Grisu’s Tournament Character Showcase

[Grisu]

Grisu’s Tournament Character Showcase
(or: the quest to never finish all tournament characters)​

Foreword

Hello everybody,

Following @Babyhell's example I decided to make a thread about my tournament character progress where I try to keep myself updated on where I was and what I wanted to do when I last visited the given tournament character. Some of it might be boring for you, some might be interesting – you decide! I suppose the list of unfinished tournament characters alone will be at least hilarious or at least funny to look at (see below).



Background

When I started playing D2 immediately after its release, I was a complete noob who relied on magazines (yeah, paper ones) to keep me updated on builds, unique items etc. I managed to kill off some characters, pat/mat some other SC characters and was annoyed with every new patch because it invalidated old builds of mine. Then I stumbled over the SPF back in 2006 and joined Jan 3 2007 because of Wolron’s Obession tournament. I found the idea of untwinked, single pass gameplay with restrictions quite intriguing, because it was like an additional roleplaying element. It was such an awesome experience that I decided to do an Obesession Tournament Sept (Necro, Paladin and Sorceress finished, Barb killed off, the others still in progress) and joined more tournaments from time to time. I really like the planning aspect of it. Often, during boring lectures, I would sit and scribble down pages of possible builds for a tournament. I only play single pass tournaments and self-found, because it is more of my playstyle, although I once participated in one of @skunkbelly’s pass it on tournaments...where I was killed in Act III Normal...Besides having a span of 3 years or so where I did some heavy MFing (grail -1), I always came back to and because of tournaments. I even tried to establish something like tournaments for D3, but interest was low and the possibilities scarce because of how D3 is built. So here I am – still competing in SP untwinked tournaments.



My Playstyle

I play HC only. My playstyle is heavily influenced by @jiansonz, who is probably the most knowledgeable person on D2 single pass untwinked gameplay on earth. I was astonished by all the quirks and tidbits of information I never was aware of that made gameplay so much easier, smoother and safer. I think I read through all his posts for information. So yes, I do full clears, on maximum player setting most of the time (p8 for Normal and NM, p3 for Hell), collect almost every item, esp. at the beginning of the tournament to sell them to vendors to gamble MF gear later (following @jiansonz’s excellent MF Guide to untwinked SP MFing). This results in a very slow pace – on average, I need around 10 hours for Acts I, II, III and V each and around 5 hours for Act IV – for one playthrough. So around 135 hours in total. This probably seems...crazy for most of you, but this way I got 9 Tournament Guardians and only 5 deeds (level 27, 27, 52, 52, and 84). I still have two tournament characters in Hell difficulty, so I think this is overall a good quota. Lately, I sometimes struggled with patience while doing full clears, because I don’t have that much time for D2 anymore as I did before I had kids. Still, I value safety over speed (and probably MF over safety?? xD) so this is why I still don’t just speed run through areas. And yes, I do full clears of the Sewers in Act III EVERY SINGLE PLAYTHROUGH.



Guardians (in order of when they made Guardian)

#	Name	Class	Level	Finished
#1	No_Sushi	Sorceress	Guardian 83	Obsession Tournament 2006
#3	Lightning_Monk	Paladin	Guardian 84	Obsession Tournament 2006
#4	Angelic_Elektra	Sorceress	Guardian 77	Afterlife Tournament 2007
#6	buraz	Amazon	Guardian 83	Random Tournament 2009
#8	Poison_Dexter	Necromancer	Guardian 86	Obsession Tournament 2006
#9	Baby	Necromancer	Guardian 82	Vanity Challenge 2011
#10	Seffel	Druid	Guardian 85	Random Tournament 2012
#11	Oberon	Druid	Guardian 87	S/U Worshipper Tournament 2017
#12	Pynache	Amazon	Guardian 85	Random Tournament 2020
#13	Lugh	Barbarian	Guardian 86	Orange You Glad That Rune Dropped 2021
#14	Randomnipotent	Necromancer	Guardian 86	Random Tournament 2021 D2R Edition
#15	Bad_Cologne	Necromancer	Guardian 84	Bountyhunter Tournament 2007
#16	Medea	Assassin	Guardian 87	Random Tournament 2022

Still in progress

Name​	Character​	Level​	Tournament			Last WP​	est. Playtime (h)​	​ Build​
Meronym	Assassin	82​	Envious of the Green and Gold 2013	Hell	Act 2	Arcane Sanctuary	29​	Phoenix Striker
Haft_Strafe	Amazon	60​	Obsession Tournament 2006	NM	Act 3	Kurast Docks	70​	Pierce
Gomez	Necromancer	53​	Ability Scroll Sept Tournament	NM	Act 3	Kurast Docks	70​	Skellimancer
Pugsley	Druid	54​	Ability Scroll Sept Tournament	NM	Act 3	Kurast Docks	70​	Summoner
Grandmama	Sorceress	53​	Ability Scroll Sept Tournament	NM	Act 3	Kurast Docks	70​	FW/FO
Fester	Paladin	53​	Ability Scroll Sept Tournament	NM	Act 3	Kurast Docks	70​	HF Zealot
Morticia	Assassin	44​	Ability Scroll Sept Tournament	NM	Act 2	Lut Gholein	80​	Phoenix Striker
Wednesday	Amazon	44​	Ability Scroll Sept Tournament	NM	Act 2	Lut Gholein	80​	Immolation
Lurch	Barbarian	44​	Ability Scroll Sept Tournament	NM	Act 2	Lut Gholein	80​	??? Concentration ???
Samson	Barbarian	51​	The Randomly Challenged II 2009	NM	Act 1	Inner Cloister	83​	Randomly assigned skill points
Fire_Stoibear	Druid	50​	Obsession Tournament 2006	NM	Act 1	Inner Cloister	83​	Shockwave
Mei	Assassin	48​	Random Tournament 2010	NM	Act 1	Rogue Encampment	90​	CoS
Alkyone	Assassin	48​	Random Tournament 2007	NM	Act 1	Rogue Encampment	90​	Dragon Tail
Chucklenaut	Barbarian	48​	Random Tournament 2013	NM	Act 1	Rogue Encampment	90​	Find Item
SophiaHapgood	Sorceress	37​	Indiana Jones 2015	Normal	Act 5	Frigid Highlands	99​	Lightning/Blizzard
Sophia	Sorceress	36​	Whacky Wand Tournament 2012	Normal	Act 4	River of Flame	101​	Enchantress
GhostInTheShell	Paladin	29​	Spirit Tournament 2011	Normal	Act 3	Kurast Docks	115​	Ranger
Fire_Titan	Barbarian	28​	Obsession Tournament 2006	Normal	Act 3	Kurast Docks	115​	Axe Mastery
Lightning_Sonya	Assassin	28​	Obsession Tournament 2006	Normal	Act 3	Kurast Docks	115​
BlazeRunner	Sorceress	27​	The Most Useless Tournament 2012	Normal	Act 2	Canyon of the Magi	118​	Blaze
Havoc_Pavarotti	Barbarian	20​	Afterlife Tournament 2007	Normal	Act 2	Lut Gholein	125​	Singer
Raffael	Paladin	15​	The Cubists 2014	Normal	Act 1	Dark Wood	130​	Holy Freeze Paladin
Hildr	Amazon	21​	The Spirit Tournament 2018	Normal	Act 2	Rocky Waste	124​
Maharal	Necromancer	13​	We love to be naked Tournament 2007	Normal	Act 1	Stony Field	132​	Golemancer
Flashy	Barbarian	12​	Chance to Cast Tournament 2014	Normal	Act 1	Stony Field	132​
Amnesia	Assassin	7​	Super Unique 2018	Normal	Act 1	Cold Plains	133​

Deeds (in no particular order)

Name​	Class​	Level​	Tournament​	Died to​
Poison_Haggis	Barbarian	RIP 52	Obsession Tournament 2006
Barbalala	Assassin	RIP 52	The Randomly Challenged II 2009
Barbapapa	Paladin	RIP 27	The Randomly Challenged II 2009
Shockfrosted	Paladin	RIP 84	Bountyhunter Tournament 2007	Claw Viper Boss Pack Drifter Caverns
logoutzero	Assassin	RIP 27	Random Tournament 2012	Norm Act 2 Ancient Kaa

Non-tournament Guardians

#	Name​	Class​	Build​	Level​
#2	Tamara	Sorceress	Meteorb	96​
#5	Inultus	Paladin	Hammerdin	97​
#7	Brynhildr	Amazon	Javazon	87​

There will be lots of tournament characters to come, so I will make sure I will never finish the quest to finish all tournament characters...

 

[Grisu]

Let's start things off with Bad_Cologne from the Bountyhunter Tournament, because...well, because he is farthest ahead

I already managed to kill off my first character (Shockfrosted) in this tournament in late Hell while trying to do full clears...
I started Bad_Cologne on 9th Dec 2011 and picked him up only once after 2015 to complete Act IV. So now I have to rethink my strategy and what I did and also check my stashes to see what I may use.

Rules from the tournament in short (rules are interspersed throughout the whole thread):
- you have one randomly rolled "trophymob" from each act. You may only pick up and use items dropped from those monsters (plus potions/scrolls)
- the superunique monsters' drops from those trophymobs you HAVE to use - they trump the drops from normal trophymob monsters
- you randomly roll one act boss: the drops from them are "jokers" - they can trump normal drops/are interchangable with forced drops from trophymobs, but don't need to
- Anya personalize is a joker, too: if used on a regular (trophymob!) drop, it gets superunique status
- same rules apply to merc
- basically means: no buying, no gambling. Crafting is difficult, Runewords very difficult to achieve.
- no summonings

This leads to several intersting issues:
a) items are scarce, and you have to use crappy items if they are forced on you by a superunique (drop)
b) gold is even scarcer! Reviving your merc really is costly, because you are only allowed to sell items from trophymobs...
c) if you don't know if an item was dropped by a trophymob monster or another monster, you aren't allowed to use it.

My solutions so far:
a) I left STR at 30 and DEX at 25, that way I can use "regular" drops if a superunique drops a crappy armor/weapon (well, my merc hast to use those then...). Plus, I rolled trophymobs with very few superuniques, so I had more choices so far which items I could use.
b) Don't let the merc die! I use all kind of curses to do so (Decrepify, Attract, Life Tap, Amplify Damage, Confuse, Terror, Dim Vision) to keep monsters busy while I kill the first one with Bone Spears and with the help from my merc and then *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* comes the CE chain reaction Plus, I pick up EVERY potion and sell them to get gold for revives
c) Curses to keep mobs separated...and cross my fingers I pay VERY good attention to who drops what...

My trophymobs:
Act I Goatman
Act II Baboon Demon
Act III Willowisp
Act IV Oblivion Knight (Lord De Seis)
Act V Baal's Minion (Eldritch)
Boss Andariel

This certainly is one of the hardest tournaments I played so far, I'll see if I manage to Guardian this one or if he dies in Act V like Shockfrosted...

To get an idea of how bad equipment is in this tournament, here are the items I have to use (they are only interchangable with the jokers below or can be upgraded via crafting/socketing/cubing).

Spoiler

Garnet Chain Mail of Ease
Chain Mail
Defense: 74
Durability: 31 of 45
Required Level: 13
Required Strength: 39
Fingerprint: 0x83d094c5
Item Level: 34
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +30%
Requirements -20%

Plate Mail of Balance
Plate Mail
Defense: 108
Durability: 31 of 60
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 65
Fingerprint: 0xb4e7c123
Item Level: 33
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Hit Recovery

crafted to:
Hailstone Wrap
Plate Mail
Defense: 156
Durability: 40 of 60
Required Level: 35
Required Strength: 65
Fingerprint: 0x5be1df30
Item Level: 53
Version: Expansion 1.10+
1% Life stolen per hit
+34% Enhanced Defense
+2 to Strength
+15 to Life
Poison Resist +27%
+2 Life after each Demon Kill 2 Sockets (0 used)

Glorious Mesh Belt of the Squid
Mesh Belt
Defense: 61
Durability: 9 of 16
Required Level: 30
Required Strength: 58
Fingerprint: 0x17ee32b
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+49% Enhanced Defense
+78 to Life

Sturdy Heavy Gloves of the Ox
Heavy Gloves
Defense: 8
Durability: 11 of 14
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xc4b04b2d
Item Level: 62
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+18% Enhanced Defense
+6 to Strength

War Axe of Lightning
War Axe
One Hand Damage: 15 - 27
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 11
Required Strength: 57
Fingerprint: 0xde7c3658
Item Level: 34
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 13 Lightning Damage Ethereal

Kris of Measure
Kris
One Hand Damage: 5 - 11
Durability: 22 of 24
Required Level: 9
Required Dexterity: 45
Fingerprint: 0x87068a84
Item Level: 61
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Minimum Damage

Bitter Song
Rondel
One Hand Damage: 12 - 31
Durability: 16 of 20
Required Level: 24
Required Strength: 20
Required Dexterity: 47
Fingerprint: 0xae152310
Item Level: 61
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Enhanced Damage
Adds 23 - 59 Fire Damage
+3 to Mana after each Kill
Level 5 Poison Dagger (50/97 Charges)
Requirements -20%

Hawkeye Chu-Ko-Nu
Chu-Ko-Nu
Two Hand Damage: 14 - 32
Durability: 26 of 40
Required Level: 26
Required Strength: 80
Required Dexterity: 95
Fingerprint: 0x6a3ba580
Item Level: 62
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+408 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)

(plain) Sapphire

Spoiler: Joker items

Gemmed Skull Cap
Skull Cap
Defense: 10
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Level: 1
Required Strength: 15
Fingerprint: 0xfe26a512
Item Level: 12
Version: Expansion 1.10+
33% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items 2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Chipped Topaz
Socketed: Perfect Topaz

Hsarus' Iron Stay
Belt
Defense: 5
Durability: 14 of 16
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0xe57c6c84
Item Level: 12
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Cold Resist +20%
Set (2 items): +50 Defense (Based on Character Level)

Plague Touch
Heavy Gloves
Defense: 11
Durability: 8 of 14
Required Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0xb08713ce
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Martial Art Skills (Assassin Only)
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+66% Enhanced Defense
+3 to Dexterity
Fire Resist +23%
9% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Rune Spur
Chain Boots
Defense: 15
Durability: 11 of 16
Required Level: 18
Required Strength: 30
Fingerprint: 0x1ec5388d
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Faster Run/Walk
+10% Faster Hit Recovery
+55% Enhanced Defense
+5 Maximum Stamina
Cold Resist +33%
10% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Voulge of Worth
Voulge
Two Hand Damage: 8 - 21
Durability: 72 of 100
Required Level: 1
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x9dcd0fc3
Item Level: 12
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Minimum Damage

Demon Horn
Long Bow
Two Hand Damage: 3 - 12
Durability: 20 of 28
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 22
Required Dexterity: 19
Fingerprint: 0xfbb6f6b2
Item Level: 12
Version: Expansion 1.10+
23% Enhanced Damage
+20 to Attack Rating
Adds 1 - 5 Fire Damage
Adds 1 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)
+2 to Dexterity

Imp Nock
Composite Bow
Two Hand Damage: 6 - 12
Durability: 35 of 36
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0x7323b241
Item Level: 12
Version: Expansion 1.10+
28% Enhanced Damage
Adds 1 - 2 Damage
Poison Resist +5%
+1 to Mana after each Kill

Tangerine Composite Bow
Composite Bow
Two Hand Damage: 4 - 8
Durability: 33 of 36
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0x4c955edf
Item Level: 12
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Lightning Resist +5%

Bad_Cologne's Bone Star
Bone Wand
One Hand Damage: 3 - 7
Durability: 15 of 15
Required Level: 48
Fingerprint: 0x513d182b
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Curses (Necromancer only)
+20% Faster Cast Rate
Adds 1 - 177 Lightning Damage
Adds 7 - 20 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
4% Life stolen per hit
+3 to Iron Maiden (Necromancer Only)
+3 to Bone Spear (Necromancer Only)
+3 to Iron Golem (Necromancer Only)
Level 1 Enchant (11/11 Charges)

Consecrated Tulwar of Flame
Tulwar
One Hand Damage: 16 - 35
Durability: 60 of 64
Required Level: 25
Required Strength: 70
Required Dexterity: 42
Fingerprint: 0x737f35e4
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+67% Damage to Undead
+41 to Attack Rating against Undead
Adds 1 - 3 Fire Damage

Bramble Song
Broad Axe
Two Hand Damage: 15 - 30
Durability: 25 of 35
Required Level: 30
Required Strength: 48
Fingerprint: 0x7ce8412f
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
58% Enhanced Damage
+2 to Maximum Damage
+208 to Attack Rating
Adds 50 Poison Damage Over 6 Secs (150 Frames)
4% Mana stolen per hit

Shadow Crusher
Morning Star
One Hand Damage: 10 - 24
Durability: 37 of 37
Required Level: 15
Required Strength: 26
Fingerprint: 0x8a27b93
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+16% Damage to Demons
+42 to Attack Rating against Demons
+178% Damage to Undead
+42 to Attack Rating against Undead
+4 to Strength
+9 to Life Ethereal

Hallowed Large Siege Bow
Large Siege Bow
Two Hand Damage: 10 - 42
Durability: 32 of 44
Required Level: 27
Required Strength: 80
Required Dexterity: 95
Fingerprint: 0x3831280
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+258% Damage to Undead
+303 to Attack Rating against Undead

Grim Edge
Giant Sword
One Hand Damage: 8 - 47
Two Hand Damage: 24 - 80
Durability: 26 of 50
Required Level: 43
Required Strength: 56
Required Dexterity: 34
Fingerprint: 0x9e3d0f9b
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
172% Enhanced Damage
+4 to Maximum Damage
+235% Damage to Undead
+271 to Attack Rating against Undead
Adds 1 - 7 Lightning Damage
9% Life stolen per hit
Poison Resist +30%

Soul Razor
Gladius
One Hand Damage: 11 - 31
Durability: 21 of 24
Required Level: 37
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0x649b03bf
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 1 Amplify Damage on striking
41% Enhanced Damage
+19 to Attack Rating
+6 to Strength 1 Sockets (0 used)

Cruel Emblem
Unraveller Head
Defense: 19
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 31
Required Strength: 18
Fingerprint: 0xf95325c3
Item Level: 78
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+17% Faster Hit Recovery
Adds 5 - 14 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
+2 to Decrepify (Necromancer Only)
+1 to Golem Mastery (Necromancer Only)
+3 to Iron Maiden (Necromancer Only)
+75% Enhanced Defense
+6 to Life
All Resistances +39
Fire Resist +18% 1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Diamond

Vidala's Snare
Amulet
Required Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0x956a43ea
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15 to Life
Cold Resist +20%
Set (2 items): 50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Chipped Emerald
Chipped Topaz (inserted in 2 os Skull Cap)
Sapphire (upped to Perfect)
Chipped Diamond
Chipped Topaz
Chipped Emerald
Chipped Sapphire
Ruby

Bad_Cologne is currently at level 83:

Spoiler: Stats

EDIT 9th August 2022: Made Guardian finally!

 

[Grisu]

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[Grisu]

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[Grisu]

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