[2016] The Untwinked Level 99 Progress Thread [by Kitteh]

Nibiru- said:
I must have totally boned up my game because after I crafted the Harmony runeword it didn't work and now I get "bad inventory data" error... I have Grief working already on my character... no idea why the Harmony corrupted my file

Edit: This is what I put together, thinking my RWM was working and it's saying the item is corrupted

Harmony
Blade Bow
'TirIthSolKo'
Two-Hand Damage: 30 to 50
Required Dexterity: 119
Required Strength: 76
Required Level: 45
Bow Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xdf8ee0b
+10 to Dexterity
+9 to Minimum Damage
+9 to Maximum Damage
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Socketed (4: 4 used)
Albatross said:
If you remove the item from the char does it still say it's corrupted? If not, find the backup files gomule creates, you should be able to recover.

As to why it got corrupted, I've no idea.
NamelessPenguin said:
If I only mule off my character, and not on, does it still count as "not extended stash"?

EDIT: Found the answer. It's only counts as extended stash, if you mule back in.
Nibiru- said:
Albatross said:
If you remove the item from the char does it still say it's corrupted? If not, find the backup files gomule creates, you should be able to recover.

As to why it got corrupted, I've no idea.
I'm forced to use ATMA because GoMule opens with error messages on my computer, so I don't think i have a backup. I'm not happy w/the runeword debacle because I spent around 8 hrs farming for this Harmony.

Edit: Aaaaaand now my stash is corrupted. I guess this just wasn't for me.
Locohead said:
Nibiru- said:
Edit: Aaaaaand now my stash is corrupted. I guess this just wasn't for me.
Atma makes lots of backup stashes, they have .org extension. You can rename their extension to .d2x to use them.
Nibiru- said:
Locohead said:
Atma makes lots of backup stashes, they have .org extension. You can rename their extension to .d2x to use them.
You just saved me my friend... I found a backup stash from right after I made the runeword. I can't recover the runes but at least I didn't lose my entire work. Thank you.
Albatross said:
A shot in the dark, but did you find an essence when the corruption struck? Can't quite remember what happens, but older versions of ATMA don't handle those very well.
Nibiru- said:
Albatross said:
A shot in the dark, but did you find an essence when the corruption struck? Can't quite remember what happens, but older versions of ATMA don't handle those very well.
No... so I did some looking at my registry and my D2 registry was a total mess. I have the game installed in like 7 different spots on my PC because I keep old hard drives. To start with, I cleared up my registry and installed RWM in the proper places. Then I did some digging and found my stash from when I Patted the character and saw that I had a 4 socket bow and the runes for Harmony and remade the runeword in a gothic bow. Not what I wanted but at least I'm moving on with the game. I also remember that I found a Gul rune right before I quit. Do you think I should try to get a Jah and go for Fury for this Frenzy barb?
Yng said:
Nibiru- said:
No... so I did some looking at my registry and my D2 registry was a total mess. I have the game installed in like 7 different spots on my PC because I keep old hard drives. To start with, I cleared up my registry and installed RWM in the proper places. Then I did some digging and found my stash from when I Patted the character and saw that I had a 4 socket bow and the runes for Harmony and remade the runeword in a gothic bow. Not what I wanted but at least I'm moving on with the game. I also remember that I found a Gul rune right before I quit. Do you think I should try to get a Jah and go for Fury for this Frenzy barb?
Save Gul to cube Vex or something higher. HotO is nice on swap once you have Enigma. Ideally you want to aim for 105 FCR on swap.
NamelessPenguin said:
Can't see how Fury could beat Grief. Better save that Jah for Enigma.
ffs said:
As an interim update, HelpYourself hit 96. Currently doing Baal runs with MF setup due to the MFO. Dropping Crescent Moon is very noticeable though, it's just so much better than Hoto against broken LIs it makes a significant difference over time. She died once about 80% into the level which was annoying, and had another NDE shortly after when she got one-hit down to 32 health by tons of Souls before waves. Guess it's not the best idea at this level to watch series while doing runs. :) It cost me only ~1-2 hrs this time, but going forward I'll have to make sure to avoid that.

In this regard this should help at least: She found Gul and Vex during the level, so she only needed one Pul+ to roll another CtA. After some 30min LK runs a Mal dropped, so I tried for the fifth time -- and finally improved over her +3 BO one.

3_finally +5 CtA.png

Other than that no upgrades as expected, she is now only keeping an eye open for more skillers (still at two), hopefully with life. She has a decent life charms collection though so no real complains there.. She had a couple of other finds that aren't useful to her, but during MFO drops will not be mentioned obviously. :)

I tested a few things and ran the XP/h numbers again for lvl 96 with the result that Baal waves are still quite clearly the most efficient for her. Also, including Baal at /p3 is only a small drop in XP/h, which is comforting given I really want to run him at least during the MFO. In case anyone is interested in XP progress with Lightning Sorc, here's how HelpYourself @96 compares in a few different areas:

Baal (/p8 Waves only): ~220k/min
Baal (/p8 Waves, /p3 Baal): ~205k/min
CS Seals (/p8 Vizier/Infector): ~165k/min
Pits (/p8 - poor map though): ~110k/min

Even though these are more lvl 98 targets I tested as well for sake of comparison:

CS (/p1 Seals, /p7 Diablo): ~110k/min
Nihl (/p8): ~125k/min (Nihl goes down very quickly which is good news for when she eventually hits 98)

All numbers are for lvl 96 and ran with MF setup including Hoto/Shako etc. for the MFO. Also small samples only, but then again these runs don't have a lot of variation. After MFO I will also test it with higher damage setup (CM/Griffon's etc.), which will of course speed up everything a bit. Should really benefit CS runs since it's some 50% higher damage against broken LIs (finger mages), but I doubt it changes the ranking in general. So far, CS runs are clearly sub-optimal for her anyway in comparison to Baal numbers, and it will speed up Baal runs too since on average there are ~2 LI bosses there as well. We'll see if/how things change at 97!


Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -          many          ?
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      89             Yes           -          -            6           -
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

EDIT:
@NanoMist found your post regarding experience and thought I'd make others here aware, that's incredibly helpful stuff! This really makes my numbers obsolete. :) With that overview all it takes is to time the runs and some really simple calculations.
NamelessPenguin said:
Great progress there, @ffs! Interesting to see some exp numbers, too.
Ashenshugar said:
Great to see the level of progress in this thread now! I turned 95 on Natur a little while ago, but I haven't really played a lot after that, just a couple of hundred fruitless LK runs. I did find an Ohm in AT, so the long awaited Call to Arms shouldn't be too far away. Below are some screenshots of stuff that happened in level 94.
95.jpg


Necro Summon.jpg

TR armor.jpg

Screenshot040.jpg

Leaving for work now so I won't get any playing done for the next couple of weeks.
Good luck to everyone in the MFO and with the levelling!
Yng said:
@ffs nice work, long live the Double Axe base

@Ashenshugar I guess you know which base to go with LOL
ffs said:
@Yng Actually I had kept two 5os Crystal Swords as possible CtA bases, but this dropped shortly before I made it, and since its eth it's more style points of course. :p Also it might be some weird thing on my end, but I like to have the switch weapon to be visibly different from main so I always know which slot I'm on, and given I made CM in a Crystal Sword (eth as well of course, all about style points!), indeed Double Axe all the way. ;)
Kitteh said:
I'm totally with you on that! I have CtA in double axes and scepters :p
Trapin' said:
Ok so 3rd character is a charm right? I decided after leveling a few chars that the one I look forward too most... is a zealot. I think it would be really cool to grind one to 99 and strive for the elusive eBOTD as my end weapon. Ideally I'd like to go 2 handed for style points as a giant eBOTD war pike would look awesome! I find the process of finding new weapons and replacing them as I go very fun! There are also a lot of runewords for a zealot to make, and it seems like I wouldn't even have to grind AT or Meph for gear, as I could just do a lot of LK runs to get a nice set up.

The first weapon I decided to use was the malice. I found a 3os flail which has the fastest attack speed and nice dmg for a normal weapon. Also I've always liked the look of flails! I tried using king's grace in a crystal sword, but the speed was slower and so was the killspeed. Maybe If I could find a long sword it would be better?
2kITFdy.jpg
Kitteh said:
Zealots are my favourite! Take a look at Asmodeus' level 99 Schaeferdin which may be of interest to you, if not from an informative point then entertainment alone. It is among my favourite 99ers!
ffs said:
@Trapin' Awesome, time to start pushing! :)

I for one have started an untwinked Nec to run in between Baal sessions for a change of pace from my Sorc. Probably going the CE/Summon route. There are no Necs that made it very far here, don't really know why since he's not dependent on rare gear at all and CE is so OP especially untwinked. It's basically Enigma and Hoto (possibly even Beast) from LK, which does mean some grinding at some point, but after that he should be good to go, once resists and FCR are reasonably taken care of.
Kitteh said:
That is primarily why summoners don't get much love as 99ers, its the base character. There are a few 99er summoners outside of the tournament though :)
 
NamelessPenguin said:
I could also imagine that summoners require full set of skillers to be 99 material, and they are not the easiest of characters to farm the basics, as single boss targets becomes a slow grind. And Infinity is also a must.

So, Infinity, Enigma, Hoto, Beast, CtA. The hardest part would definitely getting a hold of those skillers. But after acquiring those items, I think he would ROCK! :)
ffs said:
To me Sorc seems like the cookie cutter for untwinked for the simple reason of Teleport, both to farm LK and bosses. But after Enigma I agree Nec should be the least gear dependent and pretty efficient.

Not too sure about skillers being an issue actually. CE is main source of damage which is not dependent on skill level, but only relies on +1 skill gear for more range. But range is fine if maxed plus some standard gear. Also while I have a Beast on my (twinked) Summoner, Hoto is basically just as good. At least it was in Cow runs, but I'm quite confident this should apply generally. However, if an extra Ber drops it would be cool to have an untwinked Beast of course. :)

I think for boss farming Andy could be a better choice than Meph for him, since you can raise minions there and use CE. Also the benefit from the quest bug as a side effect, and she can drop most of the stuff you would need from Meph such as Shako and +1 rings... except for Arach, which might be a real pain to get with him actually. But then again he's good at farming alvl85 at high player settings where you can get it with some luck, as well as some runes here and there, and make good XP process at the same time. In fact, as opposed to my Sorc which acquired all her gear elsewhere and has spent not more than 2 hours in AT/Pits total (!), I intend to spend a lot of time with him in lvl85 areas - once Enigma is done ofc.

But that's mostly very far away in the future since I really want to finish the Sorc first, which will take a long time still, currently some 30% into lvl 97. Until she hits 99 I'll only play him in between if Sorc runs are unbearable from time to time. One project after the other. ;)
Kitteh said:
You need nothing for the fishymancer. Enigma is ideal for speed, but otherwise meh, can always use a circlet/amulet anyway. Doesn't Naj staff have teleport too?
T72on1 said:
Agreed. Most builds need at least some gear. For Summoners it's all icing on the cake, except maybe for Enigma. Charges probably get annoying after a while.
ffs said:
Just like Blizzy doesn't "need" Shako/Nightwing's, Fathom/Hoto, CoH/Viper/Ormus, or any FCR breakpoint whatsoever. But these are immense improvements over some random setup. Regarding Summoner, while end game gear doesn't improve his damage output as much as is the case with other characters, having the typical good caster items still makes a very big difference. And come one please, in particular regarding Enigma, at least for any non-Sorc caster, there are worlds between having it or not in terms of speedy progress. :)
Kitteh said:
Kaylin finished normal yesterday and is having fun, although she isn't getting too much play time, especially since all of my coursework and final exams are this month and next. No spectacular drops or anything at this point obviously, but I had totally forgotten how fun they are to play! :)
Trapin' said:
It seems like my zealot needs some better gear to get past nightmare. I can't move 20 yards without dying to something :p Any suggestions on where to MF in nightmare to prepare for Hell? I'm lvl 47 with practically no gear atm (I have cathans armor/rings/necklace a malice flail, and crappy helm/boots/shield)
I was thinking I could farm countess NM to get some runes to make a smoke and hopefully find some base for Black runeword, as well as a rhyme shield.

I did find a 3os dimensional blade that I made a King's grace in which is nice :)
gaPJ3R0.jpg
grim said:
I've also been making an untwinked zealot to play between my javazon's baal runs...
He is currently in act 1 hell at lvl 70.

The best place to mf for me in normal and nightmare has been pindle on the highest player difficulty I could do it efficiently. He also give great XP. I've done some meph runs, especially in nightmare.
And by mf i mean killing him a lot of times while ignoring the actual mf of my character and only improving kill speed.

He is currently using hexfire for weapon which does decent damage in early hell.
For survivability i stacked as much life leech as i could. I also used a life tap wand on switch for bosses / difficult situations (these can be bought from normal act 3 if i remember correctly).
Sigon's gloves + any other sigon item give 30% ias and 10% life leech which also help alot and are easy to find.
Any source of crushing blow helps.

He is indeed fun, but baal runs seem quite slow due to baal's decrep.

I really don't know what zealots should run for XP when they get in their 90's...
Kitteh said:
You should be fine with Eldritch/Shenk too, no travel required!
drmalawi said:
Trapin' said:
I really don't know what zealots should run for XP when they get in their 90's...
Travincal, chaos, etc.
grim said:
drmalawi said:
Travincal, chaos, etc.
I just don't see them being comparable with a blizz sorc/hammerdin in CS (2 seals/dia) or Javazon/trapper etc in Baal runs in terms of XP gain...

At lvl 98 i guess you can do nihlathak efficiently... But how do u get there after the Pits/travincal start returning low XP?
Everyone says that 98-99 is the hardest but I for one don't consider 96-97 a walk in the park either...

That's what I meant...
Trapin' said:
grim said:
I just don't see them being comparable with a blizz sorc/hammerdin in CS (2 seals/dia) or Javazon/trapper etc in Baal runs in terms of XP gain...

At lvl 98 i guess you can do nihlathak efficiently... But how do u get there after the Pits/travincal start returning low XP?
Everyone says that 98-99 is the hardest but I for one don't consider 96-97 a walk in the park either...

That's what I meant...
In my mind it's not a race to get to 99. So if it takes me longer to run CS instead of whatever the blizz/hammerdin can do, I don't mind :)
I actually find this thread and process a good metaphor for life, enjoying the journey not the destination!
Gynli said:
Oops; hit refresh and lost my post.

As promised I am joining the untwinked 99er thread now that the MFO is over.

I started an Amazon with the goal of level 99; and with the MFO coming up, I thought it'd be a good place to level and gear her up. She started as a PJzon speed through Normal and NM, only stopping at Shenks on /p3~8 for quick levels, and ended up in Hell mid 70. I ran Shenks instead of Pindle, due to Pindle's high poison resist in Normal and being Poison Immune in Nightmare. I forget where I found a Ko, but when a 4os Diamond bow dropped; she respecced into a bowazon. The skills and stats are wonky atm - with 200+ vit, 10+ crit, and less than 10 on Valk - due to my desperate attempt at trying to survive and improve her kill speed.

By the time the MFO started, she was only wearing Lore, Peace, Harmony and some blue/yellow fillers. As you can imagine, her clear speed was miserable; but with some lucky drops it improved greatly over the week. Now she's rocking an upped WWS, Raven Frost, Razortail, Wartravs, a lovely tiara, and of course the Fortitude I made couple days ago. <3. Her gloves, 2nd ring and ammy are still in need of an upgrade though. I'm aiming for the Laying of Hands, a decent blood ring, and Cat's eye. Once she finds her end-game weapon - WF or Faith of course - I plan to respec into Multishot and start running CS. I hope I am lucky enough to find a Jah/Ohm or a WF by the time she hits 95; otherwise, I'll have to run LK. >=(.


Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -          many          ?
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      89             Yes           -          -            6           -
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
T72on1 said:
I agree with @Trapin' . There's only a handful of builds that can do it fastest, and even then there's only really 2 - 3 builds that compete for first spot. Picking something you like and which can at least kill at decent speed is most important thing. While 97 - 98 is no picknick either, it's mostly 98 - 99 where you'll spend time, and luckily there are a number of builds that can do Nihl just fine there, including a Zealot (I'd think).

@Gynli Good luck !!! I'm still amazed (but pleasantly surprised) at how many people are have joined and are still joining this madness fun journey.
Kitteh said:
I think that the nature of this tournament (despite being a tournament I know), is more of a collective 'getting to 99' rather than a 'getting to 99 before other people'. Obviously, getting there before other people is a bonus o_O
grim said:
I didn't mean to seem like I disregard zealers as "competitive" untwinked 99ers.
Getting to 99 is simply a matter of time. You could do it completely naked, in theory at least. Making it fun is the challenge.

I really don't see it as a competition and I enjoyed all my play time on my 99er. You guys gave me a great challenge and longterm project to enjoy my limited gaming time. And I thank you for that. For almost a year, my only D2 character was the 99er javazon. I simply liked it that much.
Unfortunately, now I'm hooked and can't see any reason to make a twinked character. It just seems too easy.

Inspired by @PhineasB 's multiple 99ers, I started another 99er and chose zealot for nostalgic reasons. It's the first build I ever made in D2 about 13 years ago.

My comment was intended to open the discussion about where you guys would run a zealot, that wouldn't be Baal (just to change things a bit for me).
I for one am planning now to run trav for runes for a while. Then respecking to a auradin and doing 2 seal CS/dia.

I'm glad to see other amazons here. I just love how they look and how powerful they feel.
Best of luck to everyone.
Trapin' said:
So i found a rare dimensional blade that has 40 IAS and some decent ED! I'm able to reach a 4 frame zeal with it vs my King's grace which can only get 5 with my IAS. There isn't any life steal on it or % damage to demons, but it may kill faster, I have life steal in rings, and I think there's style points in using a rare :)

EDIT: Update: the kill speed with rare/sanders is wayyy better. So using that combo now until I can find some end game gear!

Screenshot024.jpg

Also want to make sure i'm approaching the zeal breakpoints correctly. I'm using the german calculator and filling out the calc to get this table. Which means if I get 60 IAS i'll reach the max frames, which i can do with the rare 40ias and Sanders gloves 20 ias right? If i used the kings grace it would just be 20ias and only hit the 5/5/5/5/9 which is two breakpoints slower
2b4495659d7f99dc36a8aee8a5723ba3.png
T72on1 said:
Nice !!! And yes, you are correct about the calculator.
Trapin' said:
well ceegee is now a champion :) He had a great welcome to hell!!

Screenshot027.jpg

Now my only problem is whether to put it on my merc or myself :confused:
I think for now I will sport it, as it's too sexy not too. Hopefully I can get a G helm soon and throw it on my merc then :)

I also found a 4 os thresher in Hell den! Great for insight... oh wait i'm not using a RWM :p
Hurts to let a 4 os thresher sit in den :oops:
drmalawi said:
Trapin' said:
well ceegee is now a champion :) He had a great welcome to hell!!

Screenshot027.jpg

Now my only problem is whether to put it on my merc or myself :confused:
I think for now I will sport it, as it's too sexy not too. Hopefully I can get a G helm soon and throw it on my merc then :)

I also found a 4 os thresher in Hell den! Great for insight... oh wait i'm not using a RWM :p
Hurts to let a 4 os thresher sit in den :oops:
that is a nice helm for an untwinked zealot starting hell indeed!
I remember that my first untwinked barb got arreats from nightmare Baal quest :)
Why not RWM?
 
Trapin' said:
drmalawi said:
that is a nice helm for an untwinked zealot starting hell indeed!
I remember that my first untwinked barb got arreats from nightmare Baal quest :)
Why not RWM?
In my own weird way I believe beating single player without any mod is more pure and challenging. Curious if there's a reason they divided certain runewords to only be available on battlenet?
Kitteh said:
Trapin' said:
In my own weird way I believe beating single player without any mod is more pure and challenging. Curious if there's a reason they divided certain runewords to only be available on battlenet?
I appreciate what you mean! There was an SPFer who wasn't around for too long but he played HC vanilla only and he sometimes made a video of himself selling Death's Web etc to vendors, just to rile us all up :rolleyes:
GalaXyHaXz said:
Did he ever sell a Tyreals or HR? :D

I think the reason they kept some runewords and the uber quests ladder-only was to encourage people to start fresh after the reset and play on the ladder instead of non-ladder.
Kitteh said:
I don't think her found Tyraels', and HRs I guess are universal haha I think that was a part of it, it also added some level of economy swings to non-ladder when a new wave of runewords fell into the market.
Dezrok said:
Wondering if I can bring my lvl 92 BlizzSorc to the party?

Started her a couple of weeks ago and now it seems she is going to be heading to 99.
Kitteh said:
Mate, if she is untwinked, book her a room at hotel crazy.
Dezrok said:
Thanks @Kitteh

And so I will introduce the delightfully untwinked Matriarch Salome to the tourney/craziness. You can read about most of her progress so far in this thread.

I will add her to the table once I've pulled together her S/U and Grail info. Am in the middle of a rather bountiful Pindle session, so looking forward to the update :)

Edit: Added to tables. 213 p3 Pindle runs pushed Salome to level 92 with grail drops of Earth Shifter, Arkaine Valor, Death's Fathom, Bloodmoon, Lightsabre, IK Soul Cage, Vamp Gaze and a Gul!

Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -          many          ?
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      92             Yes         453        251            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      89             Yes           -          -            6           -
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Trapin' said:
So i've been having trouble making the transition from nightmare to hell. I decided i needed to get a better weapon and add some damage if I was going to move forward. So I decided to grind some nightmare meph not really knowing exactly what it is I was looking for. To my surprise in one run I seemed to upgrade two items and one of them an end game item!!

Screenshot028.jpg
Screenshot029.jpg

I tried testing out the hand of blessed light vs the rare dimensional blade, and it's tough, but I think the hand eeks out the rare just a little with kill speed, and the +2 pally skills is nice for holy shield/fanat. I thought about upping the rare dimensional blade to phase blade and putting a nice jewel in it some day down the road, but it's tough to hang on to as it takes up a lot of space. Do you guys think the rare dimensional blade is worth keeping?
Dimensional Blade
Yng said:
Wouldn’t waste the Pul TBH, not enough ED. Too many better options.
You could try NM Andy if you bugged her for Butcher’s.
NamelessPenguin said:
@Trapin' No, and definitely not a socket quest. Be patient, you will reach LK at some point, at become efficient at farming runes for better weapons. From the looks of it, eBoTD seems like your only option. Perhaps Travincal is better for that one.
drmalawi said:
Trapin' said:
So i've been having trouble making the transition from nightmare to hell. I decided i needed to get a better weapon and add some damage if I was going to move forward. So I decided to grind some nightmare meph not really knowing exactly what it is I was looking for. To my surprise in one run I seemed to upgrade two items and one of them an end game item!!

Screenshot028.jpg
Screenshot029.jpg

I tried testing out the hand of blessed light vs the rare dimensional blade, and it's tough, but I think the hand eeks out the rare just a little with kill speed, and the +2 pally skills is nice for holy shield/fanat. I thought about upping the rare dimensional blade to phase blade and putting a nice jewel in it some day down the road, but it's tough to hang on to as it takes up a lot of space. Do you guys think the rare dimensional blade is worth keeping?
Dimensional Blade
Nice finds!

I would have upped that Dim Blade only if it were ethereal...

Try find a headstriker sword, have soloed zealots with that one upped, it is really nice :) It might not be good enough for reaching lvl 99 tho. Heavens light is a good weapon and can be found in act 1 Hell.
ffs said:
@Gynli Great, welcome! I hope that Faith is farmed quickly and/or a WF drops for you.

@Dezrok Same to you, and grats on that Fathom, that's an amazing find for an untwinked Sorc. What's the roll? Pictures please! ;)

@Trapin' I totally agree with @NamelessPenguin, definitely don't use a socket on some random item that will clearly not be your end game gear, you only have three of those quests. This is a long journey, be patient and keep running, the upgrades will come 100%!
NamelessPenguin said:
@Trapin' Like @ffs says, I would only socket items, I knew 100% were going to follow me until the end. I found a eth Reapers, which I chose to punch a hole in, because that's what the Merc is going to use all the way. I feel it was the right decision.

You found that Guilliams, which is probably going to follow you all the way, so I would consider socketing that one. But I'd much rather do some tests first, see if something works better for you. Maybe a CoA could replace that helm, since you can get CB+DS from Gores, but that requires some luck, ofc.

And If you found a superior eth BA, that would also be a very good candidate for a socket quest, if you aim for BoTD.

If you find a HoZ (which I presume is end gear), I would still wait to socket it, to see if it would be better served elsewhere. On your Merc, perhaps.

Point is. Don't use your sockets until you are 100% certain it is an item you can't live without.
Dezrok said:
ffs said:
@Dezrok Same to you, and grats on that Fathom, that's an amazing find for an untwinked Sorc. What's the roll? Pictures please! ;)
Ask and ye shall receive!
Screenshot008.jpg
The +cold skill damage is pretty good, the resists not so much ... but regardless it has given a massive boost to Salome's damage output and she is happy to handle p3 now ... probably could go to p5 except that the merc still needs to do the CI kills.

Being honest, I didn't even realise what I had found until after I'd ID'd it and even then it took a bit of time to sink in. I've never seen one of these before and never expected to, one of those items that just wasn't on my radar at all and I didn't bother screenshotting the drop.

Some drop shots for other recent finds:
Screenshot009.jpg
That Gul.

Screenshot010.jpg
First ever Lightsabre.

Screenshot012.jpg
A -5/+3 Cold Facet (if only it was the other way around).

I've just finished reading the Wheel of Time series (again) and so now have a bit of reading time to go through all the posts in this thread to see what gems of wisdom I can find. Looks like it will be almost as epic as Robert Jordan!

One thing I'm thinking about is whether it is worth the Strength investment for a Spirit shield. I'm using Lidless Wall at the moment, so one less skill and 15% less FCR (along with the FHR, mana and resists) and I have already boosted my strength to 97 to wear Skullders ... but another 60 points of strength (okay 59 points) to equip Spirit seems excessive. Spirit would definitely get us within reach of the 105 FCR breakpoint, but that doesn't seem to be so important for Blizzard, which is on a timer anyway.
Albatross said:
@Dezrok since you are playing SC now it's definitely worth it to push for a spirit. You won't really miss the HP and you'll get a decent boost in damage (speed) and gear flexibility (more MF).
ffs said:
Time for a small post-MFO update. HelpYourself is at around 50% progress towards 97. Only minor gear changes, couple of charms and possibly the below ring drop. Still grinding Baal, picking up speed again after switching back to Griffon's and CM now that the MFO is over. I'm still including Baal for the extra drops though, given that it only means a minor drop in XP/h in comparison to waves only (at least in her case at 96). Runs are not too eventful, and I mean that mostly in a good way. It's smooth sailing again, she did not have any further NDEs and seems very safe at some 2400-2500 HP, depending on different setup tweaks I'm switching back and forth for some reason.

Her progress speed is fine, I can actually see myself really going through with this madness at this point. ;) After timing her runs at Baal and Nihl, and with the help of this extremely helpful post by @NanoMist, I calculated her remaining journey to lvl 99 to take another ~120 hours or so (provided no deaths). Still an intimidating amount, but it actually seems doable.

As stated before her end game gear is essentially complete, the only meaningful upgrade remains additional skillers. However, a potential minor upgrade (and thus most useful MFO drop I guess) was maybe this:
4_SoJ.png
But I'm still undecided between this and her recently found BKWB. At least for Baal runs, Mana is not too much of an issue and the ~50 extra life could make all the difference at some point. :)

Other nice drops:
4_Ber.png
Now at 2 Bers and 3 Surs that are not being put to use. I am serious: If the remaining runes required for two Dreams drop, she will hit 99 as Bear Sorc. She's got the necessary bases and remaining gear assembled already. :)

4_Mara.png
Very nice, but not as nice as her crafted +2/FCR/+10@ ammy which enables her to use one +1 ring instead of FCR. So no use for this one unfortunately.

4_MFO_Tomby eth.png
This was cool and painful at the same time. Eth Tomby is such a rare and extremely high potential find, almost perfect ED roll too, but it rolled one socket :(

More nice finds included eth Nightwing's Veil, 2x Azurewrath, 2x Cerebus' Bite, Boneflame, and in general really a lot of eth uniques. Guess I'll have to count at some point and enter the eth grail thread. No real game changers, and since I'm back at ~70 MF I don't expect too many exciting drops too often going forward.

Oh and of course this dropped 20 minutes after MFO ended:
4_Grandfather.png
Amazing roll and would have been an amazing score, but 20 minutes too late. :)
NanoMist said:
@ffs - I'm glad the tables were useful, great work planning out the final stretch to 99. 120 hours remaining for 99 at level 96.5 is very fast. I also found a 1 socket Eth Tomb Reaver during the MFO, so I feel your pain as well.
Dezrok said:
Albatross said:
@Dezrok since you are playing SC now it's definitely worth it to push for a spirit. You won't really miss the HP and you'll get a decent boost in damage (speed) and gear flexibility (more MF).
Sounds like I'll need to use my first respec soon then, will be a good opportunity to refine a few skill points that were used for leveling and are no longer needed as well.

Did a few more Pindle runs. Every time I'm about to leave him he does something like this:
Screenshot020.jpg
Just need one more Mal for a CtA.

Other notable finds from 200 p3 runs were: 2x Shadow Killers, Verdungo's, IK Stone Crusher and 39% Chancies.

Edit: Dropped by LK to see if I had a decent map. Casually teleporting around looking for camp fires. Randomly cast Blizzard on a Boss pack and:
Screenshot021.jpg

So now ...
Screenshot022.jpg
ffs said:
@NanoMist yeah 120 hours is more like a rough estimate, and that would be pure run times. Given I won't be playing like a machine all the time and also do different things for change of pace, I'm really currently estimating something like 130-150 hours of actual in game time with her.

Her Baal runs are fast at some 2.5 minutes, but what's really good news is her Nihl times, which I believe I may eventually be able to push to around 20 seconds with a good map. More so than other chars, lightning Sorc can focus him down really quickly. In fact I'm curious if there is a faster build for running Nihl at all. Only did a few runs to get an idea, but on a clearly suboptimal map I was at around 25s. Assuming a better map and considering the occasional XP shrine, I treated Nihl runs as 20s. Whether that's true remains to be seen, but since I don't want to get discouraged I'll only recalculate this at 98. ;)
NanoMist said:
A couple of runners, including myself, faced the issue of lengthy save & exit times with Nihla runs. For me, it was adding something like 7-8 seconds onto each run, which is a big deal when the runs are so short. If you don't have this issue, then I can see 120 hours being very possible.
 
Albatross said:
NanoMist said:
A couple of runners, including myself, faced the issue of lengthy save & exit times with Nihla runs. For me, it was adding something like 7-8 seconds onto each run, which is a big deal when the runs are so short. If you don't have this issue, then I can see 120 hours being very possible.
Did you try to delete those character's .map files? I might misremember @frozzzen mentioning it fixed his slow load/save issues on one character and I feel like doing so sped up my AT runs. It did not help one bit for andariel runs, which leads me to believe that it has to do with acts/areas from which you are exiting. This is something I plan on investigating further.
NanoMist said:
I've tried deleting the map files, it didn't help. It's the same with Andariel, when I run her for essences, and also in the TC3 MF tournament. From what I've observed, these long exit times happen when I exit the game shortly after traveling through large portions of maps quickly (via teleport). No issues with loading times though, it's always fast.
Albatross said:
Might be the distance, maybe the amount of game objects loaded during the run? The number of areas to reach the target, or run duration don't seem to correlate with longer S&E.

Andariel: act I -> waypoint -> catacombs 2 -> catacombs 3 -> catacombs 4 -> S&E (slow)

Nihlathak: act V -> waypoint -> halls of pain -> halls of vaught -> S&E (haven't run personally, but apparently really slow)

AT runs: act II -> act I -> waypoint -> lost city -> ancient tunnels -> S&E (almost instant for me, entrance is 2 teleports from WP)

Pindle: act V -> red portal -> S&E (don't actually remember, but I think these are 1-2s most)

New game: act I -> S&E (instant, duration test)
Yng said:
I have ridiculous load times running any area as far as I can remember.
It’s like 12 seconds to enter Lost City from save and exit best case scenario..
Albatross said:
Really shouldn't be that slow.. do you play with the (physical) CD? Tried to remove those .map files?
LiquidClear said:
Have you tried taking the cartridge out and blowing into it?

I'll go back to my hole and stop trolling now.
Yng said:
Albatross said:
Really shouldn't be that slow.. do you play with the (physical) CD? Tried to remove those .map files?
No physical cd, just the download from my Battle.net account. I have not tried removing any files, which map files in particular? I always just assumed it was my terrible laptop or some sort of compatibility issue.
Albatross said:
Oh, well, if you are playing on an old laptop, that's probably it then :)

As far as I know, this hasn't been confirmed or thoroughly tested.. so it might do nothing but erase your minimaps. Your character's save file consists of several .ma* files, along with .d2s and .key. Only the .d2s files is crucial, I believe the .key stores your control bindings, but I've never tested that. .ma(p) files store all discovered maps and they grow over time as you explore the world. Deleting them will not in any way affect the levels, area, dungeoes.

Btw, backup your character before deleting anything.
Dezrok said:
Salome has worked her way to level 93.

A mixture of Pindle runs, LK and AT. I've slowly been upping the players setting to see what she can handle. About halfway through I used her first respec to boost her strength to 156 so she could equip a Spirit shield, I also took the chance to take points out of Warmth, Teleport and Static Charge, which had been used for leveling. With +skills, one hard point in Tele is enough now and I've gone with 3 hard pts in Static. With Insight on the merc I can't see much use for Warmth, so no more points there. Other than 1pt in the first cold armor, everything else in Blizzard, Blizzard synergies and Cold Mastery.

As part of the respec we completely re-geared. I ditched the MF and went for maximum damage/survivability. We still have 140% MF but now have +11 cold skills (+12 with Battle Cry), +35% cold skill damage, reach the 105fcr breakpoint, 60fhr, and fire and lightning resist are maxed. Cold res is 50 and poison 35. Life 1575, mana 710 (with BO).

Death's Fathom (+25% cold dam) + Spirit (32%fcr) - will roll for a 35%fcr Spirit once I get another 4os Monarch
Switch: CtA (+2 BO) + Lidless - will replace the Lidless with a Spirit
Shako socketed PTopaz
Ormus Robes (10% cold dam) - thinking about CoH here for the resists and +skills
Arach Mesh
Rare Ammy (+2 cold skills/10%fcr)
Rare Ring (10%fcr/resists)
Rainbow Ring of the Apprentice
Rare Gloves (resists/MF) - still no sign of any FCR gloves
Rare Boots (FRW/resists/MF) - War Travs might be nice
Charms: 1x cold skiller, 23% MF, 5% FHR, resists

The result of all this is that Blizzard now does 6496-6813 damage and Salome is very comfortable running p8 AT. For the last half of level 92 we were running a combined p8 LK + AT loop. We have a 2 camp LK map which isn't great but can loop back to the waypoint, and then the entrance for AT is 2 ports from the waypoint and the map can be done in one big loop, however, it is huge and the bosses are pretty evenly distributed, so it isn't efficient. Neither map is worth keeping on its own but together they form an enjoyable 5 minute run.

There has been a very noticeable decrease in S/U drops however. Half a level of runs netted only IK Stonecrusher, Widowmaker, Moonfall and a Pul. Plenty of grailers in the first half of the level though.

Next up I'm going to give CS a try. AT still has plenty of run left in it if CS doesn't work out, but I'm interested to see how I can go in CS. Salome's gear seems pretty good, but obviously there are a few improvements still to be made and the merc needs a complete makeover at some stage soon. All of which keeps things interesting.

I've also been reading through the thread, and it really is an epic! Up to about page 20, so only one quarter of the way along the journey. Learning lots though!

Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -          many          ?
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      93             Yes         521        274            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      89             Yes           -          -            6           -
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Nibiru- said:
Kitteh said:
That is primarily why summoners don't get much love as 99ers, its the base character. There are a few 99er summoners outside of the tournament though :)
It's normal for most people to play summoners first right?
Kitteh said:
Generally speaking people go summoner or sorceress first yes, generally the former in HC.
Trapin' said:
So my zealot, ceegee has gotten to Hell LK, and I pretty much spent the whole day running it. I found a 2 campfire map fairly close to each other and the WP. Do you guys always run players 8 for LK? I found a thread that said a Ber was just as equally to drop on players 3, and there was more patterns for Um on p3 (i also need an um). I'd rather run p3 because it's easier to see the drops and the monsters don't shred me. So if it's the same for runes I'd rather run p3.

I don't know how you guys do this, but i'm exhausted. I found a gul/fal/fal so far on the first day. (close to 6 hours of running LK lol) I also did find a new weapon for him tho, which is pretty snazzy:
Screenshot037.jpg

I'm looking for a ber/um for a CoH. I have the 4 os scarab husk waiting...
ffs said:
@Trapin' Very simple: You run LK on P7/8, no excpetions. :) As to how boring it is, it depends on the player I guess and also getting used to it. I personally find it to be kind of relaxing and don't mind doing a lot of LK runs. For example, I put in quite a few extra hours in LK with my 99er Sorc, since I had to make five CtAs before I got a good roll. :/ For 6 hours, a Gul may not be above average, but is not bad either. I've had stretches of 8 hours LK with my Sorc when nothing above Pul dropped, and in the next 8 hours I got Ber and Sur and a couple of other good runes. It's all RNG, but check the rune finding guide for more information on expected runs for certain runes. Ultimately, one thing is for sure: Those Surs will drop, and that means Bers are in reach, always. :) Oh and that weapon is not too shabby to use until some Oath or Grief is possible!

For a Zealot, I'd really consider either Fortitude or Enigma over CoH tbh though. But while Lo drops slightly more often on P5 statistically, it's really not worth missing out on those Sur patterns on P7/8.
Trapin' said:
ffs said:
@Trapin' Very simple: You run LK on P7/8, no excpetions. :) As to how boring it is, it depends on the player I guess and also getting used to it. I personally find it to be kind of relaxing and don't mind doing a lot of LK runs. For example, I put in quite a few extra hours in LK with my 99er Sorc, since I had to make five CtAs before I got a good roll. :/ For 6 hours, a Gul may not be above average, but is not bad either. I've had stretches of 8 hours LK with my Sorc when nothing above Pul dropped, and in the next 8 hours I got Ber and Sur and a couple of other good runes. It's all RNG, but check the rune finding guide for more information on expected runs for certain runes. Ultimately, one thing is for sure: Those Surs will drop, and that means Bers are in reach, always. :) Oh and that weapon is not too shabby to use until some Oath or Grief is possible!

For a Zealot, I'd really consider either Fortitude or Enigma over CoH tbh though. But while Lo drops slightly more often on P5 statistically, it's really not worth missing out on those Sur patterns on P7/8.
I'm not using a RWM so no fortitude/oath/grief for me o_O I can make kingslayer, but not sure it would be much better than the rare I found :p
necrolemming said:
Even if Ber has the same number of patterns on p3 as on p7 (which it doesn't seem to; there are two vs three recorded ones), Surs are so much more common that you'll get one Ber from p7 runs in 70% fewer on average. There's no reason to run on p3.

Chains of Honor is a good stopgap, but I don't think you're realistically going to want to tackle the 99 grind without an Enigma. Whether or not you want to spend 1/3 of an Enigma on CoH is a personal call, I guess.
Dezrok said:
Salome has grabbed another level, moving on to 94. Still pretty easy leveling. I thought I could get there in a day, but it took two. Mostly because I'm not very efficient in my running.

The merc got an overhaul first. Treachery in an eth Wyrmhide replaced Duriel's, Vamp Gaze replaced Guillame's and an Insight Thresher replaced the Insight CV, terrible rolls on the Insight though.

So level 93-94 needed 188 million XP.
We tried out CS first, without great success.
A successful p8 Gripp run gave 1.2 million XP in 3:10, however, after a promising first few runs, we ended up aborting many of the next batch of runs due to merc deaths and so weren't reaching this potential.
Our LK + AT p8 circuit gave us just over 1 million XP per run at 3:50 per run.
Just running AT was 1 million XP in 3:20.
p8 Pindle and minions was 162,513 XP in 28 secs (or 1/8th the XP of our AT run in about 1/7th of the time).
So, it was looking like 188 AT runs were going to be the most efficient way to go.

At first I was running with very little MF, but this was pretty boring. I do very much like seeing new drops and this is a big part of my motivation for playing a toon beyond Matriarch/Guardian.

A white Monarch got 4os and we now had a 35%fcr Spirit, which allowed me to free up a ring slot from fcr duties.

About a quarter of the way through the level I felt a bit aimless, so went and did some Andy runs to see if I could get any unique jewellery (so far the only unique amulets I have are two Cat's Eyes). It didn't take long for me to decide that was a waste of time, only getting about 3000 XP per run. However, Andy sure does drop a lot of stuff. No jewellery but a pair of Trang's gloves dropped, finally giving us a pair of FCR gloves and freeing up more gear options.

Still feeling aimless I visited Trav and Meph before returning to AT runs. This time I was carrying just under 300% MF and life was much more interesting.

With only 46 million XP to go I lost my map (again). I took the opportunity to replace my Might merc with a Holy Freezer. I also socketed the Fathom and put my Cold Facet in it.

Turns out losing the AT map was a good move, my new map still gave 1 million XP per run, however only took 2:22 to do. It still isn't a very good map though and I should think about trying for a really good one ... maybe.

Twenty-two more grailers for Salome this level! That is pretty awesome! The best is Nightwing's Veil! Plus another Ormus' Robes, this one with Firewall and 1% more cold skill damage. This gives me a possible +54% to Cold Skill Damage! Although I'm not sure I want to give up my Shako, the +life and +mana seem rather important. Besides I have already socketed the Shako, so using something else would make a waste of the reward. Still, will be fun to play around with it.

Other nice drops included: Reapers, Skull Collector, Razor's Edge, Aldur's Deception, Stoneraven, Soul Drainer and a +3 Eschuta's. Best rune was a Lum.

For 94-95 Salome needs 206 million XP, so I'll have another try at CS and then see how the XP/time is looking for different areas before deciding on a place to run.

Some pics:

Great AT sparkly chest drop!
Screenshot032.jpg

and another (sort of)
Screenshot039.jpg


Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -          many          ?
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      94             Yes         645        296            -           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      89             Yes           -          -            6           -
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Trapin' said:
necrolemming said:
Even if Ber has the same number of patterns on p3 as on p7 (which it doesn't seem to; there are two vs three recorded ones), Surs are so much more common that you'll get one Ber from p7 runs in 70% fewer on average. There's no reason to run on p3.

Chains of Honor is a good stopgap, but I don't think you're realistically going to want to tackle the 99 grind without an Enigma. Whether or not you want to spend 1/3 of an Enigma on CoH is a personal call, I guess.
I'm not a huge fan of teleport on a melee char, but maybe I'll try it out! Need to find a 3 os too :p
NamelessPenguin said:
@Trapin' If you find (grind) the relevant runes without teleport, then you've won my heart :D

Rune hunting, like everything else, depends a lot on luck and determination. I did 3500 runs with my BlizzSorc and found one Sur, 2xLo, 2xOhm, 2xVex and change. I probably did about the same amount with my barbarian and found 4xSurs, Ber, Lo, 2xOhm, 2xVex and more change.

Best of luck on your journey :) And that's a sweet axe! Should speed things up from your previous weapon.
darkstarhub said:
@Trapin' That is an awesome rare Ettin Axe man! IAS, dual leach, and some cold dmg to boot, not to mention a very nice ED roll. That one is worth punching a hold in for sure. I still pick up more rares than I should, which slows down runs, but its part of the fun for me so I dont care.

@Dezrok Thats some really solid progress. You are definitely faster at leveling than me. I would be much closer to 96 had it not been for several instances of falling asleep at the wheel.

As for me, after the MFO I settled back into the groove with my FO/FB Sorc. It felt like getting under that old comfortable broken in blanket. I also found an all time grailer last night. Its weird that such a low level item would evade me for so long. They will definitely be put to use for twinking.
Screenshot226.jpg
Kitteh said:
I had that with Lenymo, total pain! Then I got an ethereal and non-ethereal version in quick succession :rolleyes:
 
Yng said:
Since updates are in the air I figured I'd post a quick one while I have time now that the MFO is finished.

Sophie reached clvl 93 shortly after the MFO, finally putting us in a position to start setting up for P8 Vizier + Infector runs. Also cubed up to Ist and finished that beautiful Delirium:
KZ6Mcsa.jpg


jJdaxqz.jpg

A few notable drops during the MFO that will aid in the quest for 99:
pTNmJ2d.jpg


kllJ9JG.jpg


MpZ418N.jpg

And while we're on the topic of LK, these + 2x Um dropped in maybe 75 runs last night:
SHUGXG2.jpg


LhrNiSB.jpg


aytzV57.jpg



Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -          many          ?
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      94             Yes         645        296            -           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      93             Yes           -          -            7           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Kitteh said:
Good progress all! Kaylin is in Nightmare act 5, but it could take a while to progress as my finals are next month and I have a heap of reports and a literature review due end of this month. Keep up the good work! :D
Yng said:
I may be playing for a while tonight, and I’ll be streaming if anyone is interested in some P8 content. I’ve been doing mostly LK/RoF superchests to build up runes for a future Zerker but I think I’ll do some CS for the sake of moving the XP bar.

aarrgus said:
Greetings everyone. After getting the itch to play D2 again, I made sure to visit the old Single Player Forum stomping grounds and lo and behold a level 99 topic, untwinked no less. So here I am ready to throw myself into *finally* making a serious run at a 99, and this time untwinked for added fun.

Let me introduce you to Acala the Frenzy Barbarian. As a lover of puzzles and self imposed video game challenges, I am revisiting an old idea for a Pure Vita Barbarian. That's all attribute points into Vitality, no points allocated anywhere else. It's not particularly original, but it seems like a good challenge nonetheless.

The good news is I have reached level 32 and have finally hit normal Pindleskin. The bad news is I am completely strength starved. Until I hit Pindle I was literally stuck with the same weapons and almost all the same armor I had in act 1. All those str and dex charms you get playing the game normally that you just throw away? Yea you'll never get them when you need them lol. But now I am finally pushing 50 strength through charms, ammy, ring, etc so I'm finally starting to get gear upgrades. Even with that said, I would love for enemies to drop some charms please.... I've not seen a single charm drop in all of act 5 haha. So for at least a little while I'll be running Pindle for lucky gear drops and levels until ready to move to NM.

Anyhow, I know that I'm low on the list (for now), but I wanted to make sure to say hello to everyone. :)

Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -          many          ?
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      94             Yes         645        296            -           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      93             Yes           -          -            7           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      32             Yes                                   1
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Dezrok said:
@darkstarhub I've had quite a bit of time to play recently and the novelty of playing at these levels and finding lots of loot I've never seen before has kept me keen. I feel like I'm just about to hit the XP plateau though and progress will become a lot slower from now on.

Nice progress @Yng , I dropped in on your channel about 15 mins after you posted but you were offline.

Welcome to the fun @aarrgus and good luck with the journey!

and @Kitteh thanks for the regular motivational messages.

I almost accidentally discovered I had a pretty good LK map
Screenshot010.jpg

The armor rack in the middle drops Spiderweb Sash's ... I didn't check but I'm pretty sure that Arach Mesh can't drop from it so I haven't been popping it.

So thought I might spend the day in LK running for runes and see what dropped. While Salome's gear is okay, I figure a few high runes will help things along nicely. Any of Ber, Ohm, Lo, Vex or Ist would be great to see.

I would love to use the Lo in this baby!
Screenshot011.jpg

Salome could also do with a whole heap of better charms, especially for resists. So LK it is!

I decided I didn't want to count runs or time them, I figured that would become frustrating for me. However, I did a time trial at the start and runs were about 35 seconds, this dropped to about 30 seconds pretty quickly and when I did a time check around the middle of the day Salome was averaging 25 seconds per run, which I was super happy with.

A pretty conservative estimate would be that I did 1000 runs during the day, probably was a bit more than this but 1000 will do. During what was probably the second hundred runs we had 35 minutes where we got Um, Pul and Ist.

Screenshot001.jpg

Screenshot003.jpg

Screenshot005.jpg

And the entire rest of the day gave us one more Pul, along with lots and lots of Lem and lower. Apparently this is pretty poor rune form for LK, but I didn't have any expectations (and didn't check until I was finished for the day) so didn't get at all frustrated.

Plenty of nice charms to pick through including a second cold skiller, so it wasn't all a waste. Also quite a few gems and jewels for crafting.

A secondary aim for the day was to break my habit of using the mouse to choose the difficulty level and instead to re-train myself to select the difficulty using the keyboard. I figure there is a much lesser chance of accidentally choosing the wrong difficulty and re-rolling maps this way. Will mark this one up as a success and hopefully will have less accidents in the future.

Not sure if I'll invest another day in LK just now or get back to killing things and finding S/Us.

Probably should go and find a 3os helm from somewhere first and use that Ist for the much talked about Delerium. Seems to be the merc helm of choice for 99'ers. Wouldn't mind an eth elite polearm base for Insight either .. maybe I can go for a spin around the Moo Moo Farm tomorrow.
PhineasB said:
It’s been fun to catch up on the progress in this thread over the last six weeks. Great progress, particularly from @ffs with HelpYourself. And welcome to those who have joined -- very cool to see the Amazons represented. I also like seeing people entering a second character!

I’ve been away for a bit and then spent limited play time when I got back to participate (in limited fashion) in MFO. So Hiatus had only gained 1M XP since the last update until Friday. She’s now moving again, with another 20M gained and a bit past 98.3.

I was worried about a death when she returned, so took it slow initially. That actually paid off, with some changes in run style that improved efficiency, as she netted 2.7M XP for the last hour that I tracked. (She also avoided dying!). The main improvement was moving the primary landing spot around Nihl’s platform, and more recently no longer casting Battle Command.

Significant finds that warranted screenshots were a Lo (which took some work to retrieve due to vipers and Nihl having been cursed), a Mal, and Ravenlore. The other improvement was finding BKWB, which she swapped out with the SoJ for extra life. That upgrade is what finally led to trying runs without Battle Command.

The game trolled me with a Chilling skiller, which is her fifth, but still only one lightning skiller. Other finds of note were a 5/5 cold facet, an Um, a 3os Tomb Reaver, a 30@ Metalgrid, and another Azurewrath. Maybe her best find though was this jewel:
Code:
Scintillating Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x93f3e6b2
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+15% Increased Attack Speed
Cold Resist +12%
Lightning Resist +12%
Fire Resist +12%
Poison Resist +12%
Keep up the progress everyone! It’s nice to see this thread so active, so keep the updates coming. :)
Yng said:
Couldn't resist spamming LK/RoF superchests the last couple of times I played (and a tiny bit of HC Sorc progress). No XP update but..

Ayy more runes:
J4e79TA.jpg


NXxsDfB.jpg


This one is a new P7/8 pattern:
cwp2KJS.jpg
Dezrok said:
Very nice jewel! @PhineasB

After yesterday's intensive LK effort I took things a bit quieter today.

An early stroll through the farm. First run dropped an Ist and a Pul, along with the 3os helm I was after. That pretty much put me on equal footing with yesterday's entire LK running. Two more runs gave two more 3os helms but no more high runes and the trip to get Wirt's Leg was way too far.

So, I cruised through a few other areas to see what felt good and settled on doing a few CS runs with about 40%MF. Nothing much in the way of drops but the XP bar moved along a bit.

Things were a little intense in CS so for a change I thought I'd check out AT, still with only about 40%MF. First run was a mess, teleporting into packs, misclicks and general uncoordination. Picked up a second pair of Trang's Gloves along the way. Eventually reached the sparkly chest at the end, popped it and out came two golds - a ring and gloves. I normally get excited at the sight of gold jewellery, even knowing it will probably be another Nagelring, but after that shocker of a run I couldn't raise much enthusiasm.

Back to Cain and he tells me Salome has got herself a shiny new SoJ!

Not bad returns for a day of stuffing around!
Amanda Maynard said:
I don't know what to tell you coju. I like blizzard. I don't like FO as much. FO/CL gogogo?
Kitteh said:
Amanda Maynard said:
I don't know what to tell you coju. I like blizzard. I don't like FO as much. FO/CL gogogo?
New people :D Welcome to the SPF!
ffs said:
@PhineasB thanks, good to see you picking up where you left. ;) Oh and it's actually your fault that I wasted a good amount of time recently on this stupid project haha. After all when that Griffon's dropped I was only running casually, but you finally pushed me to switching to pure lightning, which left me with that massive to do list I was working on since then. Way to ruin other people's lifes, so thanks for nothing! :)

Nice progress @Yng and @Dezrok, and welcome @aarrgus!
PhineasB said:
ffs said:
Way to ruin other people's lifes, so thanks for nothing! :)
Just doing my part to support the community :p Maybe it's offset by pushing through to 99 with a pure lightning sorc without Griffon's or Arachnid's? Or Phaedrus committing to continue his climb and at least keep HelpYourself company until she pings 99? ;)

In all seriousness, definitely cool to see that Griffon's put to good use. I'm excited to see how much faster she is at Nihl for 98 than Hiatus. Also, congrats on the SoJ @Dezrok -- always a nice find.
Kitteh said:
Kaylin has almost finished NM. I just tried to make an Insight (definitely the right recipe) but it appears that my RWM has suddenly ceased to function, so no idea what is wrong there... Kicking butt though, I mean its a furyzon, not a whole lot to say :p
PhineasB said:
I've had similar issues with RWM before. I'm not at my computer but I'll try to describe as best I can what worked for me:

There is a Data subfolder in the D2 directory. If you click through the sub folders there, there are no files in any until the last subfolder. You will probably see a bunch of files (I forget the extension, but maybe .bin) and only one .txt file (I think it's runes.txt) Delete everything but the txt file, restart D2, open your character, and hopefully you'll see an Insight rather than a gemmed polearm!
Kitteh said:
Damn, still a gemmed polearm :( Thanks for the input!
Albatross said:
Even if you fix the RWM you won't "see an insight" it will remain broken, but newly made runewords should work. This is best tested on the cheapest possible runeword (obviously).
Kitteh said:
I tried that too, with Spirit, and got nothing :( I will try it again in a while, once I finish reading this badly written paper on gene therapy. *grumble grumble* *blood idiots*
Gynli said:
@Albatross when i was fiddling arnd with my rwm the gemmed polearm turned into an insight after restarting the game from a correct path. Is the current gemmed polearm something different?

On topic, friend is in town so i didnt have many hrs to put into the amazon. Shes switching between pindle on p3 and lk on p7 with no luck so far.

I do have the runes for a delirium; would it be a useful helm for both desert and rogue merc? Theres always a chance of a wf+faith setup for a bowazon.
Albatross said:
I guess I'm wrong then, but I remember "failed" runewords not being fixed retroactively.
Dezrok said:
@Kitteh I also had this happen recently, but it was because I'd changed my D2 shortcut when I installed glidewrapper and forgot to add -direct -txt to the path ... of course you wouldn't do anything as shamefully stupid as this ... ;) (but just in case). Once I fixed the shortcut I was happy to find my runewords were working properly again.

@Gynli I have just made Delirium for my Act 2 merc ... and found Insight/Delirium/Treachery was less survivable than Insight/Vamp Gaze/Treachery. I'm thinking Delirium will be the better option once I get CoH for the merc and he has a source of leech on the armor but there is no need to rush to make your Delirium. I'm guessing it could work on the Rogue merc though, as they are less likely to be tanking.
 
Kitteh said:
I did check my shortcut but it was fine. Given that I'm using FB's switcher, there is the possibility that I checked the wrong shortcut haha I will double check! Thanks :)
T72on1 said:
It should work afterwards, when you get to fix whatever is wrong.

This is very unlikely, given your experience with the game, but you have made it in a Polearm class weapon, right? Not the classic fault of making it in a Spear type weapon which you think is a Polearm type. Been there, done that :cool:.
Kitteh said:
Haha, yes, and a variety of them. I can't find a single thing out of place and I haven't changed anything for months, so it is very strange... I will give it a couple of days, but if I can't find the issue I will probably just restart. No point stressing over pixels, and fresh starts are fun anyway :p
Yng said:
Dezrok said:
@Kitteh I also had this happen recently, but it was because I'd changed my D2 shortcut when I installed glidewrapper and forgot to add -direct -txt to the path ... of course you wouldn't do anything as shamefully stupid as this ... ;) (but just in case). Once I fixed the shortcut I was happy to find my runewords were working properly again.

@Gynli I have just made Delirium for my Act 2 merc ... and found Insight/Delirium/Treachery was less survivable than Insight/Vamp Gaze/Treachery. I'm thinking Delirium will be the better option once I get CoH for the merc and he has a source of leech on the armor but there is no need to rush to make your Delirium. I'm guessing it could work on the Rogue merc though, as they are less likely to be tanking.
You have to remember that your Merc has no leech if you’re using Delirium so you have to take more precaution managing his position. It’s quite good once you’re around 97/98 because if you’re wanting to be efficient with XP at that point you’re skipping a lot of things and just hitting very specific targets so it keeps everything else busy while you melt what you want to kill.
Gynli said:
Hmm mk. Thanks for the tips. For now, I will stick with the obedience / grim / treachery i have currently.

On a different note, im still unsure of where to use the sockets for the final gear. I know i will use fort / razortail / loh / wartrav / cats.eye / ravenfrost / blood.ring with faith and fleshripper / stormshield on switch. Im leaning towards socketing jewel of freedom on the SS for 133(134?) str req and leaving one for wf just in case. Andy helm seems to be a popular choice but i wont need the ias because i will be using multishot and not strafe. Would the 2zon 30frw 20@ tiara worth a socket? I wonder if the soj + pskull recipe still works. Lol
ffs said:
So I've hit level 97 with HelpYourself without too much exciting stuff to report on. Noteworthy finds since the last update were Tal's armor (completing the set), Boneshade, Boneflame (+3/24@), 2x Head Hunter's Glory (1+2 sockets), Giant Skull (1 socket, but cool since it's a grailer, dropped together with 2nd HHG), Eschuta's (3/11/14) and another Andy's. She also found two more life/resist SCs and has 7 of those now. (Sorry didn't take screenshots of everything decent.)

She is pretty sturdy by now, avoided any deaths and rarely was in any kind of danger from 96 to 97. However I swapped quite a bit of gear after running the numbers for CM vs. Hoto again, now that she has two +1 rings she can swap in when using Hoto. Broken LI bosses do take longer with Hoto setup, but in her case it deals some ~5-20% higher damage to most other monsters, depending on their LR. Apparently that's more beneficial for these runs than sniping the broken LIs faster, or at least it makes up for that, as it was a bit faster when comparing 30 minute stretches of Baal runs.

For those interested, these are her numbers for the Hoto vs. CM comparison:

CM setup: -144 ELR (-85 from Infinity, -35 from CM, -24 form Griffon's). Lightning max damage is 18075.
Hoto setup: -109 ELR; Lightning max damge is 24538.
(2 skillers in both setups)

vs 30% LR monster (I took this sort of as an average of the several 33% LR and 25% LR mob types in Throne Room)
CM: monster is at -100 LR (cap) -- 18075 * 2 = 36150
Hoto: monster has -79 LR -- 24538*1.79 = 43917.65 (+21.48% )

(Obviously any LR of less than 44% means the high amount of -ELR from CM setup is not fully utilized.)

vs 50% LR monster
CM: monster has -94 LR -- 18075 * 1.94 = 35065.5
Hoto: monster has -59 LR -- 24535*1.59 = 39010.65 (+11.25%)

vs 75% LR monster
CM: 75% monster has -69 LR -- 18075 * 1.69 = 30546.75
Hoto: monster has -34 LR -- 24538*1.34 = 32876.9 (+7.62%)

vs 105% LR monster (breakable LI)
Infinity works at 20% (-17% ELR), i.e. monster has 88% LR after Infinity and 64% after Griffon's
Hoto: monster has 64% LR -- 24538*0.36 = 8833.68
CM: monster has 29% -- 18075*0.71 = 12833.25 (+45.28%)

This really shows how good CM is against broken LIs, but also how strong Hoto is overall. CM should get better and better with more skillers, but I kind of doubt I'll collect the necessary amount with her. Then again, there's over 14,000 XP runs ahead of me. :)

So I decided to run Hoto again, considering it also allows for so many options for other slots as well. She's now using SoJ, BKWB and the 28@ Mara's she recently found (having used BKWB, rare FCR ring and +2/FCR craft ammy before). I also swapped Aldur's boots for Waterwalk, providing the dex to use Hoto flail without hard points, more life, and the +5% max FR is nice as well. Since I didn't need FCR on gloves anymore, I also replaced Magefist with Bloodfist. These tend to fly under the radar, but I've used them on a twinked Lightning Sorc before and really like them. The 30% FHR on its own brings her to the next breakpoint (7 fpa at 86% FHR) and the 40 extra life is very nice. At this point I really want her to be as safe as possible going forward, and she now has 2684 life after BO, about 350 more than with the CM setup. I'm also considering dropping Gheed's for another +100 life. But that would basically cut in half the little MF she has, and of course having a few colorful drops from time to time provides a little bit of entertainment at least. :)

LCS with current setup:
5_LCS_Hoto.png

I'll take a short break from runs with her now, the last stretch was a bit exhausting and that's "only" 97... Getting to 98 at Baal will take another ~40-50 hours and I don't feel like that tackling that immediately. ;) Might play the Necromancer a bit as well, he's in A5 normal right now. Also added him below because why not. :)

Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      94             Yes         645        296            -           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      93             Yes           -          -            7           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      32             Yes                                   1
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       31             Yes           -          -          0             ?
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
T72on1 said:
@ffs Very well done, and thanks for the thorough HotO vs CM comparison !!!
NamelessPenguin said:
How do you guys equip your Merc, is he just a walking aura, or does he also do some P8 killing?
Ashenshugar said:
I need my merc to apply Decrepify via Reaper's Toll to deal maximum damage and deal with PIs, so you could say that he does a lot of killing for me though still mostly as an buffer/debuffer. I have found three gold Threshers and sadly none were ethereal. He is also using Duriel's Shell for the CBF. If I could get a CBF helmet for him I could make him a Fortitude which would probably make him hit like a truck.
ffs said:
NamelessPenguin said:
How do you guys equip your Merc, is he just a walking aura, or does he also do some P8 killing?
First and foremost he's a walking Conviction aura. But of course he also kills dudes if you just let him. :) I geared mine with Infinity + Fortitude + Andy's, aka pretty much the standard, safe and high damage go-to setup for Infinity Mercs IMO. I know others like to use Delirium with maybe CoH for leech or Treachery for IAS/Fade or something. Generally I'm not a big fan of such setups though, in particular it screws up that "beautifully predictable year 2000 programming monster movement" -- which IMO remains the best safety there is. :) Also for most characters their overall clear speed will suffer when monsters don't move in a "herdable" way. That being said, it also depends on the target -- I'm sure at some point when I start to target Nihl I'll strongly consider using Delirium.
Kitteh said:
Mercs = aura, tank and CB for bosses.
Trapin' said:
a quick update:

I've been doing LK runs non stop when I find time to play. I'm really looking for that Ber/Um so I can make CoH, but I'm starting to think looking for a better weapon would be a better priority as I really can't farm anything effectively yet. I manage to kill eldrich and shenk, but hardly, and if there's lot's of archers or high damage spawns I just die too quick. I will likely stick to LK until I can find some runes for a stronger weapon, and mix it in with some Threshsocket runs to see if he drops a unique weapon :)

So far I've found an Ist, Gul, Pul, Fals and lot's of Ko's at LK. Also found some pretty awesome charms/jewels from LK, just found a 40%ED 7% FHR jewel tonight, as well as this on my first thresh socket run!

Screenshot041.jpg

Too bad I have 0 use for it! :p It will replace my 3 topaz MF helm just because it looks cool and has DR, but I rarely if ever use MF items since it really hinders me at this point, and G helm is super important in my damage!

So I'll likely continue to farm LK/Threshsocket until I can get a CoH and solid weapon so that I can start doing some xp runs somewhere! I just learned he spawns immune to physical pretty often :( Any ideas for finding a nice weapon to allow me to farm hell?
NamelessPenguin said:
I guess for casters, It doesn't matter if Merc can kill, his main objective is to not die. But for a melee player, I'd assume if the Merc can do some damage, he can be of great help, no?

I am asking, because I thought about changing my Merc setup from eReapers/Treachery/Gaze to eReapers/Fort/45% IAS helmet, but I am also wondering if I really should bother, as he won't do much damage anyhow.

@Trapin' Finding a Reapers for your Merc would be a great improvement :) Why not Pindle runs? As for finding a new weapon, what about "Beast"? I don't know If +Fanat stacks to your current level, though.
Trapin' said:
NamelessPenguin said:
I guess for casters, It doesn't matter if Merc can kill, his main objective is to not die. But for a melee player, I'd assume if the Merc can do some damage, he can be of great help, no?

I am asking, because I thought about changing my Merc setup from eReapers/Treachery/Gaze to eReapers/Fort/45% IAS helmet, but I am also wondering if I really should bother, as he won't do much damage anyhow.

@Trapin' Finding a Reapers for your Merc would be a great improvement :) Why not Pindle runs? As for finding a new weapon, what about "Beast"? I don't know If +Fanat stacks to your current level, though.
Pindle too tough to run I think but I'll try once I get there
Royaumm said:
Hello all,
I just made a brand new assassin I would like to enter into the race for 99. I am about to start running her. Her name is zoe (after the newest league of legends champ that came out a few days ago!!) Lets see how this goes! What milestones are relavant posts to this thread without cloging it up with useless info?
Dezrok said:
Gynli said:
On a different note, im still unsure of where to use the sockets for the final gear.
Having already used two of my socket rewards, my suggestion is to hold off using them as long as you can, so you can be really sure that the item you socket will be part of your end game gear. That really, really rare drop that you are normally never likely to find but is perfect for your build, will probably drop at some point on your journey to 99.

NamelessPenguin said:
How do you guys equip your Merc, is he just a walking aura, or does he also do some P8 killing?
My own experience of this is that it depends on your build, but also your level and the area you are running. For my Blizzsorc obviously the aura from Insight is important. But in the early 90s for Pindle and AT runs the merc's ability to kill CIs was also important. For LK runs only the aura matters (and the merc's ability to take hits away from the sorc if we tele into the middle of a pack). Now in the mid-90s with a lot of gear upgrades, on AT and CS runs we kill things a lot faster with Blizzard and so I tend to skip the CIs rather than waiting for the merc to kill them.
Kitteh said:
Royaumm said:
Hello all,
I just made a brand new assassin I would like to enter into the race for 99. I am about to start running her. Her name is zoe (after the newest league of legends champ that came out a few days ago!!) Lets see how this goes! What milestones are relavant posts to this thread without cloging it up with useless info?
Welcome to Zoe! Updates are entirely up to you, anything you like. Some people update every time that they get a level, find a nice item or something funny happens. Sometimes its a question that somebody wants input on. Other periodically post a really big update. Post as and when you like, with whatever you like :)
T72on1 said:
Welcome to the new Assassin. O yes, what Kitteh said.
Trapin' said:
So this morning was exciting!

Screenshot044.jpg

Screenshot042.jpg
Screenshot043.jpg

I really needed a raven frost!
Royaumm said:
how do you take/post screen shots?
 
Gynli said:
EDIT: clean up.

There is a screenshot hotkey on the game; it defaults to 'print screen' key on your keyboard. The images should be saved on your starting folder.

To post, there is a 'Embed image/file' button below the message box; select and upload image files from ur comp. Once uploaded, ull see two buttons to add them into the message: 'full image' and 'thumbnail'. Clicking either one will add some code reference of ur images to the message box; you will see the actual image once you post the reply. I personally prefer the full image, because the thumbnail requires you to log in first.

EDIT2:
I haven't been able to put in many hours onto my Amazon for the past week; and I won't for another few weeks to come. I am squeezing in LK/Pindle/Pits every now and then, but nothing much to note. I'm getting quite desperate for an upgrade - be it the huge ed% against demons from LoH, or simply from a bow upgrade -, so I plan on staying on /p1 until I find some more gear.

In terms of sockets I am for sure going to save one for a WF just incase it drops. I do realistically see myself going the dagger/shield route for taking down the big D, so the 2nd socket will go on the SS. That leaves me with 1 socket quest. Of course, the only gear slot left is the helm, so I'm debating between andy's helm vs some godly tiara i might find. Most bowazon guides out there suggests 30frw/3os tiara with 3x 40ed/15ias jewels, but I think that's quite unlikely even for a 99er. =P

I'll have to run some numbers and see what fps I can reach with/without ias from the helm.

EDIT3 :
I spent couple minutes on the ias calc site; and here's the result of fpa comparison between Shadow Bow, GMB and WF for anyone interested. It assumes Faith on either the amazon herself or on the Rogue merc.

20 ias = LoH only
40 ias = LoH + Cat's Eye
60 ias = LoH + Cat's Eye + Andy's Visage
65 ias = LoH + 3x Fervor tiara
85 ias = LoH + Cat's Eye + 3x Fervor tiara

Shadow Bow
9 fpa @ 20 ias & 12~15 fanat
8 fpa @ 40 ias & 12~15 fanat
7 fpa @ 65 ias & 14/15 fanat

GMB
10 fpa @ 20 ias & 12~15 fanat
9 fpa @ 40 ias & 12~15 fanat
8 fpa @ 60 ias & 12~15 fanat

WF with Shael (w/o the 40 ias on weapon)
8 fpa @ 20 ias & 12~15 fanat
7 fpa @ 55 ias & 13~15 fanat
7 fpa @ 60 ias & 12~15 fanat

Fleshripper
9 fpa @ 20 ias & NO fanat
8 fpa @ 40 ias & NO fanat
7 fpa @ 85 ias & NO fanat
7 fpa @ 20 ias & 12~15 fanat

EDIT5 :
results and tldr.

40 ias from LoH + Cat's Eye seem to be the most ideal setup. At 40, I am hitting 8/9 fpa for multi and 8/7 fpa stabs on Fleshripper. If I were to go for the next bp, I would have to dedicate the helm for ias and/or roll a 14/15 fanat. Having fanat on the Rogue merc does immediately hits the max fpa for the dagger; but with Faith on the zon, I would need a hefty 85 ias to reach the 7 fpa stabs.

tldr; most ideal set up is 40 ias from LoH and Cat's Eye; and Shadow Bow Faith + Might merc until WF drops.

Shadow Bow Faith
8 fpa Multishot & 8 fpa stabs
- Most realistic/plausible.
- Has the option to tranfer the Faith on to Rogue merc, when/if WF drops.

GMB Faith
9 fpa Multishot & 8 fpa stabs
- +3 bow skills shaves off couple skill points off Multishot.

the option to transfer the Faith onto the Rogue merc with Shadow Bow out weighs the marginal damage increase of GMB.

WF with Shael + Faith merc
8 fpa Multishot & 7 fpa stabs
- Dagger hits at max fpa with just 20 ias from LoH.
- Highest damage setup.
- with one fervor jewel in helm, and with non-12 fanat roll, you can hit the max 7 fps Multishot

EDIT6: forgot about putting Shael into WF. updated chart.
Trapin' said:
annnnd this is what happens when you play single player without pluggy...
Screenshot046.jpg
Screenshot047.jpg
Gynli said:
@Trapin' HOW COULD YOU!
You always have the option to start a giveaway thread over at the SPTF. ;)
Trapin' said:
made my first ever CTA :) I was really nervous in rolling it, but anything is better than nothing right? Also I realize I could have made it in a nice weapon and use it for now, but the grind to find a good 5 os weapon is too much, i'll save that for the BOTD or Famine :)

never used one of these... do i cast battle command before battle orders to get max efficiency? or does it matter?
Screenshot048.jpg
Albatross said:
BC goes first, then BO, and then you repeat BC for the extra duration.
Kitteh said:
Can't you just repeat BC twice and then BO?
Albatross said:
You can, but BC has a shorter duration and in my mind those frames spent casting are critical :D

On a more serious note, I probably go about it this way because I don't recast BC. But it does make more sense, plus it's simpler to repeat BC, then BO.
Xul's Gull said:
(first, many thanks to Gynli for the first post of this page - I was just about to ask for directions on how to make and embed those screenshots for when they're needed)

Off to start the run, tonight or tomorrow; the base idea is a HC Summoner (fingers crossed for that HC over there...), and Khasis shall be his name. I plan to keep the original Rogue hireling I get from Blood Raven all the way through with me, although my hopes that she'll *never* die as well are slim... I'll do my best to keep her safe, though. ;)

I have installed ATMA, but only to transfer things that'd be more useful to other classes should I happen to find them (unless the item is a REALLY rare drop, my general rule is not to transfer items unless they're perfect, so I never did get to pass items on often, anyway). Is that okay, as long as *he* starts from scratch?
BKC said:
I decided to start running this tourney again, all fresh start with an all fresh character :) (duh untwinked BKC) anyways meet fearsomefreddie the summoner necromancer. He just killed blood raven is currently clearing mausoleum :)

Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      94             Yes         645        296            -           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      93             Yes           -          -            7           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      32             Yes                                   1
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       31             Yes           -          -          0             ?
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       8              Yes           -          -            -           -

Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
ffs said:
New guys: Welcome!

Gynli said:
EDIT: clean up.

There is a screenshot hotkey on the game; it defaults to 'print screen' key on your keyboard. The images should be saved on your starting folder.

To post, there is a 'Embed image/file' button below the message box; select and upload image files from ur comp. Once uploaded, ull see two buttons to add them into the message: 'full image' and 'thumbnail'. Clicking either one will add some code reference of ur images to the message box; you will see the actual image once you post the reply. I personally prefer the full image, because the thumbnail requires you to log in first.

EDIT2:
I haven't been able to put in many hours onto my Amazon for the past week; and I won't for another few weeks to come. I am squeezing in LK/Pindle/Pits every now and then, but nothing much to note. I'm getting quite desperate for an upgrade - be it the huge ed% against demons from LoH, or simply from a bow upgrade -, so I plan on staying on /p1 until I find some more gear.

In terms of sockets I am for sure going to save one for a WF just incase it drops. I do realistically see myself going the dagger/shield route for taking down the big D, so the 2nd socket will go on the SS. That leaves me with 1 socket quest. Of course, the only gear slot left is the helm, so I'm debating between andy's helm vs some godly tiara i might find. Most bowazon guides out there suggests 30frw/3os tiara with 3x 40ed/15ias jewels, but I think that's quite unlikely even for a 99er. =P

I'll have to run some numbers and see what fps I can reach with/without ias from the helm.

EDIT3 :
I spent couple minutes on the ias calc site; and here's the result of fpa comparison between Shadow Bow, GMB and WF for anyone interested. It assumes Faith on either the amazon herself or on the Rogue merc.

20 ias = LoH only
40 ias = LoH + Cat's Eye
60 ias = LoH + Cat's Eye + Andy's Visage
65 ias = LoH + 3x Fervor tiara
85 ias = LoH + Cat's Eye + 3x Fervor tiara

Shadow Bow
9 fpa @ 20 ias & 12~15 fanat
8 fpa @ 40 ias & 12~15 fanat
7 fpa @ 65 ias & 14/15 fanat

GMB
10 fpa @ 20 ias & 12~15 fanat
9 fpa @ 40 ias & 12~15 fanat
8 fpa @ 60 ias & 12~15 fanat

WF with Shael (w/o the 40 ias on weapon)
8 fpa @ 20 ias & 12~15 fanat
7 fpa @ 55 ias & 13~15 fanat
7 fpa @ 60 ias & 12~15 fanat

Fleshripper
9 fpa @ 20 ias & NO fanat
8 fpa @ 40 ias & NO fanat
7 fpa @ 85 ias & NO fanat
7 fpa @ 20 ias & 12~15 fanat

EDIT5 :
results and tldr.

40 ias from LoH + Cat's Eye seem to be the most ideal setup. At 40, I am hitting 8/9 fpa for multi and 8/7 fpa stabs on Fleshripper. If I were to go for the next bp, I would have to dedicate the helm for ias and/or roll a 14/15 fanat. Having fanat on the Rogue merc does immediately hits the max fpa for the dagger; but with Faith on the zon, I would need a hefty 85 ias to reach the 7 fpa stabs.

tldr; most ideal set up is 40 ias from LoH and Cat's Eye; and Shadow Bow Faith + Might merc until WF drops.

Shadow Bow Faith
8 fpa Multishot & 8 fpa stabs
- Most realistic/plausible.
- Has the option to tranfer the Faith on to Rogue merc, when/if WF drops.

GMB Faith
9 fpa Multishot & 8 fpa stabs
- +3 bow skills shaves off couple skill points off Multishot.

the option to transfer the Faith onto the Rogue merc with Shadow Bow out weighs the marginal damage increase of GMB.

WF with Shael + Faith merc
8 fpa Multishot & 7 fpa stabs
- Dagger hits at max fpa with just 20 ias from LoH.
- Highest damage setup.
- with one fervor jewel in helm, and with non-12 fanat roll, you can hit the max 7 fps Multishot

EDIT6: forgot about putting Shael into WF. updated chart.

Regarding those IAS considerations, I am pretty sure WF + Faith Merc requires 95% IAS to reach 7fpa Multishot no? Also there is the option of using Nosferatu's Coil (instead of Razortail) for an additional 10% IAS, you might consider that as well. IIRC this will, for example, enable 7fpa with self-wielded Faith in GMB. Ultimately that's the 7fpa vs 8fpa dilemma of Faith setups and the reason I prefer WF: Windforce allows the use of Razortail at 7fpa Multishot, but wielding Faith in GMB means only 8fpa if playing with Fortitude and Razortail (both of which I considered non-negotiable). That's also a reason why many who use Faith on the Amazon will make it in a Matriarchal Bow, since this allows for 7fpa easily and lots of flexibility, but is lower damage of course.

To be honest it's been a while since I set up my Bowazon, back then I knew the details but right now I'd have to double check the exact gear/IAS combinations. Yeah Bowazon is pretty complicated to gear, many details and choices to consider. :)

EDIT: Double checked quickly regarding GMB, with 13+ Fanaticism roll GMB needs 95% to reach 7fpa (100% with lvl 12 Fana). So yeah it's only possible with 20% from LoH + 20% from ammy + 45% from helm + 10%, e.g. from Nosferatu's Coil. There are other options to get extra IAS other than Nos, but even less desirable, e.g. Goldwrap or IK 2-piece set bonus. But I'd rather drop Razor than LoH. Also jool'd M'avina's True Sight could substitute a good 3os Tiara to get 45% on that slot. Overall it when going with Faith in GMB 8fpa seems more sensible unless you are extremely lucky with a good Tiara.

Normally I think generally I'd use GMB or Mat - but in your case, i.e. endless untwinked running, I actually really like the Shadow Bow idea a lot. That's because if you should find WF after making Faith (fingers crossed!) your Merc will be able to use the Faith bow. :)
Kitteh said:
Regarding your assassin, if you still intend to go trap to martial arts; guides for playing a lightning trapper through the game, character compilation to check previous characters and phoenix strike.
T72on1 said:
@Trapin' You are just trolling right, and bought that GC back? Please tell me you did ...

@Xul's Gull Great, welcome. I'd use GoMule over Atma though, much more convenient. But to answer your question: yes, muling off is ok, as long as you don't mule anything on him.
Gynli said:
@ffs

I think its 95 with 40ias on wf and 55 off other gears. ill chk again later.
Yng said:
Gynli said:
@ffs

I think its 95 with 40ias on wf and 55 off other gears. ill chk again later.
Yea, and on a side note if you’re really wanting to push the issue min/maxing I’m pretty sure GMB Faith passes up WF in damage output with the right charms considering the extra ED from Might/Concentration (Act 2 Pride Merc).
Trapin' said:
T72on1 said:
@Trapin' You are just trolling right, and bought that GC back? Please tell me you did ...

@Xul's Gull Great, welcome. I'd use GoMule over Atma though, much more convenient. But to answer your question: yes, muling off is ok, as long as you don't mule anything on him.
Nope... It's gone with the wind :eek::D

I play untwinked vanilla single player, so what use is it? :p
ffs said:
@Gynli Yeah which is 95% total right, I understood your numbers to mean 55-60% total IAS. :)

Yng said:
Yea, and on a side note if you’re really wanting to push the issue min/maxing I’m pretty sure GMB Faith passes up WF in damage output with the right charms considering the extra ED from Might/Concentration (Act 2 Pride Merc).

It doesn't actually, not as long as you consider Razortail a must (and Fortitude ofc). Without getting into all the pros and cons, Faith with Might/Pride Merc has a great number of upsides, but higher damage than WF + Faith Merc is not one of them. It's been discussed and calculated ad nauseum here and elsewhere.
Yng said:
ffs said:
@Gynli Yeah which is 95% total right, I understood your numbers to mean 55-60% total IAS. :)



It doesn't actually, not as long as you consider Razortail a must (and Fortitude ofc). Without getting into all the pros and cons, Faith with Might/Pride Merc has a great number of upsides, but higher damage than WF + Faith Merc is not one of them. It's been discussed and calculated ad nauseum here and elsewhere.
Link to calculations?
I’m fairly sure GMB Faith passes up WF with and only with charms in consideration.
Trapin' said:
Maybe you guys could help me with my gear set up until I ultimately make a CoH/BOTD.

I'm playing vanilla SP so no RWM, Fortitude, or Death :(

For armor:

I'm between Duress and Treachery. The defense and crushing blow on duress is great, but the IAS, Venom and Fade are really good on treachery. For right now I'm going to use the treachery on myself and duress on merc because it allows me to get a higher IAS breakpoint and I like the venom. But once I make Kingslayer in a phase blade i can use duress since I won't need the IAS anymore? Any other suggestions? Maybe Shaftstop for livability?

For weapon: I see my options as Kingslayer or a Great unique. Either one of the Legendary Mallet's or Stormlash would be ideal, but are tough to find. Famine, and others with high runes I don't see as a stepping stone as I would need those runes for CoH first and I'm getting tired of grinding for multiple high runes in LK at the moment.

Gloves: I think end game is between Dracul's, Lava Gout, and Laying of Hands. Depending on my IAS and whether or not I'm killing demons will determine this.

Shield: I think HoZ or Exile are both good. Exile seems OP with the life tap but i've never used one before, so I'm not entirely sure and if I end up using Dracul's it seems pointless? Right now I'm using a 4 os pally shield filled with P diamonds for over 100 res.

Jewlery: I'm using angelic ammy/ring with ravenfrost. If I find highlords I'll use a dual leech ring with 11 all res I found :)

I think my end game helm is Guillaume's, my end game belt is String of Ears, and boots are Gore Riders (or goblin toes, but I like FRW)
Xul's Gull said:
Had a slight change of heart, so Araphel it is. Just at the Outer Cloister with his ladyfriend Rogue Ithera. No uniques, but *this* is one of two set items to drop so far (Cleglaw's Shield was the other). I'm gonna consider it a good omen for the road.

Arctic Furs.png

And so begins the dark, treacherous road. We follow East; always... into the East.

Till we reach Albuquerque.
necrolemming said:
Trapin' said:
Maybe you guys could help me with my gear set up until I ultimately make a CoH/BOTD.

I'm playing vanilla SP so no RWM, Fortitude, or Death :(

For armor:

I'm between Duress and Treachery. The defense and crushing blow on duress is great, but the IAS, Venom and Fade are really good on treachery. For right now I'm going to use the treachery on myself and duress on merc because it allows me to get a higher IAS breakpoint and I like the venom. But once I make Kingslayer in a phase blade i can use duress since I won't need the IAS anymore? Any other suggestions? Maybe Shaftstop for livability?

For weapon: I see my options as Kingslayer or a Great unique. Either one of the Legendary Mallet's or Stormlash would be ideal, but are tough to find. Famine, and others with high runes I don't see as a stepping stone as I would need those runes for CoH first and I'm getting tired of grinding for multiple high runes in LK at the moment.

Gloves: I think end game is between Dracul's, Lava Gout, and Laying of Hands. Depending on my IAS and whether or not I'm killing demons will determine this.

Shield: I think HoZ or Exile are both good. Exile seems OP with the life tap but i've never used one before, so I'm not entirely sure and if I end up using Dracul's it seems pointless? Right now I'm using a 4 os pally shield filled with P diamonds for over 100 res.

Jewlery: I'm using angelic ammy/ring with ravenfrost. If I find highlords I'll use a dual leech ring with 11 all res I found :)

I think my end game helm is Guillaume's, my end game belt is String of Ears, and boots are Gore Riders (or goblin toes, but I like FRW)
Honestly, unless you're prepared to grind out eight more Bers from LK for a BotD, I wouldn't plan around making one. I don't think a Kingslayer is a bad use of a Gul since those are easy to find anyway, but you really probably want to make it in a base that does more damage than a PB. I think you might also want to look into some reasonably obtainable uniques - Heaven's Light, The Redeemer, or maybe Rune Master come to mind.

I've yet to have a good experience with Dracul's on a zealot. It never seems to trigger when I want it to, and the damage lost from not having LoH on is nonnegligible.

Exile, on the other hand, is incredibly consistent, and having CoH means that the lack of resists compared to a socketed HoZ isn't nearly as much of a problem. It's probably my favorite item in the game; the combination of Life Tap that's always up and even more bonus defense on top of Holy Shield makes for survivability that's generally overkill for PvE.
Finding a base might be tough; I'd say to just make it in a non-ethereal elite shield with 40%+ resist all if one shows up and the runes are burning a hole in your pocket, since a good ethereal base is not trivial to find.

Use the Duress for now.
 
Kitteh said:
I agree that Dracs are not optimal, LoH every time. However, if you use Exile and then CoH, what about the damage that you would have had from Fortitude?
necrolemming said:
He's playing vanilla.
ffs said:
Yng said:
Link to calculations?
I’m fairly sure GMB Faith passes up WF with and only with charms in consideration.
You've said that. :) On these forums, this is the last thread I remember that discussion came up and at the time was one of the sources on which I based my decision as to what to make Faith in. Further sources I consulted are here, here, and here. But there are a few calculations in the first link that are a good basis for a comparison. Don't want to go too much OT here, see spoiler below for the relevant calculations in the first post of that thread and comments.

These are the numbers given in the thread.

Faith GMB, lvl 13 Fanatacism, lvl 18 Might, lvl 16 Pride (worst case)
(184.5 + 55)(1 + 4.00 + 3.00 + 2.1 + 2.85 + 2.54) + 30 + 120 = 3,859
vs. Demons
(184.5 + 55)(1 + 4.00 + 3.00 + 2.1 + 2.85 + 2.54 + 3.5) + 30 + 120 = 4,698

Faith GMB, lvl 15 Fanatacism, lvl 22 Might, lvl 20 Pride (best case)

(184.5 + 55)(1 + 4.00 + 3.00 + 2.5 + 3.45 + 2.**) + 30 + 120 = 4,180
vs. Demons
(184.5 + 55)(1 + 4.00 + 3.00 + 2.5 + 3.45 + 2.** + 3.5) + 30 + 120 = 5,019

Windforce lvl 95 (ohm), lvl 15 Fanatacism (best case)

(304 + 55)(1 + 4.00 + 3.00 + 1.44) + 30 = 3,418
vs. Demons
(304 + 55)(1 + 4.00 + 3.00 + 1.44 + 3.5) + 30 = 4,675

Assumed are seven +10 dmg GCs, War Traveler's, Raven and a 45% IAS helm, and I agree that these are very reasonable and "neutral" gear pieces (though of couse not ideal in every individual setup).

These calculations are mathematically correct, but there are a few inaccuracies and issues with the underlying assumptions:
  1. These numbers are actually comparing 8fpa Faith to 7fpa WF. So you need to add a flat +14.29% to all WF numbers.
  2. It assumes a 45% IAS helm but with naked 15% IAS jewels (see explanation before the calculations). However, the second stats on those matter quite a bit. Assuming a perfect scenario with a 45/120 helm to go with a max WF, this changes the given WF number to 3924. When accounting for the 7fpa increase of 14.29%, the figure is 4485. As for the Faith setup, when adding perfect IAS/max dmg jewel numbers for jewels in such helm, this would put the (best case) Faith setup at 4560. Closer, but still a bit higher, no?
  3. No. The assumed 400 dex is way too low, a high level Bowazon should reach 500 without much difficulty. When adding 100 dex in the above calculations, WF is at 4903 and already beats Faith, which is at 4821. Also 500 dex could still be considered relatively modest, many go dex only. The more dex you add, the more clearly WF beats Faith. At a very high amount of 600 dex (I couldn't reach it tbh), it's 5322 (WF) vs 5083 (Faith). That's in each case with a best case Faith, best case Pride and +10 GCs in inventory. The worst case Faith setup would be much further behind, same with damage vs Demons.
Then WF also has Knockback and ML, both of which I prefer over the stats Faith offers. But of course both are great bows/setups and the damage is very close in any case, so if you consider the other advantages of Faith (resists, revives, skill points, AR boost) to outweigh that, that's of course a perfectly valid reason to use Faith.

Oh and of course if you're talking 1.07 hax damage charms, that might be a different story. ;)
Kitteh said:
necrolemming said:
He's playing vanilla.
I'm getting everybody mixed up in my head. I say we vote to disqualify 50% of participants to make my life easier :p
PhineasB said:
It's very cool to continue seeing characters joining the fun well over a year after this started. I'm especially looking forward to following the progress of the zealot, bowazon, Fishymancer, and (of course) the trapper. Fun to see some different builds, which will cause some diversity in leveling approaches.

But especially after my 6 weeks away, I'm with @Kitteh -- it will take me a little while to get up to speed and remember whose character is which. :)

I hope to have an update sometime tomorrow, as long as Hiatus' operator doesn't do anything dumb. :rolleyes: Keep up the good progress, everyone!
Kitteh said:
I'd just like to jump in and, considering the number of new people joining, that this is a reboot and all thanks go to Kestegs for originally starting the tournament :)
ffs said:
@Gynli and @Yng speaking of which... :)

Screen Shot 2017-11-25 at 19.42.45.png
ffs said:
@Gynli and @Yng speaking of which... :)

Screen Shot 2017-11-25 at 19.42.45.png
Ah nice, you can never have too many long swords for imbues!
ffs said:
And especially those bolts for my Buriza.
Yng said:
@ffs haha I like how it drops when we’re talking about it. I had one from MFO as well, pretty sure that was my first on SP.

And in regards to the calculations, they weren’t calculated with full GCs and the GMB Faith is missing ED/AR potential from base which is a noticable difference with all that ED. I also don’t think KB is mandatory on SC and with MS you kill everything off screen lol. You can get 7 FPA with GMB with 85-90% pierce.

E: also Shadow Bow Faith still beats WF with the right charms IIRC if you’re that set on keeping Razortail.
aarrgus said:
Well, Acala the Pure Vita Barb trudges onward.

When last I updated I finally hit Normal Pindle. Only a couple of Pindles after posting, I got a nice high damage rare for the merc, but sadly the strength requirement prevented me from using it. Then about 3 Pindles later boom... the Kelpie Snare drops. It's garbage tier at non-eth and only 146% damage but it was a complete godsend. I ran Pindle from 32-45, and got all kinds of nice but not that super special upgrades. Marginal improvements. So I went ahead and finished off Normal, thanks to the merc and his wonderful slow stick.

Then Nightmare. Oh man, nightmare. It started out ok. I was prepared to start slow, having many moons ago taken a Bowbarian from Normal to Nightmare and realizing Bowbarian can't kill anything in NM. And I was doing fine till late Act 1, when suddenly the lack of DPS became a glaring weakness.

Without any easy source of strength, this Pure Vita barb is hurting for fresh weapons. I didn't mention it before, but I'm doing this as if it was a pre respec run, so I've locked myself into Axes. Vendors aren't much help as they tend to sell better weapons that I can't use with my low strength, so I'm mostly limited to lucky drops, and as far as weapons go I have had no lucky drops. Right now I am simply my mercs tank. I take my meaty body and throw it at enemies desperately trying to keep their attention long enough for the merc to kill them lol. And as a big meat shield with low damage and poor life leech I have a serious drinking problem. :p

In act 3 I got a bit lucky with the IK helm dropping. It's not a super great item, but it came with a slightly below average 32% MF and I threw two P.Topazs in there. Is better than the junky 30%MF circlet I had before. I also got a lucky 3% ml, 3% ll, 16% MF set of gloves, although with my paltry damage all the benefit I got out of that thus far is being able to switch out a weapon with ml on it that I was stuck using because of no other ml sources.

Acala has now made it through Act 3 and stands at the door of NM Mephisto. This will likely be Acala's life for a while. First order of business will likely be to make a Strength runeword weapon for some crushing blow, because NM Mephy will likely be unbearable without some type of damage from the barb. Then I can hopefully make reasonably quick runs and will have to upgrade nearly every item I currently have on right now lol....

Pertinent stats
Current level: 55
Current Strength (base + charms + gear): 65
Current Life (With BO): 2636.
Strength from 24 slots of charms: 23


Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      94             Yes         645        296            -           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      93             Yes           -          -            7           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      55             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       31             Yes           -          -          0             ?
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       8              Yes           -          -            -           -
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Yng said:
@aarrgus needs more screenshots
aarrgus said:
Lol yea I'm going to do better on the screenshots... I've been away from the game for a decade and forget to do screenshots.
Dezrok said:
It has been a tough week! Salome the level 94 Blizz Sorc decided to stick with LK runs for a bit, build her high rune wealth and make a few runewords. All to the good.

But every time I found a rune I had to fight myself not to rush to the SPF and post it! And while I still get excited by high runes, a 99 thread probably isn't the place to share that excitement every single time. So, I toughed it out for a week (5 days) to avoid spamming the thread.

Anyway, this morning I started a set of runs and found a Gul almost straight away, and discovered I wasn't that excited by it. Didn't take me long to realise that my stretch of LK runs was just about over. Probably also had a bit to do with working out that I still wanted 3x Ber, 1x Lo and 2x Ist to make all the runewords I wanted ... which would require a much bigger investment in time.

So, what did I find since the last post?
3xPul, 1xMal, 1xIst, 3xGul, 1xVex, 1xOhm, 1xSur, 1xBer.

That was probably between 300-500 LK runs per day for 5 days

And, yes, there are pics:
Screenshot028.jpg
Screenshot031.jpg
Screenshot033.jpg
Screenshot036.jpg
Screenshot037.jpg
Screenshot040.jpg
Screenshot042.jpg
Screenshot043.jpg

I didn't get a shot of the Ber because it dropped from a Tree Lurker that the merc decided to go off and kill while I was picking up some drops from another chest. When I moved over to the next chest (where the merc was) I hit alt at the same time as clicking on the chest, saw the random Ber already lying on the ground directly under my mouse, and picked it up instead of opening the chest ... all a bit confusing at the time. Given the Tree Lurker's pals were still around I decided not to redrop the rune to take a screenie.

So, that pile of runes allowed me to make:
Code:
Delirium (Actually I already had the runes for Delerium before this LK stint)
Demonhead
LemIstIo
Defense: 395
Durability: 10 of 20
Required Level: 55
Required Strength: 102
Fingerprint: 0x74fcd938
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
1% Chance to cast level 50 Delirium when struck
6% Chance to cast level 14 Mind Blast when struck
14% Chance to cast level 13 Terror when struck
11% Chance to cast level 18 Confuse on striking
+2 to All Skills
+261 Defense
+10 to Vitality
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Level 17 Attract (60/60 Charges)
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune
Socketed: Io Rune

Heart of the Oak (finally)
Flail
KoVexPulThul
One Hand Damage: 1 - 24
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 55
Required Strength: 41
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0x5dba52d
Item Level: 43
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to All Skills
+40% Faster Cast Rate
+75% Damage to Demons
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
7% Mana stolen per hit
+10 to Dexterity
Replenish Life +20
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
All Resistances +35
Level 4 Oak Sage (25/25 Charges)
Level 14 Raven (60/60 Charges)
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Pul Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune

Chains of Honor (I really wanted to make my first Enigma, but CoH is just way more of what Salome needs)
Superior Dusk Shroud
DolUmBerIst
Defense: 865
Durability: 22 of 22
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 77
Fingerprint: 0xa069551a
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+200% Damage to Demons
+100% Damage to Undead
8% Life stolen per hit
+85% Enhanced Defense
+20 to Strength
Replenish Life +7
All Resistances +65
Damage Reduced by 8%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Increase Maximum Durability 10%
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Dol Rune
Socketed: Um Rune
Socketed: Ber Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune


Call to Arms (an improvement over our previous +2 BO one)
Flail
AmnRalMalIstOhm
One Hand Damage: 3 - 90
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 41
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0x7bac7c5
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
278% Enhanced Damage
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Prevent Monster Heal
+2 to Battle Command
+4 to Battle Orders
+4 to Battle Cry
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune

Insight (A big improvement over our previous 11 Med/+2 Crit)
Thresher
RalTirTalSol
Two Hand Damage: 48 - 459
Durability: 37 of 65
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 152
Required Dexterity: 118
Fingerprint: 0x7bf160cf
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 16 Meditation Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Cast Rate
226% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
197% Bonus to Attack Rating
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
+4 to Critical Strike
All Stats +5
+2 to Mana after each Kill
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Tir Rune
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune

I also have a previous Ist from Cows to show off
Screenshot013.jpg

And the previously mentioned SoJ drop
Screenshot021.jpg

So, no XP progress (probably negative progress due to a couple of deaths while mucking around with Pindle). Will take a bit of a break from LK and do some AT runs as there are a few items I'd like to find before heading to Trav. Still getting around 600K XP per run in AT so that will get the XP bar moving along again as well.
ffs said:
@Yng Yeah, it's my 4th but I still really enjoyed it for the timing. ;) Regarding your remarks on WF/Faith, see below to hopefully wrap it up, gonna leave it at that on this topic. :)

For GMB Faith, neither ED from base nor full dmg charms inventory will change the result at higher dex values. However the break-even point will be higher at a bit over 500 dex. Of course in PvM nobody would actually run with 10 GCs and no cube so that's rather theoretical anyway. Adjusted numbers:

Faith GMB, lvl 15 Fanatacism, lvl 22 Might, lvl 20 Pride (best case)
(191 + 77.5 [= original value 55 + helm jewels dmg] + 22.5 [additional dmg inv])[=291]*(1 + 4.00 + 1 [500 dex] + 3.00 + 2.5 + 3.45 + 2.**) [=17.83]+ 30 + 120 = 5338 at 500 dex
(191 [perfect based ED] + 77.5 [=55+helm jewels dmg] + 22.5 [full dmg inv])[=291]*(1 + 4.00 + 2 [600 dex] + 3.00 + 2.5 + 3.45 + 2.**) [=18.83]+ 30 + 120 = 5629 at 600 dex

Windforce lvl 95 (ohm), lvl 15 Fanatacism (best case)
((311 [max WF] + 55 [old dmg value] + 22.5 [full dmg inv]) [=389] (1 + 4.00 + 1 [500 dex]+ 3.00 + 1.44 + 1.2 [helm jewels]) [11.79]+ 30)*(1.1429 [7fpa]) = 5276 at 500 dex
((311 [max WF] + 55 [old dmg inv] + 22.5 [full dmg inv]) [=389] (1 + 4.00 + 2 [600 dex]+ 3.00 + 1.44 + 1.2 [helm jewels]) [12.79]+ 30)*(1.1429) = 5721 at 600 dex

(EDIT: Again this shows how close these setups are, changing a bit of the surrounding parameters in particular with individual "actual" gear will put one over the other at any time. That's why ultimately it's about the gear actually available to a player and whether the player prefers the KB/ML from WF or Faith's stats.)

But you are right about Shadow Bow at 7fpa, it can beat WF also at higher dex values. Same for Diamond Bow which is just 0.5 lower avg dmg than Shadow but leeches more consistently. For these reasons I've made my (first) Faith in a Diamond Bow so I preserve the option to use it on the Amazon or other chars at a later point. But these bows beat WF only in scenarios that are rather unrealistic, though I'm too lazy to rerun the numbers now. :) I've calcuated it for my own Bowazon several times. I actually have a lot of stuff for Bowies, but the conclusion always was that with the gear available to me and my charm setup (e.g. not full dmg inv, in favor of actual running) in practice I will always have higher damage with WF. Regarding knockback and ML, these make a very significant difference in gameplay, IMO much more so than any of the Faith stats. Also 100% Pierce is a massive difference over some ~90%. Razor is non-negotiable unless for some niche type of specific runs, this wouldn't be a discussion otherwise as GMB Faith would clearly be superior.

@Dezrok Great progress there. Seems like you're ready to start the XP grind! But why the Hoto?? Didn't you find a Death's Fathom?
@aarrgus I agree with @Yng, screenshots please! :)
Xul's Gull said:
"Well, Ithera, here we are. At the end of all things."
"You know, this is depressing enough without the attitude, Araphel."

Sem título.png

(she's a riot most of the time, really. I swear)

It's been a relatively quiet p8 run through Normal (just one jumpscare early into Act 3 with a crowd of midgets desperate for a hug...). Got all waypoints except for the Great Marsh - it branched out in my map from the path to Travincal, so it wasn't necessary to go through it. I'll come back for it some time later.

All quests done, no item imbued so far (I'll accept suggestions :) ).

Runes have been scarce (not a single "Tal" dropped so far, which delayed "Stealth" and "Edge"). Currently using a Death's Guard for the "Cannot be Frozen" (I don't need the extra slots yet, and I like the set overall - even though it's not technically oriented for a Necro, I'd like to complete it for posterity. Deeeaaaatthhhhh...) and a Manald Heal (+7% mana leech / +5 replenish). Resists are high enough to keep me alive when something gets through my wall of loyal skeletons, but not maxed.

Onward we go.
Dezrok said:
ffs said:
@Dezrok But why the Hoto?? Didn't you find a Death's Fathom?
HoTo is more useful than Fathom when we don't need to max cold damage, such as when doing LK runs.
ffs said:
Seriously? :D
PhineasB said:
It’s time for an update, with Hiatus hitting a significant milestone:
98.5.jpg
The highlight was this finally dropping around 3.362B:
Nihl (Arachnids).jpg
Mercy didn’t find her first Arachnid’s until after 98.1, for Hiatus it was around 98.45, so I guess I should plan on Phaedrus finding his on the last Diablo run before he hits Ancients to ping 99. :rolleyes:

But this was a significant upgrade (over TGods, which she’d been using for +strength), mainly because she went for the 86 FHR breakpoint with Sandstorm Treks. She dropped two 6% MF charms for 2 crimson FHR SCs and these rare gloves to make up fire resists lost from Aldur’s boots:
Code:
Raven Fist
Chain Gloves
Defense: 11
Durability: 13 of 16
Required Level: 13
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0x26aecd86
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 3 Frost Nova when struck
+14% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +9%
Fire Resist +29%
20% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Her magic find actually increased due to the gloves. I really regret not making 86FHR work earlier, even if it had meant using 6FHR SCs in place of vita SCs – it’s been that big a difference in terms of safety, speed, and less tense runs. Overall, I’m sure the extra skill helps, but the FHR breakpoint is very noticeable when teleporting through and when the stray Ice Spawn gets to Hiatus when she’s spamming lightning at Nihl. I would definitely encourage anyone running Nihl with a Sorc (and probably any character) to figure out how to reach the 86 breakpoint. :)

That’s a lot of words about a belt, so how about other highlights from the ~51M of XP progress? First, there were a couple exciting moments and panicked S&Es, largely due to spawn combos like the ones @Grape recently encountered with his 99er. I had missed that post while on vacation and thankfully came across it just as Hiatus was getting back into runs. So I was primed to bail when witches spawned with Might or Fanatacism (or if there were lots of witches around the platform and the merc’s confuse didn’t trigger).

Second, this map spawn apparently really likes Mals, Guls, and Ohms. The rune finds: Mal #2, Mal #3, Ber, Mal #4, Gul #3, Ohm #2, Mal #5, Ohm #3, Gul #4, Ohm #4, Gul #5 (actually missed hitting Alt for the screenie, but there is a Gul on the ground), and Ist. A couple of those took some work to retrieve due to lots of vipers, but the Darksight helm she had in the body retrieval kit came in handy – swapping it to allow use of CoS charges took some extra time but was worth it for the safety.

Finally, the other finds that merited sceenshots were Halaberd’s Reign and Spirit Ward, which were both grailers for her -- even though it merited a screenie, there was so much junk on the ground that I missed the Halaberd’s :(. Other notable finds were +1 skills Arkaine’s, another 23@ Mara’s, a second BKWB, Horizon’s, a 4/5 fire facet, eth Gorerider’s, 2 Ums, and another nice jewel:
Code:
Scintillating Jewel of Truth
Jewel
Required Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0x195fae4
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+7% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +13%
Lightning Resist +13%
Fire Resist +13%
Poison Resist +13%
Congrats to everyone on the good progress – keep it up! Progress for Hiatus will slow back down after the 4-day holiday weekend. But I think she’s back on track to finish before the end of the year. She still has Ancients, so a little more than 105M from Nihl to go!

* * *

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      94             Yes         645        296            -           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      93             Yes           -          -            7           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      55             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       31             Yes           -          -          0             ?
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       8              Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Yng said:
@PhineasB that’s quite the rune haul and congrats on finally getting your Arachnid. Glad I was able to find one during MFO, I’ve had trouble with interest in running anything besides LK since then. Perhaps I can squeeze in an update later today.
 
T72on1 said:
Definitely impressive progress and even more impressive rune drops ...

Is that your way to try and get me back to this? :)
Kitteh said:
T72on1 said:
Definitely impressive progress and even more impressive rune drops ...

Is that your way to try and get me back to this? :)
We are giving you another week of gentle hints before we get the hammers out.
ffs said:
@PhineasB Great work, grats on that Arach's! It's almost funny how it seems to evade you characters for so long. :)

Regarding FHR, have you considered using Bloodfist? Actually also with Nihl runs on my mind already, I've been using them ever since I switched back to a Hoto setup given that capping resists and hitting 117% FCR is no issue with it. I think they're an excellent option in such case, in fact I can't really see a contender for these purposes/runs. The 30% FHR is very convenient (hitting 86% with Spirit and only one FHR SC) and the 40 extra life is a big deal with BO. It also frees the boots slot for Waterwalks, i.e. even more life and capping at 80% FR which is great for Nihl as well (currently I already like it for Baal wave 3, which is never dangerous but always annoying ;)). Also more life from SCs in such case. Overall it gave my life pool a significant boost to over 2700 by now (and using Griffon's, so no Shako). No MF though of course if you care about that. Don't know your setup exactly, in particular your FCR, but since you're using non-FCR gloves I'd strongly consider these.

Haven't had too much time to run this weekend personally. HelpYourself is about to hit the 3 billion mark and has had a few nice drops already in the first 10% of lvl 98. But I'll wait for some more progress to report on. :)
Yng said:
Vouch, definitely Bloodfists if I don’t need FCR from glove slot.
PhineasB said:
Thanks for the feedback @ffs. I thought about Bloodfists. But she's 6 strength short of 156 for spirit (due to some sort of miscalculation before last respec :rolleyes:) and fire resist is not close to maxed with gloves/boots/charms.

So I went with boots to get there for strength and FHR and gloves/2 charms for fire resist, rather than messing around with more significant charm reshuffle. But I will definitely take a look at her +strength and +fire resist charm options. I think War Travelers could be used for boots for strength (plus nice MF bonus) and charms for fire.

But it may throw off the charm symmetry, so we'll have to take that into consideration . . .

Edit: There was definitely an improvement possible with a reshuffle around Bloodfist. Now over 2600 life with BO, and fire resist still maxed (plus almost 200 MF due to War Traveler). Thanks for the suggestion!

Although the backpack is no longer as aesthetically pleasing, it is still well-enough ordered for Hiatus to continue. :p
Yng said:
Like I was saying before, I've had little interest in grinding XP since the MFO but I did manage one level since my last update, mostly through P8 AT and Vizier/Infector runs (both were still fairly close XP wise 93-94, with CS being slightly ahead but annoying with abundant Infector CI rolls). I've also finished another ~1000 LK/RoF.

Lower Kurast (literally nothing above Ko from RoF..)
One Ohm or Lo away from having all the runes for Infinity but I still don't have the base and I don't want to go Lightning/CL until I have a few GCs. Also around 8000 total LK runs between 2 characters without a Ber drop..
dc75EOm.jpg


MBL6y0u.jpg


kcTw726.jpg


kpWwb2h.jpg

Ding and Details
Stats with Smoke for safety (my Vipermagi is a low roll, unfortunately) and 105 FCR/86 FHR. Merc is using Reaper's/Treachery/Kira's to deal with CIs.
0WJ3CzO.jpg


XDoycA1.jpg


dQHUtA4.jpg

* * *

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      94             Yes         645        296            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      94             Yes           -          -            7           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      55             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       31             Yes           -          -          0             ?
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       8              Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Xul's Gull said:
Working at a different city this week, so my character's gonna chill with Halbu and Jamella till next weekend. Seeing your progresses really helps, though; can't wait to get back at it. Ah, Diablo. I tried to stay away, I did... :D

Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)    SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U    # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xul's Gull  Araphel      HC     Necro     30ish          No             ?           N/A
Dezrok said:
Salome has cruised through to level 95 on p8 AT runs. The XP part of the run didn't seem to take long at all.

We started out with 185% MF. After we hit the halfway point we upped to 504% MF. This seriously nerfed Salome's damage, skills, resists, fcr and just about everything else, including her run times. However, I was having fun so it wasn't an issue. We got the same number of notable drops before and after the MF change.

Those were: Nord's Tenderiser, Wraith Flight, 5/3 Cold Facet, Reapers, BK Sacred Charge, Messch. Reaver, Atma's Scarab, 4/5 Lightning Facet, Ormus' Robes (Lightning), Stonecrusher (not the IK one), Naj's Puzzler and an eth GPA which only managed 3 sockets in the cube.

Random shot of an excess of XP shrines and a gold dusk shroud.
Screenshot013.jpg

Action shot
Screenshot018.jpg

and the LCS at level 95 with the 504% MF set-up.
Screenshot019.jpg

224 million XP to get to 96. A quick test gave 430,000 XP for a p8 AT run, so only another 520 runs. Will check out the other areas to see what their XP returns are like as well, but AT with 500%MF is pretty cruisy.


Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      94             Yes           -          -            7           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      55             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       31             Yes           -          -            0           ?
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro    30ish           No            ?         N/A           -           -
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       8              Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

Added Xul's Gull to the table
BKC said:
I played Freddie for some more time. Went all the way to level 23 and the lost city waypoint. No drops to mention or anything spectacular so far. I do fear diablo but i hope to hit 30 by then and decryp him to death :)

Table is updated.


Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      94             Yes           -          -            7           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      55             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       31             Yes           -          -            0           ?
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro    30ish           No            ?         N/A           -           -
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
T72on1 said:
I just took a look at the table for the first time since long. Impressive amount of people in it. This journey is so full of win.

My 5 stages of grief tournament character just reached Hell. I'll probably try to finish her journey first, but after that I'll be back for some 99er action in between playing Grim Dawn.
ffs said:
I know several runners that finished said that lvl 97 felt actually the most tedious and I'm beginning to feel it. ;) It does get less interesting for sure, but so far HelpYourself is still making safe and steady progress, now at about 20% of lvl 98. Hopefully there'll be a few rainy and dull weekend days in December to push a little more. My goal is to hit 98 before the end of the year, should definitely be possible to do some remaining 30 hours of running. Once at 98, it's too late to turn back anyway :D but tbh actually I'm already looking forward to Nihl, I believe she will be very effective running him and hopefully get some more interesting drops as well.

In order to not get too bored I've been playing Ric the Summoner a bit in between during short breaks from HelpYourself. He has now finished NM at lvl 61. Updated table accordingly. After gaining a few more levels in NM, his next goal will be to get his hands on a Harmony bow and run Hell LK. There he will spend a lot of time to get Enigma as well as stuff like Hoto and CtA. Given he'll probably find tons of runes before being able to make Enigma, he'll likely make some other runewords for testing purposes, apart from loading up on charms. For example I've never used a low-req Oath for HotW charges on a Skelliemancer, and will definitely try that at some point. Since Enigma will be quite the grind, I don't think I'll immediately follow it up with more LK runs for Infinity or Beast even, so I believe for a while Andariel will then be his target of choice. Seems to me she's better suited than Mephisto in particular for this build in order to get some essential uniques, but never actually did such runs. At some point he'll mix in/switch to LK again and Pits on high player settings, to hopefully finish Infinity and the essential gearing phase.

So much for the planning. It will be a fun and obviously also long-term side project, so hopefully having this to do in between will make for an interesting enough diversion and keeping me entertained enough with D2 to actually pull through with HelpYourself. :)

Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      94             Yes           -          -            7           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       61             Yes           -          -            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      55             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro    30ish           No            ?         N/A           -           -
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Kitteh said:
Nah, they are all talking crap, 98-99 is definitely the most tedious o_O
ffs said:
@Kitteh Regarding time spent that's certainly true -- but notwithstanding the duration I can actually see 98-99 being less tiresome than 97-98 because it's done at Nihl, instead of Baal or other areas where you have to do things much more actively. Nihl is more akin to Pindle I guess, i.e. just standard procedure and routine. It seems many players don't like running stuff like Pindle or LK for being so monotonous, but I like this type of runs since to me it's always been a good way to sort of let the stress of the day go away. I have a pretty hectic job that challenges my brain more than enough, so doing some mindless running in the evening is nice to make up for that. :)
T72on1 said:
You could be right to a certain extent. Having said that, Nihl always requires your attention, mainly because of Vipers and Witches, and to a lesser extent Nihl's CE. And believe me, the xp doesn't seem to move at all from 98 - 99, so I can see one death at that stage being enough to quit the whole thing for a long time.
Yng said:
No significant updates for XP bar but I'm just finally leaving LK.

Lower Kurast:
New Um pattern and another new Ist pattern from final batch of runs.

LM5xz5E.jpg


1O7GRIv.jpg


TEMvBqE.jpg


HxbrAEV.jpg

Chaos Sanctuary:
My highest SP rune drop! With LK in the rear-view I'm going to be here a while running the 2 seals so hoping for more luck like this. This was also something I needed for my Barb project so pretty stoked. I may have played for 45 minutes tonight and got Ohm + Cham out of it.

bXGe1xQ.jpg
T72on1 said:
I also got my first ever Cham from Chaos Sanctuary with my 99er. Congrats !!!
Yng said:
So little man took a nap this morning and I decided to do a few runs before work..

I'm at some 8000 LK runs without a Ber drop and that's 2x Cham in <50 runs..
This is me basically being salty that the champ pack of Oblivion Knights (CI) were trolling my merc while he tried to kill Infector (CI) so I let him kill one of them after LOL

E:
Oblivion Knight - doomknight3 (H) The Chaos Sanctuary 1:2461761

tlLeNne.jpg
DaveW said:
Nice YNG, thats the RNG for ya. Any plans for the Chams? Cube up perhaps or even use in a hat for CBF (not that ur char needs it but perhaps another character of yours?)
Yng said:
DaveW said:
Nice YNG, thats the RNG for ya. Any plans for the Chams? Cube up perhaps or even use in a hat for CBF (not that ur char needs it but perhaps another character of yours?)
One is going in a Shako for a Pit Barb and the other I’m not sure.
NamelessPenguin said:
ffs said:
@Kitteh Regarding time spent that's certainly true -- but notwithstanding the duration I can actually see 98-99 being less tiresome than 97-98 because it's done at Nihl, instead of Baal or other areas where you have to do things much more actively. Nihl is more akin to Pindle I guess, i.e. just standard procedure and routine. It seems many players don't like running stuff like Pindle or LK for being so monotonous, but I like this type of runs since to me it's always been a good way to sort of let the stress of the day go away. I have a pretty hectic job that challenges my brain more than enough, so doing some mindless running in the evening is nice to make up for that. :)
I so very much agree with this. Not that 98-99 will be all chill, I imagine it will require an insane amount of stamina and patience, but getting back to running a single target, that sounds so very much more relaxing, than the tedious Baal runs, with five different spawns.
 
ffs said:
@Yng Haha not bad for a day's work! If you have no other plans after Shako, personally I'd Cham an Andariel's Visage or some other Merc headpiece.

@NamelessPenguin Yeah clearing Baal waves can be annoying ;) but at least it's safe. Theoretically I could run Nihl for 97-98, it needs to be about 9x faster than Baal runs for the same XP gain, and In my case with a subpar Nihl map the factor is roughly 7x, probably around 8x with a better map. So while it's worse, it's not like it's a complete waste of time, but Baal is safer and still a little more efficient. Also I'll be running Nihl more than enough at some point, so I'm sticking with the big guy for now. :)
Xul's Gull said:
"I could get used to this, Ithera. A comfortable lodge, wintery days."
"Well... I suppose I can overlook the massive crater that's about to be outside our window. But you're cooking."

Destroyer.png

Destroyer Araphel struck the last blow on Baal just short of hitting level 49 (a complete p8 run through Normal with a few Act IV visits to accumulate gems and runes for Cupe recipes - seemed to get good drop rates there). Nothing fancy; Stealth (Ghost Armor), Lore (War Hat) and a Mojo wand from Malah's shop. Ithera's Christmas gift was an Edge on a Razor Bow (found broken and Cubed to a functional state).

She insists she'd like to see me use my Bone Spear more often. Not sure if it's a line or she's just hinting she wants a Brand runeword in the distant future...

Off to look for a good Rhyme base before moving on to Nightmare. So far, so good. :)
NamelessPenguin said:
@ffs Yeah, I'm also sticking with the big crab, because if I remember correct, it takes about 13K Nihl runs from 98 to 99 :eek: But, If you can get the time down to (using @zticazzy Perkele's run time) ~40 sec, it takes 145 hours, compared to 3000 Baal runs at 3.20 min, it clocks in at 167 hours...damn, thought Nilly was faster than that. Numbers are very rough, though, since I don't really know the exact ones :D
T72on1 said:
I got my run times for Nihl at 33 seconds on average, and I'm definitely not the fastest runner out there. I think others who have ran Nihl for that last level 'only' needed some 100 - 120 hours.
PhineasB said:
@Yng -- Congrats on the Cham and the level. Also nice progress @Dezrok, @ffs (on the second character), and @Xul's Gull.

On the discussion about the last level, if you’re averaging 2.5M/hr, it should be around 116 hours (only :rolleyes:). But it’s less if you’ve saved Ancients! I haven’t focused as much on seconds per run, but Mercy was a little faster that 2.5M/hr for the last fifth. It’s faster than other options in absolute terms, but it also feels less slog-y for me because it’s different from what was used for 94-98 (which is only marginally less total time that that last level). @Kitteh had the same target for the last level, so I understand the different take there.

As for Hiatus, she’s a tenth of the way closer. This stretch was very smooth and uneventful, also with less exciting drops than last update. A double unique drop in the first couple million yielded a Mara’s upgrade, replacing the 27@ that she lost due to her mishap (scourge was another Horizon’s):
Code:
Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x81064460
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
All Stats +5
All Resistances +27
Then it was a whole lot of nothing for almost the next 20M, except her second lightning skiller, which resulted in some charm swapping, a slight dip in HP, but slightly faster runs due to Nihl dropping quicker. Things picked up over the last bit with Ist #2, Mal #6, and Mal #7. In the last two million she had the only other drops worth screenies: another Halaberd’s and Griz Caddy (grailer for her). Two Puls dropped during the dry spell, plus a Greyform. She also found a couple ethereal items that contribute to my overall eth grail.

We’re heading out of town this week through the weekend, so progress will slow down at least through next weekend. Good luck to everyone!
Kitteh said:
I would definitely save Ancients if you're able to, I regretted that :p
T72on1 said:
I saved it. Definitely worth it.
Xul's Gull said:
How is this done, though - the Ancients' skip, I mean? I only remember reading somewhere that there's an absolute minimum level you should be in so you don't "waste" their XP at each difficulty.
T72on1 said:
No, it's just a matter of not advancing to Hell Ancients and only doing them after you have hit 98. This is only possible if you don't do Baal runs obviously. Most of the 99er runners do 2 Seal bosses in Chaos Sanctuary for 4 levels or so before 98, but some are better of with Baal runs. For those it's not possible to wait with Ancients until 98.
Xul's Gull said:
Hm, interesting proposition. It's still a long journey for me there, so plenty of time to get a feel for what'll be working then.
DaveW said:
So The Ancients give 40M exp points. But is that at players8 only?
T72on1 said:
No, player setting doesn't influence xp, nor do the usual xp penalties at these levels. Just straight up 40M. Gotta love it :).
PhineasB said:
That's why it's such a great bonus to hold until the last level.

For Nihl runners, it will save around 1700 runs (assuming the character kills more than just Nihl and minus XP shrines -- single target attack would be closer to 1800). For characters running Diablo, it's around 780 runs worth, not counting XP shrines.

Credit to @NanoMist for the XP tables from this post. Any errors in maths on the numbers above are mine :rolleyes:.
ffs said:
Yeah as I've noted before, discovering that post by @NanoMist was extremely helpful for me as well -- saved countless hours of timing and comparing different areas/types of runs and tracking experience numbers. That is, assuming the numbers are right. :p Very easy to quickly calculate XP gain efficiency with only these numbers and your own run times.

Haven't played too much these last days, but managed to make some progress with HelpYourself, she is about 40% of lvl 98 currently. Regarding drops the level started out nicely, but she's sort of having a dry spell recently, so I'll post another update when there's more to report on, probably just at lvl 98. Still hoping to get there before the end of the year, though of course there's a lot of stuff going on this month so I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. I'm joining this little competition in order to keep up the pace. Finishing those 20hrs should get her very close to 98 already, and hopefully a couple of nice things will drop. Even though she's obviously not an MF powerhouse. :)
Kitteh said:
@T72on1 What is the two seal routine? It rings a bell, but I never used it.
PhineasB said:
@NanoMist's calculations matched my actual numbers for Nihl and p1/p7 Diablo at lvl 98 almost exactly. I had done my own calculations before he posted that but had forgotten to include the experience cap/bug/whatever it is.

@Kitteh -- the two seal routine is the Gripphon run as described in this post. Teleport to the star in the middle and hit Vizier and Infector seals only, killing any other boss packs between the star and their seals. I believe a number of people have confirmed it's the fastest leveling approach for 94-98 (except with certain characters like trappers).

@ffs -- good luck in the mini-tournament. Mercy got almost all the way to 98 during the first round of RFL with her 20-hour set (she was also doing Baal runs). I think she started from 97.25 or so, and your runs seem to be faster than hers were. So the odds luck good if you finish a full 20-hour set. :)
Yng said:
Some good bookmark material being posted here, thanks @PhineasB

Although I’ll probably still personally test every facet of leveling along the way, there’s a beautiful thing about doing something yourself haha
Xul's Gull said:
That's just the thing, though: it's such a long ladder that one has every opportunity to find the right stroke to climb it.
ffs said:
@PhineasB If Mercy made it from 97.25 to pretty much 98 in 20 hours I believe that's faster than my runs actually. The Baal runs I timed with HelpYourself ranged from between some 2m10s (empty throne room, things go according to plan) to 2m45s (annoying throne room, Baal teleporting several times etc.). I haven't timed enough runs to get a reliable average run time though tbh, but my estimate is it's pretty close to 2.5 minutes. Probably a bit more since of course the perfect scenario happens to occurs way less often than the most annoying scenario, at least it feels like it. ;) But based on that the ~1050 runs needed for 97-98 would take ~44 hours, so 20 hours would be pretty close to 50%. Factoring in I'm not always playing fully concentrated and efficiently, it's even less. :) Let's see where I'll be after the next 20 hours!
PhineasB said:
Heh, my memory was waay off. Checked the write-ups, and she was just over 98.5 when RFL started, and ended up 77 runs short of 98. She averaged around 3:40-3:45, so I knew I'd mixed things up when you shared your numbers and said Mercy must have been faster. I'd say 2.5 minutes per run average is pretty quick for sure!
 
Kitteh said:
I am going to compile various 99er related threads and posts etc at some point in the near future, after my exams have finished. I think it would be nice to have them there on the front page.
Yng said:
We need a HC P8 version for the real masochists.
PhineasB said:
I've started outlining an SPF 99er compendium that I hope to write up once Hiatus finishes her journey. Along the lines @Kitteh suggests, there is a lot of really great knowledge and information that is spread across multiple threads that span dozens or more pages. I thought it would be cool to try to pull it together into one place.
Kitteh said:
PhineasB said:
I've started outlining an SPF 99er compendium that I hope to write up once Hiatus finishes her journey. Along the lines @Kitteh suggests, there is a lot of really great knowledge and information that is spread across multiple threads that span dozens or more pages. I thought it would be cool to try to pull it together into one place.
That is a better idea :p
DaveW said:
It would be great to have all that info in an easy to access format somewhere. Pre thx to PhineaseB and Kitteh for making it so.

@Yng did you post a Guardian thread for your HC p8 Druid? I'd love to read it.
Kitteh said:
Well, PhineasB has already got something going and I don't really want to interfere with that, so just thank Phineas :p Although obviously, I would be happy to help out. Speaking of... Do we have an overall SPF compendium? Of like, everything?
Xul's Gull said:
Yng said:
We need a HC P8 version for the real masochists.
In best Duriel's voice: "Yeeessssss..."
Trapin' said:
Latest find today :)

Screenshot053.jpg

Ceegee the zealot is 82. He's spent most of his life searching LK for a Ber rune to make a CoH. At this point I'm close to abandoning the grind and grinding some hell meph or baal to find myself a better weapon. I've been using my rare ettin axe until now, and even though it's great, It won't do for end game. I need to be able to run some better areas for xp, preferably areas that drop zod so I can get that BOTD :)

Instead of telling you guys what I have, I figured i'd might as well show you! Since I play Vanilla I can just show you guys my inventory/gear.
d2gear.jpg

I want to replace the nats boots with gore riders, the sanders gloves with laying of the hands, and the bladesbuckle for a string of ears. That would help with damage and livability i'm sure.
inventory.jpg

Runes in my Inventory:
Ohm Lo Sur Mal Gul


I'm wondering if I should socket my G helm with the Ruby Jewel of Truth or the Scintilating Jewel of Carnage. I don't think I'll need res's so the 40 ED makes the most sense.

I'm also thinking of making a Doom if I can ever find a cham :D or an exile.
Yng said:
DaveW said:
It would be great to have all that info in an easy to access format somewhere. Pre thx to PhineaseB and Kitteh for making it so.

@Yng did you post a Guardian thread for your HC p8 Druid? I'd love to read it.
There's a quick rundown posted here, although I think I've retired him now. I do have a HC Barb at Act 2 NM that I want to Guardian untwinked on P8 only as well, perhaps I'll add him sometime in the future.

Anyways, updates! I'm sure this project as a whole is going to take quite a while to complete considering the time I have available to play but I'll keep giving it an effort and establish some kind of side project (most likely the Barb mentioned earlier) to keep from overdoing it on this one. No deaths to mention from 94-95 which was done exclusively with P8 Vizier/Infector and some unique/champ packs that spawned close to the seals. We had some close calls/merc deaths from Conviction spawning on Infector namely.I did try scouting the shrine along the way early on for XP shrine but it's just too time consuming to get cursed on the way to a pack, it's more efficient to just not stop at all. I plan to do some Nihlathak testing soon to check yield versus time spent per run as that will be my target a few levels from now.

Ding and Stats
Stats are a little messed up from upgrades but I'm holding that last respec for the lucky streak of Lightning skillers and Griffon's drop that is clearly going to happen any day now..

Stats listed with 105 FCR/86 FHR and Delirium/Insight HF Merc.
N8hf0aB.jpg


HTE5jcA.jpg

Drops/Upgrades
Of course after I invest my 2x Ber in Chains of Honors' for Chalan and myself a decent Infinity base drops. I burned 11x Insight sets without a proper roll unfortunately so I'm picking up the random Tirs/Tals and I'll try again soon. The Sur drop somewhere along the way puts me back 1/4 of the way to Infinity and I'm not opposed to going back to LK if the right base and lucky drops happen but it's very unlikely at this point. Blizzard is nice because you get to pump points into Static Field and you can snipe the whole Infector pack from a safe distance. I could be wrong but it seems you can somewhat manipulate where the pack spawns depending on where you are when the pack's spawn animation happens after hitting the seal.

rpwEYXv.jpg


jiyf4ua.jpg


Rolled this one in cube from a no socket base drop.
GOJ0ITx.jpg


6zEHrwO.jpg


qOG4dSL.jpg

Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       61             Yes           -          -            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      55             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro    30ish           No            ?         N/A           -           -
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Xul's Gull said:
And people were just discussing the odds of this happening:

Double Drop.png

Took the time to get a few quick levels for Araphel. No major updates for the gear: out of five broken shrunken heads I did manage to roll a decent one: +3 RS / +3 AD, so that's probably going to be the base for an initial Rhyme (I'd prefer a +3 SM along with that, but a fellow should count his blessings and move along. ;) ). Got a low-end Hawkmail (109 def precisely), but the bonuses suit Ithera for now.

One (almost) hilarious anecdote: I did find one of my more "elusive" items so far (you know the ones that are supposed to be relatively easy to find, and yet you NEVER see them...?), and you're going to get a laugh of it; out of the many playthroughs I've had of this game, this is the first time I saw an Infernal Torch drop. Not on Meph, as statistics say it should, but on the area before Ancient's Way, inside a chest. I had to do a double take for expecting another Sander's wand, and when I saw the different base item, heart actually skipped a beat.

It's kind of that moment of surprise we still live for, y'know? Yes, I do have the other two pieces stashed in an old character, and yes, it's way past the point where it'd be useful, but finally completing it was an emotional milestone. So many freaking Isenharts, Tancreds, Vidalas and the like, but the first time I complete the Infernal Tools.

It's always the little things.

Onward, Araphel.

Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)    SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U    # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xul's Gull  Araphel      HC     Necro      54             No            ?           ?
ffs said:
@Yng Great progress! Needless to say I'm amused by the fact that your first eth elite 4os polearm is a CV. ;) On that, still haven't found a better base and now half way to 98, so still no regrets whatsoever for making Infinity in that CV. Though I will burn the runes if a better base drops, I believe it will make a difference with a Delirium setup for running Nihl.

@Trapin' Nice going as well! That rare axe is quite something when playing vanilla, actually hard to beat without RWM. The unique weapons that beat it (stuff like Schaefer's Hammer, Astreon's, Stormlash) are not really obtainable by targeted farming and pretty rare, so there's just BotD basically. If you really want to go for that you'd have to run travincal like a mad man, and with sub-optimal gear that probably takes at least as long as getting to 99 with that weapon. ;)
Yng said:
@ffs it’s just a matter of rolling a Thresher rack in LK, wouldn’t take long from there. I just don’t want to lose my current map (AT 1 teleport from WP with a good density, good LK, 2 RoF chests) without Griffon’s + Lightning GCs because I don’t think the respec is worth it prior to having those. If you’re rolling no socket ethereal bases CV has a 4 socket cap while Thresher/GT have 5/6 respectively. In other words, CV has a 50% chance of rolling 4 sockets.

@Trapin' If you’re looking for a cheap weapon upgrade, Crescent Moon has ITD and Static Field proc with decent ED for the cost of an Um rune.
Trapin' said:
Yng said:
@ffs it’s just a matter of rolling a Thresher rack in LK, wouldn’t take long from there. I just don’t want to lose my current map (AT 1 teleport from WP with a good density, good LK, 2 RoF chests) without Griffon’s + Lightning GCs because I don’t think the respec is worth it prior to having those. If you’re rolling no socket ethereal bases CV has a 4 socket cap while Thresher/GT have 5/6 respectively. In other words, CV has a 50% chance of rolling 4 sockets.

@Trapin' If you’re looking for a cheap weapon upgrade, Crescent Moon has ITD and Static Field proc with decent ED for the cost of an Um rune.
Do you think the damage on crescent moon would be better tho? What weapon should i put it in?
Yng said:
Trapin' said:
Do you think the damage on crescent moon would be better tho? What weapon should i put it in?
Clvl 13 Static Field is 11.3 yard radius. That’s quite big. Considering you’re intending to level to 99 that means ideally seals or Baal minions for quite a while, each having big pack spawns. Short answer - yes.

Phase Blade is probably the most ideal base.
Trapin' said:
IT HAPPENED...

Screenshot077.jpg
Trapin' said:
Trapin' said:
IT HAPPENED...

Screenshot077.jpg
and now I made this!!

Screenshot078.jpg
Yng said:
@Trapin'
Very nice, I still have yet to find a Ber on SP
darkstarhub said:
@Xul's Gull i know how you feel with the Infernal Torch drop. I had never found The Hand of Broc until very recently, and it should be relatively easy to find. But, after looking at my Flavie report, the only uniques I am missing in the normal and exceptional catagory are the TC3’s, which are kinda rare to find and even more so later in the game. Another one I’ve only found once a very long time ago was Biggin’s Bonnett, and yep it’s a TC3.

It does seem odd, but the fact we even want to find this stuff is cool. It could simply be for completion or using as twink gear. I do think it’s fun to use some of the low end sets early on just for kicks. Some day I plan on a normal Unique only character, but that’s after the rares and blues only characters and several other builds I want to try.

This stuff reminds me of the early days of D3 when people were crying about finding gear for classes other than what they we’re playing. THats were smart loot came from which is another layer of crap they added to the game that helped ruin it(IMO). Honestly I would rather the current devs just leave D2 alone. There is no way they would just improve the resolution and maybe make some quality of life changes. They would have to add things they think would help, and they suck at that.
Trapin' said:
I actually just found a heavens light :) so that will replace my rare ettin axe. I also found war travs which will replace the boots, and I'm running hell meph until i can find a String of ears, a good merc weapon and stormlash or azurewrath!
Trapin' said:
Sorry for spamming this thread, but just got a SOJ from Meph :DScreenshot081.jpg
 
@Trapin' I'm watching your Zealot like a hawk! So very interesting, so much style :cool: And second what @ffs said. If your looking for eBoTD, you need to get your tuchas over to Travincal and just hack & slash until that Zod is completed. Probably after farming Meph for basics, though. You'll go insane if you start farming areas for that stone.
Xul's Gull said:
darkstarhub said:
@Xul's Gull i know how you feel with the Infernal Torch drop. I had never found The Hand of Broc until very recently, and it should be relatively easy to find. But, after looking at my Flavie report, the only uniques I am missing in the normal and exceptional catagory are the TC3’s, which are kinda rare to find and even more so later in the game. Another one I’ve only found once a very long time ago was Biggin’s Bonnett, and yep it’s a TC3.

It does seem odd, but the fact we even want to find this stuff is cool. It could simply be for completion or using as twink gear. I do think it’s fun to use some of the low end sets early on just for kicks. Some day I plan on a normal Unique only character, but that’s after the rares and blues only characters and several other builds I want to try.

This stuff reminds me of the early days of D3 when people were crying about finding gear for classes other than what they we’re playing. THats were smart loot came from which is another layer of crap they added to the game that helped ruin it(IMO). Honestly I would rather the current devs just leave D2 alone. There is no way they would just improve the resolution and maybe make some quality of life changes. They would have to add things they think would help, and they suck at that.
My sentiments exactly. It's not like them to leave things well enough alone. Just let us find Uber Diablo through different means and fight the Pandemonium event and leave everything else the same. Is that too much to ask?
Ashenshugar said:
I haven't played too much of Diablo 2 lately, but I did finally make my Call to Arms and the Double Axe tip I got earlier in the thread really paid off, thanks a lot for that! After trying to run a bit in the Chaos Sanctuary I think I will stay in AT, there is just too much manaburn going on in CS since I have to be pretty much in the face of my enemies while Tornadoing. I may try running Baal, but I have yet to kill the ancients so that would be a thing to ponder I guess.


Natur CtA.jpg

I also found a ring I've wanted for a bit


Soj Natur.jpg
As I've feared there is way too much RL stuff going on at the moment, so progress with HelpYourself slowed down quite a bit. I still might find the time to run some more over the Christmas days, but realistically I think she'll hit 98 early next year. However, she's now over 50% of 98 and reached the 3.1 billion mark today, so I figured it's time for an update given 98 will take a little longer. :)


XP/LCS post-BO currently:
6_LCS at 97.5.png

Gear-wise there was just one min-maxing change. I've been meaning to include some more MF in her setup, but was not willing to sacrifice a lot safety for it, so I've been waiting for another Vex drop in order to do this:

6_Vex.png
6_ethHoto.png

Her other Hoto had a nice 38@, but that roll didn't matter because she's over-capped anyway. Reason for the move was the eth Hoto can be used with base dex, so I was able to swap in War Travelers and bringing her MF from 63 to 110. Didn't want to use WT before because it would have meant a more significant HP drop when swapping out Waterwalk. With the dex points not required for the (non-eth) Hoto and the ability to pump vitality a little more, she now only lost about 40 life after BO and the extra 5% FR from Waterwalk. Now that seemed like a low enough price to pay for almost doubling her MF. (And as I've said before I'm generally a fan of eth style points. :))

Well, turned out the extra MF paid of almost immediately with this overall grailer dropping just a few runs afterwards:

6_Mang Song ground.png
6_Mang Song IDed.png

Really happy about this one! Overall grail is now down to -5.

Other drops from 97 to 97.50:

6_WF.png
6_IK armor.png

Not quite top end but still a cute little upgrade for my all-time favorite character:

6_jav life skiller.png

Direct Ber #5 for her I believe. Spare HRs now at 3 Ber and 3 Sur.

6_Ber#7_.png
6_Gul.png

Other drops were Mal, 2nd Tal Armor, 2nd Halaberd's Reign, Knell Striker (actually another grailer!) and another Cold Skiller. Her overall skiller count is a bit over 40 by now, 7 of them with life. Hitting 2 shrines per run and rolling GCs as much as I can, but still no luck regarding a third Lightning Skiller. :/
Yng said:
Long live the Double Axe base.
T72on1 said:
I'm sad to say that, due to a computer crash and me not backing up data regularly enough, I have been set back to 19 July 2017 when it comes to D2 :(. Everything else was recovered, but for some reason D2 save data is the one thing that the guy who fixed it for me didn't recover (even though it was definitely possible :( ). So Neverland is only at 3.285.000.000 xp. I was at some 3.309.000.000 xp, so it's 'only' some 10 hours of play lost, but still this setback has severely lowered my urge to play D2, so it may take a while before I pick up Neverland again.
Kitteh said:
Ah damn it buddy, sorry to hear that :( Perhaps play a fresh tournament character for a while? Or, y'know, play through PoE with me :rolleyes:

When you say no D2... You are still doing OA, right?!
NamelessPenguin said:
@T72on1 Man that sucks :( Kinda like dying and not retrieving your body, only 10x worse...
T72on1 said:
@Kitteh Yeah, of course still our weekly group game !!!

I bought Counter Strike GO to cool down my frustration on bots. Played some this afternoon. So much fun.
Kitteh said:
Ah, that is a fun game. I tend to play arms race when I don't feel like other games.
darkstarhub said:
@Xul's Gull Of course by mentioning Biggin's, it decides to drop, and in the AT of all places. I have not found anything at all good towards the mini tournament, but this just about makes up for that. The only other one I found was a drop from big D, pre LOD, so yeah, its been many moons since I've seen it.
Screenshot244.jpg
DaveW said:
Tuff luck T72, I really feel for you. At least it wasn't a total loss.
Xul's Gull said:
@T72on1 Oh, man, it's just... I'm so sorry. Hoping you get back to it soon.

@darkstarhub LOL, that's Diablo for you; good find! Almost merits a stash for itself :)
Trapin' said:
Screenshot083.jpg

Getting super close to end game gear!
For now I have to use nosferatu's coil for the IAS breakpoint, but once I find that convetted stormlash or azurewrath I can use the dungos :D

Questions for you guys:
I just put a 40% ED 7% FHR jewel in my G helm. Was this is a mistake? I know the ED % is calculated differently for off-weapon gear, but I figured it still increases damage so It can't be bad?

I also have a 15% all res +14 Max dmg jewel I'll probably put in my HoZ when I get it :) Or again should I not put dmg stuff in off-weapon? I have an Ohm rune I plan on putting in my weapon whenever it drops
necrolemming said:
Offweapon ED% is additive with skill ED. Synergized Zeal + Fanaticism is somewhere in the 750% ED range, so an extra 40% on your hat is around a 4.7% increase. For comparison, with an average roll Stormlash (153 average weapon damage), getting the same DPS increase with a +max/min jewel would require 4.7% of that in average damage, which is about 14.5. In other words, a +15 Jewel of Carnage with no other mods would have been about the same there. Azurewrath does even less weapon physical admage; you'd only need +11 max to beat 40% ED. I wouldn't call it a mistake, per se; if you don't need resists from that slot it's fine, but when you already have a high physical damage modifier from skills, getting more of it on equipment isn't that attractive.

I definitely wouldn't socket an Ohm for the damage when even a plain ED or a mediocre ED/max jewel is going to be very close in efficiency. If you don't want to make an Exile or reroll a CtA or something, just sit on it.
aarrgus said:
Well, it's been a while since I've updated Acala, because life gets in the way. Had a whole bunch of work days in a row and then got sick so all that Mephisto running I had planned on doing kinda went out the window lol.

But Acala the Pure Vita Barb is back and has reached 63. When last we left Acala he was at the doorstep of Mephisto, ready to go one on one. I figured it would be an easy fight and I would be farming him in no time. Oh how wrong I was. My damage was pitiful. The first fight with Mephisto took about 15 minutes. Brutally slow. So the quick plan to farm Mephisto right away went out the window. I had to spend a bit of time farming in Act 2 NM for a 2 socket axe base and finally got one to drop in a hatchet. (I didn't want to farm normal because I have a perfect countess and Meph map in NM). I was able to slap the Strength runeword into that hatchet and my kill time on Mephisto dropped from 15 minutes to about 3 (time swinging on Mephisto, not full run time) thanks to the 25% crushing blow. Better, still not the best. I broke up the monotony of Mephy with making it a complete circuit of Mephisto, Tal's Tomb (for a second socketable), Countess (for some low runes to either cube some sockets in a hatchet, and the second Strength runeword), and Andy. After a few days I got a white hatchet to drop and one cube recipe later I had that two socket base and a second Strength runeword weapon. Kills of Meph dropped to about 1m30s. Finally in the range of acceptable. I did make one final concession though.... I went ahead and put points into Battle Cry. I was so starved for AR that Double Swing was in the mid 30% range and Frenzy only at 40%. Battle Cry, Double Swing with two Strength weapons and their 25% crushing blow each, and a little extra damage from the merc has dropped the kill time to below 1 minute now.

The first major upgrade I saw was a little something for the merc.... Ethereal Duriel's Shell. This is one that will hopefully last him quite a while :)
qGPrido.jpg
Then a little couple of somethings for me dropped.... 34% Chance Guards and Skullder's Ire.
tL6snrb.jpg


b5Mz7C6.jpg

And the absolute necessity for this Pure Vita build... a Raven Frost. Sadly it's only a +16 Dex and I probably need a +19 for endgame, but the AR and lack of being frozen by Mephisto is a true godsend to the run...
Ivodxii.jpg
And finally on the drops, a Spire of Honor (187% ED) for the merc (and an Arm of King Leoric same drop).
s68IKlF.jpg

There is still a lot of work to do and a lot of upgrades to be made. I got a Tal's mask drop that will be nice for the merc soon, but the most pressing issue is to get some actual axe drops for Acala so that eventually he can make some progression through nightmare. Crushing blow is great for bosses, but the low damage output I have otherwise makes regular enemies quite the slog.



Pertinent stats
Current level: 63
Current Strength (base + charms + gear): 107 (40 coming from 2x Strength RW axes though)
Current Life (With BO): 3180
Strength from 24 slots of charms: 25

NBs6egG.jpg

Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      63             Yes           -          -            1           -
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       61             Yes           -          -            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Kitteh said:
Good progress buddy, I love an ethereal Duriel's :D I also just love the way the word 'ethereal' sounds :p
NamelessPenguin said:
@aarrgus Nice to see another active barb in the mix :) What is your planned end game gear and build? Good luck finding that weapon for finishing NM, and hopefully Hell too.
NamelessPenguin said:
Ok, I think it's time to introduce my runner. He's a WW barbarian, dual wielding Grief wearing bad ass mo'fo. I promised myself to add him when I hit level 95.

Screenshot186.jpg

I don't know If he will ever make it to 99, since I have this love/hate relationship with him. I love that it's such a challenge to get him to really mow down stuff. And I hate that he's not a caster. My main mission was to make an effective CS running barbarian, who could compete with the casters, although doubtfully win the competition. There is still a lot of damage to be won with better Grief rolls, but I haven't seen any useful runes since my LK days. Charms could always be better. And I have no idea why his AR is so low...

He can do sub 4 min (with my raggedy skills) Baal runs, which also could be better, and I hope it will with Highlords. But as of now, The Pits is still the most effective place to gain exp.

Gear

Enigma MP
Guilliam's (+15 All Res + 7 max dmg. jewel) - have a 37% + 13 max dmg in my stash, don't know if it's worth it, though
Dual Grief PB +381 / +376
LoH
String Of Ears - 8% LL, 15% DR, 14 MDR
Raven Frost - 250/19
Dread Turn ring - 10% FCR, +90 AR, 6%LL, 30% Lres, 19% Fres, Half Freeze
Gore Riders
Cresent Moon amulet (I know...Andy is so awfully stingy...)

Skills (needs a respec)

Max WW
Max Sword Mastery
Max BO
15 Berserk
11 Howl
+ a couple here and there

Progress Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    91             Yes           -          -         many           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      63             Yes           -          -            1           -
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       61             Yes           -          -            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Kitteh said:
To be honest, this is one of those tournaments where this isn't really a winner per se. So, focus less on 'winning' :p
 
PhineasB said:
Welcome Rockatansky! Good luck on the running.

I wouldn't use the jewel in the helm -- there's a bug where only one source of damage works when socketed off-weapon: https://www.diabloii.net/forums/threads/bug-on-ed-max-dmg-jewel.767322/. As I understand it, +ED% would not apply to your min damage if you socket the jewel.
NamelessPenguin said:
@Kitteh Roger that :p

@PhineasB Thank you :) And that was just the post I was looking for.
Yng said:
@NamelessPenguin any shots of the come-up? Particularly LK, always interested in potential for new patterns!
aarrgus said:
NamelessPenguin said:
@aarrgus Nice to see another active barb in the mix :) What is your planned end game gear and build? Good luck finding that weapon for finishing NM, and hopefully Hell too.
I'm treating it as a pre respec era build so I'm not letting myself stray from the build as I level. Standard Frenzy barb build

20 Frenzy
20 Double Swing
20 BO
20 Ax Mastery
1's in pre-reqs, NR, War Cry, Berzerk
Rest in Taunt for synergy.

As far as gear goes it starts with Enigma Mage Plate. 55 str requirement so I'll only need to scrounge up 25 str, so the plan there is a +20 str rare ring and Mara's to get me there. +18 Dex Raven Frost in other slot will be important later. At lvl. 80 I'll get 60 str from Enigma so that puts me 115 and in range of the rest of my gear choices.

Helm: Arreat's Face
Gloves: Preferably something crafted with Crushing Blow and leech.
Boots: Goblin Toe and Gore Riders would probably suffice, but a pretty open ended spot.
Belt: Probably a String of Ears or Verdungo's Hearty Cord. Depending on drops I suppose.

Then we get to weapons. Because I'm playing this as if there aren't respecs I had to decide early on this. Axes were the decision, because of the lower requirements. 2x Berserker Axes are the prime targets naturally at 138 str, 59 dex.

Cheap Tier:

1x Crescent Moon Berserker Axe (138s/59d)
1x Death Berserker Axe (101s/38d)
and an inventory full of charms.
Crushing blow and Static Field have to do the heavy lifting so very rng dependent. Alternatively I could just go with 2 Death Berserker Axes although that is a bit more rune expensive but would open up some inventory slots for fewer str and dex charms.

Middle Tier:

2x Grief Berserker Axe (138s/59d)
and an inventory full of charms.
From what I understand these are better high damage weapons than ebotd, but the str and dex requirements limit my inventory space options. They appear "easier" to make than other items though.

Unlikely Tier:

2x Ethereal Breath of the Dying Berserker Axe (101s/38d)
This would take forever to build but it meets the low requirements and delivers high output. Plus it has the leech built in to lessen those requirements from other places. I suppose a slightly less rune expensive option might be 1 ebotd + 1 Grief since the botd would give a +30 to attributes, but it's still all a moot point until I get into heavy rune running (emphasis on running as a barbarian who only currently has a very expensive to repair stick to teleport haha)

Right now it's all about getting the right gear to get through NM and into Hell. Then once I get to act 3 I can start to worry about runes. It all hinges on Enigma though, and without that the attempt is pretty much dead in the water. Once the great rune hunt begins it'll be about getting to Enigma first, then worrying about weapons later. Oh and his plan to reach 99 is to run Nihlathak, so in the end some level of gear may be overkill, but with such a low str character speed will probably be a big issue, as it already has been with NM Mephisto lol.
ffs said:
@NamelessPenguin Great, welcome! I thought you were playing untwinked from your comments in other threads and wondered why you didn't join here, glad you do now! Yeah HLW seems to be the only core piece missing, hope it drops soon. :) I assume you're on 105 fcr on switch? Otherwise that might speed up runs too.
NamelessPenguin said:
@Yng There ya go :) Also found some change, and a second Ohm, but I can't upload more pics. And a Lo from a log.

@aarrgus Very interesting, excited to see how a bulked up Frenzy Barb does in Hell P8.

@ffs I couldn't take myself serious until level 95 :p Yeah, I've even spent two weeks running Andy, she dropped everything else but HLW. Probably have to go back to running her...ugh...Yes, 105 FCR on switch.

EDIT: Double uploads. All HR's should be there now.

Lo1.jpgSur4.jpgBer!!!.jpgOhm.jpgSur1.jpgSur2.jpgSur3.jpgOhm2.jpg
Kitteh said:
Somebody has been a bit busy :rolleyes:
NamelessPenguin said:
That was from a prolonged manic gaming period :D
Gynli said:
First update since signing up. -ish. It's just a minor update in terms of exp.

My amazon hit lvl 92 wayy back last month, just couple days after the MFO. Killing was safe and smooth but terribly slow on anything higher than /p1; so I decided to run LK for my Faith. After a month and a half of running - though in reality not that many runs -, I finally found enough Lo's and Gul's and Ist's to cube up my Faith. so.. Voila!

Making Faith 01.jpg
decided to make my faith in Shadow Bow, in the likelihood of finding a WF sometime before 99.

Making Faith 02.jpg
just a quick fix. cause... OCD. lol

Making Faith 03.jpg
did you notice the 4 Lo's in the perivous screens? Ya... no Ber or Sur for me. That first Ber was from the Pits during the MFO. Not even an Ohm or a Vex either. iirc that Ohm is built from 2 Guls and 4 Ists.

Making Faith 04.jpg
The culmination of my past month. Yup. 12 Fana, 1 skill. Worst possible roll... =P

Faith
Shadow Bow
OhmJahLemEld
Two Hand Damage: 64 - 253
Durability: 28 of 28
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 52
Required Dexterity: 188
Fingerprint: 0xcf5df2e5
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 12 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped
+1 to All Skills
330% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
300% Bonus to Attack Rating
+75% Damage to Undead
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
Adds 120 - 120 Fire Damage
All Resistances +15
10% Reanimate as: Returned
75% Extra Gold from Monsters 4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ohm Rune
Socketed: Jah Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Eld Rune

Progress Update

Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      63             Yes           -          -            1           -
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       61             Yes           -          -            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Dezrok said:
Great to see everyone's progress.

After a frantic month of D2 in November, I haven't touched the game for a few weeks now, so nothing further for Salome. No doubt I'll get bored with my current obsessions soon and swing back to D2. This is a pretty inspiring thread to read!
ffs said:
@Gynli nice going, grats on the faith! Shadow bow is a great base also for Faith Merc setup in case you find a WF. Shame about the roll but it's still a great weapon.

Scandalous waste of an Ort rune though. :)
hackedagainanda said:
Hello everybody! Hugo the Necromancer has been fastidiously running the pits and has been rewarded with a Lum rune and a Homunculus!

HC is the challenge I needed to get back in the game

Screenshot125.jpg
Screenshot126.jpg


Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -    
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      63             Yes           -          -            1           -
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       61             Yes           -          -            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
ffs said:
@hackedagainanda Nice!! Cool to see another Nec running. I guess it's time for an update on my Summoner Ric as well. He made it to Hell LK and has started the grind for Enigma. He's still some Lum/Io+ away from Harmony, but since I rolled a really nice LK map quickly I decided to run it anyway, think I'd find a Ko soon for more efficient runs, which I intended to do whenever I needed a break from running Baal with HelpYourself. Of course I had no idea this would happen within the first 1.5 hours of LK running:

Fact: It's easier to find a Ber than to cube a Ko in LK. :) Now that's a nice way to start LK runs. And just like that Enigma seems almost within reach.

1_Ber.png

This is me trying to get the screenshot, which I didn't manage and almost died picking up the Ber also. I only saw one blue and one orange flash and I have no idea what the magic item was, so unfortunately can't confirm the pattern.

1_Ber trying to SS.png

As with HelpYourself when she got off to a hot LK start, Ric has been getting further good drops really quickly there as well:

I prefer + all skills for Summoner but this Circlet and Ammy are quite nice for now.
1_Circlet.png
1_Amulet.png

First time that my first Spirit rolled 35%, even though that's going to get replaced soon of course.

1_35spirit.png

He is going to spend many more hours in LK to farm Enigma, do some boss running after for some basic S&Us, and will then start running Pits until mid 90s.

As for HelpYourself: She's pretty much at 70% of 98, but I'm taking a short break from her now that I have other meaningful runs that I can do with Ric. Doing nothing but Baaling drives me crazy at the moment. :) I'll get back to her once I find the motivation to push through the last stretch to 98, and hopefully carry that over to the entirely new thing that will be Nihl running. ;)

Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.50          Yes           -        466           21           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      63             Yes           -          -            1           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
Yng said:
NanoMist said:
Been meaning to share my experience tables with everyone. I used it to help theorycraft my Baal runs and it's fairly accurate. My 95 -> 96 stretch was done via Ancients + 177 P8/P3 Baal runs. Without Ancients it would have taken 215 Baal runs, extrapolated from the 177 count. My table gave me 216 runs to 96, so it's very close to reality. As expected since clearing P1 throne is negligible in regards to additional experience.

I also have CS exp. numbers, but it's trickier due to random monster packs that are normally killed on the side. As always, it's best to do in game testing here, like Gripp. Still useful to see the exp. breakdown by seals and Diablo. Vizier + Infector contributes a major percentage of the total exp at sub-98, but that is something already known long ago. Although most leveling strats have already been dissected in the past 99 threads, it didn't hurt to reconfirm the strat or do a minor variation with our untwinked characters. Factor in actual run times for best use, although deaths, random monster packs, exp. shrines, etc will change the numbers.

Spoiler tag for wall of (intimidating) numbers:
First table contains P8/P7 Diablo and P8/P3 Baal.
1611507248438.png

Same as first but with P1/P7 Diablo and P1/P3 Baal. Included due to P1/P7 Diablo being a common 98 strat.
1611507259678.png

The P8/P3 Baal runs are fairly close to jjscud/reborn's table, which is a good sign. Let me know if there are any mistakes and I will correct it. For example: the number of minions.

Developed the spreadsheet with the basin exp. page and german d2 exp. online calculator as the references.
Saw this being referenced a few pages back. First, thanks @NanoMist for sharing. I wanted to point out that Infector actually has 11 minions (same as Vizier) in Hell.

Also, to the regular CS runners, was wondering if anyone wanted to share their thoughts on seal spawning? For example, Vizier’s pack seems very inconsistent. On the rare occasion that the “lane” (the small L strip leading up to the two west seals) is a complete cluster-****, I get fairly consistent full pack spawns to the East of the seals (completely away from the lane). Outside of that I rarely see a full 11 minion pack. If I had to guess it’s more along the lines 7-9 on average but don't quote me on that because I haven't done any real testing/documentation as that takes more time and I rarely get to play to begin with. I'm assuming that when the pack spawns along the edge of the floor (which it does more often than not) that some minions aren't being spawned. The only problem I have with this theory is that the Storm Caster mobs can float over the lava if being flee'd etc..

Note: Just a random screenshot from my folder being used as an example. The lines are referencing the field of play where I'm assuming if a minion is attempting to spawn to the bottom of the lower line or above the top line it spawns unsuccessfuly. The circle is referencing the actual map and where I've had consistent full pack spawns if the L is monster-dense.

PZxn85u.jpg

Also curious about thoughts on spawn location manipulation. Specifically with the Infector pack it seems you can somewhat force the pack to spawn in specific spots depending on where you are when the pack actually spawns (note there's a slight delay between when you trigger the seal and when the pack spawns, maybe 1 second). This is again speculation of course, as it could just be based solely on the monster density around the eligible spawn radius and that would better support my assumptions about the Vizier pack.

Again, just a random screenshot from my folder. Both markers are referencing the actual field of play, not the map. The circle is where I would Teleport to spawn the pack within the square, roughly.

aoyBZjx.jpg
NanoMist said:
You're right, 11 is the max number of minions for Infector. I must have had only 10 minions spawn when I did the count. I think most people prefer the Vizier branch that forks, it should have more minions on average.
Yng said:
NanoMist said:
You're right, 11 is the max number of minions for Infector. I must have had only 10 minions spawn when I did the count. I think most people prefer the Vizier branch that forks, it should have more minions on average.
Oh man I completely forgot about that.
Perhaps it’s time for a reroll.
T72on1 said:
Yes, I have experimented with both shapes, and forked is so much better than L shaped. Iirc the latter could go as low as 5 minions or so.
Xul's Gull said:
Mooorning (it's been a long pre-Christmas week... well, a long pre-Christmas month, really).

Did a small change to my lvl 99 road; instead of Araphel (who'll retire with all limbs still attached at level 60), I'll try and get Xul there. I'm fairly confident that in his journeys he'll find a Gull (it's, without a doubt, one of the uniques I used to find most constantly in my playthroughs, only losing to Shadowfang) and have it inscribed with Anya.

(Silly, you say? Absolutely...)

Not much to report for now; considering how much I sought to complete the Infernal Tools, it's only ironic that Xul has found three pieces of the Angelic set (no, no scimitar-wielding Necro, this one :p ), which allowed some extra safety to Normal. Better basic rune drops than Araphel had, so a Lore is up (Bone Helm, for that smooth Predator look). Found Iratha's belt; will probably spend some time trying to complete it for that extra resistance going forward.

Liking the updates, everyone. Hoping to find you all safe and having (as much) fun as possible on the holidays.

Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)    SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U    # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xul's Gull    Xul        HC     Necro      55             No            ?           ?
PhineasB said:
Congrats to @Gynli on gathering the runes for Faith – very cool to see one of those in this thread. And continued good progress from @ffs with HelpYourself, while hackedagain's Hugo is nearing the highest level Necro in this challenge. Keep up the good progress, everyone!

Hiatus hit another milestone with three-quarters of the way through the level. So this will probably be her last update here before hitting Ancients and level 99 (assuming no deaths).

The past .15 of the level was fairly uneventful, except for one near death that got my blood pumping. There were witches and she didn’t notice the might aura right away. Confuse didn’t proc, she cast two rounds of lightning, and I saw the aura just as a batch of red stars hit her. A pretty panicked small purple with one finger while the other went for ESC saw her through. But she was slivered prior to the purple, so it was definitely a close call.

Aside from that, the drops were a bit disappointing. Without a Jah, another Ravenlore, Death’s Fathom, and Boneflame #3 in quick succession during the last 5M, the best drops would have been a Pul and Boneshade. The Death’s Fathom is +21 cold damage – I believe it is her first TC87 unique, and she probably would have preferred many other options, most notably Griffon’s but also anything that contributed to her grail. Oh well . . .

Other drops of note were two Arachnid’s :rolleyes:, another Azurewrath, Eaglehorn (grailer for her), two Horizon’s, Stonecrusher, The Gnasher (grailer for her), and another 27@ Mara’s. The only gear change came when this charm dropped:
Code:
Shimmering Grand Charm of Vita
Grand Charm
Required Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0x3481aa33
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+44 to Life
All Resistances +14
Not super useful in the grand scheme, but I felt compelled to figure out a use for it. She was using a 25 fire resist GC of Sustenance to max that resist, which this replaced. The resist all allowed her to drop a lightning small charm and stay maxed there also, with a small charm with fire resists and MF replacing it to bring fire back up to max resist.

The other feature of this stretch was that aborting for any LI Nihl roll finally started to become a drag. There were more outlier stretches (or at least it seemed) where nearly half of the runs in a 5-minute span were aborts, so I found myself taking breaks more regularly. Having some -ELR would definitely help, less so for overall speed than to minimize aborted runs. This is the most notable difference from Mercy, who only aborted when Nihl was FI/LI.

She is getting quite close now, and I think will finish before the end of the year. :)

* * *

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.75          Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      63             Yes           -          -            1           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
T72on1 said:
Wow, that GC !!!
 
Yng said:
Pretty disappointing drops...
Jah, Death’s Fathom
How dare you lol
ffs said:
@PhineasB Very nice, I hope you'll navigate her through safely before the end of the year, I'll save some fire works for her final ding! Those drops are not too shabby either, makes me look forward to running Nihl. Chances of me hitting 98 before January are very slim though, especially since I'm having a hard time finding the motivation for extended stretches of Baal runs at the moment.

On the issue of aborting Nihl runs, I was also wondering whether it makes sense in my case to use CM again and not abort if Nihl spawns LI. Based on her Hoto vs CM numbers (shared here), non-LI Nihl should drop some 20% faster with Hoto, whereas with CM I would likely finish the runs where he spawns LI except for some ugly spawns. In other words, if he spawns LI more frequently than once every five runs, it will be worth taking a closer look at XP gain with the different setups. From what you're saying that seems to be the case... unfortunately, more testing to do. ;)

Oh and I have another question for Nihl runners (@T72on1 looking at you also :)) - are you running with integer damage reduction gear? I'm not experienced at all when it comes to running him, so I wonder how important that stat is, i.e. whether I should be gambling ammies already. :) I guess Nature's Peace makes sense to use in any case, but other than that I was not planning on shuffling around too much.
PhineasB said:
On drops from Nihl: keeping a more positive spin is definitely a good idea, but nearing 100 hours in, the optimism is wearing off a bit for me. ;)

The Jah is obviously very nice. But the comment about slight disappointment comes from the place of the nearly 40M XP of runs that netted nothing higher than a Pul. In context, that’s about 1750 runs (plus another 200 or so that I’d estimate as aborted runs), prior to those last 5M XP (or about 220 runs) that had very nice drops.

Or as @NanoMist noted in his 99er write up:
NanoMist said:
There were an abundance of S/U drops and a fair amount of high runes in this stretch, not because Nihlathak & Co. were great droppers, but just from the sheer number of runs (~12k) being done.

Builds that take out Nihl’s minions fare much better on the rune front (and, I think, the item drop front, because quite some of nicer items for Hiatus are item level 84). This is illustrated in the runehaul of Vex+ for Nano’s Izuna, and the same for Mercy. As you’ll see, it’s 15 and 14, respectively, with Izuna getting better Ber+ drops relative to Mercy. Compared to 4 Vex+ runes for @Pb_pal ’s Eleanor, who was Blova and killed only Nihl (I think).

So the drops definitely come due to volume. I was just hoping for drops that would be more useful for my overall grail or the grail for Hiatus, plus more luck on the Vex+ rune front. She kills many of Nihl's minions (not as thoroughly as the two trappers), but is only at 7 Vex+ runes with the Jah, or on pace for 9-10 if she went all the way to 99 from Nihl runs.

But I think the best perspective, if you can keep it, is that drops are a side benefit to the fastest way to level to 99. :)

To the other questions, I definitely think CM could be worth it for HelpYourself. The frequency of LI is not 1-in-5. There are stretches where it is more frequent, but they’re offset by some stretches of 20+ runs without. I looked it up when Hiatus was starting Nihl, and have 1-in-11 in my head (but am not sure).

For these runs, much of the time is getting to Nihl’s platform and S&E time. So aborted runs really hurt the average. Assuming a second slower per run for non LI Nihl, over 10,000 runs, that’s a lot of seconds! But it may be offset for not having “wasted” runs that can be 15-20 seconds when you abort, as long as you factor in how much longer it takes to kill an LI Nihl with CM.

Hiatus didn’t have Griffon’s and had to sacrifice too much keep 117 FCR. So it was never going to work for her. But I think CM may work better with the right gear. I look forward to your results from testing!

As to integer damage, Mercy didn’t have any, and Hiatus has it only from Nature’s Peace. The risk of death comes from really nasty mod combos that happen in a blink. I don’t think iDR would neutralize the damage, and instead would give another split second for S&E. That definitely could make a difference, but I didn’t view it as essential (especially when it would mean spending time to accumulate the necessary gear).
aarrgus said:
Acala the Pure Vita Barbarian continues to trudge onward, and now with progression!

When last we left Acala, he was running Nightmare Mephisto. Over and over and over and over again. Desperate for damage, Acala created two Strength runeword axes to get some of that sweet sweet crushing blow. As the levels moved into and through the 60's, it seemed like there would never be axe drops. Then finally an axe drop. Islestrike, 171% ED.

chOJrQx.jpg

Not what I was looking for, but having two of these in reserve might be ok as high damage replacements for the Strength runwords. However the problem is the runeword gives 20 strength, Islestrike 10 strength. Losing 20 strength across two Islestrikes means a more difficult time reaching enough strength for Skullders, which is what I would want to be wearing for MF bosses. Gah!

There are some items that could potentially take me all the way to end game, and I listed some in the previous post. One of those items did drop for me.... A String of Ears! Unfortunately it is only 12% DR so the bad luck on the rolls continues.

U1WArH3.jpg

Then, finally, after what felt like an interminably long time it happened. An axe I've been looking for. An axe that can lead me out of Nightmare and to Hell. A Butcher's Pupil!

4yd1fBo.jpg

And of course it rolls 156% ED because I can't have nice things lol...
Y2dMHpF.jpg

It was all downhill from there. I eventually snagged another Butcher's Pupil (169%ED) and a second Islestrike, so now I have the 4 axes that will easily take me into Hell. In fact, after the second Butcher's dropped I took off into Act 4 and everything was melting to my Frenzied blades. Granted I am on p1, but still after struggling to kill anything it's fun to watch things die so quickly again. Because of the strength issues though, the Strength Runeword axes are still likely to be the first choice over the Islestrikes, until I can sort out how to keep strength high enough for everything. But as of this post I'm just outside Nightmare Diablo, who I expect to die quite easily, and I'll soon move onwards to Act 5 where I anticipate Pindle et al. will take me to 75.

Not much else to report on drops, but I did get a two decent things...

A 30% Nagelring...

2JGACEN.jpg

And an Ethereal Shaftstop (edit: I didn't even notice that it's perfect lol)...
wVnxQ3K.jpg


Pertinent stats
Current level: 68
Current Strength (base + charms + gear): 85 (In PvE, non MF gear)
Current Life (With BO): 3309
Strength from 24 slots of charms: 33

KJG2aTi.jpg

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.75          Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      68             Yes           -          -            1           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
NanoMist said:
@PhineasB Lot's of good info in that post and thanks for the mention!

To expand on the LI topic:
Nihlathak's base resistance in Hell (FR/LR/CR/PR) are 33/33/70/70, and he can get two additional mods.
LE, Magic Resistant, and Spectral Hit are 3 of 11 mods that can boost the lightning resistance. (I don't think Nihla can get Multishot)
Any combination with LE first will result in LI but breakable by Infinity.
Any combination with LE second will also result in LI but breakable by Infinity, unless the first mod is MR or SH, then it is an unbreakable LI.

If I did the math right, that's 18/110 chance of Infinity breakable LI, and 2/110 chance of unbreakable LI.

PhineasB said:
As to integer damage, Mercy didn’t have any, and Hiatus has it only from Nature’s Peace. The risk of death comes from really nasty mod combos that happen in a blink. I don’t think iDR would neutralize the damage, and instead would give another split second for S&E. That definitely could make a difference, but I didn’t view it as essential (especially when it would mean spending time to accumulate the necessary gear).

I had a Sol rune in the Shako, but that was hoping the extra split second would matter. Not sure if it did TBH.
ffs said:
@PhineasB and @NanoMist thanks, that's very helpful! I've begun pushing her a little bit again, so might finish 98 this year after all and put that information to good use soon. :) Regarding CM vs Hoto @PhineasB you're totally right, I don't know what led me to that embarrassingly wrong 1/5 conclusion haha. Of course an aborted run is nowhere nearly made up for by five runs in which Nihl goes down some 20% quicker (as opposed to runs being that much quicker). So yeah if it turns out to be feasible to continuously push through broken LI runs with CM, based on @NanoMist's numbers that will be quite clearly better. It would mean less survivability in comparison to the Hoto setup though (no 86% FHR BP, less life, less + skills) so I'll have to see which feels more comfortable overall.

Regarding integer damage reduction, I'm not going to Hel out the 5/5 facet in Griffon's obviously, so Sol is not an option. But I guess I won't be gambling for an ammy either based on your experiences.

On a side note though, I don't seem to be having that S&E issue at all for Nihl runs. Maybe that's the one advantage of playing on a Mac? :)
T72on1 said:
Not on my computer right now, but I'm pretty sure I was using double nature's peace and sol in Shako. Not sure if it helped or not, that is always hard to tell. Once I got my positioning, my runs were very safe though.
PhineasB said:
Champion Hiatus and Zanarhi the HF Desert Merc, Lvl 99
99.jpg
Hiatus made it! :) Smooth sailing, aside from the one NDE posted in the quest for 99 thread while teleporting from the WP. The only drop worth a screenshot was a second Griz Caduceus. She found an Um and a Pul on successive runs and a 30 life Captain’s skiller, but otherwise little else to show for this tenth+ of the level.

Runes found from Nihl (she picked up Ko+):
Code:
17  Ko Rune
13  Fal Rune
3   Lem Rune
4   Pul Rune
4   Um Rune
7   Mal Rune
2   Ist Rune
5   Gul Rune
0   Vex Rune
4   Ohm Rune
1   Lo Rune
0   Sur Rune
1   Ber Rune
1   Jah Rune
0   Cham Rune
0   Zod Rune
Much worse rune drops for Hiatus compared to Mercy, even accounting for only 85% of the total runs for the level due to Ancients XP. No matter, the main thing is that she made it!

I’ll try to post a 99er write up in the next couple days. Merry Christmas!

* * *

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      68             Yes           -          -            1           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
darkstarhub said:
Awesome job man!!! 2 99ers in a row...you are making everybody else look bad!!! Big time Gratz @PhineasB

Is your screen name from the Phineas and Ferb cartoon?

I will definitely be taking notes on your write up.
DaveW said:
:eek:Wow, just wow. Can't wait to read her story Phineas. This thread is fast becoming a goldmine of very useful info. Congrats!;) And plz put some points into dex, ur defense is so lol. :D
Kitteh said:
Fantastic progress! I am planning to reenter this soon, although since I only play HC now, that might not be very long term :rolleyes:
ffs said:
Grats @PhineasB, awesome stuff! I'm really looking forward to the write-up. Merry Christmas! Hope you can enjoy it now that this is done. ;)
T72on1 said:
Grats ! So well done.
NamelessPenguin said:
Crazy :confused: Job well done. Guess Hiatus didn't take much of a vacation after all.
Zenigma said:
I can't quite yet hold a candle to some of the great posts above, but I'm long overdue for an update. I basically stopped playing for over half a year, but I was thinking about D2 the other day and got drawn back in. I quit playing shortly after landing some of my end-game gear on Ayura, the throwbarb. Namely, those items would be Highlords Wrath and Ravenfrost. If memory serves me right, both of them came courtesy of Hell Andy. I returned to act 5 to run Pindle for a while before dropping off. I also remember that when I hit 91, Ayura became my highest level character to date in my D2 tenure.

Now, onto the present. I am proud to announce that Ayura has reached level 92. All the while looking for some upgrades to his current gear. Between now and wherever I end up taking him, those will most likely be in the form of weapon upgrades and charm upgrades (but there's always room for improvement in the for of rare and crafted rings, too). I feel really bad about some of the charms and weapons I've muled off, because I would so gladly be using some of them right now :x That said, I still have a long journey ahead of me so I'm feeling pretty good on the prospect of finding some high-class charms.

I'm hoping that a particular find this morning is indicative of a trend in drops to come:
Screenshot347.jpg
My first unique elite thrower. Roughly equivalent to the offhand weapon I was using at the time, but considering the reaper's toll on the merc, the life leech gained from its use outweighs the amp damage lost. Sadly, it provides less physical damage, but demon's arch has a respectable bit of elemental damage to make up for it. Now come on, Warshrike! I wouldn't mind picking up a stack of those so I can reliably pierce

I also picked this up (see below). I've upped it once; just waiting on a fal rune to pop up so I may upgrade it a second time. This will likely be my offhand for a while once upgraded due to its tremendous damage. 243 ed isn't even that much, but ghost glaives have such a ridiculously high base throwing damage, compared to other throwing weapons, that it should outclass the damage of most other weapons I'm going to find for a while. The ml on it will also allow me to swap out my dual leech ring for something with more ll. I'll also be losing some resists in the switch, but I have res charms stashed so I could swap charms as necessary to keep the important resistances maxed.

Code:
Cruel Flight
Spiculum
Throw Damage: 118 - 205
One Hand Damage: 53 - 130
Quantity: 20
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 98
Required Dexterity: 73
Fingerprint: 0x832b2270
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
243% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
+194 to Attack Rating
Adds 6 - 19 Fire Damage
6% Mana stolen per hit
Required Level +5

For the record, that's actually more damage than other weapon I have on this guy. The only reason why it's complete garbage right now is because Blizzard hates me and they made the spiculum max stack set to 20. It's somewhat annoying.

I'm keeping it varied, hitting up Pindle, Council, and Meph regularly. There are also some 85s in act 3 that I can clear easily without having to go to blacksmith, so that's on the table, too.

Things are looking good.

Table Update

Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      68             Yes           -          -            1           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -

The Fallen

Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

Edit: Happy Holidays, SPF
PhineasB said:
99er post is up here. Thanks for the congrats, all! Looking forward to another entry from @Kitteh! And welcome back @Zenigma

Merry Christmas SPF!
NanoMist said:
I'm going to congratulate @PhineasB here as well, great job!
Back to back 99's on the table with a third one on the way? What a feat.
Gynli said:
Amazing accomplishment, and not even the first!
Many congrats to @PhineasB! Only 5 more to go! =P

EDIT: Merry Christmas to everyone. =)
ffs said:
As a minor update, between all that eating with my family I managed to do a bit of running, hitting the 3.2b mark today:

Screen Shot 2017-12-26 at 17.16.41.png

Obviously a more significant milestone is just ahead and I'll post a bigger update when it's done, even though drops weren't too great since the 97.50 mark unfortunately... :) I'll have to go to work again tomorrow till Friday and prepare for hosting a new year's party at my place, so we'll see whether I'll manage to hit 98 before 2018. But it's down to ~5 hours so it should definitely be possible.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Yng said:
Quick update, I've been really busy with the holidays. Few days off then back to spending all day at work.
I'm about 60m from 96 (around 3 hours). Wanting to try Fortnite and need to catch up on some cleaning but I think I'll be able to ding sometime today or tomorrow.

4dzykzQ.jpg


Some finds:
These were actually 40 MF, going to Pit Barb:

Qy3eUEq.jpg


TiquOJq.jpg


KzheygF.jpg


:eek:
nivx0V5.jpg
 
ioupainmax said:
@Yng Don't you use hotkeys?
Yng said:
ioupainmax said:
@Yng Don't you use hotkeys?
Secondary keybinds are hidden.
ioupainmax said:
MizzouFTW said:
Right now I have a level 81 trapper and a level 85 blizzard sorc. Both are doing pretty simple farming right now so I need a new project to subsidize the fun. Enter Dale, the untwinked, softcore wind druid. The last wind druid I played was in 1.10 on hardcore ladder. The US East hardcore community was small, somewhat toxic but friendly and close knit. I miss those times. I decided on the wind druid because my druid, Predator, played a big role in four of my friends reaching 99 during a season. I skipped "top two" for baal and joined the next private baal run in order to clear chaos for my friend. I did thousands of runs, suffered three deaths and lost countless wealth in gear. It was all worth it though because the people made it so.

Funny story... I met a guy through a mutual B.Net friend and chaosed him to 60 in a couple private games. We ended up being good friends and I helped hiim hit 99 on his trap assassin and blizzard sorc. We used to spend hours in Ventrilo playing together. Then he referenced "breakfast of champions" at the college I attended. It turned out that he lived just 20 miles away in another city. We knew a lot of the same people and he even came with friends to a few house parties we would throw after the bars closed. That was pretty insane haha. We're still good friends today.

Anyway, this druid was made in honor of my druid, "Predator". I miss the good times and good friends I made with him (and his four remakes) during those few Hardcore US East Ladder seasons. Crazy how a mutual love for a game bring people together. I'm saving the name, "Predator", for a future project. I just finished the book, Artemis, and named him after a character from the book.

It begins...
CTJNREl.jpeg

I'm not going to use a respec unless I absolutely have to. When I am doing untwinked characters, I like to save them specifically for stat respecs when I get drastic gear changes. Normal will be played on /players 8 and I'll be leveling as a windy. I was tempted to level as fire but that's a future character I want to play from act 1 normal to act 5 hell.

I would update the table but it's been a long time since I've messed with tables on this forum and a short attempt left me a little intimidated. Any advice/tips on how to edit the table without screwing everything up?
Kitteh said:
Best thing to do is to paste it into notepad and edit it there - at most you might need to delete/add a few spaces or something when you paste it back here. People are pretty good with fixing it if you get it wrong though.
ioupainmax said:
Real life, computer failure and a new patch got in the way of my 99er, but things have settled down now and I've resumed my run through with Durnik. I noticed all my previous posts had lost their images (thanks to Photobucket...) so I've gone through and fixed all my posts. Image size issues have meant that I've needed to split my last update and move it down to here, so I apologise if this is a slight repeat...!

**WARNING: This story does contain spoilers for the Belgariad and Malloreon book series by David Eddings**
The story so far...
NORMAL:
Act 1 – Sendaria - The Beginning
Part 1 – Sendaria
Part 2 – Sendaria
Part 3 – Arendia
Act 2 – Tolnedra
Act 3 – Nyissa
Act 4 – Cthol Murgos

Act 5 – Aloria – Kingdom of Cherek

Durnik's Progress:
Act 1 Nightmare – Sendaria & Arendia
“This is a nightmare!” exclaimed Azrael. “It’s what we agreed, Azrael” murmured Durnik. It was true, none of the inhabitants of the Rogue Encampment remembered him, but at least he still had Azrael with him…and he still had his Horadric Cube!

Durnik got to work and found a spectral shard:

Durnik - 051 - NIGHTMARE 000 - Countess.jpg

Durnik already knew everything he had to do, so this time he would concentrate on runes and improving his worn gear. He had no reason to doubt Aldur’s words, the demons would be stronger, so Durnik needed to make sure that he and Azrael were well equipped. He had a few misfires like this badly rolled polearm:

Durnik - 053 - NIGHTMARE 001 - Part 2.jpg

But other successes:

Durnik - 054 - NIGHTMARE 002 - Part 1.jpg
Durnik - 055 - NIGHTMARE 002 - Part 2.jpg
Durnik - 056 - NIGHTMARE 002 - Part 3.jpg

Durnik read more of the Tome in the Stony Field this time around and using this knowledge he began crafting in earnest. He crafted a caster belt and caster amulet. In addition, Durnik’s affinity for the spirits (honed by constant use of redemption) helped him forge to powerful Spirit runewords.

Durnik - 059 - NIGHTMARE 003 - Part 3.jpg

Durnik - 060 - NIGHTMARE 003 - Part 4.jpg

Durnik - 062 - NIGHTMARE 004 - Part 2.jpg

Durnik - 064 - NIGHTMARE 005 - Part 2.jpg

It was time to kill the scantily clad Demon Queen Andariel:

Durnik - 065 - NIGHTMARE 006 - Andariel.jpg
ioupainmax said:
**********************************************************************
Table Update

Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      97             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      68             Yes           -          -            1           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   57             Yes          59         48            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
******************************************************************************
**WARNING: This story does contain spoilers for the Belgariad and Malloreon book series by David Eddings**
The story so far...
NORMAL:
Act 1 – Sendaria - The Beginning
Part 1 – Sendaria
Part 2 – Sendaria
Part 3 – Arendia
Act 2 – Tolnedra
Act 3 – Nyissa
Act 4 – Cthol Murgos

Act 5 – Aloria – Kingdom of Cherek

NIGHTMARE:
Act 1 Nightmare – Sendaria & Arendia

Durnik's Progress:
Act 2 Nightmare – Tolnedra
As they travelled towards Lut Gholein with Warriv’s caravan, Durnik noticed a growing change in Azrael. Durnik surmised that returning to his homeland brought up many painful thoughts for Azrael and he decided it was best to give his companion some space. However, with each passing mile, Azrael became more withdrawn and his temperament was becoming noticeably… frosty…It was then that Durnik suddenly realised that Azrael had stopped praying and instead a cold wave was emanating from Azrael instead. The Tolnedran desert was scorching, but the caravan was only mildly warm, Azrael’s influence tempered the oppressive heat to something quite pleasant. When they finally arrived in Lut Gholein, Azrael disembarked and the ground around his feet turned to ice!

Durnik was about to question his friend about this alarming change, but then he noticed a blue tinge to the aura and he was relieved to see that Aldur’s presence still lingered with his friend.

Azrael noticed the strange look on Durnik’s face and explained:

“Aldur came to me in a dream, he bid me to cease my prayers. At first, I was concerned that I had angered my God. I questioned him but he did not answer. I did not understand and I became cold and aloof. In time, I felt a new power awaken within me and then Aldur spoke to me again last night. He explained that he perceived great peril in our future and that the power of prayer alone would not be sufficient in the battles to come. Aldur purposefully ignored me so that I would seek answers within myself and awaken a new power. A power that would slow legions of hell demons at once. He called it Holy Freeze.”

Durnik tried to wrap his head around this change and his expression must have been quite odd, because suddenly Azrael let out an uproarious laugh and the distance that had grown between the friends seemed to close all at once and everything was ok again. Durnik laughed too and exclaimed that “The ways of the gods are mysterious, but at least the desert heat won’t be such a challenge this time around!”. Though reassured by his friend, Durnik was instead now concerned, not by Azrael, but by the foreboding nature of Aldur’s message.

Durnik - 072 - NIGHTMARE - Mega Redemption.jpg

Azrael’s changed aura did pose a new problem. Durnik’s own prodigious skills in Redemption could restore life and mana to him in almost any battle (as proven in his battle in The Maggot Lair) but Azrael no longer had the ability to regain his life force. It fell to Durnik to work on a solution using craftsmanship.

A blood helm would do the trick nicely:

Durnik - 071 - NIGHTMARE - Blood Helm.jpg

The heroes flew through the Tolnedran desert, for the heat did not slow them and Durnik’s recent streak of crafted items bolstered their offensive capabilities four-fold. Soon they were battling against Duriel again. He was much more powerful and Durnik had to quaff many purple potions to see justice served against the foul beast:

Durnik - 081 - NIGHTMARE - Duriel.jpg

Next up, it was back to Nyissa, but this time promised to be much more tolerable now that Azrael's Holy Freeze would keep the bugs and heat at bay.
Kitteh said:
@ioupainmax I so appreciate this! My original copies seemed to have disappeared, so I got the two volume omnibus version of them both. These were some of my favourites books as a teenager - I haven't read them since but a couple of people said that they don't hold their value if you read them when you're older. Care to throw in your opinion?

Sorry for the OT :rolleyes:
ioupainmax said:
@Kitteh I have read them so many times, it's nostalgic and allows me to escape the world. I've grown up with these characters, so the series is familiar like a comfort blanket. You do tend to notice repetition if you read all his other work, but this series is still my favourite.
ffs said:
HelpYourself finally hit 98 :)

7_lvl98.png

Again she made it without any deaths, though there were a few close calls where she dropped to below 10%. She will now leave the company of her buddy Baal and his entourage. Recorded her last Baal run just for fun given she won't see him for a long time. :) Also showing her current overall go-to gear, which is now going to get shuffled around for Nihlathak though.

Drops were pretty disappointing for the second half of the level in comparison to the first half when she found Ber, Vex, Windforce and Mang Song's (see previous updates). A few highlights were eth Kelpie Snare, Ravenlore (-13 EFR), eth Demon's Arch, Leviathan and a second 28@ Mara's. Also found an eth GT in which I rolled 2 sockets, bringing her up to 5 elite eth polearms she rolled sockets into with only one netting 4. :/ Nothing too exciting in the runes department either, she found Pul, 2x Um and Mal during the last stretch.

I also continued to roll GCs all the time, and found one Lightning -- with Ric, my untwinked Necromancer. :) So yeah, no upgrade this level, but that's fine as she will now have something new to do and start experimenting with Nihlathak. This will include some stress testing since I'm not experienced at all with running him. I'm actually planning on letting her die a couple of times to get a feeling for it since now it doesn't mean any significant XP loss. Sorry HC players, but I'd rather know now than later when it hurts. :p

EDIT: Forgot to update table :)

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      68             Yes           -          -            1           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   57             Yes          59         48            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
T72on1 said:
Another one at 98? Congrats !!!

Reminds me I really should get back to mine ...
PhineasB said:
Awesome job! Look forward to seeing how she does once you're comfortable with Nihl runs. It was funny to see those vipers in the Baal run -- I immediately got worried and then was, "Oh right!"
ioupainmax said:
**WARNING: This story does contain spoilers for the Belgariad and Malloreon book series by David Eddings**
The story so far...
NORMAL:
Act 1 – Sendaria - The Beginning
Part 1 – Sendaria
Part 2 – Sendaria
Part 3 – Arendia
Act 2 – Tolnedra
Act 3 – Nyissa
Act 4 – Cthol Murgos

Act 5 – Aloria – Kingdom of Cherek

NIGHTMARE:
Act 1 Nightmare – Sendaria & Arendia
Act 2 Nightmare – Tolnedra

Durnik's Progress:
Act 3 Nightmare – Nyissa, Mishrak Ac Thull, Gar Og Nadrak and The Land Bridge…of bones!!
Durnik was right about the Holy Freeze aura making the temperature more bearable, however, Azrael could do little to rid them of the giant insects. To honour the finding of his Chance Guards, he decided to upgrade them using his Horadric Cube:

Durnik - 092 - NIGHTMARE - Upgraded Chance Guards.jpg

Shortly after this, Aldur’s voice echoed in thier minds “My sons, tarry not in Nyissa, Torak has altered events for his own ends. Instead, make haste to the most north-eastern part of the continent. There you will find a bridge that you must cross before the enemy cuts you off. Know that I am with thee”.

Durnik and Azrael quickly agreed that there was little else to do in Nyissa, so they hurried onward. They discovered the remains of Duriel’s old shell which must have been shed decades ago, since Duriel was now over ten times the size of the shell that Durnik held. The thought of keeping it disgusted him, but the passage of time had removed the foul smell and vile slime from the shell so it wasn’t actually all that unpleasant, so Durnik kept it:

Durnik - 086 - NIGHTMARE - Duriel's.jpg

So, after a brief but bountiful stint in the jungle on their way north, they cut across to the northeast into Mishrak Ac Thull. Progress was much quicker in the more open plains of the Thullish kingdom. Thick jungle had been replaced with endless temples and sewers given over to unholy blood sacrifices and demonic rites. Durnik vowed to cleanse the area and Aldur rewarded him with gifts:

Durnik - 101 - NIGHTMARE - Ko Rune.jpg

The heroes pressed on further north into the seedy underbelly of Gar Og Nadrak. Expecting to find more sewers beneath the royal grounds, they instead found an underground colony drenched in debauchery. Demons conducted experiments on cadavers, children as small as dolls had been cursed to explode at close quarters and giant demons roamed freely in the Durance of Hate. Again, Aldur rewarded their righteousness with a valuable rune:

Durnik - 108 - NIGHTMARE - Lem Rune.jpg

Durnik knew that he could create a runeword for great Wealth or something to aid his companion, Azrael. Durnik was never selfish and wealth had little meaning in this demon infested world, so he was leaning towards creating a stronger armour for Azrael. Azrael reminded Durnik about Aldur’s warning and that clinched it, Durnik would make a Treachery runeword. Normally, Durnik would never dream of associating himself with such things as treachery but Azrael pointed out that it probably did not affect the wearer, but instead, the object of the wearer’s wrath. In any case honourable men who had not betrayed one another had nothing to fear from treason. Azrael said “This will also fulfil another purpose…” somewhat darkly. So Durnik got to crafting this new armour, he first cubed some sockets and was delighted to find that cubing an Ethereal armour resulted in boosted defense:

Durnik - 110 - NIGHTMARE - Treachery.jpg

Durnik was used to fire and heat from his days in the forge, so he presumed that he would have some innate resistance to fire. However, he was unaccustomed to having fire hurled in his face or come boiling up beneath his feet during an ordinary day in the smithy. He realised the error of his ways and sought to rectify the situation with some better boots and other items granting fire resistance or absorption. He found some Waterwalks, a charm and a Dwarf Star ring, they proved most effective at dealing with the firewalls and meteors that the Dark Lords created:

Durnik - 111 - NIGHTMARE - Waterwalk.jpg
Durnik - 118 - NIGHTMARE - Dwarf Star 2.jpg
Durnik - 119 - NIGHTMARE - Shimmering small charm.jpg

Durnik also discovered Peasant Crown, a strong leather cap that was more befitting of Durnik’s self-effacing nature. It reminded him of his old leather smock which was a comfort:

Durnik - 116 - NIGHTMARE - Peasant Crown.jpg

Durnik had heard about a ’Land Bridge’ from both Alkor and Ormus. It was said that it joined this continent with another known as Mallorea. They had no choice but to continue until they found this land bridge as time was running out. Durnik fought with Mephisto and found very little among his ruined corpse:

Durnik - 107 - NIGHTMARE - Mephisto.jpg

To Durnik’s horror, the ‘Land Bridge’ had been desecrated and was instead a bridge of thousands of human bones. He cringed as he resolutely walked across it into the portal to the mysterious continent…Mallorea!
ioupainmax said:
Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      68             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

**WARNING: This story does contain spoilers for the Belgariad and Malloreon book series by David Eddings**
The story so far...
NORMAL:
Act 1 – Sendaria - The Beginning
Part 1 – Sendaria
Part 2 – Sendaria
Part 3 – Arendia
Act 2 – Tolnedra
Act 3 – Nyissa
Act 4 – Cthol Murgos

Act 5 – Aloria – Kingdom of Cherek

NIGHTMARE:
Act 1 Nightmare – Sendaria & Arendia
Act 2 Nightmare – Tolnedra
Act 3 Nightmare – Nyissa, Mishrak Ac Thull, Gar Og Nadrak and The Land Bridge…of bones!!

Durnik's Progress:
Act 4 Nightmare – Mallorea: The Forbidden Area & Ashaba
Their first experience in Mallorea was not very reassuring. The earth was grey-black and barren; nothing grew as though nature itself had abandoned the cursed place. The sky was a consistent black, so that one did not know whether it was morning, afternoon or night. The constant moaning of tortured souls wrenched at their hearts and intruded upon their focus. Foul creatures skittered and leaped about them in the inky darkness. Trapped souls flittered through them like gossamer smoke with an otherworldly chill that was both more sinister but strangely less cold than the Holy Freeze aura Azrael projected. The meaning of Azrael’s dark words in Gar Og Nadrak became apparent when they crossed paths with the fallen angel Izual. Izual charged at Durnik but faltered when he caught sight of Azrael’s Treachery armour. Azrael faded from view and struck Izual again and again. In the midst of battle, Azrael exclaimed that he felt stronger and he cut Izual down:

Durnik - 114 - NIGHTMARE - Izual and Azrael stronger.jpg
Durnik - 115 - NIGHTMARE - Izual.jpg

As they ventured further into the darkness they came upon an opening in the ground. Here the very earth seethed and broiled as though trying to rid itself of the infection above. Durnik faced off against yet another smith, recalling that this time, he would safely stow away the Hell Forge Hammer before claiming his rune:

Durnik - 121 - NIGHTMARE - Armourer.jpg
Durnik - 122 - NIGHTMARE - Hell Forge Hammer.jpg
Durnik - 123 - NIGHTMARE - Stow Away.jpg
Durnik - 124 - NIGHTMARE - Io rune - Hell Forge.jpg

They continued on until they encountered a black house the size of a palace, that was said to be Torak’s home, known as Ashaba. It was here that they would face Diablo. Aldur sent a servant, Hadriel, to caution them, for Diablo was even fiercer than before. When Durnik got close enough to see Diablo, he saw that the darkness emanating from him had changed his skin from blood red to an unhealthy looking dun brown mixed with grey-black. Though he looked unhealthy, he was anything but. The fires he called forth were beyond belief. Were Durnik not wearing his Waterwalks, his feet would have melted in an instant. Despite the heat, Durnik never waivered for a second, until his foe lay dead at his feet.

Durnik - 125 - NIGHTMARE - Diablo.jpg
ffs said:
PhineasB said:
Awesome job! Look forward to seeing how she does once you're comfortable with Nihl runs. It was funny to see those vipers in the Baal run -- I immediately got worried and then was, "Oh right!"
As you can imagine, I'm having the exact opposite experience with tomb vipers. :D Wow, these guys don't mess around.
ffs said:
ffs said:
she will now have something new to do and start experimenting with Nihlathak. This will include some stress testing since I'm not experienced at all with running him. I'm actually planning on letting her die a couple of times to get a feeling for it since now it doesn't mean any significant XP loss
... and die she did, actually also 2-3 times when it wasn't intended at all. :) Those vipers are quite something! But I'm starting to get the hang of it and judge situations better. Some initial conclusions:
  • Apart from the tomb vipers nothing is really dangerous at all, unless Nihl spawns with a nasty aura or cursed. Still learning when it's best to S&E or when it's safe to finish the runs. But so far it seems the really dangerous viper attacks can be easily avoided by teleporting away after they attack, almost always providing enough time to shoot down Nihl until they get annoying again. They also seem to spawn at the same locations and it's not too hard to find a safe landing spot.
  • Crescent Moon indeed enables her to push through when Nihl rolls breakable LI. Unless vipers are around or Nihl spawns with some inconvenient mods, she's able to safely finish the runs. So it's pretty clear cut she'll be using CM over Hoto.
  • Other than that, not sure whether I prefer CoH's PDR and better resist or Vipermage with Bloodfist and 86% FHR. Due to more FR SCs being required with Bloodfist, she has less life when running 86% FHR. Overall it feels like CoH is safer, using magefist and rare ring with FCR/resist/life/mana to hit 117% FCR. Still comparing these though.
  • I experienced several instant game crashes since I started to run him, not sure about the reason but it's obviously annoying. Anyone else had that issue (could be Mac only)? On the other hand, I don't seem to have the S&E delay that others had at all. So I think with some practice she should be able to push run times down to around 20s, provided Nihl doesn't roll LI and there's nothing to pick up. While I was at it, also recorded some initial Nihl runs. Still learning the map and wasting a second here and there, but it's ok for now. Map also seems good with two shrines directly on the way to Nihl for some more XP and gems for GC rolling.
Overall I have to say I already enjoy the noticeable increase in worthwhile drops in comparison to Baal, that guy was really stingy. ;)
ioupainmax said:
Crashes are due to Delirium, if your Merc gets hit and shifts mid attack, the game crashed since fetish doesn't have jab attack coded.

EDIT: @ffs see https://www.diabloii.net/forums/threads/delirium-game-crashes.708124/#post-8815029
ffs said:
@ioupainmax that makes perfect sense, indeed it only happens since I switched to Delirium Merc, thanks for the explanation. I guess it's fine though since runs are so short... unless it happens when there's some really rare item on the ground. :D
T72on1 said:
I'm using Delirium on the merc too, but don't have many crashes. Almost none actually iirc.

What changed Nihl runs from very dangerous to a routine job (well almost) for me was making a habit of stepping away from the merc after the final teleport, before starting attacking. Iirc if you stand close to the merc, the damage of the cloud goes up exponentially.

Obviously nasty combinations involving Might, Fana, Amp, ... sometimes still require me to S&E, but not much anymore.

O yes, about 20s runs ... wow, just wow.
ioupainmax said:
@T72on1 The issue of when you stand near your merc is probably due to Last Collide. Onderduiker explains it here:
https://www.diabloii.net/forums/threads/dealing-with-tomb-vipers.776600/#post-7640437

Pertinent bit:
The second is when two targets are overlapping or standing close enough together to collide with the same cloud(s): since enabling Last Collide only prevents a missile from colliding with its last target, each cloud collides with the targets alternately and thus applies its damage every other frame (averaging 12.5 times per second).

This also the reason that Fissure works best when there is a pack vs 1 monster.
 
Last edited:
PhineasB said:
Nice vid, @ffs ! But are you sure you had it on p8? Nihl was dropping way too fast (especially compared to Hiatus) :eek:

But seriously, that's a nice setup on HelpYourself to judge by those runs. Without the S&E issue and based on the vid, I think HelpYourself has a real shot at eclipsing 3M XP/hr. Even with 25s average runs, you'd be well over that assuming 23,000 XP/run. I look forward to seeing how it goes!

Also, I really like your map. I prefer that layout #3 for Halls of Pain and think your shrines are very solid. I found it's hard to get a 3-shrine map with all three directly on your teleport line, and it looked like you have two that are directly on line. The shrine right down the stairs before going to Nihl is also ideal, in my view.

On vipers, I'll echo what @T72on1 said. And thanks to @ioupainmax for linking to Onderduiker's post. Now I don't have to track it down!

They are really not dangerous as long as you and your merc aren't next to each other. Once I started doing the step-back he described (which was often more of a side-step for Hiatus that you can see in her ping vid), they really weren't a threat . . . unless you accidentally teleport into a cloud or get too greedy and don't bail when amped and at risk of being in our of their clouds, as Hiatus found out. :oops:

But that's one tip I'd offer from watching your vid: teleporting to scan the full area for drops could be very dangerous because that brings your merc right next to you. Sometimes you might not notice that vipers rolled (maybe if there are just a few to the northwest of Nihl's platform on your map). You could find yourself in a green cloud, worst case while amped. With both Mercy and Hiatus, I stopped teleporting onto the platform early on after experiencing a scary moment for both. It's a little slower to walk/run rather than teleport but it was worth it to me to minimize the risk.

Also, I think the most dangerous roll for a sorc is witches when Nihl has might and to a lesser degree fanatacism. Their red stars of death can tear through the character in a blink. That roll was an immediate S&E for Hiatus, and there were two panicked S&Es where I hadn't noticed the aura initially. So definitely be on the lookout for that also.

Finally, I think you could streamline the runs even more if you avoid tagging shrines that aren't XP (and gem because it looks like you plan to reroll GCs as you go). They really don't make a difference to run speed, and even if it's just a split second to TK it, those will add up over ~12,000 runs.

Again, very cool to see that vid! Good luck and stay safe :)
Kitteh said:
Has anybody tried Nhilathak with a trap assassin? I'm planning to go for Baal because of the safety concerns, but I think it is worth entertaining the idea. I mean, I don't expect death sentry to be sufficient for corpse clearing and traps aren't exactly selective, so...
PhineasB said:
@NanoMist and I both had trappers that made it to 99 with Nihl the target for the last level. I think Nano had a death in the first few runs, while Mercy had a death (with body recovery) further in. But I found it very safe, and death sentry actually rocked.

Izuna's 99er thread is here, and Mercy's is here.
T72on1 said:
ioupainmax said:
@T72on1 The issue of when you stand near your merc is probably due to Last Collide. Onderduiker explains it here:
https://www.diabloii.net/forums/threads/dealing-with-tomb-vipers.776600/#post-7640437

Pertinent bit:
The second is when two targets are overlapping or standing close enough together to collide with the same cloud(s): since enabling Last Collide only prevents a missile from colliding with its last target, each cloud collides with the targets alternately and thus applies its damage every other frame (averaging 12.5 times per second).

This also the reason that Fissure works best when there is a pack vs 1 monster.
Yes, that's the one !!! Thanks for the link. Poison Creeper is another example I think. When fighting big packs, it does way more damage than listed in the skill description. And I really mean tons more
Kitteh said:
PhineasB said:
@NanoMist and I both had trappers that made it to 99 with Nihl the target for the last level. I think Nano had a death in the first few runs, while Mercy had a death (with body recovery) further in. But I found it very safe, and death sentry actually rocked.

Izuna's 99er thread is here, and Mercy's is here.
Thank you! How the heck did I manage to forget about these? o_O
ffs said:
@T72on1 and @ioupainmax thanks for all that information! Also @PhineasB Great tips and feedback as always! Haha, I guess faceted Griffon's makes quite a big difference, because yeah I'm sure it's P8. :p No idea about XP/h actually as I'm still messing around and haven't settled into a strict routine. Will keep track of her numbers next session and share them. Going to stop the experimenting shenanigans and start running seriously after new year's anyway!

While you're totally right about the shrines, the thing for me is yes they are nicely positioned, but in spots where it's a bit hard for me to distinguish in particular the XP shrine symbol from the background wall while just flying by. Hopefully with a more trained eye I'll be able to do that without checking them with the mouse. Since so far I hover over them with Telekinesis to check them, I'm thinking I might as well just grab them, since the clicking (as opposed to moving the mouse) adds no significant extra time. Also I have to check shrines without a symbol for gems indeed. I also came to like the skill shrine for extra Static range as Nihl is sometimes just outside its range with CM setup (less + skills). I've stopped BOing again though after skill shrine, which seemed like a waste of time, also the lvl 3 shrine is easy enough to spot from the entrance without mouse. So generally for sure there's room for improvement in dealing with the shrines. Well, with everything actually! ;)

Regarding teleporting to check drops I learned the exact same lesson in the meantime when a couple of vipers were lurking around the northeast corner. Yeah, no more. :) In fact no additional checking of drops at all if I hit my landing spot correctly. Haven't been too scared of Nihl's auras so far though, not because they're not dangerous, but because they're visible when teleporting in (before Conviction hits). Nasty aura/mob combinations so far resulted in calm S&E without ever getting into danger since there is a convenient amount of reaction time... The lack thereof is really the scary thing about those vipers. But maybe missing auras is just another lesson I'll have to learn. :) I will try the side stepping vs vipers you guys explained, hopefully that will take away my fears!
PhineasB said:
A quick update from me:
Champion Phaedrus and Azrael the Defiance Desert Merc, Lvl 95 (pic)
As Hiatus was making the final push to 98 and then became the primary focus over the last couple months, Phaedrus hadn’t gotten any dedicated playtime since August, when he hit 94 (and his last update).

But he did get 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there along the way. That increased in frequency as Hiatus approached 98.75 and my patience with LI Nihl rolls multiple times in a short stretch started wearing thin. I would often take little breaks when that happened, with 2-3 runs with Phaedrus a common pause before going back to Hiatus.

When Hiatus hit 98.75, I did a session of CS runs, which brought Phaedrus a little more than half way to 95. He ended up getting another tenth or so of the level before Hiatus hit 99, finishing up the level over the past week. He was averaging ~800k per run (sticking to Gripphon runs unless there was an XP shrine).

Only finds worth screenshots were a Boneflame from Diablo and the unique Champion Axe. Highest rune was a Lem, with an eth Moser’s, Gladiator’s Bane, Doombringer, and set Colossus Blade other finds of note. He got trolled when rerolling Diablo charms, seeing “Combat” before seeing “Barbarian”:
Trolling Combat Skiller.jpg
He also found a plain Expert charm earlier in the level, with a similar result of split-second excitement quickly crushed. He also found this nice little charm that will see some use:
Code:
Serpent's Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0xc0cefc41
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+20 to Life
+13 to Mana
Needs on the finds front are still pretty significant: Shako, 4os eth elite polearm for Insight upgrade, combat skillers (the right kind), and Arachnids (obviously . . . :rolleyes:). He’s finally crafted through all his stashed Rals, and continues picking up all flawless gems to reroll GCs and craft amulets.

He will get a bit of a break, although he may do some Meph runs here and there over the next couple weeks in the hopes of lucky drops.

* * *

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      68             Yes           -          -            1           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
darkstarhub said:
I will hopefully hit 96 tonight. In all the Pit and AT runs I’ve done I thought for sure that a gold Spiderweb Sash would have dropped by now, but no luck. One thing for sure, after reading the recent replies to this thread, and all the others I’ve read; I will have have to be more efficient in my running.

The XP from lvl 85 areas will not cut it after getting to lvl 96 obviously so I will have to find somewhere to run that FO/FB will work decently. I know I am being stubborn and I should change builds, but I am determined to hit 99 with FO/FB. I have plenty of Fire/Cold skillers to boost dmg and can switch some gear around to be more safe. I am planning on making another Hoto which will hopefully roll better @res(31 currently) and switching SoVM for CoH. The loss of 30 FCR from SoVM is one reason I really need the Arachnid Mesh. I have plenty of 10FCR rings for the other 10%. Plus my Mara’s sucks to. All that missing @res will need to be addressed for sure.

So, it will be Baal runs or CS. It really depends which one feels best.
aarrgus said:
The saga of Acala continues, but the road has been rougher and more perilous than expected.

When last we took a look at the Acala Pure Vita Barb, he had just finished up farming Nightmare Mephisto and had moved on farther in Act 4. The plan was to simply get to act 5, and then Pindle on up to level 75. With the newly found weapons and gear it was smooth sailing and Acala arrived at Pindle quite quickly. After about 5 Pindle runs it became clear that while there was no danger from running him, it was a laborious kill for some reason. It just wasn't very fulfilling. So an executive decision was made to push through Nightmare and into Hell difficulty. NM Baal dropped like a sack of potatoes and it was onward to Hell.

As with Nightmare, the gearing from Mephisto proved quite effective... in Act 1. However the terrible resists quickly caught up to me by act 2, and I encountered my second death on the character. Then the third. Then the forth. Glaring weaknesses emerged and a barbarian jumping into the fray can easily be overwhelmed when they have poor resists, even with large health pools. More strategic planning has come into play now, to keep the health high, and separate out the most dangerous enemies for special attention. Everything slowed down, but I pushed through Act 2. Act 3 the maps trolled Acala pretty hard, but slow but steady progress was made. Then a fifth death. That one was more my mistake than anything else, but it just showed me again that the gearing was bad. But I made it through Act 3, and killed Mephisto, setting up the new magic find target then the great rune hunt.

Initially I didn't figure I would have many drops to show, because the slow march from Act 4 NM to Act 3 Hell took up most of the time. I did get a couple of nice drops along the way to Hell Mephisto...

20 Dexterity Raven Frost (of particular need for the Dex requirements of end game axes)
EeNMwIu.jpg

33% MF Gheed's
FitPrFQ.jpg

And that is all I thought I really had for this update. I had reached level 78 and was at Hell Mephisto. I did a couple of test MF runs to see if I could figure out what I could afford to wear Magic Find wise and maybe hit 79 before logging last night, and then this happened.....

6UIfTI5.jpg

What a fantastic find. While I am largely unable to use it until I can acquire an Enigma, it is great to have that checked off the list of must haves.

Emboldened by the Arreat's Face, Acala hit Hell Mephisto hard today and walked away with a couple of goodies....

9% LL Andariel's Visage (with a 101% ED because of course I get a crap roll with a good one)
0EXo5Sv.jpg

And, what I believe, is my first Harlequin Crest Shako drop ever in all the years playing... (I've had them I know, but I seem to recall only trading for them back in battle.net days)
sfLTXJO.jpg

This find left me with an interesting problem. Drop the IK set helm with 2 Perfect Topazes (and 80% MF) or use the Shako. In the end I dumped the IK Helm because the Shako gave me +2 to Natural Resistance, and since in my MF gear I was running at somewhere around -50% on resists that extra NR could save my life. I had to completely rebalance my gear again because of the lack of strength, and the current MF setup uses two Islestrikes for the CB. This necessitated a lot of gambling for a high strength amulet, and dumping about two more strength small charms into my inventory (at the expense of the Identify tome), to just eke out enough strength for the weapons, which allowed me to use my upped Goldwrap and Skullders. The whole strength thing is a meta in and of itself lol...

So all of this leaves Acala at Hell Mephisto for a bit longer doing the Magic Find thing. I would love a Mara's and a Reapers Toll from Mephisto, and a Nature's Peace ring wouldn't be bad for the eventual end game runs to 99. Once I've squeezed out a few more things from Mephy, I'll be moving on to the rune hunt in LK.

Pertinent stats
Current level: 80
Current Strength (base + charms + gear): 105 (In Magic Find gear)
Current Life (With BO): 4110
Strength from 24 slots of charms: 30 (+2 temporary small charms during the MF sessions)

Y2jHdXS.jpg

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
ffs said:
As stated above thought I'd share some XP/h numbers. I did some extended Nihl running today to get more practical numbers (accounting for downtime in town, gem shrines, aborted runs etc.) as opposed to just taking run times and extrapolate from there.

Recorded one 22 minute sample below with XP progress shown at the beginning and end (sorry still too lazy to add sound/music hehe). During this stretch she gained ~1.29m, translating to ~3.52m per hour. Really happy and surprised about that! :)


Not sure about whether XP shrines and LI rolls were about average or not. Also a couple of drops she picked up which required some clearing and time spent in town, so she might even be a bit more efficient in the long run and with some more practice/improvements in running. On the other hand, there will likely be more spawns/Nihl roll combinations that will be added to the "abort immediately" column :) so we'll see...

@PhineasB and @T72on1 I've started to implement that side stepping technique when vipers are around, and indeed it makes a huge difference in safety, thanks a lot for that tip! Runs with vipers feel much more comfortable already. Other than that I'm still screwing up from time to time, luckily without consequences so far, but a few of those misclicks definitely need to be avoided going forward. :)
T72on1 said:
3.5M per hour is impressive !!! I slowly picked up my Nihl runs again, but no way I can keep ahead of you. But I'll give it a shot, since that should keep it more interesting for both of us :).
T72on1 said:
This kinda drop definitely wants me to keep going :).

Screenshot312.jpg

Code:
Death's Web
Unearthed Wand
One Hand Damage: 22 - 28
Durability: 10 of 18
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0xc3fe4d8
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+1 to Poison and Bone Skills (Necromancer Only)
-45% to Enemy Poison Resistance
+10 to Mana after each Kill
+10 Life after each Kill

My second ever, again +1 P&B, but still very, very happy with it. Venomancer incoming confirmed !!!
Hope it's not too late yet to get involved as i would like to add a HC char of my own: Rob_theBarb :) Rob is the younger brother of Bob_theBarb who at lvl 31 tried to leap on-top of the lord of (t)Error himself, but missed his mark and landend unfortunately right in the middle of Diablos pink lightning of love and hugs.
Rob on the other hand has fared much better than his brother, and at lvl 29, is located in act V normal.
No ridiculous gear or drops to report, got bloodfists off Andariel and Biggins from Act I, otherwise yellows and blues.

As for myself, i have never played HC before, nor have i ever played a barb, so more than anything will be a learning experience and something new. Playing HC w crappy gear and at times not really knowing what i am doing as i've never built a barbarian before, feels quite nerve wrecking at times, but on the other hand, i've not had such fun playing D2 in years.

Code:
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb     HC      Barb      29             yes           -          -            -          10
ffs said:
@sleepybear123 Never too late, welcome and good luck!

@T72on1 Nice to see you running again, and cool drop! That's how D2 always sucks you back in. :) Wouldn't worry too much at all about the +1 roll for a PN/CE Nec personally.

Not sure if I will catch Neverland, especially when you're starting to run again! I was getting somewhat bored before I decided to push the final stretch to 98 at Baal. Once the novelty of running Nihlathak is gone it really remains to be seen if I'll be motivated to play enough to keep up the pace. :)
Kitteh said:
The tournament is open indefinitely my friend, come on in and join the stupidity.
NanoMist said:
@ffs - A little late but here's my old post about shrine odds and Nihlathak running. I theorycrafted a 16% chance of holding onto an Exp. shrine for the kill (with a 3 shrine map), and in my 99er thread I found out it was ~15% in practice (1756/11802 runs). I never factored in cursed Nihlathak in the theorycrafting since I was able to dodge his Arctic Blast most of the time, but I do get hit sometimes in practice, which might explain the 1% drop. A 15% Exp. shrine rate translates to 7.5% more experience on average per run, meaning shorter runs benefit less if there is time spent checking shrines. 7.5% of 20 seconds is 1.5 seconds, so it might be in break-even territory. However, going for gem shrines has its uses as well, so there's still value in those shrines. Anyways, great job reaching up to this point, I look forward to your updates!
Grape said:
@ffs

dude, you're pulling out the best all time P8/sorc/Nihl or there about.

Not wanting to challenge you, but I definitely must check some things now :D


and if those numbers are even near (and they might be, great runs), fastest 99-- go go!
darkstarhub said:
Finally hit 96. Roughly 250 mil to to 97. Its time to get serious.
Screenshot258.jpg

Table Update
Code:
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -        452            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    92             Yes           -          -         many           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb     HC      Barb      29             yes           -          -            -          10

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
darkstarhub said:
I went to YouTube to look up some CS videos and who do I find a video from? Good ol' @Grape is who, and I think I may have watched that one before if you have ever linked it here. Wow, that is quite the gear man. That amulet is just plain sick. Absolutely disgusting. I had also forgotten about porting with the inventory screen open.

I cant compete with that, but I have found enough to get something in the ballpark. P8 is probably not gonna happen right now, but with a few quick P3 Vizier/Infector runs I was netting about 200K XP from them. I think P5 is doable with my current setup, but my poor Merc gets hammered by OK packs.
Grape said:
Definitely start with lower settings! While your gear improves, especially your running and the feel of it all improves over time. Even while playing with good gear, I had close calls now and then myself when I still did CS runs :)
 
ffs said:
@Grape Thanks for the props, though I do have the unfair advantage of not having that S&E delay. :) On the other hand, don't know if previous 99ers ran Nihl with Lightning Sorc using Crescent Moon, but can't really think of a better setup. Easy to target Nihl immediately, and the ability to push through broken immune rolls with Griffon's and CM makes a massive difference since very few runs are aborted. With a twinked char even more so IMO, in particular full skiller inventory will speed up the runs with LI rolls significantly.

EDIT:
Grape said:
@ffs

dude, you're pulling out the best all time P8/sorc/Nihl or there about.

Not wanting to challenge you, but I definitely must check some things now :D


and if those numbers are even near (and they might be, great runs), fastest 99-- go go!

I feel I just have to add and clarify that I can't take full credit for that. :) @PhineasB was trying this with Hiatus and it just didn't work because she wasn't as lucky as HelpYourself was with that Griffon's drop (and a 5/5 facet to go with it). I'm still amazed by that luck with an untwinked Sorc, couple of months later. ;)

Would be interesting to see you go for it with your twinked 99er Sorc and how much faster it is with better gear! Though that unfortunate S&E issue all of you guys seem to have will probably make it difficult to find out exactly. :/

@NanoMist Good information about shrines, didn't look at it like that until now. I might actually be able to have 1.5s quicker runs when not checking any shrines at all. But it's a very close call, and still seems to be worth it to check them for gems and like I said also came to like the skill shrine.
Kitteh said:
I don't think that P8 is required anyway, I had the most success with P1/P7, although I suspect that this two seals only system might be more efficient. Personally, I would find that too dull and stripped back to enjoy, but still.
Gynli said:
End of the year update.

Amazon hit lvl 94 just this morning. Originally planned to grind it out to level 95 over the week, but fell short a full level - all because I was gifted PUBG. =P

While testing out the newly made Faith at CS, LoH finally decided drop for me. With that, I respecced into a multishot bowa and went back to the pits for some leveling. And boy what a difference! The new set up clears the Pits faster on /p8 and /p3 than the upped WWS did on /p3 and /p1. After some trial runs, I found my clear speed is only a couple seconds apart up till /p5 at around 2:30 per run and climbs to 3:00 on /p8. Because of merc dying to skeleton packs on /p8 and some scary archer packs one shotting me every now and then, /p5 ended up being my comfort /p setting for majority of the 2 levels.

For now, I'll be staying at Pits for an extra level, then head over to CS for 2 seal runs at lvl 95.

Also, I'd like to ask for some help on deciding between 100 vit + rest dex vs 222 dex + rest vit.

Currently I'm at 345 dex/100 vit, which is about ~700hp with fine/sharp charms. With extra 100+ pulled from dex, it'll be at about 1k; and if I also swap out all the fine/sharp charms for lifers, i can pack about 300 extra hp which puts me at a comfortable 1.3k life. I plan on using Fleshripper/SS on switch for Diablo, and 222 dex is required for max block with SS at lvl 99; and that means I won't have a CtA. Taking into consideration the lack of CtA, which do you think will be better? How big of a damage loss will I have with 222 dex setup? And, is it worth the extra 300 life considering the small pool?

EDIT: After reading through the WF vs Faith comparison; I'm convinced I should go for 222 dex with Faith/Pride/Might setup. The lower dex isn't a massive loss in damage due to high %ed from rest of the gear, and I much prefer the fact that I don't have to worry about Faith merc running off somewhere leaving me w/o the aura.

Item wishlist :
- WF
- Cat's Eye
- Fleshripper
- 20+ str/5+ ll/life/min dmg/dr blood ring
- 30 frw/life/res/dr tiara
- Cham/Jah/Sur for new Faith and Pride
- Reaper's Toll
- Hotspur

Bowazons are quite flexible when it comes to skills,
so here's my current setup and some reasoning for anyone interested.
STATS
100 str
345 dex
100 vit
base nrg

75 fr
52 cr
30 lr
6 pr

without Might
1k - 3.6k MA
750 - 2.7k Multi

with Might - takes a while to activate
1.1k - 4.3k MA
900 - 3.2k Multi

SKILLS
13 Magic Arrow
13 Multishot

16 Crit
16 Penetrate
9 Pierce
13 Decoy
20 Valkyrie
5 prerequisites
- 5 skills points left to go.

GEAR
Faith
Harmony on switch
Fortitude
Razortail
LoH
Ravenfrost
War Travs

2 Ama/30 frw/20 allres Tiara
19 str/18 life/30 cr/10 fr/3 ll Blood Ring
21 str/14 allres/24 lr Rare Amulet

+39 max dmg/some life/some res from charms

NOTES
- 100 str
Later on, Fleshripper/Stormshield combo will be on switch for taking down Diablo. 156 str for SS is too high for me, so I socketed it with Hel down to 133 str. With base at 100, and 10 from war travs, the extra 23 needs to come from rest of the gear. 15+ str on blood ring is necessary - and full 23 str will be ideal - but a charm or two can cover the missing str.

- 100 vit
I'm actually regretting 100 vit. I feel there's no difference betwen base vit and 100 vit at such low life. Tempted to try max block on SS and rest into vit though... Quick calculation says I need 222 dex for max block on SS at lvl 99.

- 13 Magic Arrow
13 is the level that the mana cost is removed. Works wonders against PI/stoneskin and useful for sniping targets.

- 13 Multishot
Anything above 10 is fine, higher the better for me. Decided to stay at 13, largely because Magic Arrow is also at 13. =P

- 20 Valkyrie/9 Pierce
Must have's. Decided 9 solid points in Pierce because I didn't want to worry about + skills.

That left me with 47 points to play with; so the obvious choices were Crit/Penetrate/Decoy. After fiddling around with the skill calculator online, I decided on 13 decoy, 20 penetrate, and 17 crit. lvl 17 crit gives 0% increase over lvl 16, but I liked the idea of wasting the final skill point. =P

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -        452            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    94             Yes           -          -         many           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb     HC      Barb      29             yes           -          -            -          10

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
T72on1 said:
Always great to see another joining. Welcome !!! You'll see that this journey is full if win.

Great progress everyone, and good luck in the new year.
Kitteh said:
I just wanted to say thank you to you all for making this reboot so awesome, it was a great end to the year to read some of the highlights last night. When I rebooted this I figured that it would be me and one other person, so... Go us! :rolleyes:

Also, I reentered yesterday with Xylar, a Bonemancer. My plan is to run Chaos Sanctuary and then ping on Ancients. I'm mostly settled on equipment etc, but feel free to chime in on a few things below. I am planning to record every thing that I do with this character, except for normal act 1 yesterday which was so friggin boring melting my way along that a) I didn't imagine anybody wanting to see that and b) I had to put music on to get through it myself, so no recording. From hereon though, now that I have bone spear, I will be recording.


Decisions

Stormshield vs Homunculus
I like SS on HC characters, however... I will have a highly synergised bone armour plus max block (with Homunculus having a higher block too), so the DR may be a bit overkill compared to the huge resists boost that I would get from an Um'd Homunculus. This in turn will allow me to use my charms to get the far breakpoint whilst topping up resists, and then fill the rest with vita charms, since necromancers get a pathetic return on vitality.


Mercenary Weapon
Since I will be doing P1/P7 CS runs, I don't think that Insight is really required. I considered Reaper's Toll, but I can case decrepify myself (see curses below), so that would be a waste. Next I thought about Obedience as a damage source against Big D, until I find, oh I don't know, a Zod run for BotD :rolleyes: Honestly, I'm a not really sure what I will be doing with this slot... I'm thinking perhaps a source of CB for Big D? (Obedience etc)


Curses
Currently my plan is this; teleport to whatever mob, cast attract once or twice depending on size, lay down decrepify if melee and dim vision if ranged. Decrepify for Big D of course.


75fcr vs 125fcr
Currently, I am intending to go with 75fcr. I geared up Redemptio yesterday to test how teleport feels on 75fcr, and it feels absolutely fine. I don't have huge experience with bonemancers though, so I would certainly appreciate input here :)
ffs said:
First 10% down for HelpYourself, after a couple really dangerous runs due to New Year's hangover. :)

8_one tenth.png

Runs have improved a bit in efficiency and smoothness. Discovered a slightly different teleport route through Halls of Pain which spawns the shrine directly in the alley, in a spot where I can recognize the symbol while teleporting past it. ;) Much more comfortable with Nihl and his crowd by now. As @T72on1 said, ever since I started doing the side-stepping after landing at Nihl's platform, vipers are barely an issue and it's a pretty safe routine. Ironically, the biggest danger for her now seems to be teleporting in Halls of Pain. There are up to 3 boss packs in her teleport path, and I had a very close call when stopped teleporting next to a Might pack next to the Halls of Pain shrine. This led to her now grabbing only the XP shrine on that level and not checking for gem shrine if there's no symbol, reducing GC rolls a bit but speeding up runs a tiny bit more.

From now on I'll also keep a corpse recovery kit in stash. Went with Hoto/Viper/Spirit/Shako 'Sol' for now to get 105% FCR and some DR. Suggestions welcome, though I hope I'll never put it to use obviously. :)

Reason for this early update however is that Nihlathak has been much more generous than Baal so far and had numerous welcome presents:

Finally a Blizzard Ormus:

8_Ormus Blizzard!.png

Never found any >100psn SCs, now two in quick succession:

8_281psn sc.png

8_250psn sc.png

Speaking of charms:
8_awesome sharpGC.png

8_great sharp GC.png

Also Nihl likes to hoard Legendary Mallets apparently. First got two (non-eth) Stone Crushers, followed by these:

8_Schaefers.png

8_eth Stone Crusher.png

Going to stop here since the 10 picture limit won't allow for all of these other noteworthy drops to be included:
- Ohm
- second SoJ
- third Mara's (21@)
- 40/12 Gheed's
- two more Stone Crushers (non-eth)
- second eth Demon's Arch
- two Redeemers (1os and 2os)
- two more Ormus' Robes (Charged Bolt and Frozen Armor)
- Carin Shard
- Lenymo
- Combat skiller (Paladin)
- Trap skiller

And of course this GG find (also posted in IFT):
Trapper's delight:

8_Assassin Tiara.png

Probably going to Cham this actually, truly amazing find IMO.

Needless to say, I'm not exactly missing Baal when it comes to drops. ;)
T72on1 said:
Amazing start !!! Hopefully this will continue.
darkstarhub said:
Wow, those are some really nice drops man. Those sharp grand charms are really nice and that Tiara made me cry a little. Just a single, solitary tear that warmly slid down my check.
darkstarhub said:
@Grape I noticed in your CS runs video you had Laying of Hands equipped. I didn’t really look at the stats at first, and upon watching the video again just now I noticed why you had them equipped. I racked my brain trying to figure out why you were wearing them. Was it the dmg to Demons? Nope. That doesn’t apply to elemental dmg(unless I’ve been wrong in my thinking all this time). Nothing else other than the Fire Res would make sense.

Like I said, upon further review of the video, I noticed the distinct difference in your LoH vs what they are now. That is really awesome man. If I didn’t want to time travel enough already I really want to now. In the meantime, I will have to go with maxed @res and as much dmg as I can muster.
ffs said:
Well, after all her recent success, and some 10 hours of running after her initial "artifical" couple of deaths when aggressively stress testing Nihl runs -- some bad news for HelpYourself. Right after she made the first 10% and could thus theoretically lose the full XP amount on death, the D2 gods decided to teach her a very painful lesson. :/

While teleporting through Halls of Pain, she suddenly stopped, due to the cursor hovering over a poppable tomb. That wouldn't have been so bad, had she not been next to a Might pack, similarly to what I've described in the previous post. I was too slow to hit escape or teleport away, and she died. Well I facepalmed in light of that absurd death, but I was thinking it was close to the WP and there were only a few mobs, allowing for easy corpse recovery. So I bought back the Merc, put on her recovery gear, hit the waypoint and started to calmly make my way to her corpse.

Can you see the mistake hidden in the last sentence?

I didn't take Delirium away from Merc. Making my way slowly and safely to the corpse, the Merc was engaged in combat constantly and he had all the time in the world to trigger the previously discussed Delirium/Jab bug. That's exactly what he did, and as a consequence the game crashed. (I had already understood that the longer he fights mobs the more likely it is to trigger, and I adjusted my play at times. For example I made a habit of clearing Nihl's platform in case of a good drop, so the game doesn't crash while I get there and pick it up due to him fighting leftover monsters. However, obviously didn't think about it in this situation.)

At that moment I didn't know exactly what this meant. I noticed that when this crash occurs, the progress upon restarting was as is if the last run had not taken place. Now of course it wouldn't have been fair play if the death was not recorded at all (probably I should then have died on purpose in the next run and recovered the corpse, to have her progress "as it should be"?). But the other option I thought of was much worse, namely loss of gear, and I was pretty nervous about that as you can imagine.

When I restarted the game, neither of those things had happened. She was naked, the corpse before her had her main gear, and her corpse recovery gear was in her stash. However, a full 29m XP was lost. :(

Of course pretty bummed by this setback, especially since corpse recovery would have been easy, and with that only some 2-2.5 hours of running lost. But I guess the bright side is she didn't lose any gear.

Anyway, I thought I'd share this in detail, hoping it will be helpful for others experiencing this Delirium bug. Better make damn sure to take Delirium away from the Merc for corpse recovery. ;)

Her "nonbinding goal" to finish by the end of February is of course even more ambitious now. We'll see how it goes, might still happen. After a brief pause she's now back to running with another lesson learned. :)
T72on1 said:
Ah crap, that sucks big time !!!

I always hold alt while teleporting, because that way you can't accidentally click on poppables. At least I think you can't. It's been so long since I started doing this that I am not entirely sure to be honest. But I can't recall hitting a poppable that way, so it probably works.

Condolences, and I hope you recover from this fast enough.
ioupainmax said:
My take on the Delirium crash bug is that:
"You take the good with the bad"

I haven't gotten to the stage in untwinked 99er where I have Delirium but for my other Delirium using characters, I've lost plenty of items (luckily nothing like a High Rune or Grailer). I haven't died yet with those characters, but were it to happen and my crash caused the death to not register, I'd class it the same as I have for my lost items, a lost piece of time!
ffs said:
@T72on1 I actually didn't know that! Just tested it and you're right, holding alt works around that. Good to know situations like that can be avoided by doing this, since the uncomfortable thing about the death was that I wasn't sure the risk of something like that happening can be eliminated. But apparently this factor can be, so thanks a lot!

@ioupainmax I believe I just found out the hard way that the death will be registered. :/ The situation after restarting the game was exactly as if I had S&E'ed after the death. Makes sense though that game files are saved upon death so it's not too surprising in the end. I was just panicking as I didn't know what to expect after the crash. So yeah, definitely remember to take Delirium away from Merc after dying if you are going to recover a corpse on high clvl. :)
ioupainmax said:
@ffs Yeah I saw that it did register, but I meant that in they hypothetical case that 'if for some reason it didn't register...'.

I also always hold down 'Show Items' (for me it is the spacebar) when teleporting. Stops you getting caught on every pot/basket/chest/loose tile etc.

EDIT:
Question for the high level characters and 99ers on here.

What did you use your 3 Larzuk socket quest rewards on?
T72on1 said:
For me that was Eschuta's Temper, Andariel's Visage and Shako.
ffs said:
Alright, some good news today at least as I kept track of her XP numbers closely again while starting to make up for the lost XP. She's clawed her way back to ~5% into the level now.

Amazed to see the jump: She is now averaging around 4m XP/h, with consistent sub-20s runs in case of non-LI Nihl and no drops to pick. Timed a 20 minute session earlier in which she gained 1.36m, almost 4.1m per hour. Her adjusted teleporting route/approach to shrines (and I guess an additional ~10 hrs of running practice) are really paying off.

Not trying to spam this thread with boring Nihl run videos without sound ;) but thought I can't share numbers like that without backing them up... and to give @Grape a benchmark to work with. :) I hoped to record a session eclipsing 4m per hour, but ended up falling just short of it at ~3.96m/h in this ~18 minute session:

EDIT: Actually just over 4m based on just under 17m50s of actual running. :)


Not many drops to check in this session, but also some bad luck with several XP shrines being cursed away. Also had a couple of further decent drops earlier with a Mal, 3/5 lightning facet, Storm Spire and Tomby (non-eth, 2os).

All in all I can slowly feel the pain ease away. :)
ffs said:
@ioupainmax For me it was Shako as well, then surprisingly regretting that when Griffon's dropped unexpectedly :) so yeah, Griffon's and also Andy's were the other two for me. I was a bit unfortunate since otherwise I would have contemplated socketing her 35@ Viper (and just now I found a lightning facet that could have gone in there), but CoH is fine of course.
ioupainmax said:
Thanks guys, @ffs I notice your merc is now wearing Delirium for safety when running Nihl, did your merc use Andariel's Visage for a long time and in what locations? I assume it socketed with IAS% & Fire Resist Jewel?

I'm trying to build up an idea of what direction to take for my Sorceress at level 90+, so far it seems like the following strategies have merit:

Socketing Quest Items:
  • Lightning - Griffon's Eye, Eschuta's Temper (?) & Skin of the Vipermagi?
  • Cold - Nightwing's Veil, Death's Fathom & ...Ormus/SoTV/?
Holy Freeze Desert Mercenary - Gear Options:
  1. Ethereal Infinity, Ethereal Delirium & ...Ethereal Treachery/Fortitude/Chains of Honour?
  2. Ethereal Infinity, Ethereal Andariel's Visage & ...Ethereal Treachery/Fortitude/Chains of Honour?
  3. Ethereal Insight, Ethereal Delirium & ...Ethereal Treachery/Fortitude/Chains of Honour?
  4. Ethereal Insight, Ethereal Andariel's Visage & ...Ethereal Treachery/Fortitude/Chains of Honour?
What has been your experience with outfitting your mercenary, is there a better aura than Holy Freeze for safety? For casters, I often go with the Prayer/Insight combo because it is cheap and I don't need to use any pots. The merc can survive even without life steal when he has high level prayer. But those were not untwinked 99er characters.

My existing Baal runner uses:

Ethereal Insight, Delirium, Tyrael's Might for the RIP so that the Throne room isn't too dangerous. But I'm not expecting to find Tyrael's again...
T72on1 said:
I found Holy Freeze to be the best by far, making everything a lot safer. I only use Delirium on Nihl, Andy's Visage before that. Tried Delirium in CS, but didn't really like it. Iirc others used it there though, so it's probably a matter of preference.

I found that the merc survived much better with Fortitude, due to higher leeching. I think. So stupid I lost all my notes in most recent win crash and the HDD crash before that.
Kitteh said:
Nice runs mate! Is anybody tracking their overall drops from Nihlathak?
 
T72on1 said:
Btw 4M / hour ?! That is insane. I just timed one hour of running, and got 2.5M. Keep it up !!!
Kitteh said:
It is terrifyingly efficient - I won't be trying it on HC though :rolleyes:
Yng said:
@ffs you can teleport further and decrease your run time a bit if you c/t (open character/skill tree for left/right corners respectively and put your cursor at the corner)
ffs said:
Yeah I know, that makes sense for running CS or getting to Pits, some use it also for Baal, but not so much for these short distances which are more about precision.
Yng said:
ffs said:
Yeah I know, that makes sense for running CS or getting to Pits, some use it also for Baal, but not so much for these short distances which are more about precision.
Not sure about that, Nihlathak running is really like 90% teleporting and a few seconds of actually fighting. It would definitely make a noticeable difference over thousands of runs, and you can be very precise with C/T. To each his own, though.
PhineasB said:
ffs said:
Of course pretty bummed by this setback, especially since corpse recovery would have been easy, and with that only some 2-2.5 hours of running lost. But I guess the bright side is she didn't lose any gear.
:( Sorry to hear about the mishap, but very happy there was no gear loss. Hiatus had a similar delirium crash when attempting corpse recovery (the second corpse sadly) and lost gear. Due to her gear situation, that wasn't a major loss, but losing Griffon's would have been so painful. But the ridiculous pace of XP gain looks like it will keep things moving quickly nonetheless - kudos for getting right back on the horse. :)

ioupainmax said:
@ffsWhat did you use your 3 Larzuk socket quest rewards on?
I actually wasted one on each of my 99ers by socketing too soon. It was Shako and Andy's for the assassin, and the same for the Sorc (with Andy's abandoned after CS runs ended for 98 and the Shako lost in her mishap). So she actually wasn't using any socketed items for Nihl runs. Having learned my lesson, Phaedrus hasn't used any of them yet (also still waiting for Shako, which will get socketed immediately).

Finally, on the tele-trick, @Pb_pal used it for Nihl with Eleanor as shown in the vid for her 99er writeup, but @NanoMist didn't use it with Izuna. I didn't use it either because I never felt comfortable teleporting down there with limited vision given the potential danger as @ffs discovered (and I never got comfortable going "left" with the character screen as opposed to "right" with the inventory). It definitely would save some time and potentially make it safer to tele due to fewer "jumps" needed, but it also adds lots more key strokes over the 11,000+ runs. I actually abandoned casting BC more to reduce key strokes than anything else. And my left hand/wrist has recently started feeling the effects of hitting Tab (Edit: Alt) over those last several thousand runs to check Nihl's drops, which is prompting a bit of a break from playing. So I am glad I wasn't adding [pinky-to-A] (my hotkey for character screen) and an extra Esc to each run! :rolleyes:
NanoMist said:
If I recall correctly, I used my 3 socket quests on Shako, Andariel's Visage, and an Eth CV. That was all I needed, so I never regretted socketing that Eth CV.

I'm in the same thought process as PhineasB with extended teleport, it is a bit troublesome with 12k runs. I was also looking for shrines, and I can't lose half of the screen.
ffs said:
@Yng I also think overall it just gives you more stuff to do without being an actual improvement in the long run. Due to the imprecision of your landing, you need to move the mouse every single time to hit the exit to Halls of Vaught. Sometimes by walking, sometimes by another teleport. That's very tedious in the long run and messes up the "always the same thing" routine and smoothness that you should be looking for when running a target over 10k times. It may save a split-second here and there in the beginning of a session, but that's hard to sustain for extended stretches of running.

Same reasoning for me with as with Travincal runs actually. I know others use it there to teleport back to WP. For me it's not faster there either and I'm exhausted after 10 minutes of running due to every run being slightly different. That's why I only use it for long distances.

Considering you're also losing XP shrines in Halls of Pain, clear-cut decision and no-no for me. But as @Pb_pal showed it can be implemented, so once you get there feel free to use it!

@PhineasB The sad thing is my death would not have occurred had I used it so it may be safer in fact. :)

I knew Hiatus had that loss of gear, but didn't realize that it was also due to a crash caused by Delirium bug. Oh man that's even more frustrating, had I known that I might have have been more aware of the danger of this happening, was right in front of my nose. :( Maybe taking the helm away from Delirium Merc when attempting corpse recovery should also be included in your 99er compendium. :D
T72on1 said:
I agree with most here. Only used extended teleporting for CS runs. For stuff like Nihl and Travincal I don't. Too much for me to coordinate.
ioupainmax said:
I don't like using extended teleporting either. I prefer a wider range of vision and the ability to more accurately land on each teleport. In particular, Countess runs require more accurate rather than longer teleports due to the winding nature and corners/dead spots etc. In an open map, it definitely makes more sense but even then, the loss of screen real estate is a bit much for me. Plus, there is the possibility of a misclick and dropping a key item or accidentally assigning stat or skill points.
MizzouFTW said:
Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -        452            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    94             Yes           -          -         many           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb     HC      Barb      29             yes           -          -            -          10
MizzouFTW     Pure            HC      Necro     13             Yes           1          -            0           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

I zipped up my Softcore stashes and characters. Decided that if I am going to do this, I am going to stick to what I played for years: Hardcore.

Pure, THE Fishymancer, was created yesterday evening. He's level 13 and just tackled The Countess. First drop netted a Ral. I'm going to run her for a while longer until I get the runes for Stealth and have enough diamonds to comfortably cube a weapon for an Act 2 Merc.

Plan:
20 Skeleton Mastery
20 Raise Skeleton
20 Corpose Explosion
20 Iron Golem
1 point wonders

I'm going to speed run to Act 5 Normal, completing only the necessary quests and those that give stats/skills. Then I'm going to farm Act 5 Normal until I have the runes for Spirit and Insight. In each of my last 6 untwinked plays I found the runes for each of those fairly quickly. Once I have those runes and I'm leveled to roughly 45, I'm going to move on to Nightmare.

The plan here is to speed rush to Act 5 Nightmare. From there, I'm going to farm NM Andy/Meph/Diablo/Eldritch/Shenk/Pindle/Baal. This is severe overkill but I definitely need to get back into the Hardcore mentality. Once I'm properly leveled (honestly I'm expecting around level 80) and properly geared, I'll move onto Hell.

For Hell, I'm going to slowly make my way to Act 5 and repeat the steps for Nightmare. I'll incorporate Pits into the mix as long as I feel like I have adequate blocking. LK will be added in once resists and blocking are to my standards. I won't be doing LK runs alone. They're just a quick stop incorporated into my already planned MF routine.

Top priority runewords are, in order: CTA, Enigma, Beast, Obedience.

Nightfish's Fishymancer guide was my first experience with Hardcore many years ago. Cheers to him and cheers to the Hardcore forum here and our home channels, Op Gauss and Op XbananaX.

It's been a while since I've played Hardcore. I need to get myself back into the rhythm of things. The last hundred or so hours have been spent playing Softcore. I died. A lot. I'm going to definitely have to relearn some things. I'm sitting on 2 months of time off available to me so I will probably use a few days here and there just to dedicate time to playing. This will probably come later on down the road once I have the gear to run quickly so my time is better utilized.

I like to set deadlines for myself so my expected completion date is August 31st, 2018. I would set it a lot sooner but with my work schedule and the lack of new patrolmen being hired it's looking like my work schedule is going to stay busy.

Side note: Wouldn't it make more sense to separate the SC and HC characters into different tables?
Yng said:
Not trying to offend anyone but I think a lot of people just don’t have enough experience/comfortability with C/Ting.

@ffs “Imprecision of landing” is a matter of personal mouse control, if you are able to line-up teleports without C/T to land directly on stairs to next levels or get to the next pack in the minimal amount of casts then you can surely do it with C/T as well after you’re accustomed to it, it’s just going to take less teleports to do so. To be blunt it’s roughly a 1/3 a screen further, that’s not quite “saving a split-second” over the course of thousands of runs, especially runs that consist of the majority of your time being spent teleporting. For every 3 teleports you get an extra teleport worth of distance covered. @105 FCR that’s 8 frames per Teleport saved. You're teleporting about 20 times per run with your map. You can save 5 teleports per run or 5*8, 40 frames (1.6 seconds).
If you ran 10000 times to get to 99 (just an example) you would save 16000 seconds. That’s about 4.5 hours. Obviously this is a rough calculation but the point is to show there’s quite a noticeable difference in 33% more distance per Teleport.

On the matter of safety, you’re blind teleporting in your video (directly into packs at some points) to try to get to Nihlathak as quickly as possible and on to the next run. Without C/T, that’s 20 separate instances where you land from your last Teleport and stop for an instant (8 frames) before casting the next— a window to register a hit check from a mob. There’s only 15 “windows” for a hit check per run with C/T.

Like I said before, though, to each his own. If you don’t want to use it that’s fine, but there’s no point in arguing you can’t further stretch your xp/hour by incorporating it, because you certainly can.
ioupainmax said:
@Yng I can certainly accept that I have limited experience C/Ting and yes, it would be more efficient. For me, there's several other considerations, some of which you have touched on:
  • Muscle memory - I do some things that are not the most efficient, but instead are due to habit and almost 20 years of playing a certain way.
  • Comfort
  • Preference
Yng said:
Take the numbers for what they are. Just simply something to consider if you’re trying to maximize efficiency. At the end of the day, we’re all just playing a nearly two decade old game trying to be entertained. Do nothing that hinders that. :) GL @ all.
ioupainmax said:
The numbers are what they are, can't argue against facts. However, there are always intangibles that come into play since we're not robots (although some of the biggest runners are pretty close! :)).

There's also the element of focus and task switching - takes more brain power and sometimes you just want to 'switch off' or go to 'lower power mode' and play some D2. Other times, doing a 'few actions well' is better than doing 'lots of actions less well'. In some cases, you've built up steam/a habit/patterns doing it one way and the cost of changing is worse than the benefit.
ffs said:
@Yng Not trying to offend you either, really :)

But you can safely assume most people here have experience with quite a few things. ;) I use extended teleporting all the time for runs like CS or Pits as well as Baal runs, depending on map. Even did it with HelpYourself but quickly realized it didn't improve run times on her Baal map. Also experimented with it a long time for Travincal runs, another short distance target where some players use it and others don't. I ended up being faster without it, actually coming pretty close to the fastest runners on SPF. And Travincal is a better target for it than Nihl because you can TK the WP.

Nobody debates that it means less casts of teleport. The point is that doesn't necessarily mean it saves time.

As for Nihl, you're talking about ~20 teleports and thus seem to assume that you can do this in Halls of Vaught -- which you can't, that would be simply suicidal. The notion that it benefits a majority (or even 90%) of the run is off in general. We're only talking about the time between casting BO until hitting the exit to Halls of Vaught. In case of my runs that's about a ~4 second duration (so about ~20% of a run). Say you cut that to just under 3 seconds by using the TP trick. Landing in a slightly different spot all the time, it will be worth it only if you manage to hit the exit to Halls of Vaught within 1 second. Each time. So yes, we are actually talking about split seconds. Now as I said I do use the teleport trick all the time for numerous types of runs, and I'm almost positive I wouldn't be able to do that. Depending on where you land, the distance you have to cover and corresponding mouse movements are always very different and the direction is also different each time. Moreover, sometimes it's faster to walk, sometimes it's faster to teleport. Can't really build up a routine (und thus speed) for that situation. Again, factor in that's it's incredibly tedious and the fact that you're missing out on XP shrines in Halls of Pain, and consider me convinced it's not worth it for Nihl runs.

Now, please do feel free to prove me wrong with some incredibly precise machine-like extended teleporting - but for now can we please stop this incredibly lame conversation and just all be friends? ;)
ffs said:
A drop to maybe bring this thread back on track :)

Screen Shot 2018-01-03 at 21.05.55.png
I actually like the idea of using as many HRs she finds as possible on her gear and not mule it over to main stash, so maybe this will go into Merc's Andy's after 99 is done. ;)
Yng said:
I don’t dislike people just because they disagree with me or make a suggestion, not sure on how anyone is being unfriendly/lame by mentioning C/T but if that’s how you take it I apologize. From your post I can tell you’re still not getting my point but that’s fine. Good luck anyway.

E: there are numerous pvp videos of people consistently managing blind spotting etc with C/T in a real time pvp environment, I can assure you Halls of Vaught is manageable ;)
Kitteh said:
I do like a nice Cham rune once in a while :rolleyes: Now go find another.
ioupainmax said:
You Cham-my Dodger
 
ffs said:
Yng said:
I don’t dislike people just because they disagree with me or make a suggestion, not sure on how anyone is being unfriendly/lame by mentioning C/T but if that’s how you take it I apologize. From your post I can tell you’re still not getting my point but that’s fine. Good luck anyway.

E: there are numerous pvp videos of people consistently managing blind spotting etc with C/T in a real time pvp environment, I can assure you Halls of Vaught is manageable ;)
Look man, just can't help but to challenge statements like that because that's just clearly not the case. Teleporting to Nihl's platform without vision means certain death and you would know that if you had tried it for just 20 minutes.

I don't think using the teleport trick is an abstruse suggestion or anything. In fact it's a reasonable and thoughtful suggestion and I think it's good that you brought it up! I was just responding to it by laying out the reasons why IMO this specific adjustment is ultimately not an improvement in practice. Can't see anything wrong with that or why you get the feeling I thought you were unfriendly, which I didn't think at all. What I considered "lame" is not your posts, but generally us arguing about the teleporting trick over a whole page in this thread just seemed silly. ;) I'm sorry that my responses apparently conveyed a different impression to you, didn't mean that or to discourage you from contributing in any way -- please continue to do so, we're all helping each other out here! Sorry @ all for these unfortunate vibes, hope we can just bury the hatchet now and move on. :)
T72on1 said:
No bad vibes felt here, respecting both opinions, and in this particular case (and Nihl is very particular !!!) agreeing with @ffs about not including the teleport trick but keeping it in the back of my head for future endeavors. Even if that means getting out of my comfort zone ;).
Kitteh said:
Do I get to come in and be parental, now?

Right, you lot, quit your **** and kill some God damned demons or I swear to God, I will be telling your mother! @PhineasB
MizzouFTW said:
I spent a few hours last night leveling and questing Pure, the fishymancer. I made it through Act II with little trouble. I got to the chamber at level 20 and decided to push through to 24 before Duriel. I went through and cleared each tomb. It was incredibly easy.

Killed Duriel, who dropped 5 rares. I moved onto A3 and got the Gidbinn, brain, eye, and trophy. Going to do ruined temple and push through to act 5 tonight.

Does anyone know if a staff can spawn at Drog with +3 enchant and +3 fireball?
PhineasB said:
Kitteh said:
Do I get to come in and be parental, now?

Right, you lot, quit your **** and kill some God damned demons or I swear to God, I will be telling your mother! @PhineasB
Wait, does this mean I'm the thread mother? ;)
Kitteh said:
PhineasB said:
Wait, does this mean I'm the thread mother? ;)
Yes - it sounded less weird when I typed it though :cool:
ffs said:
@MizzouFTW Forgot to say, welcome to the awesomeness! My alternative character here is also a Fishymancer, cool to see another one! I have a similar to do list for him ;) though currently I only play him when I need a break from my Sorc. He's chilling in Hell LK right now and did luck a Ber there early on, but hasn't gotten too much play time since then. Good luck to you grinding those runes!

@PhineasB What kind of mother doesn't recognize her own thread? Shocked. ;)
MizzouFTW said:
@ffs Thanks! LK isn't going to be a focus for me, it will just be something I force myself to do once each game in Hell. I spent 12 hours farming LK on my softcore sorc the other day. 12 hours of essentially wasted time. Won't be repeating that again.
T72on1 said:
Neverland is almost back to where she was before the windows crash, just beyond the lvl 98.25 mark :). Some more noteworthy stuff since last time.

Screenshot314.jpg

The session after the DWeb dropped, some 15 minutes in. Nihl as good MFO target confirmed !!! Grailer for me in SC. No pic from the item on the ground, as I was happy enough being able to grab it, with all the vipers around.

Screenshot315.jpg

Shako, and the next run a Lightsabre. I actually should have screenshotted the Lightsabre, but only realized afterwards that it's a peculiar drop. Why? There's a few items whose CTC slvl depends on the ilvl of the item. Of those, there's one that only gains it's highest slvl at lvl 94+, and that is Lightsabre. So it can only happen if it drops from Hell Diablo, Nihl and Baal. This is the result, which is very likely my first ever:

Code:
Lightsabre
Phase Blade
One Hand Damage: 98 - 129
Indestructible
Required Level: 58
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 136
Fingerprint: 0xe1a8c42f
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
5% Chance to cast level 20 Chain Lightning on attack
+20% Increased Attack Speed
184% Enhanced Damage
Adds 10 - 30 Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
Adds 60 - 120 Magic Damage
Adds 1 - 200 Lightning Damage
5% Mana stolen per hit
Lightning Absorb 25%

Another peculiar drop:

Screenshot316.jpg

I don't recall having seen a triple key drop before. Then again my memory is fuzzy at times, so there might as well be a very similar screenshot of mine in this thread already ;).

I did a one hour test run, in which I got 2.5M / hour. Quite some lower than @ffs ... Today I did another one, which gave me a little over 2.8M / hour. Still a lot lower, but more or less in line with other people like @NanoMist and @Pb_pal iirc. Speaking about Pb_pal, where is he btw? Haven't seen him in a while.

Anyway, during that first test run I had a very nice drop, which I forgot to screenshot ... eth Torch of Iro !!!

Code:
Torch of Iro
Wand
One Hand Damage: 3 - 6
Durability: 8 of 8
Required Level: 5
Fingerprint: 0x873865d3
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels
Adds 5 - 9 Fire Damage
6% Life stolen per hit
+10 to Energy
Regenerate Mana 5%
+3 to Light Radius
Ethereal

Today was a fine day, in which I got to play some 2.5 hours (and some more in a bit :)), and, next to the triple key drop, also got 2x Um in quick succession, then this one (again confirming Nihl as mf target ;)):

Screenshot317.jpg

Then a +3 Eschuta's Temper and another TC3:

Screenshot318.jpg

Hopefully I can keep things as safe as they have been so far, because I never had any close calls. Still hoping for a HR to drop to keep me motivated, particularly a Ber to make Beast for the Paladin in my Sept.
ffs said:
Very nice drops, huge grats on the Fathom in particular! Always a special find, only found two ever and yours is actually bit better than both. :)

Honestly, I'm also surprised as to what a good target he is for basically everything (runes, S&Us, charms, even decent amount of gems). Running with only some ~110-120 MF I'm getting loads of stuff. But I guess it's also because my most recent targets on this journey have been so much worse for farming, so maybe that perception would change if running Pindle/Pits/AT again.

Also you might have unwittingly just added another valuable tip -- running without cube but free inventory space. There were a few moments where I felt a bit uneasy picking stuff up with open inventory, because hitting Esc would not have brought up the menu immediately. Will try and see if that feels more comfortable in the long run!
T72on1 said:
Ah yeah, I always do it like this. I hate it to have to open the inventory and drop things in the cube, and for Nihl runs, it might even be plain dangerous.

I'm also sporting some 115 MF, and also happy with Nihl's drops lately :).
PhineasB said:
But not using the cube would mean giving up 4 small charms! On the other hand, it would save key strokes to avoid having to open inventory every time you want a drop and minimize a slight risk to safety. Tradeoffs . . .

Actually, I used the cube and had to open inventory to pick up drops (usually just S&E-ing with item picked up but not put away and then putting it in cube at start of next game). But for both Mercy and Hiatus, if there was a drop I really wanted and was amp'ed, I'd just open a TP to hit Malah and/or clear things out if there were lots of nasty monsters around the drop. The slight delay to the next run was worth it to me for a nice drop (and don't think I would have changed strategy without the cube). For other things (like charms or jewels), I'd just S&E and not bother if I saw any risk in trying to pick up the drop.

I also definitely found Nihl to be solid enough on the drops front to help provide motivation throughout the many, many runs.

And finally, @T72on1 - please clean up the charms in the inventory; it hurts, it hurts! :eek: It should look like this, or perhaps this, or possibly this ;)
T72on1 said:
Better? :)

Screenshot319.jpg

No wait, this is even better ...

Screenshot320.jpg
ffs said:
PhineasB said:
I used the cube and had to open inventory to pick up drops (usually just S&E-ing with item picked up but not put away and then putting it in cube at start of next game).
That’s what I do most of the time as well. Actually going to stick with it I think, dropping cube does mean loss of life from SCs and I’m cutting back more and more regarding items I pick up anyway, so probably makes more sense to stick with cube. Don’t think I’d stop clearing the area when in doubt anyway.
ffs said:
@T72on1 Regarding XP gain at Nihl - you haven't tried to include a Phoenix Monarch in your setup by any chance? Apologies if this has been discussed here before, but I'm thinking:

The reason for HelpYourself's XP gain (apart from not suffering the S&E issue) is that immune rolls are not only doable but also relatively quickly due to the massive -ELR from Griffon's and CM being applied in full after Conviction breaks it. As Conviction on its own only lowers the resistance to some ~90% or so due to operating at only 20% efficiency when breaking an immunity, pushing through immune rolls without -ER gear is not nearly as effective. (Mechanics for reference.)

If running with Fire Sorc, Phoenix would have a similar effect and even provides Redemption and fire absorb. That sounds incredibly convenient for running Nihl and makes Nature's Peace obsolete. Also resists lost from Spirit are barely an issue because it doesn't provide FR anyway, which is the most (maybe the only) important resist for these runs. The only downside I can identify is hitting 105% FCR may require some tradeoffs, but seems perfectly doable to me. For example 80% from weapon, gloves and belt and the remaining 25% from ring(s) (one of which would have been blocked for Nature's Peace anyway) and a craft ammy. The idea of using a rare FCR circlet or Viper might be worth entertaining as well.

I know it does involve quite some runes and we're untwinked here ;) but if you should happen to have them and some FCR gear I would certainly try it (it has other applications as well so it's not a waste of runes in any case). Definitely when playing twinked with all the gear in the world available (looking at @Grape :)).

EDIT: Rough example calculation regarding the difference vs FI:
Assuming 8k average FB damage.
If Nihl rolls breakable FI from being fire enchanted he will have 108% FR (33% base FR + 75% from being FE).
Infinity's lvl 12 Conviction will work at 20% efficiency and lower his FR by 17%, bringing him down to 91% FR.

Without Phoenix, FB will thus deal 720 damage (9% of 8k).

With Phoenix, Nihl will be at 63% FR and FB would deal 2960 damage (37% of 8k). That would be an increase of ~311% vs FI Nihl.

Now of course, unless you have truly special gear, you will likely lose a certain amount of + skills as a result of dropping Spirit and getting FCR elsewhere, and FB won't deal 8k damage. So let's assume +3 to all skills lost with the Phoenix setup (pretty much worst case) and FB average damage going down to somewhere around ~6.5k average. That still means ~2400 damage in the above situation and an increase of ~230% over the Spirit setup.

Not including Meteor numbers here, but I went through them as well and the ratio is the same as with FB.
Kitteh said:
I think for Nhilathak, foregoing the cube might be worthwhile, but for Diablo/Baal, charms all the way since you should also be in a cleanish area when picking things up anyway. I think it is a Nhilithak-specific advantage.
Yng said:
Another thing to consider if you’re running shrines is cube allowing you to always have Flawless on hand while keeping 4x2 for pickup and the charms.

Also worth noting that Redemption pulses every 2 seconds compared to SMRIP denying the corpse immediately upon death, which could make for CE windows.
T72on1 said:
Based on the last few posts, I have made a few adjustements:

  • cube in inventory, rest of inventory filled; I don't feel 100% comfortable with it, but I agree that there aren't that many drops I pick up, so it might be worth it to give it a try; the result for now, thanks to the extra SCs and the other changes (see below) is that I now have 2700 health instead of 2400
  • I was rarely using FO, if at all (FI Nihl is almost always breakable, in which case FB kills equally fast or probably even faster than FO), so I bit the bullet and respecced to full Fire; it was only after respeccing that I realized that I had almost maxed the Fire skills I was using anyway though ;) ; so the change to Meteor and FB isn't so huge, but I used the leftover points to increase my Static Field range to about 20 yards; then I decided to put the rest of the points in FW; damage numbers looked nice on paper, although I must agree, that after some testing, I'm not sure it makes that much of a difference, instead of just spamming FB
  • due to this change, I switched out my cold skillers, put on a third fire skiller (I don't have more) and added some more SC of Vita
  • the last change, based on @ffs' suggestion of Phoenix, was to Hel out the Sol in my Shako and put a -5/+4 Fire Facet in it instead

Due to all this changes, I have the impression that I'm killing FI Nihl faster. I even tried a FI/LI Nihl, which I usually skip immediately, and it was actually not too bad. So thanks all for the suggestions !!!

Phoenix could work, but I don't feel like farming the Jah I'm still missing for it right now, neither do I feel like reshuffling my gear. I could always try a 4os Monarch with Facets, but I don't have that many anymore unfortuntaly. But like I said, killing speed has increased already, it seems. I'll test this more thorougly soon.
ffs said:
Yng said:
Also worth noting that Redemption pulses every 2 seconds compared to SMRIP denying the corpse immediately upon death, which could make for CE windows.
True, definitely requires testing to find out if that is a major issue despite the added max FR and absorb. Though CEs do go off anyway also with Nature's Peace. Actually a pretty frightening drop in life was when I got cursed by Nihl and one CE spiked immediately after that. I guess Merc gets a few kills here and there so CEs do occur.

T72on1 said:
Phoenix could work, but I don't feel like farming the Jah I'm still missing for it right now, neither do I feel like reshuffling my gear. I could always try a 4os Monarch with Facets, but I don't have that many anymore unfortuntaly.

Yeah takes too much time for you to hit LK again at this stage to farm a Jah, but maybe Nihl will be kind enough to drop one and then you can try it, I'd be very interested to see if it works well. :) As for facet shield, for Fire Sorc I think Phoenix is just better due to the + fire damage being additive with Fire Mastery, so the -EFR from Phoenix is more damage (and has Redemption and handy further stats on top if it). Actually the only character I use with a 4 fire facet shield is a Pindle running Fissure Druid. That dude is even using 11 fire facets on kill switch :) 6s Crystal Sword, 4s Monarch and faceted Ravenlore. Was just a fun build when I decided to burn through a lot of fire facets at one point (most of them mediocre). He can't do all that much besides being good at P8 Pindle but that he does very well. ;)
sleepybear123 said:
An update on Rob_theBarb. I finished normal with him about a week ago and have been running A1 and A2 AT up until today, looking for an suitable base for Insight... those exceptional polearms seem to drop very rarely(think i found 2-3 sets of runes for insight during the week), but finally, after almost running out of amethysts, i managed to find a Bill that after cubing gave me a sweet 4-socket base for the insight:
Insight.png

Rob is level 50 atm and with decent mana regen and damage available, it feels like i should finally decide on my end game build that i'm going for (atm i have been pumping DS and Bash). Original plan was to go for Berserk, but the 2-handers available are modest to say the very least. The best weapons i have for that atm are Patriarch and Blacktongue, also atm i am still lacking in resists. Haven't found any decent exceptional 2-handed (swords/axes/polearms) bases for a runeword yet, so will probably be swinging that insight myself.
The further in i go, the more it feels, that a Conc barb with a shield would probably live longer, as the HP pool drops ever faster and lower, but the killing speed will suffer no doubt. Words of advice on how to continue buildwise are most welcome :)

A short overwiev of what i have available atm:
items.png
Insight.pngInsight.pngboots.pngbelt.pnghelmet.png
 
Grape said:
@ffs yea I had been thinking about Phoenix but didn't try it because a) my amulet + nature's gave me 11+24 PDR, which is lovely down there and b) while I know how significant -res can be against barely broken immune, I never calculated it myself (that is some huge difference!)

Well, now I tested it very briefly and boy does the broken FI Nihla drop quickly now. And Redemption is like hittig a full rejuv before teleing to pick drops!

I'm almost sure I'll keep this setup now! (And I get to use my 2/20 amulet again!). Let's see what 10FCR ring fits the best now (I still don't have any particularly jaw dropping ones, but I think any high life + adds will do).

Thanks for the heads up! I'll time my exp/h during the next week :)


EDIT: @T72on1 grats for the DF! But that ilvl eth ToI is truly special. Ouch, I wonder what are the odds agaist Tyrael's for example ;)
Xul's Gull said:
Afternoon!

It's been a busy end of year this side of the world (here's to all of you having a quality loot-filled 2018, by the way :) ), so Xul's taking it slow. He's reached his retired predecessor to lvl 60; no major finds so far, other than a pretty sweet Steeldriver this afternoon (nearly perfect, 248% ED). Until I have a better use for it, it'll crush rebel skeletons into bone powder. Gotta keep 'em on the line...

Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)    SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U    # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xul's Gull    Xul        HC     Necro      60             No            ?           ?
T72on1 said:
@Grape thanks for the testing. Did you have any -efr in the old setup?
ioupainmax said:
Updating table with Xul from Xul's Gull.

Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -        452            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    94             Yes           -          -         many           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Xul's Gull    Xul             HC      Necro     60             No            ?          ?            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb     HC      Barb      29             yes           -          -            -          10
MizzouFTW     Pure            HC      Necro     13             Yes           1          -            0           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
necrolemming said:
Xul's Gull said:
Afternoon!
You should really update the table yourself so that other people don't have to do it for you.
Xul's Gull said:
Sure thing.
Kitteh said:
That is my fault actually - I said that if he/she couldn't figure out how to add it, one of us would likely not mind including it in our update.
ioupainmax said:
Here is my method to update the table(s):
  1. Quote the most recent post with the latest version of the table.
  2. In the reply area, click on 'More Options' (this gives you more space and a preview option).
  3. Add in the quote and remove the text the person has written, leaving you with:
    Table Update
    [CODE]
    Data
    [/CODE]
    The Fallen
    [CODE]
    Data
    [/CODE]
  4. Edit your row and preview.
  5. If there are any alignment issues, copy into Notepad as it is easier to sort things out there.
Having said all that, Xul's Gull is using the code block anyway, so I think the above might be unnecessarliy detailed...
MizzouFTW said:
Pure is 76 and running pits. Cleared Hell Andy and did the book quest in Act 2. Going to run Pits for some levels but will push into act 4 today. Figure I better go ahead and Guardian before I get myself killed in pits.





Table Update
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -        452            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    94             Yes           -          -         many           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Xul's Gull    Xul             HC      Necro     60             No            ?          ?            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb     HC      Barb      29             yes           -          -            -          10
MizzouFTW     Pure            HC      Necro     76             Yes           -          -            0           -

The Fallen
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
MizzouFTW said:
Pure is 86 and running pits. He's finished questing and received Guardian last night. Hell baal dropped nothing worthwhile. I think I took a screenshot just to have but it wasn't pretty.

Here is my gear layout (from what I can remember)
Helm: 48MF Bone Skull --> Unsocketed Shako I nabbed last night
Amulet: +MF Amulet
Body Armor: Smoke
Gloves: Chance Guards 32%MF
Boots: Rares with resists/mf
Rings: rares with resists/mf
Belt: Rare with resists/mf
Weapon: Carrion Shard. However, I did find a unique tomb wand last night. Not sure if I'm going to use it. Can't remember how I felt about the CTC Bone Prison.

Charms: Negligible. I haven't found anything of worth yet.
Merc: Battle Scythe Insight (until I can get something better), rare armor and rare helm.

Believe it or not there haven't been any close calls. I'm running pits repeatedly on /p 1. I'll probably keep him at pits until his gear choices severely improve. Once he's geared up as far as MF/Safety go, I'll change from Pits to WSK/Baal.

Guardian#1 of 2018, with a total of 2 Guardians so far in 2018. I Guardianed a Blizz Sork a few nights ago but that's nothing special.

Table Update:
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -        452            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    94             Yes           -          -         many           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
MizzouFTW     Pure            HC      Necro     86             Yes           -          -            -           -
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Xul's Gull    Xul             HC      Necro     60             No            ?          ?            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb     HC      Barb      29             yes           -          -            -          10

The Fallen:
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1
ffs said:
What's up guys, not much running at the moment it seems!? I've tried to keep the XP bar moving and HelpYourself is edging forward, close to 20% now. Some stuff to report on, but will follow the tradition of bigger updates every 25%. That will be hopefully this weekend, unless @T72on1's TC3 tournament gets in the way. :)

@MizzouFTW Cool, I like the Carin Shard that's a neat drop for a Fishymancer. Stay safe!
MizzouFTW said:
That reminds me I need to update the table. Pure died at about 4:48 this morning. Walked into Pit Level 2, moved down a couple of yards and tiny lines of death hit him. It was a stupid mistake my mistake nonetheless. I'll update the table tonight when I'm home.
T72on1 said:
Oh no. So sorry to hear that MizzouFTW :(. Great run nonetheless. I hope we'll get another entry from you.

I'm still running ffs :). Not that much, but slowly progressing. Currently at 3.321M.

Compared to last post, I did away with the cube in my inventory again. I just couldn't get used to it and was losing too much time picking things up. So I removed the cube and 4 SC, to get my old and trusted 4x2 free space again. Due to this change I was down to 2600 life, so still 200 more than I used to be running with. A move which I was so thankful for when this happened:

Screenshot322.jpg

Indeed, way way too close. But I lived to tell the tale :).

Before that I had a run with a close call when teleporting into a cloud of the Vipers, but 'close' still means some 400 hitpoints or so. I also had another eth TC3 drop:

Screenshot321.jpg

Again a good sign for the TC3 tournament !!

Then yesterday I had a very good run, with

Screenshot324.jpg

and

Screenshot325.jpg

next to another Shako, Crown of Thieves, -3/+5 poison facet and Ravenfrost in some 15 minutes, and a @23 Mara's later that day.

So that's Death's Web, Death's Fathom, Ghostflame, Ravenlore and Shako, some 71 points, in less than the duration of an MFO. Much more than the numerous runs I did with my much more efficient PitBarb in a much more efficient setting. Gotta love D2 drop gods !!!

I also found this cute jewel:

Screenshot323.jpg

but had some issues with my computer, which caused a minor setback, enough for this jewel to be gone forever.

So all in all good progress, good drops, only hoping for the rune drops to improve, since I haven't gotten anything above Ko after the dual Um runes in my latest big update.

Neverland will probably be on a break for some 2 weeks now, as my time will mainly go to the TC3 hunting tournament, and I don't expect I will have much more than the 15 hours for that in the next 2 weeks.
ffs said:
@T72on1 Nice, glad to see you getting drops like that, seems your bad luck in recent tournaments is being made up for big time. :) I've had similar close calls like that, and let's just say not all of them ended well ;) (luckily no major catastrophe as that Delirium bug crash recently).

@MizzouFTW Ah sorry to hear that. I assume those tiny lines of death are referring to arrows? :) Those Archers in Pits are really quite annoying. Their attack rating is bugged and in fact twice as high as it should be IIRC. Any Fana/Might/Cursed pack can be extremely nasty because of that, even more so without stuff like CtA... But as @T72on1 said it was still a great run and quick progress, hope you'll join with a new character and do this again!
Kitteh said:
Sorry, Mizzou. Another entry inbound?

@T72on1 This is why Nhilithak is not a good HC target :rolleyes:
MizzouFTW said:
Table Update:
Code:
Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of Deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      99             Yes           -        471           21           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -          -          many          ?
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      96             Yes           -        452            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
Dezrok        Salome          SC      Sorc      95             Yes         792        318            -           -
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            7           -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky   SC      Barb      95             No            -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      95             Yes           -        292           12           -
Gynli         Amazon          SC      Amazon    94             Yes           -          -         many           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      92             No            -          -            -           -
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      88             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      88             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
hackedagain   Hugo            HC      Necro     85             Yes           -          -            -
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
aarrgus       Acala           SC      Barb      80             Yes           -          -            5           -
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
ffs           Ric             SC      Nec       76             Yes           -          -            -           -
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   67             Yes          87         61            0           -
Xul's Gull    Xul             HC      Necro     60             No            ?          ?            -           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
Xul's Gull    Araphel         HC      Necro     54             No            ?         N/A           -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
BKC           FearsomeFreddie SC      Nec       23             Yes           -          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
Kitteh        Kaylin          SC      Ama       19             Yes           -          -            0           -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb     HC      Barb      29             yes           -          -            -          10

The Fallen:
Code:
Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MizzouFTW   Pure            HC      Necro     86             Yes           -          -            1           -
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

I'll enter another character this weekend. Have to decide what I want to make. Yep! Arrows did the deed. No biggie. He was purely for fun and I didn't expect to get to 99 with him. I'll have to put some thought into what I want to build for the next go.
hackedagainanda said:
Slowly but steadily running the pits found this today!

\Screenshot128.jpg
T72on1 said:
Kitteh said:
...

@T72on1 This is why Nhilithak is not a good HC target :rolleyes:
I don't agree. Amp was on, but I decided to stay around, even though Vipers and Amp should mean immediate exit. Next to this one it has been very safe running. In HC I would also increase my hitpoints more and include more PDR.

So in my opinion Nihl running is definitely doable in HC once you know what you are doing. It's just that in SC sometimes greed (in this case xp greed) takes over too much.
Kitteh said:
My concerns would along the lines of a) Death is most likely when setting up and getting used to the build and b) If you mess up during a CS or Baal run, its recoverable generally, Nhilathak is more likely to end badly. Doable is not the same as good, but I may have been a little harsh on ol' Nhilathak :cool: I will concede to your significantly greater experience with the old guy :p
ffs said:
Well from my limited experience I would definitely not run Nihl in HC and stick with Baal or CS. :) But I agree, run safety improves greatly over time and with more practice. So maybe it's indeed doable, but I imagine I would be way too uncomfortable with the risk for HC chars still.
 
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