The areas following the Sewers were unremarkable, even though Halls of the Dead was a bit tricky, as usual. Just a controlled sweep with no interesting finds.
I had run into Far Oasis and grabbed the waypoint, then I went back to Normal so I could hire the best possible Act 1 merc. I had anticipated PI Itchies in the oasis (hence my merc switch) but was instead met by raptors, vultures and beetles. Crap, progress was so slow. I even felt the need to hammer on those beetles myself, even though it hurt. I soon decided to switch back to a desert guard, but for this session I had to make do with the types offerered here in Hell (when I begin clearing an area, I do the whole thing). Decided on a Blessed Aim merc. Not having Might had a bigger effect on his damage output than I thought. It also had a notable effect on his leech and therefore his survival.
There were no swarms in the first Maggot Lair level either so I kept the BA merc there. Was nice to have somebody to hide behind against
terrors like this.
Black Locusts on second floor, so back to Act I and bring an archer. Thankfully, there were no beetles here, and my archer buddy could actually kill maggots as long as I hit them with PMH first (Blacktongue). No swarms on level 3, and now I tried a Prayer merc instead. Went OK. Coldworm was Cursed and that usually means there is no escape being Amped by her 'poison aura' but strangely enough, we were never hit by it.
OK, back to the regular Might merc the next session. Ah, much better. Eric does not fight much (for MF reasons) but when needed,
he surely can pack a punch. I can just imagine the numbers I'd get with one of the top-notch elite uniques...
(Also: guess why I have saved exactly this amount of stat points!)
There were greater mummies in Claw Viper Temple, plus regular mummies, so I used my corpse eating vines a lot there. Lowest number of snakes I have ever seen there. Some Claw Vipers here and there, but no boss pack of them (just two Champs). Near the end, I decided to kill off my vine so it would not attract the attention of Fangskin's pack too soon. Vines can't be Unsummoned but it is very easy to kill my vine: 1. summon Poison Creeper. 2. Fight just about
anything and do not use Shock Wave...
Down on level 2, I ran my usual round-the-corner to the right (from the character's view, to the left from my view). Just a few regular snakes here that I could keep stunned. One of Fangskin's minions came in and bounced back. To prevent my merc from chasing after it, I portalled out in the lower left corner. Got back, put up a new TP, killed a couple of regular monsters. Fangy's pack came in from the up-right. Now it was just a matter of timing (and a little Shock Waving)
until I could make use of the knowledge I gained in Nightmare. CE, that's a bit "ouch!", but not as bad as my -7% resist would suggest. Raven Frost's 20% absorb means I really have something equivalent to 33% resist. Had to recast the HoW a few times, though. Those bolts were hard on it.
Finds this session: Arcanna's Deathwand and Bonesnap. I upgraded Bonesnap and invested STR (req. 124) so I can equip it. It will probably be my main weapon in act boss fights. The fire resist is especially nice against the last two act bosses.
Palace should not be so bad (but archers can be tricky) but then I need to decide what to do about AS and then against Apparitions in the tombs. I have thought about Holy Freeze merc. Even though HF won't slow them, we should still be able to kill them faster than if I only use Goreshovel's OW or Skystrike's lightning damage.
[Highlight]Conqueror Eric the Werebear and Hazade the Might Guard, level 82, 12 S/U items equipped, Hell Palace next[/Highlight]
and yes I agree. It is an S/U after all!
