A Set of Guardians (Sept) – Planning & Progress

[ffs]

After having a lot of fun with the Zod sept, I felt like starting another long-term side project. Or as @maxicek aptly put it:

There is only one way to get over the post sept blues. Start another sept.

(Btw this does not replace the imperative MP sept, in case you thought you got off the hook.)

***

Quite simple really:

Trying to get Guardian with each class while using the class specific sets.

The restrictions are rather on the HC wealth side of things, and me being new to HC with only one recent Guardian.

But I had wanted to use each class-specific set for a long time now. At first I thought about SC, and adding a twist by playing each class as Bear on top of it. But that's just not possible with Trang-Oul's and makes absolutely zero sense with Tal Rasha's orb. So something else then. My main project at the moment is an untwinked 99er Barb in HC, said recent first Guardian of mine. He's currently lvl 97 and has farmed a basic stash of HC gear by now. All my HC stuff is what's found by that Barb (or the new chars in this sept themselves), so it's not like I have tons of other OP gear for these guys anyway.

Build choice will be somewhat restricted given the sets and my limited other HC resources, but I'll still try to check out builds/variants I haven't tried so far. Here's the initial plan:

***

Amazon
Magezon

Spoiler: Plan

M'avina's is great for FA which I played a couple of Zons with. But never went the full "Magezon" route with stuff like EA/IA/MA. This should be pretty solid overall, FA with the set is quite strong already.

***

Planned gear:
- M'avina's helm (facet?)
- M'avina's bow (Nef?)
- M'avina's armor (facet?)
- M'avina's gloves
- M'avina's belt
- Raven
- SoJ
- +2/adds ammy
- Silkweave

Switch: CtA/Lidless

Build: 20 FA, 20 EA, 20 Pierce – rest TBD, some distribution among synergies and Penetrate

Assassin
Phoenix Striker

Spoiler: Plan

Never played a Phoenix Striker, in fact don't think I've ever used that skill even once.

But I really like the set and the SPF Pat/Mat collection includes several Phoenix Strikers with Natalya's, so it seems to do well!

Planned gear:
- Natalya's helm (socketing TBD, likely IAS)
- Natalya's armor (socketing TBD, likely FHR/resists)
- Natalya's claw (socketing TBD, maybe Shael so that no further IAS gear is required)
- Natalya's boots
- offhand TBD – Bartuc/Jade Talon/shield?
- SoE/craft belt/Verdungo's
- Raven
- BKWB
- +2/adds ammy
- LoH/+MA/Dracul's

Build: 20 PS, 20 FoF, 20 CoT, ~10+ DS (rest TBD)

Leaning towards dual claw / BoS setup wit SoE, since that wwill have 45% PDR and decent resists so no need for Fade. So I need 35 IAS total to get to 7 FPA, or 20 IAS with lvl 10 BoS. Since I don't have 2/20 or 3/20 MA gloves in HC, I'll probably end up going Shael'ed Nat's claw and either go for 10 BoS or one IAS jewel somewhere.

I may try my luck shopping Anya for a 3/20 though. Came across a few of those when I shopped her in SC.

Barbarian
Bear (or WW)

Spoiler: Plan

WW is the only native skill that seems to make sense with this set, but I kinda think it's too boring even for the low standards I'm setting for this sept... My HC Barb has made a Beast anyway for his Nihl runs, so bear is the path I'm leaning towards. But WW remains an option if I don't like the bear options in the end. I could see this being the case due to the slow attack rate (unless using Faith Merc, but making that runeword in HC is rather far down the list).

Planned gear:

- IK helm (socketing TBD)
- IK armor (socketing TBD)
- IK weapon (2x Shael)
- IK boots
- IK gloves
- IK belt
- Raven
- Rare/craft with leech/adds
- amulet TBD (don't have HLW yet in HC)

Planned build: 20 Mastery, 20 BO, rest Shout/other passives

Druid
FC/Maul

Spoiler: Plan

I did play a Fire Claws bear some 20 years ago I think, but not since. Flaming Mauler I never did, but seems like a great build, even though the weapon is just terrible for it...

Planned gear:
- Aldur's helm (facets?)
- Aldur's armor (facet?)
- Aldur's weapon (3x Shael)
- Aldur's boots
- Stormshield?
- Raven
- BKWB
- +2/adds ammy
- Arachnid Mesh or SoE
- Dracul's Grasp

Planned build: 20 FC, ~50-60 FC synergies (prioritizing Fissure and its synergies for occasional AoE use), rest Maul/WB

I do kinda want to try the "Flaming Mauler" route here despite the horrible physical damage.

Necro
Poisonmancer

Spoiler: Plan

By Poisonmancer I mean actually focusing on poison damage, using LR and generally killing with PN.. as opposed to using it to (more effectively) kill everything with CE. Vampire form has horrible casting rate anyway, so this seems to make sense.

Planned gear:
- TO helm (facet?)
- TO armor (facet?)
- TO shield (facet/PD?)
- TO belt
- TO gloves
- Hoto or White / TBD
- Arachnid Mesh
- BKWB
- SoJ
- +2 craft ammy

Build: 20 PN, 20 PE, 20 PD, 10-20 CE (will still be necessary sometimes), 10-20 LR, IG, rest pre-reqs

Paladin
Shocking Bear

Spoiler: Plan

Avenger would have been a more natural choice for the set, but I've played several recently.. Plus Gris Caddy is a super good bear weapon (4 FPA).

Question is which aura to use, in fact he can invest in several and switch between them. I plan to use Infinity Merc and go Holy Shock no the Pally, like this:

Planned gear:
- Griswold's caddy (Shael/IAS jewels)
- Griswold's helm (socket TBD)
- Griswold's armor (sockets TBD)
- Griswold's shield (sockets TBD)
- SoE or Arach
- Gore Rider
- Raven
- BKWB
- Dracul's or craft CB gloves
- +2/adds craft ammy

Planned build: 20 Holy Shock, 20 Resist Lightning, 20 Salvation, 10+ Holy Shield. Rest TBD – maybe Might/Conc or so for use vs unbreakable LIs?

Sorc
FO/CL

Spoiler: Plan

This build is chosen for purlely nostalgic reasons: Back when I started D2, a Sorc using this build was the first char that I made that (1) had not put a random number of 1-10 points into every single skill that became available after reaching certain levels, and (2) did not encounter complete frustration upon discovering immunities in Hell after going all-in on one element/skill. I'm sure we all had these moments.

Planned gear:
- Tal Rasha's helm
- Tal Rasha's armor
- Tal Rasha's ammy
- Tal Rasha's orb
- Tal Rasha's belt
- Spirit/Lidless/Stormshield?
- SoJ
- BKWB
- TO gloves
- Waterwalk/Aldur's boots

Build: 20 FO, enough for ~25+ CM after gear, rest CL/synergies & 1 point wonders

***

Missing set items currently:

Spoiler

Aldur's: Weapon
Tal Rasha's: Armor & amulet
Griswold's: Weapon & shield

Otherwise good to go.


Any cool ideas on what else to do with these sets, even with limited resources in HC? Please do share!

***

Status

Class         Character          Build                 Level                Missing items 
__________    __________         __________            __________           ____________________

Amazon        Niva               Magezon               0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity)
Assassin      Ayla               Phoenix Striker       73 A1 Hell           Mal/Ist (Infinity)
Barb          Latro              WW (TBC)              0                    None
Druid         Rud                Flaming Mauler        0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity), set weapon
Necro         Ognar              Poisonmancer          79 A2 Hell           None
Paladin       Lowsir             Shocking Bear         0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity), set weapon & shield
Sorc          Ahsa               FO/CL                 0                    Set armor & amulet

 

[D2DC]

I am following basically the same blueprint, minus the 2x bears.. I'll be curious to see what you do with Aldur's!

 

[maxicek]

All looks pretty solid to me.

I think bear is a great choice for Griswold's set. I'm just planning to finish off the sets in SC, I was considering it but too many bears going at the moment. (I'm going Holy Shock + FoH with all my crappy facets stuffing the holes)
I'm going Aldurs Bear with maxxed Armageddon. Staight up fire druid maybe too as you don't need FCR?


What about merc gear? Do you have infinity or anything juicy in HC?

 

[ffs]

@maxicek yeah I made several Bears too recently, but same was true for Avengers and indeed Griswold's will be an interesting one.

Druid is a "pick your poison" type of situation I think. Standard Fire druid is another option indeed, but except for sockets, the only useful thing from the set would be a meagre 4 skill points... That being said, other options aren't great. That weapon is total garbage. At first I thought Fire Claws as main dmg source (to bypass the low physical damage) would make sense, but attack rate will be terrible even with 3x Shael in weapon...

I mean what kind of class is this?
Best wolf: Barb
Best bear: Sorc
Best elemental: Well he beats Barb in this category, that's about it.

What about merc gear? Do you have infinity or anything juicy in HC?

My current rune stash in HC:

Spoiler

1x Lem
1x Ist
1x Gul
1x Ohm
2x Sur
2x Ber

Enough for another Enigma, and a couple of Mal & Ist short of Infinity and CtA, the latter taking precedence once they drop. My Barb has of course made an Enigma that he could lend to other HC chars... but that would really suck if it gets deeded and my Barb cannot make progress towards 99 anymore. But maybe in this case it makes sense to make Infinity, none of these upcoming HC chars can use Enigma anyway after all.

@D2DC Ah nice, didn't know you had a similar project going on, I'll be sure to report on progress along the way and whether things work out or not.

 

[D2DC]

I forget where/what I was reading, but the 350% ED on Aldurs set was significant. I believe because you can add min/max charms and jewels and those get multiplied?

@ffs sometimes I forget all my "projects" myself.. need to put someone on payroll to help keep things organized..

 

[PhineasB]

I did an Aldurs fire claw wolf and it worked reasonably well with Fury backup. You could go with infinity merc or reapers, although I went with Faith Rogue. And the physical damage isn’t quite as bad as it seems (or at least I remember being surprised that he could kill FIs). He had rabies, but it’s not really helpful as an FI solution, so those points would be pushed into synergies or wereform.

 

[ffs]

Makes sense. I'd like to try the Flaming Mauler route with him, but may change my mind as I go along.

Included the first sketch of build and setup ideas above. Mostly looking forward to the Pally, with Holy Shock he should be fun and strong. Unfortunately I'm missing shield and weapon from that set currently, likely will be played later on.

I have all the stuff for Assassin and Amazon and will probably start with Assassin. Phoenix Striker will be a real novelty for me, but I just built a Natalya's WW sin for the current MP project and like it a lot. So this one should be fun, too.

 

[ffs]

Off we go, started the Sin on the weekend and brought her through NM. Currenty in Fire Trapper spec.

In the last ~1h I played the Barb, he found Jah and Mal. Both are really convenient. First, we made a CtA, which (after some embarrassing confusion due to only displaying +3 BC/BO on the Barb) was a very pleasant surprise with +5 BC/+6 BO.

Spoiler

Call to Arms
Crystal Sword
AmnRalMalIstOhm
One Hand Damage: 18 - 55
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 43
Fingerprint: 0xe4548b28
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
271% Enhanced Damage
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Prevent Monster Heal
+5 to Battle Command
+6 to Battle Orders
+1 to Battle Cry
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items 5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune

While the Jah isn't useful for the chars in this sept directly, it means I have enough Sur-Jah runes to make both Infinity and Enigma, so I will definitely go for Infinity here. Problem is after the CtA I'm missing Mal+Ist to make it.

I do want to use it on the Sin, so for the time being I will wait with questing her through Hell until I've made Infinity. Same applies for other chars that should use it, probably including Amazon, Druid and Paladin.

So next I'll get to work on the Barb or Necro, since I've got their end game gear covered. Also leaning towards playing the Barb in WW spec after all, maybe hitting Trav a bit for that Mal/Ist, and eventually making him a HC Trav runner in general. In fact the Barb might become my RFL Trav runner if he lives to see the day.

Class         Character          Build                 Level                Missing items   
__________    __________         __________            __________           ____________________

Amazon        Niva               Magezon               0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity)
Assassin      Ayla               Phoenix Striker       73 A1 Hell           Mal/Ist (Infinity)
Barb          Latro              WW (TBC)              0                    None
Druid         Rud                Flaming Mauler        0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity), set weapon
Necro         Ognar              Poisonmancer          0                    None
Paladin       Lowsir             Shocking Bear         0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity), set weapon & shield
Sorc          Ahsa               FO/CL                 0                    Set armor & amulet

 

[maxicek]

I'm most impressed that they have proper names this time

 

[skiffcz]

Or you can just go with your barb and nec and cube it up from general questing drops/hellforges? Best of luck!

 

[ffs]

I'm most impressed that they have proper names this time

No reason to be impressed I'm afraid, if you check how their names relate to the names of the class-specific sets you'll see it's not like I suddenly became creative...

Or you can just go with your barb and nec and cube it up from general questing drops/hellforges? Best of luck!

Indeed I secretly hope that will do it, but otherwise I'm willing to mix in a little farming. Ist/Mal shouldn't take too long.

 

[maxicek]

I have just seen that now - love it.

 

[Luhkoh]

No reason to be impressed I'm afraid, if you check how their names relate to the names of the class-specific sets you'll see it's not like I suddenly became creative...

Legit took me a minute. Haha love it.

 

[ffs]

Small progress update as Necro is now Conqueror.



He's now killed Andariel and arrived in Lut Gholein.

We respec'ed and equipped TO set in A5 NM. Fully synergized PNova, lvl 16 LR post-BO and a couple of points in summon tree. Build is very solid of course and he could easily handle A1 Hell on P8 offensively, but after a couple of encounters whith Amp'ed Archers and the like, we dropped to P3 just for safety reasons. Think I'll go back and forth between various player settings depending on the area, but mostly keeping it at P3.

I first went with Insight IG, but when it died I realized I didn't even need it, thanks to the high mana from set and limited mana needs due to the build nature. Merc is swinging an eth CA Obedience for big boy damage and boss killing capabilities. For summons he's just using Clay Golem and 5 Skeletons.

Drops included an Um (which helps towards Infinity) and a couple of items that could be used to twink some of the other chars. These and a few drops on the Assassin below:

Spoiler

His 'White' base:

Sin is still in A1 Hell with no quests done, waiting for Infinity. Best drop with her was this one though. Basically first rare pelt she picked up was +5 Tornado, and useful other mods to boot:



***

Class         Character          Build                 Level                Missing items
__________    __________         __________            __________           ____________________

Amazon        Niva               Magezon               0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity)
Assassin      Ayla               Phoenix Striker       73 A1 Hell           Mal/Ist (Infinity)
Barb          Latro              WW (TBC)              0                    None
Druid         Rud                Flaming Mauler        0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity), set weapon
Necro         Ognar              Poisonmancer          79 A2 Hell           None
Paladin       Lowsir             Shocking Bear         0                    Mal/Ist (Infinity), set weapon & shield
Sorc          Ahsa               FO/CL                 0                    Set armor & amulet