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Please welcome Quelana to the tournament! My third attempt at finishing act one on a sorceress...I'm in the stony field.
Anyone know where the name came from??
[2015] The Passive Aggressive Tournament [by Pb_pal]
- Thread starter Grisu
- Start date
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Welcome (again!) Daz! It will be much easier this time with a mercenary's help! If not, I'm thinking of starting up my new s/u worshipper-esque tournament soon (just have to finish the write-up), so you'll have another shot.
The only thing that comes to mind for the name is Dark Souls. I didn't play much at all, but my brother-in-law got into it for some time.
Good luck
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Lol that makes way more sense. Well GL over there regardless!Dazliare said:
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Thanks
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I probably won't continue with my necro, I just don't have the time to put into him and the play style isn't that fun to me. I think the days of me taking tedious builds through guardian are past.
Still love reading all the progress here though, so keep it up! And I look forward to seeing your next tournament!
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Well I fixed my D2
I apologize for the image issue, but I seem to have failed at remembering how to use the function/my image host site doesn't work properly(?).
Here
Summoner dropped yet another lame-o item. A weaker version of my weapon. He was quite annoying at p8 with some ghoul lords around destroying my wolves. Tsk tsk no manners.
Here
Found this gem inside of a tomb. What a great way to start off the funfest. Impossible elite!
I finished 2-3 false tombs then got super bored. Headed to Duriel.
Here
Just a little note about Unravelers (or at least how I dealt with them):
Here
You can resummon your wolves behind the packs to more easily allow your other parts of the army to the enemies as well as sometimes drag out the enemies into the other room like so.
Anywho, here are some neat drops I found!
Here
Here
Here
On to Duriel. He wasn't that bad. Had to resummon quite a bit, and the wolves were useful tanks, but his holy freeze aura required me to sit back with my HoW lest I waste more mana on that. Took two trips to town, one for the merc, one for mana.
Here's my "strategy"
Summoning at the side keeps him facing away from my merc, and thus avoiding the paintrain.
And drops Not too good. Couldn't use any of that stuff.
Final Act 2 stats! Time for my most-despised act.
And off we go! Smooth sailing, just long, through the jungle. The forest is quite large overall, and Spider Jungle proved to be empty in its first part. Great Marsh presented us with a nice sign at first glance. Cold Enchanted Gloams! Whoooo! Thank you Cyclone Armor. Life-saver.
Sorry for the lack of pictures, but it's really quite boring, and no real good drops other than poo rares.
Ormus didn't need this lump of gold anymore. For good reason too.
Okay fine. At least one piece that might be useful. Maybe.....(no).
Took a bit, but we found the Flayer Dungeon. Killed a pack in here, was dangerous, and roped around the two other groups. Stuck in a corner
Bad drops
Was a fun update overall.
Be sure to let me know if a link is messed up and I'll fix it asap.
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That was quite an adventure Interdasting. Too bad it had to end so suddenly. Great recap and good pictures though! I always find myself too depressed after a deeds to give a decent writeup.
Last we saw Relic the Ironmancer with his trusty Blessed Aim friend and all but useless iron golem was the NM Cold Plains. I'll quickly recap the next couple acts: (don't worry pictures are coming)
Act 1: I can't remember too much eventful stuff happening. It was pretty fun to play through and dim vision works wonders and preventing Shaman from resurrecting others. I had some decent finds. The best one was probably an Io rune which allowed me to make a White wand which is used solely for prebuffing bone armor. Too bad 2 socketed wands that come with +bone armor cannot be purchased ( I wasted a good hour before I found this out)
Act 2: Pretty run of the mill. Do to my real life time constraints I typically only get an hour or less of playing time per session so that not only does it take awhile to play through, there is also a lot of running through cleared areas. Another negative is that I forget a lot of what happens, but thankful I take a lot of screen shots (as you can see below) that refresh my memory.
Act 3: I have currently cleared the Flayer Jungle at level 61 and am waiting to enter LK. So far so good. I remade my iron golem out of Woestave the unique Halberd. The open wounds, hit freezes target, 50% monster slow, - defense per hit, and prevent monster heal are fantastic!....however, the hit blinds target is more than frustrating. Every time he hits a target the blind overrides my curse, typically amp damage or decrepify, which makes killing individual enemies much more tedious. I'll be looking to switch IG's as soon as I find something equally as good. I'll also note here than his damage is hardly noticeable, the open wounds is the open saving grace.
I did find Bing Sz Wang, the unique Dacian Falx. I'm highly considering making a IG out of that for the higher damage and largest amount of cold damage, but that would mean I would loose my open wounds and PVM. I am also considering making a IG out of an edge bow for additional thorns damage. Any input here?
I am also highly considering switching to an Act V barbarian as well but I don't have much experience with them. I think the Bing Sz would be a good fit. The blessed aim aura of my desert guard is pretty useless as this stage as it seems my IG always hits, which is the main reason I went blessed aim. Any thoughts on the switch to an act V mercenary?
Below is a summary of my decent finds through the first half of NM:
Angelic - Armor, weapon, and two rings. If I was melee I would love the attack rating and MF, but my current equipment offers more MF and more importantly, more resistances.
Arcanna's - I found two Arcanna's Signs. I rarely find this amulet even once in single pass.
Cleglaw's Pincers (gambled)
M'avina's Tenet - useless belt
Sigon's hat, gloves, belt, boots - agian would have been great for the set and unique tournament or a melee character
Whistan's Guard Round Shield - Another unwhelming exception set item.
Cathan's Seal - not unique or anything, I've just found 4 of them already.
**Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest - I found this once all the bone prisons cleared away (see below for more details). I'll probably be socketed this for my merc in NM Act V. Found at level 59 but I can't equip it until level 66!
Humongous - possible IG in the future when crushing blow is needed
Raven's Claw - I considering switching to an Act 1 merc, but unfortunately the majority of my damage come from my act 2 guard so until I get a better IG weapon, I'll be sticking to a desert guard.
Rock Fleece - nice damage reduction
On the other hand I have had very good rune luck:
Amn - 4
Dol - 2
Hel - 3
Lem - 1
Sheal - 5
Sol - 5
Current MF = 265% on my kills (never happens), 385% on merc kills (97% except for when open wounds from the IG takes one down)
Gear is currently pretty standard for this leg in the journey, nothing outstanding as of yet. I've tried my luck on about a dozen or so crafts to no avail. Resists are around 45/50/40/20. They could go up more if I put on my +18% resist all amulet for tough battles. Life is right around 1,000.
Here is a rare stair trap in the dark wood. The initial screen had no monsters but the second my merc walked away he was immediately swarmed. Thanks to dim vision the fight wasn't really all that bad.
Looks like someone decided to store some runes in this chest (or rock, I can't tell from the picture).
This area took a long time to clear, and yes, that is a boss pack of bat makers but unfortunately the both didn't drop anything!
I thought this was a pretty cool action shot.
I am still in the process of reading through the last set and unique worshipers tournament hosted by Morathi, but someone in that tournament would have loved this Andariel drop.
Somewhere in Act II I had this awesome gamble with Larzuk was kind enough to put two holes into (2 Perfect Topazes filled the slots. I will probably substitute those for Perfect Rubies or resistances later if I need them.
A very scary start to the Canyon of the Magi. You can see how little of the map I've explored. Some time after this screenshot I tried using bone wall (and bone prison) and just got got deeds because of it. Basically I tried to trap a few of the big guys in with my merc and golem, but of course things got very hectic and I trapped myself in by walls and couldn't move! Thanks to big purples I made it out of that experiment alive. I'm not so sure I'll be utilizing those skills much in the future. Have anyone else had luck with either of these?
Duriel's Drop:
Relic the Ironmancer, with Moron the Blessed Aim Guard - lvl 61, NM Flayer Jungle
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Bows are made of wood, so you can forget about this idea.bladejj said:
Great update and progress - I'll read in more detail later. Will be espcially good for me because my character in the Committed tourney sometimes uses IG.
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@bladejj Pish posh. You write much more refined and condensed write-ups than me. And in fact, the deed was a little...liberating? The build is kind of slow, and I don't know what I would have done without relying upon lucky rune drops to break past Hell.
But I do also enjoy your own adventure. I hope you make it to "save" the Worldstone in Hell.
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@kestegs - I figured when I made this tournament that the tedium would deter a few folks. It definitely takes a certain mood(and ample time) to play through that way. I'll leave WallE in the table, and he can keep your spot warm if you decide to return
@Interdasting - Aw man! Sorry about the deeds. Great update though, I'm glad that you seem to have had fun with the char. Hopefully I'll catch you in my next tournament too.
@bladejj - Wow great progress, right up to the top of the table! As for A5 mercs, I'm using one in the Committed Tournament, and I've been pleased with him so far. I've only had him for 2.5 acts(in a2NM now), but I quite like him. He stuns enemies, which is useful. The knockback from his bash can be a bit annoying, but I haven't had any major problems with it. As for how he will be later on, I can't say. Hopefully someone who has taken one all the way will stop by to give you some advice.
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Code:The Proven (Guardians): Forum Name Class Char Name LVL ACT Area ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ jiansonz Sorceress Sissy 87 --- Full Game Clear Pb_pal Amazon Calabi ** --- Full Game Clear ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Heroes: Forum Name Class Char Name LVL ACT Area ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ bladejj Necromancer Relic 61 A3(NM) Flayer Jungle Zylo Druid Hoyt 59 A3(NM) Kurast Docks sivaeB Necromancer Toast 49 A2(NM) Lut Gholein felixbavaria Sorceress Swoosh 51 A1(NM) Inner Cloister srrw Druid PurpleHaze 48 A1(NM) Rogue Encampment djmbbandie Assassin Natasha 36 A5 Frigid Highlands Dazliare Amazon RIP_Vladimir 35 A5 Harrogath kestegs Necromancer WallE 32 A4 Pandemonium Fortress ranagrande Barbarian Beldric 28 A3 Kurast Docks Bee Barbarian Rocky 28 A3 Kurast Docks pharphis Sorceress SlamDoorsShut 23 A2 Far Oasis Morathi Assassin Carrisa 21 A2 Lut Gholein Jocular Assassin ????? 14 A1 Stony Field/Dark Wood(?) jamesixgun Druid John 13 A1 Dark Wood queenEm Druid LittleGirl 1 A1 Rogue Encampment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Fallen (RIP): Forum Name Class Char Name LVL ACT Area ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ thefranklin Druid FollowTheBear 66 A4(NM) Diablo Southpaw8668 Necromancer Hallow 61 A3(NM) Great Marsh Interdasting Druid Interdasting 29 A3 Flayer Dungeon Southpaw8668 Amazon Contessa 15 A1 Andariel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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@Pb_pal Yeah I had some fun with the tournament despite not moving far into the game. I'll definitely stalk- err...follow you...for your next tourny.
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Ok, so Relic is up to the NM River of Flame, level 66. Last we left off was in the Flayer Jungle. I'll do a quick recap of Act 3 and beginning of Act 4 and then onto the big changes which I just finished making going forward with this character.
Act 3
Pretty quick and easy progress. The were several times when I was casting Dim Vision, Amp Damage, Attract, Dim Vision, etc., etc., where a long Flayer or enemy would sneak up to me and take off significant life while I was distracted trying to keep the mercenary of IG alive. I'll have to keep note of that in the future.
Stair trap in the Disused Reliquary. Dim Vision made easy work out of the situation.
Good news is the boss in the picture above dropped a Pul rune!
Check out the resale value on this, and there isn't even a 3rd skill.
Mephisto was a breeze with Woestave on the IG (50% slow + freezes target). I didn't even need to use deprecify. I use Iron Maiden while equipping my trusty Edge short bow. No portions needed and he only focused on the IG. With maxed IG and Golem Mastery he is nearly indestructible. More on him later.
Onto Act IV with a kind welcome party.
Confuse is fun; however, it's starting to create situation which are a little too difficult to micromanage.
The IG is a great tank! However, due to monster regeneration and the high level defense of the IG, monsters tend to miss quite frequently which works at maybe cross purposes with the thorns damage.
Hellforge was a Shael (my 9th). I was hoping for a Lum so I could upgrade use it for a future weapon upgrade for my merc. Rune finds have continued to be good. I netted a Ko and Lem clearing the outdoor areas of Act IV.
So onto my changes. I ditched my blessed aim desert guard in favor of a Barbarian. My reasoning for the change is the following:
1) I felt the blessed aim aura was really needed.
2) I feel using swords has more utility purposes. Ie. I can switch them more as needed going forward with crushing blow, open wounds, and high damage being easily be attained through basic runewords.
3) I like the idea of using a more unconventional tank to supplement my IG.
4) Pb said he liked the idea, and as he was the only one to respond I went with it.
His current weapon is the Bing Sz Wang, which I hope to upgrade to elite once I find a Lum or can cube up to one. Currently he is dawning magic find gear but I have Tal's mask and Rockfleece on switch for Diablo. He is currently level 61 but I hope to level him to 66 before Diablo...I'm not keeping my hopes up though. I purchased the lowest level barbarian available because if they level naturally, they have more health. Call me stubborn, but I feel in the long run this is the best option.
I also have the runes for a Treachery if I find a good ethereal 3 socketed armor. I also plan on making strength before taking on Diablo for the crushing blow.
For the iron golem, I got too feed up with the "hit blinds target" on Woestave (it overrides my current curse) so I made the difficult decision to recast my IG. I just made an Insight out of a regular Partizan. I purposefully waited to late in NM to make this as I feel it is too overpowered / cheesy.
When prebuffed, the IG is being cast at level 28 (3,700 life), with Golem Mastery at level 26 (+650% AR), and Summon Resist at level 10 (~52% resist all).
I'll update if I manage to best Diablo!
Relic the Ironmancer, with Bulwye the Barbarian - lvl 66 and 61 respectively, NM River of Flame
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Levels give a difference but not necessarily worth taking into consideration unless you're planning to optimize for the sake of optimization. That being said, nice work cleaning up that third of NM, bjj. Necros and curse-builds are always fun, and it's great to see you enjoying them too.
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