Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

I've just finished nightmare at level 32 (did normal cow runs until level 30), and it was indeed much, much easier due to the increased mana pool (socketed sapphires, thanks Colony :thumbsup:) and the mana potions that started dropping more regularly. I plan to get to level 40 tonight doing nm cow runs and then do some mf runs.

While the primary purpose for my sorc will be HF-rushing, I was planning to get her up to 70+ doing hell cow runs, which would (ideally) require 20 lm. I read some 1.09 (nova) sorc guides and in most of them, warmth was a staple since nova is such a mana hog. That's also the reason I've put some points into energy; since I'm playing untwinked as well it allows for slightly more manoeuvrability. Since I've never built a sorc with max warmth I have no idea just how fast the mana would regenerate with a 500-750 mana pool, but I'll play it safe and go for teleport first and get some mana regen from other sources. If I have some points left after beating hell, I can always put a few in warmth. I'm not planning on getting energy shield, but that might change as I read up some more on some guides before I quest through hell.

I plan on maxing fo first, see how nova fares in hell (lvl 15 now) and then decide between maxing lm or teleport as second (probably teleport first, depending on how fast I can level after beating hell).

Thanks for the advice everyone :thumbsup:. I'll update as soon as I finish hell.

Kind regards,

St. Anger
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Well, I've basically finished my sorc. She's lvl 70 now by doing Hell Cow runs (made easy by the Deathspade and Wall of the Eyeless that NM Meph dropped for me while looking for a Spectral Shard). Teleport is maxed and I have 5 points saved up, probably for either Static or LM depending on how my first rush goes.

I did do part of my first rush today (made it past NM Diablo) and I ran into a problem.

It first happened with Normal Diablo. Everyone was partied, I'd opened the seals and brought a rushee (who happened to be the host) into the CS close to Diablo (he was subsequently killed and I left him dead). I killed Diablo with my sorc and then left the game with my dead host. All the other rushees got to their "You made Dame...etc." ending screen. I hosted a new game in NM with my host rushee and then tried to join that game with some of the other rushees. At that point however I noticed that two rushees didn't have the Dame title and couldn't join. Which meant that I had to make a new Normal game and kill Diablo again.

Now the same thing has happened in NM. Before I logged off with the host rushee I checked the Quest screen of every other rushee to make sure they finished the Quest. They did and once again they all got the "You made Lady...etc." ending screen. However, when I wanted to make a Hell game I immediately noticed that once again some rushees were still Dame while others had received the Lady title. So once again I'm going to have to kill Diablo for a 2nd time because somehow not everyone ended the quest (though everyone did end the quest according to their quest screens and everyone did get to the ending screen). Does anyone have any idea what I may be doing wrong?

Thanks,
Zaliqai

I'd also love to know how you've been doing Saint Anger, perhaps compare our experiences. I have some stat points saved up and may decide to put them into energy like you did. So far having 20 Teleport is working nicely but once I start using FO mana seems to disappear in almost an instance. Fortunately NM Lord de Seis and his minions don't spawn CI like I thought they did, but they still need plenty of FOs to take down.
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

I've had that problem with not getting the Diablo quest too. I didn't know if I left someone unpartied or what. Now I just wait for the timer to go out, and haven't had a problem in my last 3 or 5 rushes.
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

I had that problem too. I found when I exited with the host before the count down timer expires, sometimes the other characters don't get credit for the quest.
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

If you're rushing with a modified dll the host must be the last to leave.
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Thanks for the info guys. :thumbsup:

I planned on using fast user switching but it seemed rather slow so in the end I went to the PK and got the modified .dll so I'll Save & Exit from now on leaving the host to exit last.

I have a couple more questions:

1. Do all the rushees have to be in the same Act? Or would it be enough to bring just one (and those with Act2 Staffs) to be around when the boss is killed and leave the rest in Act1?
2. Is it ever necesarry to take Meph's Soulstone? I had each character pick one up on my first trip through Normal but I've been leaving them lying on the ground ever since. I figure that once I convert these characters to 1.11 LoD I'll have to kill Hell Meph again and can always get the Soulstone then. Is that even necesarry or can you finish the HF quest even without the Soulstone in your possession?

Thanks,
Zaliqai
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Just realised when I said host must be last to leave, I'm actually not 100% sure that's right. It's either host or main window that's last to leave to ensure everything gets saved properly but I'm not certain which.

1. everyone has to be in the act where a quest is completed to benefit.

2. nope, a4 cain will give you another stone whenever you want one.
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Thanks again for the info phool.

I don't know whether your info about the host having to leave last is correct but that is what I've been doing after you suggested it and it's been working for me so far. I've done 10 rushes total (the Classic 1.09 part of it anyway) without any more problems. So thanks! :thumbsup:

Now I only have 133 more rushes to go...(I"m aiming for 1001 rushed characters)

Yes, I'm crazy...but on occasion I like myself that way. :grin:

And I have another question:

Maybe it was stupid of me to think I would have /p1 settings in a game with 8 characters, but in the TCP/IP games that I joined in the MP forum the host (and I hosted a couple myself) was able to change p/settings at will. I haven't been able to do that in my Classic 1.09 rushes (though I was able to do so while questing/building my rusher). I did a couple hundred of NM Meph runs at /p1 to find the gear for my rusher (and even a few at up to /p48) so I know the difference. Is there any way to lower the p/settings (other than my host typing "players1" which I tried) or am I stuck with /p8?

Thanks,
Zaliqai
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

I've been a bit caught up with real-life affairs the past week, but I managed to "baron" my sorc yesterday. I subsequently levelled to 60 on hell cows and did some nm meph runs to acquire decent rush gear. I managed to find multiples of most items (2x spectral shard, for example), but finally gave in today after not finding that damned heavenly garb.

The extra stat points into energy might not add all that much mana, but I found them to be helpfull nonetheless when I was levelling. I also used a great helm socketed with 3x flawless sapphires (93 mana, iirc) to help my struggling mana pool. I haven't had very many problems with low mana yet, as long as I keep enough mana regen equipped (dual manalds, magefist). That might change once I start rushing, however.

I haven't actually been able to start rushing just yet, as I managed to run into a problem with the modified .dll file. I dl'ed the 1.09 one from the PK, backed up the "original" d2gfx.dll file in the 1.09 folder, replaced it with the modified file, but I still got the "can't open more than one game" message. Rinsed and repeated a few times, to no avail; and the last time I tried I got some very wierd error message ("can't find ordinal 10625 in DLL-file Fog.dll."). So, I'll have to work around that in order to finally be able to start rushing :rolleyes:.

Once I've circumnavigated that problem and did my first few rushes I'll post an update :smiley:.

St. Anger
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Hi Saint Anger,

I had the same problem with the modified .dll. The answer is to make a new shortcut and point that to the Game.exe file in your D2 folder. You can use that shortcut to open the extra instances of D2.

I also have a Heavenly Garb for you if you're interested. I went with Twitchthroe myself for max block.
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Hey Zaliqai,

Thanks for the heads up :thumbsup:. I was figuring my n00b installment skills might have had something to do with it, so I did a search for how to handle the modified .dll file and found the solution a few hours ago. So, everything is working fine now :azn:. I just rushed my first set of characters past normal, no problems yet. I do fear nightmare will be far less of a cakewalk (especially duriel), and I don't even dare think about hell yet. How were your experiences in that respect?

I did read about an interesting setup that might speed up the rushes: basically one sets up a "durimule" for each difficulty, which has already put the staff in the 'standard' thingy (which opens up duriel's room) but hasn't killed duriel yet. This means that theoretically, the rusher doesn't have to spend time searching for the staff pieces; though I'm not sure as to where exactly the symbol of the "true tomb" fits in. It requires that the durimule isn't partied with the other characters so that it doesn't get credit for killing duriel, and it does require good oversight (not getting confused which character is which). I might try my hand at it, depending on how the first few rushes go in nm/hell.

Have you tried out the garb yourself? I'm looking for it because of its +10 to resists, 25% regenerate mana and (slight) energy bonus, which make it seem a decent armor for a character that's always short on mana. I'm actually using a twitchtroe myself right now, also for the block; though it doesn't seem to be helping that much (I do have 75% block). I seem to be a bit "short" on mana right now (I run out after several minutes of constant teleporting) as I'm using a duskdeep, so I'll try my trusty +93 mana helm to increase my mana pool.

This is my gear right now:

Helm: duskdeep
Ammy: mahim-oak curio
Weapon: spectral shard
Shield: steelclash
Armor: twitchtroe
Gloves: magefist
Belt: nightsmoke
Boots: tearhaunch
Rings: dual manald heals

Kind regards,

St. Anger
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Here's my gear, very similar to yours:

Helm: duskdeep
Ammy: +16 str/+20 ene/16 all res (found the 1st time I killed NM Diablo, may be my best find so far)
Weapon: spectral shard
Shield: steelclash
Armor: twitchtroe
Gloves: magefist
Belt: rare LR/+20 mana/+30 life
Boots: rare FR/CR/LR
Rings: rare FR/CR, magic FR

I wanted the 63 FCR breakpoint (I think it's 63), 75% block and as close to max resists as I could get, everything else was secondary. I would have prefered more FHR (of which I have little) but I just couldn't find items with FR. I found some great rares with FHR, CR and LR but don't think I can use them because it would drop my FR too much. My resists in Hell are around 70 except for PR which is lower. I really don't know if my gear choices are all that great but so far they are working alright and my choices are limited by what I've found.

In NM the only tough fight (and the toughest overal) for me is Lord de Seis and minions. Even with maxed resists their elemental attacks still hit hard. I usually need a couple of rejuvs. The other two seal boss packs are a cakewalk compared to de Seis. I had also expected Diablo to be tough, especially his lightning attack but it turns out he hardly more than tickles. I have found him the least dangerous of all adversaries in the CS.

Hell Duriel isn't as tough as I thought he would be. One time he did kill me with a single Charge attack. I still had stat points left so pumped Vit some more and he hasn't killed me since. He usually requires a rejuv immediately after his Charge attack and will continue to hit hard but healing potions are usually enough after the initial rejuv. I also have a +3 Shiver staff with me that I use before fighting him and Hell Meph, who can occasionally hit hard as well.

I've done the classic part of 26 rushes so far (4-8 hrs a day of rushing) and I just had Lord de Seis spawn CI/FI. Static and Nova took care of him so that wasn't much of a problem but I'm assuming that it is possible for him to spawn CI/LI as well. I'm going to make sure I have a FW or FB staff in my stash from now on just in case.

Another problem I have run into in Hell is that sometimes the room where you open Duriel's tomb has some CIs in it. Usually I just lure them out unless there's just one or two and then I use Static and Nova. I find that Nova is very weak in a /p8 Hell game. It's enough to kill NM and Hell Duriel though after lots of Static.

Heavenly Garb does look nice, but it would require a hard point investment of 10 str and 10 dex to still be able to use Spectral and Steelclash and I'm not willing to do that just to try it out. And I don't really need the resists any more since they are rarely needed against Hell Andy, Duriel and Meph. I think that only what spawns around Andy, the Summoner and inside Duriel's tomb room could be dangerous if you don't have the resists.

My lack of mana can be problematic at times. Fortunately I have been able to farm a large amount of mana potions doing Cow runs until lvl 70 at which point I started rushing. I will occasionally have to mule on mana potions and sometimes rejuvs as well. After 26 rushes I still have plenty of potions in my stash though and the game usually drops enough of them for my needs.

There are probably better builds and gear selections out there but so far this one has been working well enough for me.

About that durimule you mentioned. Wouldn't using one mean that you could only rush 6 characters? If so I would rather find the staffs and amulets in Normal. It may take a couple of minutes and mana pots but after that I'm good to go for the rest of the rush. I read purplelocust's durimule guide and can't figure out how to make it work in SP rushing in a way that makes it more efficient than finding the staffs and amulets in Normal. But I'm hardly the smartest and most knowledgeable D2 player (far from it actually) so it may very well be possible.

Let me know how you do and good luck!
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Use a 3-socketed shield with 3 perfect diamonds or The Ward instead of Steelclash. Use a 3 perfect ruby or 3 perfect skull helm instead of Duskdeep. Add points in energy! (Welcome to 1.09)
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Using the durimule would indeed imply one can only use six characters, though I was under the impression that there was a way to circumvent this. Of course, that would mean even more "work" keeping track of things, and I'm not entirely convinced myself it would be all that much faster than a regular search for the staff pieces (especially when you collect three in normal).

Nightmare and Hell were much easier than I anticipated - I had no idea the levels made it that much easier (hell duriel at p8 was actually easier than at p1 10 levels earlier). I had no big problems with nm de seis, though they did take slightly longer than the average monster to take down (which only indicates how much of a cakewalk those were). Hell was no problem. I tangled nm and hell duriel by backing up into the "door" part of his chamber so I couldn't get stunned, and after that the going was relatively easy.

The most "difficult" (annoying) part was actually collecting the forges, since I don't have a character specifically built for that purpose in 1.11 (nor do I plan to). I had to make do with my mf sorc, who was rather fragile but did manage to get the job done.

Mana isn't much of a problem for me, since I find mana potions all the time in 1.09 (especially in the chaos sanctuary). How big is your mana pool, actually? I have 293 mana with 60 points in energy (90 stat points saved up) If I were to equip the mana helm I'd have 380 mana, which seems to be enough. I haven't come across a three-socket shield yet, nor did I catch a glimpse of the Ward - the thought of using those did cross my mind. Thanks, in any case :thumbsup:.

I just finished my first rush, and these are the results:

Lum-Gul-Fal-Lum-Lem-Ko-Ist

Not too shabby, I suppose. Are there specific runes you're aiming for? If we assume the average "profit" of a HF-rush to be around Gul to Vex, it would require 8 sets of rushes for a Lo, but after that there seems to be somewhat of a diminishing return (based on Gul runes - 16 for a Sur, 32 for Ber, 64 for Jah, 128 for Cham and 256 for Zod). I'm mainly looking for a vex (HoTO), an ohm (CtA) and two Lo runes (grief and forti, coupled with a beast), though I might push for a single Jah instead (for enigma, I have a ber from LK already) depending on how quickly I get fed up with rushes.

Kind regards,

St. Anger
 
Last edited:
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

You can shop 3 socket Large or Kite shields in act 2 normal if I remember correctly.
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Thanks for the info Corrupted. You mention using perfect skulls in a helm and putting points in energy, did you perhaps also mean using perfect sapphires instead of rubies? I have a 3os Mask and 3os Death Mask. I'll try the Mask with sapphires first and see how I like that before I decide on what to put into the Death Mask.

I had thought of using a 3os shield and did find a couple of 3os Tower shields but subsequently forgot about them. I don't know how long it would take to shop for a Large or Kite shield and because their %block is lower I decided to go ahead and pump strength for the Tower. The added resists have opened up a lot of gear options, including using the SoJ that NM Duriel dropped me. I'm now also using a 4 row belt with CR/24 FHR/+46 life, CR/LR ring and FR/LR/30 FRW boots. Resists are now 70/75/75/33 in Hell, I went from about 280 mana to 504 mana and I have a bit of extra life.

Nice drops Saint Anger. I don't entirely know what to expect yet but with a Gul and Ist that looks pretty nice :grin:.

At the moment I'm not aiming for anything specific, though Enigma looks really nice. MFing is what I do most and an Enigma should speed up MFing with builds other than sorcs which would mean that I may actually start using builds other than sorcs :tongue:. Like you said though, it all depends on how long I can keep going before getting fed up.

What kind of MF sorc are you using in 1.11 and where was she most vulnerable?
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

I'm quite happy with the finds myself, knowing my luck I was counting on a "low" rune drop only (hel, ko, fal, lum, lem and the like). I do hope this luck continues :tongue:. I'm not sure as to wether I'll ever get as far as some ~64 hellforge rushes - right now I'm not too shaken by the prospect, but we'll see how that evolves as I do more and more rushes. I suppose you're nearing a Ber in equivalent rushes, once you collect them?

I find the extra mana from the helm (three sockets) does help alot, even if they're only flawless (as I made it very early, from my first gems) and made in a great helm (as I like that look).

As for the 1.11b aspect, I was using a lv 92 blizzballer in 1.11 with base vit and max block (as she was a project build). At the time of the rushes she had previously been in service for doing mass Pindle runs, and was thus equipped with full tals, stormshield, chance guards, war travs and dual nagelrings. As I spent the last two weeks solely in 1.09, I didn't realise she still had her mf gear on until after I'd collected the first character and by that time I wanted to push forward and get it over and done with. My second set of rushes will be done without mf gear (swap chances, war travs and dual nagelrings for rare rings, magefist and eth treks); that should (greatly) facilitate things. My merc is wearing eth reaper's toll, leviathan and eth andys visage.

The most annoying part was the forge itself (it's surroundings). If you're lucky only a few monsters spawn who are quickly gotten rid off, and usually it's perfectly doable with a single full rejuv. In the case of my last forge (ist) I encountered a worst case scenario: grotesques (spawning grotesque wyrms), rock worms (spawning rock worm youngs), venom lords, storm casters and champion/ghostly abyss knights awaited along with a fanatic boss, and not to forget hephaisto; who was himself conveniently cold immune. You arrive at the forge, the storm casters drain your mana, the hordes of rock worm youngs and grotesque wyrms (cold immune!) get you into hit-recovery (they're quickly dissippated, but you have to get the chance to do so), while the abbys knights are flinging spells at you and the bigger monsters take you down. Hephaisto himself only had to land a single hit to get her health down by 3/4 (she has only 489 life).

I practically had to teleport around constantly to avoid them - which was a hassle because those small pesky monsters were everywhere, and once I died it was almost impossible to get my body back so I had to s&e.

Of course, it's not really helping that she's base vit, neither did the fact that she was wearing mf gear (I didn't even have 63% fcr). I think a properly built sorc, with proper gear, should get the job done without too many problems.

Kind regards,

St. Anger
 
Last edited:
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

I've completed the Classic part of 38 rushes so far, so with a Gul average per rush I would be on a Ber now. Which is a nice thought :smiley: and should help keep me going. I will keep trying for 5 rushes a day and hopefully get to my 143 rushes/1001 rushed characters goal. I may make a thread where people can guess whicht runes I'll be able to cube up to and let the winner get one of my most found rune and the rune from my 1001th drop.

I've also noticed a huge improvement with my recent gear change. The extra mana was a godsend. I no longer have to scrounge/mule for mana pots and Nova has become more useful since I can spam it more now. I've also been able to get LM to 10 which I think will be enough. So any more skill points I get will go to either Static or CM. From lvl 70 when I started rushing I've gained another lvl about every 10-11 rushes so I should be able to gain another couple of levels at least. My rushes have also sped up significantly and I can now do them in (just) under an hour. The only downside for the gear change has been that I've been getting mobbed more often and put into hit-recovery, probably because I lost 20% FBR from Steelclash. I haven't gotten killed yet from the gear change and the pros far outweigh this minor con.

I have 3 sorcs I can do the 1.11 part of the rushes with, though only my Meteorb is dual tree so I'll probably try her out first. She was my first character and I probably haven't played her in a year and a half so it'll be nice to dust her off and give her something to do. And thanks for the headsup on the gear. It would have been typical of me to forget to update her and her merc's gear. I'll be sure to do that before taking her out.
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

I managed to run into a problem in act2. When I kill duriel with my rusher, my seven partied rushed characters don't get the quest - it shows up as 'this quest can't be completed in this game'.

At first I thought it was because I had unpartied the hosting character to place the staff in the standard thingy, then re-partied before killing duriel (so I could keep two additional staves for nm and hell). So, I deleted the seven rushed characters and started over, but ran into the problem again.

I have absolutely no idea what the problem is. I'm doing everything exactly the same as I did during the first rush, and before I kill duriel the last quest shows up as 'find tal rasha's tomb'. I insert the staff, but when I kill duriel it shows as 'this quest can't be completed in this game'...

Is there something I'm missing here? So far I've done four 'restarts' and every time the problem occurs.

Kind regards,

St. Anger
 
Re: Classic 1.09 HF rushing questions

Are all 7 rushed characters in Act 2? They all need to be there to be credit for the Duriel quest.

Nightfind
 
Log in to Reply / Create Site Account
Remove Ads - Go PurePremium

Latest posts

Back
Top