jiansonz said:
I haven´t read all of this thread, but I read the last part and know your playstyle and habits pretty well, so I can picture the journey pretty well, I think.
Standard merc MF-fest (7 PTopaz) until Act 2 Hell, when Shako (50%MF) replaced 3-topaz helm. 146% MF until late Act 3 Hell. It paid off. Check out Hell Disused Fane, Ancients' Way, and Throne Level.
jiansonz said:
What were the points in Hurricane good for? :scratch:
It's a double-synergy for Cyclone Armor and Arctic Blast. The latter skill is bugged (less damage than stated) but it helped a little. Also I stumbled upon an unexpected bonus: Leapers can't breach hurricane's perimeter. If they jump inside, they're instantly knocked out, and if a wall is nearby they're pinned against it. That's worth 1 point all by itself!
jiansonz said:
I really like that socketed armor! Cold damage, poison damage, lightning damage and a little resists, too.
It wasn't until late Act 4 Hell I had my first jewel of envy. The merc's armor needed a little +str (for Bonehew). The shako was already fervor'ed and I didn't want to use a lame -req jewel in Bonehew. A rare jewel had enough +str and minor bonuses. The rest of the jewels were magical. Their combined attributes were greater IMO than my other armor option, Twitchthroe. I recovered the IAS with Shael in Bonehew's final socket.
jiansonz said:
How long blindning time did the lvl 20 Ravens accomplish?
Comparable to level 20 Dim Vision. ~10 seconds.
jiansonz said:
Did they ever fail to blind regular monsters?
Yes, if the monster level was higher than Cosmo's level. (e.g. Pits). They still had a decent chance to blind.
jiansonz said:
Dammit, you always score better act 2 merc weapons than I do! Granted, you could focus your resources almost entirely on merc gear, but still. I have so far ended up with either Hone Sundan or some really lame rare/crafted elite. Rermeber that puny ethereal +94% damage imbued Colussus Voulge my 'rare plesures' necro had?
Yes, I remember in that tourney that our merc weapons were similar(?) (
*exits to fire up my "rare pleasure" necro).
Yep, an imbued eth CV with 112% ED (but also 5-438 lightning damage)! I guess I edged you there.
It didn't come easy for Cosmo. NM Diablo dropped Husoldal Evo (which rolled poor ED). It worked for late NM but not so well in Act 1 Hell. At the start of Act 2 I rerolled shopped war pikes (as you suggested in my naked zon thread). I nearly consumed all my gems before getting a low-cruel (230%) and adding 2 shaels. Not bad. Then I found the Bonehew on the Kurast Causeway.
Near Hell Nihlathak, I scored a Lum rune (already had a Pul). I could've upped Hone, but Jemali lacked the dex, and all my resources had been burned accommodating Bonehew. No more Shaels.
jiansonz said:
Interesting to read about merc weapon switch during battle. I see you had them stored in the Horadric Cube. I can imagine how that works.
I moved all the weapons to my inventory whenever I needed the switching technique. (plenty of room w/o charms).
jiansonz said:
Big applause for a great accompishment!!
Thanks.
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