2019 Spring RFL Sign-Up and Running Thread: 1st Round [by Grape]

[Vildecor]

@ffs and other Javazon experts... I've tried a few times to do some runs w/ my javazon but she's just so bad compared to my necro (even before i found his dweb). I have to run on p1 or p3 to even clear the level without running out of javelins several times (even on p3 I still run out of both and have to TP to repair at least once or twice). I don't have griffons or Infinity or any skillers, so i know she won't be top tier, but i feel like i must be doing something wrong because her gear is not bad..

Shako (+2)
Maras (+2)
Enigma (+2)
BKWB (+1)
SoJ (+1)
Titans and Tstrokes (+4)
Lidless (+1/+5 MPK)
RazorTail or T-Gods (+3LF)
Silkweaves (MPK)
Rare gloves w/ 20IAS, lrez/frez/MF (haven't had any luck shopping/gambling some good 2-3/20's)

+13 to the java skills... MPK is plenty to keep me going on mana (once the herded pack finally dies). I feel like i have to use T-strokes or the cows take even longer to die, but i have to repair even more.. She gets frozen all the time which is just god awful, so i'm about to replace the BKWB with a Ravenfrost losing +1 skills. It feels like the only thing that's going to matter is -ELR, but maybe i'm missing something important?

Gameplay wise I basically run around herding a big pack, sometimes throwing a decoy to get them clumpier, then start spamming jav's until the cows reach me then i run away, throw 2-3 jav's, repeat for awhile until the herd is dead.

@ffs and other Javazon experts... I've tried a few times to do some runs w/ my javazon but she's just so bad compared to my necro (even before i found his dweb). I have to run on p1 or p3 to even clear the level without running out of javelins several times (even on p3 I still run out of both and have to TP to repair at least once or twice). I don't have griffons or Infinity or any skillers, so i know she won't be top tier, but i feel like i must be doing something wrong because her gear is not bad..

Shako (+2)
Maras (+2)
Enigma (+2)
BKWB (+1)
SoJ (+1)
Titans and Tstrokes (+4)
Lidless (+1/+5 MPK)
RazorTail or T-Gods (+3LF)
Silkweaves (MPK)
Rare gloves w/ 20IAS, lrez/frez/MF (haven't had any luck shopping/gambling some good 2-3/20's)

+13 to the java skills... MPK is plenty to keep me going on mana (once the herded pack finally dies). I feel like i have to use T-strokes or the cows take even longer to die, but i have to repair even more.. She gets frozen all the time which is just god awful, so i'm about to replace the BKWB with a Ravenfrost losing +1 skills. It feels like the only thing that's going to matter is -ELR, but maybe i'm missing something important?

Gameplay wise I basically run around herding a big pack, sometimes throwing a decoy to get them clumpier, then start spamming jav's until the cows reach me then i run away, throw 2-3 jav's, repeat for awhile until the herd is dead.

How many soft points do you have in pierce? (disclaimer: I am no javazon expert)

You don't do anything wrong, javazon without Infinity and Griffon's AND skillers is terrible, she does less than 30% of damage compared to javazon who does have those things. You need to throw 3 spears compared to only one from properly geared javazon. Without Infinity it may be best to stick to characters like necro or blizzard sorc. Actually don't know who else can do decent running without Infinity.

@TheGuardianXXXIII In general I'm afraid @Gripphon is right. That’s a lot of items that greatly increase damage. In fact Griffons can add 30% damage on its own. She should work if missing only one or two of those things, but it's a bit tough without any of Griffon's, Infinity or skillers..

That being said, there are a few things you can try. Surely Razortail over TGods, not even close. With TGod you would need to max Pierce which is losing a full synergy and still it hurts not having 100% Pierce. With Razor you only need lvl 9 Pierce after +skills. CNBF is also mandatory unless you want to load up on thawing potions. Don’t know if you have facets socketed but they help a lot with damage, as a rule of thumb I think of a 5/5 as about +3 skills worth of damage. You will need to throw more javelins than a Java with higher damage, so I’d go with Titans for the replenish and an extra one in inventory, despite TStroke's -ELR. Then you should aim for at least 35 IAS, maybe 55 makes sense in your case, eg with Highlord's. Finally in terms of gear, ML could be worth including if she doesn’t kill fast enough to rely on MPK.

I don’t know your gameplay exactly but herding massive groups is crucial, and I mean massive. It’s important to realise that LF damage is variable. It can be the highest damage output per attack in the game, or it can be total garbage, depending on how many monsters it is used against. Big groups help not only with Pierce exponentially increasing damage, but also LF itself releases more bolts depending on monsters in the vicinity.

There are a few gameplay vids in the 101 thread that you can check out if you haven’t. Good luck, keep her rolling!

@zemaj what happened to your photo and post history?

Yeah, funny story... when the mods say don't post in spam threads, just report it, that's for real. In that wave of spam the other night, I made a witticism about one of the absurd thread titles, in the thread, then when the spam was cleared, I got banned as well.

It actually took some networking to get around (big thanks to @WoRG & especially @maxicek + whomever else may have been involved in the technical end ).

The fact I still have a post count and like count, etc makes me hopeful my actual posts can be recovered. My avatar, while a nice throwback, I'm not nearly as attached to...

@TheGuardianXXXIII

I'm doing p5 without having to repair my Titan's at all, and my gear is probably slightly worse than yours though my map is quite good. But it took me a while to get to the point of not having to repair.

I suspect you're probably not herding big enough packs, and/or using Lightning Fury too much. You should only need to throw maybe ten at the absolute most per big herd (my map gives maybe six or seven big herds with a couple smaller ones each run). Low HP stragglers can either be finished off with Charged Strike or ignored.

Ravenfrost is definitely worth it. Ain't nobody got time for being frozen. And Razortail is completely busted. That item alone was the difference between p3 and p5 for me.

I guess I could make a video of a run if you like, though I don't currently have anything installed to facilitate that!

Just past 10 hours, and and likely done for dedicated running. I'm not really having fun, and those next next 10 hours would see my untwinked necro nearly to 3.2B. And the last stretch including 6+ hours without a qualifier and no other useful drops doesn't help things much. Zon might get an hour or two as breaks from Pit runs before RFL Rd 1 ends, but we'll see. Good luck to everyone who's running! Looking forward to seeing all the shiny orange rocks

@TheGuardianXXXIII

I'm doing p5 without having to repair my Titan's at all, and my gear is probably slightly worse than yours though my map is quite good. But it took me a while to get to the point of not having to repair.

I suspect you're probably not herding big enough packs, and/or using Lightning Fury too much. You should only need to throw maybe ten at the absolute most per big herd (my map gives maybe six or seven big herds with a couple smaller ones each run). Low HP stragglers can either be finished off with Charged Strike or ignored.

Ravenfrost is definitely worth it. Ain't nobody got time for being frozen. And Razortail is completely busted. That item alone was the difference between p3 and p5 for me.

I guess I could make a video of a run if you like, though I don't currently have anything installed to facilitate that!

I tried out bandicam just because I'd seen it on other d2 youtube videos and found it very easy to use. Love to see a video!

Thanks for the feedback @Gripphon @ffs @Hutton . Looks like i'm hoping for 2x Ber runes this RFL then I'll definitely stick to the Razortail and swap in the Ravenfrost. I only have 1 titan's, so i'll just stick w/ the Titan's + Tstrokes spare.

I'll pay more attention to my herd size, though my map has about 3-4 areas where i can just herd a super long line of cows and that's what i try to hit. I'll work more on it and review + compare the 101 videos. Though right now it mostly feels pointless compared to my necro who can TP around much quicker, aggro tons of cows w/ Amp then teleport aggressively into the middle of all of them and spam pNova until a body drops and just blow up everything without ever worrying about dying (me or merc). Zon's hit recovery is so bad that if 1 cow lands a hit on her, i better hope there's only 1 cow or i'll probably be gulping a couple slots worth of purples while trying to get away. Not to mention she can't use a merc cause he just dies unless i'm full time TP babysitting him (almost same exact gear as necro's merc). I should try running a Spirit shield for the extra +skill and 55% FHR, not to mention extra mana and FCR.

I remember now why I liked the run for 99. Choosing exp over drops means choosing math over the fickle whims of fate.

On a more relevant note, I'm running with similar gear (2-3 less + skills overall), though no enigma. I have to refill my titans about every 3 runs and can only manage p3 comfortably. I think I am a bit slow from the other end of the spectrum, I'm an excessive herder and probably spend more time than I should herding.

I wasn't planning to do a second set but I've had the runes for infinity for a few weeks just waiting for a base (which I have a few options for now). Maybe I'll put it together and see what a difference that alone makes.

Do you guy's use valks? I find that tossing her out in front of me keeps the pack tighter and in place, but if she's not killed off, she tends to mess up herding the next pack.

Finished first set with necro on p5, 494 runs done completely and 5 abandoned at beginning/mid way due to death. Now moving on to Blova/Fissure/Hammerdin for second set.

@TheGuardianXXXIII
It's a bit pointless to compare javazon without best gear with necro. It is possible that even with best javazon gear you might not outfarm your necro. They are two very different characters to play and it entirely depends what type of playstyle suits you more. I for example with best geared javazon can't come even close to what I'm doing with necro. I'd need to do 2:43 p7 runs with her to be comparable. For someone else can be the other way around. Those two are best cow runner characters, however doesn't mean they will be close to each other in everyone's hands.

Sorry guys, but 1.07 keeps crashing on the computer that I have now. I don't think I really have any chars to be running in 1.14. So, basically I'm out for this RFL..

@DiabloTwoinDC i assume you’ve got backups. Have you tried completely uninstalling and reinstalling d2 to a new location?

@DiabloTwoinDC i assume you’ve got backups. Have you tried completely uninstalling and reinstalling d2 to a new location?

Yea, I'll get it working eventually. We'll see. Maybe in time for the other RFL rounds..

Yea, I'll get it working eventually. We'll see. Maybe in time for the other RFL rounds..

I’ve seen on blizzard forums them mention looking at crash logs. If you find those, id be happy to look into them. I’ve worked in software for a bit.

Those two are best cow runner characters, however doesn't mean they will be close to each other in everyone's hands.

Agreed, you’re best off with the character you enjoy playing the most. If you’re bored you won’t be playing well. Personally I like playing both Necro and Java equally.

To be fair though, admittedly to some extent it also depends on the gear available. For example I got lucky with crafting 2/20 amulets for Amazon and P&B Necro. They enable very strong setups, which made me enjoy playing them even more. Similarly after crafting 2/20 for Cold Sorc I ran Trav a lot more with her for some time. If I ever find an FCR amulet upgrade for Pit Zerker, I could totally see myself just playing him for a while, etc...

Blova running cows on p5 with expectedly bad music to follow it up! Map could be better, this one requires too much zig-zaging. Sorc typically kills between 350 and 400 cows, closer to 350 though until better map is found which I won't do for this RFL.

@TheGuardianXXXIII
It's a bit pointless to compare javazon without best gear with necro. It is possible that even with best javazon gear you might not outfarm your necro. They are two very different characters to play and it entirely depends what type of playstyle suits you more. I for example with best geared javazon can't come even close to what I'm doing with necro. I'd need to do 2:43 p7 runs with her to be comparable. For someone else can be the other way around. Those two are best cow runner characters, however doesn't mean they will be close to each other in everyone's hands.

Agreed, you’re best off with the character you enjoy playing the most. If you’re bored you won’t be playing well. Personally I like playing both Necro and Java equally.

To be fair though, admittedly to some extent it also depends on the gear available. For example I got lucky with crafting 2/20 amulets for Amazon and P&B Necro. They enable very strong setups, which made me enjoy playing them even more. Similarly after crafting 2/20 for Cold Sorc I ran Trav a lot more with her for some time. If I ever find an FCR amulet upgrade for Pit Zerker, I could totally see myself just playing him for a while, etc...

Good points guys. I think you're right. Honestly I'm starting to think the Javazon isn't really my cup of tea. I find the style of mostly running around herding and then always just using 1 skill to be kind of boring. The pNova necro and the Pit zerker are 2 characters i absolutely love and it's probably because they are a lot more involved. Lots of fast FCR teleporting, hotkeys/abilities, higher APM style characters.

That said, i did try a few of the tips mentioned in this thread (ravenfrost, highlords, more focused herding, Spirit shield instead of Lidless) and things did go a lot smoother. I was still only doing /p3, but i didn't need to repair my titans anymore and overall the frustrations were gone (CBF was huge, don't know why i didn't do it sooner...). Despite the significant improvement, i was kinda feeling "Meh" about it, mostly because i felt like i was just "herding" more than actual killing/playing. I think i'll save the last few hours of my batch for the necro for a strong finish and work on the Java later.

121 minutes left before end of first batch here. I may have hard time getting ready for second round, so i may stay at one batch - but i'm already pleased with this one and the "pre-batch" results (dropped an Ohm and a Sur before first round, it was already nice enough !).

I think i'll complete this one then go heavy CS run, hoping to drop any Kira's for merc - well i have to find/trade a Reaper's toll too, but there's still a trading possibility.

GL for the remaining of yours and for those who are much invested, GL for the second batch !

No, if you go for a third one, you're just crazy... go buy some burger if you're starved of beef !

The video as requested by literal ones of people:

Not a spectacular run by any stretch of the imagination- the first pull was quite awkward as Fanaticism + Cursed is a dangerous combination to deal with on Hardcore. Cursor felt a bit weird with the recording software running, I'm normally a bit less derpy...

Gear:
Delirium Tiara
Mara's
Ravenfrost
SoJ
Vipermagi (15 IAS)
Razortail
3/20 Gloves
Silkweave
Upped Titan's
Spirit
Naj's Puzzler (Switch)

Merc (Defiance):
Insight
Fortitude
Andy's (15 IAS)

 

[Vildecor]

@Gripphon Awesome music and great runs!

Turns out indeed I need to go back home for a bit, arriving some 48h before this ends. Going to be super busy, but jet lag may help with two sleepless nights for half a set or something! Kidding aside, don’t think there’s any way I’ll get close to a 20h set, but following this thread I’m itching to run a couple of hours at least. We’ll see!

-------------------------
Grape (1.07)
Diablo2inDC (1.07)
zemaj (1.07)
Pharphis (1.07)
WoRG (1.07)
EatSleepDiablov2
T72on1
Kitteh
NanoMist
Peytron
PhineasB
Gripphon
LongingForDeath
Shuffleblast
MizzouFTW
Saluki
Zylo
maxicek
Ghonn
Vildecor
sir_cyclops
Teddeeboy
Babyhell
Friiser
Pb_pal
TheGuardianXXXIII
Luhkoh
Hutton
jjscud
Nexeis
smittyphi
smloeffelholz
Tenecabo (1.07 + maybe 1.14)
mulligan
ffs

----------------------------

Please state IF you are running 1.07.

@Hutton on airport wifi and out of my country for a week so I can’t watch it yet, but rest assured the literal one person appreciates the post!

@ffs you hoping to have time to preemptively up the javazons efficiency to compete with what seems like its gonna be a ~190 cows per minute gripp necro? in all seriousness I’m glad you’ll put some hours in. I wanna see tons of round 1 data!

Blova running cows on p5 with expectedly bad music to follow it up! Map could be better, this one requires too much zig-zaging. Sorc typically kills between 350 and 400 cows, closer to 350 though until better map is found which I won't do for this RFL.

That looks like a really fun character. That static range

The video as requested by literal ones of people:

Not a spectacular run by any stretch of the imagination- the first pull was quite awkward as Fanaticism + Cursed is a dangerous combination to deal with on Hardcore. Cursor felt a bit weird with the recording software running, I'm normally a bit less derpy...

Gear:
Delirium Tiara
Mara's
Ravenfrost
SoJ
Vipermagi (15 IAS)
Razortail
3/20 Gloves
Silkweave
Upped Titan's
Spirit
Naj's Puzzler (Switch)

Merc (Defiance):
Insight
Fortitude
Andy's (15 IAS)

That looks quite a bit better than my runs. I think i need a new map. Mine is terrible now that i've been watching some of the other videos. The Delirium looks pretty interesting. Your merc never seemed to give AF the he was surrounded by cows.

Some tips for Blova

- Static Field is highest damaging skill she has. Use 3-4 every time
- Static Field is her aggro skill, so high level with big range is required
- Nova damage is more important than Blizzard. Think of Blizzard as her backup skill
- mana per kill and life per kill will make her running smooth
- Defiance merc is best option for added defense. Mine has over 8k making cows miss most of the time allowing for spamming of Nova

Gear and skills for vitality version:

Spoiler

Griffon's (lite facet)
Enigma
2 skills amulet
Eschuta's Temper (lite facet)
Spirit
Arachnid Mesh
Dracul's Grasp gloves
Soj ring (I'm using beta BKWB)
1.07 mpk ring
Silkweave boots

Inventory: lightning skillers + mana/life small charms

Merc: Infinity, Fortitude, Andariel's Visage

Skills:
Warmth 1
Telekinesis 1
Teleport 1 (not needed if you use Enigma)
Static Field - enough to have 24 yards area or at least 20+
Nova 20
Lightning Mastery 20
Cold Armor 1
Cold Mastery 1 (Infinity power)
Blizzard 20
Rest into Blizzard synergies

I'm not sure can this sorc work without 1.07 mpk ring, she is very mana dependent, more so than necro. It is important her mana pool is full in between herding. Phoenix can be used on switch for convenience too.

Alternative way of building is ES variant, but for that I don't have clever advice at this moment.

@ffs
Welcome to cowland. Zods beware!

For those of you using Bandicam to record gameplay, get OBS Studio.

It's actual freeware rather than crippleware like Bandicam, and is extremely easy to set up.

You can also use it for streaming.

I also use OBS Studio and can attest to its awesomeness.

+1 OBS, it’s great.

@ffs you hoping to have time to preemptively up the javazons efficiency to compete with what seems like its gonna be a ~190 cows per minute gripp necro?

No problem.

@Gripphon Don’t know if the amount skill points available allows for a smooth ES/Blova variant, and how much MPK is needed in that case. But when going ES/Warmth, Nova Sorc can of course do fine without 1.07 MPK rings, while using Infinity Merc. Couple of P7 Pit runs:

I briefly took her to Cows as well but don’t have a vid. There I used this setup, which was very smooth with 13 MPK:

Spoiler

Griffon's Eye (facet)
Eschuta's Temper (facet)
Arkaine's Valor (facet)
Lidless Wall (facet)
Arachnid Mesh
+3 ammy
2x SoJ
Caster gloves (MPK, stats)
Silkweave

Inventory: Skillers, mana/life SCs

Defiance Merc with Infinity, ebug Forti, Andy

13 MPK was more than enough at least in combination with around 10 hard points in Warmth and >2000 Mana. For sure she can move skill points to Blizzard and synergies, but probably it will be somewhat lower Blizzard damage than Vita variant. Don’t know how much of a difference it makes.

In general I now strongly prefer this type of setup over self-wielding Infinity with Insight Merc, which I used on my previous Nova Sorc. Damage is a lot higher. And there’s more flexibility which gear to use.

I was having a really hard time getting into the cow runs. I wasn't seeing the kind of results that I was hoping for, and I wasn't having much fun. By reading through the thread, I learned a lot more about running cows. After rerolling my map, modifying my strategy, and tweaking equipment, things are going much better. My runs are about 1:30 faster (around 4:30 right now on P3 with blizzard sorceress), and the runs don't feel like a waste of time anymore. I also feel like there is still room for improvement, so my goal is to get to average run times of sub 4 minutes.

The bad news ... after some 12 hours I managed to kill the Cow King again with my Necro, just like last year. The good news though, is that, when taking out my Amazon, it's actually going really well. Run times are faster than with my Necro (between 3:00 and 3:30, with still much room for improvement as I'm learning the map and getting used to the differences between Necro and Javazon) and I'm having a lot of fun, whereas last year I couldn't get into her.

So, still a bummer that I need to level up yet another Poison Necro if I ever want to do Cows again with that class. But nevertheless looking forward to the rest of the round.

Btw, I assume I'm not the only one who has already a top 5 of Ber+? I mean, you guys do plan to give me some competition right?

Spoiler

Yep, this thread needs some more trolling and trash talk, just for the sake of tradition .

The bad news ... after some 12 hours I managed to kill the Cow King again with my Necro, just like last year. The good news though, is that, when taking out my Amazon, it's actually going really well. Run times are faster than with my Necro (between 3:00 and 3:30, with still much room for improvement as I'm learning the map and getting used to the differences between Necro and Javazon) and I'm having a lot of fun, whereas last year I couldn't get into her.

So, still a bummer that I need to level up yet another Poison Necro if I ever want to do Cows again with that class. But nevertheless looking forward to the rest of the round.

Btw, I assume I'm not the only one who has already a top 5 of Ber+? I mean, you guys do plan to give me some competition right?

Spoiler

Yep, this thread needs some more trolling and trash talk, just for the sake of tradition .

Well, I've been secretly forcing myself to do the cow runs because I really need bases (I'm looking at you ethereal 4 socket thresher!). So, y'know, be afraid of my 10 minute javazon runs^^ Admittedly, I'm not playing hugely efficiently and my times include cubing my gems and all of that.

Btw, I assume I'm not the only one who has already a top 5 of Ber+? I mean, you guys do plan to give me some competition right?

I edited the five Zods out of that video I posted.

My goal is top 10, but with such a large pool of players, we’ll see what happens. Every time an el drops, I tell myself how rare it is

The bad news ... after some 12 hours I managed to kill the Cow King again with my Necro, just like last year.

How do you keep doing that? My Necro hasn't even seen the Cow King yet, despite getting somewhat close to his fort. Being a little too eager, are we?

I did some test runs with the Blova sorc and Javazon this weekend. Equipment of Blova is pretty much the same as @Gripphon posted, except that mine's using a HotO instead of an Eschuta's (I have 3 of them, all of them with +19% Lightning Damage, but only +2 skills). Not happy with either of them. Blova takes too long to kill for my liking. Javazon lacks skillers to make her kill fast on p7 and the slow teleport even with 99% FCR makes herding bigger groups tedious. She also leaves too many cows behind. Her performance could be fixed with a few more skillers, but at this point I think I'll just do my second batch with the Necro again. He had the best performance so far.

Btw, I assume I'm not the only one who has already a top 5 of Ber+? I mean, you guys do plan to give me some competition right?

I got less than two hours left to get those 5, but who knows !

I probably won't make another full batch, and as it stands i think i made it to the top 50 for my first RFL round ever

Spoiler: Why, don't like beef ?!

Preparing round 2, have to level the horker and trade/drop (Mephi running) a well rounded Kira's beside, so it's an investment already !

But Noobazon MooMoobazon definitely likes beef, yes !

@ffs for the late submission win, very stylish indeed!

I'm firmly on pace to finish a full set, so that's encouraging. That Blova build is awesome @Gripphon , I'll have to try that one out some day.

GOGOGO everyone!

@ffs for the late submission win, very stylish indeed!

I'm firmly on pace to finish a full set, so that's encouraging. That Blova build is awesome @Gripphon , I'll have to try that one out some day.

GOGOGO everyone!

Just to know, i guess when you talk about set it's not cow king set, but you mean 5 qualifiers or one of each qualifier rune ?

Just to know, i guess when you talk about set it's not cow king set, but you mean 5 qualifiers or one of each qualifier rune ?

He means 20 hours

I'm at 16.25 hours. So I'll also easily finish my set. (But i did complete the cow king set already as well )

Just to know, i guess when you talk about set it's not cow king set, but you mean 5 qualifiers or one of each qualifier rune ?

@sir_cyclops got it, I meant a full 20-hr set. Alternatively, I haven't found a single cow set item yet. Moo Moo.

This is how we herd in HC, such efficiency

 

[Vildecor]

@Kitteh that reminds me of this video from my early D3 days when everybody was complaining about how tough Inferno was.

Similarities are striking.

@Pb_pal don’t even try distracting us from your cold blooded scheme to avenge losing the RFL crown last year! I don’t know what you’re plotting exactly, but people with a burning desire for revenge tend to succeed with that.

This is how we herd in HC, such efficiency

Omg this run without being hit !

My goal is top 10, but with such a large pool of players, we’ll see what happens. Every time an el drops, I tell myself how rare it is

I had a flood of El and Eld last night, which was really annoying. They are rare, but the, "Wow, my luck can't get much worse" kind of rare.

Hit 10 hour mark today and called it a day. Highlights so far are Cow King's hat and armor. I've learned to be a little more effective than usually, and finally gave up all mf in favor of kill speed. Never actually used Ormus' Robes before, but that +15% cold damage one I had lying in stash, proved to be quite useful now. Shamefully the skill bonus is not blizzard, but frost nova. Also crafted Heart of the Oak from my LK runes and ditched Oculus for a while (that teleport was driving me crazy). So. Much. Better.

Still nothing near fast but I'm doing P5 in 5-6 minutes, and am actually starting to like this...
Fingers crossed for a nice eth elite Insight/Infinity base.

I think almost every participant has posted here during the round, often even multiple times. @NanoMist however is very very silent. Screams Nanomist winning the round to me .

How do you keep doing that? My Necro hasn't even seen the Cow King yet, despite getting somewhat close to his fort. Being a little too eager, are we?

@onderduiker My question comes from running cows with a necro. If I cast attract on a nearby cow, it seems to suck other cows in over a larger area than if I am just standing there with my merc & golem. This may just be a time / perception related issue though. If I waited long enough, they may wander in anyway. However if I cast attract on a target, cows often come past me towards the target, which may suggest a bigger radius.

This is the problem. Cow King always spawned exactly in the same spot in a corner of the fort for me. No problem at all, I was very confident I wouldn't kill him.

Problem was the Attract I always casted at the start of a new run, to make the merc's life easier, from the opposite side of the fort and more specifically his spawning point, apparantly pulled him in as well this time. It had only happened once before, in 200 runs.

I switched over to my level 95 necro summoner today. After 14 hours with the Javazon (level 90), I had enough. My runs with her were very in efficient. She clears them with amazing speed, it just seems that everything else she does is slow. I'll see if he can add the 7 Zods she found.

Spoiler

/end sarcasm

@T72on1 Well @NanoMist is always quiet.. he is running instead of posting, which is what everyone with access to a computer should be doing! But hey at least I’ve been mentally preparing a little.

I think I’ll go with Java indeed, been a while since I played her. Big question is what setup to use. Overall go-to variant with 99 FCR on CtA switch, or Wizzy switch again for higher damage output... kind of leaning towards the latter. Also I’d like to test her on P5. Always advocated P7 for her based on gameplay, but in fact I don’t even know her P5 performance...

Thanks to everyone who posted their walkthroughs, I've learned quite a fair bit by watching them. Biggest lesson was probably deciding to keep my Amazon's mercenary at home. He constantly died, and did get in the way of forming some bigger herds I've seen you guys round up.

My Amazon found us an ethereal thresher during this round, which thankfully rolled 4 open sockets. I was waiting for a proper base to cube up some runes to make an Infinity Rune Word. Now that we have that, my Meteorb Sorceress is entering the game. I've been rotating through my Javazon, Windy Druid, and Fishymancer. Having a fourth character class that can effectively run will definitely help my motivation.

I've hit the halfway point, so it might be possible to complete the entire set depending on how much time I can find this weekend.

Getting closer to the end of the first set - less than an hour left. And guys, all i can tell is that i have been rewarded this last session after a break - the dropped Pul is not even a qualifier here.

Get ready to be hyped when you get close to the end, you may well be rewarded ! GL everybody !

@Kitteh that reminds me of this video from my early D3 days when everybody was complaining about how tough Inferno was.

Similarities are striking.

@Pb_pal don’t even try distracting us from your cold blooded scheme to avenge losing the RFL crown last year! I don’t know what you’re plotting exactly, but people with a burning desire for revenge tend to succeed with that.

LMAO!! Oh man.. that video is so true. I played a Monk at d3 release. Inferno was retarded lol. I shoulda quit the monk and exploited a wiz or DH when the goin was good. I'm kind of stubborn sometimes.

Had a great weekend running cows...I just never get tired of slaughtering beef, lol

I'm just over 15hrs in now... to keep my runtimes down, I've been very strict about what I pick: gems, charms (ID'd on the spot and ditched if they aren't good), jewels, and of course, all those runes!

I've grabbed very little else: an eth Conquest Sword, a Cow Kings Hide, and one of Elvis' buddies, Snot Rag the Nasty or somesuch, dropped a Skullder's, which was very nice, though it wasn't eth (the search continues...) I have gotten several very good charms, including a 6@rez/6maxdam SC!

I will say that (quickly) fetching the leg can be a non-trivial task without static maps...even with a fast telesorc!

The fact that even mid-level runes that aren't qualifiers are interesting to me for crafting helps keep motivation high, and I've managed to craft a few nice items

I did have a question: while rushing up the extra characters for my runs, I flipped this off an armor rack in one of the glacial cave areas of act5, then Larzuk punched it (in 1.07 he can put up to 4sox in a blue, but pally shields are the only shields that can get 4sox)

Prefix 1002 Monarch of Amicae
Defense: 103
Chance to Block:  42%
Smite Damage: 12 to 34
Durability: 86 of 86
Required Strength: 156
Required Level: 66
Item Version: Expansion
Item Level: 95
Fingerprint: 0xb08fc649
Damage Reduced by 15
All Resistances +30
Socketed (3: 0 used)

Are the defensive mods on this shield a worthwhile tradeoff vs a 4-facet shield? It also occured to me that for a low-block high-Vit build, you could shop a kite sheild with the same mods from Charsi that could also get 3sox (in 1.07) and would save over 100 points in Str...

WoRG

Finished a set with the trapper, working on Necro now. Ran a pair of lightning damage based characters last year, figured I'll do a pair of CE based characters this year. Had a 1 hour session where the density was noticeably above normal- had this happen a few times in the past too.

I finished my set Sunday night. I was quite disappointed with the rune results, though I found many useful bases. I decided I wasn't going to do another a second set.

I suspect that decision will change before the end of the night. I think I may spend a few LK runes to gear up a little, one of the bigger helps may be a spirit shield and I'll add infinity or enigma (or go nuts on LK for a day and maybe do both). I'll probably watch a few videos first and see why I'm so slow.

LMAO!! Oh man.. that video is so true. I played a Monk at d3 release. Inferno was retarded lol. I shoulda quit the monk and exploited a wiz or DH when the goin was good. I'm kind of stubborn sometimes.

Quit the Monk? Never, they are by far the best class in D3.

/offtopic

Set 1 completed. Editing video for results presentation, as i probably wont make another one, and prepare round 2.

It was much fun, but kinda frustrating, couldn't complete the Cow king set !

I finished my set Sunday night. I was quite disappointed with the rune results, though I found many useful bases. I decided I wasn't going to do another a second set.

I suspect that decision will change before the end of the night. I think I may spend a few LK runes to gear up a little, one of the bigger helps may be a spirit shield and I'll add infinity or enigma (or go nuts on LK for a day and maybe do both). I'll probably watch a few videos first and see why I'm so slow.

Just to tell: i made my biggest drop on what must be my worst run of all set. After two days doing other stuff, i came back for a 12+ minutes run (character selection screen to S&E), awful, i clearly wasn't focused at all !

Fissure druid in action on p5. Quite efficient beef eater, kills over 400 cows depending on map.

Gear and skills:

Spoiler

Ravenlore (facet)
fcr Amulet
Enigma
Hoto
Phoenix
Arachnid Mesh
Magefist gloves
dual skill rings
Silkweave boots (noot needed though)

Merc: Infinity, Andy, Fortitude

Skills:
1 Oak
Max Fissure damage
Armageddon max
Left into Boulder

I swear the music is getting worse with every video, @Gripphon. Jesus.

I can't say I don't enjoy to troll you all

 

[Vildecor]

:O

You know the feeling when a Jah drops, and you wonder if it is even worth the trip to town to clear your inventory for a non-qualifier... I think that may be why I am having a hard time enjoying these cow runs.

Jahwohl !!!

Jahwohl !!!

Spoiler alert

@Pb_pal don’t even try distracting us from your cold blooded scheme to avenge losing the RFL crown last year! I don’t know what you’re plotting exactly, but people with a burning desire for revenge tend to succeed with that.

I don't have much of a plan, but I will say that I've quietly been dusting off Eleanor for the Trav round instead of the venomancer I used last year.

I agree with @T72on1 though, @NanoMist is suspiciously quiet. Probably buried in runes.

How does the attendance this year compare to years past? Do we expect lots of scores over 100?

Sub 18s Trav runs incoming from @Pb_pal. And dusting her off already? Seems like you don’t feel any need whatsoever to improve on your Cow score.

Spoiler alert

Nah, just replying to the post of @smloeffelholz .

How does the attendance this year compare to years past? Do we expect lots of scores over 100?

There's more runners and all the top runners from last year still seem to participate, plus Gripphon. So there's definitely the likelihood of 3 people or so surpassing 100 again (let's face it, that number 3 spot last year feels like a 100+ too ). Then again, it's still not easy to get over 100 without a Zod, and last year's amount of Zods was quite stunning, so all remains to be seen. In the end it's RNG based, so we might as well have a winner with only some 90 points or so.

Lol... that high, 90+ points in the same batch ! xD

It is probable anyway, i see there are machines here, so...

Grrr i may give a shot to a second set, i have to catch the last cow set parts and that Zod everyone's talking about..!

Grrr i may give a shot to a second set, i have to catch the last cow set parts and that Zod everyone's talking about..!

I thought about doing it, but honestly 20 hours of travincal coming up makes me hesitate.

Lol... that high, 90+ points in the same batch ! xD

It is probable anyway, i see there are machines here, so...

I couldn't believe such scores either, until I got on the lucky side of RNG last year. Believe me, that's what's needed to get such scores, and that's what's needed to win this kind of competition.

For more general scores, you can check the Travincal vs LK vs Cows thread by Gripphon to see what you can expect on average. Probably something along the lines of 40 - 60 points at run times of 3:30 - 4:00 on average.

I thought about doing it, but honestly 20 hours of travincal coming up makes me hesitate.

This.

Some data on Fissure druid, p5

Runs done: 56
Runes found: 93
Cows killed per run average: 406
Avg time: 2:44
Cows killed per minute: 148

It's still too early to say since more runs need to be made to get better estimate on cows killed, but this would put Fissure druid al pari with any sorceress variant and Trapper. In fact this is better result than I've done with Blizzard sorc, Nova sorc, currently even from Blova due to her less optimal map. And better than I did with Trapper while testing before. Very surprising result.

I still think Blova and Trapper should perform slightly better. Should.

This.

But no Zod in Travincal ! So i started a second set, even if i don't complete it, i'll give it a try. I may not complete it as i'm leveling the horker beside, but who knows, maybe the prayers will be heard !

Some data on Fissure druid, p5

Runs done: 56
Runes found: 93
Cows killed per run average: 406
Avg time: 2:44
Cows killed per minute: 148

It's still too early to say since more runs need to be made to get better estimate on cows killed, but this would put Fissure druid al pari with any sorceress variant and Trapper. In fact this is better result than I've done with Blizzard sorc, Nova sorc, currently even from Blova due to her less optimal map. And better than I did with Trapper while testing before. Very surprising result.

I still think Blova and Trapper should perform slightly better. Should.

How do you keep track on the kills?

How do you keep track on the kills?

To be that precise my bet is on xp evolution #ThouShallNotDie

Edit: failed !

How do you keep track on the kills?

I calculate the number from runes found. I know chance to get any rune from cows is 1/244.5, by counting runes we can estimate number of cows killed. Downside is hundreds of runs should be done for some reliable figure and even then it will be only an estimate.

4hours mark checked on second set. I like this start, trying to focus only on big herds. No new cow set part still, nor new grailer or nice S/U... maybe some charms, some are to be checked, and iirc i got at least one burning skiller.

12 hours in. It's getting tedious, but I've checked a few grailers off the list while walking this Via Dolorosa:





That Shaftstop was just nice until I found it was perfect.

Spoiler

Well, in the worst possible way, anyways...

Shaftstop
Mesh Armor
Defense: 898
Durability: 23 of 23
Required Level: 38
Required Strength: 82
Fingerprint: 0x91c3d248
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+180% Enhanced Defense
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+60 to Life
Damage Reduced by 30%
Ethereal


Giant Skull
Bone Visage
Defense: 431
Durability: 31 of 40
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 106
Fingerprint: 0xc6eefbb9
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
10% Chance of Crushing Blow
Knockback
+310 Defense
+31 to Strength
2 Sockets (0 used) <--- Yes!!!

Back to the grind.

 

[Vildecor]

Using the XP method doesn’t have issues with wide variance as counting drops does, but it’s more complicated, requires a lvl 94+ character and some number crunching. Also it needs to be done for each map individually, so it’s even more of an effort to compare different characters. But in turn the results are more reliable than extrapolating from drop odds.

I went back to the lengthy conversation with @Gripphon regarding this method after the 2017 RFL, and summarized the gist of it in the following for those interested in using it. Spoiler for detailed step by step:

Spoiler

1. Determine XP amount a normal cow gives you (94+ character). Easy, kill one cow.
2. Determine average number of boss packs on cow map over a number of runs. I’d say 20 runs is already a sufficient amount of runs... If you're a skeptical person, do 50, that will be extremely close to long-term average.
3. Split that number in 20% champion packs and 80% boss packs, not including cow king. This is the average ratio between them. Add cow king pack as boss pack if you kill his minions (meaning lightning based characters).
4. Multiply number of average champion packs x3 and number of average boss packs x5.5. That’s the average number of monsters for these groups. For cow king pack use x8, because he always spawns 8 minions but is never killed himself. Or shouldn’t be.
5. Once more multiply champions number by x3 and bosses/minions by x5, including cow king pack. That’s for the extra XP they grant.
6. Subtract the average monster number determined under step 4. That’s because it is assumed (at least initially – see below) that all those monsters are killed. So they are counted once, in a way as if granting base cow XP.
7. Do a bunch of runs and keep track of XP gained solely in cow level, meaning not from getting the leg. Divide this by the number of runs to get average XP per run.
8. Determine average number of cows killed per run: (1) Divide the XP gain per run by the XP a normal Cow gives you and (2) subtract the number determined under step 6.

I’ve linked this above already, but here’s an example calculation for runs I did with Java.

There is an imprecision with the above method – the resulting number is too low. I'd roughly estimate by some 10-20 kills per run in most cases. That’s because subtracting the number as per step 6 above assumes that, on average, you actually kill the average number of champions/bosses. At least so far I’ve subtracted the average in full, because otherwise it can happen easily that you count more kills than you actually get. But in reality the number subtracted is too high, due to skipping immune bosses, isolated champion packs or possessed ones etc., and leaving occasional straggler minions alive.

So in order to get the most precise results, one needs to also determine how many champions/bosses/minions are not killed in the test runs, and then don’t subtract the relevant number from what pure XP gain suggests. I haven’t done that yet because I couldn’t find a reliable way to do it.

I plan to try and observe this more closely this RFL.

The three botds i've made with the zods I've found all rolled great stats! Excited to share them

@sir_cyclops just made a hell of a run... as you say, can't wait to share my results on both sets !

8hrs and a half mark, i stop for now !

Just finished the 14 hour mark so should finish at the set of beefstock. Just a few non qualifiers recently. nothing worth posting. This build speeds up noticeably with a skill shrine activation telling me to get 2 cold skillers on her. (when they drop of course)

My total will be about 5 hours, no qualifiers So, I'll just not send a score in?^^

Some 15.5 hours in currently. Not sure if I'll stick with the Javazon or try a Fire Sorc for the remaining hours. Maybe I'll continue with the Javazon first, then do the last 2 - 3 hours or so with the Sorc.

I hope to get a bit of running time in this afternoon. Then some on Monday, and then finish the batch on Thursday probably.

Good luck people !!!

Sub 18s Trav runs incoming from @Pb_pal. And dusting her off already? Seems like you don’t feel any need whatsoever to improve on your Cow score.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I'm just passed 2/3 of the set done, so I should definitely have time to complete the full 20 hrs. Also, nice data on the Fissure druid @Gripphon ! I had a ton of fun running mine in previous RFL, and they are definitely worth a look for people wanting something different.

Data for Blova, p5
Runs: 60
Runes: 97
Cows killed per run estimate: 395
Avg time: 2:16
Cows per minute: 174

This is much more realistic when compared to Fissure druid. I actually used Fissure druid's playstyle of herding to herd more cows and kill them faster with sorc. In fact this is only 11% weaker than necro. I'll do more data for her. Faster playstyle suits me better.

Data for Blova, p5
Runs: 60
Runes: 97
Cows killed per run estimate: 395
Avg time: 2:16
Cows per minute: 174

This is much more realistic when compared to Fissure druid. I actually used Fissure druid's playstyle of herding to herd more cows and kill them faster with sorc. In fact this is only 11% weaker than necro. I'll do more data for her. Faster playstyle suits me better.

Not sure if it makes any sense to try, but have you thought about casting the blizzard in a different spot than where you’re standing/will stand in order to increase your overall affected area?

Also just curious, but if not doing this, what advantage does blova have over nova? I guess the dps is significantly better?

@Luhkoh

I do, but rarely. What I do with Blizzard is either cast it on myself to kill cows gathering on me allowing sorc to spam Nova without interruptions, or I often cast it in the middle of the cow pack and teleport in to spam Nova. This is what Nova sorc can't do because she has no coverage from Blizzard. Blizzard kills cows, freezes them and clears the area allowing sorc to play very aggressively and killing cows much faster than any other sorc could. Of course I do this less if cursed, then I drop Blizzard on myself when cows approach.

Sorc Rambo style.

EDIT
What I must try is how she does on p7. Since herding is longer and cows are dropped to 50% HP, there may not be too much difference between p5 and p7. I have to check.

EDIT 2
Question is can she put cows to hit recovery like she could on p5. That's very important to maintain same playing style.

Finished my set. Had fun but definitely not doing another one.

Only one NDE, and one game I had to Save and Exit. Still alive.

\o/

12hrs mark checked on second batch. Leveling barb beside helps, i must confess... but hype is real on this second one, it is probably going to explode my previous batch due to a crazy one run - and i thought i was lucky on first. No new cow set part sadly, that point is making me think i got to continue beefing after round - maybe after RFL - to complete this. But who knows, maybe by this thursday !

I died quite a few times on this set - a streak brought me down to start of lvl 91, i took more risk thenafter. I don't know how you handle HC players (@Kitteh @Hutton and others !), rushing is really not compatible !

12hrs mark checked on second batch. Leveling barb beside helps, i must confess... but hype is real on this second one, it is probably going to explode my previous batch due to a crazy one run - and i thought i was lucky on first. No new cow set part sadly, that point is making me think i got to continue beefing after round - maybe after RFL - to complete this. But who knows, maybe by this thursday !

I died quite a few times on this set - a streak brought me down to start of lvl 91, i took more risk thenafter. I don't know how you handle HC players (@Kitteh @Hutton and others !), rushing is really not compatible !

I've had one NDE However, I've only done about 5 hours or something, so I'm going to have to merge all the rounds into one video, most of my highlights for cows are just level ups^^

Unfortunately, it looks like I won't be able to complete my second batch. I'm only about 2 hours in and I have to work today and tomorrow, leaving me very little time to play. I'll still do as much as I can, but unless I get some lucky drops to make up for the shortage of time, my first batch will most likely be the one that will count. For some reason I thought this round would go until next Friday, but apparently Thursday is the last day. Bit of a shame, since I probably would have had the day off on Friday and could have put the remaining hours in.

I've had one NDE However, I've only done about 5 hours or something, so I'm going to have to merge all the rounds into one video, most of my highlights for cows are just level ups^^

on my side i have to cut hard after each session, my disk is almost full (some gigs left, but when you screen for some hours it vanishes quickly enough), so i decided to go with dumps for drops and keep only vid extracts for qualifiers, and run from start for the Zod. And the Cham. And the Jah. And the Ber. Not under, that doesn't count, extracts are fine for them, no big deal. Guess it will make a new record

Spoiler

If only it was true ! But except the Zod drop, i had some momentum i can't wait to share !

Spoiler

I have almost 7 hours left to drop a Zod...and complete the cow set !

Blova can't really run p7 with same technique. She has too low chance to put cows to hit recovery and can no longer teleport in the middle to kill, instead she must do it from the side in a slower way.

I've died several times myself...in 1.07, LF can easily overwhelm the graphics when you hit a big herd with it, causing everything (mobs, drops, corpses, even terrain features like the walls of the Cow King's fort) to disappear for a second or two...and sometimes the mobs STAY invisible, which has resulted in some very nasty surprises occasionally. Also, if you don't pay attention, you can get pinned against obstacles that you can't see...

Got a little less than 3 hours to go...I'll finish up this weekend, no problem.

I will say that rune drops have been horrible since my last update... no new qualifiers (which is no real surprise) but also very few crafting runes...just lots of El, Eth, Tal and other useless runes (when they drop at all).

Charm drops have been decent, which is good because I'm not picking up much else, except for lots and lots of flawless gems...I also grab lesser emeralds/topazes/sapphires (and rubys if I see an exploding pot) to roll rez rings with, and I've gotten some nice ones, including a Cathan's (it was even an ilvl I didn't already have for the Cathan's grail, woot! I really have to get around to putting myself into the table for that grail...unfortunately, I long ago filled the ilvl90/92/93/94 slots, so no picking up green rings that drop! (and of course, several have...)

WoRG

Last data on blova for cows p5

Runs done: 150
Runes found: 243
Avg. time: 136.24 s
Cows killed per run: 396
Cows killed per minute: 174.4

No change compared to last time and I assume values won't really change if I continue to do data. I have 8 hours remaining to do to finish the second set. I think I'll finish with blova.

So I have finished my set , and won't have time to finish another. The cows gave me one last parting gift



My build was good in theory but I did not build the Blizz sorc as standard and it felt underpowered on p5 and she was rushed as I did not get the other gear I needed for the couple of builds . I did not have enough in cold mastery to compensate for no infinity.

Still with a couple of cold skillers and some extra levels would have helped

The updates are very interesting, @WoRG that chromatic shield of amicae with 3os is cool. That is a very nice abbot shield base.
The map offered some options to run which made the runs more interesting

I will need to do MF and some RF before the Trav round to bring this build up to where she needs to be

Runs
lvl 88 - 90 in both cows and AT
3 Deaths , and a few NDEs,
One was an Occy TP straight into a boss pack after getting amped by another pack
a few aborted runs due to nasty random boss mods , mainly PI,CI and might or fanatic, cursed

I've built solid MFO score on cows, currently 44.3 points!

 

[Vildecor]

I have about 4h left. Currently hoping to see more runes that begin with T so I can even out the probability curve....

Tod rune hype PogChamp

4 hours left too, well i'm in a desert after fest...still hoping for something (huge !) to complete the qualifiers and beat (down) my first run.

But did it already happen to drop two big Z in the same set ? #Beardy #ZZTop #MakeHistory #WtfWeAreNotOnTwitterBro

After ~16 hours of cows with less than stellar results, I am tapping out. Final average was 4:52 runs on P3. I was definitely getting better towards the end, but the lack of drops really killed my motivation. I just decided that my time would be better spent finishing my LK sorc and working on my BG sept. Good luck to everyone in the final push, and for the rest of the RFL.

2h left now.

Are we PMing results as soon as we finish the set?

Yes

GL for those last two hours !

2h left now.

Are we PMing results as soon as we finish the set?

Good idea to, so that we can MAYBE avoid the "waiting on xx stragglers" that we always get post-deadline. I think Grape just doesn't check his PMs til it's over anyways, to avoid spoilers for himself.

I thought I was signed up but I don't see me in the list. If it's still okay, I got my LFZon ready finally and there's 3 days and change left. I can totally get 20 hours in if I'm not way too late.

@Drixx welcome in, and May the Zod be with you !

You'll need it to complete a set in three days, if you're not in holidays/off work/single

@Drixx 20 hours in 3 work days?! I want to see it!

Finished my set. Didn't feel it anymore after a while with my Furyzon, so switched to Neverland for some Fire Sorc action over the last 4 hours of the set. Should have done that way earlier. Got down to 3:10 avg runs, best run as low as 2:40. Still pales in comparison to @Gripphon , but a solid improvement on the runs with my Amazon and Necro. Which were already an improvement over last year's run times. So that's good .

Had an upgrade for my top 5 less than 20 minutes before the end, so that's nice. Other than that eth Chance Guards and 4 pieces of the Cow King set in total (1x boots, 3x hat).

I'll pm my results right away. Good luck to those still running. Looking forward to see the results. And hopefully a lot of beautiful rocks .

Just did about two hours, two left, going to level barb a bit. Still no new piece of cow set, nor qualifier...desert for quite some hours now, it was huge start but it shut down hardly !

Two hours left for Ze rune drop

@T72on1 didn't try with sorc, should have given a shot... next RFL ! Moreover, hope you're going to craft some crazy runewords now with your drops

Finally completed my first set.... Last 5 hours were brutal as i was so bored with farming beef. Needless to say, i will not be doing a 2nd set I eagerly await round 2 now

Didn't get much free time this weekend after all, but I got a bit here and there, and managed to get some runs in tonight, so I'm down to just under an hour to go...I haven't seen a qualifier for the last 7 hours or so, but at least some crafting runes have started to fall again, and I'm VERY hyped about non-qualifiers!

WoRG

This all looks exciting! I am looking forward to join you guys at round 2!

16 hour mark passed at P5, ~30 mf. I was after Insight/Infinity bases and have scored only one eth CV and one eth CA, which, of course, got 5 sockets in the cube... Several eth elite armor bases, though.

So much looking forward never to do extensive moomoo-farming campaign again!

You are all bored with Cows because you don't run a fire build. There's no bbq and burgers without fire, you know?!

I'm not sure what I'll do in between round 1 and round 2. I definitely need some practice runs in Travincal with my Blizz Sorc. Her map is quite good, but there's still some room for improvement. So I might reroll, but knowing me and how I hate rerolling, chances are really I actually keep her current one.

But I'll probably just play another character for a bit first. Or another game even.

I'll take your tip and prepare some bbq tonight. Fire sorc will actually gain levels too, being level 79 right now. Nothing to lose, I guess

@T72on1 i think i'll share time from start between barb and other chars - want to try sorc and maybe Zealer 4 fun - want to use my lastly dropped dual leech, even if with grief it cannot be bad. Won't go the one way MooMooZon i did here, even if it was a lot of fun !

Still got 11.5 hours to go. Spent the past couple of weeks starting a whole slew of new characters. Time to get re-focused and finish strong. I'm able to handle p5 now with occasional merc deaths, runs around 5-6 minutes.

 

[Vildecor]

Finished my set last night. One qualifier that didn’t make my top 5 runes. Here’s hoping my total score lands me in the top 5!

@sir_cyclops Got two hours to ensure that top 5 too by dropping a big Z ! Would be a nice 5th

@T72on1 My PureFire sorc has not completed hell yet, still working A5, but am interested in running her at the farm . I had her frying Pindle for a few weeks before the start of the RFL in a ill-conceived attempt to get that elusive unique diadem my javazon would very much like to have (and my PureLightning sorc).

Still have about 5 hours left of running, not sure if I will be able to finish in time, but at least I have 5 qualifiers (that's a big step up for me versus previous years). Also, I found the Hooves, so I am only down to the green studded leather...

@Friiser GL on leather

Finished my set last night. One qualifier that didn’t make my top 5 runes. Here’s hoping my total score lands me in the top 5!

If you found 6 qualifiers and would place in top 5 for this round, you would definitely be very lucky in terms of quality . Then again RNG is RNG, and quality is what matters here in the first place, so I keep my fingers crossed for you that you do indeed finish in the top 5 .

For reference: here are the scores of last year's RFL round 1. It's hard to compare, since this year we have far more runners, but I'd say you'll need at least the 65 points Locohead had last year to place in top 5. But probably more, since Gripphon returned and the rest of the top runners joined this round again, fueled by Gripphon's presence to do even better than last year. So my guess is that you need 100+ or close to 100 points for top 3, 70+ for top 5.

i'll make a solid top 50 for sure

I'll bump if i got a Zod in the coming two hours as fifth for second set #PraiseBe

Sorry for the confusion @T72on1, I have more than 5 qualifiers. I was just hoping for a good one to replace one of my qualifiers. I like the numbers you’re throwing out

I did 16 hours without a qualifier. Runs around 8 minutes at players 3, probably because I pick up too much stuff (How many white monarchs does a guy need?). Not sure if I will be able to grind through my remaining hours before Friday, but will give it a shot.

I did 16 hours without a qualifier...

Well, you may not have prayed the Ort god instead of the Zod one...but it's never too late to change your mind and EMBRACE THE ONLY TRUE RELIG...sorry, i guess it's time for me to finish my second set quickly and take this week of break before Travi

My math and testing put me around 10 runes an hour doing P3 at 7 min a run. You're only a little bit off that. I ran a bunch of tests through my Rune Drop Simulator and it looks like I would expect about 4 qualifiers in that time. At 16 hours and 8 min runs, you shouldn't be far off that, definitely unluckly.

@ Anyone I let my own hosting go in the past year or two. I would like to get cubing calculator and rune drop simulator up somewhere. Where's a good place to put up a simple page or two. They're both things that you can do with math, but its fun to see how it plays out sometimes.

The RNG is real. I'm pretty much exactly at the halfway mark of my 2nd batch. I have as many qualifiers now as I had after the first hour of my first batch. And the latter scored higher... @peytron I feel your pain!

When we debate with RNG God why is he never on our side



RNG God wants Zods too, to make his fellow trees indestructible.

My math and testing put me around 10 runes an hour doing P3 at 7 min a run. You're only a little bit off that. I ran a bunch of tests through my Rune Drop Simulator and it looks like I would expect about 4 qualifiers in that time. At 16 hours and 8 min runs, you shouldn't be far off that, definitely unluckly.

@ Anyone I let my own hosting go in the past year or two. I would like to get cubing calculator and rune drop simulator up somewhere. Where's a good place to put up a simple page or two. They're both things that you can do with math, but its fun to see how it plays out sometimes.

When you say rune drop simulator, do you mean an actual algorithm that mimics D2's drop algorithm and outputs the rune part of the drops? (I know about your research into LK patterns, but from what I gathered that was ingame and involved manual labor)

Starting to run now. Hope you guys enjoyed your head start.

Starting with P7 Java. Planning to keep track of efficiency with both XP method and counting rune drops, will be interesting to see how results compare. Also going to give P5 a shot, and might play different characters for a change of scenery.

GL on the last stretch all.

When you say rune drop simulator, do you mean an actual algorithm that mimics D2's drop algorithm and outputs the rune part of the drops? (I know about your research into LK patterns, but from what I gathered that was ingame and involved manual labor)

No, this is something quite different. It's just a little simulator that puts X rune drops through the basic math/sequence of the rune calculation. So for my example above, I put in 200 runes (10 per hour X 20 hours) and over 10 - 15 tests saw results as poor as a single Pul and as good as Cham, Lo, Vex and a few others.

You could say simulate a million drops and end up with something that should (and generally does) almost exactly match the calculated odds but sometimes its interesting to put in something more realistic (like 200) and see what chaos an RNG can create. It can also tell you roughly how many rune drops it takes to reach a certain run or higher. I put in Pull and had it drop a million runes and found that you get something pul+ about every 50 rune drops.

So no overall drop odds, just odds given that a rune has dropped. Its fun and can be much quicker that slogging through a bunch of math for different scenarios.

If you found 6 qualifiers and would place in top 5 for this round, you would definitely be very lucky in terms of quality . Then again RNG is RNG, and quality is what matters here in the first place, so I keep my fingers crossed for you that you do indeed finish in the top 5 .

For reference: here are the scores of last year's RFL round 1. It's hard to compare, since this year we have far more runners, but I'd say you'll need at least the 65 points Locohead had last year to place in top 5. But probably more, since Gripphon returned and the rest of the top runners joined this round again, fueled by Gripphon's presence to do even better than last year. So my guess is that you need 100+ or close to 100 points for top 3, 70+ for top 5.

You bastid, my false hope is shattered lol. Jezzus, look at all those Zod's..... Here i thought i had a decent score.

Well it's over for me, i'm kinda shocked of the end of the second set - got a 5th, but definitely not a Zod.

My best score will be on first batch, by... 0.6point. Can't say more, going to send PM and make the video for second set results.

GL for the ones who are still running !

You bastid, my false hope is shattered lol. Jezzus, look at all those Zod's..... Here i thought i had a decent score.

Well, last year's round was exceptional. That, combined with the fact that I was one of the lucky people to find a Zod and the fact that Gripphon returned this year, probably got me carried away too much.

For reference, check the 2017 cow round results here. Not a single Zod, only 2x Cham and not a single Ber. One score 100+, second spot 'only' had 74 points. Admittedly, also less participants, but it just shows how much RNG may vary.

So keep the faith. Who knows you still end up in a top spot. O, and one more thing to make you feel better: my score this year is lower than that of last year .

... O, and one more thing to make you feel better: my score this year is lower than that of last year .

Mine is much better

Spoiler

Got here in january !

5 hours down.

Running with this setup:

Spoiler

Griffon's 'Cham'
2/20 amulet
HHG facet/facet/IAS/@
Enigma
Titan's
3/20 gloves
2x FCR, ML, LL rings
Silkweave
Razor

CtA/34 Spirit switch for 99 FCF
Might Merc, Infinity, ebug Fortitude, Andy

I rolled a nice new map for her and started to collect some data. The map is quite suitable for counting with XP method because it has a very low average number of bosses and there is very little variance in XP gain. Initial numbers:

Spoiler

As for XP method, from what I observed at this point I think the real number in terms of bosses/champions/minions killed is somewhere between the 80% and 90% figures. In any case I'm pretty sure it's not below 75% or above 90%, so I ran the numbers for all of these scenarios. Turns out it doesn't make too much of a difference, 3-6 Cows per minute.

Unless I screwed up somewhere, XP and rune drop methods are relatively close to one another so far. But I will keep counting runes in particular, I was lazy and stopped after 63 consecutive runs. Think I'll only revisit the XP method towards the end of this round, makes more sense since I'm still learning where the density tends to be on the new map: The below runs were recorded some 2.5 hours after the above tests, and already were a little more efficient with faster run times (2m45s) and higher XP gain per run.

 

[Vildecor]

8 hours left, should be able to finish this set, or come very close. Motivation is definitely better now. Only had 1 qualifier in first 8 hours, now it looks like I'll definitely have at least 5. It feels like I'm finally getting the hang of running cows. Herding feels much better and more natural, and I now have far fewer merc deaths, even under Amp.

best non-qualifiers:
its from 10 hours, unfortunately I will not be able to finish entire batch. too bored with it and irritated by the results

Ruby Jewel
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x63cc9672
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
40% Enhanced Damage

Stoneraven
Matriarchal Spear
Two Hand Damage: 329 - 482
Durability: 15 of 15
Required Level: 64
Required Strength: 104
Required Dexterity: 132
Fingerprint: 0xf507d9cf
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
240% Enhanced Damage
Adds 101 - 187 Magic Damage
+449 Defense
All Resistances +31
Ethereal

Superior Scarab Husk
Defense: 546
Durability: 31 of 31
Required Level: 51
Required Strength: 95
Fingerprint: 0x1892fe72
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Enhanced Defense
Increase Maximum Durability 12%

Kraken Shell
Defense: 772
Durability: 25 of 25
Required Level: 61
Required Strength: 164
Fingerprint: 0xf9b9e5e0
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Ethereal

Sparking Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x5ba03dc6
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Lightning Skills (Sorceress Only)

Monarch
Defense: 208
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 44 of 44
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 146
Fingerprint: 0x86dedb30
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Ethereal
4 Sockets (0 used)

Shimmering Grand Charm of Dexterity
Grand Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x2e1a10d0
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+4 to Dexterity
All Resistances +14

Expert's Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xc154b0c8
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)

Akaran Rondache
Defense: 120
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 18 of 30
Required Level: 30
Required Strength: 59
Fingerprint: 0xe4746710
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +43

Natural Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x7d35d6c6
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Elemental Skills (Druid Only)

The profitable approach to these events is not to care about the score. Focus on trolling instead!

Well, last year's round was exceptional. That, combined with the fact that I was one of the lucky people to find a Zod and the fact that Gripphon returned this year, probably got me carried away too much.

I skipped last year because I knew Zod will become a new El. This year, however, no one will find Zod. Except for 4 players. Let's round to 5.

Behold, update on major favorites to win the first round are here!

Spoiler

1. ffs
His Javazon is named Rocky. Like Balboa, except she's actually cute.

2. Babyhell
It is pretty evident he found something huge which he is eager to share with all of us. Along with those 5 Ber runes that aren't even in his top 5.

3. sir_cyclops
Aims to top 5 with his score which means he is only one Zod short from breaking the record!

Results sent. Only managed 13 hours with meager returns. Started running AT for a change of pace and a Sur drops. Figures...

Interesting finds:

Boneflame
Succubus Skull
Defense: 338
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 11 of 20
Required Level: 72
Required Strength: 95
Fingerprint: 0xa3ce50b1
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
15% Chance to cast level 3 Terror when struck
+3 to Necromancer Skill Levels
+20% Faster Run/Walk
+130% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +27

Dread Shank
Sharkskin Boots
Defense: 48
Durability: 12 of 14
Required Level: 38
Required Strength: 47
Fingerprint: 0x9a9a2fab
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+20% Enhanced Defense
+8 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +22%
Fire Resist +36%

Lion Branded Grand Charm of Vita
Grand Charm
Required Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0x7f7b05cd
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only)
+39 to Life

Entrapping Grand Charm of Sustenance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 53
Fingerprint: 0x61ba2e53
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+35 to Life

Blood Eye
Amulet
Required Level: 30
Fingerprint: 0xe1bc9ba8
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+2 to Poison and Bone Skills (Necromancer Only)
+5 to Life
All Resistances +14
28% Extra Gold from Monsters

@EatSleepDiablov2 wow. those skillers! nice!

@Gripphon I don't about me as a "major favorite to win"... more like "favorite to place top 7"

My prediction, with how fluid that necro play from grip was in the video he posted, is that both of grips score will be in the top 5. I am actually a little bit intimidated by @ffs' late start though. A final epic push by him to win would be pretty dramatic... and it seems like RFL is a place where magic happens.

Easy guys, I got nothing but garbage for the first 6 hours and still not sure I'll manage a set... I'm trying, though.

Also, do you hear that sound? That's @NanoMist typing the following PM to @Grape:

Zod 71.81
Zod 71.81
Zod 71.81
Zod 71.81
Zod 71.81

Total: 359.05

Thanks for hosting. I was mildly entertained.

New to SPF here, going to be doing some fresh chars and saw this RFL thread. Looks like I may have to get a sorc going for round 2 Not a time warper and still play some Bnet so it'll be 1.14d for me. I will watch for the round 2 sign up.

Easy guys, I got nothing but garbage for the first 6 hours

That's what she said. Zod may as well be a garbage, although worth a lot of points. Gratz on all those Zods!

Nicely spotted about NanoMist. He is currently trying to finish his fifth set and has no time to talk.

Hi guys, I see my inbox has many new messages!

Keep them coming, I'll check them after this round is over. Have to keep this interesting, cause it would be pretty dull to see WoRG messaging me about his Cham while I'm still celebrating my fresh 1.07 Zod :S

Good luck to all us who are still running! You can expect the results thread during the weekend. I won't be able to put it up during the Friday, but PLEASE, drop me a PM IMMEDIATELY after you have finished

@Drixx you are now added to the first post as well

Spoiler

1. ffs
His Javazon is named Rocky. Like Balboa, except she's actually cute.

2. Babyhell
It is pretty evident he found something huge which he is eager to share with all of us. Along with those 5 Ber runes that aren't even in his top 5.

3. sir_cyclops
Aims to top 5 with his score which means he is only one Zod short from breaking the record!

Oh yes i can't wait... but maybe it wouldn't be that huge for you all machines, and in the end it is not even in my best set, and i'm so disappointed by that fact ! On top of that, i was so close to miss it that it adds to my personnal feelings !

Anyway, i couldn't be more hyped than this first RFL round ever for me with my first serious ever Amazon whatever the drops would be but... as i got some, how can't i share there - vids are ready, uploaded on private mode, can't make anything more than training for second round now, and try to get as much fun with my brand new Barb

Easy guys, I got nothing but garbage for the first 6 hours and still not sure I'll manage a set... I'm trying, though.

Also, do you hear that sound? That's @NanoMist typing the following PM to @Grape:

Zod 71.81
Zod 71.81
Zod 71.81
Zod 71.81
Zod 71.81

Total: 359.05

Thanks for hosting. I was mildly entertained.

I got exposed!! Still not enough to beat those 1.07 scores though..

No, this is something quite different. It's just a little simulator that puts X rune drops through the basic math/sequence of the rune calculation. ...

Blah, blah, blah...

So no overall drop odds, just odds given that a rune has dropped. Its fun and can be much quicker that slogging through a bunch of math for different scenarios.

I put it up on a free hosting site here. I think its most interesting to see what havoc an RNG can create.

While I'm at it, here is the cubing calculator. Again, math can get you the same info but sometimes its more fun to play around with the data a bit.

I'm not a web designer so nothing is pretty but its all javascript based so if you're interested, all the guts are there under 'View page source'.

@jjscud on the first link, on the left side, did you mean “runes to drop” instead of “HRs to drop”?

Edit: also, clearing drops doesn’t work for me. For debugging info, I’m in safari on iPhone.

can't make anything more than training for second round now, and try to get as much fun with my brand new Barb

I'm also preparing for second round to make up the points from this first round. I thought about using barb, however I can't be bothered to roll a perfect map for him. Instead I'll go with sorc. Again, for the millionth time. I won't pick anything up to have as easy running as possible which I really need to finish the Travincal round properly.

I did a new vid for the thread I'm planning to open about her before the second round, but may as well share it now. She's not entirely terrible I think. Sub 16s running.

Yup, I should reroll maps for Travincal ...

Past the half-way point. A little Necro action in between. He was fun and had a good run of 10 minutes – then he died and I didn't have the runes for Insight to replace IG. That guy is so squishy. Anyway back to Java for now, tried a brief stint on P5... but as expected, P7 is more efficient for her.

Gripphon 2017: "Trust me guys I tried 14k Blizzard and it's not faster at all." Gripphon 2019: "LOL just kidding".

15 second runs, seriously? And here my goal was to finally get sub-18s more consistently. As @T72on1 said, the map rolling is on.

Gogogo roll dat maps!
Well, this is 15.7k damage setup. Compared to standard setup which has 10.7k damage, this one makes it around 0.5 seconds faster and also more fragile which is why I use resist boots and not standard War Travelers.

Sub 16s running.

RIP Round 2

@Gripphon that video is insane.

I rolled maps for about an hour and managed to get all the council on the left balcony only a single time, but they were spread out along it. The search continues.

Edit: someone needs to make a budget trav blizz guide.

I rolled a good map after some 10 minutes. Going to keep it, even though it's not Grippgodly. All members are on the left side of the left balcony, just not as tight as with Gripph's insane map. Currently erring on the safe side, so HotO, Shako and a Dwarf Star instead of DFathom, Nightwing's Veil and second SoJ. Gives me 7.5K Blizzard. I don't understand how you get to such high amount of damage, since I have an inventory full of skillers (except for 1 1x4 empty row and 1 Gheeds) and all the +skills I can muster.

Anyway, some test runs put me at 23.2 sec avg, 18.5 sec fastest run. Last year I finished with an average of 23.6 sec, so I should be just as fast as then, which is nice.

 

[Vildecor]

@sir_cyclops
I will include budget setups in mat thread, although not before weekend. Hoto, Shako, Vipermagi and usual stuff is enough to make fast running. With sorc it's almost all in the map. I can do sub 20s running with 5k blizzard sorc on my map to give an idea how important map actually is.

@T72on1
Because of combination of perfect Fathom, Blizzard Ormus and Nightwing's. They give % cold damage which scales it into the sky. Not to mention I use 9 skillers because I'll pick up only unique rings, amulets and jewels.

For standard running I'd still favor typical Fathom/Shako/CoH ( or Vipermagi) combo. This one is only for low profit style of GIEBMEALLCHAMS. You guys will get good charms and jewels, I'll get likely nothing except rocks.

@Gripphon big question I never see addressed directly. Is budget blizzy worth messing with without infinity? Could I for example get 25s runs at 10/11 efficiency pretty easy (from leaving toorc). If so, that might be better than my barb I'm planning on using.

@Gripphon big question I never see addressed directly. Is budget blizzy worth messing with without infinity? Could I for example get 25s runs at 10/11 efficiency pretty easy (from leaving toorc). If so, that might be better than my barb I'm planning on using.

To be honest, I don't know the answer. I think it depends where is Toorc positioned. If he is in front of everyone, he will block all your spells except Blizzard. If he is behind, then, in theory, sorc should kill everyone else very fast. Without Infinity I wouldn't bother casting Static Field, but I'd spam Glacial after Blizzard to kill faster. Or maybe even some fancy combination with Frost Nova. Just an idea which I didn't test.

If barb has dual Grief, then he is in theory better than sorc can be without Infinity.

Omfg i'm around 1'10 with barb, even if it's not the same map and i take some time for horking...will have to reroll for better map !!!

I used to run with Insight and skip Torc. I have had maps where he spawned inside, while the rest spawned on the balcony. So 10/11 25s runs are definitely possible.

@Gripphon and if you have none of grief, infinity, enigma, but are determined to participate in round 2 at all costs?
@T72on1 sounds like that's the way to go then, though I was hoping to use the barb for something rather than blizz sorc all the time.

I'll probably experiment with both still just to see what I can do. So let's "pretend" I didn't make grief or enigma from my massive round 1 haul, but still want to see what I can do with the barb (I might consider doing the round with him with runs over a minute, but prob not with runs over 1:30). I also do not have reapers. Possible? Impossible?

Is lawbringer worth considering? Or is the higher cold dmg as compared to reapers just a deal breaker for barb? If it is worth considering at all, I was going to ask if a lawbringer a5 merc for decrepify might be better even with forgoing the might aura. However I would imagine in this case it would be better to go frenzy with lawbringer+oath and use a might merc. Any thoughts on this?

And if the answer is lawbringer is awful from just too much freeze length, then will the barb killing at half speed (from no decrepify) be too big a deal when the runs are already long from no enigma? Thought about trying out a zealot as well, but he would have no cta so I imagine would feel too squishy, and would a frenzy barb really be worse than zealot when he has FI?

Anyways I'm sure the "correct" answer is hit LK like a madman next week, but I'll just try and enjoy my undergeared attempts at participating since I (hope I) will be geared enough for decent setups next year. So it's kind of a fun challenge that I doubt I'll ever have to mess with again.

New tests show that map is completely irrelevant for running:

I really don't know why OBS cut off the part where I show off my items! Doesn't matter, all you need to know: 20k damage

It's 1 am and I'm 4 hours in... better get going.

I noticed Grip did have two beta BKWB for rings, each one with a +2 to skills, and the +to life is a bonus , and those boots are ridiculous.

@jjscud on the first link, on the left side, did you mean “runes to drop” instead of “HRs to drop”?

Edit: also, clearing drops doesn’t work for me. For debugging info, I’m in safari on iPhone.

The left should say HRs to Drop. It will run sequences of drops until it finds a rune as high or higher than specified below. It will repeat this the number of times in the top box and tell you the average number of runes it dropped before finding a rune as high or higher than the specified rune. Below it will also list the runes 'dropped' on the last test set.

The clearing does work, its not meant to clear the page, just clear the memory so the next test is fresh. I.E. if I run the test straight runes drop on the right for 200 runes 5 times, the results are for 1000 rune drops.

My Friends,

If you did a grind through almost all your allocated set time without a decent drop, do not despair. There is still time remaining to finish your set, the RNG gods may reward you handsomely!

I'll probably experiment with both still just to see what I can do. So let's "pretend" I didn't make grief or enigma from my massive round 1 haul, but still want to see what I can do with the barb (I might consider doing the round with him with runs over a minute, but prob not with runs over 1:30). I also do not have reapers. Possible? Impossible?

Is lawbringer worth considering? Or is the higher cold dmg as compared to reapers just a deal breaker for barb? If it is worth considering at all, I was going to ask if a lawbringer a5 merc for decrepify might be better even with forgoing the might aura. However I would imagine in this case it would be better to go frenzy with lawbringer+oath and use a might merc. Any thoughts on this?

And if the answer is lawbringer is awful from just too much freeze length, then will the barb killing at half speed (from no decrepify) be too big a deal when the runs are already long from no enigma? Thought about trying out a zealot as well, but he would have no cta so I imagine would feel too squishy, and would a frenzy barb really be worse than zealot when he has FI?

Anyways I'm sure the "correct" answer is hit LK like a madman next week, but I'll just try and enjoy my undergeared attempts at participating since I (hope I) will be geared enough for decent setups next year. So it's kind of a fun challenge that I doubt I'll ever have to mess with again.

Travbarb is doable with budget gear. I started mine with dual 'Oath' + 'Duress' with a Naj's Puzzler on switch until I got 'Grief's & 'Enigma'. It's not optimal, but doing so helped me get those RWs, definitely. TBH though, I already had Reaper's at that point, so I'm not sure about how anything else works, aside from theorycraft... which I happen to have oodles of

A polearm/spear of a good basetype with CtC Amp, 40%IAS, & 2os could potentially be a workable substitute. Could even be a rare, or ethereal (or both ), and have damage worth mentioning, but really that is secondary consideration to being fast and providing curse. Has the benefit of maintaining Might Aura as well. Also, wouldn't have cold damage to worry about (hopefully...). Biggest limiter is attack speed, as the Amp proc is only 5%, and area is tiny, so you would want it going off as fast and often as possible. That said, Amp would be better than Decrep, in theory...

Never tried the barb merc with 'Lawbringer' at Trav, but I am a huge fan of that route on my Windy! Good thing is barb mercs normal attack hits twice for every animation, so with less focus on IAS he should still proc Decrep pretty quick. I could see the cold damage being an issue, but I think you could minimize it by making the 'Lawbringer' in a low damage or even just normal base. That way he rarely even kills the one, and hopefully would stay engaged with that one, while still triggering Decrep. Problem with that would be the barb's AI, which is much more sensitive to the characters movements (ime), so he may not stick on the one and have half the Council frozen. Also, lack of Might Aura may nerf damage too much, especially considering lack of 'Grief'...

RIP Round 2

Sub-16s run? It takes me that long to scan the loot.

Okay now the game is just taunting me. Less than an hour left on the clock:


I guess the RNG gods have a sense of humour. At least it is a grailer.

Finally managed to squeeze out the last few runs...glad I did, got a nice qualifier, hadn't seen one in almost 8 hours...

I thought I was looking forward to round two, but...16 seconds? Damn, thats fast.... dunno if hork can make up for that sorta speed...

WoRG

To be around the same perf with a 50% hork, how fast a barb should be ? Guess it is around 16s+8s bonus time due to horking additional drops ?

@Luhkoh I'd think that the Decrep is essential in Travincal, not only for damage output, but also for safety, both for you and the merc. So I suspect that Lawbringer will be the way to go, probably best on your merc in that case, if you can have at least dual Oath on your Barb.

For efficiency a budget Blizz Sorc will be much better though. Like I said in one of my previous posts, I ran Travincal with an Insight merc for a very long time. It means you'll have to leave at least Toorc and sometimes a second member untouched, but that would still be much faster and more efficient than the Barb with the gear you have, I'd think. The gear for the Sorc shouldn't be too hard to scramble together. What's more important, is that you have ways to keep your merc alive there. Steel Shade helm, or Guardian Angel / Kira's combo, or even Reaper's if that is what it takes to keep him alive.

As for the Sorc, I'm not sure what you have, but there are a lot of combos possible.

Also don't forget that, even though /p3 is the best setting to run the Council, if you are struggling too much at that setting, it might be worth it to tune down to /p1. That could save you a lot of issues as well.

@art_vandelay Nice map for a case where all members are inside the building. But I'd still reroll until you have one where they all spawn on the left side of the left balcony.

@all Gripphgod is definitely back. Inhuman runs, and some nifty trolling on top of it. Don't let him misguide you. No mortal can play D2 as fast as he can. But fear not: it's all in the RNG in the end. And RNG is where we'll beat him, with the blessing of the ZodGod .

Seriously people, don't focus too much on that run times. It will drive you nuts. We have a few people here who can do sub 20s runs. Trust me, they couldn't in their earlier days either, when they didn't have the knowledge, skill and gear they do now. I admire them a lot for what they can achieve, but try to focus on my own possibilities. If I can improve on my own run times and run technique in general, I'm happy, even if it means I'm still slower then the top runners here. Watch their videos, try to learn from them, but only from a 'I'm trying to improve myself' point of view, not from a 'I want that Ferrari to replace my BMW' point of view.

Also, their faster run times mean that statistically they have higher chances to find the qualifiers and win the round. But in the end, and I can't stress this enough, don't underestimate the factor luck. When I won last year's round 1, I hit 4:00 min avg runs, maybe even a little bit slower, while the fastest runners do 2:30 - 2:50. But the runes kept on dropping, and more important: the quality of the runes was very high. A Lo and Ohm didn't even make it into my top 5. And quality > quantity is definitely true for this type of competition, where only top 5 counts. For comparison (a little spoiler, but not too much), this year I found 3 more qualifiers than last year. But I'm not even close to last year's score. Which is no surprise obviously, you don't find two Zods every single time . But just to show: it's all quality of drops that matters, and luck plays a big role in this.

So keep the faith, don't let Gripphon's posts discourage you to such an extent that you already want to give up. He likes some good old trolling, the problem is that his 16s run videos aren't even part of that, but just the plain truth. But even then, we can beat him, and all other Travbots out there. With the blessing of the ZodGod, we can. We do have that blessing, right?

@T72on1 Yeah the fact that they spawn close together is the one redeeming quality of that map! It's also the map she had when I put the equip onto her, so I won't complain about it

Luckily I had the foresight to rush up two travincal sorcs, so I can reroll without losing this semi-decent map.

Anyway I leveled her from 89 to 90 on it and it's very very tiring (but somehow fun) to play that kind of map. You are in constant danger of dying and so is your merc. Even a perfect Steelshade will only keep him alive for so long because in the Steelshade/Fortitude/Infinity Setup the Hydras won't heal him like Hellmouth/Rising Sun would heal you. My Steelshade is +8 absorb and it is definitely not like +10/11. Also no CBF yet.


I would definitvely give Gripphon a definitve edge in this round. Cham is not like Zod in terms of points and can't put you in top spot as easily as Zod could. That being said: If we all do our best he won't even make top 5

7.5 hours to go. Rescheduling things planned for today to tomorrow. Ran a little wth Nova Sorc as well, though I’ll stick with Java for the remainder of the round. Almost forgot how much fun it is to play her and I’m happy with her efficiency.

For real what @T72on1 said. Efficiency doesn't win tournaments. Look at @Gripphon, he had super fast runs and even did 2 sets, and yet apparantly his score this round pissed him off so much that he went into 15s Trav rampage mode. You need way above average luck with drops to win tournaments (or rounds), and that has very little to do with speed.

I said it elsewhere, but for me the fun in tournaments is to try and improve my own play. It's the only thing I can influence, everything else is just a side product. I'm not exactly on track to get a good score for this round, but I'm happy because I'm improving. (Not that I'm not complaining about drop quality, I definitely am. )

@T72on1 @ffs yes you are right, but discovering that something can be done that fast can shock a bit improvements are the infos to be gathered from that, like map seed systems, specific stuff optimization on the long run...#learning

And i fully support your points on RNG: in my case, the best drop of first set was on one of my worst run, not focused at all, and the other best drop of the second set was really close to be missed...wouldn't even ever think i could drop it at that time !

 

[Vildecor]

Don't be discouraged, instead use the video demonstrations as basis to improve own running. In earlier days there were no great video demonstrations to learn from and knowledge was much lower, limits of the game were unknown or very underestimated. I wanted to show what is possible to do with the right conditions and how to achieve the right conditions.

To win you have to have luck, not super efficient running. Winning odds of 23s sorc is almost as high as of 16s sorc in top 5 runes format.

To compare barb with sorc, divide his runtimes with this number:

(Hork% * 1.11) +1

We could include the fact cold damage from Reaper's shatters one corpse in x runs, but this is for general comparison.

Thanks guys lot's of very helpful stuff

@zemaj ctc amp rare is a very interesting idea. I think it would take too much time to proc and lack of slow and dr compared to decrep would make lawbringer merc might be a better option, but I'll have to test it soon! Maybe I don't quite understand the chilling mechanics. If the lawbringer merc hits an enemy and procs decrep, then they'll be chilled (and for a long time as compared to reapers), but whether they are killed by the merc or myself, they should have a 20% chance of shattering correct? So I don't think a lower dmg base would help, but the only lawbringer i have current made is in a phase plade, so if it is an advantage I have that to use.

I really was thinking the oath lawbringer frenzy barb would be a good idea since i get decrep and might, but I ran some numbers on it this morning, and it looks to me to be the worst option since the lawbringer dmg is just too low. So I'll definitely spec to ww and give it a go, and worst case scenario is it doesn't work and he's parked till reapers.

@T72on1 I'm definitely starting to agree decrep will be 100% necessary. I'll try out a lawbringer merc, and shouldn't lose anything if it doesn't work well since he'll be ready to resume his council battle when reapers is found. If I can't get him to safeish sub 80s runs, I'll definitely go your route and use the blizzy. I had quested a necro thinking I could do an inefficient round 1 with him, predictably figuring out it was terrible with no cta/enigma, and so I ended up using blizz sorc for all of round 1. If I end up having to do the exact same procedure for round 2 that will be fine and I'll still have fun, but I don't want to, and that's why I'm motivated to make a less efficient barb work. And after finding the bases in round 1, I do have dual oath for the barb... but they rolled 202 and 234 -.- haha further making this a challenge. I will be hitting meph up all next week, so I may find reapers, but don't feel I can count on having it by start of round 2.

I finished my set! Score has been sent, not it's time to really get down to running Eleanor and see if I can shift some gear around to lower her times a bit. So far I'm still hanging around 18-19s if I'm not too picky with drops.

Here's a video from a couple RFLs back for those interested, and still holds pretty true.

Best of luck to everyone in this round and the next! Looking forward to the results thread.

I'll probably be running Trav w/ my pNova necro again. He's just so much better than all my other characters at killing clumps of enemies fast. My barb if i respec'd him to WW could be a good one, but i really don't want to lose his maps to respec, as he's a pretty beastly pit zerker right now. Unfortunately i don't have any spare chars to reroll maps with. I suppose i could respec my Meteorb Tals sorc and go for a blizz sorc... but i've never played a blizz sorc so i don't know if i'd want to go into an RFL completely new to a character.

My Travincal performance is already a lot better now! However that +8 Steelshade and no CBF is really noticable on the merc, especially when I lose damage because I use Goldfind Equip.

I've thought about socketing the Steelshade with a Vex (not available yet) since I don't have a Cham and I would think twice about Cham'ing a +8 Steelshade. Are there any other good options I'm not seeing? (Maybe Gladiator's with a Ral?)

From a pure damage reduction perspective Steelshade 'Vex' is better than the Cham version, but only slightly. Using this excellent post by onderduiker I made a little Hydra Damage Calc:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18AlDUJ14IRFWpgraX179KfTAZ2moY3h-eDr1Pn8VY0E/edit?usp=sharing

It's pretty insane how strong the Steelshade and Kira's Guardian Angel Setups actually are compared to other options.

Finally done and results pm'd. Also died on the final run (umpteenth time, though) and decided that was the sign for me to quit. Maybe twenty secods short of 20 hours.

Aaaaah I am relieved!

Maybe I don't quite understand the chilling mechanics. If the lawbringer merc hits an enemy and procs decrep, then they'll be chilled (and for a long time as compared to reapers), but whether they are killed by the merc or myself, they should have a 20% chance of shattering correct? So I don't think a lower dmg base would help, but the only lawbringer i have current made is in a phase plade, so if it is an advantage I have that to use.

The low damage 'Lawbringer' was about the merc never killing his target, hopefully meaning he never targets more than one council, so he doesn't chill more than one or two per run, reducing shattered corpses. As I said, this really hinges on AI not getting pulled around by char movements as well. Also his Bash skill will Knockback, so it may all be a moot point... maybe hire the act5 merc in Hell difficulty so he will have lesser chance of using Bash (incidentally, I do this anyway as I want him using standard Attack, which as mentioned, hits twice per animation)

And that's me done with batch 2 and this round - and cows for a while. I'm glad I managed to complete the Cow King's set by finding the Horns towards the end of my 2nd batch, so I don't have to go back in there in MP games to repeatedly kill the king with my sorc, as I did before my hiatus and restart. Also got lots of crafting materials out of this round, so that's a plus, too.

Thanks for the results so far, I've now received 20 PMs, and we have around 30 players. Some are still playing, but if you're finished please sen me the results ASAP

It will be really really interesting to read through all these messages!

Looking for the next round much already! Sign-up and running thread will be up this weekend.

Results send in. Ended up being about 2 hours shy of the 20 hour mark. Next year I will learn my lesson and not push 6 hours in 1 day and take a 3 week break!

I'm done, results sent.

It's over here in France. Disclosure waiting next evening if some other people still have time in their countries... already Grape told me i was in top 30

Spoiler

Or close to...

...we have around 30 players...

I'll probably be running Trav w/ my pNova necro again. He's just so much better than all my other characters at killing clumps of enemies fast. My barb if i respec'd him to WW could be a good one, but i really don't want to lose his maps to respec, as he's a pretty beastly pit zerker right now. Unfortunately i don't have any spare chars to reroll maps with. I suppose i could respec my Meteorb Tals sorc and go for a blizz sorc... but i've never played a blizz sorc so i don't know if i'd want to go into an RFL completely new to a character.

Blizzard sorc for trav is super easy to get used to in my opinion, so I wouldn't be too concerned about this. Since you basically use 2 skills (not counting teleport and buffs) it's extremely easy to get going and with a reliable spawn it's a no-brainer to run.

Give it a try!

Blizzard sorc for trav is super easy to get used to in my opinion, so I wouldn't be too concerned about this. Since you basically use 2 skills (not counting teleport and buffs) it's extremely easy to get going and with a reliable spawn it's a no-brainer to run.

Give it a try!

I can confirm it's kinda no brain, but you need some damage...i could get mine to 5k+ at lvl 80, 4 skillers - can add two plain or with useless stats, with a mix tal set parts/Hoto spirit/WT/cta spirit on switch. Maybe i should at least go LK running a bit to get an Infinity to be efficient enough - too squishy and low for p3 for now, or at least i don't feel it as i can with the barb...

Well, I ran like crazy and managed just over 19 hours. Close enough... Pretty disgusted with my score though, that was some messed up RNG this time around. I'll start training for 14s Travincal runs now.

Drop quality aside, I was happy to get back to some D2 action after 3 months cold turkey! And boy Java is fun running cows with. Really happy I decided to make that current setup of hers last year. Run times were averaging just under 2m40s in the end when running with peak concentration. Regarding efficiency, here's what the different counting approaches suggested as kills per minute:

XP gain method: ~162 (P7), ~182 (P5).
Rune drop method: ~178 (P7), ~200 (P5).

More detailed version:

Spoiler

The numbers are based on the following sample sizes:

• 198 runs of counting rune drops
• 18 runs of tracking XP gain and run times
• 20 runs of counting boss/champion packs
• 20 runs of killing Rakanishu to get average XP provided (makes it easier to use XP method)
• 10 runs of counting kills of bosses and champions in recordings

For the further tests I adjusted the XP method a little and subtracted fewer monsters than earlier. That's because the rune drop method continued to suggest more kills than what is suggested by XP gain method. I thought it could be due to extra drops from champions/bosses (which I didn't take into account with rune drop method), so I wanted to count how many of them I usually kill.

So I recorded and reviewed 10 runs. I realized that, on the contrary, I actually skip way more champions and bosses than I had thought. In fact I killed only ~40% of the bosses and ~25% of the champions in these runs. That explains a good part of the different results across the two counting methods. For minions I have no way of knowing for sure, but based on those 10 reviewed runs and skipping isolated packs, I think 80% is a pretty good estimate.

Rune method still suggests more kills than XP method. It could either be too high due to drop variance, or the XP method number could be a little low because I kill less than 80% of minions. Maybe somewhere in between?

I should also note that I ended up skipping the cow king altogether. Like @Gripphon observed, if the portal spawns near him, there are no regular cows directly around him. So even though he can safely be hit with Java, more often than not it's just his 8 minions, which isn't really worth it on its own.

I think I pretty much reached my limits with Cow Java. Don't think I can improve her much in terms of gameplay or gear (apart from some "nice to have" secondary stats)... Next RFL cow round I'll probably go with another character.

In the same vein as @peytron I decided to try to get at least 15 hours with the javazon. She just got a little more than an hour to hit 15 hours exactly, and I'm done. Results sent.

Best non-qualifier (recall, she's untwinked) was a second Titans:

At +180% damage, a significant upgrade over the first set (163). Next best as 27% RJoF that replaced Ral in the merc's Andy's:

Other useful finds were 15@ Shimmering GC (which will be handy) and a 27@ Mara's. Aside from that, I will echo @T72on1 and @Gripphon that it's all about RNG, and mine was, um, less than stellar Not even a full set of qualifiers, just as a teaser . . .

Good luck to any others who are still running. Looking forward to the results!

Edit: And it was fun to catch up on the posts over the last several days. Limited time available has gone to playing, so I hadn't kept up. Great videos, theorycrafting, and trolling

When you have 13 hours to finish a batch, don't do it in one sitting, mkay.

These would be the highlights, I guess...

@Shuffleblast That Fungal GC of Vita !!! The Ravenfrost isn't shabby either.

@ffs Crazy that you still managed almost a full set !!

@Babyhell Infinity only matters for the CI Council members (Toorc, sometimes 1 other), for the rest your CM should get the enemy down to max -res. So it's important, but not that much of a deal breaker. It also won't help with being squishy. That is mostly a matter of you and especially the merc being too low level. So your best bet is to do some /p8 Pindle runs until you have gained some levels, say level 87+ or so.

It's over here in France. Disclosure waiting next evening if some other people still have time in their countries... already Grape told me i was in top 30

Spoiler

Or close to...

Just to make sure: don't post anything about your qualifiers here, even after the RFL is over for everyone. Only do so when Grape has posted the results, and do so in that thread.

I mainly seem to have noticed posts about people saying they had absolutely horrible luck. Trolling and as such a few 100+ scores confirmed . Looking forward to the results. Come on people, pm them to Grape, so we can have our ranking already !!!

Btw, I'm looking into doing round 2 with several characters. For example I might test out my Icezon there. She has a hard time getting her resists up though. Would it be possible to run Travincal with bad or even negative resists with a 1.07 LoH? Or isn't that enough?

Other characters I'm considering are Novamancer and WW Barb (I want to make one at some point, but for now I think I can respec one of my existing). I don't think any of the three mentioned will come close to my Blizz Sorc, but it might be a nice change of pace.

I guess i can wait until sunday just have to set the videos public, so i can reveal my io io ort tal thul drops !

 

[Vildecor]

Apologies, I've been working 16 hours a day to get data analysed for a meeting on Tuesday, so haven't finished my batch or sent my results. However, I had no qualifiers. Well done all I will be more involved in the Travincal round as I need to get Reuben to 93 so that I can park him as a crafter

I need to get Reuben to 93 so that I can park him as a crafter

Such is the lowly fate of poor Reuben. Well, someone has to do it.

@Shuffleblast My Necro would have killed for that skiller. Or any plain PnB skiller for that matter. 40 hours of cow running and not one of them. Last batch got me 3 Java skillers (one of them with +38 life), though. Maybe the game was trying to tell me something.

Ah yeah, non-qualifiers. Apart from some S&Us I really only picked up rare rings, SCs, GCs, Rals and Flawless Amethysts. A couple of goodies:

S&U:

Spoiler

Heaven's Light
Mighty Scepter
One Hand Damage: 151 - 197
Durability: 33 of 50
Required Level: 61
Required Strength: 125
Required Dexterity: 65
Fingerprint: 0x9849bf68
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+3 to Paladin Skill Levels
+20% Increased Attack Speed
279% Enhanced Damage
-33% Target Defense
+150% Damage to Undead
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
+17 Life after each Demon Kill
+3 to Light Radius 2 Sockets (0 used)

Cow King's Hide
Studded Leather
Defense: 57
Durability: 23 of 32
Required Level: 18
Required Strength: 27
Fingerprint: 0xe8115bc9
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
18% Chance to cast level 5 Chain Lightning when struck
+60% Enhanced Defense
+30 to Life
All Resistances +18

Cow King's Horns
War Hat
Defense: 126
Durability: 6 of 12
Required Level: 25
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0x10b2f118
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+75 Defense
Half Freeze Duration
Attacker Takes Damage of 10
35% Damage Taken Goes To Mana

Demonhorn's Edge
Destroyer Helm
Defense: 401
Durability: 37 of 45
Required Level: 61
Required Strength: 151
Fingerprint: 0x17ad7e21
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+3 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian Only)
+2 to Masteries Skills (Barbarian Only)
+2 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)
+10% Increased Attack Speed
6% Life stolen per hit
+156% Enhanced Defense
Attacker Takes Damage of 57

Stealskull
Casque
Defense: 227
Durability: 15 of 24
Required Level: 35
Required Strength: 59
Fingerprint: 0xb9fa50fd
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Increased Attack Speed
+10% Faster Hit Recovery
5% Mana stolen per hit
5% Life stolen per hit
+212% Enhanced Defense
49% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Rare rings:

Spoiler

Ghoul Whorl
Ring
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xce5f674
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+** to Attack Rating
+10 to Energy
+40 to Life
+** to Mana
Cold Resist +6%

Dread Whorl
Ring
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xc7c670c3
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+8 to Minimum Damage
5% Life stolen per hit
+32 to Life
Lightning Resist +6%
Fire Resist +9%
+1 to Mana after each Kill

Order Grasp
Ring
Required Level: 48
Fingerprint: 0x12c460c4
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Cast Rate
5% Bonus to Attack Rating
+31 to Attack Rating
Replenish Life +4
All Resistances +10
+5 to Light Radius

Skillers (non with life...)

Spoiler

Burning Grand Charm of Craftmanship
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x6d741fc1
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Fire Skills (Sorceress Only)
+1 to Maximum Damage

Chilling Grand Charm of Blight
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x8e2cba7b
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Cold Skills (Sorceress Only)
Adds 6 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)

Expert's Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x1cdf371
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)

Natural Grand Charm of Pestilence
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xbe1a22ad
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
Adds 25 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)

Sparking Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x7bfb3576
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to Lightning Skills (Sorceress Only)

Sparking Grand Charm of Storms
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xf1aed5
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Lightning Skills (Sorceress Only)
Adds 1 - 22 Lightning Damage
Trainer's Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xc47986ae
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to Summoning Skills (Druid Only)

Harpoonist's Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x52d9f736
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)

Harpoonist's Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xab2939ec
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)

Other charms:

Spoiler

Fine Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0x342ac33
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Maximum Damage
+15 to Attack Rating
+13 to Life

Sharp Grand Charm of Dexterity
Grand Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0x17d2d79
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+9 to Maximum Damage
+70 to Attack Rating
+3 to Dexterity

Coral Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0xde8b79b8
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
Lightning Resist +8%

Emerald Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x1b2f3584
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
Poison Resist +10%


Steel Grand Charm of Sustenance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x78bde445
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+93 to Attack Rating
+21 to Life

Fine Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0x83f8b6e5
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+3 to Maximum Damage
+14 to Attack Rating

@Shuffleblast My Necro would have killed for that skiller. Or any plain PnB skiller for that matter. 40 hours of cow running and not one of them. Last batch got me 3 Java skillers (one of them with +38 life), though. Maybe the game was trying to tell me something.

I guess your necro did lots of that killing stuff, though. Well, I found several skillers including two plain pnb skillers. However, not a single chilling charm to boost my blizzard, of course, because I was after them. No lifers either. I really need to learn to practice those Jedi mind tricks Gripphon (if my memory serves) preaches about, and hope for the things I don't need while not dreaming about the ones I crave for...

(Okay, here goes. No Tal armor and amulet for me, please! Couldn't care less if my sorc finally found them. They'd just collect dust at my stash. I'd like some more Sigon.)

...
(Okay, here goes. No Tal armor and amulet for me, please! Couldn't care less if my sorc finally found them. They'd just collect dust at my stash. I'd like some more Sigon.)

May the Grip' be with you

Set done, no results sent as I didn't have a single qualifier... but then running 1.07 cows at /p1, I never really expected much. Non-qualifers weren't great either. Hope Trav round is better...

Briefly tested Icezon in Travincal. There's definitely potential. Not for super fast runs. But 23s avg or so should be possible. Unfortunately I couldn't really make it work so far, due to missing some key items to reach a good fcr breakpoint (mainly Griffon's and a good +2/fcr amulet).

Toorc is an issue though. Takes too long to kill.

@Shuffleblast That Fungal GC of Vita !!! The Ravenfrost isn't shabby either.

@Shuffleblast My Necro would have killed for that skiller. Or any plain PnB skiller for that matter. 40 hours of cow running and not one of them. Last batch got me 3 Java skillers (one of them with +38 life), though. Maybe the game was trying to tell me something.

My only necro is lvl 15 and he's a summoner. Off to the treasury.

Grip just roll a godly map in an MP game. Then I can join with all my runners so I don’t have to roll it myself.

Grip just roll a godly map in an MP game. Then I can join with all my runners so I don’t have to roll it myself.

Does this actually work?!

Everyone pretends to have a bad score. I'll be the first one to admit my score is breathtaking from a certain point of view. Be afraid, be very afraid.

EDIT
I'm trying to make screenshots of all qualifiers. There are only 32 that can be on the same screen. Dammit, I'll need 3 screenshots to cover all. Too much work.

Does this actually work?!

Yes, maps only reroll when you join an MP game. When you leave an MP Game you keep the map from that game.

Yeah @Gripphon what @maxicek said. You just roll an awesome map, then we all join... you don't want people to say you only won because you had the best map, do you?

EDIT: Just rolled maps with another Blizzy and found the identical twin of my other Blizzy's Travincal map. I guess I can start going back and forth with both now. Exciting times ahead.

Sounds good to me. Gotta get my rolling mojo back though.

I just checked last RFL I participated in. Mathematically best set for Travincal I ever did net me only 59.6 points. Slower characters have unfair advantage.

Everyone pretends to have a bad score. I'll be the first one to admit my score is breathtaking from a certain point of view. Be afraid, be very afraid.

EDIT
I'm trying to make screenshots of all qualifiers. There are only 32 that can be on the same screen. Dammit, I'll need 3 screenshots to cover all. Too much work.

No no, mine is very good - just could be better in the good 20hrs span (hrs...not hours ) !

From my point of view it is, but i certainly didn't need 3 screenshots to prepare the disclosure

I've been complaining about my drops, but looking at the LK vs Travincal vs Cows Rune Finding Guide and the numbers presented there - assuming they are correct - my drops have actually been above average.

I've been complaining about my drops, but looking at the LK vs Travincal vs Cows Rune Finding Guide and the numbers presented there - assuming they are correct - my drops have actually been above average.

Same here. I feel like my haul was not that great, but when I did a little predicted haul calc, I realized I should be happy:

Spoiler: Just calculated expectations

Also if you like messing with the runs to find a rune numbers you should check out the spreadsheet I made for it here, largely inspired/informed by griphhon's runefinding post. Sorry if that's too much tooting my own horn, but thought you might enjoy it!

Inside 5 runs after the end of RFL. Fitting. And Mal dropped very next run hehe.

Set done, no results sent as I didn't have a single qualifier... but then running 1.07 cows at /p1, I never really expected much. Non-qualifers weren't great either. Hope Trav round is better...

Your misery makes me kind of happy I only went 6 hours of doing that. Thanks!

 

[Vildecor]

SO.

Instead of answering all your PMs, one belated thanks for sending them and making this round awesome by playing and participating in whatever way or amount you could.

@DiabloTwoinDC @pharphis did you run? Zero points? (I'm surprised). Send me your 1.07 Zod mails asap.

Also @MizzouFTW @Smittyphi @Nexeis @Drixx send me your results/inform me if you didn't run. Sorry, I may have missed if you have said so during the thread.

Results will be up tomorrow, anyway. And I'm a bit shocked. I think I have an idea who won this round. Maybe you have as well? Maybe you don't. ZZZ... good night.

@Grape Sorry buddy I didn't run. Didn't get ready in time and ended up getting distracted by side projects. Possibly next year but hopefully I'll be playing Diablo 4 (lol)

I just checked last RFL I participated in. Mathematically best set for Travincal I ever did net me only 59.6 points. Slower characters have unfair advantage.

Agreed. This round I had the most efficient cow runs I've managed at this point, but that's certainly not reflected in the results.

As it appears we're already at Travincal Blizzy runs anyway, I think I've found my map after about 1.5 hours of rolling:

Best Trav map I've had so far. Initial runs at ~18.4s while picking things is not too bad. On old map last RFL it took a lot of effort to get sub 19s and that was with only picking qualifiers and super hectic/uncomfortable play. I'll try to roll something similar to Grip's jackpot map a bit more with the other Blizzy, but I'm happy to settle for this one if that doesn't work out.

@ffs you machine...even if i pop a map like this, and somehow hit that lvl of performance (that's the word !), no way i can be that focus on s&e/relaunching that fast for more than few minutes !

@ffs I can't really tell: do you use Enter + H or do you double click on the character and then press enter? And in the first case: is there a way that doesn't involve moving your left hand away from your ingame hotkeys?

I tested Arcane Sanctuary and with video analysis of 5 minutes killed total of 323 ghosts. Since each ghost counts as 3.5 other creeps, that would be like killing 226 creeps per minute. German calculator is down so I don't know do Arcane ghost drop same as CS ghosts and how to compare them to cows.

@Gripphon All Ghosts, Fingermages and Gloams drop from the Wraith TC which is basically independent of monster in Hell, only thing that changes is highest rune. Luckily Cows, Ghosts, Gloams and Fingermages go up to Zod and hence have identical Good TC.

As for odds: p5 Cow has 3/63 chance at good TC, p7 cow has 3/60 chance and p7 Ghost has 4/39 chance.

@art_vandelay By now I click and then hit H. Used to do the Enter + H thing also, it's not any slower but for me personally a bit more tedious for extended running.

@Gripphon Nice to see you checking out AS, which character are you running with? I also went about AS runs by counting monsters last year, some results are in this post. Apparently I concluded that 214 kills per minute in AS is equal to 143 (P7) or 157 (P5) cows per minute (but that includes non-ghost types). I'm pretty sure I used the GoMule calculator to compare that. Is there an issue with GoMule in this regard?

@ffs
I'm using fireball sorc. She is killing ghosts in one blow and can also kill everything with few fireballs although I avoid doing it. I don't know about gomule calc, didn't use it yet.

@art_vandelay
Thank you.

SO.

Instead of answering all your PMs, one belated thanks for sending them and making this round awesome by playing and participating in whatever way or amount you could.

@DiabloTwoinDC @pharphis did you run? Zero points? (I'm surprised). Send me your 1.07 Zod mails asap.

Also @MizzouFTW @Smittyphi @Nexeis @Drixx send me your results/inform me if you didn't run. Sorry, I may have missed if you have said so during the thread.

Results will be up tomorrow, anyway. And I'm a bit shocked. I think I have an idea who won this round. Maybe you have as well? Maybe you don't. ZZZ... good night.

Sorry, I didn't end up running at all.

Inside 5 runs after the end of RFL. Fitting. And Mal dropped very next run hehe.

Hehehe, this was like me finding a Cham the week before RFL started :'(

Here was my S/U haul... not bad. several grailers and some good items for characters i plan on making. Charms were kind of shit despite the massive amount i picked up and ID'd. Only 1 skiller and it was a barb Mastery charm, so not very useful. Got a 7 mf sc and a few vita sc's, but nothing to write home about.

Spoiler

Nightwing's Veil
Spired Helm
Defense: 304
Durability: 32 of 40
Required Level: 67
Required Strength: 96
Fingerprint: 0x3d19cf4e
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+14% to Cold Skill Damage
+90% Enhanced Defense
+16 to Dexterity
+7 Cold Absorb
Half Freeze Duration
Requirements -50%

Widowmaker
Ward Bow
Two Hand Damage: 54 - 143
Durability: 45 of 48
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 72
Required Dexterity: 146
Fingerprint: 0x54520787
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fires Magic Arrows
170% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
33% Deadly Strike
+5 to Guided Arrow

Widowmaker
Ward Bow
Two Hand Damage: 55 - 146
Durability: 31 of 48
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 72
Required Dexterity: 146
Fingerprint: 0xe40546d9
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fires Magic Arrows
176% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
33% Deadly Strike
+5 to Guided Arrow

Bonehew
Ogre Axe
Two Hand Damage: 108 - 559
Durability: 47 of 50
Required Level: 64
Required Strength: 195
Required Dexterity: 75
Fingerprint: 0x7ee80c76
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
50% Chance to cast level 16 Bone Spear on striking
+30% Increased Attack Speed
286% Enhanced Damage
Prevent Monster Heal
Level 14 Corpse Explosion (30/30 Charges)
2 Sockets (0 used)

Thunderstroke
Matriarchal Javelin
Throw Damage: 104 - 197
One Hand Damage: 89 - 161
Quantity: 78
Required Level: 69
Required Strength: 107
Required Dexterity: 151
Fingerprint: 0x59ddf604
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 14 Lightning on striking
+4 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
+15% Increased Attack Speed
199% Enhanced Damage
Adds 1 - 511 Lightning Damage
-15% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+3 to Lightning Bolt (Amazon Only)

Aldur's Deception
Shadow Plate
Defense: 812
Durability: 54 of 70
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 115
Fingerprint: 0x2e108884
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
+1 to Shape-Shifting Skills (Druid Only)
+300 Defense
+20 to Strength
+15 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +48%
Requirements -50%
Set (2 items): +15 to Vitality
Set (3 items): +15 to Vitality
Set (4 items): +15 to Vitality


Cow King's Horns
War Hat
Defense: 125
Durability: 7 of 12
Required Level: 25
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0x446ffded
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+75 Defense
Half Freeze Duration
Attacker Takes Damage of 10
35% Damage Taken Goes To Mana


Aldur's Advance
Battle Boots
Defense: 40
Durability: 17 of 18
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 95
Fingerprint: 0xb1a6bd46
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Indestructible
+40% Faster Run/Walk
+50 to Life
+180 Maximum Stamina
Heal Stamina Plus 32%
Fire Resist +41%
10% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Set (2 items): +15 to Dexterity
Set (3 items): +15 to Dexterity
Set (4 items): +15 to Dexterity


Nagelring
Ring
Required Level: 7
Fingerprint: 0x6594dce2
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+53 to Attack Rating
Magic Damage Reduced by 3
Attacker Takes Damage of 3
19% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Guardian Angel
Templar Coat
Defense: 819
Durability: 37 of 60
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 118
Fingerprint: 0xe624b5e7
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Paladin Skill Levels
+30% Faster Block Rate
20% Increased Chance of Blocking
+187 to Attack Rating against Demons (Based on Character Level)
+198% Enhanced Defense
+15% to Maximum Poison Resist
+15% to Maximum Cold Resist
+15% to Maximum Lightning Resist
+15% to Maximum Fire Resist
+4 to Light Radius

Spike Thorn
Blade Barrier
Defense: 405
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 49 of 333
Required Level: 70
Required Strength: 118
Fingerprint: 0xb35ab3d1
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+147% Enhanced Defense
Damage Reduced by 17%
Attacker Takes Damage of (Based on Character Level) 126
+250 Maximum Durability
1 Sockets (0 used)

Skin of the Vipermagi
Serpentskin Armor
Defense: 279
Durability: 18 of 24
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 43
Fingerprint: 0x3bab0d94
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+30% Faster Cast Rate
+120% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +27
Magic Damage Reduced by 9

Djinn Slayer
Ataghan
One Hand Damage: 86 - 153
Durability: 21 of 22
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 138
Required Dexterity: 95
Fingerprint: 0x3d9b5c7a
Item Level: 76
Version: Expansion 1.10+
234% Enhanced Damage
+109% Damage to Demons
+259 to Attack Rating against Demons
Adds 250 - 500 Fire Damage
6% Mana stolen per hit
+6 Lightning Absorb
2 Sockets (0 used)

Trang-Oul's Scales
Chaos Armor
Defense: 857
Durability: 66 of 70
Required Level: 49
Required Strength: 84
Fingerprint: 0x1c251a47
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)
+40% Faster Run/Walk
+150% Enhanced Defense
+100 Defense vs. Missile
Poison Resist +40%
Requirements -40%
Set (3 items): Lightning Resist +50%
Set (5 items): Damage Reduced by 25%


Steel Carapace
Shadow Plate
Defense: 1690
Durability: 70 of 70
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 230
Fingerprint: 0x6953408f
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
8% Chance to cast level 6 Iron Maiden when struck
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+203% Enhanced Defense
Regenerate Mana 11%
Cold Resist +50%
Damage Reduced by 14
Repairs 1 Durability in 20 Seconds

Kelpie Snare
Fuscina
Two Hand Damage: 83 - 153
Durability: 32 of 35
Required Level: 33
Required Strength: 77
Required Dexterity: 25
Fingerprint: 0xf652302
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
180% Enhanced Damage
Adds 30 - 50 Damage
Slows Target by 75%
+10 to Strength
+115 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Fire Resist +50%

Lacerator
Winged Axe
Throw Damage: 17 - 150
One Hand Damage: 27 - 140
Quantity: 180
Required Level: 68
Required Strength: 96
Required Dexterity: 122
Fingerprint: 0x3bdb1438
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
33% Chance to cast level 3 Amplify Damage on striking
+30% Increased Attack Speed
150% Enhanced Damage
33% Chance of Open Wounds
Prevent Monster Heal
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 50%
Replenishes quantity

Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth
Mesh Belt
Defense: 38
Durability: 14 of 16
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 47
Fingerprint: 0xe981361c
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Dexterity
+30 to Mana
37% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
13% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -20%
Set (2 items): +60 Defense
Set (3 items): +10% Faster Cast Rate


Flamebellow
Balrog Blade
One Hand Damage: 42 - 212
Two Hand Damage: 155 - 333
Durability: 43 of 50
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 185
Required Dexterity: 87
Fingerprint: 0x59f97e12
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
12% Chance to cast level 16 Firestorm on striking
+3 to Fire Skills
183% Enhanced Damage
Adds 233 - 482 Fire Damage
+17 to Inferno
+18 to Strength
+9 to Vitality
Fire Absorb 26%

Hellslayer
Decapitator
Two Hand Damage: 146 - 871
Durability: 21 of 21
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 179
Required Dexterity: 23
Fingerprint: 0x9cda828b
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Chance to cast level 18 Fire Ball on attack
100% Enhanced Damage
+225% Enhanced Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
Adds 150 - 250 Fire Damage
+37 to Strength (Based on Character Level)
+37 to Vitality (Based on Character Level)
+25 to Life
Ethereal

Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xa25d1093
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 1 - 30 Lightning Damage
3% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Lightning Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 15

Ondal's Wisdom
Elder Staff
Two Hand Damage: 80 - 93
Durability: 25 of 35
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 44
Required Dexterity: 37
Fingerprint: 0x508118f4
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to All Skills
+45% Faster Cast Rate
+495 Defense
+49 to Energy
Magic Damage Reduced by 5
+5% to Experience Gained

Cow King's Hide
Studded Leather
Defense: 57
Durability: 30 of 32
Required Level: 18
Required Strength: 27
Fingerprint: 0x52c662e4
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
18% Chance to cast level 5 Chain Lightning when struck
+60% Enhanced Defense
+30 to Life
All Resistances +18


Steel Shade
Armet
Defense: 330
Durability: 21 of 24
Required Level: 62
Required Strength: 109
Fingerprint: 0xd83087f3
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Mana stolen per hit
+120% Enhanced Defense
Replenish Life +16
+11 Fire Absorb

Witchwild String
Short Siege Bow
Two Hand Damage: 34 - 80
Durability: 30 of 40
Required Level: 39
Required Strength: 65
Required Dexterity: 80
Fingerprint: 0x940c6e20
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
2% Chance to cast level 5 Amplify Damage on striking
Fires Magic Arrows
168% Enhanced Damage
92% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
All Resistances +40
2 Sockets (0 used)

Harlequin Crest
Shako
Defense: 116
Durability: 10 of 12
Required Level: 62
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0xde1f2e0a
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
All Stats +2
+138 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+138 to Mana (Based on Character Level)
Damage Reduced by 10%
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Silkweave
Mesh Boots
Defense: 118
Durability: 15 of 16
Required Level: 36
Required Strength: 65
Fingerprint: 0x413af611
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+163% Enhanced Defense
+200 Defense vs. Missile
Increase Maximum Mana 10%
+5 to Mana after each Kill

Wizendraw
Long Battle Bow
Two Hand Damage: 5 - 31
Durability: 30 of 44
Required Level: 26
Required Strength: 40
Required Dexterity: 50
Fingerprint: 0x46ecc3be
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Fires Magic Arrows
74% Enhanced Damage
+93 to Attack Rating
-32% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+15 to Energy
+30 to Mana
Cold Resist +26%

Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Mithril Coil
Defense: 156
Durability: 11 of 16
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 106
Fingerprint: 0x79a49e95
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Hit Recovery
+137% Enhanced Defense
+36 to Vitality
Replenish Life +10
+108 Maximum Stamina
Damage Reduced by 15%

@Grape - Yea, sorry. 1.07 only runs for a few mins and then crashes on this cpu.

I don't know if I will run any at all..

@art_vandelay arcane sanctuary monsters only drop up to Cham. Champs and bosses can drop zod, but drop the same as non-ghost champs and bosses.

@Gripphon all for p7 reciprocal chance for monster to drop rune:
normal: 325
cow: 217
ghost: 90.5

Arcane ghosts are indeed the same as chaos ghosts except cant drop zod (champs and bosses can but they drop like regular monster champs and bosses). I think the cows are always 1.5x better than reg monsters but the multiplier on ghosts is like this:

That spreadsheet I made has some ability to compare cows vs chaos vs arcane as well

@Luhkoh You're right of course. The chances are for Good TC though and since probability-wise 'runes16' is basically 'runes17 Minus Zod' the numbers should be correct.


The german drop calc being down will hopefully be an incentive for people to recalculate some stuff on their own. Some things there were always questionable to me, like Countess which according to their calc drops more runes on p8 than on p1 which we know to be wrong. (Also who knows how the hell they did Duriel )

Fun fact: Ghost-type monsters drop better in regards to jewelry and runes, but their facet chances are abysmal, something I had to learn to my dismay yesterday!

@Luhkoh
Thank you on numbers.

With more tests I could say that for fireball sorc AS is like killing 140-150 p5 cows per minute which is like a build killing 400 cows in 2:46. That's better than I thought it will be. I don't think CS can match those numbers.

@Luhkoh
Thank you on numbers.

With more tests I could say that for fireball sorc AS is like killing 140-150 p5 cows per minute which is like a build killing 400 cows in 2:46. That's better than I thought it will be. I don't think CS can match those numbers.

That's really quite the pace...

With ~30 people running you can't exclude somewhat realistic Zod drop from someone, putting AS runners in disadvantage on that regard. Still, very nice spot to run it seems.

Man the SPF has really exploded with useful info. Guides, statistics, numbers. Efficiency of runs is.. getting out of hand. Good stuff, gentlemen!

Well, Zod is one of those runes players can't really farm with intention, they must simply hope it will drop. Seeing that of 20+ people participating no one found one on cows means AS runners are in advantage as well as in disadvantage at the same time.

That is true.

 

[Vildecor]

@Luhkoh Now that I played around with the RF Calc a bit more I gotta say, fantastic job. Love how you can compare numbers in every area, and see which character needs to deliver what result in order to beat a certain other runner. I'll use it often in the following weeks for sure. Thanks again!

With more tests I could say that for fireball sorc AS is like killing 140-150 p5 cows per minute which is like a build killing 400 cows in 2:46. That's better than I thought it will be. I don't think CS can match those numbers.

Yeah AS is going to be hard to beat for areas round, though it will be interesting to compare CS with seal trick method. Don't really feel like another round with Java, which is hard to even get close to for AS running. So I'm leaning towards CS, would like to play Hammerdin again and also include some MF. But I hope many players go for AS with various runners, last year the only builds somewhat tested were Java and lightning-based Sorcs.

@ffs
I think Java should be best character for AS running. I might give her a try although I really like how I find an excuse to use fireball sorc for something else than PvP

Isn't Arcane Sanctuary kinda problematic with the ghosts often hovering over the void, resulting in no drops at all when you kill them? Sure, you can herd them, but they are rather slow moving and typically approach the narrow path in a rather flat angle.

That was my initial thought as well last year, but it really doesn't take a lot of practice to reduce that to a minimum. The fact that they move slowly is rather a good thing as long as you kill fast enough and with proper positioning. I found most important aspect is standing in the middle of "crossings" instead of in their vicinity in the alleys – that's when they try to shortcut towards you over the voids.

@ffs absolutely! I’m glad you’re getting some use out of it! I had fun making it.

@art_vandelay my spreadsheet also has a correct countess calc at least to the best of my knowledge. I was also going to put up a post just for her post 1.13b odds but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Here's the link.

EDIT: I think we can also calc duriel/andariel odds accurately too if needed. The whole 7 picks truncated to 6 thing makes it tough, but I did it in a way that took that into account for diablo in my RF sheet (which is overkill but was fun to figure out). Learned it from @drmalawi 's youtube series. So let me me know if you have any ideas or other stuff you want to see calc'd art, but you seem like you do a lot of this too. Glad you joined the forum!

Yooooo.

I made another video demonstration to answer the following question: how important is Blizzard damage for sorc to run Travincal? Video shows sorceress wearing Hoto, Vipermagi and Griffon's (to boost Static damage) and total of 7k Blizzard damage running Travincal in 16.7 seconds. Players can improve their gear by socketing cold facets, Shako can be used instead of Griffon's and so on. I used random rare ring to be able to equip flail Hoto, otherwise dual SoJ.

Comparatively, sorc with 15.7k Blizzard damage is only 7% faster than this sorc. So, how influental is Blizzard damage for running? 93% is map and technique, 7% is damage. This is why I said once sorc gets to 10k damage range it is really hard to see a difference when more damage is added at expense of safety. This budget sorc is super safe runner and she can easily get to sub 20s running even when picking plenty of stuff with the right map and running technique.

Anyway, hopefully this video will be inspirational for players

@Luhkoh Of course I know your sheet, it's a great resource I have already done a calc of sorts for Andariel/Mephisto/Diablo/Baal and it can simulate lower player settings than p7. In fact the way you implemented the p7 drop for Diablo is exactly how you would implement it for any monster that has positive number of picks but no more than 6.

The problem with lower psettings and bosses is that you get more 6 item drops than the usual approach would predict because of the potential 7th drop that can fill out the 6 item drop for the boss. I figured out the probabilites for the 4 bosses mentioned above, but for Duriel I can only predict p7 because his 'Main TC/Base TC' system is hard to model.

I can send you the sheet and explain what I did if you want

@art_vandelay Absolutely! I'll start a pm so we don't fill up the thread, but yeah I love this stuff. I probably wont be able to investigate much till after the weekend is over, but I'll look forward to it.

Yooooo.

I made another video demonstration to answer the following question: how important is Blizzard damage for sorc to run Travincal? Video shows sorceress wearing Hoto, Vipermagi and Griffon's (to boost Static damage) and total of 7k Blizzard damage running Travincal in 16.7 seconds.

Those amu and BKWB ! Snowclash use is nice too, level of Blizzard must be huge ! For now my setup cannot set me higher than 5k, but i didn't try with Vipermagi, i'll give a try in the coming days for sure !

Yeah. It's not de facto budget gear as those items are quite ridiculous, but I was lazy to replace things I wear to be truly budget. I wanted to demonstrate the influence of damage on running. For other stuff I do expect players to use best gear they have available. Dual SoJ does beat my ring combo from the video since mana is nice. Resists are overkill and those can be reduced too.

EDIT
And Infinity obviously is not exactly budget. This just shows how powerful runeword is and why it must be made ASAP once Enigma is finished. Players who don't have Infinity can stick to either Insight and rolling map where Toorc is inside of the building, or they can try barb with dual Grief. In the end some basics are needed to do this kind of running, no way around it.

@Gripphon I wouldn't consider your setup to be budget either, but your point still stands. I can do 25s with HotO, Ormus (15/Ice Blast), Shako, 2 skillers, one +1 BKWB, Mara's instead of craft, Snowclash and Infinity on merc. That's about 5800 average screen dmg.

I feel that's a much more reasonable 'poor man's ' equip, especially when it comes to the # of skillers used. (which won't have life if you're poor )

Try removing all but two skillers next

@Gripphon Great demonstration of what is (not) required in terms of gear with the perfect map. Now the question is how long does it take to roll it. After about 3 hours I had to stop. There's still some time before R2 starts but it seems incredibly hard to find something like that.

But as far as I'm concerneced I'm good to go for Travincal with the map posted above. Now to tackle the Hammerdin for R3.

Isn't Arcane Sanctuary kinda problematic with the ghosts often hovering over the void, resulting in no drops at all when you kill them? Sure, you can herd them, but they are rather slow moving and typically approach the narrow path in a rather flat angle.

What @ffs said. I tried it last year, and it's not an issue really. I found AS to be a lot of fun too.

Just a nooby question: for round 3, what does "Areas" stands for ? Any area of our choice, a set of predefined areas in which we pick, a set we have to run each time..? So i can start to think about the char that will be - or shall rise - for that round

You can run any area you want or even multiple within the same batch. So, if you want to run the Maggot Lair and Mausoleum, then go for it!

And cows ?

Spoiler

Noo noo... NOO !

@Babyhell Well... technically Rakanishu runs are allowed

@Babyhell Well... technically Rakanishu runs are allowed

Interesting... can he drop a Zod ? #NoWay

@Babyhell I believe the rule is anything other than poppables, cows, and council members (including the ones in durance 3).

Thx Lukoh !

I may try the CS Vizier team, maybe with hammerdin, or sorc...my blizzard sorc shall work there, i have to try. I'm probably going to learn more about locations and efficient chars soon from you all anyway

 

[Vildecor]

Thx Lukoh !

I may try the CS Vizier team, maybe with hammerdin, or sorc...my blizzard sorc shall work there, i have to try. I'm probably going to learn more about locations and efficient chars soon from you all anyway

CS is probably a solid spot. I imagine many of the top runners are going to be running Arcane Sanctuary again. I will most likely end up running pits to get my javazon further along to 99.

I will split time probably. Initial plan was to go full batch with my Hammerdin in CS. But I feel like doing AS again as well, and maybe Pits with Necro and/or Javazon.

I guess this is the place for this even though the round is over. The other day I was Mat'ing an Assassin as part of a sept project of mine and I finally got aorund to trying some cow builds. I went through a ton of build and gear variations, in particular with Stormlash and Last Wish using DT and Blade Fury builds. Will share some experiences when updating the sept.

For now the TLDR version: Took me forever to realize that I should maybe just treat her like a female Necro. Give her Beast + give Merc good stuff + use DS = win. First attempts resulted in P5 runs a little under 2m30s and looking like this:

EDIT: More optimized build below.

Gear (also shown in vid):

2/20 FCR/48 life/19@ (49 FR) rare circlet
2/9/adds amulet
Beast
Enigma
Phoenix
Magefist
Arach
Raven
SoJ
Some boots

CtA/35 Spirit switch for 102 FCR

Merc (Defiance): Infinity/Forti/Andy.

Defiance Merc is just a remnant from when I used Last Wish before.
Might Merc should work fine though and make runs a bit faster.

Build:

20 DS
20 FB
20 LS
1 BoS, pre-reqs...

Then I still have BF maxed since I might go back to the Stormlash / Last Wish variations with BF.

Could be next year's build for me.

Shout-out to @NanoMist for that creative Phoenix on main switch move. Works great in her case as well.

@ffs so it’s not faster to use DT to help merc get corpses after dropping DS?

It works but yes it's slower. Basically I encountered the same issues as Nano mentioned here when he tried the build I originally planned. As he noted, generally the issue for K/T builds is that in the end FB is just easier and faster. That's why I moved to trying different setups with the more standard DS/FB build, and eventually ended up with the above Beast version.

Next logical step is Might Merc which should improve run times further.

@ffs I see. Yeah I assumed might merc. Should have paid closer attention. Surprised you didn’t use it initially. I wonder how much it will speed up the runs.

@ffs Nice take on the Trapper. FB is also more comfortable and consistent than the melee variants, which is something I value when playing 20 hours of cows. Glad to see the phoenix main hand, works well enough with FB.

Sorry for spamming somewhat more optimized version of the P5 Beast Trapper:

Now with Might Merc. He gets into trouble occasionally, but Mind Blast helps in those situations. Also used a respec to get 3.2k life and more importantly FB synergies (4.4k max FB damage vs ~2.8k previously) .

Run times improved to 2m13s - 2m22s. Clearing a good amount, though I skip some around the Cow King since I didn't get a map with red portal near him yet.

Again, just treating her as a Necro who uses FB instead of AD, and it seems to work just as well as AD. Possibly even better. She is literally using nearly the same gear a Beast Necro uses, almost all of it is borrowed from my untwinked 99er Summoner. Only differences are Phoenix and Raven, and circlet and ammy are for Sin of course.

Glad to see the phoenix main hand, works well enough with FB.

It's perfect really. Apart from increasing FB damage and general running comfort, I noticed another advantage: Sometimes after killing a group you realize only when teleporting away that there is another group next to it. In those situations I can now just stay on Spirit/Tele switch to lay down more DS to make use of the existing corpses, without any risk of Redemption taking them away. With Phoenix on Tele switch those could poof away, and that would often mean starting over the whole sequence.

EDIT:

Also took her to P7 for a while, trying to beat Java times, but didn't quite get there. Runs were around 3 min or less, and maybe she clears a little more fully than Java, but not enough to make up for some ~20 second difference.

But that doesn't mean this build is less efficient when running P5. In fact, I am extremely surprised by how strong this is. The 2m13s run above was a pretty full clear with pretty normal density. That is just crazy in my book.

It may be too early to jump to conclusions, and she needs to be tested more (again checking kills over time via rune drops, XP count etc.)... But this is one of the best cow builds I've ever played, maybe even the best option.