- Jan 3, 2007
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Hello everybody! It is time to present to you another Guardian from my tournament showcase:
Guardian #14: Randomnipotent, a Necromancer from the 2021 Random Tournament hosted by @Vang.
This is my 3rd Necromancer Guardian and a 4th is only a few steps away from Guardianship, so I was quite familiar with the class.
As usual, I did single pass full clears, Normal at p8, NM at p8, and Hell at p3 for Act I and most of Act II, then dropped to p1 because it took forever to take down some PI bosses.
The Tournament in a nutshell
The Random Tournaments are quite the tradition on the SPF and I always liked them very much because of the planning aspect involved. This year's iteration had some twists to it, esp. in the skill section. Basically, it came down to 5 sets of 3 skills that were randomly rolled. One of those sets you could use in all difficulties. The others you had to assign to difficulties (Normal, NM or Hell). Only in that difficulty that skillset was allowed to be used.
This were my rolls for the character:
So what did I do?
I chose Set IV as the skill set for all difficulties and kept all others for Hell.
So my merc had to do some heavy lifting. Especially since gear was restricted as usual. Only these item types (and exceptional and elite versions, quality doesn't matter) were allowed:
Wand
Yew Wand
Blade
Circlet
Scale Mail Breast Plate Splint Mail Light Plate Field Plate Full Plate Mail
Tower Shield
Chain Gloves
Boots
Light Belt
Zombie Head
The only exception is the mercenary's weapon - we were allowed to equip them with anything we wanted.
Here are the progress links from the tournament thread.
Normal Act I
Normal Act II+III
Normal Act IV+V
NM Act I+II
NM Act IV+V (where did Act III go? )
Hell Act II (yeah, no writeup for Act I, I guess)
Hell Act III and IV
Hell Act V
Summary:
Through Normal and NM, I basically relied on maxed Raise Skeleton and Iron Golem with the only points in the Masteries and Summon Resist being from items. I used a plain white +2RS/+3SM Yew Wand I cubed from a low quality Yew Wand, not remembering that 2 os weren't possible in Yew Wands, no matter what ilvl. I then forgot to switch to a better shopped magical wand in NM and only realized that in Hell Act V, where I went back to NM (Wands, Yew Wands and their exceptional/elite versions can't be shopped in Hell at all) and got me a slightly better Wand (+3 Summoning, +1 GOlem Mastery, +1 Summon Resist).
As soon as I was able to (NM), I made Rhyme in a +3 Summon Resist/+1 Decrepify Zombie Head and never let go of it. That way, my summons at least had some resists, because I wasn't allowed to put any points in the skill myself.
The main means of defeating monsters was my trusty Act II merc though. I went with Defiance first and once in NM with Might, of course. Weapon progression was
Random Polearm -> Brutal Partizan of Frost with 2 os/JoFreedom (via the cube) -> Savage Partizan -> Insight Partizan -> Insight CV -> Obedience Giant Thresher
Until I had Obedience I used Strength Partizan for boss fights and early on Malice Partizan and later The Impaler. The latter I used even in Hell against some swiftly regenarting PIs (I could trigger OW thanks to the fire damage from the Enchant triggers of Obedience).
In Hell, I was able to put points into Skeleton and Golem Mastery and some more curses, which allowed some more crowd control. The Skeletons didn't do much damage, but could take a beating and overall the journey was quite safe. The merc pathing seems way off since D2R though and I often had to reposition/use the Teleport Circlet because he would zig-zag around without attacking :-/
Overall, it was a summoner with restricted skills and bad gear. So gameplay was a bit slow sometimes. Oh, and not having CE is definitely slowing down gameplay a lot. No fancy new insights. Sorry to disappoint.
Character readout
Items
Charms
Merc
Notable finds (almost none usable):
Early IK's Will
2 pairs of Aldur's Advance
M'Avina's Embrace
Tal-Rasha's Guardianship
Natalya's Totem
Demon Limb
Steel Shade
Skin of the Vipermagi
Ribcracker
2x Raven Frost
5/5 Shimmering SC of Balance
Mal from Hell HF
That nice Teleport Circlet I was using way too often to reposition and then quickly change back to that other sweet circlet you can find in the readouts:
Future Plans:
Retirement
Thanks:
To @Vang especially for coming up with the Random tournaments and hosting this one.
All the participants (so many!!!!) who made it fun to follow the thread
Everyone here who makes this place feel so comfy
Guardian #14: Randomnipotent, a Necromancer from the 2021 Random Tournament hosted by @Vang.
This is my 3rd Necromancer Guardian and a 4th is only a few steps away from Guardianship, so I was quite familiar with the class.
As usual, I did single pass full clears, Normal at p8, NM at p8, and Hell at p3 for Act I and most of Act II, then dropped to p1 because it took forever to take down some PI bosses.
The Tournament in a nutshell
The Random Tournaments are quite the tradition on the SPF and I always liked them very much because of the planning aspect involved. This year's iteration had some twists to it, esp. in the skill section. Basically, it came down to 5 sets of 3 skills that were randomly rolled. One of those sets you could use in all difficulties. The others you had to assign to difficulties (Normal, NM or Hell). Only in that difficulty that skillset was allowed to be used.
This were my rolls for the character:
Set I | Skeleton Mastery | Iron Golem | Dim Vision |
Set II | Golem Mastery | Iron Maiden | Attract |
Set III | Raise Skeleton | Skeletal Mage | Poison Dagger |
Set IV | Raise Skeleton | Iron Golem | Decrepify |
Set V | Amplify Damge | Dim Vision | Confuse |
So what did I do?
I chose Set IV as the skill set for all difficulties and kept all others for Hell.
So my merc had to do some heavy lifting. Especially since gear was restricted as usual. Only these item types (and exceptional and elite versions, quality doesn't matter) were allowed:
Wand
Yew Wand
Blade
Circlet
Scale Mail Breast Plate Splint Mail Light Plate Field Plate Full Plate Mail
Tower Shield
Chain Gloves
Boots
Light Belt
Zombie Head
The only exception is the mercenary's weapon - we were allowed to equip them with anything we wanted.
Here are the progress links from the tournament thread.
Normal Act I
Normal Act II+III
Normal Act IV+V
NM Act I+II
NM Act IV+V (where did Act III go? )
Hell Act II (yeah, no writeup for Act I, I guess)
Hell Act III and IV
Hell Act V
Summary:
Through Normal and NM, I basically relied on maxed Raise Skeleton and Iron Golem with the only points in the Masteries and Summon Resist being from items. I used a plain white +2RS/+3SM Yew Wand I cubed from a low quality Yew Wand, not remembering that 2 os weren't possible in Yew Wands, no matter what ilvl. I then forgot to switch to a better shopped magical wand in NM and only realized that in Hell Act V, where I went back to NM (Wands, Yew Wands and their exceptional/elite versions can't be shopped in Hell at all) and got me a slightly better Wand (+3 Summoning, +1 GOlem Mastery, +1 Summon Resist).
As soon as I was able to (NM), I made Rhyme in a +3 Summon Resist/+1 Decrepify Zombie Head and never let go of it. That way, my summons at least had some resists, because I wasn't allowed to put any points in the skill myself.
The main means of defeating monsters was my trusty Act II merc though. I went with Defiance first and once in NM with Might, of course. Weapon progression was
Random Polearm -> Brutal Partizan of Frost with 2 os/JoFreedom (via the cube) -> Savage Partizan -> Insight Partizan -> Insight CV -> Obedience Giant Thresher
Until I had Obedience I used Strength Partizan for boss fights and early on Malice Partizan and later The Impaler. The latter I used even in Hell against some swiftly regenarting PIs (I could trigger OW thanks to the fire damage from the Enchant triggers of Obedience).
In Hell, I was able to put points into Skeleton and Golem Mastery and some more curses, which allowed some more crowd control. The Skeletons didn't do much damage, but could take a beating and overall the journey was quite safe. The merc pathing seems way off since D2R though and I often had to reposition/use the Teleport Circlet because he would zig-zag around without attacking :-/
Overall, it was a summoner with restricted skills and bad gear. So gameplay was a bit slow sometimes. Oh, and not having CE is definitely slowing down gameplay a lot. No fancy new insights. Sorry to disappoint.
Character readout
Code:
Name: Randomnipotent
Class: Necromancer
Experience: 1179634916
Level: 86
Naked/Gear
Strength: 55/55
Dexterity: 25/26
Vitality: 415/415
Energy: 25/40
HP: 1032/1166
Mana: 195/277
Stamina: 564/603
Defense: 6/773
AR: 80/185
Fire: 179/139/79
Cold: 164/124/64
Lightning: 177/137/77
Poison: 101/61/1
MF: 172 Block: 2
GF: 56 FR/W: 6
FHR: 43 IAS: 10
FCR: 59
Amplify Damage: 1/2
Dim Vision: 1/2
Weaken: 1/2
Iron Maiden: 0/0
Terror: 1/2
Confuse: 1/2
Life Tap: 0/0
Attract: 1/2
Decrepify: 1/3
Lower Resist: 0/0
Teeth: 0/0
Bone Armor: 0/0
Poison Dagger: 0/0
Corpse Explosion: 0/0
Bone Wall: 0/0
Poison Explosion: 0/0
Bone Spear: 0/0
Bone Prison: 0/0
Poison Nova: 0/0
Bone Spirit: 0/0
Skeleton Mastery: 20/25
Raise Skeleton: 20/25
Clay Golem: 1/6
Golem Mastery: 20/26
Raise Skeletal Mage: 0/0
Blood Golem: 1/8
Summon Resist: 0/7
Iron Golem: 20/25
Fire Golem: 0/0
Revive: 0/0
Items
Code:
Golemlord's Burnt Wand
Burnt Wand
One Hand Damage: 8 - 18
Durability: 15 of 15
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0x1ba49c71
Item Level: 90
Version: Resurrected
+3 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)
+1 to Summon Resist (Necromancer Only)
+2 to Blood Golem (Necromancer Only)
+1 to Golem Mastery (Necromancer Only)
Rhyme
Superior Zombie Head
ShaelEth
Defense: 9
Chance to Block: 25
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 14
Fingerprint: 0xf4862690
Item Level: 47
Version: Resurrected
+40% Faster Block Rate
20% Increased Chance of Blocking
Adds 2 - 7 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
+3 to Summon Resist (Necromancer Only)
+1 to Decrepify (Necromancer Only)
+5% Enhanced Defense
Regenerate Mana 15%
All Resistances +25
Cannot Be Frozen
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune
Stone Noose
Amulet
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0x576833aa
Item Level: 82
Version: Resurrected
5% Chance to cast level 3 Chain Lightning on attack
+1 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)
+9% Faster Cast Rate
+14 to Mana
Regenerate Mana 9%
Cold Resist +18%
Poison Resist +7%
Chromatic Coronet of Luck
Coronet
Defense: 33
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0x5dbb92eb
Item Level: 53
Version: Resurrected
All Resistances +23
81% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Perfect Topaz
Socketed: Perfect Topaz
Beast Spiral
Ring
Required Level: 13
Fingerprint: 0x57f29dd4
Item Level: 53
Version: Resurrected
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+91 to Attack Rating
Replenish Life +4
+15 Maximum Stamina
Lightning Resist +26%
5% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Havoc Band
Ring
Required Level: 13
Fingerprint: 0x661d3519
Item Level: 30
Version: Resurrected
+10% Faster Cast Rate
Fire Resist +28%
10% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Viper Grip
Chain Gloves
Defense: 8
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 15
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0xd3b9d8ce
Item Level: 38
Version: Resurrected
+10% Increased Attack Speed
Lightning Resist +26%
Fire Resist +28%
Half Freeze Duration
19% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Que-Hegan's Wisdom
Mage Plate
Defense: 662
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Level: 51
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x4223e589
Item Level: 62
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+153% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Energy
Magic Damage Reduced by 7
+3 to Mana after each Kill
Eagle Lash
Sharkskin Belt
Defense: 52
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xd25c1011
Item Level: 58
Version: Resurrected
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+10% Faster Hit Recovery
+42% Enhanced Defense
+30 to Life
Replenish Life +4
+13 to Mana
Regenerate Mana 9%
Stone Track
Boots
Defense: 3
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 18
Fingerprint: 0x8c6a037d
Item Level: 30
Version: Resurrected
+24 Maximum Stamina
Cold Resist +31%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Charms
Code:
Shimmering Large Charm of Winter
Large Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x1ff090ae
Item Level: 46
Version: Resurrected
Adds 4 - 10 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
All Resistances +6
Lapis Small Charm of Blight
Small Charm
Required Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0x52e715ef
Item Level: 12
Version: Resurrected
Adds 6 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Cold Resist +7%
Serpent's Large Charm of Sustenance
Large Charm
Required Level: 34
Fingerprint: 0x42f86e6d
Item Level: 56
Version: Resurrected
+24 to Life
+27 to Mana
Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 17
Fingerprint: 0x58fcff2e
Item Level: 42
Version: Resurrected
+14 to Life
Lapis Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0x83171d2b
Item Level: 25
Version: Resurrected
+1 to Dexterity
Cold Resist +6%
Cobalt Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0xa723d495
Item Level: 71
Version: Resurrected
Cold Resist +8%
Shimmering Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0xd1c31a4a
Item Level: 59
Version: Resurrected
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
All Resistances +5
Tangerine Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb0d14500
Item Level: 85
Version: Resurrected
+19 to Life
Lightning Resist +3%
Serpent's Large Charm of Balance
Large Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xf08d9f84
Item Level: 48
Version: Resurrected
+8% Faster Hit Recovery
+28 to Mana
Shimmering Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 12
Fingerprint: 0xb2461fd9
Item Level: 36
Version: Resurrected
All Resistances +5
Bronze Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x3f924a24
Item Level: 79
Version: Resurrected
+9 to Attack Rating
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Russet Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0xf1d7b70d
Item Level: 5
Version: Resurrected
+8 to Life
Fire Resist +7%
Russet Small Charm of Greed
Small Charm
Required Level: 15
Fingerprint: 0x51235ce9
Item Level: 81
Version: Resurrected
Fire Resist +7%
6% Extra Gold from Monsters
Garnet Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x7fcbfe7b
Item Level: 60
Version: Resurrected
Fire Resist +8%
Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 17
Fingerprint: 0xf72fcccd
Item Level: 84
Version: Resurrected
+12 to Life
Amber Large Charm of Craftmanship
Large Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x9a706066
Item Level: 78
Version: Resurrected
+1 to Maximum Damage
Lightning Resist +14%
Stout Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x5a63622e
Item Level: 81
Version: Resurrected
+1 Defense
+19 to Life
Amber Small Charm of Inertia
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x31bcb05b
Item Level: 82
Version: Resurrected
+3% Faster Run/Walk
Lightning Resist +10%
Tangerine Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0x381688f8
Item Level: 60
Version: Resurrected
+8 to Life
Lightning Resist +4%
Russet Small Charm of Inertia
Small Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0xfb55cf44
Item Level: 83
Version: Resurrected
+3% Faster Run/Walk
Fire Resist +7%
Merc
Code:
Name: Chalan
Race: Desert Mercenary
Type: Off-Nightmare
Experience: 77221556
Level: 86
Dead?: unknown
Naked/Gear
Strength: 188/207
Dexterity: 151/161
HP: 1807/1807
Defense: 1330/1559
AR: 1922/1922
Fire: 194/154/94
Cold: 194/154/94
Lightning: 194/154/94
Poison: 223/183/123
Beast Veil
Coronet
Defense: 77
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xc23155e8
Item Level: 81
Version: Resurrected
+1 to Barbarian Skill Levels
8% Life stolen per hit
+90% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +14
Level 1 Tornado (22/22 Charges)
Stone Shroud
Field Plate
Defense: 152
Durability: 38 of 48
Required Level: 52
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0xc315e34
Item Level: 54
Version: Resurrected
5% Chance to cast level 4 Frost Nova when struck
+38% Faster Hit Recovery
+44% Enhanced Defense
+9 to Strength
Poison Resist +29%
Attacker Takes Damage of 4
Obedience
Giant Thresher
HelKoThulEthFal
Two Hand Damage: 188 - 535
Durability: 46 of 55
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 151
Required Dexterity: 112
Fingerprint: 0x93f88006
Item Level: 85
Version: Resurrected
30% Chance to cast level 21 Enchant when you Kill an Enemy
+40% Faster Hit Recovery
370% Enhanced Damage
-25% Target Defense
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
-25% to Enemy Fire Resistance
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
+215 Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
All Resistances +30
Requirements --20%
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Hel Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune
Socketed: Fal Rune
Notable finds (almost none usable):
Early IK's Will
2 pairs of Aldur's Advance
M'Avina's Embrace
Tal-Rasha's Guardianship
Natalya's Totem
Demon Limb
Steel Shade
Skin of the Vipermagi
Ribcracker
2x Raven Frost
5/5 Shimmering SC of Balance
Mal from Hell HF
That nice Teleport Circlet I was using way too often to reposition and then quickly change back to that other sweet circlet you can find in the readouts:
Code:
Carrion Circlet
Coronet
Defense: 31
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 48
Fingerprint: 0xb7bd89c8
Item Level: 78
Version: Resurrected
+2 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only)
+20% Faster Cast Rate
All Resistances +10
Poison Resist +34%
Level 2 Teleport (25/25 Charges)
Future Plans:
Retirement
Thanks:
To @Vang especially for coming up with the Random tournaments and hosting this one.
All the participants (so many!!!!) who made it fun to follow the thread
Everyone here who makes this place feel so comfy