ARGH's Quest for 99

Jan 1, 2011
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The plan at this point is to be the Second Wolfbarb to reach Level 99 and I’ve decided to start my own thread to document the journey. Back in June ARGH finished Hell at level 88 after playing all of Hell at level 5 and having zero deaths. Here are his stats at that time.

Name: ARGH
Class: Barbarian
Experience: 1466153040
Level: 88

Naked/Gear/in Wolf mode
Strength: 133/190
Dexterity: 121/165
Vitality: 271/305
Energy: 10/10
HP: 1273/1382/4945
Mana: 97/137
Stamina: 425/451
Defense: 30/1632/13056
AR: 590/1051/7780

Fire: 75
Cold: 72
Lightning: 85
Poison: 72

MF: 103 Block: 21
GF: 113
FR/W: 30 actually 86 to 114when in wolf form
FHR: 5
IAS: 101 Actually 56, 101 includes 45% from Doom which never gets factored into calculations.
FCR: 0

His End gear was
Helm - Wolfhowl
Armor – Chains of Honor Archon Plate
Gloves – Laying of hands
Belt – Thundergod’s Vigor
Boots – Goreriders
Amulet – Seraph’s Hymn
Main Hand – Grief phaseblade (+381damage, 36% IAS)
Off Hand – Doom Warspike
Ring 1 – Raven Frost
Ring 2 – Rare ring with Mana leach, life, Lightning resist, +13 dex and +65 to AR.
Switch – HOTO flail and Spirit Tusk Sword

I also socketed the Wolfhowl with a rare jewel with 25 - 40 Fire Damage and 1 - 70 Lightning Damage

With a bunch of small charms and the Venom from Grief my total elemental damage was

Cold – 118-171
Fire – 54-119
Lightning – 6-281
Poison – 300-325

His Skills were

Bash: 1/7
Double Swing: 1/7
Sword Mastery: 20/26
Increased Stamina: 1/7
Iron Skin: 20/26
Increased Speed: 4/10
Natural Resistance: 10/16
Howl: 1/9
Shout: 20/28
Battle Orders: 20/28
Battle Command: 1/9

He was accompanied by Wulfgar his trusty Barbarian friend wielding a Lawbringer Champion sword and equipped with Arreat’s Face with a 40% ED, +14 life Jewel and Fortitude Armor.

Level 88 to 93

I really enjoyed him and decided to turn him into a Magic finder to continue playing him. As a result, I made several changes.

The off-hand Doom was replaced by a blade of Ali Baba with two Ist runes.
The Gore Riders were replaced by War Travelers
Laying of Hands was replaced by Chance Guards
The rare ring was replaced with another that had 15% MF
And to free up space for MF small charms the Seraph’s Hymn was replaced by a Mara Kaleidoscope.

These changes brought my magic find to over 400%. However, they also impacted my killing speed and rather than running at p/5 I switched to p/1 or 3. During the summer MFO I switched the gloves back to Laying of Hands to help shorten the time it was taking to kill Baal and other demons.

By Thanksgiving I was just shy of level 93 and had spent the additional skill points one each on Find potion, Find item, Increase Speed and Natural Resistances.

In late November I switched to D2R, immediately sold my extra SoJ and got a reasonable Annihlus charm.

Annihilus
Small Charm
Required Level: 70
Fingerprint: 0xbedd8e04
Item Level: 99
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
All Stats +18
All Resistances +16
+8% to Experience Gained

And as result also switched the Mara’s amulet for Highlord’s Wrath to gain deadly strike.

On making level 93 I dumped a second point into Find Item. I was spending time running Baal, Diablo, Travincal, Pits, AT, Nihlathak and slowly building some experience. Then just before Christmas I read the SPF 99er Compendium guide and realized that I needed to decide, Keep ARGH as he was and probably take 10 years to reach 99 or get serious and make some changes so that he can run at high players settings with reasonable times.

The problem with a Wolfbarb is that when in Wolf form you are restricted to Feral Rage as your attack and Feral Rage just doesn’t do really high damage. So, it was time to do a little testing.

First, off came the MF gear and back on went his end gear. I did decide to keep the Highlord’s for the Deadly strike. He immediately became able to run Baal’s minion waves at p/8. Next, I removed all the MF small charms and loaded up on elemental damage charms. This didn’t really result in much of an improvement. I decided that I needed more physical damage and had too much elemental damage.

I then removed the 25 - 40 Fire Damage and 1 - 70 Lightning Damage jewel in the Wolfhowl helm and replaced it with a 37% ED and 1-92 lightning damage jewel. I then removed most of the elemental small charms and substituted Sharp Grand Charms and Fine small charms. This allows me to add up to 67 to max damage, 326 to AR and 37% FHR.

Wednesday on a Trav run, a Jah rune dropped and I made a Phoenix shield that I had been lusting to make. It’s expensive (Vex, Vex, Lo and Jah) but the +391% extra damage by itself is a big boost even though I lose +2 to Feral rage and the Holy Freeze aura when I remove Doom as the off-hand weapon. The only issue with Phoenix is that I can’t hork any bodies. Will probably switch back to Doom on Pindle and Trav runs so I can hork.

Current stats as of level 93 1/6/2023:

Naked/Gear/in Wolf mode
Strength: 137/211
Dexterity: 123/186
Vitality: 290/342
Energy: 10/28
HP: 1359/1445/5236
Mana: 102/341
Stamina: 425/1752
Defense: 30/1785/13923
AR: 590/1051/10547

Fire: 85
Cold: 75
Lightning: 90
Poison: 75

MF: 654 Block: 43
GF: 121
FR/W: 30 actually 86 to 114
FHR: 37
IAS: 76
FCR: 0

Current Gear
Helm - Wolfhowl
Armor – Chains of Honor Archon Plate
Gloves – Laying of hands
Belt – Thundergod’s Vigor
Boots – Goreriders
Amulet – Highlord’s Wrath
Main Hand – Grief phaseblade (+381damage, 36% IAS)
Off Hand – Phoenix Monarch Shield
Ring 1 – Raven Frost
Ring 2 – Rare ring with Mana leach, life, Lightning resist, +13 dex and +65 to AR.
Switch – HOTO flail and Spirit Tusk Sword

Code:
Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x4782aeee
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+172 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+19 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen

Laying of Hands
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 82
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x989ea0de
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Chance to cast level 3 Holy Bolt on striking
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+350% Damage to Demons
+25 Defense
Fire Resist +50%

Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 146
Durability: 34 of 34
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 94
Fingerprint: 0x3fc4183
Item Level: 68
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
10% Chance of Open Wounds
+172% Enhanced Defense
+20 Maximum Stamina
Requirements -25%
+10 Maximum Durability

Chains of Honor
Archon Plate
DolUmBerIst
Defense: 880
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 103
Fingerprint: 0x8e15eb1e
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+200% Damage to Demons
+100% Damage to Undead
8% Life stolen per hit
+70% Enhanced Defense
+20 to Strength
Replenish Life +7
All Resistances +65
Damage Reduced by 8%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
4 Sockets (4 used)

Rune Hold
Ring
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xdb200f4e
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+65 to Attack Rating
4% Mana stolen per hit
+13 to Dexterity
+36 to Life
+6 Maximum Stamina
Lightning Resist +19%



ARGH's Wolfhowl
Fury Visor
Defense: 345
Durability: 35 of 35
Required Level: 79
Required Strength: 129
Fingerprint: 0x2bc52609
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian Only)
Adds 25 - 40 Fire Damage
Adds 1 - 70 Lightning Damage
+5 to Feral Rage
+6 to Lycanthropy
+6 to Werewolf
+129% Enhanced Defense
+14 to Strength
+12 to Dexterity
+14 to Vitality
Heal Stamina Plus 15%
Level 15 Summon Dire Wolf (18/18 Charges)
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Plague Heart

Plague Heart
Jewel
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x73b2a153
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 25 - 40 Fire Damage
Adds 1 - 70 Lightning Damage
Heal Stamina Plus 15%

Seraph's Hymn
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xe1366fe7
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+2 to Defensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)
+41% Damage to Demons
+235 to Attack Rating against Demons
+41% Damage to Undead
+232 to Attack Rating against Undead
+2 to Light Radius

Thundergod's Vigor
War Belt
Defense: 138
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 110
Fingerprint: 0xd6a85d35
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 7 Fist of the Heavens when struck
Adds 1 - 50 Lightning Damage
+3 to Lightning Fury (Amazon Only)
+3 to Lightning Strike (Amazon Only)
+161% Enhanced Defense
+20 to Strength
+20 to Vitality
+10% to Maximum Lightning Resist
+20 Lightning Absorb

Spirit
Tusk Sword
TalThulOrtAmn
One Hand Damage: 10 - 37
Two Hand Damage: 19 - 58
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 25
Required Strength: 104
Required Dexterity: 71
Fingerprint: 0xbc7cfa6f
Item Level: 47
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+32% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
Adds 1 - 50 Lightning Damage
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
7% Life stolen per hit
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+103 to Mana
+4 Magic Absorb
4 Sockets (4 used)

Heart of the Oak
Flail
KoVexPulThul
One Hand Damage: 1 - 24
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 55
Required Strength: 41
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0x73304224
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to All Skills
+40% Faster Cast Rate
+75% Damage to Demons
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
7% Mana stolen per hit
+10 to Dexterity
Replenish Life +20
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
All Resistances +35
Level 4 Oak Sage (25/25 Charges)
Level 14 Raven (60/60 Charges)
4 Sockets (4 used)

Tovak's Grief
Phase Blade
EthTirLoMalRal
One Hand Damage: 31 - 35
Indestructible
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 136
Fingerprint: 0xcd05eebd
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
35% Chance to cast level 15 Venom on striking
+36% Increased Attack Speed
Damage +381
Ignore Target's Defense
-25% Target Defense
+165% Damage to Demons (Based on Character Level)
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
-23% to Enemy Poison Resistance
20% Deadly Strike
Prevent Monster Heal
+2 to Mana after each Kill
+12 Life after each Kill
5 Sockets (5 used)

Poppa's Doom
Superior War Spike
HelOhmUmLoCham
One Hand Damage: 141 - 227
Durability: 26 of 26
Required Level: 67
Required Strength: 107
Required Dexterity: 44
Fingerprint: 0xb3abc0d1
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 18 Volcano on striking
Level 12 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped
+2 to All Skills
+45% Increased Attack Speed
373% Enhanced Damage
+1 to Attack Rating
-54% to Enemy Cold Resistance
20% Deadly Strike
25% Chance of Open Wounds
Prevent Monster Heal
Freezes target +3
Requirements -20%
5 Sockets (5 used)

Mercenary:

Name:       Wulfgar
Race:       Barbarian
Type:       1hs-Nightmare

Arreat's Face
Slayer Guard
Defense: 354
Durability: 55 of 55
Required Level: 58
Required Strength: 118
Fingerprint: 0x4056bbab
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)
+2 to Barbarian Skill Levels
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
40% Enhanced Damage
20% Bonus to Attack Rating
5% Life stolen per hit
+193% Enhanced Defense
+20 to Strength
+20 to Dexterity
+14 to Life
All Resistances +30
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of Hope

Ruby Jewel of Hope
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x297cfeb3
Item Level: 69
Version: Expansion 1.10+
40% Enhanced Damage
+14 to Life


Fortitude
Superior Wire Fleece
ElSolDolLo
Defense: 1533
Durability: 32 of 32
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 111
Fingerprint: 0x733dae0b
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 15 Chilling Armor when struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
300% Enhanced Damage
+215% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+88 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +30
Damage Reduced by 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 to Light Radius
4 Sockets (4 used)

Lawbringer
Champion Sword
AmnLemKo
One Hand Damage: 36 - 81
Two Hand Damage: 106 - 124
Durability: 21 of 21
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 153
Required Dexterity: 93
Fingerprint: 0xc2dcb4bc
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 15 Decrepify on striking
Level 17 Sanctuary Aura When Equipped
-50% Target Defense
Adds 150 - 210 Fire Damage
Adds 130 - 180 Cold Damage Over 6 Secs (141 Frames)
7% Life stolen per hit
Slain Monsters Rest in Peace
+241 Defense vs. Missile
+10 to Dexterity
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
Ethereal
3 Sockets (3 used)

Code:
Shimmering Grand Charm of Vita
Grand Charm
Required Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0xa236bb77
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+37 to Life
All Resistances +13

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x10041f75
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Boreal Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xab72fbbb
Item Level: 93
Version: Expansion
Adds 6 - 11 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Boreal Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xa9694974
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 5 - 14 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
+2 to Strength

Smoking Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 56
Fingerprint: 0xb073739
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 7 - 14 Fire Damage
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Arcing Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0xe903958f
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
Adds 1 - 43 Lightning Damage

Arcing Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0xaf3166bc
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 41 Lightning Damage

Arcing Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0xf1eca8f1
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 39 Lightning Damage
+1 to Strength

Arcing Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0x47dfa79
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 38 Lightning Damage
+11 to Life

Smoking Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 56
Fingerprint: 0xb627500e
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion
Adds 8 - 17 Fire Damage
+5 to Life

Boreal Small Charm of Greed
Small Charm
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xba8442e7
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 7 - 11 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
8% Extra Gold from Monsters

Smoking Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 56
Fingerprint: 0x7372c5ee
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 9 - 18 Fire Damage

Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xe287774f
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xd71ba236
Item Level: 63
Version: Expansion 1.10+
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Bronze Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xb47ca7da
Item Level: 73
Version: Expansion
+3 to Attack Rating
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x693d664c
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Required Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x11f4410c
Item Level: 76
Version: Expansion 1.10+
105% Extra Gold from Monsters
Reduces all Vendor Prices 11%
37% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Right now he is running and I mean running (no Enigma) Pindle p/3, Nihlathak p/8, Travincal p/3, LK p/8 and Baal p8/3. Travincal and LK are in there to break up boredom and I can always use more high runes. Total time to do Baal is under 8 minutes and everything is around 12 minutes, not exactly blinding fast, but I can improve on that if I can just stop killing everything, I especially love killing Frenzytaur packs.

For those wondering why I don't use my Enigma, the problem with Enigma is other than the teleporting it doesn’t really strengthen the build and does nothing to improve damage or resistances. Chains of Honor is far superior for a Wolfbarb. Also, my plan was to be always a Wolf and you can’t teleport in wolf form.

Code:
ARGH's Wolfhowl
Fury Visor
Defense: 345
Durability: 34 of 35
Required Level: 79
Required Strength: 129
Fingerprint: 0x2bc52609
Item Level: 87
Version: Resurrected
+2 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian Only)
37% Enhanced Damage
Adds 1 - 92 Lightning Damage
+5 to Feral Rage
+6 to Lycanthropy
+6 to Werewolf
+129% Enhanced Defense
+14 to Strength
+12 to Dexterity
+14 to Vitality
Level 15 Summon Dire Wolf (18/18 Charges)
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of Thunder

Ruby Jewel of Thunder
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xb345dcb7
Item Level: 85
Version: Resurrected
37% Enhanced Damage
Adds 1 - 92 Lightning Damage

Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xc2605306
Item Level: 79
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 1 - 30 Lightning Damage
34% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Lightning Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 15

Phoenix
Monarch
VexVexLoJah
Defense: 140
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 86 of 86
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0xadb8652d
Item Level: 85
Version: Resurrected
100% Chance to cast level 40 Blaze when you Level-Up
40% Chance to cast level 22 Firestorm on striking
Level 14 Redemption Aura When Equipped
391% Enhanced Damage
-28% to Enemy Fire Resistance
+386 Defense vs. Missile
+50 to Life
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
+10% to Maximum Fire Resist
Fire Absorb 16%
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Lo Rune
Socketed: Jah Rune

Code:
Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Required Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x6cf92712
Item Level: 82
Version: Resurrected
115% Extra Gold from Monsters
Reduces all Vendor Prices 15%
40% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Shocking Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x769b0a6
Item Level: 80
Version: Resurrected
Adds 1 - 86 Lightning Damage

Sharp Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0x8e7ced67
Item Level: 80
Version: Resurrected
+12% Faster Hit Recovery
+10 to Maximum Damage
+58 to Attack Rating

Fine Small Charm of Fire
Small Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0xb7a0a7a0
Item Level: 80
Version: Resurrected
+3 to Maximum Damage
+20 to Attack Rating
Adds 2 - 4 Fire Damage

Sharp Grand Charm of Quality
Grand Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x1f393848
Item Level: 49
Version: Resurrected
+12 to Maximum Damage
+67 to Attack Rating

Fine Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0xd1ad7d31
Item Level: 44
Version: Resurrected
+3 to Maximum Damage
+19 to Attack Rating
+2 to Strength

Annihilus
Small Charm
Required Level: 70
Fingerprint: 0xbedd8e04
Item Level: 99
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
All Stats +18
All Resistances +16
+8% to Experience Gained

Shocking Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x89630705
Item Level: 80
Version: Resurrected
Adds 1 - 82 Lightning Damage

Hibernal Large Charm of Craftmanship
Large Charm
Required Level: 61
Fingerprint: 0xc7651d95
Item Level: 84
Version: Resurrected
+1 to Maximum Damage
Adds 12 - 27 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)

Hibernal Large Charm of Balance
Large Charm
Required Level: 61
Fingerprint: 0x9d299446
Item Level: 99
Version: Resurrected
+8% Faster Hit Recovery
Adds 12 - 24 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)

Fine Small Charm of Greed
Small Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0xd5120cbd
Item Level: 80
Version: Resurrected
+3 to Maximum Damage
+20 to Attack Rating
6% Extra Gold from Monsters

Sharp Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0x6f1db6ea
Item Level: 47
Version: Resurrected
+12% Faster Hit Recovery
+10 to Maximum Damage
+71 to Attack Rating

Arcing Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0xe903958f
Item Level: 79
Version: Resurrected
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
Adds 1 - 43 Lightning Damage

Fine Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x9315c0ff
Item Level: 88
Version: Resurrected
+2 to Maximum Damage
+19 to Attack Rating
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Fine Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0x433128b4
Item Level: 76
Version: Resurrected
+2 to Maximum Damage
+18 to Attack Rating
+11 to Life

Thoughts for the future

I’m not running Diablo right now since I must fight my way into and through the Chaos Sanctuary. However, there is another option, which is to wear Enigma and teleport onto Diablo’s arch, cast a portal and go back to the fortress, switch over to CoH and then back to the Sanctuary.

Find some better grand charms.

Does getting a hellfire torch make any sense? I’ve never run it and have no real idea how easy it would be for ARGH. It would probably be worth running occasionally, the problem being that while I have plenty Keys of Terror from the Countess, I have none of the other two. I’ll let my Zealot who is wearing Enigma do the AS runs and see how long it takes Nihlathak and the Summoner to drop 3 keys.

And then there is Wulfgar. He’s tough and seldom dies, but then he seldom kills anything by himself. He exists for the Decrepify and Sanctuary from Lawbringer. However, I’ve noticed that since switching over to D2R that the Decrepify is often overwritten by Battle Cry, which usually is not a problem unless you are trying to take down a PI boss. As a result, I’ve thought about switching to an Act 2 Might merc using reaper’s toll.

I’ve got too much Lightning damage from gear and charms (6-383) and the only fire damage I have is from the Firestorm from Phoenix. Now that I have the fire resistance drop from Phoenix I need to find some smoking charms.

Finds on the way

I’ll start with finds beginning with the Jah on Jan 4
Jan 5 – Baal dropped 4 uniques at once including a Nightwing Veil and Shadow Killer
Jan 6 – An Ohm on the way to Nihlathak
 
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Made level 94 on Saturday and I put 2 points into Strength and Dex and 1 into vitality and put the skill point into increased R/W. I think Phoenix is game changer when it comes to running Nihlathak. Most of the bodies just get redeemed and the few that are left don't do that much damage, of course it helps that I my life is over 5200 and I have a 43% chance to block.

Found a Lo rune Sunday.

I had my Enigma equipped Zealot running AS every time he ran LK and it took less than 30 runs to get 6 Keys of Hate. So, when Nihlathak finally coughed up a third key, I decided to do the Pandemonium event Sunday night for the first time. Thankfully, I decided to do it at Players 1 or I'd probably still be trying to kill Baal. Got Duriel first and it took a while to put him down, probably because he was constantly being surrounded by bugs. Lilith and Izual were easy and then it was on to Tristram.

I got Mephisto first and as expected my merc was quickly gone, but it didn't take that long to kill Mephisto. On to Diablo and even without my merc the big D went quitely. Baal was another story after what must have been 15 minutes I still could get his life below half way. I went back to town and resurected my merc and after what must have been another 10 minutes Baal went down. Killing Baal clearly demonstrated that my barb merc overwriting Decrepify with Battle Cry was not a good thing. It was only when Decrepify was on that I really got a lot of damage done. If I do this more often I'm going to have to seriously consider changing to and Act 2 might merc with Reaper's Toll.

I didn't think to look at my experience before starting, but the line barely moved especially given that I spent almost an hour doing the four parts.

Oh, and the Torch was
+3 Amazon skills
+12 all stats
+13 all resistances

Guess now I need to do another Amazon.
 
Nice work! Going for 99 sans Teleport is an impressive undertaking!

BTW, I think you posted your new charms twice instead of your new gear... I was interested to see what you had currently. And did you change anything for Ubers, e.g., toss on some extra CB?

My Uber Smiter doesn't gain much XP from running Ubers, but he always runs at /p1.
 
@BBS Agonistes Thanks for catching the mistake. I've edited the original. Equipment wise I changed the jewel in the Wolfhowl, switched the amulet to Highlords Wrath and put a Phoenix shield in the off-hand.

I made no changes for the Ubers. I briefly considered putting Goblin toe boots on, but decided to see how my current set up went. From a time standpoint I wouldn't run the Ubers at anything put /p1.

But your question got me thinking even more. I have a Death War Spike that I might try for the 50% CB, but my frame rate will go from 5 to 9.
 
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@little birdy Yep, Last Wish is on my wish list! Now all I need is 3 more Jahs! Maybe in 2024?

I am tempted to make Death in a sword. Seems a bit strange to make an Indestructible weapon in something that is already indestructible. Unfortunately, I don't have any 5 socket eth Colossus Blades. The best I have is a superior one with 11% ED.
 
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@little birdy Yep, Last Wish is on my wish list! Now all I need is 3 more Jahs! Maybe in 2024?

I am tempted to make Death in a sword. Seems a bit strange to make an Indestructible weapon in something that is already indestructible. Unfortunately, I don't have any 5 socket eth Colossus Blades. The best I have is a superior one with 11% ED.
Kingslayer PB also has some nice mods for Ubers but would slow down after first half a lot compared to your Grief.
 
I made a Baal run with the Death War Spike and even though I lose the level 24 sword mastery and I had a slower frame rate the run didn't feel any slower. I've always thought about building a Frenzy barb wielding Grief and Death, so I will build one as soon as I find a really good base.
 
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I was watching this YouTube video earlier about running Ubers with a Cold Sorc. His approach of using an A5 merc with an emphasis on slowing and Decpifying the Ubers was interesting and made me think of your write-up about doing Ubers with the Wolfbarb. The gear on the merc is actually quite budget. It's pretty clever IMO.

 
It was an interesting week. A comment from @BBS_Agonistes made me look at ways to improve my Crushing Blow (Just 15% from Gore Rider). As I told little birdy, once I find 3 more Jah runes I’ll make a Last Wish, but until then the best I can do is Death. My Death is in a War Spike so that doesn’t work with my Blade mastery.

I decided to make Death in a sword and there are 3 choices – Phase Blade, Colossus Sword, and Colossus Blade. To get anywhere close to Grief’s damage a phase Blade won’t work. An Ethereal Colossus blade would have been ideal, but the only one I had had only 4 sockets. So, I went to the SP Trading Forum and posted and ISO for one. Excalibur offered a trade for either an eth Colossus Sword or his Death which is in a 1.07 Eth Colossus Sword. I couldn’t say no and made a trade for it.

I then decided that I needed to compare the two and determined to time the time it takes from when Baal laughs on your clearing the throne room till Baal dies. The only difference being the weapon. (Details to follow)

I made 5 runs with each and decided that I needed to make another change. It was apparent that ARGH and his cousin Wulfgar needed to part ways. I had chosen to use an Act 5 Merc when ARGH reached Act 5 in Nightmare and the plan was for him to carry a Lawbringer sword to cast Decrepify. This worked well all through Hell until I switched over to D2R. One change Blizzard made to the Barb merc in D2R is the ability to cast Battle Cry and Battle Cry was happening more frequently than Decrepify and frequently overwriting Decrepify. So, I stripped Wulfgar of his gear and hired Durga an Act 2 Holy Freeze merc.

I equipped him with
Vampire gaze w/ Um rune
Fortitude
The Reaper’s Toll w/ 40% ED Jewel

Code:
Mercenary:

Name:       Durga
Race:       Desert Mercenary
Type:       HolyFreeze-Hell
Experience: 109136848
Level:      94
Dead?:      unknown

            Naked/Gear
Strength:   206/206
Dexterity:  167/167
HP:         2190/2284
Defense:    1600/3385
AR:         2081/2081

Fire:       206/166/106
Cold:       206/166/106
Lightning:  206/166/106
Poison:     206/166/106

Fortitude
Superior Wire Fleece
ElSolDolLo
Defense: 1533
Durability: 32 of 32
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 111
Fingerprint: 0x733dae0b
Item Level: 85
Version: Resurrected
20% Chance to cast level 15 Chilling Armor when struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
300% Enhanced Damage
+215% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+94 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +30
Damage Reduced by 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 to Light Radius
4 Sockets (4 used)


Vampire Gaze
Grim Helm
Defense: 252
Durability: 30 of 40
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 58
Fingerprint: 0x61845a5c
Item Level: 87
Version: Resurrected
Adds 6 - 22 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
7% Mana stolen per hit
6% Life stolen per hit
+100% Enhanced Defense
15% Slower Stamina Drain
All Resistances +15
Damage Reduced by 15%
Magic Damage Reduced by 11
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Um Rune

The Reaper's Toll
Thresher
Two Hand Damage: 44 - 523
Durability: 61 of 65
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 114
Required Dexterity: 89
Fingerprint: 0xea7e63c0
Item Level: 87
Version: Resurrected
33% Chance to cast level 1 Decrepify on striking
271% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
Adds 4 - 44 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (43 Frames)
14% Life stolen per hit
33% Deadly Strike
Requirements --25%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ruby Jewel

Ruby Jewel
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xf3c872bb
Item Level: 88
Version: Resurrected
40% Enhanced Damage

Finally, I made another trade with Excalibur for a Barbarian torch and got this one:
Code:
Hellfire Torch
Large Charm
Required Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x5fffe989
Item Level: 99
Version: Resurrected
5% Chance to cast level 10 Firestorm on striking
+3 to Barbarian Skill Levels
All Stats +12
All Resistances +14
+8 to Light Radius
Level 30 Hydra (10/10 Charges)
Code:
Feral Rage Damage
w/o torch     738 - 1651
with torch  1050 – 1915

Feral Rage AR
w/o torch     10618
with torch     12107

Defense
w/o torch    14466  (42% that Baal will hit and 43% chance to block) 
with torch    15027 (40% that Baal will hit and 46% chance to block)

Life
w/o torch      5257
with torch     5436

I then did 5 more Baal runs with each weapon, the new merc and the torch and the average time for both weapons dropped by over 40 seconds and the range between min and max was much tighter. While the effect of this torch is more than I expected especially since his Feral Rage attack is unaffected by the +3 barbarian skills, I attribute most of the time improvement to the Act 2 merc and especially the tighter ranges. This is even clearer when running Nihlathak were I frequently run into PIs especially Hell Temptresses. They go down much quicker with Durga.

Back to the question which is for ARGH, Grief or Death? Here are the two swords and what I consider the critical attributes.

Code:
Grief
Tovak's Phase Blade
'EthTirLoMalRal'
One-Hand Damage: 31 to 35
Required Dexterity: 136
Required Strength: 25
Required Level: 59
Sword Class - Fastest Attack Speed
Indestructible
Item Version: Resurrected
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0xcd05eebd
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+12 Life after each Kill
36% Increased Attack Speed
Adds +381 Damage
Ignore Target Defense
-25% Target Defense
Prevent Monster Heal
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
20% Deadly Strike
35% Chance to cast Level 15 Venom on striking
172% Damage to Demons (Based on Character Level)
-23% to Enemy Poison Resistance
Socketed (5: 5 used)

Code:
Death
Colossus Sword
HelElVexOrtGul
     One Hand Damage: 203 - 548
     Two Hand Damage: 475 - 944
     Durability: 26 of 26
     Required Level: 60
     Required Strength: 138
     Required Dexterity: 68
     Fingerprint: 0x4ee600f4
     Item Level: 99
     Version: Resurrected
100% Chance to cast level 44 Chain Lightning when you Die
     25% Chance to cast level 18 Glacial Spike on attack
     Indestructible
     422% Enhanced Damage
     20% Bonus to Attack Rating
     +50 to Attack Rating
     Adds 1 - 50 Lightning Damage
     7% Mana stolen per hit
     50% Chance of Crushing Blow

and comparing the results on ARGH

Feral Rage Damage (From the LCS which we know you can’t believe)
Grief 1050 - 1915
Death 1907 – 6415


Feral Rage AR
Grief 12107 77% chance to hit Baal
Death 15027 77% chance to hit Baal

Total Deadly Strike
Grief 80%
Death 97%

Total Crushing Blow
Grief 15%
Death 65%

So far everything looks in Death’s favor, but one factor not shown is the frame rate.
Grief frame rate – 5fps
Death frame rate – 11fps
and you can clearly see the difference grief is almost a blur while you can see the arm swing with Death

Test results
Grief averaged 5:02 ranging from 4:53 to 5:20
Death averaged 6:02 ranging from 5:33 to 6:17

I didn't time it, but for actually just taking Baal down, Death did seem quicker. As a result, ARGH will continue to wield Grief, but the next time I tackle the Ubers I'll have Death ready.
 
It took me 2 weeks to get to level 95. Have played ARGH quite a bit but have been doing other things too. Have decided on the following Pattern:
Travincal on p/3 for a chance for high runes,
Pindle on p/3 for S&U,
Switch to p/8 and run down from Pindle and kill Nihlathak and any boss packs on the way, LK on p/8 for runes and then
on p/8 run down from the WSK way point to and kill Baal.

I'll also confirm that switching from the Act 5 Merc to an Act 2 merc has been a major improvement. He's slower, but I no longer have Battle Cry overwriting Decrepify.

I haven't paid much attention to run times which can vary tremendously depending on how many PIs I run into on Nihlathak's level. Of the few that I've actually timed the best was 13 minutes 30 seconds.

Not a lot of good finds in the last 2 weeks, an Um and a Mal, a pair of Soul Drainers from Baal and this Skiller in Travincal

1674344414116.png
Speaking of Baal's latest gift, I decided back during the last MFO to start a grail of items from just Baal. While there are some S&U items from my other Mats and Pats, ARGH is the only one that has actually spent any time actually running him. At this point I now have a total of 213 S&U items from Baal.
 
Well it's been a month and time for an update. I've been grinding slowly since the last post. Ranging from 13 to 15 runs to make the 22m for each tenth of a level. Hit 95.5 on the 14th and then the Terror Zones struck. I didn’t play much on the 15th, but then Thursday through Saturday a tenth each day and on Sunday I got two tenths and ARGH reached level 96.

All of the TZs provide good experience gains, but while Baal doesn’t provide any more experience then in a non TZ run, as he was already level 99, the WSK and the minion waves are a huge source of experience.

I made two more changes to ARGH. First, I switched back to the War Traveler boots. Decided that I had given up too much MF. May make some additional minor changes to further increase MF.

The second change is that I switched mercs again. While the Act 2 merc was constantly casting decrepify, I grew tired of his slow speed and in many cases having to follow him in order to take advantage of his decrepify. Another problem is that the decrepify doesn’t break all PIs.

Initially I was thinking of combining a Faith Rogue merc and a Bone Breaker Sunder Charm. However, Decrepify does more than just break PI and I wondered if the extra damage from fanaticism would fully compensate for not having decrepify. A comment from @Arparrabiosa about using both the Sunder Charm and decrepify got me thinking about the act 5 merc again. Turns out that the new Frenzy barb version doesn’t cast Battle Cry he uses taunt instead and @bill_n_opus confirmed the idea. So, welcome to the team, Bill. He is armed with Grief and Lawbringer phase blades, Fortitude and an Arreat’s helm.

He's fast and he can actually quickly kill things. Now all I need is the Bone Breaker to try. Will also try @little birdy suggestion of Sazabi's set for the merc.

On to 97.
 
Well tonight brought me to level 97. that's less than 2 weeks to go from 96 to 97. Thank you terror zones!!!:love:

I like the move to the Act 5 Frenzy barb merc. He does occasionally overwrite the decrepify by casting taunt, but it is more than manageable.

I also think the move to up my MF from 65 to 122 has paid off. I also realize that a part of that is the drops in Terror Zones and I don't know how much to attribute to each. On the journey from 96 to 97 I've found
2 Highlord's Wrath
2 Gargoyle's Bite
Wizard Spike
M'avina's True Sight
IK Soul Cage
Azurewrath

and 4 of them were self grail items.

Well off to the grind to 98!
 
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I just reached level 98 and the journey from 97 to 98 was a bit more stressful than anticipated. It took a month and a day but should have been only 3 weeks.

The first delay was just shy of 97.4 when I had a hard crash and when I restarted the game ARGH was gone from my list of characters. Not only was ARGH gone, but I couldn’t start a game with any of my other characters. With help from @DarkMaster and @NorthDakota I figured out the problem and was able to recover ARGH and the rest of my crew from a GoMule backup. The only problem being that I lost almost 10% experience and dropped back to just over 94.3. LESSON for everyone BACK UP YOUR CHARACTERS!!

The next delay was my own fault and happened Saturday. I was 2 million short of level 98 and I wanted to reach 98, but I also wanted to watch something on TV. So, I tried to do both, a really dumb idea. Needless to say I died and lost 10% experience.

On to some good stuff. Two minor upgrades. Switched out the War Travelers with 42% MF for a pair with 50% MF. Also, switched out an Arcing small charm with 1-41 lighting damage for SC I found

Shocking Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0xb18ff5ce
Item Level: 96
Version: Resurrected
Adds 1 - 71 Lightning Damage

Items found while questing from 97 to 98
Arkaines Valor
Carrion Wind
Spirit Ward (a self grailer for me)
Messerschmidt’s Reaver
Demon Arch
Bul Kathos Sacred Charge
Crown of Ages with 2 sockets
War Travelers with 50% MF, which he now wears

I also found a good base for a metamorphosis helm
Superior Spirit Mask
Defense: 39
Durability: 16 of 20
Required Level: 18
Required Strength: 30
Fingerprint: 0x2f8d1918
Item Level: 48
Version: Resurrected
+3 to Fury (Druid Only)
+9% Enhanced Defense
3 Sockets (0 used)

And in gambling all the gold I collected I found this:

Doom Casque
Tiara
Defense: 46
Durability: 25 of 25
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x25d576e
Item Level: 99
Version: Resurrected
+2 to Druid Skill Levels
+12 to Life
+61 to Mana
All Resistances +18
Damage Reduced by 4
Level 3 Teleport (27/27 Charges)

It may not have FCR but it does have teleport.

As far as runes found that is currently a sore point for me since I just completed a 20 hour session of the RFL and found no qualifiers. Going from 96 to 97 I found Ist, Gul and Cham, but between 97 and 98 I only found 2 Pul.
 
ARGH has reached 99!!
1699469001098.png

It took me 7 months from the time I reached 98. I spent most of that time working primarily on 5 other Pats, but got in enough TZs to climb to 98.6. I think that there was one death around 98.4, but I recovered the body.

I reached 98.6 just before the MFO and decided that I would use ARGH in MF mode with a double Ist Blade of Ali Baba replacing the Phoenix Shield and at Players 3 to speed up times. I was surprised that in about 30 hours of running TZs he went to 98.75.

I finally reached 98.9 last week at the same time as finishing my third Fury Druid and decided it was time to get to 99. Wednesday proved a good time to get almost all the way with WSK terrorized as well as the City of the Damned, River of Flame and the Chaos Sanctuary. I managed 3 Baal runs and One full run through the CS and ended 2 million short of 99.

Today it was an easy run of just over a full clear of the Black Marsh to reach 99.

The final push wasn't without a final scare. At the beginning of the City of the Damned I ran into a triple boss pack with one spawning Fanatacism. My life got dropped to just a sliver, but I managed to back up, take a rejuv and then clear them all out.

ARGH will not be retired as he has decent maps for many of the areas and I still find him fun to play.

Not sure what's next
 
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