My 1.11b Hammerdin just turned clvl 97:
And Baal decided to give him a nice gift:
Tal Rasha's Guardianship
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 867
Durability: 40 of 55
Required Strength: 83
Required Level: 71
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 99
Fingerprint: 0x4b510bd0
+400 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 15
Fire Resist +40%
Lightning Resist +40%
Cold Resist +40%
88% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -60%
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
10% Faster Cast Rate
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
Thanks Baal. Three piece Tal's (Armor, Amulet, Belt) was part of my default setup for my magic finding Sorceresses during my last SP outing. So, I'm sure this will be put to good use! I haven't come across Tal's Amulet, yet, but I'm sure I'll find one before too long ...
Here's a useful find from the Throne Room:
Guardian Angel
Templar Coat
Defense: 1231
Durability: 31 of 31
Required Strength: 108
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0x1fb2cf6c
+199% Enhanced Defense
+20% Increased Chance of Blocking
+15 to Maximum All Resistances
+1 to Paladin Skill Levels
+4 to Light Radius
30% Faster Block Rate
2% Bonus to Attack Rating Against Demons (Based on Character Level)
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired)
This is one of those items that I always hope is eth ... and I picked it up and it was ... okay, fingers crossed for a good roll on the ED ... That'll do RNG. That'll do.
And speaking of merc armor:
Duress
Archon Plate
'ShaelUmThul'
Defense: 3146
Durability: 31 of 31
Required Strength: 93
Required Level: 63
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x99630e6d
+185% Enhanced Defense
+16% Enhanced Damage
Fire Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +15%
Cold Resist +45%
Poison Resist +15%
Adds 37-133 cold damage over 2 seconds
40% Faster Hit Recovery
33% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
-20% Slower Stamina Drain
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (3: 3 used)
This better than average eth Archon Plate dropped in the Throne Room and cubed to three sockets so I decided I'd try rolling a Duress in it hoping for a result of better than 3k defense. It's nice when things work out. So this is the armor that my Hammerdin's merc is now using instead of my 3375 defense eFortitude. The open wounds and crushing blow seems to make a difference against Baal and the better than 3k defense is good enough to keep even nasty unique/super unique monster spawns from stomping him.
Leveling through clvl 96 I also came across my second unsolicited 1.11b high rune (note: I'm using CRM, all runes set to orange).
I don't have any immediate plans for the Vex. At +31 resist all my HoTO wouldn't be too hard to improve upon ... but even a good roll really wouldn't make much of a difference. Probably I'll save it for something more game changing ...
On my way from clvl 96-97 I also found a few TC87's:
Gargoyle's Bite
Winged Harpoon
Throw Damage: 48 to 349
One-Hand Damage: 121 to 158
Quantity: 80
Required Dexterity: 135
Required Strength: 66
Required Level: 70
Javelin Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0xac912e0f
+204% Enhanced Damage
+292 poison damage over 10 seconds
11% Life stolen per hit
Level 11 Plague Javelin (44/60 Charges)
Replenishes Quantity
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired) <--- Well that doesn't happen every day!
Steel Pillar
War Pike
Two-Hand Damage: 115 to 621
Required Dexterity: 106
Required Strength: 165
Required Level: 69
Spear Class - Normal Attack Speed
Indestructible
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 99
Fingerprint: 0x391b6c4a
+64% Enhanced Defense
+249% Enhanced Damage
25% Increased Attack Speed
-20% Target Defense
25% Chance of Crushing Blow
Indestructible
Death Cleaver
Berserker Axe
One-Hand Damage: 89 to 264
Durability: 22 of 26
Required Dexterity: 59
Required Strength: 138
Required Level: 70
Axe Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 99
Fingerprint: 0x3170a4e1
+273% Enhanced Damage
+8 Life after each Kill
40% Increased Attack Speed
-33% Target Defense
66% Deadly Strike
I don't know that I'll ever use any of those ... but they were still fun to find
.
Next up: More Baal runs! I've only had one other character reach clvl 97; a 1.13 Hammerdin that ran Chaos Sanctuary. As I recall, xp progress pretty much stopped dead in it's tracks for him ... (or maybe I just got bored and moved onto other projects ... I can't quite recall ... ) Anyhow, I am heartened that I was able to get some white on the xp bar after only the handful of P8 Baal runs it took to get my merc to catch up to level 97 ... Perhaps clvl 98
is in my future ...