Guardian #14: Randomnipotent, the 2021 Random Tournament Summoner Necromancer

Jan 3, 2007
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Hello everybody! It is time to present to you another Guardian from my tournament showcase:

Guardian #14: Randomnipotent, a Necromancer from the 2021 Random Tournament hosted by @Vang.
Pose.jpg
This is my 3rd Necromancer Guardian and a 4th is only a few steps away from Guardianship, so I was quite familiar with the class.

As usual, I did single pass full clears, Normal at p8, NM at p8, and Hell at p3 for Act I and most of Act II, then dropped to p1 because it took forever to take down some PI bosses.

The Tournament in a nutshell
The Random Tournaments are quite the tradition on the SPF and I always liked them very much because of the planning aspect involved. This year's iteration had some twists to it, esp. in the skill section. Basically, it came down to 5 sets of 3 skills that were randomly rolled. One of those sets you could use in all difficulties. The others you had to assign to difficulties (Normal, NM or Hell). Only in that difficulty that skillset was allowed to be used.

This were my rolls for the character:
Set ISkeleton MasteryIron GolemDim Vision
Set IIGolem MasteryIron MaidenAttract
Set IIIRaise SkeletonSkeletal MagePoison Dagger
Set IVRaise SkeletonIron GolemDecrepify
Set VAmplify DamgeDim VisionConfuse

So what did I do?
I chose Set IV as the skill set for all difficulties and kept all others for Hell.

So my merc had to do some heavy lifting. Especially since gear was restricted as usual. Only these item types (and exceptional and elite versions, quality doesn't matter) were allowed:

Wand
Yew Wand
Blade

Circlet
Scale Mail Breast Plate Splint Mail Light Plate Field Plate Full Plate Mail
Tower Shield
Chain Gloves
Boots
Light Belt
Zombie Head

The only exception is the mercenary's weapon - we were allowed to equip them with anything we wanted.

Here are the progress links from the tournament thread.
Normal Act I
Normal Act II+III
Normal Act IV+V
NM Act I+II
NM Act IV+V (where did Act III go? :oops:)
Hell Act II (yeah, no writeup for Act I, I guess)
Hell Act III and IV
Hell Act V


Summary:
Through Normal and NM, I basically relied on maxed Raise Skeleton and Iron Golem with the only points in the Masteries and Summon Resist being from items. I used a plain white +2RS/+3SM Yew Wand I cubed from a low quality Yew Wand, not remembering that 2 os weren't possible in Yew Wands, no matter what ilvl. I then forgot to switch to a better shopped magical wand in NM and only realized that in Hell Act V, where I went back to NM (Wands, Yew Wands and their exceptional/elite versions can't be shopped in Hell at all) and got me a slightly better Wand (+3 Summoning, +1 GOlem Mastery, +1 Summon Resist).

As soon as I was able to (NM), I made Rhyme in a +3 Summon Resist/+1 Decrepify Zombie Head and never let go of it. That way, my summons at least had some resists, because I wasn't allowed to put any points in the skill myself.

The main means of defeating monsters was my trusty Act II merc though. I went with Defiance first and once in NM with Might, of course. Weapon progression was
Random Polearm -> Brutal Partizan of Frost with 2 os/JoFreedom (via the cube) -> Savage Partizan -> Insight Partizan -> Insight CV -> Obedience Giant Thresher

Until I had Obedience I used Strength Partizan for boss fights and early on Malice Partizan and later The Impaler. The latter I used even in Hell against some swiftly regenarting PIs (I could trigger OW thanks to the fire damage from the Enchant triggers of Obedience).

In Hell, I was able to put points into Skeleton and Golem Mastery and some more curses, which allowed some more crowd control. The Skeletons didn't do much damage, but could take a beating and overall the journey was quite safe. The merc pathing seems way off since D2R though and I often had to reposition/use the Teleport Circlet because he would zig-zag around without attacking :-/

Overall, it was a summoner with restricted skills and bad gear. So gameplay was a bit slow sometimes. Oh, and not having CE is definitely slowing down gameplay a lot. No fancy new insights. Sorry to disappoint.

Character readout
Code:
Name:       Randomnipotent
Class:      Necromancer
Experience: 1179634916
Level:      86

            Naked/Gear
Strength:   55/55
Dexterity:  25/26
Vitality:   415/415
Energy:     25/40
HP:         1032/1166
Mana:       195/277
Stamina:    564/603
Defense:    6/773
AR:         80/185

Fire:       179/139/79
Cold:       164/124/64
Lightning:  177/137/77
Poison:     101/61/1

MF:         172       Block:      2
GF:         56       FR/W:       6
FHR:        43       IAS:        10
FCR:        59

Amplify Damage: 1/2
Dim Vision: 1/2
Weaken: 1/2
Iron Maiden: 0/0
Terror: 1/2
Confuse: 1/2
Life Tap: 0/0
Attract: 1/2
Decrepify: 1/3
Lower Resist: 0/0

Teeth: 0/0
Bone Armor: 0/0
Poison Dagger: 0/0
Corpse Explosion: 0/0
Bone Wall: 0/0
Poison Explosion: 0/0
Bone Spear: 0/0
Bone Prison: 0/0
Poison Nova: 0/0
Bone Spirit: 0/0

Skeleton Mastery: 20/25
Raise Skeleton: 20/25
Clay Golem: 1/6
Golem Mastery: 20/26
Raise Skeletal Mage: 0/0
Blood Golem: 1/8
Summon Resist: 0/7
Iron Golem: 20/25
Fire Golem: 0/0
Revive: 0/0

Items
Code:
Golemlord's Burnt Wand
Burnt Wand
One Hand Damage: 8 - 18
Durability: 15 of 15
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0x1ba49c71
Item Level: 90
Version: Resurrected
+3 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)
+1 to Summon Resist (Necromancer Only)
+2 to Blood Golem (Necromancer Only)
+1 to Golem Mastery (Necromancer Only)

Rhyme
Superior Zombie Head
ShaelEth
Defense: 9
Chance to Block: 25
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 14
Fingerprint: 0xf4862690
Item Level: 47
Version: Resurrected
+40% Faster Block Rate
20% Increased Chance of Blocking
Adds 2 - 7 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
+3 to Summon Resist (Necromancer Only)
+1 to Decrepify (Necromancer Only)
+5% Enhanced Defense
Regenerate Mana 15%
All Resistances +25
Cannot Be Frozen
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune

Stone Noose
Amulet
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0x576833aa
Item Level: 82
Version: Resurrected
5% Chance to cast level 3 Chain Lightning on attack
+1 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)
+9% Faster Cast Rate
+14 to Mana
Regenerate Mana 9%
Cold Resist +18%
Poison Resist +7%

Chromatic Coronet of Luck
Coronet
Defense: 33
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0x5dbb92eb
Item Level: 53
Version: Resurrected
All Resistances +23
81% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Perfect Topaz
Socketed: Perfect Topaz

Beast Spiral
Ring
Required Level: 13
Fingerprint: 0x57f29dd4
Item Level: 53
Version: Resurrected
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+91 to Attack Rating
Replenish Life +4
+15 Maximum Stamina
Lightning Resist +26%
5% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Havoc Band
Ring
Required Level: 13
Fingerprint: 0x661d3519
Item Level: 30
Version: Resurrected
+10% Faster Cast Rate
Fire Resist +28%
10% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Viper Grip
Chain Gloves
Defense: 8
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 15
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0xd3b9d8ce
Item Level: 38
Version: Resurrected
+10% Increased Attack Speed
Lightning Resist +26%
Fire Resist +28%
Half Freeze Duration
19% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Que-Hegan's Wisdom
Mage Plate
Defense: 662
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Level: 51
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x4223e589
Item Level: 62
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+153% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Energy
Magic Damage Reduced by 7
+3 to Mana after each Kill
Eagle Lash
Sharkskin Belt
Defense: 52
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xd25c1011
Item Level: 58
Version: Resurrected
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+10% Faster Hit Recovery
+42% Enhanced Defense
+30 to Life
Replenish Life +4
+13 to Mana
Regenerate Mana 9%

Stone Track
Boots
Defense: 3
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 18
Fingerprint: 0x8c6a037d
Item Level: 30
Version: Resurrected
+24 Maximum Stamina
Cold Resist +31%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items


Charms
Code:
Shimmering Large Charm of Winter
Large Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x1ff090ae
Item Level: 46
Version: Resurrected
Adds 4 - 10 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
All Resistances +6

Lapis Small Charm of Blight
Small Charm
Required Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0x52e715ef
Item Level: 12
Version: Resurrected
Adds 6 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Cold Resist +7%

Serpent's Large Charm of Sustenance
Large Charm
Required Level: 34
Fingerprint: 0x42f86e6d
Item Level: 56
Version: Resurrected
+24 to Life
+27 to Mana

Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 17
Fingerprint: 0x58fcff2e
Item Level: 42
Version: Resurrected
+14 to Life

Lapis Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0x83171d2b
Item Level: 25
Version: Resurrected
+1 to Dexterity
Cold Resist +6%

Cobalt Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0xa723d495
Item Level: 71
Version: Resurrected
Cold Resist +8%

Shimmering Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0xd1c31a4a
Item Level: 59
Version: Resurrected
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
All Resistances +5

Tangerine Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb0d14500
Item Level: 85
Version: Resurrected
+19 to Life
Lightning Resist +3%

Serpent's Large Charm of Balance
Large Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xf08d9f84
Item Level: 48
Version: Resurrected
+8% Faster Hit Recovery
+28 to Mana

Shimmering Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 12
Fingerprint: 0xb2461fd9
Item Level: 36
Version: Resurrected
All Resistances +5

Bronze Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x3f924a24
Item Level: 79
Version: Resurrected
+9 to Attack Rating
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Russet Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0xf1d7b70d
Item Level: 5
Version: Resurrected
+8 to Life
Fire Resist +7%

Russet Small Charm of Greed
Small Charm
Required Level: 15
Fingerprint: 0x51235ce9
Item Level: 81
Version: Resurrected
Fire Resist +7%
6% Extra Gold from Monsters

Garnet Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x7fcbfe7b
Item Level: 60
Version: Resurrected
Fire Resist +8%

Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 17
Fingerprint: 0xf72fcccd
Item Level: 84
Version: Resurrected
+12 to Life

Amber Large Charm of Craftmanship
Large Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x9a706066
Item Level: 78
Version: Resurrected
+1 to Maximum Damage
Lightning Resist +14%

Stout Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x5a63622e
Item Level: 81
Version: Resurrected
+1 Defense
+19 to Life

Amber Small Charm of Inertia
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x31bcb05b
Item Level: 82
Version: Resurrected
+3% Faster Run/Walk
Lightning Resist +10%

Tangerine Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0x381688f8
Item Level: 60
Version: Resurrected
+8 to Life
Lightning Resist +4%

Russet Small Charm of Inertia
Small Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0xfb55cf44
Item Level: 83
Version: Resurrected
+3% Faster Run/Walk
Fire Resist +7%


Merc
Code:
Name:       Chalan
Race:       Desert Mercenary
Type:       Off-Nightmare
Experience: 77221556
Level:      86
Dead?:      unknown

            Naked/Gear
Strength:   188/207
Dexterity:  151/161
HP:         1807/1807
Defense:    1330/1559
AR:         1922/1922

Fire:       194/154/94
Cold:       194/154/94
Lightning:  194/154/94
Poison:     223/183/123

Beast Veil
Coronet
Defense: 77
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xc23155e8
Item Level: 81
Version: Resurrected
+1 to Barbarian Skill Levels
8% Life stolen per hit
+90% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +14
Level 1 Tornado (22/22 Charges)


Stone Shroud
Field Plate
Defense: 152
Durability: 38 of 48
Required Level: 52
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0xc315e34
Item Level: 54
Version: Resurrected
5% Chance to cast level 4 Frost Nova when struck
+38% Faster Hit Recovery
+44% Enhanced Defense
+9 to Strength
Poison Resist +29%
Attacker Takes Damage of 4


Obedience
Giant Thresher
HelKoThulEthFal
Two Hand Damage: 188 - 535
Durability: 46 of 55
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 151
Required Dexterity: 112
Fingerprint: 0x93f88006
Item Level: 85
Version: Resurrected
30% Chance to cast level 21 Enchant when you Kill an Enemy
+40% Faster Hit Recovery
370% Enhanced Damage
-25% Target Defense
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
-25% to Enemy Fire Resistance
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
+215 Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
All Resistances +30
Requirements --20%
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Hel Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune
Socketed: Fal Rune

Notable finds (almost none usable):
Early IK's Will
2 pairs of Aldur's Advance
M'Avina's Embrace
Tal-Rasha's Guardianship
Natalya's Totem
Demon Limb
Steel Shade
Skin of the Vipermagi
Ribcracker
2x Raven Frost
5/5 Shimmering SC of Balance
Mal from Hell HF
That nice Teleport Circlet I was using way too often to reposition and then quickly change back to that other sweet circlet you can find in the readouts:
Code:
     Carrion Circlet
     Coronet
     Defense: 31
     Durability: 30 of 30
     Required Level: 48
     Fingerprint: 0xb7bd89c8
     Item Level: 78
     Version: Resurrected
     +2 to Combat Skills      (Paladin Only)
     +20% Faster Cast Rate
     All Resistances +10
     Poison Resist +34%
     Level 2 Teleport (25/25 Charges)

Future Plans:
Retirement

Thanks:
To @Vang especially for coming up with the Random tournaments and hosting this one.
All the participants (so many!!!!) who made it fun to follow the thread
Everyone here who makes this place feel so comfy
 
Great job…I think I would have gotten careless without CE to speed things up…when you say single pass full clear do you kill every monster and pop every poppable? How many hours does that take and what do you like about playing that style?
 
I finally had time to read through Randomnipotents fascinating journeys, thanks for the nice screenshots in particular. I don't have D2R but like the art style very much in most respects. Do you think Randomnipotent could have kept his mercenary alive on a lower player setting?

Well done and lovely that you got a Ko rune from the nightmare cows (Ko is Swedish for cow) :D
 
Thank you everyone!

@Nona: Yes, every monster, every poppable. It takes around 130 hours from zero to Guardian per character. This is an approximation though - some characters are faster, some slower. But you can roughly say 1 hour per Waypoint on average with Act II and IV taking slightly loger (false tombs, endless wide open areas in Act V and Nihlatak's Temple...). Hmm, what do I like about that play style? It's hard to describe, but I like that you have to make the best of the things you get and try to squeeze out maximum use of every item I find and all the recipes there are. If I could run targets again and again I would do so very much to get more levels, better gear, be safer overall etc. because I tend to be a perfectionist. So it would probably take me even longer.

Also, I am a completionist (55+ hours in order to get to Act 2 in DOS II anyone?) and it honestly pains me to leave a pile of gold on the ground...
Plus I play more safely that way, because I can retreat from bad fights without the fear of running into skipped monsters :)

Thinking of it maybe one more thing: I used to think "omg, how can you beat this game without the elite gear and lots of grinding" when I found the SPF and read the tournament threads, when @jiansonz was participating in lots of tournaments. I was amazed by what he could manage with what was often considered a whacky (or even bad) build with crappy gear. So I tried to do the same and found that I was better at it than at speed rushing or running the same target over and over again. And back then, every tournament was mandatory single pass, so I tried to maximize safety, finds etc. by killing everything. And now I don't see a reason to change my ways simply because tournaments allow multi pass.

Sorry for the long answer, but it is hard to describe in less words!

@Maltatai: Thank you! I really like the art style, too! I am not sure though I understand what you mean by this:
Do you think Randomnipotent could have kept his mercenary alive on a lower player setting?
Most of the time I had no problems keeping him alive, esp. in Normal and NM, so a lower player setting wasn't needed. In Hell, I was plaing at p1 anyways from the end of Act II and couldn't have lowered it anymore. And he wasn't dying too often, because the skeletons were a great meat (bone?) shield.

If I really want my merc to stay alive, I could have teleport-bugged him so that melee monsters ignore him, but it was never necessary (well it happened accidentially, but I didn't have to do it intentionally) :)
 
Last edited:
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I meant with my question if you think it would have been possible to never have had the mercenary die with this character and playthrough. I wasn't sure what player setting you had used in hell.
 
I meant with my question if you think it would have been possible to never have had the mercenary die with this character and playthrough. I wasn't sure what player setting you had used in hell.
Ah, I see! I started at p3 until the false tombs, then down to p1.

I suppose it wouldn't have been much better in Act I and Act II. It would have probably been possible to keep him alive all the time, if I had used the Teleport circlet all the time. But then again, there are some fights where you almost can't prevent your merc from dying; and with the bad pathfinding of the merc he is certain to run all the way around a Fana Might Frenzytaur pack to fight a certain monster while getting slaughtered :)
 
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