[2007] Tournament : The Bountyhunter's heaven [by Merlin The Wizzard]

[Grisu]

First of all: Sorry to hear about all those deeds...man, that seems to be a tough tournament :hang:
Well, here's an attempt of updating the table...Fabian is still missing in it though, since I didn't know what build he has...

[highlight]ALIVE[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
17   Maryam          Assassin    jiansonz         28     A3     Kurast Docks
17   Shockfrosted    Paladin     Grisu              28     A3     Kurast Docks
  2   Pasmani          Druid      Merlin The Wizzard 21     A2       Sewers Lv 2


[highlight]DEAD/RETIRED[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
76   Mary          Assassin    jiansonz         49     A1 NM  Cold Plains
31   Bobbie_Fett     Sorc        Butzull            31     A3     Durance II
-6   Lloyd           Necromancer Merlin             19     A1     Inner Cloister
-7   Tryman          Paladin     Jaelen             19     A1     Jail Level 1
-7   Floyd           Necromancer Merlin             17     A1     Outer Cloister

[highlight]BOUNTY MOBS[/highlight]
[U]Character      Act I       Act II      Act III      Act IV      Act V        Boss[/U]
Maryam           Zombies     Vulture Dem Willowisps   Vile Mother Siege Beast  Andariel
Shockfrosted   Fallen      Sabre Cat   Council      Megademon   Reanimated   Mephisto
Pasmani           Skeleton    Bat Demon   Giant Mosqu  OK        Stygian Fury Andariel

Shockfrosted battled his way to Act III, Act II wasn't much of a challenge, although I had things like this happen all the time in the tombs
As soon as those nasty beetles showed up, I stopped zeal mode and went to "Resist-Lightning-aura-on-and-watching-merc-kill-everything"-mode.

Duriel himself was surprisingly easy - only 7 healing potions needed at p8.

Now I don't know if I should max Holy Freeze or Holy Shock first...

Oh, after the Dead Hills almost no Sabre cats showed up - maybe 20 more in front of Tal-Rasha's tomb...so almost no equipment for me in this Act...Let's see what the council has in store...

My score:
Fallen in Act I wiped out: +1
Sabre Cats in Act II wiped out: +1 (although they were pretty rare ;-)
19 WPs: +19
12 quests: +12
completed Act I, II: +6
All quests, all WPs in Act I, II: +2
SU Bonus (Rakanishu, Blood Witch down): +4
Level 28: -28


Total: +17

The following quest rewards cannot be used. :
1. The reward for Saving Cain
2. The countess (her reward is a chest drop, so the chest item drop rule applies... Her runes can only be used if Corrupted Rogues are a bountymob
3. The reward for the GidBinn (that is, the ring from ormus)
4. The reward for saving Anya. (That is, the item Anya gives you. The resistance scroll can be used)

The following quest rewards can be used, provided the base item is a legitimate find (it retains the status it had (so SU drop remains a SU drop))
1. Charsi's Imbue
2. Larsus' Socket item.
3. Anya's personalize item.

All other quest rewards can be used freely. The HF drop counts as non Superunique socket fillers.

Couldn't find it in the thread: Does this mean, we can use the runes one gets as a quest reward after rescuing the barbs in Act V?

 

[Grisu]

It would seem so Grisu Those runes can be used as well. Thanks for the table... I had forgotten there was one... Allthough you forgot to add poor pasmani to the deeds secshun...

 

[Grisu]

I am sure now about the vultures. They are like bug swarms - they can NOT drop weapons and armor. The only exceptions to this are champs and bosses. What a crappy bountymob roll! Vultures can drop "junk" (including rejuves, which are more like 'gold dust' to me :azn: ) and I think they can drop 'misc. good' items, but those drops are quite rare - haven´t seen one from them yet. I got a magical Large Axe from one boss and a magical Light Belt from another. Both were useless.
Non-boss willowisps can´t drop weapons and armor either.

Gear is really crappy (and I still do not wear an amulet) but progress is OK. My merc had no serious problems taking down the wimpy fetishes with his little Trident. Reaching level 30 meant a big boost to damage for Maryam. Not because of Phoenix Strike (yet), but because of Venom.

Oh yeah, the mighty artifact I found last session. Crushflange!!
It needs to be personalized before I can use it. It´s a fantastic Blade Fury weapon (CB, Knockback and huge fire resist), and it will be great against those act bosses I dare stand next to.

I may get some more vultures in the next two little areas, but my hopes for drops are tied just to their bosses.

@Merlin: Big thanks for allowing us to use Qual-Kehk´s runes. It is indeed not listed among the quest rewards we can´t use. Makes it a lot more likely to make a runeword, some crafting or even upgrading, and also for getting our resistances up.
I left them to rot at his feet last time...



Maryam the elemental MA Assassin, level 31, Kurast Bazaar next.

 

[Grisu]

[highlight]ALIVE[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
21   Maryam          Assassin    jiansonz         31     A3     Kurast Bazaar
21   Shockfrosted    Paladin     Grisu              30     A3     Lower Kurast


[highlight]DEAD/RETIRED[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
76   Mary          Assassin    jiansonz         49     A1 NM  Cold Plains
31   Bobbie_Fett     Sorc        Butzull            31     A3     Durance II
  2   Pasmani          Druid      Merlin             21     A2       Sewers Lv 2
-6   Lloyd           Necromancer Merlin             19     A1     Inner Cloister
-7   Tryman          Paladin     Jaelen             19     A1     Jail Level 1
-7   Floyd           Necromancer Merlin             17     A1     Outer Cloister

[highlight]BOUNTY MOBS[/highlight]
[U]Character      Act I       Act II      Act III      Act IV      Act V        Boss[/U]
Maryam           Zombies     Vulture Dem Willowisps   Vile Mother Siege Beast  Andariel
Shockfrosted   Fallen      Sabre Cat   Council      Megademon   Reanimated   Mephisto
Pasmani           Skeleton    Bat Demon   Giant Mosqu  OK        Stygian Fury Andariel

Shockfrosted battled his way through the Jungles and is eager to fight the socalled High Council. He's heard rumours about them...let's see, if they're up to the challenge (i.e. fighting me) :wink3:

My score:
Fallen in Act I wiped out: +1
Sabre Cats in Act II wiped out: +1 (although they were pretty rare ;-)
23 WPs: +23
14 quests: +14
completed Act I, II: +6
All quests, all WPs in Act I, II: +2
SU Bonus (Rakanishu, Blood Witch down): +4
Level 30: -30

Total: +21

Questions:
Can we use cube recipes on our MUST use items? Like the chippy recipe to reroll magical items? Do those items keep the SU bounty status (i.e. it has to be equipped)?
Which leads me to this question: If a SU bounty monster drops a gem (can they actually???), can we use that one to roll a cube recipe on another legit item? Does it get the SU drop status?

 

[Grisu]

Questions:
Can we use cube recipes on our MUST use items? Like the chippy recipe to reroll magical items? Do those items keep the SU bounty status (i.e. it has to be equipped)?
Which leads me to this question: If a SU bounty monster drops a gem (can they actually???), can we use that one to roll a cube recipe on another legit item? Does it get the SU drop status?

As far as I have understood it, the answer is yes to all those question (and it is most certainly a yes to the question about bosses dropping gem(s)).

 

[Grisu]

Jiansonz - Shame.. .You could have rerolled you know But knowing you, you want revenge I guess? Well, good luck, and I will be watching.
Grisu - More questions? :laugh: No, that's ok. I can understand you want absolute surety, so here goes :
All SU drops CAN be used in cube recipes. The item changed retains SU bountymob status, and should be equipped . SU bounty mobs can drops socketfillers yes (gems included... how often have I not received a chipped topaz or some such from a Superunique). And yes, items socketed with any such gain SU bountydrop status. And yes, any cube recipe that holds a component (apart from health or mana potions) dropped by a SU bountymob keeps that status.

 

[Grisu]

[highlight]ALIVE[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
 44   Shockfrosted    Paladin     Grisu              32     A4     Panda Fortress
 21   Maryam          Assassin    jiansonz         31     A3     Kurast Bazaar



[highlight]DEAD/RETIRED[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
 76   Mary          Assassin    jiansonz         49     A1 NM  Cold Plains
 31   Bobbie_Fett     Sorc        Butzull            31     A3     Durance II
  2   Pasmani          Druid      Merlin             21     A2       Sewers Lv 2
 -6   Lloyd           Necromancer Merlin             19     A1     Inner Cloister 
 -7   Tryman          Paladin     Jaelen             19     A1     Jail Level 1
 -7   Floyd           Necromancer Merlin             17     A1     Outer Cloister

[highlight]BOUNTY MOBS[/highlight]
[U]Character      Act I       Act II      Act III      Act IV      Act V        Boss[/U]
Maryam           Zombies     Vulture Dem Willowisps   Vile Mother Siege Beast  Andariel
Shockfrosted   Fallen      Sabre Cat   Council      Megademon   Reanimated   Mephisto
Pasmani           Skeleton    Bat Demon   Giant Mosqu  OK        Stygian Fury Andariel

Well well, so I hunted down the council and Mephisto, which really wasn't much of a problem. SU Drops were somewhat crappy though (here's for example Mephisto's drop...). But since attack speed is all that matters right now with Holy Shock and Holy Freeze, I don't mind
It was a bit annoying to clear all areas knowing I am not allowed to keep anything I find...but oh well, I decided against the reroll, so I shouldn't complain...

Here are the SU council drops:

Bronze Broad Sword of Slaying
One-Hand Damage: 7 to 19
Durability: 27 of 32
Required Strength: 48
Required Level: 8
Sword Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x4a1b2eed
+15 to Attack Rating
+5 to Maximum Damage

Wrist Blade of the Leech
One-Hand Damage: 5 to 9
Durability: 41 of 52
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 33
Required Strength: 33
Required Level: 4
Claw Class - Normal Attack Speed
Unidentified
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x1de324b3
4% Life stolen per hit

Viridian Plated Belt
Defense: 9
Durability: 22 of 24
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 9
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x11c14018
Poison Resist +19%

Crystal Sword of Measure
One-Hand Damage: 10 to 22
Durability: 11 of 11
Required Strength: 33
Required Level: 9
Sword Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x5c3c93d8
+3 to Minimum Damage
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired)

Long Bow of Lightning
Two-Hand Damage: 3 to 10
Required Dexterity: 19
Required Strength: 22
Required Level: 11
Bow Class - Normal Attack Speed
Unidentified
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x17bf04d
Adds 1-12 lightning damage

Edge Bow of Frost
Two-Hand Damage: 6 to 19
Required Dexterity: 43
Required Strength: 25
Required Level: 18
Bow Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x783cda73
+1 cold damage over 2 seconds

Sturdy Chain Boots of Thawing
Defense: 11
Durability: 12 of 16
Required Strength: 30
Required Level: 7
Unidentified
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x1a4d3d12
+15% Enhanced Defense
Half Freeze Duration

Crimson Light Belt
Defense: 3
Durability: 7 of 14
Required Level: 3
Unidentified
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0xafde7bea
Fire Resist +7%

And here are the drops from Mephisto (maybe the Amethyst will be useful somehow:scratch: )

Demon Bite
Balanced Knife
Throw Damage: 6 to 12
One-Hand Damage: 1 to 9
Quantity: 121
Required Dexterity: 51
Required Level: 4
Dagger Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 26
Fingerprint: 0x9240b977
+31 to Attack Rating
+1 to Maximum Damage
Poison Resist +7%
+7 poison damage over 3 seconds
5% Mana stolen per hit
+1 to Mana After Each Kill

Bone Razor
Scissors Katar
One-Hand Damage: 15 to 29
Durability: 35 of 68
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 55
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 10
Claw Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 26
Fingerprint: 0xb0d12af9
+72% Enhanced Damage
+90 to Attack Rating
4% Mana stolen per hit
Knockback

Amethyst
Can be Inserted into Socketed Items
Weapons: +80 to Attack Rating
Helms: +6 to Strength
Armor: +6 to Strength
Shields: +18 Defense
Required Level: 12
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Rune Bite
Hatchet Hands
One-Hand Damage: 2 to 19
Durability: 52 of 56
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 37
Required Strength: 37
Required Level: 12
Claw Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 26
Fingerprint: 0x499dd8de
+14% Enhanced Damage
+2 to Maximum Damage
Adds 1-3 fire damage
+21 poison damage over 4 seconds
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 50%

Havoc Horn
Long Battle Bow
Two-Hand Damage: 3 to 18
Required Dexterity: 50
Required Strength: 40
Required Level: 11
Bow Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 26
Fingerprint: 0x4cd7bdca
+1 to Dexterity
+46 to Attack Rating
+7 poison damage over 3 seconds
5% Mana stolen per hit
34% Damage to Demons
+75 to Attack Rating against Demons
Socketed (1: 0 used)

Two-Handed Sword of Slaying
One-Hand Damage: 2 to 15
Two-Hand Damage: 8 to 23
Durability: 82 of **
Required Dexterity: 27
Required Strength: 35
Required Level: 8
Sword Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 26
Fingerprint: 0x8078dbbf
+6 to Maximum Damage

My score:
Fallen in Act I wiped out: +1
Sabre Cats in Act II wiped out: +1 (although they were pretty rare ;-)
High Council in Act III wiped out: +12 (includes SU bonus)
28 WPs: +28
18 quests: +18
completed Act I, II, III: +9
All quests, all WPs in Act I, II, III: +3
SU Bonus (Rakanishu, Blood Witch down): +4
Level 30: -32

Total: +44

@jiansonz: Didn't know about the Vulture's crappy drops...but after you mentioned it I watched out for them, and you're right: their drops are aweful :undecided:

 

[Grisu]

I vastly underestimated the amount of stuff that drops from chests...

@Grisu : Wow... No need to look for a weapon to use huh? Plenty of choices there
There were different rules for the council though, scoring wise: They are
meantioned in post 36, which will net a total of +7 I think (+5 for almost non-existent, +2 for councilmembers)

Good going guys... You surely put my threesome to shame.

 

[Grisu]

@Grisu : Wow... No need to look for a weapon to use huh? Plenty of choices there

Unfortunately none with IAS...and 3 Katars among them...great! ;-)

There were different rules for the council though, scoring wise: They are
meantioned in post 36, which will net a total of +7 I think (+5 for almost non-existent, +2 for councilmembers)

Good going guys... You surely put my threesome to shame.

Yeah, but I assumed that post 65 would be more up-to-date:wink3:
Scoring :
Each superunique in your list adds +2. The exception is the council. Total score for councilmembers as mob will be set at +12 (and that includes the... killed minions at act end bonus) Oh yeah, your chosen Act Boss does NOT count towards this score...

 

[Grisu]

:embarassed: :embarassed: How on earth did I miss that?

Well, err, I stand corrected. I forgot that I added the SU bountymob scroes as well.... Sigh
Ok, +12 it is, and ehm... Good luck! I bow to the master, in more then one way it seems

 

[Grisu]

@Merlin: Never mind! I only knew because I bookmarked all newest changes

[highlight]ALIVE[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
 54   Shockfrosted    Paladin     Grisu              36     A5     Harrogath
 21   Maryam          Assassin    jiansonz         31     A3     Kurast Bazaar



[highlight]DEAD/RETIRED[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
 76   Mary          Assassin    jiansonz         49     A1 NM  Cold Plains
 31   Bobbie_Fett     Sorc        Butzull            31     A3     Durance II
  2   Pasmani          Druid      Merlin             21     A2       Sewers Lv 2
 -6   Lloyd           Necromancer Merlin             19     A1     Inner Cloister 
 -7   Tryman          Paladin     Jaelen             19     A1     Jail Level 1
 -7   Floyd           Necromancer Merlin             17     A1     Outer Cloister

[highlight]BOUNTY MOBS[/highlight]
[U]Character      Act I       Act II      Act III      Act IV      Act V        Boss[/U]
Maryam           Zombies     Vulture Dem Willowisps   Vile Mother Siege Beast  Andariel
Shockfrosted   Fallen      Sabre Cat   Council      Megademon   Reanimated   Mephisto
Pasmani           Skeleton    Bat Demon   Giant Mosqu  OK        Stygian Fury Andariel

Diablo down.
Man, that was a fight...but I'll start at the beginning:
Izual was easy and fortunately I did encounter Megademons at the River of Flame, from which I gained some usable items, but nothing worth mentioning right now (Ok, maybe that 2os superior Plate Mail...maybe I'll get a good runeword out of it sometime???). Hellforge gave me a Nef...now I have El, Eld, Tir and Nef for use. No RWs available for these runes though

Oh, here's a picture of me using the bow against a Megademon boss pack - having only ~20% Fire Resistance their Inferno attack was quite frightening. reward was another weapon I will never be able to use, since SU bounty mobs already granted me a zillion weapons...

with only around 20% Fire and Lightning Resistance I had to abandon Zeal and switch to hit and run tactic (after I realised that using my bow wouldn't do any good and that Zeal was far too dangerous....) I tried to always stand in a different direction than my mercenary, so that he wouldn't die to the Lightning Hose or Firestorm. After 3 returns to town and about 20 minutes I got Diablo to that point, then my Laptop shut down, because the core temperature got too high...somehow my cooler didn't work
So I had to clear the CS again...I did it on p1 so that I wouldn't get too much experience, since I already had cleared it at p8 before my PC crashed...I left everything on the floor (yes, the Bountymob drops, too and went for Diablo - again on p8. After another 12 minutes of hit and run (now that I knew how to fight him properly it didn't take so long any more...) Diablo teased me with this (not usable) drop, which would have gone well along with this drop (again not usable). (

Oh, almost forgot: The items The Infector of Souls dropped:

Serpent's Belt
Defense: 5
Durability: 8 of 16
Required Strength: 25
Required Level: 10
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x2be63016
+13 to Mana

Deadly Great Maul
Two-Hand Damage: 46 to 71
Durability: 58 of 60
Required Strength: 99
Required Level: 3
Mace Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x452fe22a
+23% Enhanced Damage
150% Damage to Undead

My score:
Fallen in Act I wiped out: +1
Sabre Cats in Act II wiped out: +1 (although they were pretty rare ;-)
High Council in Act III wiped out: +12 (includes SU bonus)
Megademons in Act IV wiped out: +2
31 WPs: +31
21 quests: +21
completed Act I, II, III, IV: +12
All quests, all WPs in Act I, II, III, IV: +4
SU Bonus (Rakanishu, Blood Witch, Infector of Souls down): +6
Level 36: -36

Total: +54

 

[Grisu]

Well, impressive work once again... Taking on the big D with crappy resists on players 8 with a melee char even though you can't use the drop? You going for a beautyscore Grisu? :laugh:
Well, am I missing something again in the score? I thought we had agreed that, to even out the field, there are points to be had for rarity of bountymobs. And it also seems to me that you have 5 act restricted bountymobs(at least in normal difficulty), so that basically you get to add the +score for bountymob restricted to one act only (I think +5 per bountymob). Yes, I even wanted to make the score calculation challenging
That deadly great maul looks like a reasonable damagedealer (allthough the twohandedness means no shield, which might suck a bit).

 

[Grisu]

Maryam is still hunting her prey but the packs have been scarce, just some vultures in Upper Kurast (including a boss pack) and Flesh Spawners on Plains of Despair (no Souls, darn!). So she was actually pretty close to getting Diablo´s drop...

Maryam took down Mephisto with Blade Fury, while feeding Emilio plenty of potions. He could actually do a little damage when Amp triggered.

Had a certified NDE against the Infector´s pack. Emilio was tanking the Infector and one minion. I lost my CoS 'grip' on the minion at a time when I didn´t realize it was fighting Maryam and not Emilio. I took just about the whole flamethrower burst with zero fire resist. Yikes, less than 50 life left!

I used Blade Fury against Diablo as well. /players 1 for the sake of safety. I chose to go with Fade (=> resist fire/lightning in the mid-thirties) even though that meant no extra foot speed. I chose to wield the Amping sword and my lightweight Spiked Shield of Balance. I am confident in my ability at ranged fighting against Diablo but I had to be both alert and patient in this fight, and quick with Jamella´s greater healers. Blade Fury has a little 'lag time' before the blades start flying, so it´s less convenient than Throw in this type of fight where you need to interrupt the throwing very often. I prevailed - was never below half life.

Onwards!


Maryam the Phoenix Strike Assassin and Emilio the Prayer guard, level 35, Bloody Foothills next.

(Hmm, I am going to keep a list of my finds from the siege beasts and how many of them I get to kill. Contrary to Merlin, I think it was a pretty good bountymob draw. In Normal, I think they will only be behind the zombies when it comes to the wealth they deliver.)

 

[Grisu]

I present to you: Destroyer Shockfrosted.

What to tell about Act V? Well, all in all it was quite easy – only problem so far was Bartuc the Bloody with his Hydras and LE. But after splitting the pack up, things were easy. I did the same with Lister and his pack (fight vs the last minion, which granted me another level), and Baal himself...well, it’s Baal, you know what I mean? ;-)
Oh, that was a nice little surprise from Ventor for me *g*

As you may remember, I had 4 SU in this Act – here are the drops:

[b]Bonesaw Braker[/b]

Long Staff of Meteor
Two-Hand Damage: 2 to 8
Durability: 15 of 30
Required Level: 30
Staff Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0x3ccf68b6
+1 to Enchant (Sorceress Only)
150% Damage to Undead
Level 1 Meteor (15/33 Charges)

Serpent's Gargoyle Head
Defense: 16
Chance to Block:  40%
Smite Damage: 0 to 0
Durability: 11 of 20
(Necromancer Only)
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 15
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0x27c5d501
+20 to Mana
Adds 12-28 poison damage over 4 seconds

[b]Pindleskin[/b]

Doom Visor
Horned Helm
Defense: 41
Durability: 35 of 45
(Barbarian Only)
Required Strength: 45
Required Level: 12
Unidentified
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x701fca69
+6 to Energy
+35% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +5%
Lightning Resist +5%
Poison Length Reduced by 25%

Steel Short Battle Bow of Excellence
Two-Hand Damage: 13 to 14
Required Dexterity: 40
Required Strength: 30
Required Level: 18
Bow Class - Normal Attack Speed
Unidentified
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x4bb0e772
+43 to Attack Rating
+8 to Minimum Damage

[b]Bartuc the Bloody[/b]

Breast Plate of the Colossus
Defense: 65
Durability: 28 of 50
Required Strength: 30
Required Level: 22
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 43
Fingerprint: 0x238ab2d6
+59 to Life

[b]Ventar the Unholy[/b]

Shael Rune
Can be Inserted into Socketed Items

Weapons: 20% Increased Attack Speed
Helms: 20% Faster Hit Recovery
Armor: 20% Faster Hit Recovery
Shields: 20% Faster Block Rate

Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Another nice drop were the unique boots Goblin Toe from some random Prowling Dead in the Halls of Anguish. First I was like “woohoo! Would be great if I wouldn’t have to wear those other boots that dropped from a SU...”. But later, when I was running the WSK, I remembered something in the rules...about the personalise quest from Anya You know what followed...
I used the socket quest on the Breast Plate Bartuc dropped and Larzuk added 2 sockets to it...I think I’ll put either my perfect topaz in it or some ruby stuff...

Now I don’t know what to do about the Shael...Rhyme maybe? Or I could hope to reach Hell, get an Um from HF and make a Crescent Moon :laugh:

Well, so Rogue Camp it is again now...

Here’s my ATMA readout:
Character name : Shockfrosted
Character type : Hardcore Paladin
Character level : 49
Character exp : 43399041

Strength : 80
Energy : 15
Dexterity : 120
Vitality : 115
Stat Points Rem : 0
Skill Points Rem: 0

Life : 516 / 439
Mana : 87 / 87
Stamina : 230 / 226

Gold (Inventory): 51784
Gold (Stash) : 913938

Damage:
Balanced Knife/Zeal/Holy Shock: 12-1459 @ 6 fpa
Balanced Knife/Zeal/Holy Freeze: 223-257 @ 6 fpa
Short Battle Bow/Holy Shock: 31-1452 @ 14 fpa
Short Battle Bow/Holy Freeze: 242-250 @ 14 fpa

Skills:
Sacrifice 1
Zeal 4
Holy Fire 1
Holy Freeze 17
Holy Shock 20
Resist Cold 3
Resist Lightning 4
Salvation 1


My equipment:

Demon Bite
Balanced Knife
Throw Damage: 6 to 12
One-Hand Damage: 1 to 9
Quantity: 149
Required Dexterity: 51
Required Level: 4
Dagger Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 26
Fingerprint: 0x9240b977
+31 to Attack Rating
+1 to Maximum Damage
Poison Resist +7%
+7 poison damage over 3 seconds
5% Mana stolen per hit
+1 to Mana After Each Kill

Targe
Defense: 8
Chance to Block:  40%
Smite Damage: 2 to 6
Durability: 17 of 20
(Paladin Only)
Required Strength: 16
Required Level: 3
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 5
Fingerprint: 0xd6299b8f
All Resistances +10
Socketed (3: 0 used)

Steel Short Battle Bow of Excellence
Two-Hand Damage: 13 to 14
Required Dexterity: 40
Required Strength: 30
Required Level: 18
Bow Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x4bb0e772
+43 to Attack Rating
+8 to Minimum Damage

Breast Plate of the Colossus
Defense: 65
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Strength: 30
Required Level: 22
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 43
Fingerprint: 0x238ab2d6
+59 to Life
Socketed (2: 0 used)

Crown
Defense: 38
Durability: 45 of 50
Required Strength: 55
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0x14493bb5
Socketed (2: 0 used)

Viridian Plated Belt
Defense: 9
Durability: 23 of 24
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 9
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x11c14018
Poison Resist +19%

Soul Hand
Leather Gloves
Defense: 4
Durability: 10 of 12
Required Level: 15
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 24
Fingerprint: 0x4fb8ead6
+1 to Strength
+19% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +14%
Poison Resist +6%
10% Increased Attack Speed
Half Freeze Duration

Shockfrosted's Goblin Toe
Light Plated Boots
Defense: 33
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 22
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0xaeabe79a
+52% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Damage Reduced by 1
Magic Damage Reduced by 1
-1 to Light Radius
25% Chance of Crushing Blow

Fortuitous Ring of Strength
Required Level: 8
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xaf70f2f3
+1 to Strength
11% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Felicitous Ring of the Sentinel
Required Level: 12
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xbf2bed96
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Rune Necklace
Amulet
Required Level: 4
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 8
Fingerprint: 0xfd55ba1a
+5 to Life
+13 to Attack Rating
+1 to Maximum Damage
Fire Resist +8%
10% Chance to cast Level 3 Charged Bolt when struck

My mercenary is still an Act II BA merc with a 1os Partizan, a Circlet and a magical Scale Mail (24% FHR, +8% Fire Resistance)

EDIT: What just came to my mind: Reanimated Hordes is a great bounty mob, since you can kill them multiple times ) I used to wait for them rising from their graves again and again...well, I think they can't be reanimated more than once, but hey! That's almost 100% more bounty mob monsters )

My score:
Fallen in Act I wiped out + appeared only in 1 Act: +1 +5 = +6
Sabre Cats in Act II wiped out + appeared only in 1 Act: +1 +5 = +6
High Council in Act III wiped out: +12 (includes SU bonus)
Megademons in Act IV wiped out + appeared only in 1 Act: +2 +5 = +7
Reanimated Hordes in Act V wiped out + appeared only in 1 Act: +1 +5 = +6
40 WPs: +40
27 quests: +27
completed Act I, II, III, IV, V: +15
All quests, all WPs in Act I, II, III, IV, V: +5
SU Bonus (Rakanishu, Blood Witch, Infector of Souls, Pindleskin, Bonesaw Braker, Bartuc the Bloody, Ventor the Unholy down): +14
Level 49: -49

Total: +89

[highlight]ALIVE[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
89   Shockfrosted    Paladin     Grisu              49     NM A1  Rogue Camp
21   Maryam          Assassin    jiansonz         31     A3     Kurast Bazaar


[highlight]DEAD/RETIRED[/highlight]
[U]Score Character       Class       Forum Name        Level   Act    WP[/U]
76   Mary          Assassin    jiansonz         49     A1 NM  Cold Plains
31   Bobbie_Fett     Sorc        Butzull            31     A3     Durance II
  2   Pasmani          Druid      Merlin             21     A2       Sewers Lv 2
-6   Lloyd           Necromancer Merlin             19     A1     Inner Cloister
-7   Tryman          Paladin     Jaelen             19     A1     Jail Level 1
-7   Floyd           Necromancer Merlin             17     A1     Outer Cloister

[highlight]BOUNTY MOBS[/highlight]
[U]Character      Act I       Act II      Act III      Act IV      Act V        Boss[/U]
Maryam           Zombies     Vulture Dem Willowisps   Vile Mother Siege Beast  Andariel
Shockfrosted   Fallen      Sabre Cat   Council      Megademon   Reanimated   Mephisto
Pasmani           Skeleton    Bat Demon   Giant Mosqu  OK        Stygian Fury Andariel

 

[Grisu]

Nice to see we have some sort of competition going on, Grisu!

Maryam´s Hellforge drop did not include any big diamonds, so I made a decision to use Qual-Kehk´s runes in my shield to get reasonable resists for Nightmare. This means that a good blocking shield is way way off in the future, if at all. I had been keeping enough DEX to hold the blocking at the shield´s listed 37%, but now it was time to stop that. I figured that Maryam had to get a good life pool, and soon. Thankfully, assassins get 3 life per vitality point. I invested all but two stat points (which I invested in STR to reach 60) from the 14 level-ups in act V in vitality. That´s right, a massive ** points to vitality in this act!

I switched mercs after WSK level 1. This pretty much meant I had to go melee against Lister, which is scary if your blocking sucks.

If Maryam didn´t have such a 'hard-as-nails' attitude to live up to, she would have covered Thresh Socket with big sloppy wet kisses! Well, she´d at least given him a proper burial...
Thresh dropped two very useful weapons: a Lochaber Axe of Craftmanship (much better than the rare Trident) and a rare Long Sword which is a great Phoenix Strike weapon. It has a much better 'feel' to it than the old Wrist Blade has. It´s so fast that I can actually bear using Fade with it - I´ve tried. I decided to have Larzuk put a socket here for the future. I don´t know what I´ll put in it. There are many possibilities: Eth (wish I had one!), skull, big emerald, even big amethyst or El rune (she will eventually become desperate for more AR!)

Maryam did the same thing as Mary, imbued her Chain Boots. Charsi did a decent job with them:
Fiend Track
Chain Boots
Defense: 13
+32% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +17%
Poison Resist +33%
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Faster Hit Recovery
14% Chance to cast Level 5 Charged Bolt when struck


Status Report at the start of Nightmare:
STR 60, DEX 83+2, VIT 162, ENE 25,
Life: 600
Mana: 97
Blocking: 26%

Resists (fire/cold/lightning/poison)
With PS setup + BoS: 43/13/23/51
With PS setup + Fade: 75/46/56/75
With BF setup + BoS: 37/-30/-25/3
With BF setup + Fade: 70/3/8/36

Skills:
20 Phoenix Strike
11 Fists of Fire
3 Fade
1 in all Dragon kicks, Burst of Speed, Venom, Blade Fury, Cloak of Shadows, Mind Blast, prerequisites

Primary Gear:
* 2s Helm with a flawless topaz and a chipped topaz (Wildcard; bought from Gheed, large gem originally from Andariel)
* (Still no amulet!) :rant:
* Rare Long Sword (see above)
* Gemmed ring Mail with Topaz, chipped topaz and an empty socket (Trophymob; zombie in act 2)
* 'Ancients´Pledge' Large Shield (Trophymob; zombie in act 2, runes from Qual-Kehk)
* Heavy Gloves of Dexterity (2) (Wildcard; Andariel)
* Rugged Ring of the Fox (8) (Trophymob; Plague Bearer in Ancient Tunnels)
* Plated Belt (Trophymob; Crush Beast)
* Tangerine (5) Ring (Trophymob; Hungry Dead in early area)
* rare Chain Boots (see above) (Trophymob; plain Chain Boots from Plague Bearer in Ancient Tunnels, then imbued at level 45)

weapon switch - Blade Fury setup:
* Maryam´s Crushflange (SU status; originally from a Drowned Carcass in Great Marsh)
* Spiked Shield of Balance (Trophymob; Ghoul in Catacombs 3)

*Small Charm of Greed (8) <- yes, my only charm so far!

Thadar the Cold merc:
* Rare Skull Cap; 10% ctc level 3 Nova when struck, +5 ENE, +4 mana, Resist Fire 10 (Trophymob; Plague Bearer boss in Ancient Tunnels)
* Bronze Short Sword of Amplify Damage (SU; Corpsefire)
* Rare Leather Armor; +1 life, +3 mana, attacker takes 1 damage, self-repair (SU; Corpsefire)
* 2s Bone Shield (Trophymob; Crush Beast)


Destroyer Maryam the PS Assassin and Thadar the Cold mage, level 49/47, NM Blood Moor next


Scoring:

Exterminations:
Act 1
Zombies wiped out: +1
Act 2
Zombies wiped out: +3
Vultures wiped out: +1
Act 3
Zombies wiped out: +3
Vultures wiped out: +2
Willowisps wiped out: +3
Act 4
Vile Mothers wiped out: +2
Act 5
Siege Beasts wiped out: +3

Act rarity bonuses:
Vultures in two acts: +2
Willowisps, Vile Mothers and Siege Beasts in a single act each: +3*5

40 WPs: +40
27 quests: +27
Completed Act I, II, III, IV, V: +15
All quests, all WPs in Act I, II, III, IV, V: +5
SU Bonus (Corpsefire, Dark Elder, Thresh Socket): +6
Level 49: -49

Total: +79


@Grisu:
Reanimated can rise more than once. I have seen as many as five times. I think there is a probability check each time.

 

[Grisu]

Oh, I forgot all about my Siege Beast loot report. :azn:

Maryam killed 101 Crush Beasts, plus Thresh Socket. That is quite a number for a monster type regarded as 'rare'. I guess it is easy to underestimate the sheer size of the act V outdoor areas. How many imps are there, then? Easily more than 600!

Apart from junk and gold, she found:

12 normal non-magical unsocketed weapons
5 normal non-magical socketed weapons (incl. 2s Sabre, 3s Claws and 3s Poleaxe)
ethereal Francisca
Wrist Spike
1s Wrist Spike
Arbalest
Composite Bow of Slaughter (15)
rare Shamshir (crappy)
Thresh´s drop of magical Lochaber Axe and rare Long Sword

4 normal non-magical unsocketed armor items (inlcuding a Plated Belt she still wears and a Superior Gargoyle Head, sold in NM for 30k)
4 normal non-magical socketed armor items: 1s Plate Mail, 2s Studded Leather, 2s Bone Shield and 2s Tower Shield

a Topaz :azn:


Not too shabby, I think. But imps would have been better.



Here is a screenie of my socketables sitation. Note how close to a gloves craft I am. Andariel dropped the gloves, so they must have ilvl=12. This means I need to be level 80 to have a chance at 20% ias. I need them way before that, so I may as well try them first chance I get. As it is now, they´d get ilvl=30 (meaning alvl=27), which is high enough for a lot of nice affixes. Now I just need to get a Nef...

 

[Grisu]

@Grisu - That is easily the best drop I ever saw from Ventar! Congrats! I get jellybellied whenever I think of meleeing against Lister though. Good to see you managed to pull it off. And those new booties of yours... Congrats on Destroyer !

@ Jiansonz - Well, it's true that 101 Siege beasts is not too shabby. But compared to the other mobs... I have to give some sort of arrangement, don't I? I believe I gave a fairly accurate listing from most common to least common though. And for the rest... Thresh played nice I see Kudos on the Longsword! As for the personalize quest, did you use it? I failed to catch that...

 

[Grisu]

As for the personalize quest, did you use it? I failed to catch that...

Take a look at what she holds on the weapon switch.

 

[Grisu]

So I see Sorry for missing that. I'm sure it's frustrating at times, but this really forces maximal item utilization huh? Even though I detest limiting equipment personally, I felt it fit this tourney nicely...
As far as the craft goes.. .Remember, if one of the other components (be it the gem, the rune or the jewel) has an element (if cubed up) from a SU drop in it, the whole craft gets SU status. If you don't using Andy's drop also guarantees it, so perhaps that is the safe course to steer

 

[Grisu]

I'm sure it's frustrating at times

No kidding.


An early Hungry Dead boss dropped an amulet. Cool! What can it be, what can it be?

+2 to Warcries


You know, I was seriously considering cubing all my three rings to make an amulet. But the rings do have 5% LR and +8 life, after all.

I found another amulet in the act, from a Ghoul in Catacombs 3. +12% Fortuitous Amulet. OK, useless against >95% of the monsters, but I´ll take it.

Maryam has now gotten into a good mindset, checking every boss before deciding how to tackle it. Can she take a couple of hits, etc.

Uh oh, Multishot Fouldog!! This was bad news, especially for Thadar. The pesky minions were everywhere, sort of following Fouldog in their 'boss leash' even when they were blinded. I parked three of them in the big first room of the level and managed to lose Fouldog on the way back to where he had spawned. Resurrected Thadar and took out the two minions that were left in the room they started in.

Now, killing Fouldog was a really tough task. I did not dare trying to charge and release a PS Meteor on him. That would surely have resulted in at least 2-3 hits by all three lightning balls. If I had had lots of rejuves, I might have tried it, but not here. His life was at around 60%, because I had managed to lure him into some flames I released on a minion earlier. Out came Blade Fury with Crushflange. It was slow going, and Thadar died again, despite heavy potion feeding. Crap!
"Hey, do you know how many gold piles and potions I need to find to earn 18k gold!!"
Maryam was pissed now.

The dance was on. It´s a good thing those projectiles are not that fast and pretty easy to avoid if you are on the move. But she still got hit and that hurt too much for comfort. I switched shields so I got Ancients Pledge on the BF setup. Thawing potions drunk, too. Finally, things were looking up. My AR problems were obvious, plus these critters have short periods when you can´t hit them at all. Fouldog advanced again and I moved around him to gain some distance. "Why can´t you just settle down and keep spitting, dammit!". Almost had him once more, then he moved towards me again. Then I realized I had the tool to stop him: Mind Blast! Not only did it push him back, there was also a good chance he would stop the advancing and start spitting again. With my new and improved technique, I finally nailed him.

Andariel was scary, as I knew she would be. I still thought PS Meteors would be the way to go. Once I had managed to rain down two of them, I ran small circles around her, which kept her in place and me away from her melee stabs. Mostly. After I had done this four times (with a potion refill trip in between) she was toast. This is what she gave me. Unique Casque - that did not ring a bell. I have a fair idea what most of the lower-half exceptional unique helms do (War Hat, Sallet, Basinet and Death Mask) but this one was new to me. Cain told me it is Stealskull. Oh, I´ve read about this helm in guides! Often recommended, and it´s not hard to see why. IAS, FHR, life steal, this looks just excellent for a merc who fights with weapons, especially a meleer. And +47% MF! Wicked.

Now if this Partizan she dropped as even half-decent, I think the game is trying to tell me something...

Nice, better than Savage and the poison damage is a great addition. That does it, I am hiring some new help! The freeze mage is excellent for this build (and I am forever thankful that Thadar shattered all those Fallen!) but he does work better against bosses when you have a beefy Shadow to help with the tanking.

I will keep the Amping sword from Normal Corpsefire in the stash. I can use it with BF to break PI on many monsters, if I need Mizan to tank them. Another way to carefully approach a fight in the future (when the players setting is low) is to use BF with this sword until Amp triggers, then switch to Crushflange and get better effect from the Crushing Blows.

Now it will be interesting to see if I can help Mizan survive well enough so that my gold reserve isn´t going down too much...


Destroyer Maryam the PS Assassin and Mizan the HF Guard, level 52/51, NM Lut Gholein Sewers next