Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Rhone: Neat little fact, thanks! I didn't have Baal pegged for a very bright fellow. :)



inthayne: Wow thanks for the little tip! I had already slipped it down to XP mode compatibility but apparently that didn't suffice for Vista x64. This method worked great, and now I don't have to re-install those iffy Logitech drivers. Thank you! I've taken to using wheelup for the switch, and wheeldown for the inventory. It takes a tiny bit of adjustment but it works fairly well. Now I can use 'w' for something else. Oh goddess, you've got my fingers salivating. I use the wheel click for screenshots. It makes it much easier! Much obliged to you, sir.



I've decided to more-or-less ignore my fishyzon for now until the sorc has acquired some decent gear for her. Right now the 'zon stands near the middle of Act V NM, waiting for me to tell her where to go. I hope her patience holds because I have plans for her, I do.

My sorc currently enters the palace in Act II NM. Luck has sorta' smiled upon her these last two sessions as she has found quite a handful of S/Us. I say "sorta'" because I wouldn't consider any of those items worth holding on to, at least not for either of my two ladies. Eh oh well. At lease she finally found another Amn in CVT. If ever a suitable 3os armor pops up, some lucky madam will receive Peace. Gee, I wonder who? ;)

I really like the difference some synergy makes to Fireball. I could only get it as high as ~500 with my previous (ES) Sorc. I can start to see the thousands' worth of damage people report. I still think I will end up diverting some points from the Mastery into Fire Bolt, as I don't think I will use Meteor incredibly often. Although I will go ahead and max it. I don't want to start radically deviating from the cookie sheet just yet. *winks*


-PQ


EDIT: I'll post the LCS. Any recommendations, comments? I have some doubts about how to raise Str and Vit. I mean, how much and when. I know I need 156 Str but don't know how much +Str items I can depend upon. And I would like to have absolutely as much Life as possible, since I will basically ignore blocking.

EDIT 2: I replaced the above LCS with a more recent shot. I found this nice little magic ring, the highest plus yield to mana I've found on a ring so far with any character. With this I dumped my two perfect sapphires -slotted armor and made Stealth. The additional +% to cast rate over what I have now really makes Fireball good competition for the Orb. In some instances it clearly shines over the Orb, which put a large smile on my face, thinking back to my older sorc's poor desiccated fire tree. Ah, the fruits of the jungle. Maybe I don't totally despise Act III after all. ;)

EDIT the Third: I removed the other links, since uploadingit.com doesn't want to play fair right now. I moved the LCS shot to imageshack. Oh, to have my domain back. *sighs* Every recent update signifies a more up-to-date LCS.
 
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Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Actually, I wouldn't mind reading an absurd deaths thread. I'd like to see the silliest/stupidest ways people have died. I know that surely not I alone have committed a blunder or twelve.

OK, here's one I'm embaraased as h**l.

Crew: HC meteorb with prayer merc with Insight.
Place: NM Lut Gholein sewers level 3.
Situation: Radamant dead, both of the crew heavily poisoned, belt empty of any healing or rejuvination potions and no such potions on ground.

I merrily collect the loot not caring about my poison as the mercs prayer will keep me on plus side. Of crap the merc bought it. I continue my inventory tetris as my life plumets, but not to worry poison won't kill you, it leaves you at one point. So I still continue the inventory hassle and open the cube to check what's in there. It must have been lone skeleton that has been behind a column or such that walked aside me. As I closed my inventory I just realised that the skeleton was beside me before DEEDS came onto screen.

Ulla


 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

OK, here's one I'm embaraased as h**l.

Crew: HC meteorb with prayer merc with Insight.
Place: NM Lut Gholein sewers level 3.
Situation: Radamant dead, both of the crew heavily poisoned, belt empty of any healing or rejuvination potions and no such potions on ground.

I merrily collect the loot not caring about my poison as the mercs prayer will keep me on plus side. Of crap the merc bought it. I continue my inventory tetris as my life plumets, but not to worry poison won't kill you, it leaves you at one point. So I still continue the inventory hassle and open the cube to check what's in there. It must have been lone skeleton that has been behind a column or such that walked aside me. As I closed my inventory I just realised that the skeleton was beside me before DEEDS came onto screen.

Ulla

Haha, I`ve done the same thing, but died to a freaking trap instead:) So humiliating:coffee:


 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Back on b.net a few times I saw "Charname was killed by fire" right after doing the andy quest in normal. In hardcore :D.
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

UllaV and Thomh: Killed by inventory. Oooof. I've come very close to that myself. I know I've lost the merc more than once doing that very thing. I have this obsession with keeping a full belt at all times. I guess I figure that four deadly bosspacks will spawn right around the next corner. *shrugs*

Although my condolences. Did you sirs leave any hair after you finished tearing it off your heads? Eee.



Pijus: I didn't know Andy cast actual fire fire when she died. Thanks for the heads up! Hopefully I won't ever join those ranks. *finger crossed*




And now for a bit of an update. Vressa-Tu, my meteorb, has just made Champion. She remains in Act V for now; she has five more levels to reach 75. Yesterday I ran Mephisto straight, from level 64 until I hit 66. I would like a break from Meph, I think. ;)

Today I made it through to Baal. The Random Goddess chose to give me mummies and needle-spitters and skeletons and fallen (lol) for the guest monsters. Except for those stupid obligatory succubi, I didn't have too hard a time of it. None of the guests spawned CI or FI, which I find rather fortuitous.

Fireball does considerable more damage now (almost 2k), with help from the synergies. And Frozen Orb still chomp chomp chomps at masses of mobs. I still need to max Meteor, and then decide how to split Firebolt/Mastery. I'd like to reach 1k+ life, but I don't know if that will happen by the end of the build.

Now, for another bit of luck! I decided to quit playing tonight after gaining level 70. I had just finished running around in the WSK, and came very close to closing the game. But some little bug tickled at my brain and told me to go ahead and give Mephy one last toss in the sack, for memories' sake.

After our throes had subsided I glanced at the ground for shinies. A golden long war bow? Ugh, I have at least one of those already, and my fishyzon doesn't even want it. ... But wait... do I see.... ohmygoddess, yes, I do!

Gentlemen, after a single Mephisto run taken on a whim, lady fortune smiled upon me and delivered into my eager hands my very first Kelpie Snare. Woot! How incredibly awesome! After running Meph for two solid experience levels, I basically found enough Milabrega's Orbs and Isenhart's stuff to fill a warehouse (well I did pick up Frostburns, although I had found them once before). But one random spontaneous run and Meph drops the good stuff. Earlier he had dropped an Ali Baba, and while I really really like that, and appreciate it, I hadn't looked for it consciously. I had slavered for a Kelpie since I first heard about it. And look! Yay!!

Fate, may our friendship only grow warmer from here.

-PQ
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

UllaV and Thomh: Killed by inventory. Oooof. I've come very close to that myself. I know I've lost the merc more than once doing that very thing. I have this obsession with keeping a full belt at all times. I guess I figure that four deadly bosspacks will spawn right around the next corner. *shrugs*

So do I, but after that great battle I'd used all my pots and all that had dropped and still both me and my merc were poisoned. I thought that I was safe as all Radament lackeys should have been dead.

Ulla

P.S. Congrats on that KS.


 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Gratz on the Kelpie. Your experience of killing Baal and the Ancients shall be forever altered. :thumbup:
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

UllaV: Oh I didn't mean to imply any error on your part. I just meant to share a bit of my compulsions. If I have one pot missing from my belt, just one, I usually focus all my attentions on remedying that as soon as I can. Sometimes I do that in the middle of battle, even. ;)

I really love the habit flayers have of hiding in corners, behind trees, wherever. I feel a small pain in my backside, but for the life of me I can't see the one responsible. Heh. Come out and play already!



Rhone: I nearly fell over when I saw that golden text. I can understand the preference for finding things yourself. I almost needed resuscitation. And yes, I know the Kelpie doesn't qualify as the most awesome drop of all times. But it felt very special to me. :)



Sorry about the bad delay, gentlemen. I've spent a lot of time with my attentions tunneled on running Meph and playing around with various drops for the merc's equipment. So far, neither Vampire's Gaze nor Shaftstop have fallen. I intend to try to ride it out and wait for them before hopping into Hell. I've hit level 76 by doing some /players2 (gimme dat non-vanishing XP shrine!) clears in the WSK. I think Fireball has finally wooed me enough to prefer it over the Orb, in most cases. I only have the 63 fcr breakpoint so far, but have my eyes on the 105. Spamming Fireballs rocks! Especially when they do ~2400 damage.* I even use Meteor for Meph! It shocked me!

I did manage to find another neat neat neat drop. Probably the best thing I've run into so far on my own. Baal usually didn't drop anything for me. Granted, I didn't run him because it took too much time. But one time he decided to toss a golden Ogre Axe on the floor. I knew enough to know that Ogre Axe classifies as an Elite polearm. I could feel my palms sweating as I ran forthwith to Cain, like a kid with a toy to show off. And what a toy! Bonehew has made me giggle in happiness many times over. You all know what it does, so I won't bother with that. But I love watching my merc eat up the field. Bone Spear actually looks pretty cool, if I say so myself. For chuckles I took him to Izzy, to see what he could do... unaided.

Wheeee!

I paired it with Blackhorn's Face for the 20% slow, to make a mini-Kelpie. I decided to socket it with a -15% jewel and an Amn. I had to install the jewel or he couldn't equip it. o_0

I've gone back-and-forth experimenting with the merc's weapon and helm, for his survivability, general and especially Meph running. Mainly any combination of Kelpie/Bonehew and Blackhorn's/Stealskull. I've pretty much fixed his armor as a constant. I know people say defense doesn't mean much unless you have oodles. I got lucky shopping Act IV and found a Godly Ornate Plate (with -1 Damage Reduction, for laughs). It came out to 1200 Def. I don't need to tell you that seeing 8.5k Def when he activates the Defiance aura makes me grin. Not too many things hit him. Well, not like before, anyway. Those particular succubi with the bloodstars still have the ability to turn his lifebar yellow --I don't quite understand why.

Assuming I give up on V.Gaze and Shaftstop, do you gentlemen have any recommendations for merc gear? And does pure 1200 Def still not justify neglecting other mods for his armor?

As an aside, I haven't bothered using Insight for quite a good while. I don't need it that terribly. An occasional blue and I get right back into the swing of things. Very very cool! Although I wonder if that mana pool always spawns in Durance 3, because teles do drink that blue kool-aid like, well, blue kool-aid.

Incidentally, I stumbled across Duriel's Shell. I have it on for resists, but haven't decided quite yet. My socket drops have remained rather bleh, so far, so no Enlightenment or such.

Although I did find Valkyrie helm and Titan's Revenge for my fishyzon's future use. Won't she jump up and down!

Well, my apologies for the rambling style I have going on above. Thanks for reading, and take care, all.

-PQ



*: My life and mana usually stand around 100 points higher each, but I've got the MF gear on (ummm... 219% not counting merc). A meteorb wearing MF stuff? I know, I know, I keep pushing at dat envelope!


P.S.: This doesn't count as a stupid death, but definitely counts as stupid. I tried gambling for ammys. I don't remember exactly what I wanted at the time, probably something with nice resist all. I would buy the ammy, glance quickly at it, sell it back, close the window, start again. I had just finished selling back an ammy when I realized what I just gave away: an ammy with Tele charges! Eeeeep! I still curse over that one. *shakes head*
 
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Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Gratz on the Bonehew and Titan's. I've done a fair bit of MFing and still haven't found a Titan's Revenge--the only one I have is the only item I've traded for, since I considered it pretty much essential for my Fishyzon.

If you're interested in melee characters, that Bonehew (socketed with a couple shaels) is a very Hell-capable weapon for a WW Barb.
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

A hopefully brief update, gentlemen.

I have ran NM Mephisto until it pained me to sit still, and my eyes began to plot mutiny against me. I have basically three items in mind. I would like to find the already-mentioned Vampire's Gaze, and Shaftstop, along with maybe possibly a Skin of the Vipermagi. I read that NM Andy has the best chance to drop an SoJ, and while I have given her some attention as well, I really just use her as distraction from Meph's pretty face.

Lots and lots of blues and yellows for the last two days. I started getting frustrated, against my better judgment, since I know I shouldn't forget the big fat "R" in RNG.

About half an hour ago, Meph decided to drop something new (the very bottom item). I figured I had found some low- or mid-level necro wand. I didn't immediately scream and shout after getting it ID'd, either. I recognized the name from the Flavie report I recently started using: Suicide Branch. Scrolling down the mods, my eyes immediately dropped out of my face and rolled around under my desk. I collected them (and myself) and immediately closed the game, to stash my Spirit and try this thing out.

"Don't get too excited," I pleaded with myself. "Yeah, you've had your mind on reaching 105 FCR for the last three days, but remember this stuff works in tiny increments. You probably won't really notice it." Hehehe.

Well... I noticed it. Oh yeah. I love 105! Holy squeaking goddess, does it make runs faster! Sure, I lost a +skill in the trade, and some FHR, but nothing insane. In return, I feel like a human machine gun when I cast! And that +10 resist all seems equitable, too. ;) Over all, I'd deem it more than fair. Just not very fair to my enemies. *winks* Didn't I say something about Bonehew, and "best thing I've found so far"? Well, have the court clerk scratch that part out, because I found a new baby. *beams* Why didn't anyone tell me about this? o_0

Now I wonder what 200 feels li.... ok ok ok I have to cut myself off there.

So yes, the Goddess of Randomness keeps placing other, equally awesome stuff into my hands while I search for my original intended items. She wants me to expand my horizon and aspirations. I begin to see her wisdom. I'll even forgive her for that vile bait-n-switch Oculus. "25% chance to tele when struck"? *shrieks*

I still have the same Stealth I've used since,.. forever. And the same Ancients'. I'll let flavie/gomule help me summarize:

Code:
Harlequin Crest

Suicide Branch / Blade of Ali Baba (-15% req. jewel)

Ancients' Pledge / Tiamat's Rebuke (I suppose I should make a Rhyme, no?)

Stealth

Magefist

Goldwrap - 67% extra gold

Corruption Talisman
+1 to Sorceress Skill Levels
4% Mana stolen per hit
+5 to Strength
Replenish Life +5
+27 to Mana
All Resistances +17

Nagelring - 30% MF

Bahamut's Ring of the Apprentice - +10% FCR, +114 Mana

Beast Trample
+20% Faster Run/Walk
+10% Faster Hit Recovery
+30% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +14%
Lightning Resist +15%
16% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

I also have some various other charms for resists, life, and some mana, but nothing worth naming. It would really make me grin if I could hit +10 skills and max resists in Hell before I finished. That 200 FCR would also .... nope, nope, I promised myself I wouldn't think about that; too agonizing. ;)

Anyway, this didnt turn out as brief as I planned. *sheepish look* Next time?


-PQ, who now has exactly 105 FCR and giggles while zipping right past those accursed dolls. *yay!*



To Rhone: And thank you for the congratulations! Bonehew still rocks; it makes it fun to watch the merc. And I have thought about making a WW Barb for a plain let's-have-some-fun character, as opposed to MF or WSK-clearing. I'll keep your words in mind, sir. Aw, and you made me blush with that bit about the Titan's, even though it all falls on lady luck.

EDIT: I found Endless Hail, Leadcrow, Hwanin's Blessing, Magewrath, and that yearned-for Vampire Gaze, all in about an hour's worth of Meph runs. Today went well, I think. And earlier today I grabbed an Arreat's Face. So that potential WW barb looks better all the time, sir. :)
 
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Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Another update, gentlemen.

I finally arrived in Hell. I like the level 85 areas, because I can level up without using /players. Of course, in Hell, I don't dare try anything over /players1. Other more intrepid souls, feel free; I will just keep to my simple ways.

I ended up switching out the Defiance merc for HF. The jury still deliberates on that one.

I managed to die. My second time so far with this character. A nasty archer pack in the tower --right outside the Countess' door-- got me in about two shots. Pow.

I also came rather close to perishing in the second level of the Pit, on my fifth or sixth time clearing it, searching for that monarch and grabbing some XP. Another cursed archer pack. The (at that time, Defiance) merc died twice in a row. I decided to save and exit and try again later on. Hats off doesn't suffice --I mean, to those who play straight, full-clears, no re-rolls, especially e.g., the Certain Death tournament. I have to reach over and remove someone else's hat as well.

I start to wonder if I should have gone max block. Although I know you can't max block with a monarch... I wonder if another build might get something out of half-block half-life. Say, settling for 50% block. *ponders* I can't do it now. I only have 9 more levels until 90, and so far not a single point in Dex. Ah, oh well. I might experiment with half-block if 1.13 goes final before I lose my 'net connection.

Speaking of monarchs, I finally got one in the Crypt. Not the Mausoleum; go figure. Larzuk put four sockets in it, and then *groan* I don't want to talk about the fact that I'd have a poor Spirit if not for my luck in finding Hels. My last sorc managed to find two Ums before Hell, and this sorc has found zero, but a handful of Hels. Ah, my fickle goddess.

Before all this, while running NM Meph, I did finally get my hands on a golden serpentskin and golden mesh armor both. I found three (3!) Tal's ammies before this, and then, days later, both desired goldens in the same hour-long session. Huh. Anyway, no ethereal on that Shaftstop, but hey, might as well grumble that the grapes don't sing hymns to my greatness as I devour them. I could stand a better Vipermagi roll, however. +20 resists doesn't feel so awesome since I left NM.

So back to Mephy I go, for a short while. At least I got the perfect map this time. And I do mean perfect. I don't think I could possibly ask for a better one, unless the level 3 door can actually spawn in the same room as the WP. ... ... ... can it?

I will probably forego that point in Frozen Armor (or two, for Shiver). I'd like to go ahead and get CM 17 (with skills) and just pour points into FBolt. Maybe one or two in FM if the Meteor starts crying for attention, that brat.

If I ever make it to Hell Meph with this girl, I hope to have some interesting things come my way.

Take care, gentlemen.

-PQ


P.S.: I took the meph map screenie in high res so you could see the whole picture. As attested by the other screenie, I don't play in 800x600, and frankly, envy the eyeballs of those who can. Me, I can't possibly keep track of the life/mana bulbs, merc's life, enemies' life and all of that, while squinting through teary eyeballs. It feels like watching ants battle. :(
 
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Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Nice progress, PQ. I meant to advise you not to search for individual items for builds, but to be happy with what items you get and build characters around them. (Not the other way around.) But I forgot to post, and you seem to have found them all, anyway! Congrats!
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

My apologies for the delay. As mentioned above, I expected my internet service to end sometime soon, and it has. I finally managed a barely adequate wifi connection. But, beggars and choosers and you know all that. I hope to stay connected for as long as possible. *crossed fingers*

My meteorb currently stands at level 82. The archers in the Pit have caused her demise yet again. I believe people do run the Pit with meteorbs, so I suspect I just need to hone my skills? It could also have something to do with no blocking. I grabbed 1.13, so I might need to try a re-spec, aimed at half -block and -vita. I just don't know. I have an itching suspicion that I will have to part ways with my Spirit to block with any kind of effect, which makes me cry, considering the trouble I went through to get it. Ah, well. I also may just carry on and get her to where she belongs, dancing with Mephy.

My fishyzon has just entered Hell. You might remember my earlier comments about her having difficulties, e.g., dying in Acts III and IV of NM. Things looked up considerably once the meteorb had farmed some gear to hand over. I love Titan's Revenge. Since equipping it, I've not yet seen that little low-ammo warning symbol. That rocks! She also hasn't died again yet, nor even come close. So far. *winks*

She has better resists than I expected considering she now uses Whistan's for blocking. I tossed Duriel's Shell on, and at least she has nothing in the negative. Wheeee! As someone told me they would, LF and CS have resumed dominating since I put more points into them. With equipment, she has LF 30, CS 27, which sits just peachy with me. I think she even has an easier time in NM WSK than my meteorb did. Apparently Nightfish had the right idea! Although I'd have to compare pre-1.13 for the OK troubles. It feels weird mindlessly butchering OKs... I almost got used to IM, er, I mean came to expect it. It almost feels like a missing tooth. ;)

My fishyzon had two interesting drops tonight running NM WSK. First, Baal decided to fling down a golden Gilded Shield. I had no familiarity with this particular item; I only knew I hadn't seen it yet. I knew the name when I ID'd it, though. I got all goggly eyed, even though I still have no plans for making a pally. I've heard HoZ mentioned enough to know that people go after it. I only have incidental MF on from my rare gloves and boots which I wear for resists. I think it comes to 30% or so; no intentional MF.

HoZ has some nifty freaking mods. Alas, I'll have to keep it in my grail, paladin or no. It dropped ethereal. *pouts* Also, I seemed to forget to snatch a screenie for the drop.

However, it seems the Goddess Erratica decided to give me a consolation: after I-don't-know-how-many hours of playing, I discovered my very first Mal! I felt better after that little kiss on the forehead. I can't build anything spectacular with it yet. I could manage Prudence, but I'll hold off for something extra sexy. It does feel nice to get my first rune in the Mal+ range. *beams*

I did decide to make a WW barb. Woot! It took a while to get used to, but I like it. I also bug out over his insane life pool. Yikes. He just reached NM LK, and I haven't decided yet to go IK cookie or try my own hodge-podge polearm build. I'll probably almost certainly use Akara's re-spec before I finish. At least he got to make use of full Sabot's set when he started out. That felt pleasant, actually using those items as more than mantlepieces. :)

I forgot, my fishyzon also found Grizzy's armor. Three sockets and 900+ def? Hrrrrm. With the right socket-filler, my barb might find that useful, if I decide to go non-IK.



wakiki: Thank you for stopping by again. I know what you mean. It can prove endlessly frustrating to do runs for a specific item, with such low chances for any particular exact thing to drop. My meteorb gave up running NM Meph for a better Vipermagi or Shaftstop --I just couldn't take it anymore. Although some builds do seem to have stringent requirements in the equipment department. Like I said, my fishyzon has done immensely better since Titan's (and Thundergod's too!), although that might say more about my skill than the build. Probably it does.

I've kept up with the Certain Death tournament. I really enjoy reading everyone's tales. I don't wanna post there for spamming the thread as a non-participant, so I want to say it here. Nice job, sir wakiki. I look forward to more, in fact I'll refresh the thread right now. :)


-PQ
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Make an oath eth balrog blade. Might take a while to put all the ingredients together, but if you get even a decent roll, the results should be awe-inspiring :)
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Ouch, sucks to see an HoZ turn up ethereal. At least you had no plans of making a pally anytime soon--otherwise that would have been a painful discovery. :p

Meteorbs should be able to MF well pretty much anywhere, so stick with it and, between more practice and better gear, you will get better at keeping her alive. I would recommend against going for half-block half-vit, and (due to the superiority of 'Spirit') would recommend sticking with vita and base dex instead of doing a max block respec. Along with the crowd control benefits of your attacks (chill from FO, locking in hit recovery with FB spam), your primary defense should be teleport. If you have a hail of arrows being launched at you, teleport out of the way. Keep teleporting away from danger as necessary while launching spells in between teleports.

If you're not already familiar with how IAS breakpoints work with Whirlwind, I highly recommend taking a look at the list of weapons that hit the last WW breakpoint.
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

wakiki: Thank you for stopping by again. I know what you mean. It can prove endlessly frustrating to do runs for a specific item, with such low chances for any particular exact thing to drop. My meteorb gave up running NM Meph for a better Vipermagi or Shaftstop --I just couldn't take it anymore. Although some builds do seem to have stringent requirements in the equipment department. Like I said, my fishyzon has done immensely better since Titan's (and Thundergod's too!), although that might say more about my skill than the build. Probably it does.

I've kept up with the Certain Death tournament. I really enjoy reading everyone's tales. I don't wanna post there for spamming the thread as a non-participant, so I want to say it here. Nice job, sir wakiki. I look forward to more, in fact I'll refresh the thread right now. :)
-PQ

If you have any questions or comments about the Certain Death tournament, please feel free to ask in the thread. Believe me, participants like getting feedback on their progress and will be delighted to know of more people following their progress. And as for the tournament host not liking "spam," posting bumps it, which doesn't bother me a bit. ;)

Too bad about your HoZ. Ah well, at least you can get started on your Ethereal Grail!



 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Pijus: Hello again! Oath does look like a neat runeword, for certain. Although I figure if I want to use a mace for my barb, I will go ahead and use the IK Maul, along with the whole set. I found the Maul once before, with my former sorc, although I can't for the life of me remember where. *ponders* Now, Obedience, hehe... I've had my eye on that for a while, again, assuming I ever make up my mind to go polearm or mace with the barb. And unlike Oath (since I own no Pul and never have, yet), I can actually make it. I even found my second Lum today which makes it more affordable.

Ah, you said balrog blade. I don't have any intentions to make a sword-wielding character right now. Why the sword?



Rhone: I suppose I will eventually see another HoZ. Although while I have found a few class-specific uniques, I've only found one copy apiece, save for two Oculuses (Oculi?). I mentioned 1.13 and IM already, so speaking of Blizzard removing things, why IM and not the ctc Tele on the Oculus? *whines*

[EDIT: Removed imaginary example Oculus comparison weapon. Also, I know some people actually enjoy the Occy. I don't mean to sound definitive.]

Oh yeah, my meteorb. Well, I rarely have a chance to see death coming, and therein lies the problem. If I could see the deadly pack of archers I could take caution. Rarely I do, though. Usually I get hit once and die, or get hit and realize trouble stands around the corner, have enough milliseconds to realize I should probably hit Save & Exit, and then another arrow finishes me off. Every case where the sorc has died to archers it has never taken more than two shots to kill her. For me it has pretty much equaled insta-wtf-kill.

In other words, by the time I see the arrows to tele away I have basically already died. This, and reading the apparently unsolved debate on max vita vs max block sorcs has me honestly damned frightened of the Pit. A death every ten runs or less feels unacceptable to me.

On the other hand, I've learned a bit about areas and immunities and what to expect. I parked the sorc for a while, and brought my fishyzon out to Hell instead. I figured she could do the pits easier. I thought I would rarely see CI/LI. Hehe, you can laugh along with me: I see them plenty. In fact, the game REALLY loves throwing mobs of cold immunes and lightning immunes together at me at once. It somehow did the same thing with my meteorb (I mean, packs of FI and packs of CI). As if it somehow knows my build.

So the fishyzon had a much higher survival rate in the Pit. In fact, she now stands ready to enter the Palace in Act II and hasn't died yet in Hell. But those damned archers spawning LI, ooof. Frozen Arrow works as a backup I suppose, only just barely. In the Crypt and Mausoleum it would take me around six-to-seven arrows to kill a single Hungry Dead. Granted I have a couple more points to put into CA, and no Melody bow, but still. I might get lucky and reach an FA damage of 2k when I finish. No wonder people told me to play javazon.

I moved the fishyzon to the AT for her new lvl 85 leveling/socket-hunting spot. She clears it pretty safely. In fact it might go easier if I didn't take the merc along, but I don't need to mention the troubles that involves... re-leveling him, etc... The stupid merc refuses not to walk through those poison clouds, bah. *shrugs* Still, I can see the meteorb just dominating the area. Nobody appears cold resistant, so I don't believe Magic Resistant, Cold Enchanted, etc, will cause any bosses to spawn CI there. I might learn different. Anyway...

Oh and thank you for that link! No, I didn't know that information already, and I really appreciate your sharing it! Saved. :)



wakiki: Thanks for the invite. I may very well toss a post over there, if I can think of a way to contribute without sounding like too much of a noob.

I have a few eth grailers already. Luckily the others I also have in non-eth. Still no luck getting eth when I want it. Hint: Thresher; daddy needs a new Insight. Can eths spawn with sockets? I can't recall if I've ever seen that.



-PQ
 
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Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Well, for one thing, one handed axes look mind-numbingly puny. A 2 handed axe would be good though, especially Champion axe. I just really like that swords have good damage, range and looks. An eth balrog blade can reach 730 max damage with a good roll, with 300 or so min damage. You can also you a 2 handed sword in one hand or in both hands if you're a barbarian.

It might seem like freezing arrow sucks now, but wait untill you get better items, and move on to the WSK. Also, the most important thing for freezing arrow is pierce. I can't stress this enough. YOU MUST HAVE HIGH PIERCE. A bit of AR doesn't hurt too, because the arrow needs to hit to be able to pierce. You'll never have good AR with a fishyzon though, so don't sacrifice other equipment to get it.
 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Still, I can see the meteorb just dominating the area. Nobody appears cold resistant, so I don't believe Magic Resistant, Cold Enchanted, etc, will cause any bosses to spawn CI there. I might learn different.
You will indeed learn different. While only 1 of the 4 enemies down there has 33% natural cold resistance, Embalmed (the other 3 Horror Mage/Invader/Plague Bearer has 0%), all of them can spawn Cold Immune with the right combination of mods on them.
Cold Resistant = 75%
Magic Resistant = 40%
Spectral Hit = 20%

I have a few eth grailers already. Luckily the others I also have in non-eth. Still no luck getting eth when I want it. Hint: Thresher; daddy needs a new Insight. Can eths spawn with sockets? I can't recall if I've ever seen that.

They can. IIRC, the chance of a specific item spawning Ethereal is 10% (Don't quote me on this one though).

Load up on kill gear, remove the MF gear, go go Ancient Tunnels!
You'll see grey elite sticks in no time.


 
Re: Adventures of the Cookie (-Cutter) Monster

Pijus: I might have to try a sword-wielding character sometime.

As for Pierce, if I can get some higher resists, I might trade out the Thundergod's for a Razortail, and do some experimenting. And I do suppose Melody will help once I get the right bow drop for it. Yeah, I read about the AR issues Nightfish mentioned. So sad. :(


potter: And indeed I did learn different. Although I didn't see CIs anywhere to the degree of say, the Pit.

Cold Resistant = 75%
Magic Resistant = 40%
Spectral Hit = 20%

You meant Cold Enchanted, right? I did read up some on monster immunities in the wiki, and have gotten much better at predicting immunites, like I said. I don't look forward to the canyon's Tombs, not with my current resists.

I do hope to see an eth socketed pointy stick. But I may have to bite the bullet and burn runes in the cube. Oh well. I need more Amns! Maybe NM Countess if I get desperate.

-PQ
 
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