Butzull - A Septavirate Story

Butzull

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Jun 22, 2003
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Butzull - A Septavirate Story

I figure it's long since time to start my Septavirate (Septumvirate to be more accurate) thread, even though the first Guardian has not arrived in the land of glory yet. I know this isn't a new concept, but is actually one I was involved in getting running in this forum years ago.

My personal rules are fairly simple. Fresh start in 1.11, totally untwinked, no save-and-exit, /players change at will (but no abusing chests). I have had a few deaths to this point, but will only start the graveyard for the purposes of this thread from now. I'm playing with Red Runes at the moment, and will possibly consider RWM later on, but haven't gone there yet.

At present all my living characters are ranged except the pally, who actually hasn't progressed for some time. Melee used to be my thing in 1.09 and earlier, but I'm kinda scared off it at the moment, because things hit way too hard untwinked. I do plan to take on the challenge though, but will probably wait until I have a guardian or two under my belt.

Oh, I'm also working on the self-found HC grail at the same time, and will keep that updated here too!

Code:
The Current Heroes
Class   Title     Name       Build     Lvl  Location   Best Finds
----------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon  -         -          -         -    -          -
Assy    -         Bagel      Trapper   14   NO-A1-WP5  -
Barb    -         -          -         -    -          -
Druid   -         -          -         -    -          -
Necro   Destroyer Tock       Skelly    62   NM-A4-WP1  Rare Circlet
Pally   Conqueror Gavin      Avenger   72   HL-A1-WP2  Fleshrender
Sorc    -         Millie     Fireorb   20   NO-A2-WP2  -

Code:
Their Deeds Remembered
Class   Title     Name       Build     Lvl  Location   Best Finds
----------------------------------------------------------------

Code:
Self Found 1.11 HC Grail Progress
Type           Found / Target   Percent
---------------------------------------
All Items        217 / 504      43.06%
All Uniques      143 / 377      37.93%
All Sets          74 / 127      58.27%
Normal Uniques    94 / 116      81.03%
Excep Uniques     38 / 119      31.93%
Elite Uniques      4 / 85        4.71%
Jewellery          6 / 30       20.00%
Class Items        1 / 27        3.70%
Normal Sets       55 / 62       88.71%
Expan  Sets       19 / 65       29.23%

Just for interests sake and because it's listed, this is the headgear of my Necro, I'm quite proud of it, I think it's very nice indeed...lacks resists, but +skill and teleport is awesome with skellies. ;)

Wraith Crest
Circlet
Defense: 48
Durability: 35 of 35
Required Level: 48
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 51
Fingerprint: 0xe94dcb10
+13 to Strength
+15 to Dexterity
+55% Enhanced Defense
+22% Enhanced Damage
+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels
Level 1 Teleport (21/22 Charges)

Anyways, good luck to all the rest out there in HC land. Stay alive!

Butz. :dunce:
 
Good luck with yout sept :smiley:

So far I, on average, get 1 guardian per year :undecided: Might have something to do with my choice of unusual builds, limited playing time and other non-sept projects. About melee, its certainly viable even untwinked. I managed to get to act 3 hell with my martial arts only assassin. FE got me there. I also had assassin based on pheonix strike, she was killed by FE ancients :sad2:

Anyway, now that FE bug isnt a problem, 2-3 of my sept characters will be melee for sure.
 
Good Luck!

I started already my own sepatvirate Quest, rules are nearly same as Yours :wink: , with just one small difference - i'm playing Vanilla.I want post my own Septavirate introduction thread when i made my first Guardian (Skeliemancer).Again good luck on Your Quest...
 
I wasn't really planning to do any updates as members of the Septavirate progressed through normal, or at least until I found a nice little gift, but RL will kick in so this will be my pre-Christmas update.

Bagel has progressed quite well through Act 5 thanks to an obscene addiction to blue potions (base Energy and 20 mana per trap makes life slightly tedious early, but will pay off later). Her mana pool is now 84, so she can now lay 4 traps without drinking...oh to reach that magical hundred. ;)

She's now up to 65 Str and Dex, which I know is more than is absolutely necessary, but it is untwinked and I'd like to keep my options open should I find some nice kit. Vit is still already pushing 150 and total life is over 500 with pretty mundane items, so I'd say that's not bad at all for still in normal.

She is at the Worldstone Lvl 2 WP, just didn't quite have the time to push through to Destroyerhood last night, but (famous last words???), it should be just a formality, especially now the Merc has some decent damage for normal as well as leech at long last...he was almost as addicted to red potions as she is to blue, but has now kicked the habit. ;)

Code:
The Current Heroes
Class   Title     Name       Build     Lvl  Location   Best Finds
----------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon  -         -          -         -    -          -
Assy    -         Bagel      Trapper   43   NO-A5-WP9  Battlebranch (Eth)
Barb    -         -          -         -    -          -
Druid   -         -          -         -    -          -
Necro   Destroyer Tock       Skelly    62   NM-A4-WP1  Rare Circlet
Pally   Conqueror Gavin      Avenger   72   HL-A1-WP2  Fleshrender
Sorc    -         Millie     Fireorb   20   NO-A2-WP2  -

Code:
Their Deeds Remembered
Class   Title     Name       Build     Lvl  Location   Best Finds
----------------------------------------------------------------

Code:
Self Found 1.11 HC Grail Progress
Type           Found / Target   Percent
---------------------------------------
All Items        217 / 504      43.06%
All Uniques      143 / 377      37.93%
All Sets          74 / 127      58.27%
Normal Uniques    94 / 116      81.03%
Excep Uniques     38 / 119      31.93%
Elite Uniques      4 / 85        4.71%
Jewellery          6 / 30       20.00%
Class Items        1 / 27        3.70%
Normal Sets       55 / 62       88.71%
Expan  Sets       19 / 65       29.23%

Have a great festive season everyone!

Butz. :dunce:
 
Good luck with the Sept, Butz. I'll look forward to updates as I don't have the stones to play HC myself. :wink: Hopefully the Deeds code will remain empty. :grin:

~Wolfgang
 
Hey Wolfgang...long time no see! For me anything but HC is dull, doesn't get the blood pumping, but to each their own. ;)

So the first hero has fallen.

My return from the festive season saw me rusty and overconfident with my return with Tock. He ventured out into Act 4 NM with dubious resists and quite quicklly fell foul of a conviction gloam (or whatever they're called in Act 4). Even though they're not "Hell" dangerous, I'd neglected resists and suffered the consequences. Even though I already knew better, I was overconfident and I won't repeat that misteake again in this quest.

This did however give Bagel the chance to become a Destroyer, which she proceeded to do. I then also decided that I would get all seven underway, so it saw a beginning for Watson the Elementary Druid (now at the Outer Cloister) and Zerk the Berserker Barb. The Zon and the new Necro will be started shortly.

Code:
The Current Heroes
Class   Title     Name       Build       Lvl  Location   Best Finds
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon  -         -          -           -    -          -
Assy    Destroyer Bagel      Trapper     45   NM-A1-WP1  Frostburn
Barb    -         Zerk       Berserker   25   NO-A3-WP1  Diggler
Druid   -         Watson     Elesummoner 16   NO-A1-WP6  -
Necro   -         -          -           -    -          -
Pally   Conqueror Gavin      Avenger     72   HL-A1-WP2  Fleshrender
Sorc    -         Millie     Fireorb     20   NO-A2-WP2  -

Code:
Their Deeds Remembered
Class   Title     Name       Build       Lvl  Location   Best Finds
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Necro   Destroyer Tock       Skelly      63   NM-A4-WP1  Rare Circlet

Code:
Self Found 1.11 HC Grail Progress
Type           Found / Target   Percent
---------------------------------------
All Items        222 / 504      44.05%
All Uniques      148 / 377      39.26%
All Sets          74 / 127      58.27%
Normal Uniques    95 / 116      81.90%
Excep Uniques     42 / 119      35.29%
Elite Uniques      4 / 85        4.71%
Jewellery          6 / 30       20.00%
Class Items        1 / 27        3.70%
Normal Sets       55 / 62       88.71%
Expan  Sets       19 / 65       29.23%

Good luck to all the rest out there in HC land. Stay alive!

Butz. :dunce:
 
Hi all,

I've now decided what each of the seven of my Septavirate will be and planned them out as best I can, but I'm not the best in the world at skills planning and know some of you are, so please feel free to offer suggestions for (or pick apart!) the list below without going TOO far from the basic concept of each character.

In general for me, MF re-runs are allowed (but I would prefer not to do many), no S&E, but I am planning to go with no twinking at all (IF frustration gets the better of me, I may go back to my initial Sept rules allowing up to 3 in Hell...but will do my best not to, and will only use things found by other members of my Septavirate members if I do).

I have started all the character classes (some are in the table, others will be next update), but most are early enough to change the planned progression if I get any good suggestions for improvement (I have a spreadsheet where the allocation for each character is decided for each level and quest).

You'll notice that i've sacrificed max power for a few safety skills here and there, as I can't rely on everyone getting an escape clause (teleport, etc). Such as Dragon Flight and a good Shadow Master for the assassin, Good Valk for the Zon, etc. It is untwinked HC after all! ;)

Oh, and each character is designed for exactly 101 skill points (i.e. Level 90), although most would probably fall about 5 or 6 levels shy of that by Guardian. :)

Amazon: FrozenFury
----------------------
Jab 1
Power Strike 1
Poison Javelin 1
Lightning Bolt 1
Plague Javelin 1
Charged Strike 17
Lightning Fury 20

Cold Arrow 12
Ice Arrow 1
Freezing Arrow 20

Inner Sight 1
Critical Strike 1
Dodge 1
Slow Missiles 1
Avoid 1
Penetrate 1
Decoy 1
Evade 1
Valkyrie 17
Pierce 1


Assassin: Trapsin
----------------------
Dragon Talon 1
Dragon Claw 1
Dragon Tail 1
Dragon Flight 1

Fire Blast 20
Shock Web 1
CB Sentry 1
Lightning Sentry 20
Death Sentry 20

Claw Mastery 1
Psychic Hammer 1
Burst of Speed 1
Weapon Block 5
Cloak of Shadows 1
Fade 8
Shadow Warrior 1
Shadow Master 17


Barbarian: Zerker
----------------------
Bash 1
Leap 1
Stun 1
Leap Attack 1
Concentrate 1
Berserk 20

Weap Mastery 3
Inc Stamina 1
Iron Skin 1
Inc Speed 1
Natural Resist 4

Howl 20
Find Potion 1
Shout 1
Taunt 1
Find Item 1
Battle Cry 1
Battle Orders 20
Battle Command 1
War Cry 20


Druid: Elesummoner
----------------------
Raven 1
Poison Creeper 1
Oak Sage 20
Spirit Wolf 1
Dire Wolf 20
Grizzly 1

Firestorm 1
Molten Boulder 18
Fissure 18
Volcano 20


Necro: SkelSpearer
----------------------
Raise Skeleton 20
Skeleton Mastery 20
Clay Golem 1
Golem Mastery 1
Summon Resist 4

Amplify Damage 1
Weaken 1
Dim Vision 1
Terror 1
Iron Maiden 1
Confuse 1
Life Tap 1
Attract 1
Decrepify 1

Teeth 1
Corpse Explosion 5
Bone Spear 20
Bone Spirit 20


Paladin: I have an Avenger in Act I Hell, but if he doesn't make it then I'll go with the cheesy...: Hammerdin
----------------------
Smite 1
Holy Bolt 1
Charge 1
Blessed Hammer 20
Holy Shield 12

Might 1
Blessed Aim 20
Concentration 20

Prayer 1
Defiance 1
Cleansing 1
Vigor 20
Redemption 1
Salvation 1

Sorceress: FireOrb (tried and trusted, I've Guardianed one in 1.09 and 1.10, just need a bit of luck in no nasty traps and to not do anything stupid)
----------------------
Ice Bolt 1
Ice Blast 1
Frost Nova 1
Glacial Spike 1
Blizzard 1
Frozen Orb 20
Cold Mastery 13

Static Field 1
Telekinesis 1
Teleport 1

Fire Bolt 1
Warmth 1
Inferno 1
Blaze 1
Fireball 15
Fire Wall 1
Meteor 20
Fire Mastery 20


Thanks in advance for any input,

Butz. :dunce:
 
Whats with everyone's 17 in valk. If its that level u require for good stats, wont +items do it, so you can chuck more points in CA?
 
level 17 valk i believe gets hit weapon upgraded to a rare war fork (i think). so they go level 17 so valk can do more damage.
 
Yep, it's all about the item upgrade...specifically weapon in this case. I can't remember the name but it's the elite weapon at L17...a War Pike (edit: fixed weapon name). Being untwinked, although I can reasonable assume to have some +skills somewhere, I don't want to rely on it, plus, being HC, the stronger she is the better off I am regardless. If she gets into the 20's, all the better. ;)

I "might" lower Valk a bit and up some synergies if I easily exceed the 17 without having to worry about switching any equipment, but will decide in-game depending on her equipment luck.

Butz :dunce:
 
You really do not need to put so many points into dire wolf and oak sage. My guardian ended up with 12 dire wolf and 13 oak sage. Whenever i felt my wolves were too weak i'd drop a few points there.
 
Online said:
You really do not need to put so many points into dire wolf and oak sage. My guardian ended up with 12 dire wolf and 13 oak sage. Whenever i felt my wolves were too weak i'd drop a few points there.
Thanks for that advice. So after I top up Molten Boulder and Fissure to 20, then any extras into what skill? I realise 90 by Guardian isn't going to happen, but, say 13 in each of those and 20 in MB and Fissure would still leave me 10 skill points.

Given that Firestorm doesn't synergise with Volcano, is it worth more points? Did you ever use MB or Fissure to get the benefits from some extra synergy bonuses there? If not, where should I put the other 5 points I can have by mid 80s?

Thanks,

Butz. :dunce:
 
I used fissure a lot. Against small, fast targets like flayers it was much more effective than volcano. I achieved guardianship at level 81 so i didn't have much points to spare. If you feel that your life is too low (i ended up with 2k+ life) put some points into oak sage and if you use fissure often then points into firestorm won't be wasted. Personally, i'd go with firestorm because i used fissure a lot. Anyway, it would be best to decide when you get there :smiley:
 
Cool, thanks Online, I'll definitely tailor those ideas into my plans.

So...Everybody is now underway and they have all retrieved their cubes and progressed onwards from there.

Bones, the last of the 7 to start is the only one left in the desert and had a wonderful find in a TC3 gralier that he'll carry for probably all of normal and perhaps NM foresaking the possible skellies for 100%MF...yup, he got lucky and found a Gull midway through Act 1.

Code:
The Current Heroes
Class   Title    Name       Build        Lvl  Location   Best Finds
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon  -        Borealis   FrozenFury   30   No-A4-WP1  -
Assy    Dest     Bagel      Trapper      45   NM-A1-WP1  Frostburn
Barb    -        Zerk       Berserker    25   No-A3-WP1  Diggler
Druid   -        Watson     Elesummoner  26   No-A3-WP1  Hsarus Set
Necro   -        Bones      SkelSpearer  23   No-A2-WP4  Gull
Pally   Conq     Gavin      Avenger      72   HL-A1-WP2  Fleshrender
Sorc    -        Millie     Fireorb      33   No-A5-WP1  -
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Completed Acts: 27/105
Live Levels   : 254

Code:
Their Deeds Remembered
Class   Title    Name       Build        Lvl  Location   Best Finds
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Necro   Dest     Tock       Skelly       63   NM-A4-WP1  Rare Circlet

Code:
Self Found 1.11 HC Grail Progress
Type           Found / Target   Percent
---------------------------------------
All Items        224 / 504      44.44%
All Uniques      149 / 377      39.52%
All Sets          75 / 127      59.06%
Normal Uniques    96 / 116      82.76%
Excep Uniques     42 / 119      35.29%
Elite Uniques      4 / 85        4.71%
Jewellery          6 / 30       20.00%
Class Items        1 / 27        3.70%
Normal Sets       56 / 62       90.32%
Expan  Sets       19 / 65       29.23%

Good luck to all the rest out there in HC land. Stay alive!

Butz. :dunce:
 
Unfortunately Bones has passed on. I'm REALLY disappointed with this one, did ALL sorts of things wrong, culminating in being slightly distracted by my wife and the cricket and letting myself get a little too close to Diablo. I can't remember the last time I had anyone die to him in any difficulty, so I'm shattered. PARTICULARLY because I was looking forward to a long association with the Gull he was using, that goes back to back with the awesome Circlet I lost on the other Necro. :(

Seems I'm having the least luck/concentration with arguably the easiest character. Oh well, back to the drawing board with him I guess. :(

Code:
The Current Heroes
Class   Title    Name       Build        Lvl  Location   Best Finds
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon  -        Borealis   FrozenFury   30   No-A4-WP1  -
Assy    Dest     Bagel      Trapper      45   NM-A1-WP1  Frostburn
Barb    -        Zerk       Berserker    25   No-A3-WP1  Diggler
Druid   -        Watson     Elesummoner  26   No-A3-WP1  Hsarus Set
Necro   -        -          -            -    -          -
Pally   Conq     Gavin      Avenger      72   HL-A1-WP2  Fleshrender
Sorc    -        Millie     Fireorb      33   No-A5-WP1  -
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Completed Acts: 26/105
Live Levels   : 231

Code:
Their Deeds Remembered
Class   Title    Name       Build        Lvl  Location   Best Finds
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Necro   Dest     Tock       Skelly       63   NM-A4-WP1  Rare Circlet
Necro   -        Bones      SkelSpearer  33   No-A4-WP3  Gull
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Completed Acts: 11
Dead Levels   : 96

Code:
Self Found 1.11 HC Grail Progress
Type           Found / Target   Percent
---------------------------------------
All Items        225 / 504      44.64%
All Uniques      150 / 377      39.79%
All Sets          75 / 127      59.06%
Normal Uniques    97 / 116      83.62%
Excep Uniques     42 / 119      35.29%
Elite Uniques      4 / 85        4.71%
Jewellery          6 / 30       20.00%
Class Items        1 / 27        3.70%
Normal Sets       56 / 62       90.32%
Expan  Sets       19 / 65       29.23%

Good luck to all the rest out there in HC land. Stay alive!

Butz. :dunce:
 
Watson has reached Destroyerhood and to be honest (or sad), it was elementary. It was a bit of a slow crawl at times as I stayed on /players 8, but it was safe as houses. He's only now coming into a bit of power with both Fissure and Volcano in the low teens.

Everyone else has made it to at least Act 5 normal, so before long everyone should have a title. They're all through the "boring" bit and starting to get a bit more powerful, which should actually speed up progress as they head into NM, obviously with the slightly added care that I'll need to exhibit. Finds have been very meager as they all have minimal MF to this point.

Barring a death, I guess the next update should have everyone in at least NM, oh, and technically I'm a third of the way there with 35 out of the required 105 Acts completed by the living 7. Yay me. ;)

Code:
The Current Heroes
Class   Title     Name       Build        Lvl  Location   Best Finds
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon  -         Borealis   FrozenFury   35   No-A5-WP2  -
Assy    Destroyer Bagel      Trapper      45   NM-A1-WP1  Frostburn
Barb    -         Zerk       Berserker    33   No-A5-WP1  Diggler
Druid   Destroyer Watson     Elesummoner  47   NM-A1-WP1  Hsarus Set
Necro   -         Boney      SkelSpearer  33   No-A5-WP1  -
Pally   Conqueror Gavin      Avenger      72   HL-A1-WP2  Fleshrender
Sorc    -         Millie     Fireorb      33   No-A5-WP1  -
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Completed Acts: 35/105
Live Levels   : 298

Code:
Their Deeds Remembered
Class   Title     Name       Build        Lvl  Location   Best Finds
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Necro   Destroyer Tock       Skelly       63   NM-A4-WP1  Rare Circlet
Necro   -         Bones      SkelSpearer  33   No-A4-WP3  Gull
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Completed Acts: 11
Dead Levels   : 96

Code:
Self Found 1.11 HC Grail Progress
Type           Found / Target   Percent
---------------------------------------
All Items        225 / 504      44.64%
All Uniques      150 / 377      39.79%
All Sets          75 / 127      59.06%
Normal Uniques    97 / 116      83.62%
Excep Uniques     42 / 119      35.29%
Elite Uniques      4 / 85        4.71%
Jewellery          6 / 30       20.00%
Class Items        1 / 27        3.70%
Normal Sets       56 / 62       90.32%
Expan  Sets       19 / 65       29.23%

Good luck to all the rest out there in HC land. Stay alive!

Butz. :dunce:
 
My Javazon just found this in the middle of Act 5.

Felicitous Amulet of Luck
Required Level: 19
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x63facc7b
41% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

I'd always assumed the maximum MF on an ammy was 35% as I can't remember ever seeing one higher than that. Obviously I was mistaken...so does anyone who visits this thread actually know what the max is?

Regardless, it'll stand her in good stead for some time into NM, hopefully boosting her stocks nicely. :)

Butz. :dunce:
 
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