Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

Sorry skunk, one more question. Since we aren't allowed to choose powers yet, does that mean we can't put in pre-reqs for power only skills? Like, if an assassin might eventually use blade shield, can we put in a pre req point in sentinel, even though we don't get the final choice in if they will ever pick bshield?

Put that way it sounds like a clear no, but to clarify does that mean "you can only put in pre-reqs when you can buy the power skill you are aiming for"?
 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

soulmanz said:
Since we aren't allowed to choose powers yet, does that mean we can't put in pre-reqs for power only skills?
Click to expand...

We can´t do it in Act I (we can only put points in Core Skills and in prereqs for Core Skills), but we can do it in Act II.



 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

jiansonz said:
We can´t do it in Act I (we can only put points in Core Skills and in prereqs for Core Skills), but we can do it in Act II.
Click to expand...

Oops. Confession time. Just realized Bone Wall is not a Core Skill. My necro has a single point in it though. For some reason I thought the entire bone armor/wall/prison line was Core. :banghead:

Also, somewhat ironically, I haven't actually used Bone Wall even once this Act.

:sorry:



 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

jiansonz said:
We can´t do it in Act I (we can only put points in Core Skills and in prereqs for Core Skills), but we can do it in Act II.
Click to expand...

I had been guessing prereqs for core skills that were not themselves core skills weren't allowed until Act II either... :doh:

Could be some useful one pointers in there somewhere.


 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

pwangsta said:
Oops. Confession time. Just realized Bone Wall is not a Core Skill. My necro has a single point in it though. For some reason I thought the entire bone armor/wall/prison line was Core.
Click to expand...

I know respecs are banned, but might it be a good idea to use yours for normal to correct the skill placement while it is still early on. Obviously this is Skunk's ruling, but that was my idea.

Also, Skunk: will we be allowed to keep blue magic items in our tournament stash for the purposes of crafting? Thanks for being the decider.



 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

JoeBruce said:
I know respecs are banned, but might it be a good idea to use yours for normal to correct the skill placement while it is still early on. Obviously this is Skunk's ruling, but that was my idea.

Also, Skunk: will we be allowed to keep blue magic items in our tournament stash for the purposes of crafting? Thanks for being the decider.
Click to expand...

Since he hasn't used the skill yet, and it is a prerequisite, I'd guess not using it till he finishes Act 1 and leaving at least 1 skill point unspent would do the trick. Respecs? Ntzzz.

You are allowed to keep 2 items in stash that are not socket fillers, charms and or potions. That part seemed pretty clear to me.
Still, Mr Skunkbelly is the Master we all obey! :worship:

P.S.: Chewbacca maced Andi to death on p8, went to Luth Golein to give Farah a flower and a gentle kiss on the cheek, then returned to the rogue camp. 10 Countesses down, still got 9 Andies to go, thinking of getting my Barb to about level 23-24 (currently only clvl 20), to give him a chance of reaching clvl 30 before battling the Big Bug. Still, not quite sure, this being my first HC char, I'm scared he may end up... you know.


 
Last edited:
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

Binks (Druid) has killed Andariel and is ready to pass.

All of his charms and a belt full of potions will go with him. I could not find any item worth saving for the Larzuk/Anya rewards in act 5, so my stash has nothing but socket fillers and rejuv potions.

This might sound like a rather vanilla post, but not for me. I have not played DII in about two years and Binks sailed through Act I on "Players 8". I am on cloud nine and patiently awaiting an opportunity to prove that this was just dumb luck.:cloud9:
 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

And for those who view 40 posts per page, it´s post #130 in that thread.


I think the game is more fun if you can run a little faster. Easier to avoid getting hit, too. That´s why I imbued Boots at clvl 19, just high enough for 20% FRW to be possible. Kenobi´s boots didn´t get any FRW, but at least I gave it a shot.

Sure, you can make a Stealth armor to get some FRW, but that is of course going to compete with other nice runewords for that slot.
 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

pwangsta said:
Oops. Confession time. Just realized Bone Wall is not a Core Skill. My necro has a single point in it though. For some reason I thought the entire bone armor/wall/prison line was Core. :banghead:
Click to expand...

Whoops indeed. I can give you two choices to correct this:

1. As suggested, use the Respec. Please write down all stat and skill points, and make them EXACTLY the same as what you've already done, and just correct the Bone Wall point (and leave that point UNUSED for the act 2 player).

2. Or if you'd rather, you can delete the character and start from scratch (assuming you have time to play through again... and want to take the risk). Since it's act 1 normal, this is a viable option.

Sorry skunk, one more question. Since we aren't allowed to choose powers yet, does that mean we can't put in pre-reqs for power only skills? Like, if an assassin might eventually use blade shield, can we put in a pre req point in sentinel, even though we don't get the final choice in if they will ever pick bshield?
Click to expand...

Jiansonz's reply was correct... you may begin doing this in ACT 2, as the rules state, but *not* in Act 1. The only skills you may place points into in Act 1 are CORE Skills, and Prerequisites for Core Skills.

Also, Skunk: will we be allowed to keep blue magic items in our tournament stash for the purposes of crafting? Thanks for being the decider.
Click to expand...

You are allowed to keep two equippable items in the tournament stash (aside from charms), as the rules state. That is so that you can save two items for the act 5 rewards. If one of those items happens to be blue, and you decide to craft with it instead at some point, no rules will have been broken... but you cannot keep more than two equippable items in your stash at any point.

And I assume, as Skunk didn't adress my question, that you cannot even store excess items in the Atma or GoMule stash during your act stint. So same rules that govern the transfer are in effect during the act.
Click to expand...

Correct. And my apologies for not answering... I missed that one somehow.

Yaddle has completed act 1. Her gear is... not exciting. But she was able to clear the act quite handily on players 5-8, depending on the situation. Terrible S/U luck, but then, she couldn't have used any of it anyway.



 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

jiansonz said:
Sure, you can make a Stealth armor to get some FRW, but that is of course going to compete with other nice runewords for that slot.
Click to expand...

sorry jianz, i have to ask - is there really a runeword that you can make in body armour anywhere near as soon as you can make stealth? i cant find one!

these item restrictions are really good as an exercise in squeezing function out of your gear early on, kudos to skunk!

farr is doing fine. had some good luck at the countess



 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

soulmanz said:
sorry jianz, i have to ask - is there really a runeword that you can make in body armour anywhere near as soon as you can make stealth? i cant find one!
Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, no, not until a bit into nightmare, or maybe very late Normal. I hadn´t really thought of this.

Peace (with Shael as the highest rune) is the second easiest armor runeword.



 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

@ Skunkbelly - Just realized I've made a terrible mess... :( Chewbacca has 1 point in increased stamina, but, trust me, that was not because I wanted to mess up the character, just because, well, I'm not that smart. Can I PM (or mail) you about this, because if I say here more that would be revealing my Barb?
Yesterday a proud "father", now... :(
 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

amne said:
@ Skunkbelly - Just realized I've made a terrible mess... :( Chewbacca has 1 point in increased stamina, but, trust me, that was not because I wanted to mess up the character, just because, well, I'm not that smart.
Click to expand...

Same answer as I gave to pwangsta earlier for a similar problem... you can either use the character's Respec to fix this (please make sure you keep all other skills and stat points consistent with the character now), or just re-start the character from scratch.

Everyone, please be careful and re-read the rules before you assign your skill points: once we reach act 2, starting from scratch will no longer be an option. I don't mind using the Respec ability to correct honest mistakes, but this is a one-shot thing... once a character's Respec is used, any further uncorrectable mistakes will have to result in disqualification.



 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

@Skunk - I respec'ed, this is my first HC character, first tourney, and I had a very very exhausting experience to get my "son", Chewbacca, to complete the Act, after just 2 hours' gameplay I am totally numb and forced to save&exit. Extremely afraid not to mess the character up and exit the tournament without even starting it.
Although I haven't benefited really from my mistake, I still feel a bit weird, and want to stress that I did try to make whomever-gets-him-next's life easier.
 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

I think there are a few grey areas still with skill point allocation, and act 2/3 will be worse. My recommendation is in act 1 to not add any points unless you are sure it is a core skill.

Act 2 is tricky. I think we have to understand that if you add to pre-reqs, then you have already chosen a power skill, even though you are not allowed to. For example an assassin adds a point to fire blast as a pre-req for death sentry. If the following characters decide to not play trap-assins, and add no further points, then that 1 point in fb is technically a power skill, because unless it is a pre-req, you shouldn't be allowed to add points in it

Unless skunk rules that all skills can have a 1 pointer (which I doubt) then act 2 normal players should be extremely careful with point placement, and act 3 players should be extremely careful too to not invalidate the character with too many power skills

unless I am misinterpreting?
 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

If you add a point to Fire Blast in Act II, it has not yet become a Power skill - not until a second point has been added to it (which is first allowed to do in Act III).

If three other skills later get chosen as Power skills, Fire Blast can still be used for the rest of Normal, but it can´t be used in Nightmare/Hell (unless you have it as a staffmod also).
 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

I think your interpretation is correct soulmanz but if I had to guess, the potential for "wasted" pre-reqs was planned. The same is true of stat point assignments in act I. Is a character going to need dex for blocking? Depends what build the power-choosers ultimately go with.

I think it's important than any pre-reqs used in act II should go through the same "in good faith" standard as the rest of the tournament. If it's a good, logical choice for the character to invest toward a potential future it should be allowed. A point in increased stamina with only increased speed as a possible power selection would not be.
 
Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011

IMHO everybody should check what core skills have been assigned in Act I. This implies in certain cases what build the player had in mind and thus points the Act II player towards what skills are needed as power skills.

If the player cannot do that I suggest that they only invest in core skills or if new core skills make no sense then let the skill points unused.

That was for co-operative play.

If you on the other hand you want to screw the character, then put the points where ever you like remembering that you cannot assign any points in power skills, only in pre-reqs. So if a skill is not a core skill or a pre-req to any skill then it out of bounds for Act II player.
 
Last edited:
Log in to Reply / Create Site Account
Remove Ads - Go PurePremium

Latest posts

Back
Top