2017 Winter RFL Signup and Running Thread: 2nd Round

[Neksja]

Happy to announce that the dry spell lasted "only" 860 runs, good to get that monkey off my back That's all the hints you are gonna get about my qualifiers!

A little bit of stats here for you guys, standard Hammerdin gear etc.

Time spent: 631 minutes
Total runs: 1350 runs
Runes found: 335
Sets/Uniques found: 604
Set Amulets found: 24

Average run time: 28.04 sec
Average runes / minute: 0.53
Average runes / run: 0.25
Average S/U / minute: 0.96
Average S/U / run: 0.45


To be honest, I'm really surprised about the number of Set Amulets, only 24? Definitely has felt more like 124, but I guess it's because I'm hunting for the one I shall not name again. And only one Facet (-3/+5 poison lvl-up), I was certainly hoping for couple more, but oh well.

I am currently thinking about dropping Gheed's from my inventory for another skiller or fire res/life charm(s). That would drop my MF from 210 to 172 and hopefully bring down the number of Set/Uniques I find, so I'd spend less time at the stash. I'm also considering changing to unsocketed Shako to drop it further down by 24% to 148. I'm just getting a bit fed up with picking up all those Cathan's Seals etc. The biggest con in this plan is obviously that I'll have a lower chance of finding that amulet-which-I-shall-not-name. Decisions, decisions.


@Burgomaster3 grats for the SoJ! Always an amazing find

 

[Gripphon1]

Neksja is winning, guys!

As for statistics, expected number of runes per run (all p3 minions are dead) is 0.266 per run.
This means 28s character is expected to get 0.57 runes per minute.
22s sorc is expected to get 0.725 runes per minute.
Once you reach 0.78 runes per minute, you will at average farm 2 Ber+ runes per 20 hour session (approximately 20.45s avg runtimes).

Cows will be interesting to get statistics for so we could calculate how many cows are we killing by those numbers.

By doing another hour test my average was 18.3 seconds. So I guess real average is anywhere between 18 and 19 seconds which I won't know since I won't be paying attention to that anymore.

 

[ffs]

Well, 3.5 hours in and I was having a lot of fun... until I apparently hit "N" time to get that *perfect* map now in order to catch up

 

[Gripphon1]

Anytime someone missclicks difficulty, simply don't do save/exit, go to processes and kill game.exe there. If you do that, your character won't be saved as if last run didn't happen at all, so you still keep the map. Pretty useful to know once you roll perfect map and don't wanna lose it due to missclick.

 

[Neksja]

Neksja is winning, guys!

Oh absolutely. I mean, last round 1 Zod couldn't win the thing, so I went and upped the game a bit so those two qualifiers I've revealed are Zods. Try to beat that Grape.

As for statistics, expected number of runes per run (all p3 minions are dead) is 0.266 per run.
This means 28s character is expected to get 0.57 runes per minute.
22s sorc is expected to get 0.725 runes per minute.
Once you reach 0.78 runes per minute, you will at average farm 2 Ber+ runes per 20 hour session (approximately 20.45s avg runtimes).

Thanks for the numbers, again! Although now I know these are just estimates, nothing is set in this game And also good to know that I'm slightly below average in runes / minute (I guess it's those couple of really long stretches without any runes), so I should statistically expect to see more runes in the second half than the first half

Cows will be interesting to get statistics for so we could calculate how many cows are we killing by those numbers.

I think Cows will be very, very interesting. I have still not made my mind if I run with my Javazon or Hammerdin. I made Infinity and eth Forti just for Javazon's Merc to be able to quickly clear Moo farm, but there's something about trying to finish all 3 Rounds with a single character, like a Triathlete Efficiency screams Javazon, but heart whispers Hammerdin

Also, how are you/people (see, I don't count you as a human anymore), calculating how many cows they are killing? Or are we trying to figure that out in the end based on number of complete runs, runes found etc? I'd love to know how many Moos I can slaughter, but especially with Javazon, I can't see a reliable way to do this, since so many cows die out of screen.

 

[Gripphon1]

Try to beat that Grape.

Beating ZodGod... right.

Also, how are you/people (see, I don't count you as a human anymore), calculating how many cows they are killing? Or are we trying to figure that out in the end based on number of complete runs, runes found etc? I'd love to know how many Moos I can slaughter, but especially with Javazon, I can't see a reliable way to do this, since so many cows die out of screen.

There are few methods to do it.

1 - best known method is to use necro and simply count how many CE can you do each run. Use CE until all bodies are used before moving on to the next pack. Use Insight on merc. You will precisely count how many cows you kill each run without question.

2 - experience method
Requires level 94 or higher character, lower level than that can't do it due to experience/level imbalance (bosspack will offer way too much experience in comparison to regular cows). At level 94 and higher minions offer "only" 5 times as much experience than regular cows, so it is possible to estimate number of cows killed.

Kill 1 regular cow, check exactly how much xp does it give. You should estimate number of minions/bosses killed per run too (could be something like ~30 I think). After that check experience before you enter cow level and again when you finish the run. Deduct extra experience caused by minions you killed and divide by 1 cow xp to get estimated number. It is obviously not perfect, but it is ok for estimation.

3 - runes method
No level requirements here, just kill cows and count how many runes you get per run average across like 100 runs (or 50). We know what are the dropping odds for cows and we can estimate number of cows killed that way. Only problem is to count every single rune you see since drops could be cramped too much sometimes...

Combination of both might work best I believe. Also collecting all jewels could also reveal the same thing (we know drop odds for those from cows). Basically combining all 3 mentioned methods could bring us closest to real number of killed cows, but obviously drops also depend on luck, and experience depends on whether or not did we estimate good number of minions per run.

 

[T72on1]

Yes, finally !!!

Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xe42910c
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to All Skills
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 1 - 30 Lightning Damage
3% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Lightning Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 15

Took me ages to find this one. Now I can finally get serious about my oskill Sept !!!

Only Metalgrid to go as far as unique amulets go. Still SoJ, Bul-Kathos' and Wisp Projector for unique rings, I hope to find at least one of those during this round as well.

 

[Neksja]

Grats on the HL, about time you found it Looking forward to read about your oskill Sept, please make a Zeal Barb, where the Passion is on the off hand, so that it's the other weapon that does all the swinging! I did that once and it was quite fun, yet also challenging. Too bad it's been so long that the Pat thread for mine is dead now

I wonder if anyone can confirm me the following:

Monsters in Hell that spawn with Conviction aura, can't have higher than lvl 11 aura (1/8th of the monster level?), right? So that would mean that if I slap an Infinity on my Merc and run Travincal, if they spawn with Conviction, it does nothing for me?

 

[T72on1]

I made a Zealbarb with a Grief and Passion in the offhand a few years ago. Tremendous fun !!! But this time it will be Wolfbarb, as the options for oskill characters are limited.

Infinity on your merc only protects him against Conviction, not you.

 

[Pb_pal1]

Okay, got some solid testing in on the new machine this weekend going all-out, runes only farming:

Blizz sorc (setup here)
- 300 runs performed
- 18.7 s/run
- 0.27 runes/run (81 runes total)
- 0.866 runes/min

I almost certainly won't keep up this pace for the whole 20 hours (if I do indeed manage to finish my set) as I'd like to get some skillers and such too, but those are my "best" times for reference.

So far no stunning S/U finds, I think a +5/-3 poison facet is about the only noteworthy one.

 

[ffs]

So far no stunning S/U finds, I think a +5/-3 poison facet is about the only noteworthy one.

Really, no Tyrael's Might or something? Oh wait I forgot (spoiler alert), it's crap for MF. But let's not go back to that discussion haha.. admittedly different valid opinions exist here.

18.7s is extremely fast though, even if only looking for HRs. Mind posting a vid!? Don't get me wrong I believe you, just would be interesting to see, especially if that's your average over 300 runs.

 

[Pb_pal1]

I'll see if I can get a vid up in the next day or so, sure. Those 300 runs weren't all done in one sitting though, don't worry. I don't have a ton of playing time lately, especially in big chunks, so it was more like 50 runs here and there over the weekend.

 

[Neksja]

I made a Zealbarb with a Grief and Passion in the offhand a few years ago. Tremendous fun !!! But this time it will be Wolfbarb, as the options for oskill characters are limited.

I can't remember which weapon I used, but it definitely was not Grief as I've never made Grief in my life. I may have used Oath Scourge? Anyhow, very fun character indeed I assume you are doing proper write-ups for all characters in the sept, yes?

Infinity on your merc only protects him against Conviction, not you.

Thanks! Merc is the main concern in Travincal for me, I have still around 40-50 fire res after Conviction so I am not in big danger there. Then again, I'm also getting close to finishing my set so I won't bother with Infinity anymore. But thanks for clarifying that for me!

Current run count shows 2,150 runs done, just a hair under 17 hours used. Might finish in the next couple of days or I might wait until Saturday for one last proper sitting.

 

[Gripphon1]

Today I graduated, so now I can finally put more hours into this game to crush ya all. Be afraid etc.

 

[D2DC]

 

[T72on1]

@Neksja Proper write-ups? I did 2 Septs prior to this one, and did very detailed write-ups indeed. They took quite some time though, so this time the plan is to do some progress updates, but not as detailed anymore.

Btw, the thread for the oskill Sept is already up for quite some time. I just didn't play the characters for a while now, hence no updates. In the thread you can find the links to the two characters I already started.

You sure spent a lot of time on this round this weekend. I'm only at 7 hours now. I should have quite some time at the end of the week, but still I don't think I'll be able to spend a lot of hours for a second batch, if any.

 

[Gripphon1]

Just checked some drop chances of certain items I pick up and basically never find upgrade.

Grand charms - while awesome for less rich players, chance for me to find some upgrade is pretty lol. Can't even recall what was the last useful grand charm I found and when. What could I potentially use:

Spoiler

chilling with goldfind (needs 35+ roll)
chilling with life (25+ life is fine I guess for minor upgrade)
sparkling with life (20+, don't care much about those since I don't know will I ever play lite sorc again. For what anyway?)
burning with life (30+, rare usage, so lol, don't really care)
mentalist with life (35+, yeah right)
Trap with life (35+, lol)
Elemental with life (25+, okay, doable, but not really useful outside PvP)
PnB with life (25+, doable)
38+ life 130+ AR, (looooool good luck)
Lionbranded with life (25+, not exactly important at all)
Javazon with life (25+, doable, not really important to me)
35+ life 15 allres (for that one character I play once in two years lol)

Second items are rare rings. Chance to get something useful there is pretty much non-existent. Like 1 in 50k ring to beat those I already use. Can't even recall when was the last time I got ring upgrade or something close. If anything, traded really good rings away for not being used.

It seems to me it is more profitable to simply drop those out of picking table. Don't wanna pick like 1k grand charms to find 1 that might be useful, or 50k rings. Waste of time. Maybe for trading purpose, but lol that. Rings are better gambled IMO.

I guess not picking those two things might speed me up slightly by a hair. I'll miss that one 35 burning skiller or whatever, but I can live with that. Also will simply steal those in trading and thank other people for farming them for me! It sucks to be rich. Hey guys, found 30 life trapper skiller that will never be even looked at if I don't trade it or give it away to someone!

 

[D2DC]

@Gripphon Not gonna PU grand charms?? Please PU, I will trade for them..

I guess I understand for RFL, since all you're after is runes. But, if PU and ID a charm costs you extra 2 sec on ~19 sec runs. You're only losing 10% efficiency.

Edit: Too many posts to look back through.. These were your expected returns with a 30 sec sorc.

Pul-Gul: 8.57 -> 7.71
Vex-Sur: 2.95 -> 2.66
Ber-Cham: 1.24 -> 1.17

If we drop 10% off of those values (meaning you PU/ID a charm every run). Compare that drop in expected return vs. the charms you'd expect to find (2400 - 3600 runs/charms over 20 hours).

 

[D2DC]

I've been thinking about this since there is so little trading going on. I get the impression that some rich players have TONS of items for trade, but see trading as too much of a hassle, or feel unlikely to find traders.

We should have a SPF trading "Marketplace" instead of each person's individual FT/ISO. It would look something like the PCG with categories of more popular items for trade. Buyers and Sellers could just post items they want/are selling. And everyone could see asking prices and most recent prices etc. Something like this:

The Initial post on the thread should have price estimates:

Gloves:

Chance Guards (random roll) -10-20 pgems
Chance Guards (40 MF) - 30 pgems
Magefist - 5 pgems
Dracul's Grasp - 30-60 pgems
Steelrend (random) – Mal
Steelrend (high end) – Vex+

and then each person can reply with available/wanted items and the price they are selling/paying:

[1.13d SC FAM FTS]
Gloves:

Chance Guards (35%) - FT/15 pgs
Magefist - FT/5 pgs
Dracul's Grasp - ISO/40 pgs
Steelrend (40-50%) - ISO/Mal

I'd have to check the rules, or ask a mod. But, readouts would only be required if someone is making an inquiry into an item? Maybe that would help make it easier for traders not having to post all readouts?

@Gripphon - You could just post all those Grand Charms and sell for pgs!

 

[T72on1]

@DiabloTwoinDC Sounds like a good plan !!!

I'm falling behind already, 3-5+ hours in already for some of you?!

... Did some testing and:

picking standard items: ~22s avg
RFL-style (aka runes only): ~18s avg

Not a huge sample size, but that's better! Now to see if I can sustain it over 20 hours

That's why some of us already have spent much more time running Council in this round: us slow people have to, if they want to have a chance of at least getting close to the many Travbots out there .

I'm going to take a look at some of the videos posted here again. I still can't grasp that people can do it in 18s average, even not 20s. I picked up qualifiers and unique jewelry for a while, nothing else, and still couldn't get below 24s. Must find the secret of becoming a Travbot myself .

Even with those slow run times, I have been enjoying this round so far. Putting on my headphones with my favourite metal music helps a lot with such a repetitive task ...

Yes, finally !!!

Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xe42910c
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to All Skills
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 1 - 30 Lightning Damage
3% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Lightning Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 15

Took me ages to find this one. Now I can finally get serious about my oskill Sept !!!

Only Metalgrid to go as far as unique amulets go. Still SoJ, Bul-Kathos' and Wisp Projector for unique rings, I hope to find at least one of those during this round as well.

Forgot to mention this in my post yesterday, but Bul-Kathos' dropped within the first hour of Trav runs after the quoted post . Me happy ...

Btw, due to that find I switched out my Dwarf Star ring and equiped Hellmouth gloves instead. They surely protect vs fire just as good as the ring, maybe even better. At least that is my impression.