Grape's Zod God Sept - Progress and theorycraft thread

PhineasB

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Originally posted by @Grape on August 26, 2016

Grape's Zod God Sept - Progress and theorycraft thread

(EDIT 14 October 2018, Sept is now finished, some thoughts in this post)

So here I am, hopping to the sept-train myself, too.

This idea started slowly taking shape after making my second item in the Zod God tournament. After the third one I started to really think it could be doable, yet slow and time-consuming.

If you are not familiar with the idea of Zod God, you may want to check The Thread.

The purpose of this thread is to share some of the progress with you and especially, hopefully, get some fun ideas for what items to use and what builds to make. There should be plenty of time for that, since finding enough runes will probably take a long, long time.

Builds completed:

Paladin
Name: Lemmy
Build: Avenger
Zod God item: Ribcracker

Necromancer
Name: David
Build: Titan Meleemancer with Ctc Bone Spears
Zod God item: Bonehew

Druid
Name: Jimi
Build: Windwolf
Zod God item: Windhammer

Sorceress
Name: Donna
Build: Dual Dragon Enchantress
Zod God item: Hexfire

Assassin
Namm: Janis
Build: Max dmg Tiger Striker
Zod God item: Hellslayer

Barbarian
Name: Freddie
Build: Double Swing with lots of cold damage
Zod God item: Earthshaker

Amazon
Name: Whitney
Build: Glass Cannon Daggerzon with 'Wrath'
Zod God Item: Stormspike


Builds in progress:

---

Builds to be started:

---

Some other Zod God item candidates I have, and random ideas around them:

Bloodletter --> WW barb without actual points in WW?
Headstriker --> Anything melee. Could work on a Zon.
Baranar's Star --> Many possibilities. Blade Fury for example
Crushflange --> Not the worst kicker weapon
Rattlecage: --> I've some that needs upgrading - just have to check what would be perfect defense. Many possibilities.

Just give me a shout out if you'd like to see some read-outs.

Rune counter:

Cham: 2
Jah: 3
Ber: 3

Currently farming: ---

----------------------------------

Would be very nice to hear if you have any comments/questions! Especially hoping to hear if you have any fresh build ideas, and possible twists to some ideas I already have. Before the seventh Zod meets the item, there should be plenty of time to find more candidates and figure out many possible builds!

Let's do this! Thanks for reading :)
 
Last edited:
I'm too impressed to have any ideas right now. At all ... Which is a bit of a problem, since I'm at work, and I'm supposed to come up with ideas.

Anyway, tremendous goal you have set yourself here. So looking forward to reading more.

O yes, about the Baranar's Star ... BF was the first skill that came to mind when I found an eth one myself. Would be a waste to put a Zod in it for that purpose though, since BF doesn't wear down durability.

Eth Zod Stormlash would be kinda cool as main hand for a ZealBarb. Or an eth Frostwind. In the same vein (somewhat), eth 270% ED Firelizard's Talons could be nice to have as second weapon for a ww Sin. Just spamming out ideas here though. Nothing really original or anything.

Edit: for an Amazon, Impale seems like a good candidate, as it gives massive ED%, and you wouldn't have to worry about losing durability. Maybe an eth Stoneraven for that? Attack speed might be an issue though. Otherwise maybe Daggerzon with eth Fleshripper? Good luck finding one though ...

Good luck !!!
Haha, thanks for commenting @T72on1 !

Zod in Baranar's would allow Sin to use Blade Shield, which wears dura down I believe. That IAS in it would be wasted though.

Eth Stormlash would be so nice, perfect or not.. Other dream weapon would be Death Cleaver...

Impalazon and the possibilities with some of the spears are really intriguing for me. Nasty amount of variables usually, though. I feel extremely lucky to have already scored the eth perf items I already possess. Eth Fleshripper on the other hand, the same amount of variable ED% as Ribcracker. On average 1/101 of eth Fleshrippers will be perfect. Luck is needed, but not lottery jackpot odds.

For a Daggerzon I could always go with my eth Gull. Not that I could hurt anyone with that. :p
Eth Gull would earn you so much style points for a TC3 hunting tournament. If you Zod an eth Gull, the next TC3 hunting tournament will definitely allow twinking ;).
imo eth zod deathcleaver would be really nice, the 26 dura on normal ones just plain suck :/

good luck finding many many chams and eth rixots n gulls :)
A Zod God Medussa's Gaze could be pretty cool for an Enchantress, but finding a perfect one might be near impossible.

Upped Ethereal Guardian Angel for a Conc Barb? Only variable stat line is 180-200 ED, so could be findable
Maybe zod some armor for the amazon? Like a perfect eth ormus or vamp gaze? Opens up a few of the "normal" amazon weapons. Also, zod occy for sorc :p
eth gaze and then a poison zone

seems fitting!
zod occy has already happened though. Would be a waste towards the zod god tourny :p
Eth Arioc's Needle for impale-zon? It has a high character level, but it has IAS and +skills. I've never actually played that build before though, so don't know if those mods actually help . . . .
Pfft. I have a better idea:

Singer, dual-wielding, double the Zod God. Zod God Culwen's Point and Zod God Suicide Branch. Or swap one of them for a sword/wand to get same looking weapons, I mean, it can't take too long for you to find that Eth perfect Death's Web, right? ;) Although, I'd probably go with Suicide Branch/Blackhand Key or Culwen's Point/Swordguard. Most likely with the wands.


PS. How many people have told you that you are crazy?
Thanks! Yeah, too bad about the low durability.

Yeah hoping for a perf eth Medusa's Gaze is probably too far-fetched. Still a shield I'd like to build something around.

Guardian Angel on the other hand. Would fit nicely many builds! Let's hope...

Would be nice to use armor for at least one character. It appears that I have few eth perfect normal body armors, like 90%ED Hawkmail, 90% ED Venom Ward, 100%ED Heavenly Garb (always perfect). And then I could try luck with upgrading my three eth Rattlecages or two The Centurions :D. Or maybe that one eth The Face of Horror I have...

You should take that one for a ride around the AT :cool:

Yeah, I believe Arioc's Needle would fit quite well for Impale. Not even total utopia, but still very unlikely to drop :)

Putting Zods to a weapons used by Singer? Just in case I swing them actually? I'll hold to that idea until the eth perfect DW drops ;)

Haha, maybe few. But as I put it in the Zod God tournament thread: "Goal-oriented gentlemen with moderate ambitions"...
Yeah, that was definitely one of the best oneliners ever :).
 
Some more possible candidates after digging through my stashes a bit better:

Hexfire --> Fire Traps with BF seems quite fitting. ITD and +3 to fire skills..
Earthshaker --> don't know. It has knockback and hit blinds target among with decent damage.
Coldkill --> CtC Cold skills and some cold damage. Offers some crowd control at least. Or synergize those skills and swing away with sorc.
Stormrider --> synergize Charged Bolt and Chain Lightning, swing with sorc. Seems a bit slow though..

And oh, I found one pretty thing
Screenshot1066.jpg
Aww yeah!! Half way to the next Zod God item! After whatever it takes to finish that one I'm thinking about running some other target. Even if unlikely, would be nice to have at least a shot at actually finding Zod as I never have seen one!
[/QUOTE]
I tried the Stormrider idea once. I mean, melee Sorcs and 2H axes already is awesome, and I figured getting the procs to kill would be even more cool. It was disappointing though, unfortunately. Then again, I didn't have stuff like Faith on a Rogue merc to make attack speed faster or an Infinity for an act 2 Merc, no Griffon's. And probably not the right gear choices all around.

I have seen you do and choose interesting stuff I never would have thought of myself, so you might make it work :).

O yes, and congrats on yet another shiny rune !!!
Thanks for the info :)

I don't usually test my builds beforehand, but in this case I might have to. Well, there's always that Messerschmidt's Reaver which is faster. Sorcs with big 2H Axes look really badass indeed.!
Stormrider Bearsorc?
Probably just a really bad Dual Dreamer I guess

Earthshaker might work on a Zerker?

Hexfire for a Fireclaw Druid?
I bet that Bear would hit sooo slow :p At least contrast to usual shape-shifter standards. But doable, no doubt.

Yes, seems like quite a fitting Zerker weapon. Although Leaping around with big hammer (Bloodtree Stump) sounds awesome to me. Let's see..

Druid build for the sept is under progress already, so no FC Druids for now at least :)
well one you get that Medussa's Gaze you an do a double Zod God Enchantress with the Hexfire
Not only that, they hit faster with it than any other class too, iirc.

My Vengeance Sorc, who wielded an eth bugged Kingslayer Decapitator, was definitely one of the most fun characters I have ever played.
Definitely. Once this sept is ready, the next sept will have only "double Zod God" builds :p



Yeah, they have nice swinging speed with axes :)
I briefly tested Stormrider on an enchantress, and it would work. CtC stuff wouldn't probably be that big part of the actual killing, but little something extra.

That would leave Messerschmidt's to some other character. As Amazon has no plans yet... passive meleezon with a big eth axe, not bad?
 
I haven't run Chaos since summer 2015 and my 99 Hammerdin. Lost my best Travi map, so figured I'd give my Blizzer a go there. Maybe dozen or so runs in Jah drops. So, "only" one Jah to go and I could make the next one. I'm not sure at all, which candidate to go with, though.
Screenshot1108.jpg
I may have time this weekend to actually progress some.

Let me give you a glimpse of my Necromancer's journey so far.

View attachment 3928
Nice drop from Normal Diablo. Imagine some untwinked tourney character getting this drop this early.

View attachment 3929
Probably the best skiller I've found while questing. NM Councils dropped me this.

View attachment 3930
Staff with Teleport charges on switch. I played as a caster through norm and nm...

View attachment 3931
... but I didn't need re-spec when Bonehew became available. I put stats and skills according to the end build all the time. I think I came here to finish Izual after leveling to 69 doing Pindle (?) runs. You may notice that I hired a new mercenary as well :p

View attachment 3932
Die, Maggot! This shot was taken a bit before summer MFO, I believe. So it's been a while. About a time to pick this up again. Probably trying to finish Acts II and III over the weekend.

And probably a few Chaos runs are in order. Need. More. Runes.
Nice concept and nice thread!

I Guardianed a Beserker with an upped The Minotaur one time - CB, blind and slow. It was pretty fun and doesn't have too many variables to max, although a 60 point range on ED might make things difficult I guess.
Thanks!

The Minotaur has a nice set of effects indeed. Nice Guardian there! I checked, and I've three eth Miinotaurs. Surprisingly none of them were perfect :D 60ED range along with the varying +strength (15-20) makes it difficult catch. But I'll keep my eyes open, definitely. :)
David has continued his adventures. It appears I had already got the staff, so no need to go down the Maggot Lair. *sigh of relief*

I quickly learned to appreciate the little set of curses I had, and also the little slower, cautious play style needed to survive with titan melee nec.

I can confess, that I'm pretty spoiled by many times playing with top notch gear or making my non cookie cutter characters still quite tanky etc. So nice change of pace. (Not that this nec runs with poor gear by any means, but because the nature of build itself, I can't rush into every situation blindly...)

Few pictures from Act II:
View attachment 3933
Diane slaying some snakes. David's craving for blood made him rush there before all were dead. Can't leave all for the mercenary!

View attachment 3934
And again! I typically change to Decrepify when slashing myself. But letting her soften those two boss packs a little bit before going toe-to-toe with them was not bad idea.

View attachment 3935
Dim Vision is great against ranged. Decrepify is great when standing next to an enemy.

View attachment 3936
I don't have any minions myself, but resurrected skeletons from Diane's 'Faith' prove to be useful from time to time. This mad man over there is madly targeting only that skeleton, letting me smash without any disruptions. Act II proved to be quite easy, but I played with /players 1 all the time, making killing quite quick, although I took some serious damage from time to time if I let my Bone Armor disappear. Still considering to go with higher players setting during Act III

Act III has to wait for another time, but I may do some Chaos runs a bit later. Gieb Zod.
Good going!
titan melee Nec with no minions and a ranged merc is towards the crazy end of the spectrum.
Since it seems that many of sept's characters are going to be about big fat two-handers and massive amount of hurt, I have tried to think about some variety.

Daggerzon would fit quite well in, imo. Fast dagger could be delivering CB/Slow/different elemental damages/etc. or even hybridizing the build with some interesting switch. I've some ideas in that regards also.

I even upgraded my Zod God dagger candidates:
Code:
Gull
Bone Knife
One Hand Damage: 35 - **
Durability: 24 of 26
Required Level: 55
Required Strength: 28
Required Dexterity: 65
Fingerprint: 0x1393c05d
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 15 Damage
-5 to Mana
100% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Required Level +12
Ethereal

The Diggler
Mithril Point
One Hand Damage: 82 - 118
Durability: 27 of 55
Required Level: 64
Required Strength: 45
Required Dexterity: **
Fingerprint: 0xdf5e8444
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Increased Attack Speed
50% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
+10 to Dexterity
Cold Resist +25%
Fire Resist +25%
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Blackbog's Sharp
Fanged Knife
One Hand Damage: 37 - 130
Durability: 33 of 36
Required Level: 69
Required Strength: 32
Required Dexterity: 76
Fingerprint: 0x65f63ab3
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 15 - 45 Damage
Adds 488 Poison Damage Over 10 Secs (250 Frames)
+4 to Poison Nova (Necromancer Only)
+4 to Poison Explosion (Necromancer Only)
+5 to Poison Dagger (Necromancer Only)
Slows Target by 50%
+50 Defense
Required Level +7
Ethereal

They each have their own strengths, and each would probably lead to a bit different end build. Which one would you use and why/how? :)

Another thing I'm considering is to put Hexfire on Enchantress. Opening a slot for shield gives some fun options. I upgraded the first post with these possibilities also.




Haha, yes it could be. Maybe more so if my merc wasn't rocking around with Faith and David had less cheesy items ;p

If things get harder in the future I have one trick more: my Bonewall should be quite strong. I tried to use it couple of times but it only irritated me so far.
Bonewall will be very helpful in areas with lots of ranged monsters like open areas of Act V

I'd also look for a better dagger, Stormspike has no ranged attributes. Just go find an ethereal one of those.
I had somehow overlooked that Stormspike has a solid 150% ED.

Code:
Stormspike
Legend Spike
One Hand Damage: 115 - 175
Durability: 39 of 47
Required Level: 73
Required Strength: 55
Required Dexterity: 57
Fingerprint: 0xd1abb7af
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
25% Chance to cast level 3 Charged Bolt when struck
150% Enhanced Damage
Adds 1 - 120 Lightning Damage
Lightning Resist (Based on Character Level)96%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 20
Required Level +7
Ethereal

I have it. When it comes to damage, we have a winner I guess.
Interesting would be a slow-zon. Pull the BBS, get some ctc decrep on merc. Slow all the things! Use slow missiles on ranged monsters. I can't remember the slow cap, but stack on as much as is reasonable (if you need any more after decrep).

Alternatively, if you want a more interesting merc, get ctc or charges of decrep on switch (is it even available in charges?)

At least that's my input.
Use a Zod bugged ethereal Stone armor for Clay Golem charges
Between the bbs, decrep, and clay, we're basically building another necro for your sept. It's a wonderful thing
Charges cannot be replenished on ethereal items, zod bugged or not, so you'd have to make a new one when the charges ran out anyway. No need to zod bug ;)
I thought the goal here was to waste as many Zod's as possible
Haha, thanks for the input guys!

@Zenigma focusing on slow is something I'm considering! Would be interesting to see how good it works. I reread this recently. 1-2 volleys of Strafe with some bow on switch and then stabbing all the chilled, frozen and slowed monsters with my little eth dagger is the idea.

'Wrath' runeword has ctc Decrepify, it could make a nice switch weapon.
 
David has continued his Titanic journey through some wild jungles.

The first half of the Act III:

View attachment 3981
Hmm, should I back off a little bit?

View attachment 3982
Yes, that's a good idea. I started Act III with players 3. Jungles are usually pretty easy for a melee character, especially after Act 2 and its PIs. David did fine, as long as I kept my Bone Armor up and enemies under Decrepify

View attachment 3983
These were not a walk in the park. Added some Bonewall to the mix to help with some more crowd control. Some running around and little separation of this pack was needed to take care of them.

View attachment 3984
I had saved the game when I arrived to the Great Marsh WP, as it was right at the entrance. What a pleasant start for another playing session with meeting these little friends flying around. Dim Vision works great against normal Gloams...

View attachment 3985
... but the place had many boss packs, including one with a Convicted Shaman boss next to them. These hurt a lot. I tried to lure 1-2 at a time and/or let merc shoot them while trying to dodge the lightning.

View attachment 3986
Damn. Waited one shot too long with hitting that fat purple. This could've been avoided.

View attachment 3987
Upon reaching the Flayer Jungle I noticed that I had been playing /players 8 the entire Great Marsh. No wonder that those Gloams hurt so much. I lowered to P3, as that had been my plan. Flayers were quite harmless after that.View attachment 3988
But these proved to be somewhat dangerous. Manaburn is not funny, when standing next to these means I should be almost constantly re-casting my Bone Armor. Better not to take too many of those at once.

View attachment 3989
Flayer Dungeon was not bad. I noticed only couple of Dolls, so those have to wait until Sewers and Durance of Hate. Not complaining. Next time I play, I'll continue from Lower Kurast WP.
The second half of the Act III:

View attachment 4004
Boasting with my LCS numbers before going down. That attack rating went wild with the shrine

View attachment 4005
So long shrine. There were two boss packs besides Battlemaid Sarina in that same room. One of them had mana burn, which is easily the most annoying thing for my nec, since I need to use my curses quite often and would also like to keep my Bone Armor up. Welp, managed the situation in the end, but only with a few too many rejuvs down the pale throat.

View attachment 4006
I was thinking that dolls might provide to be a problem, but I was very wrong. I didn't take any damage from them. Strategy D&D worked wonders. Diane and Decrepify that is.

View attachment 4007
Those guys hung there for a long time. Hmm, maybe because of Decrepify? Anyway, I though they looked funny with the curse below them.

View attachment 4008
Here we go again. No problems whatsoever.

Travi and DoH lvl 3 were pretty uneventful. Probably because I was playing with P1. What a sissy I am. Act IV, especially Chaos can provide to be interesting. My cold/poison resistances are not great, especially everything with cold damage hurts pretty badly. I'll try to not use thawing/antidote potions. Souls I know I can handle with Dim Vision, so I'm not very worried about them.

I thought to progress some with the Druid also, but this Nec shares few too many charms, most likely, so I'm not bothering. I will finish this one first. I'm also debating with myself at what build to continue with Druid, but more about that later.

Been doing some Chaos runs every now and then, but no sight of high runes.
That's one small step for man, 1/16 leap for a mankind towards the next Zod God
Screenshot1231.jpg
This should be the last update before the Pat thread.

Act IV:
View attachment 4019
I felt confident, so I stepped down to the Outer Steppes with players 5 setting. No problems, but quite slow going.

View attachment 4020
Same here, slow but steady. Izual in Hell is not a (relatively) that kind of a massive hitpoints monster, and was down quite fast. No souls, no worries. Maybe we'll see again before the end?

View attachment 4021
Lowered it to P3 for the City of the Damned. Fingermages around were a little nuisance, but nothing that a mana pot now and then couldn't fix. These buddies over there can cause some serious damage if I stop and try to count their horns. It was better to play some pinball between them while landing random hits.

View attachment 4022
River of Flame was full of Maggots and Spawners. Not the fastest clearing of this area forever, but safe anyway.
I felt like a proper summonmancer with all these resurrecteds from Diane's Faith.

View attachment 4023
Stone Skin and Holy Freeze, party on. Hey, ho, Let's go skeles!

View attachment 4024
And they did. And brought some company. Hephasto took a while to kill, and I needed some juvs.. We finished him after withdrawing from this place, going over the bridge.

View attachment 4025
After long-ish River of Flame, I turned on players 1 before the WP. Chaos Sanctuary was not a problem after that. The most dangerous encounter was the De Seis pack, when trying to pull some of them away from mr. Seis. I took little too many blows from few too many knight dudes. Nothing but a De Seis thang, baby.

View attachment 4026
This Lord of Terror guy was a joke. Left nothing but some blue, freezing flakes after vanishing back to the Hells or something.

I probably won't do the next act in one session, but I think I'll leave all the rest for the Pat thread. So long! :)
Then, when you least expect it.

Like a lightning strikes from the sky. Hallelujah! Zod God be praised.

Screenshot1283.jpg
Players 1, Evil Urn.

Now, I've one Cham and two Jah runes...
Wow, congratulations ;)

My D2 must be broken somehow, i've found only one JAH during entire career (p1 pindleskins minion :)) despite dozens of thousands runs everywhere (including 3.5k p3 Travincal and 1.5k p8 CS)...Either You are very lucky guy or i'm biggest looser ever :)

Anyway congrats again and i wish You best of luck with rest of Your journey ;)
Thanks RIP!

That latest Jah of mine is really lucky, indeed. Or well, given enough playing it is bound to drop sometime, but still.

The rest I like to think, are hard earned. Thousands and thousands of P7-8 alvl 85 runs, including one 99er in CS. Thousands and thousands of Travincal runs on top of that.

Can't say from the top of my head, that how unlucky it is to run 3.5k p3 Travincal and 1.5k P8 CS without a Jah. Expected Jahs over those runs is probably less than one, or around one. Not sure. It's quite rare rune after all :)
You've certainly deserved those runes, i have no doubt about it...And thanks to You and Your lvl 99 Paladin Vodka (and Corrupteds Samsara etc) i've found many HRs in CS, including one ZOD (i believe i've posted it in Your thread), so i certainly can't complain...Just those BER+ are not droping at good rate (well, almost not at all), but this might be changed one day ;)
@RIP Yeah I remember the Zod, that was great!

Just leaving a "log entry", should someone read this at some later times. After the Jah drop, posted few posts above, I did my fourth Zod God item.

So Hexfire it was. I was weighting to go with the Bloodtree Stump, because leaping around with a big hammer sounds like a thing Barbarian is meant to do, but that would be a fourth two-hander (and also a male character, like it matters..) in a row for this sept. This choice is thus adding some variety, and leaving the fourth build open for a little longer.

My options are now to put it on an Assassin throwing Blade Fury along with some fire traps, or an Enchantress with some adds.
Hexfire is a pretty terrible BF weapon, and you don't need to Zod it for BF. How about a Phoenix Striker focusing on the first charge?
Edit: first post updated with David's pat thread. Hell Baal was slain yesterday.



I like the Ignore Target's Defense it has, that's quite nice for a BF. Also Zod would let me use, or even max the Blade Shield. But the damage is quite underwhelming compared to many other weapons, true.

Meteor spamming Phoenix Striker sounds pretty neat, I'll think about it :)
I agree with @maxicek here.
Another point (besides low damage) that probably will keep me away from using Hexfire as a BF weapon is, that the two remaining runewords of RW Grail for me are Fury and Famine. Those both are great BF weapons in a right ethereal base. :)

Oh boy, how can the pace of playing differ from character to character. I'm talking about the next character of this Sept, of course!

Few early pictures and the Hell Act I from the journeys of Druid the Windhammer windwolf:
View attachment 4060
I used Angelic's Raiment set until this. Before that I think it was the normal Khalim's Will + some Envy jewele'd stuff. Original plan was to go Titan with this character also, and with pure Fury as well. I think I used a rare Ancient Axe at this point. Later I used Steeldriver and then upgraded Steeldriver until Windhammer.

View attachment 4061
NM Duriel trying to be kind, but I ain't caster! Damage was absurd for NM, I went full STR all the time.

View attachment 4062
Hit level 69 during the Glacial Trail it seems. Showing off the damage here... Since I arrived to Hell, somewhere at the beginning of August I believe, Jimi has been wondering what to do. And watching some other character rush past him, and waiting for David the Titanmancer to finish his quest, ofc.

I started to want something else besides "just" a fully decked out Titan Fury wolf. I pondered with an idea of going with some summons, maybe being a bear instead of wolf and a Maul etc. Well, Maul doesn't work as good as Fury with this hammer (it's a lot slower), and I have better idea for Summon Druids, so back to wolf it was.

It's quite obvious since you start swinging with this hammer at crazy speeds that there's going to be a lot of Twisters flying around. (33% Ctc on striking, lvl 22). While not the most damaging spell, I still went ahead and maxed its synergies. This has made my wolf a hybrid of sort. When my Battle Orders wears off, I re-shift to human and cast BC/BO/Cyclone Armor and Hurricane. CA has great level of absorb and Hurricane offers some minor damage and some nice freezing. Hurricane doesn't last too long, but gives a nice touch to the build, imo.

View attachment 4063
I also hired a new mercenary, and Guthlaf has been doing a wonderful job so far. I have quite limited experience with A5 mercenaries (mostly from 1.07 and one 1.13 char has been using one), and I'm little bit surprised at how good the dude is. Well, part of that is probably due to me giving him a 'Lawbringer', that is a very neat runeword.

View attachment 4064
*SLAPP* Jimi steamrolled through the Act. I played at /P5.

View attachment 4065
Guthlaf being a badass. Just look at the posture! "Now your'e gonna get EXECUTED!

View attachment 4066
Now the guy is stealing the whole freaking show! What a man! Jumps on the casket and starts smashing this demon queen like it's nothing. Crazy Barbarian!!!

View attachment 4067
Guthlaf show continues. Man is trying to cut her head off with a one mean swing! Almost a success!

All in all, Jimi is cutting it through the game at a breath-taking pace, at least compared to what I just got used to with a meleemancer.

Looking forward the upcoming acts!
 
Very nice!

I personally like A5 Mercenary much more then any other, and sometimes its even best solution (my Windruid has one with Lawbringer and it changed early questing completely), so i'm not surprised that You are very satisfied aswell ;)

Good luck to Guthlaf and Jimmy ;)
If I've learned anything from my D&D project it's that Act 5 mercs are boss.
No progress with Jimi, but Sorceress Donna was born today:

View attachment 4071
She's wearing full Cathan's and is lvl 22 now. One quick session got her to the beginning of Act III. We will see about the end build later. It includes Hexfire and Enchant, that much I'm sure of. I think I still need one piece of equipment for her.
The Ward with 50 all res (+30-50). So near, yet so far away:

Code:
The Ward
Ward
Defense: 538
Chance to Block: 34
Durability: 64 of 100
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 175
Fingerprint: 0xdd3145ec
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Increased Chance of Blocking
+100% Enhanced Defense
+40 Defense
+10 to Strength
All Resistances +50
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Required Level +12
Ethereal

I think the max def would've been 550. The odds were 1/18, base defense for non eth Ward is ranging from 153 to 170.
Last Sunday's adventures:

View attachment 4083
+1 skills went to Cyclone Armor, which is now maxed. I'm now putting points to Werewolf, more AR never hurts. Considering Lycanthropy now, too.

View attachment 4084
One can never have too many Ists! The whole act was played with p5 settings

View attachment 4085
Only the second level had those PI Itches. I kept Hurricane up there all the time. It was no problem, really.

View attachment 4086
Outside areas were nice. Poor old Dark Elder. Gets killed again and again.

View attachment 4087
A Gul! Might be a part of Vex someday, who knows.

View attachment 4088
Fourth way, so this took some time. Managed to get me trapped between those at one point, when Guthlaf was working with another group too far away. I took them down with Hurricane.

View attachment 4089
Some big, blue bug. And a wolf.
Windhammer boy continues. Act III:

View attachment 4108
What is this evil Witch Doctor? I summon forces of nature only, but Mr. Endugu has some evil powers, and can re-summon these little demons! Jungles were easy as usual with a melee character of this caliper. No dolls or PI ghosts during the dungeons, so it was full slash away -mode on.

View attachment 4109
Battlemaid Sarina had some company, again, as with David. Cursed + Manaburn from another pack could've been somewhat interesting, but Decrepify from Lawbringer had them tamed down.

View attachment 4110
I visited the extra temples also. This was easily the most dangerous encounter. There were beetles and a Snake bosspack with Conviction right at the stairs. I had to take some fresh air during this fight.

View attachment 4111
This was the last place I visited before Travi. No way I tried to took the whole pack at once. When Sszark was on its own, it was not hard at all, thanks to Lawbringer again.

View attachment 4113
Travi was not a problem, there weren't anything particularly dangerous. Only thing that bothered me was that I had to spoon-feed Guthlaf some rejuvs cause he wouldn't follow me to the inner side. Some kind of a Barbarian brain-freeze maybe?

View attachment 4114
Not an unusual sight of Bremm. He went down without problems, but earlier at DoH lvl 2 I had a nasty pack of Maulers, who took Guthlaf down at least once. They were Extra Fast and Strong at least. I didn't manage to took a screen shot, the fight was heated enough. Other Mauler packs were not a problem at all, but those were really hurty.

View attachment 4115
Windhammer is crazy good bosskiller, thanks to the huge CB it has. Ormu's was a one with Nova and with +14% LSD. Could be useful even. Haven't check yet, that does it top my earlier Nova one(s).

View attachment 4116
Make it +100 more ED% and triple durability and I'd be tempted to start a Impalazon!
I thought I'd have enough time this weekend to do the both Acts I've left.

But the last one shall wait. Meanwhile, there's some pictures from Act IV:

View attachment 4120
There was some welcoming committee waiting for me to get out of the town. No idea what was the boss' enchantments, but the group hit surprisingly hard.

View attachment 4121
Boss Mr. Sharp...

View attachment 4122
... and Boss Mr. Brow. Also some knight dudes rushing in. I think they may have a Boss dude also. Let's deal with these bosses a bit more intimately, shall we?

View attachment 4123
That's better. That Spine ain't looking that though anymore.

View attachment 4125
And he was hardly as Sharp as I expected when he was without his gang.

View attachment 4124
There was one more Boss dude! I was right! Another guy who likes to inform us about his spinal column with the name of his.

View attachment 4126
Lawbringer is so OP in Chaos Sanctuary. Not much to tell about River of Flame. Hephasto was the lamest ever, having a scary Blessed Aim aura and all. Forge dropped me a Lum rune.

View attachment 4127
Cool. Waterwalks had a low roll. RBF was a -5/+4 poison one, not bad.

All in all, this act proved to be quite fun. A lot faster than with David, despite I played P1 with him and p5 with Jimi. Not that this surprised me the slightest.
Thats one wonderfull drop from Diablo...Of course, only the facet is realy good item, but its nice to see such drop from Act boss, especially, when questing...And i can compare it, i'm running Big D a lot these days...And i like screenie posts a lot too...Good luck ;)
Yeah, that was a nice drop! I liked the Ormu's from Mephisto as well. Maybe Baal will also drop something nice now for a change now..
Zod God's Arcane logbook:

Windboy Jimi made it to Patriarchy the other night...

Young Sorceress Donna is growing in powers and the eternal flame inside her is more and more powerful as she proceeds through the Nightmare events...

View attachment 4184
Upon reaching the Lower Kurast WP, I can say that this sept has reached the half point as far as game playing goes. Fourth character reaches the middle milepost of her journey, that's 3.5 characters out of 7 through the game, then!
 
Great progress!
Times like these make me wonder why my sept has taken ~5 years to get through 4.9 characters.
You'll get there one day!

And who knows how much the remaining three will take me. No top high runes left anymore...
Donna finished NM yesterday and moved to the Hell at a relatively low level of 65. She then went to throwing Fireballs to the Mausoleum for a 11 levels, so that she could equip her final weapon. I have a strong-ish FB because I maxed it. Not only because it is a faster leveling skill than the Enchant, but because it is a synergy for the Hydra. All have been done according to my end build.

I used the Sur posted earlier in this thread for Donna, there went that 1/16 Zod!

Code:
Dragon
Troll Nest
SurLoSol
Defense: 531
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 69 of 74
Required Level: 61
Required Strength: 106
Fingerprint: 0xa64af640
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 18 Venom when struck
12% Chance to cast level 15 Hydra on striking
Level 14 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped
+360 Defense
All Stats +5
+230 Defense vs. Missile
+28 to Strength (Based on Character Level)
+50 to Mana
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
Damage Reduced by 7

So Donna is now a Hexfire swinging dual Dragon Enchantress with a synergized chance to cast Hydra.

View attachment 4196

Big part of the build is also getting as much inner PDR as I could, to make her a little less fragile. Things like this help a lot:

View attachment 4197

I'm letting Donna now to rest for a while before continuing with her. I'll try to farm at least one of the higher runes (Ber/Jah/Cham) before moving on, so that I don't have to start that process from the scratch when Donna is finished. And also, to keep things more fresh.
Love the dual Dragons!
I really wanted to put one on my Avenger, but you can't have just one Dragon.
Does the massive Holy Fire aura cause issues with waking up monsters?
That circlet! Wow!
Screenshot of Zod Hexfire? Please? =)
This concept is so cool !!! And then that Circlet ... beyond amazing.
From my really short observations it indeed wakes monsters up. That issue should be taken care with my PDR and liberal use of Teleport. We'll see. Better use a strong merc as well.



I'll post it the next time I play, I promise :)



Thanks! I was quite happy when I saw the result after Larzuk did some hammering with it!
Oops. One month has passed since the last update. I tried my luck with some alvl85 running to make some progress in the rune department though. My Fire Druid saw no HRs while running P8 AT between levels 93 and 94. Maybe Travi next, maybe going for 95 with that Druid.

I'm sticking to the idea of getting one of the Ber, Jah or Cham before playing Donna the Enchantress too far. But I couldn't resist the urge to complete the first Act of Hell, as I had already played some there.

View attachment 4382
Didn't bring my Infinity yet it seems. Probably for the next act, then. These little buggers do no harm to me, but they aren't taking damage from my Hydras either!

View attachment 4383
Felt like half of the monsters were FI. I still did some minor physical dmg though. Alhizeer took them in no time after I softened the bunch with some Static.

View attachment 4384
Beat it, dude.

View attachment 4385
My resistances aren't the best. I will have to take some more care in the future. These were spitting those lightning bolts quite fast. It is lightning dmg, right? At least they fell quickly to my mighty Enchanted Sword.

View attachment 4386
Finally some food for my sword. Just earlier I met many Dark One and Spider Magus bosspacks. All FI, wasn't fast.

View attachment 4387
And more, nice! Andariel was a really quick one, as is usual with high fire damage characters. I teleported right to her, smashed away while those little Dark Ones tried to hurt me.

View attachment 4388
@SunsetVista here it is, finally! :)

Hopefully the next update is about having found an HR! :cool:
No HRs yet, unfortunately, but I stumbled upon this (and then upgraded it twice) while browsing my stashes:
View attachment 4420
I like the Daggerzon idea enough, that I could try just a "normal" version of those someday. But what about going Impale with this and then having Strafe switch along with all kinds of slow/chill/blinds stuff. Impale is very slow on its own, so why not bring all the enemies to a crawl too.

Impale might be the worst idea ever, but for some reason that makes me want to try it out even more. I don't think the the damage would be too horrible with let's say Fortitude + ok charm set?
I think my naked barb might make faster progress than an Imaplazon with a double upped ethereal Razortine
In the end I'd suspect your merc and Valk (if you have one) would do more killing than you.
Haha :p

I could always use strong enough Strafe weapon on switch when I become desperate...

Maybe I'll double up one of my non perfects and try some setups out.
Chargadin with eth upped bonecracker? Or is that not allowed?
Septumvirate is each class once, and Paladin is done (see the first post), so no Charger in this sept :)

Charger is on my huge to-do-list, though :p
Ah that explains a lot in that case:

Eth stormlash with this:

Blade Fury
Required Level:
18
Prerequisites: Fire Blast [1], Blade Sentinel [6], Wake of Fire [12]
Effect: Using this skill, the Assassin throws several small blades, shredding her enemies with a barrage of metal.



  • Blade Fury doesn't use up durability of weapons, thus qualifies for ethereal weapons.
  • Blade Fury will attack constantly with 6 frames per attack. It does not work with Burst of Speed or any other increased (or decreased) attack speed.
  • Blade Fury is indeed dependant on your attack rating although that's not displayed. Check your chances of hitting a monster with a normal attack to determine your chance with Blade Fury.
  • Blade Fury does not work with pierce or exploding arrow effects.
  • Blade Fury works with effects on striking, but not on attack. Therefore, Curses and other effects can be triggered very fast.
  • The +min/max damage listed on the skill effectively works the same as +min/max damage added to your weapon on normal attacks, except that it is not reduced by the 3/4, 3/8 & 1/4 penalties. So for damage dealing purposes, on blade fury, you could treat it exactly the same as an offweapon source of +min/max damage, ignoring the penalty. This is especially important, as with high levels of blade skills, the +skill damage can deal more than the weapon "half" of the damage.

No need for a zod though :)
@Grape I'll be very disappointed if one of the Zod God items in this sept is not a helm/armor/shield, just so you know.

How's your rune count looking at? First post says 0 for all listed HRs?
Maybe do a daggerzon with Ghostflame just to confuse people . . . and then zod god a Vamp's Gaze (or Andy's) or Stormshield.
@BKC yeah, eth Stormlash should be really good Bladefury weapon! Such rare things, those.



Rune count is up to date. :D I'm running now for more, but not in a hurry. Seems there's going to be some power-farming opportunities this spring in the form of the upcoming rune finding competition(s). I hope I'll score enough runes for 1-2 more Zod God items by those.

I'll try my best to squeeze in at least one armor. They are surprisingly hard to come by. I may not settle for one until it really benefits the build somehow, I'd like the armor to be functional in a some way for the build that uses it. E.g I tried to upgrade my Twichthroes and Rattlecages, but no luck so far.



You can be sure I'd Zod a perfect Gaze or Andy's! Stormshield is always indestructible, and can't be eth. What a Zod God items this world potentially loses in it! :p
Couldn't help myself. Donna made some little progress.

View attachment 4461
Posing. That little eth sword looks deadly, right?

View attachment 4462
Hydras fighting on their own. Two-front tactics.

View attachment 4463
Some melee characters dread this place. Donna not so much :p

View attachment 4464
There were many bosspacks around these corners. I'm quite vulnerable to the poison damage, so got to take care with that.

View attachment 4465
Made two AT runs. Thinking if I should level up few times doing AT/Pit/? runs. Hydras are making OK dmg, but more levels would give them a decent upgrade.

View attachment 4467
Put the planned end-game equipment on merc, finally. I think you can guess the weapon and helmet now.

Now Travi giev runes plz
 
I'll leave some evidence that I'm at least trying to get an armor for the sept:

Code:
Heavenly Garb
Archon Plate
Defense: 1502
Durability: 42 of 60
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 93
Fingerprint: 0x2c5c85ea
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+50% Damage to Undead
+100 to Attack Rating against Undead
+100% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Energy
Regenerate Mana 25%
All Resistances +10
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Heavenly Garb
Archon Plate
Defense: 1236
Durability: 59 of 60
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 93
Fingerprint: 0xf0b7efbb
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+50% Damage to Undead
+100 to Attack Rating against Undead
+100% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Energy
Regenerate Mana 25%
All Resistances +10
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Rattlecage
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 1005
Durability: 31 of 55
Required Level: 74
Required Strength: 198
Fingerprint: 0x7359c660
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+45 to Attack Rating
25% Chance of Crushing Blow
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 40%
+200 Defense
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Rattlecage
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 1005
Durability: 31 of 55
Required Level: 74
Required Strength: 198
Fingerprint: 0x7359c660
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+45 to Attack Rating
25% Chance of Crushing Blow
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 40%
+200 Defense
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Rattlecage
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 936
Durability: 37 of 55
Required Level: 74
Required Strength: 198
Fingerprint: 0x92e194b8
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+45 to Attack Rating
25% Chance of Crushing Blow
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 40%
+200 Defense
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Twitchthroe
Wire Fleece
Defense: 629
Durability: 30 of 32
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 101
Fingerprint: 0xe86a0d24
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+25 Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Twitchthroe
Wire Fleece
Defense: 701
Durability: 18 of 32
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 101
Fingerprint: 0x93727bf8
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+25 Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Twitchthroe
Wire Fleece
Defense: 602
Durability: 24 of 32
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 101
Fingerprint: 0xf8f6f9c6
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+25 Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
Required Level +12
Ethereal

At the moment I'm leaning towards Hellslayer and Assassin as the next one after Donna is finished (and I've my next Zod gathered), but this may change.
Do you have a public version of your to-do list? Or is there a wider forum version of such a thing? Hopefully there is a master list, or we could maybe make one. Showing all the accomplished goals, and various pipe dreams :)
Main goals were achieved with a 99lvl characeter and finding the full Grail. :)

Now that to-do list is more of a mental list of all the various characters I'd like to play the game through with. Sometimes I write lists of char ideas down, but nothing official. Going with the flow. I have some other sept ideas also besides this, but only time will tell if I'm up to actually do them.
the fact you have more than 1 zod, AND planning for more is a little crazy compared to when 1.10 first came out and how rare things were before the drop rates changed and chest farming took off.
Haha, yes. This sept would be next to impossible in earlier versions.

Takes enough time to gather the runes as it is now... :p
Got back on track with finding HRs, so it was time to proceed with Donna...

View attachment 4530
*Slashs enough for few Hydras and backs off* Waiting for merc to proc Confuse... *pic* Let's Static some! My physical damage is rather weak, so strong merc is important for this build from time to time.

View attachment 4531
Confuse from Delirium is wonderful to have around in crowded places. Not that those hurt me much with the PDR Donna has.

View attachment 4532
Duriel was a total pushover. I even chucked couple of Thawing potions before entering the Chamber. That wan't necessarily a must :p

View attachment 4533
There's a clear difference in my killing speed against enemies with high FR (those that Infinity could still break immunity from), and those with low FR under Conviction. Those Flame dudes could take some hits before going down. Needed to tele a bit further away before things got out of control.

View attachment 4534
Doll vs Dolls?

View attachment 4535
Almost. I was not fast enough. Generally speaking, Delirium's ctc Delirium (morph) hasn't been bothering me much.

View attachment 4536
I was brave and fought there for quite long myself, but after good amount of Rejuvs, I backed and let the merc finish the job. We made it alive. Teleport is great when Donna or Alhizeer needs some fresh air and/or some health back.

View attachment 4537
DoH levels didn't offer any real threats. Alhizeer took care of the Doll boss packs we met. I tried to avoid the poison clouds mummies leave after death (poison res is negative, so is cold...). Mephisto dropped real fast to our red and hot ethereal weapons.

Only two acts to go, then! That shouldn't take too long.
Four more armor tries:
Code:
Darkglow
Diamond Mail
Defense: 1398
Durability: 14 of 26
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 121
Fingerprint: 0xe0079062
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Attack Rating
+100% Enhanced Defense
+50 Defense vs. Melee
+5% to Maximum Poison Resist
+5% to Maximum Cold Resist
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
+5% to Maximum Fire Resist
All Resistances +10
+3 to Light Radius
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Venom Ward
Great Hauberk
Defense: 1250
Durability: 34 of 50
Required Level: 68
Required Strength: 108
Fingerprint: 0xabfa68a1
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+90% Enhanced Defense
+15% to Maximum Poison Resist
Poison Resist +90%
Poison Length Reduced by 50%
+2 to Light Radius
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Hawkmail
Loricated Mail
Defense: 1197
Durability: 18 of 36
Required Level: 67
Required Strength: 139
Fingerprint: 0x29416cbc
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Run/Walk
+90% Enhanced Defense
+15% to Maximum Cold Resist
Cold Resist +15%
Cannot Be Frozen
Required Level +12
Ethereal

The Face of Horror
Demonhead
Defense: 196
Durability: 12 of 20
Required Level: 67
Required Strength: 92
Fingerprint: 0x94a610e4
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+50% Damage to Undead
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 50%
+25 Defense
+20 to Strength
All Resistances +10
Required Level +12
Ethereal

4 x hit & 4 x miss. It is clear that it will take me more time to farm enough Lem and Ko runes for the full Zod God grail than the Zods themself ;)

I'm confident that I can make my next Zod God item after the RFL. To avoid suspicion about my rune finds I started the next character already (contrast to starting her right after finishing the first batch of 20h before the end of the first RFL round :D )

So, meet Janis, Titan max damage Tiger Striker:

View attachment 4539

She's going to be all about showing off those ridiculous LCS damage numbers. Every detail of the build is not yet decided, but Hellslayer would be the end-game weapon, though. I will post entries from her as the dmg numbers increase little by little ("little?").

I'll probably switch to two handers when I can top this little beast of mine:
Code:
Gemmed Superior War Axe
Superior War Axe
One Hand Damage: 18 - 80
Durability: 5 of 26
Required Level: 9
Required Strength: 57
Fingerprint: 0x89174022
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
56% Enhanced Damage
+3 to Minimum Damage
+52 to Maximum Damage
+31 to Attack Rating
+3 to Life
Cold Resist +6%
Fire Resist +12%
Requirements -15%
6 Sockets (6 used)
Socketed: Storm Whorl
Socketed: Rune Eye
Socketed: Cinnabar Jewel of Wrath
Socketed: Dread Heart
Socketed: Bone Heart
Socketed: Bitter Whorl

Storm Whorl
Jewel
Required Level: 9
Fingerprint: 0x1057d4a
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Enhanced Damage
+12 to Maximum Damage

Rune Eye
Jewel
Required Level: 8
Fingerprint: 0xc871507c
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Enhanced Damage
+8 to Maximum Damage
+3 to Life

Cinnabar Jewel of Wrath
Jewel
Required Level: 8
Fingerprint: 0x8ebb1ac4
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
9% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Maximum Damage

Dread Heart
Jewel
Required Level: 8
Fingerprint: 0xb986b8b4
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+9 to Maximum Damage
Fire Resist +12%
Requirements -15%

Bone Heart
Jewel
Required Level: 9
Fingerprint: 0xb7f36f4b
Item Level: 22
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10 to Maximum Damage
+31 to Attack Rating
Cold Resist +6%

Bitter Whorl
Jewel
Required Level: 9
Fingerprint: 0xd4dac07d
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
19% Enhanced Damage
Adds 3 - 4 Damage
Sounds cool. By max dam Tiger Striker, what build do you mean exactly? If you want really high LCS numbers, pick DTail as finisher. Crazy numbers floating around in that case. And a very fun build too ! I did one in SP years ago, which was very, very strong, but even now in our group game at the Basin, where I'm currently doing one untwinked HC, it kills really good in 6 player games.

Good luck !!!
Thanks!

I'm trying out normal attack as my finisher. Something along the lines with @maxicek 's Ultima for example. Not sure am I going Fishysin route (Death Sentry as a second means of dmg) or something else. I'll think about that while playing.

If/when I do Dtailer I think I'd like to go with either 'Lawbringer' or maybe Lacerator as a weapon to counter immunity problems before landing the hit. :)
Hmm yeah, I was too quick replying there. Hellslayer wouldn't be a good DTail weapon by any means. I guess I just saw 'high damage numbers' and immediately had to post DTail :oops:.

Death Sentry is so cheesy ... go without it ;). If you don't know where to put your points, just grab a maxed SW or SM.
Yes. Could be nice to try to avoid DS for now, and if I wanted to re-visit Tiger Striker I could do a quick Fishysin then with more balanced stats for example :p

SW or SM is an option, indeed.

Edit:
Might as well post these as I just finished Act I with Janis:
View attachment 4543
Collecting plain Jewels of Carnage pays off: matching jewels <3 :p

View attachment 4544
That damage should be enough. I'm using life/res SCs, btw. Next weapon upgrade is most likely an 'Honor' Martel de Fer at level 27.
Couple more armor tries:
Code:
Coif of Glory
Armet
Defense: 170
Durability: 22 of 24
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 99
Fingerprint: 0x1a0c2fc
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Hit Blinds Target +1
+10 Defense
+100 Defense vs. Missile
Lightning Resist +15%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 7
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Coif of Glory
Armet
Defense: 172
Durability: 19 of 24
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 99
Fingerprint: 0xff1db875
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Hit Blinds Target +1
+10 Defense
+100 Defense vs. Missile
Lightning Resist +15%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 7
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Janis made a quick work of Act III, as I spurted through it with /players 1.
View attachment 4564
Mephisto happened to have a Combat shrine next to him. He was dead before he knew it.

View attachment 4565
Few Travi runs later I could equip my 'Honor' Martel. Damage should be sufficient for normal Act IV, to say the least.

Now I'm thinking when I'd like to upgrade my weapon. Would be funny to use something unusual for NM. Let's see.
Donna made it to Hell Act V yesterday. While I could finish her quest tonight, I'd rather leave it to a time when I'm not in a hurry. So, probably between RFL rounds then. Should be more fun to enjoy the last act by actually playing there for some time instead of rushing through it. :)

Janis is also eagerly waiting for a suitable time to play through the NM. Last time we took a look at her when she was smashing in Travincal with some overpowered damage. Since then she has gained some levels and finished normal. She also traded some damage away in order to be able to wear something I've never played with.

View attachment 4594
She is wearing a full Hwanin's Majesty set. It offers some resistances, defense, great life leech, couple skills and some FRW, among some minor adds. So all in all, quite well suited set for my current needs. Sure there is weapons with a lot more damage potential, but I think we will see enough of those cute numbers later...

I also did some more armor tries. Twitchthroe would be a really nice catch, but no luck yet.
Code:
Twitchthroe
Wire Fleece
Defense: 689
Durability: 31 of 32
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 101
Fingerprint: 0x7dadad21
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+25 Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Howltusk
Spired Helm
Defense: 345
Durability: 37 of 40
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 182
Fingerprint: 0xd88ba447
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25%
Knockback
+80% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Attacker Takes Damage of 3
35% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Howltusk
Spired Helm
Defense: 374
Durability: 21 of 40
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 182
Fingerprint: 0x43e71e0b
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25%
Knockback
+80% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Attacker Takes Damage of 3
35% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Howltusk
Spired Helm
Defense: 361
Durability: 26 of 40
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 182
Fingerprint: 0x662144e4
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25%
Knockback
+80% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Attacker Takes Damage of 3
35% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Howltusk
Spired Helm
Defense: 331
Durability: 30 of 40
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 182
Fingerprint: 0x139072cc
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25%
Knockback
+80% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Attacker Takes Damage of 3
35% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Required Level +12
Ethereal
Might need to rename this thread into the Ko Lem God threory crafting thread
Haha, true!

I just checked and I can say I'm not running out of Lem and Ko runes any time soon. Finding more stuff for upgrading slows me down, though.
 
Janis has finished NM. She ditched the Hwanin's set when reaching the first WP at Act V. Then she ran Eldritch and the co. for some levels. Being Titan hasn't bothered her yet, and the first place I needed to take it little more carefully was the Chaos Sanctuary. Hwanin's served her really well for the NM. She has also got some more company in the form of Shadow Master, which I'm now pumping more levels into.

She equipped some of her end game gear along with ethereal 'Oath' Feral Axe for the rest of NM. Mercenary equipped 'Pride' after Baal was done. Oh boy:
View attachment 4720
She has used the same SCs (single res/life ones) since normal Act II or so. Time to re-balance those for the Hell. We need a lot more AR at least. Having fire and lightning res at positive would be nice :p I'm trying to go as much "all in" for the LCS dmg numbers as I can, but I want to keep the playability somewhat good also. I will most likely use Enchant from Demon Limb to hep me some.

Since no secondary attack and no Reaper's on merc, there might some problems with PIs in Hell. Shadow can do something, but she's probably not too reliable. I think I'll try this as a solution:
Code:
Lawbringer
Legendary Mallet
AmnLemKo
One Hand Damage: 75 - 91
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Level: 61
Required Strength: 179
Fingerprint: 0xbc4c2735
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 15 Decrepify on striking
Level 16 Sanctuary Aura When Equipped
-50% Target Defense
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 150 - 210 Fire Damage
Adds 130 - 180 Cold Damage Over 7 Secs (165 Frames)
7% Life stolen per hit
Slain Monsters Rest in Peace
+223 Defense vs. Missile
+10 to Dexterity
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
Ethereal
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune

Idea is to shoot Blade Fury with that when needed.

Now I just need to farm that Zod for the Hellslayer between the RFL rounds. I try my best to keep my RFL runes away from this until it has ended, so I can make some pretty haulpics or something.

This is a start (with the one Ber already) I guess:
Screenshot1778.jpg
Screenshot1795.jpg
Runecount: one Ber, two Surs. That equals one Jah, and that is 1/4 Zod already. Almost there :p

Tinkered around with Janis' equipment before leaving her waiting for that Zod. This is how her Hell stats are looking now:
View attachment 4744
Nice surprise with the all positive resists and 80LR! She wears Hellslayer in that picture, and has cast Enchant. No BO, and I think she will reach +1k life without it, so probably won't bother to carry CtA around. I'd still like to have a higher AR and that's what this is for:

View attachment 4742
Donna got herself a nice piece of headgear, so why wouldn't Janis too? Visionary helps some with that AR, and CoS will help some more. I'll see if I can swap 1-2 resist charms for steel of something.

One week left for finishing Donna's Act V and farming moar runez. Then it's Travi time for the RFL round two. :)
Wow, that Coronet !!!
Joys of gambling ;) Fills in very nicely some needs of this character. The Jewel in it is a 38ED/9Str btw.

If only it wasn't for the much needed AR, I could've used my Kenshi's Coronet of Atlas (3MA & 27 Strength, 2 sockets via Larzuk)... maybe I'll use it with Ruby Jewels for some kind of "max dmg screenshot" or something :p
Question, at the end of this, I hope you get 7 PCs that can play D2, and have all of the sept in the same game. Get 6 of your closest friends, and see how quick you can full clear ALL of hell :D
If that coronet had 20 fcr, I'd hire ninja to steal it.
Lol, that sounds fun! Few of them played D2 at its prime time, but others... there could be a lot of dying around with some of these Titan characters at least :D

First post updated with two Jahs from RFL round 1. I'm now basically one Jah away from next item. So that won't be a problem with two round of RFL left. But can I work enough runes for two items?

Meanwhile Janis got her another sweet piece of headgear:
View attachment 4804
I gave up some resistances but gained more damage and AR. A fair trade. This was achieved mostly thanks to Hsaru's combo. But I'll keep the rare Visionary coronet as well. I have Gore Riders stashed, cause I think I may want to kick some Baals face a little bit before giving him those Tiger Strikes. I'll then need that circlet. And maybe around gloams (although CoS helps a lot).

Code:
Kenshi's Coronet of Atlas
Coronet
Defense: 37
Durability: 29 of 30
Required Level: 63
Fingerprint: 0xd0088852
Item Level: 96
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Martial Art Skills (Assassin Only)
55% Enhanced Damage
Adds 20 Poison Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)
+27 to Strength
Cold Resist +13%
All Resistances +11
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Bitter Talisman
Socketed: Death Gyre

Bitter Talisman
Jewel
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0x73efb93c
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
25% Enhanced Damage
+3 to Strength
Cold Resist +18%
Lightning Resist +5%
Fire Resist +5%
Poison Resist +5%

Death Gyre
Jewel
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xc6150e8b
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
30% Enhanced Damage
Adds 20 Poison Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)
Cold Resist +6%
Lightning Resist +6%
Fire Resist +6%
Poison Resist +6%
 
That is a sight I have been longing for
Screenshot1795.jpg
Damn. I can now make the next one and still have a Jah worth of runes left. I said I'd like to keep all the runes from RFL until it has ended, but now that this situation becomes reality. I don't know. I really would like to go and swing that Hellslayer already!
Okay, things have been happening faster than I have been updating this.

In order: after that Cham there was an RFL round two -- only a Sur there.. then I found a Jah from Cows. Now, after the RFL was over, I used two Jahs and one Cham for the next item (Hellslayer), leaving me with one Jah, one Ber and three Surs.

Trying out my Blizzer's new goldfinding setup, I got already a big leap towards the next item, whatever that shall be:
Screenshot1807.jpg
One Jah to go, or a combination of Surs and Bers!

First post is updated now: there's a link to Donna's mat thread and to Zod God post about Hellslayer, and runecount is up to date now.
 
Janis started her Hell adventures for real. I think I'm going to take a little time to level (probably in the Pits), to take better advantage of Hellslayer's +Str, +Vita and +ED% that are scaling up based on character level.

Didn't remember Pride has a ctc Firewall, so I was quite surprised to see it at first. Looks funny at times:
View attachment 5088

I'm expecting to be able to make the next item within some weeks, should be doable even with moderate amount of Travi running now.

The original plan was to make a Leap Attack Barb with this:
Code:
Bloodtree Stump
Ogre Maul
Two Hand Damage: 368 - 508
Durability: 38 of 100
Required Level: 58
Required Strength: 215
Fingerprint: 0xf814dcdc
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Masteries Skills (Barbarian Only)
220% Enhanced Damage
+150% Damage to Undead
50% Chance of Crushing Blow
+3 to Mace Mastery (Barbarian Only)
+25 to Strength
All Resistances +20
Required Level +7
+40 Maximum Durability
Ethereal

But I'm all open for suggestions. Another option I've been toying with now (thanks to @T72on1 mentioning it in the Zod God thread) is a Double Swing Barbarian with for example Baranar's Star + something. That something could be some Ctc effects, or just heavy hitter etc. Baranar's comes with elemental damage, so I could emphasize that and pair it with 'Famine', as that is something I'll have to do for runeword grail anyway! Intriguing, but needs one Jah more, then :p
Lem + Ko theorycrafting part z
Code:
The Centurion
Scarab Husk
Defense: 625
Durability: 24 of 28
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 85
Fingerprint: 0x196ea69a
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+50 to Attack Rating
+30 Defense
+15 to Life
Replenish Life +5
+15 to Mana
+15 Maximum Stamina
25% Slower Stamina Drain
Damage Reduced by 2
Required Level +12
Ethereal

Wormskull
Bone Visage
Defense: 184
Durability: 39 of 40
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 96
Fingerprint: 0xe77a0b0d
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels
Adds 80 Poison Damage Over 8 Secs (200 Frames)
5% Life stolen per hit
+10 to Mana
Poison Resist +25%
Required Level +12
Ethereal

There were two of them both. Not that I'm even sure I'd have wanted to use either. Would be still nice to get one perfect armor too.

Janis has done few P3 Pit runs now, and that is where she will spend some time now.
View attachment 5098
As fragile as she is, CoS and occasional MB take care of most, if not all problems. She herself grows little bit stronger with levels, but more importantly, I want to get Chalan to a bit higher levels. I'm not using BO, so those levels are warmly welcome as they will make him a lot sturdier.

As the next Zod God item might be just around the corner, let us welcome the character number six of the Sept
View attachment 5099
Freddie is Double Swinging his Death set's swords somewhere in the Normal Act III jungles. Final build is yet to be decided, but it might be Double Swing indeed. With a twist, as usual, if I can help that!
@Grape what is your source for character names? Singers from the 60's-70's? :D

My guesses:
Janis Joplin
Jimi Hendrix
Freddie Mercury
Donna Summer?
David Bowie?
@DiabloTwoinDC you got the names right!

It all started with Lemmy, whom I started right after Lemmy Kilmister (from Motörhead) died at the end of 2015.

Soon David Bowie passed away, and I couldn't help but make a tribute to him too. Then I started to ponder with an idea about a Zod God sept, and to make the rest of the names match too, I picked singers that were dead. Some of the mat/pat threads have even some lame references. :p
yes
he puts lyrics in the separate thread for each character

Nice work on Janis btw!
Elvis when?
Started Elvis, but lost him somewhere. I've heard some rocking in the Jailhouses, when I've passed them lately. You know, those where the Pitspawn the Hound Dog lives. Now he's Always on my mind.
Elvis is lost even in diablo, what a guy.
But alive!
 
Zod God item number six is getting closer and closer:
Screenshot082.jpg
One Sur to go! Or, as a matter of fact I could make it if I used couple of Lo runes, but this time I'll save them for whatever other purposes.

Freddie has been furiously swinging to be ready on time whenever it comes
View attachment 5102
Normal Diablo says "puff", and he's no more. Dual 'Honor' Dimensional Blades.

View attachment 5103
That Blizzard is from Snowclash. Dual upgraded Sureshrill Frosts. :cool:

I have started to put together all sort of gear and charms with cold damage. Last summer I did a 3FPA Wolfbarb who had all kinds of elemental damage and it worked really well. What if I chose just one this time and tried to take it as far as I could? Practical? Probably not the most rational thing to do, but hey, it's something different. Idea is to Double Swing at the maximum speed with decent physical damage and cold damage that is at least enough to take down the PIs along the way, and act as a way of crowd control as well. I still need to check do I need Faith merc for that, or would one point Frenzy be a better choice for getting that speed up.

As for what thing to Zod for that, I was leaning towards Baranar's Star. Taking another look at the stats, I noticed it does have one variable stat after all: "Adds 1-200 Cold Damage, Duration 0-7 sec" That duration varies. Well, the damage is the same and all, but one could argue that mine is not perfect with the duration of 4 seconds.

Whatever the consensus about that would be, I will not Zod it now, I don't want to be even little bit unsure that did I do a right thing about it.

My number one candidate is now:
Code:
Earthshaker
Legendary Mallet
One Hand Damage: 210 - 254
Durability: 32 of 115
Required Level: 68
Required Strength: 179
Fingerprint: 0x26e1332e
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 7 Fissure on striking
+3 to Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
+30% Increased Attack Speed
180% Enhanced Damage
+150% Damage to Undead
Hit Blinds Target +1
Knockback
Required Level +7
+50 Maximum Durability
Ethereal

All it lacks is some cold damage to fit the build even better, but otherwise it should work. I even tried 'Black' Knout for a while now to see what I feel about the knockback, and it's fine. It should useful in Hell, I think.
I'd go with the Baranar's. Cool weapon, and it fits the build much better. Who cares about duration anyway ...
well it won't count as a Zod God sacrifice if it isn't perfect
Strange thing is that AS doesn't state 'varies' after the Baranar's cold duration stat, where it usually does when a stat can be variable. It does so for another item with variable cold duration: The Eye of Etlich. Are you sure the stat isn't fixed?

Edit: checking my stash, it seems that GoMule is stating the 7 or so Baranar's with different cold length duration, so I'm afraid it could be just something that has been forgotten on the AS page.

@Grape I happen to have a perfect eth Baranar's:

Code:
Baranar's Star
Devil Star
One Hand Damage: 192 - 237
Durability: 137 of 137
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 143
Required Dexterity: 34
Fingerprint: 0x92bbe02c
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+50% Increased Attack Speed
200% Enhanced Damage
200% Bonus to Attack Rating
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 1 - 200 Fire Damage
Adds 1 - 200 Lightning Damage
Adds 1 - 200 Cold Damage Over 7 Secs (180 Frames)
+15 to Strength
+15 to Dexterity
+100 Maximum Durability
Ethereal

I would love to donate that one to you if it could help you.
@Brak haha, they worked pretty ok actually! Nothing like a dual Oath would be or something like that ofc, but I was able to mow my way through NM Acts 1-3 with P8 without any problems. Sureshrills FTW!

Inventory full of cold dmg SCs, Duress Dusk Shroud, 2 x Raven Frost, The Eye of Etlich, Frostburn and a Vampire Gaze to underline my theme :p

@T72on1 I'm not so worried about the weapon thing, I believe Earthshaker will fit very nicely with it's blinding, and the physical damage is rather nice. And if I make 'Famine' to go with it, I can swing with two Legendary Mallets, yay!

You've got a nice Baranar's Star there yourself, not the worst thing to start your Zod God grail with! ;)
Since Janis and Donna got some special gear just for them, how could I leave Freddie without?

As long as there's some cold damage in it, I'll take it!
View attachment 5108
:p

View attachment 5109

Code:
Jeweler's Gothic Plate of the Whale
Gothic Plate
Defense: 128
Durability: 55 of 55
Required Level: 58
Required Strength: 70
Fingerprint: 0x97dd2af5
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
138% Enhanced Damage
Adds 14 - 41 Cold Damage Over 8 Secs (200 Frames)
+81 to Life
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of the Glacier
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of Frigidity
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of the Glacier
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of the Glacier

Ruby Jewel of the Glacier
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x1be6f794
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
34% Enhanced Damage
Adds 5 - 11 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)

Ruby Jewel of Frigidity
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x2da54ae5
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
35% Enhanced Damage
Adds 1 - 4 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)

Ruby Jewel of the Glacier
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x5cae864b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
36% Enhanced Damage
Adds 4 - 14 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)

Ruby Jewel of the Glacier
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x6b0643b8
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
33% Enhanced Damage
Adds 4 - 12 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)


Giant Skull
Bone Visage
Defense: 411
Durability: 26 of 40
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 106
Fingerprint: 0x5a55a638
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
36% Enhanced Damage
Adds 20 - 44 Fire Damage
Adds 1 - 73 Lightning Damage
Adds 5 - 15 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
10% Chance of Crushing Blow
Knockback
+266 Defense
+35 to Strength
21% Extra Gold from Monsters
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Blood Heart
Socketed: Doom Gyre

Blood Heart
Jewel
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x6622bc21
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
29% Enhanced Damage
Adds 20 - 44 Fire Damage
Adds 2 - 9 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)

Doom Gyre
Jewel
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0xb1eea894
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
7% Enhanced Damage
Adds 1 - 73 Lightning Damage
Adds 3 - 6 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)
21% Extra Gold from Monsters

I leveled from 65 to 68 using two Baranar's stars. I'd definitely have enjoyed eth and perfect one, but after testing some runs with Earthshaker I know it's going to be fun and good!

Now back to Janis and also Travi + CS runs. Most likely going to grind that one Jah more so that I can make Famine for Freddie.
Dat charm order yo. My eyes hurt from such perfection!
I bet they are very seriously ordered within each charm skin, which can make ordering pretty complex (I know I do it), resulting in sometimes having to reorganize everything just because of 1 new charm...
 
Duties of Zod God is to keep one's charms in order!



I'm not that far (yet)

I have to confess my charms were a mess during norm and nm :oops::eek:
Lol, @Grape, just noticed your avatar, very sweet. Is that a daffodil for Easter?
Janis the Tiger Striker hasn't yet left the Pits (as I haven't really made many runs there yet. I'm waiting for a time when I can make a proper long questing session and finish few acts at least with one go.)

Btw, if (and when) you don't know what the heck is that character I'm talking about (as there's sometimes bit longer gaps between playing one, there's always the first post that describes the Zod God item, build and the current level/phase)

Meanwhile between running Travi and gambling the gold, I got this:
Screenshot110.jpg
I still try to refuse to burn my Lo runes for the next item. But, when Janis is finished and I can make BOTH the Zod God item and the Famine I've been planning for the Barb to use along with it, I may have to take my words back :p

Freddie the Dual Swinger will now go to rest and wait Janis to finish her guest and hope that she finds a rune or two
View attachment 5173
lvl 68 so he could immediately start using that Earthshaker Legendary Maller that he's wearing in that picture.

Then when playing these characters, I've also been thinking about the last character: Amazon. While Daggerzon or Impalazon both sound like a proper way to finish this sept, I don't find the options for those inspiring enough. But I'm sure the Passivezon approach with Messerschmidt's Reaver would work really well. It has got a big damage and would swing at 10 FPA at least when paired with 'Faith' merc. Decisions, decisions...




Let's say it was :D
(although I have had it for a tad longer now..)
So it has been couple weeks since the last update. I was nearly sucked by a black holes called 1.00 & 1.07, but got my senses back before I hit the event horizon. Back to the future it is!

Time traveling will continue though, but this sept will probably not have enough time to benefit from that. Maybe Amazon, but we'll see... (okay okay, I DID already use one 1.07 Arkaine's... twice.. eh..)

I was waiting for a proper long questing session to finish few Acts at one go with Janis the Tiger Striker, but one and a half will have to do this time:

View attachment 5263
Meeting this gang of Hound dogs, but Janis never met Elvis in the Jails

View attachment 5264
Ouch, I used my 'Lawbringer' switch here to give that Decrepify to some monsters around Andariel, but I didn't manage to immediately switch it back to Hellslayer. Well, merc and Shadow didn't enjoy the poison long, but once I noticed what was going on, Andy dropped to a few good fully charged Tiger Strikes.

View attachment 5265
Our triplet has really worked as a team so far, and each part is an important add to it. Lawbringer switch has provided to be a good way to break PIs so far, but Shadow has done a good deal also. I could also have CtA on switch, but let this Titan truly be a Titan! Besides I already use Enchant charges from Demonlimb, and that's definitely enough buffing for me.

I have started to bump my Venom now, but can't be bothered to cast it at least for now. I'm afraid it won't achieve damage that would make a difference until we meet some multi immune monsters.

View attachment 5266
It is clear that Janis dishes out the most damage out of the trio, but there's situations where she rather takes the role as a crowd controller and let's the other two to go first to the battle, leading it from the shadows... Even though she is nearing 1k life, she is quite fragile. Really have to appreciate Cloak of Shadows and Mind Blast. 'Pride' also blinds stuff (Dim Vision), along with Shadow spamming this and that, so there's quite some stuff going on all the time as far as having the enemies in order! :cool:

View attachment 5267
The Flaming Sideburst. Eh, thanks Shadow, I was trying to show how that Beatle Boy was having Conviction. My resistances are not great, but I have some switch options that will provide to be quite useful later, I'm sure.

View attachment 5268
That room. I tried to take some other screens but the battle was just too heated. Three boss backs, luckily only one aura around, which was Holy Freeze... I didn't mention yet, but one important part of the arsenal has definitely been Dragon Flight. It's great in crowded battles, when you for example want to take some isolated boss fast away, and then jump back to the other side to continue your businesses there. And also in general when moron or shadow is lacking behind.

All in all, very funny little playing session. There's definitely more to do with Assassins than some more ordinary melee chars have. Okay, if I built her really sturdy and max vita with Reaper's wielding merc all that jazz, she could probably just hold Tiger Strike and release it every now and then, but this Titan approach forces to use other skills a lot more than a tanky character would need.

Next up: Palace, Arcane Sanctuary and Duriel. Plus rune farming. Did some 1.13 Travi already but nothing yet. Well, apart from one lonely Vex.
Proof that Janis has still been played:


Most of my D2 time has gone to Travi runs though. Runes just aren't happening, and I'm quite sure it is the longest dry streak ever for me, but I can't back that cause I haven't been using run counter. I'd love to be able to continue with Freddie right away when Janis is finished, so Travi is better to start dropping those HRs!

View attachment 5412
Tal Rasha's Tomb was much like Arcane Sanctuary; a lot of Blade Fury was used to proc a Decrepify against these. Not the fastest going, but everything stayed tight in my control throughout the tomb.

View attachment 5413
The Big Bug himself, Prince of Pain, was only pain for my merc, whom I had to resurrect once. In the end Duriel fell quite fast thanks to Janis' Strikes. Act II was played on P3 all the time.

View attachment 5414
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy
She'll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
She's a Mind Eater!

Janis has reached Flayer Jungle WP, and everything has been fine in Act III so far. Spider Cavern around Sszark was really intense, there were many boss pack there. But CoS/MB is just so good, we didn't even sweat during that fight.

Meanwhile in Travi, a perfect eth Crow Caw has been the most interesting drop lately.
Code:
Crow Caw
Loricated Mail
Defense: 1943
Durability: 27 of 36
Required Level: 62
Required Strength: 139
Fingerprint: 0x73cb1111
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
+15% Faster Hit Recovery
35% Chance of Open Wounds
+180% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Dexterity
Required Level +7
Ethereal

Too bad it didn't roll a perfect upgraded defense (2000 something). This would have been really nice armor for the Amazon, it would fit many builds rather well, imo.
 
Last update in May? Ouch.

My latest D2 time has been with the patch 1.00 and then there was the WSK tournament.

But I just played some 1.13 a bit:
Screenshot084.jpg
With the two Lo runes from the WSK, my current Lo count is 6. I added them as well to the first post's rune counter. I could make my next Zod God item and still have four Lo runes left. Runes are starting to burn my pockets, so to say.

Only thing that is holding me right now, is that I can't make both the Zod God item and the 'Famine' I was planning for Freddie the Double Swinger yet. Maybe I'll hold on just a little while, just in case something truly extraordinary drops? At least wait until Janis the Tiger Striker gets finished. She will see some playtime in the very near future!
Heh, I noticed only after posting that last pic that I hadn't changed my resolution when I switched from 1.00 to 1.13 :p

Janis the Titan Tigerstriker made some progress:
View attachment 5846
So I picked Janis from Hell Act III and Flayer Jungle WP. Next destination was the Flayer Dungeon. My Lawbringer switch proved once again to be a lifesaver. Really handy against PI undeads, and against something you don't want to explode right at your face :D

View attachment 5847
Buahaha. Sometimes it can be quite cheesy, but that guy with his tight pack didn't look like something to Dragon Flight into...

View attachment 5848
Travincal wasn't a problem. Many things can hurt me a lot and quickly. Most of the time I play it quite safely, but sometimes I rush a bit into risky situations. My high damage makes up for the vulnerability though, along with nice crow control.

View attachment 5849
I'm glad that I have two setups, and the other has 80LR (and higher res in general). Act IV was still quite fast cruising, as I had lowered from P3 to P1 for this act.

View attachment 5850
Tiny island on the lava. Luckily there was still monsters alive to Dragon Flight back into :rolleyes:

For the CS I abused Lawbringer quite a lot and it was easy that way, but Infector pack killed me once. Stupid mistake where I used Dragon Flight where I meant to spam some Mind Blast against them. Diablo was quite scary with my low-ish resistances. Don't remember the last time I had to actually dodge his attacks in Hell so much.

So, it's one act to go! Good to be back at this. Now I'll run some more CS with my Blizz Sorc. Let's hope I'll find some HRs for the last two characters of the sept.
So Janis was finished awhile ago (Mat thread in the first post). I've been busy with 1.07 but I took a little break to run some 1.13 CS. That was a good decision:
Screenshot084.jpgScreenshot140.jpg
NICE!

This saves all the lower runes (no need to burn Los now), and I can also make a 'Famine' for Freddie!!
View attachment 6051
View attachment 6052
View attachment 6053
That's it! Only one more item to go!!!

Famine's roll was quite poor (329), it varies between 320-370ED% Well, not that important. Happy to get Freddy going again! :)

On top of that, Famine was a runeword grailer for me!

Readouts:
Code:
Earthshaker
Legendary Mallet
One Hand Damage: 210 - 254
Durability: 32 of 115
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 179
Fingerprint: 0x26e1332e
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 7 Fissure on striking
Indestructible
+3 to Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
+30% Increased Attack Speed
180% Enhanced Damage
+150% Damage to Undead
Hit Blinds Target +1
Knockback
Required Level +7
+50 Maximum Durability
Ethereal
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Zod Rune

Zod Rune
Required Level: 69
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Indestructible
Armor: Indestructible
Shields: Indestructible

Famine
Legendary Mallet
FalOhmOrtJah
One Hand Damage: 214 - 261
Durability: 57 of 65
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 189
Fingerprint: 0x6b56bdb3
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Increased Attack Speed
329% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 180 - 200 Magic Damage
Adds 50 - 200 Fire Damage
Adds 51 - 250 Lightning Damage
Adds 50 - 200 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
12% Life stolen per hit
Prevent Monster Heal
+10 to Strength
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Fal Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Jah Rune

Fal Rune
Required Level: 41
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +10 to Strength
Armor: +10 to Strength
Shields: +10 to Strength

Ohm Rune
Required Level: 57
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Enhanced Maximum Damage
Armor: +5% to Maximum Cold Resist
Shields: +5% to Maximum Cold Resist

Ort Rune
Required Level: 21
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 1 - 50 Lightning Damage
Armor: Lightning Resist +30%
Shields: Lightning Resist +35%

Jah Rune
Required Level: 65
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Ignore Target's Defense
Armor: Increase Maximum Life 5%
Shields: +50 to Life
Those are some pretty dank weapons, especially the earth shaker! Good luck with the character :)
Thanks!

I think he's going to be good :) Let's hope it's fun, too!
Great !!! Good luck :).
Freddie the cold enchanted Double Swinger made some progress:

View attachment 6076
NM Act V was short work after I could equip the 'Famine' Legendary Mallet. I kept Baranar's Star on the other hand, as upgraded Earthshaker was not available until lvl 76. That Blizzard is from Snowclash belt. Every equipment piece has + cold damage if possible.

View attachment 6077
Waves and Baal posed no problem. I took them at /players 3, to hurry it up a little, because I was really looking forward at how he would fare in Hell...

View attachment 6078
I noticed that all my mercenaries in this sept have been different ones (no same weapons for example). To keep this going, Freddie hired a new mercenary for himself. Earthshaker has "hit blinds target" on it, and that got me thinking that I could equip a mercenary that also blinds and freezes stuff, just like Freddie, to get some more crowd control going.

She is, what I now call, "a mini medusa" (after the Medusa Strafer build): 'Silence' Crusader Bow, Blackhorn's Face (slows target, PMH), and an Iceblink (hit freezes target). From my short observations, she seems to be quite good at her task!

View attachment 6079
I also cast Battle Cry when entering a bigger pack of enemies, or any boss pack. It helps until everything is frozen/blinded/dead. Knockback (Giant Skull, no Earthshaker yet) is fine, it's good for separating some packs. Just have to be sure I don't wake new packs, so it's usually best to fight towards battlefield that's already explored.

View attachment 6080
Tristram und Isolde.

View attachment 6081
First PI encounter was in the Cathedral, and then there was this, along with another PI boss by the side. I was happy to notice how quick they went down! Questing and two /p3 Pit clears made me to hit level 76 in Catacombs lvl 3, just in time for Andy... but then I noticed I was relying on Baranar's Star +15 str to be able to wear Legendary Mallets, eth or not. Bah. Killed Andariel without any problems, and then re-spec'd to be able to wear my Zod God item :D

View attachment 6082
Freddie about to meet the demon Queen Andariel - she was no Killer Queen however.

I'm happy about Freddie's performance so far - there's no "lawnmower effect" that would happen with Grief/Forti/Reaper's merc etc. but instead I have to take it a bit more careful and be alarm about my surroundings when facing the bosspacks. Not a tank by any means but not the Titan made of fragile glass that was Janis (the Tigerstriker Assa). Cool.
Why even bother picking up those "lower runes" like Vex-Ohm-Lo?!?! :eek:
Only 32 Lo runes for one Zod! Vex and Ohm runes may come handy while cubing those o_O
So, I'm running Nihlathak now. Good start!
[Ber pic]
But what is going to be the last Zod God item?
 
Earlier this week:
Screenshot203.jpg
Slowly getting there :p

I also finished Act II with Freddie:
View attachment 6289
Three bosspacks! After Radament I equipped Arreat's instead of Giant Skull. I'll use that against Baal, maybe Diablo, for the CB it has. Arreat's, given its all res and LL, pumped up my survivability a good bit.

View attachment 6290
I cleared parts of the Maggot Lair lvl 3, and these got wild while I was at that. PI Swarms were easy, which is always nice when you're a melee fighter. So, "cold enchanted" part of my build is getting the job done! Probably the rainbow damage of the 'Famine' doesn't hurt either.

View attachment 6291
Lost cousins of Corpsefire. Lost City entrance had the most packs I've ever seen. Three here, and three right next to these!

View attachment 6292
Last shot from the Act II. Everything went quite smoothly until Tal Rasha's Tomb. That wasn't a huge barrier either, but took a while nonetheless. I also happened to find the Duriel's chamber from the last room on the map, which was really close the entrance actually.
Nihlathak runs have fulfilled all the expectations and more already:
Screenshot212.jpg
Less than half a Zod to go. Single Cham and I could finish this. I think I'll wait until MFO, whatever happens, because it's a good opportunity to find something interesting for the Amazon.
Not only did you steal my build for Nihl, you also are stealing all my HRs. Enough said ... ;)
*uses Zod God powers to send more HRs to T72on1's way*

My runeluck has been quite wild with Nihlathak so far: Ist, Ist, Gul, Ohm, Ohm, Ber, Jah. I'm afraid there might be some dry times ahead
@T72on1 beat me to it -- stop stealing the Nihla runez!! :p It looks like Hiatus is around the same XP judging by the bar (plus another 11M due to her death), and only an Ohm and Gul for her.

Congrats on the very nice drops -- hopefully that Cham drops in short order!
It just doesn't stop...
Screenshot215.jpg
I'm starting to put quite a haul together for this last level, and it's far from end.

Also, not related to Zod God, but these things I appreciate more than any HRs:

Natural Grand Charm of Sustenance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 53
Fingerprint: 0xd2f8a24b
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+1 to Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
+32 to Life

Natural GCs now make my best skiller set.
First Travi run yesterday:
Screenshot222.jpg
+Add to that those three Surs that I haven't been counting since I made those weapons for Freddie. I was following only my current Travi runner's stash and Nihlathak runner's stash. Then I checked my Flavie report in anticipation of MFO, an voila! Total of four Surs instead of one, they were there, in a higher rune stash like they were supposed to, lol.

So, if I used some Los I could already make the last item! I will wait however, you never know what drops during the MFO... but it feels pretty good anyway! Knowing that the grind for runes is over and I can start to use those to some other, normal, things as well :p
I'm back to square one with the seventh Zod God item.

I used my HRs for something else, something special I may add. I'll post about that later.

This could be good, let's hope I find something truly worth of Zod for the Zon. I wouldn't say no to actually finding a Zod either!

Freddie the cold enchanted Double Swinger also made little progress, he has now reached Lower Kurast.

EDIT: Here it is. I think you can appreciate ;) I though about opening a new IFT for a while, but I'll save that for something even more extraordinary, if that ever happens.
 
Long time no Zod God.

View attachment 8703
Freddie the cold-blooded Double Swinger finished Act III earlier today and has now reached RoF WP. Not much to tell, progress isn't super fast, but steady nonetheless.

I'd be slightly mad if I hadn't done my Assassin for this sept already:
View attachment 8704
9% Life stolen would be perfect... (ED% varies between 150-200).
Ah nice Bartucs!

What weapons did you consider for Freddie? Upped Earthshaker?
He's swinging Upped Earthshaker and 'Famine' Legendary Mallet.
That's criminal on the 'Tucs. Gogo Zod God!
Just to be clear, all rolls must be perfect in order to be considered Zod God worthy? I have a Demon limb with 1 fire res short to be perfect :/
First post updated with Freddie's Patriarch thread. Rune count updated with RFL round 1 (Ber), and these drops. RFL round two will bring me a massive amount of Pul runes, so I'll update those soon enough as well... ;)

So now it's only Amazon left. I have tried couple armor upgrades lately, but without luck of hitting that perfect defense.

The first post lists these as my current candidates: Gull, The Diggler, Stormspike or Blackbog's Sharp /Messerschmidt's Reaver/Razorstine... not particularly excited about any of those. Maybe I need to get creative again... plain passive zon with Messerschmidt's Reaver for example would work I'm sure but, but... I need to add something to make it worth the final character! Or better yet, find a more exciting Zod God item!

Let's see! ANY ideas are definitely welcome at this point!


Seems I didn't answer this, sorry. Yes, every variable has to be perfect! (And only self-found items count, for that matter).
Thanks for reply! Well that seals the deal then, my Zod goes into eBotD (mainstream :( )
Don't worry, I put my first Zod into a BotD also ;)

Those have probably more uses than most of the Zod God items. (Though I really have to use my Ribcracker again!!)
What do you mean more use? As a Zod god I get free cinema tickets BotD cant beat that!
You need 7 Zod God items to become the Zod God at the moment! It's a long way to those cinema tickets :D
It will be worth the effort! :D
Only some 37.5 hours of cows for me to get the Zods, so that is easy enough. In the same vein, getting perfect eth uniques should only take me 2 or 3 MFOs, no?
With this latest phenomenon of the Zods pouring down from the sky, people running for multiple 99ers etc, I'm indeed almost slightly worried :p

Seriously though, would be awesome to see some more Zod God items. It's just that the perfect eth AND usable items are quite rare...
Usable is a matter of taste :D
Idea: Fendazon with the Razortine and the Disciple set.

You could max the elemental damage charms and go with Infinity merc, or go with Ice wielding Fire Rogue. Fend will be a tad slow and lower damage, sure, but she could hit 7/6/10 with only 2 ias jewels, and 7/6/9 with a 2os helm for 3 ias jewels. And Impale can be a backup for high-life single targets because you don't need to worry about durability.

And you could name her DiscipleofZod . . .
I'd vote for Dual Dream, Stormspike Dagger Zon with Blackbog's/Medussa's Gaze on switch for LIs

Make sure you Zod both Daggers though
Agreed! :p



That's interesting! Razortine does achieve ok speed, true. Makes me think should I use one of the less used lightning based skills with it and add that Impale backup... but from switch ;)

Unfortunately Infinity will be out for her, since I noticed all my mercs have used different weapons so far! I will keep up with that theme... and actually all except A3 mercs have been used so far.



Dual Dream Stormspiker? I like the sound of that! Medusa's is intriguing, but only slightly. It's a shame they put it in the heaviest shield, and I'd like to have the chance to cast a bit higher as well. One could always throw couple volleys of strafe with Pus Spitter to have the Lower Res out as well, hmm.

Anyway, you guys definitely put my thoughts back on track, and I'm sure we will see something creative. I still hope to see more Zod God candidates to drop, so holding at least over RFL, probably longer. Maybe a "short" MF project or something would be in order?

Rune-wise... I'm ready. First page updated with the RFL round three plus yet another HR from Nihlathak running:
Screenshot624.jpg
 
See @T72on1, Nihl drops HRs! Just saying... (Would love to see a 99er Fire Sorc one-on-one from you guys in RFL round 3) ;)
No Zod God's blessing for this round until you go Nihla @T72on1 ! ;)

Though I understand that you try to achieve the best efficiency you can since you're fighting for the overall victory...
you can technically get a Medussa's on an Act III merc, though managing him to get hit might be harder

If you have enough of them lying around you can make Iron Golems out of them with Metalgrid. I know charged cast Iron Golems don't last across play sessions, but not sure if they persist across acts or not. If you just never close Diablo II until Mat, then you should be fine.
That could be done I suppose. Relaying on merc for that is probably not something I'd do without testing it first. IGs sound very interesting, trying to play as long sessions as possible could partially solve that.

Next Jah:
Screenshot626.jpg
Okay that wouldn't have counted for the RFL round three. Still, my "warm-up top 5" was Ber Ber Jah Vex Ohm. Plus this extra Jah. Might be hard to beat but I'll try my best. :)

I have now more than enough runes for the next Zod God item, but these are already starting to burn my pockets... I've many, many things I could use these for right now.
@Grape you mean that there are more important things to do with runes than pursuing a Zod God sept? :O
Yes at the seventh item I'm slowly starting to feel I could maybe, just maybe, do something other with them besides putting a Zod into a Stormspike. o_O:rolleyes::D
So the Zod god has a weakness? I see my chance of taking over the throne in a not so very far future hehe
Putting that Zod into an eth Tomb Reaver's made me realize it's actually possible to put those into an unperfect items also... Dark side of the Zod God? Or just the luxury of being there so high above of the other candidates... ;)
I tried Medusa's on an act 3 merc on a single tree lightning sorc. Couldn't get it to work.
Adding this post here. So it seems I'll be able to finish this Sept with a Zod dropped in the game, who would've guessed :p

Also worth to leave my rune numbers right now:

Zod:1
Cham: 2
Jah: 3
Ber: 3

I'm going to pull the trigger with the 7th Zod God item sooner or later. It feels it doesn't make sense to start mindless farming to get something really suitable for the Amazon. If something cool drops later, I'm all ready to make a new character outside of this sept for that.
Is there any unique spear that is easy to get Eth and perfect roll? Hone Sundan only has a ED roll.
Well apart from couple normal ones that are always the same stats, no. I've perfect Razortine though but the damage is low.

Exceptionals don't have huge amount of variables, actually only one of them (Soulfeast tine) has more than ED% varying. The Impaler has ED varying between 140-170 %, so on average 1/31 of the is perfect. Taking 1/20 chance of eth, 1/620 of The Impalers drops eth and perfect. And The Impaler is the easiest of them...

So, nothing astronomical, but makes no sense to farm for those for the next 10 years and still fail.

I consider myself very lucky to have found this many eth and perfect items with variables, and that those items were useful as well. :)
So, this happened some one and a half months ago. I have been thinking about the final build, and finally I feel like I've come to a decision. I'm going to squeeze the physical damage out of that little thing and then (as per usual) add something else to the mix. ;)

So, meet Whitney, lvl 41 Amazon who just finished Normal:
View attachment 11093
She played as a Strafer for the last two acts. I started with some 'Envy' jeweled stuff and Khalim's, put 1.07 Ravenclaw on at level 15 which did the main killing during acts two and three. Had a rare bow on switch from level 18, and then Skystrike from level 28.

As you can see in the pic, I've enough dex for a Matriarchal Bow... now I'm going to swap some things which gives me a bit more strength, so that I'll be able to use my 'Harmony' MB for the whole NM. That will speed things up, I'm sure.

So, 95 acts done in this Sept, 10 remains!
Strafer with decent equipment is very strong in NM indeed. Add Vigor from 'Harmony' and the play-trough was quite fast despite playing P8 for the most of time. Lowed it somewhat in the end, but then I did some P8 Pindle runs and couple WSK+minions runs to get to level 76, when I was able to put my end game equipment on. Also, Cleglaw's Pincers are probably the best Strafer's gloves ever :D

View attachment 11146
These are the first souls that start to hurt for real. Black Marsh earlier wasn't that rough, but around these some care and positioning yourself right was the key. And to always have some monsters with flesh to leech from :p

View attachment 11147
Visited Snapchip, inspired by the recent discussion of its potential as an MF target.

View attachment 11148
I like Strafe animation, it's wild when fast and there's monsters in many directions.

View attachment 11149
Goodbye Harmony, welcome Stormspike!
Nice write-up, you have come a long way since you started this epic adventure...
Best of luck with the 'last mile' and on planting the flag of the true Zod-God on Mt. Olympus when you Mat her!
Thank you! It's been an interesting journey so far. Happy to end it though, I feel like I'd like to use my HRs to some different things, at least for a while now :)
Looking forward to seeing the gear choices and how it differs (or doesn't) from my daggerzon, who was definitely one of the favorites from my 7x7+2 project. Good luck Mat'ing her!
@Gripphon – now is the time to post your completed Zod God sept!
I'd say these two share quite a few key pieces ;)



Oh I remember this theory! Conspiracy even!

I bet Grip has been tagged so many times during his absence that now when he tries to log in there follows some kind of an error :p

Has anyone been in contact with Grip anyway? Guy just left suddenly.
I think he mentioned playing another game instead of D2. Not sure if he has done so in the past while still visiting this place or not. Even when playing other games, I keep coming back here (and to the AB for that matter), so I also found it strange he just left so suddenly.
 
Let's trust he has just checked out for a while, and our own little Hotel California still has a firm grip on Grip :p

Three acts remaining for Whitney (and this Sept!)
View attachment 11209
She has been cruising through on players 1, as I didn't feel like I needed any tough challenges at that point with her. It's been fun anyway!

View attachment 11210
I'm rocking a 7FPA normal attack, and with some help from Aliza even the PIs haven't been a problem even though I didn't load with massive elemental damge sources this time.

View attachment 11211
However, she has a PI solution herself! That picture from Palace Cellar hinted at it already. She's using a 'Wrath' Great Bow on switch. When she sees a potentially dangerous situation, 1-2 volleys of Strafe is fired so that there's either Decrepify or Life Tap up, and then she proceeds to face the monsters and stab that dagger on their faces!

She's like 80% Dagger/20% Strafe for now. I could be simply firing more Strafe, but I want to enjoy and experience the Daggerzon build more.
Very cool approach. Good luck for the remaining acts.
Great use of Wrath!
This might be my new favourite D2 screen grab.
So what's next, now that the Sept is over? Doesn't matter what, just do something and write about it. I'm so afraid of a life without Grape write-ups ...
I vote for a "Zod Dog Sept," where the characters have to use zod'ed eth items with perfectly terrible rolls (i.e., worst possible roll on all variable stats). That sounds like something Grape would enjoy -- I know I'd enjoy watching him do it :p

In all seriousness, we still have Grape's all Rare and All Magic septs going thankfully!
 
Originally posted by @Grape on October 14, 2018

Zod God Sept - Aftermath

So last Friday, two days ago, I finished my Zod God Sept! :)

This will be my lousy attempt to wrap this thing up. Lousy in the sense that I don't feel like going through all the posts related, so there might be some mistakes. I try to avoid going too depth in the builds anymore, since they were covered quite well already. I'm really eager to answer any questions though! Don't hesitate to comment.

First of all: it was fun, that was the main incentive all along. I tried to be creative with the builds, and I feel like I succeeded quite well on that front. Main challenge was to put all those nice HRs I found during this to these items. Well, there were few slips from that, but I managed to keep my focus on this relatively well. Relatively well, in the sense of my chaotic way of having about dozen different "micro/macro" (scale) Diablo II "projects" going on all the time. Happy to have this finished, it's one of those bigger goals now achieved.

Timeline
June 11, 2015 Joining the Zod God Tournament, my first item being probably the best of the whole bunch, Ribcracker.

January 9, 2016 Some six months later Lemmy has claimed the title Partiarch. So, an Avenger weilding that Ribby was my first character to achieve the finish line, before the idea of a Sept had fully even formed in my head.

February 9, 2016 Only a month later second item sees the light. I recall that when people wondered about what I was going to do with the thing, I had it already figured out by then.

June 3, 2016 Dethroning @pharphis from being the Zod God. I remember that Windhammer drop well (it was Travincal) because I got immediately excited when I saw it was eth and the ED had a round number. I was almost sure it was perfect before checking it to be sure.

August 26, 2016 So it seems like it took me a whole spring and a summer to figure it out; I was indeed going to build a Sept around these items. One does not become lunatic over night it appears.

October 29, 2016 I became some sort of deity that day. These glory days have lasted now almost two years.

October 31, 2016 Second in line was David the Titan Meleemancer swinging the Bonehew. I think David, along with Janis, were the slowest to play.

November 24, 2016 Jimi the Windwolf is the third character in the Sept. Probably the fastest playthrough, only rivaled by Enchantress Donna. If Donna couldn't teleport, Jimi would have been the fastest. Guy mowed down the monsters like no tomorrow.

March 31, 2017 After a busy autumn with Zod God, it was to be few months before my fourth character finished her journey. Donna the Dual Dragon Enchantress was a build I was quite proud of. I was happy to make it work it really well.

March 31, 2017 The same day I posted my fifth item in the Zod God thread, Hellslayer.

August 11, 2017 Janis the Titan Tiger Striker achieved easily the highest LCS damage numbers of this Sept! 2017 spring and summer I played some 1.00 and 1.07 which took noticeable amount of time away from this project.

August 31, 2017 Yet again a rune burning session was held. Result were the two weapons for my sixth character.

May 1, 2018 First of May, I didn't remember playing Diablo that day! Apparently enough to finish Freddie the Cold Enchanted Double Swinger. To be honest, he wasn't the most exciting character ever, but did the job just fine. Many hours were spent in the Nihla's room with my then to-be 99er Sorc between this and the item made some 8 (!) months earlier.

August 12, 2018 Last item in the Sept arrives to the Sanctuary. Last spring's RFL must be mentioned also, since it was there where I found my first ever Zod, along with a good bunch of other HRs to make the decision to go for the last one that much easier.

October 12, 2018 Matriarch Whitney the Wrathful Daggerzon finishes the Sept. I was happy to finish with a character whom I enjoyed playing. Gives a fresh feeling to continue towards next projects!

What's next, then?
Well, as mentioned above, there's still my Magic and Rare only Septs going on. I won't rush with those since I enjoy looking for every possible upgrade I possibly can give them. Doesn't make sense to put some of them on hold forever, hoping for ridiculously hard to find items. Still, I'm going to take it slowly.

Meanwhile, there has been couple other Sept ideas forming for quite awhile now. I'm going to post about those later, so stay tuned :)

Between all this, I try to find time for grinding another 1.07 99er and play some more 1.00 as well. Probably some other time travel adventures also, let's see.

Last but not least: thank you all who followed through this! Every comment, like, etc. was appreciated. Hope you enjoyed it even tiny bit as much as I did.
 
Incredible feat, huge congratulations on finishing this!
My shame has kept me from reading your threads on zod god, and you repay me by tagging me !?!?

Congrats, man. Awesome idea and results
Nice. That's all I needed to know. Now I'll be able to sleep again.
It's insane that you actually managed to pull this off. Congratualtions and thanks for the nice reads and movies. Your YouTube channel indeed boasts some remarkable D2 characters!
 
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