Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

[o1d_dude]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Okay. I can see your point.

For me the max vit girls are much more difficult to play so I go with max block because they're more forgiving of my various game play failings. I've even gone so far as equipping them with a CtA Ettin Axe on switch (s'up poops!) trying to get a bit of both styles.

I haven't been running WSK or Baal lately so I'll have to put that style (max block w CtA) to the test.

 

[Nubikoen]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Awesome maareek. Congratulations on some very nice drops. *looks at jmod*

These kind of threads are very inspiring. It's a big part of what makes me love this place. Very inspirational.

We should probably make an annual sanity check mandatory here in the SPF.

 

[Schmaleop]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Awesome maareek. Congratulations on some very nice drops. *looks at jmod*

These kind of threads are very inspiring. It's a big part of what makes me love this place. Very inspirational.

We should probably make an annual sanity check mandatory here in the SPF.

I think you mean 'insanity' check. Sane people don't appear to belong to the SPF.

 

[Nubikoen]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

I figured we would just ban those who passed the sanity check. So yeah, insanity check would probably be more fitting.

 

[lone_wolf]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

well sanity has never been in favor of this place. the butter war was proof of that if anything.(2 sides still won ):whistling:

i will be adding to this insanity again once i finish my 5k projects. but then again we will always have members who do crazy things in this place.

 

[maareek]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

@nubikoen: I definitely agree about the inspirational threads being one of the greatest attractions to the SPF. One of the biggest reasons I started regularly visiting this site was Insane Wayne's Cosmo project. Still love reading those kinds of posts (even though that playstyle is nothing like mine). The fact that one person's insanity sparks off similar insanity in others around here means there's always something fun to watch.

I strongly hope that an insanity check does come around. I aim to cash it.

Edit: Speaking of inspiration, this screenie had a lot to do with me deciding to do so many AT runs.

 

[nualum]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

I think my head's going to explode looking at those screenies. Yowzers.

Big congrats on the runs... and the fact that you can still type after that blitz.

 

[tripsu]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

I'm planning on doing some AT runs with my Blizz Sorc that I just got to the 2nd act of Hell. I've only done 10 so far just experimenting with equipment that I have. Right now I can only achieve ~260 MF and keep my resists and kill speed where it needs to be based on the HC gear I have found. (No Tal's Plate unfortunately)

I was wondering what player setting you did your runs? I've been doing it on /p5 and they seem to drop very quickly.

 

[maareek]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

AT runs should be done at p1. Higher settings are inefficient for finding set/uniques.

If 260 is the highest MF you can pack right now, then I wouldn't sweat it. The difference between 260 and 500 isn't really that pronounced on S/Us and you'll be able to add more as you run more. Since you're HC, I think it's more important to focus on keeping your AT runner efficient and (relatively) inexpensive, just in case. Doesn't really make much sense to lose a big portion of your wealth trying to accumulate more wealth. Odds are good you can add at least a tad more at p1 over p5, though. Good luck.

 

[tripsu]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Thanks! Back to p1 it is then. That will speed up the occasional run that has a cold immune boss that my merc needs to take down.

Now if I can just find the last 2/3 of the items that Pindle can't drop. :crazyeyes:

 

[tripsu]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

I must thank maareek for inspiring me to start doing this myself.

Only 124 runs in I've found 5 elite uniques, including 2 grailers and one tc87 (deathclever). I think the two blue sacred armors I've seen so far though are the most encouragement. Just waiting for that golden one to show up. I found a golden one off Pindle during a mini MFO but that was boring with no excitement of course.

I did equip a Blade of Ali baba with 2 10% MF jewels and I believe the MF improvement from 260 to 365 is noticable though small. Killing speed hasn't slowed at all.

In terms of run times right now though, I'm horrible. I can only muster ~2:15-2:25 for my runs. How long did you spend getting the "perfect" map. I'm assuming the map layout being rectangular is more important than a close waypoint since it only takes about 3 seconds to teleport there.

Also, do you just teleport over nonboss packs? I've been killing everything in my path because I fear getting caught in a bad position that would lead to remembered deeds.

 

[maareek]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Glad to hear it's been working well for you. My only golden sacred armor came from Pindle, also, and I agree it's a pretty disappointing item to see from him.

To be honest, I got my map while I was re-rolling Meph maps. I'd re-roll, check the map then see if I had a good AT map before I rolled again. Went through at least 15 rolls before this one. A close waypoint isn't a big deal, so the main thing you're looking for is a map that can be traveled with as little overlap as possible. Now, you're almost certainly going to have to go back over territory a little bit with any map, but I'd try to keep it at one wing - or arm, however you want to name it - of the map only, if possible. You also want good boss density with fairly stable spawn locations. Those last two points take quite a bit of running to determine, though. I'd suggest doing ~50 runs or so on a map before rolling a new one unless it's just obvious horrible in the layout (or it takes 20 seconds or something to teleport to the opening, of course). Mine's definitely not perfect (I have to retrace my steps an awful lot) but it's good enough (which is what you'll probably have to settle with, too).

Your run times are going to be pretty slow for awhile until you find a good map and really get to know it. I also wouldn't sweat having slow runtimes and clearing your path completely until you're leveled well above the monsters in HC. I teleport past nonboss packs, but that can be dangerous and I wouldn't advise it with a HC sorc not in her 90's unless you're a really sharp player. Losing your items and charms, having to make a new sorc and then roll another good map just doesn't sound worth the risk to me considering how relatively quickly you can reach 90+.

Also, I think for a HC sorc I'd opt for 105% FCR once I started teleporting past baddies. The added safety seems worth the lost MF to me. But you probably won't need to worry about that for awhile, and might find some better items by then to make that point easier. For now, I think the way you're doing your runs is fine; you'll speed up a little bit even doing them that way with a bit more practice.

 

[maareek]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Just thought I'd do a little update since I've finished 10k all-time AT runs and document the notable items found in that span. Mostly just a reference for me, but some of you might find it interesting.

Arachnid's Mesh: 4

Azurewrath: 1

Crown of Ages: 1

Griffon's Eye: 3

Nightwing's Veil: 5

Veil of Steel: 3

Steelrend: 2

Death Cleaver: 2

Executioner's Justice: 1

Windforce: 1

Ghostflame: 2

Gargoyle's Bite: 4

Stormlash: 1

Shaefer's Hammer: 1

Earth Shifter: 1

Tomb Reaver: 1

Stormspire: 1

Steel Pillar: 3

The Grandfather: 1

Highlord's Wrath: 2

Mara's Kaleidoscope: 1

Metalgrid: 1

Seraph's Hymn: 2

The Stone of Jordan: 1

Carrion Wind: 2

Wisp Projector: 1

Death's Fathom: 1

Ravenlore: 2

Dragonscale: 1

Bul-Kathos' Sacred Charge: 5

Bul-Kathos' Tribal Guardian: 3

Griswold's Valor: 3

Griswold's Honor: 1

Immortal King's Soul Cage: 4

M'avina's True Sight: 2

Natalya's Mark: 3

Tal Rasha's Guardianship: 6

I must admit that the most striking aspect to me is the three Griffon's. That seems quite lucky for 10k runs. I intend to make another AT runner and do at least 5k runs with her to possibly get a litte (very little) insight on whether or not map seed may be affecting drops. 5k, or even 10k, is probably a little low to really take much from, but it should be interesting nonetheless. Don't expect that for quite a while, though, I don't intend another MF project like that any time soon.

 

[Fabian]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

That JMoD is beautiful, congratulations. Other nice stuff too of course, but that's clearly the nicest drop imo.

I'm glad my Duress is being put to good use

 

[Thomh]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Make that +1 to the people who have been inspired to make a blizzy by this thread. I have never been able to keep a sorc alive past 1K runs wherever I go, but hopefully my experience in killing them off has resulted in me knowing every pitfall there is(not likely)

I really hope you gave good advice with all vita being the best runners in AT, since I`ve decided to go dual spirit(I do have SS but resists and kill speed will be awful without the 3-part Tal`s). Maybe Moser`s would have been good, but now I feel I have to put those 140+ hard points in strength to use.

 

[maareek]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

@Fabian: Thanks! And thanks, again, for the armor.

@Thomh: Here's hoping for better results for your new sorc.

Max vita is definitely the fastest setup, and I think it's also the safest if you aren't trying to be absolutely blazing fast at a low level. Since you're HC, I'd prioritze maxed Light resist and cold resist (I wouldn't go with less than 70% CR; invisible Cold Novas when the monster goes into hit recovery can hurt) over MF. The way I would do the runs is teleport to a distance a quarter of a screen away from the monsters, cast blizz and then spam Glacial Spike until they drop. Honestly, I think I'd just skip any CI monster that has worrisome mods (conviction, especially, but FE/CE or LE/CE can get ugly as well).

What setup are you using?

 

[Thomh]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

My setup is really awful, but it`s my second character since the restart so I`ll have to live with it

Spirit Monarch(35% FCR, lucky me)
Spirit Crystal Sword(31% FCR)
Tarnhelm
Amber Amulet of Luck(37% LR 28%MF)
Chance Guards
Goldwrap
Tearhaunch(for the +10 res all)
Nagelring and crappy rare ring with +mana, fcr, and fire res
"Smoke" Breast Plate(don`t laugh, I need the 50 res all)

This is not exactly a whole lot of MF(around 180-200 with Gheed`s, I think), but it seems safe enough.

Resists are 4x, 65, 75, 25 after charms IIRC. I will try to see if I can get to 75 CR with a little help from my necro`s charms.

Hopefully she will be able to improve her equipment as she goes.

 

[PandadudeSP]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Lol that is a ridiculous haul :crazyeyes: perfect maras, perfect griffons, JMoD makes my eyes wanna pop right out of my skull! Good to see you're being rewarded by your dedication aswell :thumbsup:

 

[ProtoMagus]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Agreed with the others, that's a wicked haul, and the JMoD is just godly! Congratulations! :thumbsup:

 

[sirpoopsalot]

Re: Man does 5k AT runs ... tells forum about it.

Any chance you could give me a rough guess on how run times have decreased with experience & practice throughout your career. Something like:

Runs 0001-0500     (level 82-87)     = 90 second average
Runs 0501-1000     (level 88-90)     = 75 second average
Runs 1001-2500     (level 90-93)     = 65 seconds
Runs 2501-5000     (level 93-94)     = 60 seconds
Runs 5000+                           = 57 seconds...

The reason I ask is I've never really gotten into AT runs (cold sorc + few cold immunes... sounded too easy for me ), but I'm considering making an effort now - only with a heavily twinked FN sorc.

I realize a blizzsorc will "win", but I'm too bored with my level95 blizzsorc to get into AT with her and practice enough to learn how I'll do with her, only for the purpose of making the switch to the FN sorc just to see how closely she can compare. I'll get bored with this project long before then, and my one hope for longevity is a sorc that I find fun: a FN sorc (or something a little less common).

So I just want to start with the FN sorc and get a rough feel for how significant the differences in efficiency really are, but I don't have a baseline of expectations to build from.


Edit: Preliminary math puts me at 3.4k FN damage per second, before CM, with ~250+ MF... but my resists might need a little bit of love (I'll have ~25 points for ES though, so I hope to use that to knock back the need for high resists - or maybe I'll have a low-end backup attack). With better Fathom & Nightwings than I have, damage can go up another 10-15%...