All Alone Tournament III

Not using CoS worked just fine. They went down pretty easy (I'm a coward, I changed to players 1). Baal was a handful. He must have copyed 4 times and whacked my lvl 10 shadow master out in seconds. But it off to NM for Repunzel.

Baal dropped a +2 to shadow skills hat!!:thumbsup: I still need to find jewellery that’s not blue.
 
Started out at the spider forest wp, had just a sliver of already cleared area to run through to get back to new territory. Thank God I did it on p1! I tried just running through, but got choked up, and got mauled by everything. Must have used 7 potions just getting to where I hadn't been. 3 times my health went to an invisible sliver. Thank god I've placed so much importance in getting over 700 health. After that I put it on p8, which lasted for one thorned hulk bosspack, where it went down to p3, which is comfortable so far. This playing session has netted some good finds. Top of the list is a fal rune from one of the stupid flying things that poisons you. I'm keeping it in the hopes of lionheart. Also left a mav's belt on the ground because I don't need FRW and decided that my bladebuckle was better than some mana leech. Right now the game is paused, and I'll get back to it later tonight.
 
Hmmm, a 2 soc grim shield just dropped, and I'm in quite the pickle right now... Should I make a Rhyme Grim shield or hold onto this

The Ward
Gothic Shield
Defense: 112
Chance to Block: 51%
Durability: 23 of 40
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 26
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 53
Fingerprint: 0xe3924815
+10 to Strength
+100% Enhanced Defense
+10% Increased Chance of Blocking
+40 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
All Resistances +37

Also found a +3 phoenix strike greater talons, seriously considered keeping them and using that as a backup skill for a while. Keeping the game paused until someone can offer a suggestion. It should be noted however that I have no CBF, and don't think I'll ever get any, but I do like the resists on this shield. Worried if I can beat NM baal without CBF...
 
IMO Rhyme Grim Shield is much better than a 37 Ward. Higher blocking, faster blocking, CBF, and a bonus MF boost. Thawing potions are good for temp cold resist and to remove chill, but they don't give you CBF. Maybe if you already had high blocking (or don't care about blocking), and CBF, you could opt for the extra resists from Ward. Or I guess if you really needed the +str. Otherwise, I wouldn't trade Rhyme's attributes for 12 extra resist-all.
 
Insane Wayne said:
I wouldn't trade Rhyme's attributes for 12 extra resist-all.
Click to expand...

I agree, Rhyme is much better than the Ward. Now if you could socket the Ward and put a Pdiamond in there I'd consider the Ward. But since that quest is lost to us go Rhyme.

Anubis joined Princess_Diana at the Inner Cloister. Getting started was by far the hardest part of the trip. Anubis spent 10 minutes, all his mana potions and 3 rejuv potions attempting to get a boss pack of zombies to kill off one of their own. Apparently letting the monsters attack the clay golem with IM cast isn't very effective, they regenerate about as fast as they hurt themselves. So Attract is still the only way I can get a first corpse since Anubis has no offensive skills and the Clay Golem is rather useless for such a task.

But eventually one of their number fell and was replaced with a skeleton and the army was started. Have it up to 10 skeletons, 6 skeleton mages and a clay golem.

Did have one NDE, when a cold enhanced boss died/exploded and Anubis was a tad too close. His heath just about disappeared, which was lucky as I was assuming such an occurance would be a deeds action, considering his cold resistance is currently -64 :yikes:

Speaking of that, Anubis has finally replaced his starting wand with.....a +1RS wand with a....gasp....socket. Into this socket was a placed a random jewel that fell for 10% cold resistance. This probably saved Anubis' life when that cold enhanced boss died :shocked:

Also found a new belt with 4% more lightning resistance but has 4 rows for potions instead of the 3 Anubis had previously. Ya, more inventory room for...more potions.

Next up, Andariel.

Edit: Ok question. When everyone is saying they are parking their characters for the night I'm assuming your just pressing ESC and minimzing the game until next play session. Or is there something I am missing? This isn't something I've tried before but due to the issues I'll have getting my army started I think most if not all of Hell will be done in this manner.

Edit2: I updated the table as best I could, but I know some of the character levels are incorrect.

Code: 
[highlight]Alive Characters[/highlight]  
[b][u]Forum Name      Character       Build       Class       LVL   ACT         WP      [/u][/b]  
OldSoldier      Princess_Diana  MA/LF       Amazon      74  A1 Hell  Inner Cloister
Mursilis        Anubis          Summoner    Necromancer 72  A1 Hell  Inner Cloister
Insane Wayne    Asteria         CS          Amazon      74  A1 Hell  Rogue Camp
jiansonz        Evangelina      Phoenix     Assassin    65  A4 NM    River of Flame
Crazy_Bear      Jane_Doe        Javazon     Amazon      62  A3 NM    Kurast Baazar
skoolbus        OneFingaPushup  Trapper     Assassin    57  A3 NM    Kurast Docks
SinningThings   Rapunzel        Trapsin     Assassin    25  A1 NM    Rogue Camp
Breaker         Nosiop          Poison      Necromancer 36  A5 Norm  Frigid Highlands
Chern           All_Alone       Summoner    Druid       33  A4 Norm  River of Flame
Zodwizard       HC_Rainwalker   Fire-Hunter Druid       29  A4 Norm  Pand Fortress
Anraxas         To_easy         Summoner    necro       28  A3 Norm  Kurast Docks
WestXylophone   SoloFirer       HolyFire    Paladin     26  A3 Norm  Kurast Docks
stephan         Louise                      Assassin    23  A3 Norm  Kurast Docks
Silverslasher   Forlorn         fire/summon Druid       28  A3 Norm  Kurast Docks
Cygnus          Lycus           Hammers     Paladin     25  A2 Norm  Harem
Friiser         HCAll_Alone     Summoner    Necro       22  A2 Norm  Far Oasis
Docturnal       Angriez         Fishyzon    Zon         21  A2 Norm  Rocky Waste
Ron             Bamboozle       Passive     Amazon      17  A2 Norm  Sewers Level 2
San             Sigrdrifa       PsnJava/MA  Zon         21  A2 Norm  Lut Gholein
thewamp         Athena          PJ/FA       Amazon      20  A2 Norm  Lut Gholein
Tweety          Remi            Boner       Necromancer 19  A2 Norm  Lut Gholein
Brak            Tojolobal       Quesodin    Paladin     19  A2 Norm  Lut Gholein
Ohomemgrande    Lonely          Trapper     Assassin    19  A2 Norm  Lut Gholein
tripsu          InsaneEnvy                  Amazon      18  A2 Norm  Lut Gholein  
Credge          YinMKII         --          Necro       17  A1 Norm  Jail Level 1
Hoop76          Lone_Ranger                 Paladin     15  A1 Norm  Outer Cloister
ZeN             DieAlone        Fishy       Necro       14  A1 Norm  Outer Cloister
GreyEagle       LoneEagle       Trapper     Assassin    17  A1 Norm  Tamoe Highlands
mjosh           Electrolyte     light sorc  Sorceress   15  A1 Norm  Black Marsh
Feared          April_Ethereal  Summoner    Necro        ?  A1 Norm  Black Marsh
Farfus          Farfus          Healbot     Paladin     12  A1 Norm  Stony Field
FromBeyond      HesHardcore                 Barbarian   11  A1 Norm  Stony Field
SonOfBaal       IHateYouAll     Trap/Summon Assassin    11  A1 Norm  Stony Field
Quickdeath      Eve             Cold        Sorceress   10  A1 Norm  Stony Field
Sindus          LonelyMaiden    Enchantress Sorc         7  A1 Norm  Stony Field
Chizz           Trapper         ?           Assassin     6  A1 Norm  Stony Field
AlienBoyz       DocWho          Summoner    Necro       12  A1 Norm  Cold Plains
Chymaera        Marius II       BlizBolt    Sorceress   10  A1 Norm  Cold Plain 
Liquidcore      ThaDru          Wind/fire   Druid        6  A1 Norm  Cold Plains
Vang            WirtsOldMan                 Barbarian    1  A1 Norm  Rogue Camp
rY xD           Illidan         Berzerker   Barbarian    1  A1 Norm  Rogue Camp
adny            Scorch          Hydrasorc   Sorceress    1  A1 Norm  Rogue Camp
Gabriel74       Smelly          Lightning   Sorceress    1  A1 Norm  Rogue Camp
Retawd          Sinistral       --          Assassin     1  A1 Norm  Rogue Camp
Darkstrikes     lighamus                    Amazon       1  A1 Norm  Rogue Camp

[highlight]Dead Characters[/highlight]
[b][u]Forum Name      Character       Build       Class       LVL   ACT         WP   [/u][/b]        
Butzull         Warnie          Hunter      Druid       75  A1 Hell  Outer Cloister
Breaker         PokePoke        Lancebarb   Barb        36  A4 Norm  River of Flame  
inSTAALed       EmoPhil         Ele         Druid       28  A4 Norm  River of Flame
whoisfu         WhoIsZon                    Amazon      35  A4 Norm  Chaos Sanctuary
jiansonz        Kevin           HF Zealot   Paladin     31  A3 Norm  Disused Reliquary
Silverslasher   Sizzlingpain    Trap        Assassin    28  A3 Norm  Kurast
EmperorMoo      GumbyKicksAss   Golemancer  Necro       26  A3 Norm  Flayer Jungle
Jabash          RunAway         Blade/Shdw  Assasin     28  A2 Norm  Duriel's Chamber
Anraxas         ibone_alone     ranger      Paladin     27  A2 Norm  Duriel's Chamber
newco           KissMyBoots     Hybrid      Assassin    27  A2 Norm  Duriel's Chamber
Crazy_Bear      Silent_Bob      Psn/Mage    Necromancer 27  A2 Norm  Duriel's Chamber
Butzull         Spinster                    Amazon      26  A2 Norm  Duriel's Chamber
EmperorMoo      BertieWooster   Summoner    Necromancer 25  A2 Norm  Duriel's chamber
Sindus          Sindus          Comando     Necro       25  A2 Norm  Summoner
inSTAALed       HumanMeatBlock  Con         Barb        21  A2 Norm  Halls of Dead
Colorless Green Omega                       Assassin    21  A2 Norm  Halls/Dead2
EJB             WheresEveryone              Druid       22  A2 Norm  Radament
EmperorMoo      GotArrers       Mageazon    Amazon      21  A2 Norm  Radamant  
ShockTactics    Frostshock      Frostadin   Paladin     20  A2 Norm  Radamant
Chymaera        Marius          BlizBolt    Sorceress   14  A1 Norm  Black Marsh
chizz           Chizzy          Summoner    Necro       11  A1 Norm  Jail level 1
EmperorMoo      Wordsworth      Summon      Necromancer 11  A1 Norm  Tamoe Highland
Anraxas         ibone_alone     bone        Necro        8  A1 Norm  Countess
Liquidcore      FightingLove    Sniperzon   Amazon       6  A1 Norm  Stony Field



 
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@ Mursilis - good work on making it so far. That must have been tough for your character to get the army going like that. I'd be afraid that with one single skeleton that the zombies would kill it and you'd be back to square one. I'd CE the first one or two. Another method might be to use fallen as your initial army-makers, if you happen to be in an area where they're likely to spawn. They attack faster and have far fewer hit points than zombies. When I "park" my character I S&E at a convenient waypoint. I only have one summon to make so it isn't a big deal like for you.

Regardless, Princess isn't feeling very talkative, so please respect her wishes to maintain your distance. [/publicity agent rant]

@ Skoolbus - definitely make the Rhyme. It'll have better blocking percentage, better block rate, CBF, MF, and will allow you to run faster and your stamina will drain less (lighter shield). I'm in the market for the same kind of shield myself, with a spare Shael ready to go.
 
I was worried about the solo skeleton as well, it did almost die. So I kept using attract on another zombie to keep the rest occupied. Once I had two skeletons and a clay golem they could pretty much handle their own against the remaining 3 zombies.

I'd prefer to go against carvers too, unfortunately this was the first pack I ran into and I was worried they'd follow me around and I'd get swarmed. Didn't expect it to be so difficult to get them to fight each other :rolleyes:
 
Doh, I didn't make it in the first grim shield I saw, but also came across another one and a 2 soc dragon shield. I decided against it for a few reasons. 1) I rarely get frozen. 2) I rarely get hit. 3) I have one sheal and I need to see if I get a good rune from NM hellforge for a runeword armor (which I could very much use) 4) I need cold and a little light resist and tons of poison resist.

I think I got so excited when it dropped that I didn't think about these and just asked without thinking for myself first. However, if I don't get an um pul lum or hel from NM hellforge (praying for a lum) I'll make it first good 2 soc shield I find.

If I do get a lum from hellforge, should I make Smoke or hope for hel and make lionheart? Lionheart gives me a nice boost to mana and more health than I'll hopefully ever need, while smoke gives very nice resists and FHR. I suppose it depends on

Another question, is crescent moon a good weapon for blade fury? It seems like it would be and the spirit wolves might come in handy too.

Yet another question, I think I remember hearing about a bug in the runeword Peace, with the ctc valk, am I imagining things?
 
skoolbus said:
I decided against it for a few reasons. 1) I rarely get frozen. 2) I rarely get hit.
Click to expand...
I see your point, but I'm just not convinced by these two reasons. By the same logic, you can argue that improved resists are not that important. Even the best HC players do get ambushed, blind-sided, or lose their concentration. I feel that CBF mobility and improved blocking are more likely to be game-saving factors than the extra 12 resist. (although, not always, considering what just happened to Mursilis with the death nova, but that is very unusual). In particular, many Hell monsters have an automatic cold attack, and then of course there are the frequent CE minions, many of them very speedy and/or ranged. It's so much tougher to do anything while chilled.
However, I agree you can wait until starting Hell, to see what other runes you get, in case you want the Shael for something else. That sounds like a good plan.

skoolbus said:
If I do get a lum from hellforge, should I make Smoke or hope for hel and make lionheart? Lionheart gives me a nice boost to mana and more health than I'll hopefully ever need, while smoke gives very nice resists and FHR.
Click to expand...
Tough call, they're both great. There's a realistic chance you'll find a Hel before Hell. If not, I'd make Smoke as soon as I started Hell. Of course, you're not favored to find a Lum for either of them, so if you really want to replace your armor you might have to make a gemmed one. Ral Ort Thul PRuby = poor man's Lionheart, which is close to what I'm using. :tongue:

skoolbus said:
question, is crescent moon a good weapon for blade fury? It seems like it would be and the spirit wolves might come in handy too.
Click to expand...
Sure! Why not? But I wouldn't count on those unsynergized spirit wolves lasting long. They might serve as a brief distraction in an emergency. I've had maxed dire wolves (with max Oak Sage) drop dead in a couple seconds against common Hell boss mobbings.
 
skoolbus said:
Yet another question, I think I remember hearing about a bug in the runeword Peace, with the ctc valk, am I imagining things?
Click to expand...


Peace is totally buggy. Basically the valk disappears when any of the following things end their duration:

Your character is poisoned.

Certain shrines expire (ie. Resist Lightning)

Certain curses end (ie. amp dmg)

Certain character skills expire (only know of paladins holy shield but haven't tested sins fade or BoS)


In short the valk's not reliable, but if your very careful you can keep it around. Also since BF hits very often it might trigger enough to be worth it. On second thought I don't even know if BF can trigger the valk.



 
Brak said:
Peace is totally buggy. Basically the valk disappears when any of the following things end their duration:

Your character is poisoned.

Certain shrines expire (ie. Resist Lightning)

Certain curses end (ie. amp dmg)

Certain character skills expire (only know of paladins holy shield but haven't tested sins fade or BoS)


In short the valk's not reliable, but if your very careful you can keep it around. Also since BF hits very often it might trigger enough to be worth it. On second thought I don't even know if BF can trigger the valk.
Click to expand...

I know BF triggers ctc on striking stuff, but this is just ridiculous, no way am I going to bother with that mess. Thanks for the info though.



 
So Anubis decided to take on Andariel. She's one of those bosses I normally don't have any trouble with. Anubis has 50% Poison Resist and doesn't expect to get hit anyway so this should be a piece of cake yes? Nope. Minion resistance is at 47%, apparently not enough to not keep dying constantly to her poison damage. After four army restorations finally got Andariel to target the clay golem while the 6 surviving skeletons chipped away at her life. Eventually she died, and dropped nothing.

I'm finding this is one of those catch 22 scenarios. I need an army to raise my army after it gets wiped out. Have to time a retreat well enough to have enough survivors to be able to tackle any wandering monsters Anubis encounters. Really don't want to have to spend 15 minutes using Attract to get that first corpse.

Anubis decided to clear out the Sewers for good measure before stopping for the night. Finally getting to use Corpse explosion now. First Anubis runs into a mob of about 25 or so monsters, then 4 CEs later the mob has mysteriously disppeared.

[highlight]Anubis, Level 73 Summoner, Hell Act II Sewers level 2[/highlight]
 
Uh oh, I have a problem. I'm attempting to get through the Cellar on my way to the AS. On the third level in the room adjacent to the portal is a conviction enhanced boss pack of lightning archers. Along with them is a boss pack of skeleton lightning mages. They are of course spread out through the entire room so my army disperses as soon as I enter. They are completely owning my army, I can kill one or two before I have to retreat to find more bodies. Problem is I'm running out of mana pots, and bodies in the entire Act. I can't make a break for it to the portal since that Invader boss pack is parked at the doorway.

Dim vision doesn't last long enough with only one point invested and I've tried using Attract but it's only somewhat successful with ranged attackers. My minions simply don't do enough damage quick enough to make much of a dent. Any ideas?
 
I would suggest. Get an army going, run in and send the army in so they take most of the fire from the archers. Run to the door and try to attract the pack away from the door. After you have them away from the door. Get another army going, and run like mad towards the door and just hope!

It sounds like trying to kill all them isn't possible, so this may be your only chance.

Good luck!! :thumbsup:
 
Mursilis said:
Uh oh, I have a problem. I'm attempting to get through the Cellar on my way to the AS. On the third level in the room adjacent to the portal is a conviction enhanced boss pack of lightning archers. Along with them is a boss pack of skeleton lightning mages. They are of course spread out through the entire room so my army disperses as soon as I enter. They are completely owning my army, I can kill one or two before I have to retreat to find more bodies. Problem is I'm running out of mana pots, and bodies in the entire Act. I can't make a break for it to the portal since that Invader boss pack is parked at the doorway.

Dim vision doesn't last long enough with only one point invested and I've tried using Attract but it's only somewhat successful with ranged attackers. My minions simply don't do enough damage quick enough to make much of a dent. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Do you have any more skill points free? If so, I would put them in dim vision and try and lure the invader boss pack from the doorway so you can squeeze through (perhaps with cunning golem placement?), else, only thing I can think of is trying to go around a different route or teleport, but doubt tele is an option.

Conviction takes about a second to affect you, so if you're really speedy you should be able to get far enough away before it harms you. Sorry I don't really have a suggestion other than a jailbreak plan.



 
So basically what Skoolbus and I are saying is, Run in and run around like mad! Then run out, and run back in like mad again but towards that portal!
 
tripsu said:
So basically what Skoolbus and I are saying is, Run in and run around like mad! Then run out, and run back in like mad again but towards that portal!
Click to expand...

What we said is something I would do, and from my HC experience (of which always ends in deeds) I'd say you have ~40% to make it. But I do know that if you run out of bodies or mana pots, you will have a 0% of making it.



 
Unfortunately no extra skill points left. I've tried the alternate route as originally they were blocking the door so only a single skeleton could attack at a time. I've come in the back way, which is why I can get to the room with the portal, however the Invader pack is waiting there.

I see what you mean about luring the invader pack out. Think I'll try that. I still have some parts undiscovered in the Act, should be able to get some sort of army going, at least a few more times. It's mana that's going to be the killer...

Personally I'd kill for an amulet with teleport charges, if I do get past this part those tombs are going to be murder.
 
Mursilis said:
Personally I'd kill for an amulet with teleport charges, if I do get past this part those tombs are going to be murder.
Click to expand...
Yes, I learned this lesson the hard way in the first tourney. That's why I sacrificed 4 precious spaces to hold a magic circlet with teleport (what a lucky find). Your situation is tough, but if you're patient, careful, and a little lucky I think you can make it. If you can lure the Invader boss first, some or all of his minions will follow. Otherwise his minions will retreat back to the room due to "boss leash". Skeleton archers can also be lured, but it's a very slow process. Running for it is also possible, as long as you don't misclick the portal! Good luck.



 
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