 2p Sapphire Helm(looking for a 3s mask to replace it)
• Running like this is allot easier with RWM. I switch to Magefists, Spirit Crystal Sword and Natalya's Boots at lvl25 and then add Peasant Crown and viscernaut at lvl28. At level27
• I also get a Act2 merc and give him Insight runeword, extremely useful for teleporting through the game.
• For NM I switch shields to 2P Diamond Moser's for better resists.

For the actual running I followed this post from the thread posted above and the build I use is Max Blizzard, Cold Mastery to about 100% and rest in Glacial Spike

 

[Corrupted]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

JanuZ: I think that method of Hellforge Rushing (and probably regular, too) is just a dull and inefficient means of getting the higher runes after patch 1.13
Though if you need multiple sockets it may be worthwhile to rush all the way to act 5 nightmare as its probably faster than doing normal again.

The main difference is how much time you can save from clvl 12 to 19 I suppose.

I forgot that respec could eliminate this any way.

A plated belt for easier potion management might be necessary, if that's the case you might as well use a 4s Gothic Plate for armor and gain an extra 38 hp/mp

 

[JanuZ]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

I am doing it because I want multiple sorceresses for diffrent running and mid level runes. Socket quests are a very nice bonus as well. Actually best rune from the 2runs I have done was IST from NM eldritch .

But at the moment with the low wealth I have mid level runes are important so UMs and ISTs are what I am mostly after and those are easiest to find from quick rushes to hellforge.

Will most likely do 2 or 3 more runs through but the main reason I mentioned this here is the fact that running NM is most likely faster then doing normal again and doing Hell might even be worth it though it does require decent gear.

 

[Corrupted]

Re: Utility socketing (the quest for Larzuks)

(...)But at the moment with the low wealth I have mid level runes are important so UMs and ISTs are what I am mostly after and those are easiest to find from quick rushes to hellforge.

I don't know, you're spending 3+ hours for a random chance of a < Gul rune seems way less effective than doing LK (which hardly requires any equipment) even for those mid runes

/endhijack