Matriarch/Patriarch/Guardian Archive Thread

Originally posted by humbuggerer on Jun 30, 2010:

Matriarch Zappa - 'Crescent Moon' fishysin

This was my "Fishysin" that ended up being more of a 2H Chain Lightning phoenix striker (charge 2) with TS backup. I picked a popular character name, too.

Name: Zappa
Class: Assassin
Experience: 1070949898
Level: 85

Naked/Gear
Strength: 144/205
Dexterity: 83/103
Vitality: 238/238
Energy: 25/25
Life: 1633 after BO
AR: 4995 (TS)/4539 (normal attack) after demon limb enchant

TS damage: 2499-12k
CL damage: 3-5904

Resists:
Fire: 35
Cold: 16
Lightning: 75
Poison: 85

Tiger Strike : 20/30
Claws of Thunder : 20/30
Phoenix Strike : 20/30

Death Sentry: 7/12

Shadow Warrior : 15/20 (23 w/ CtA/spirit)
One point wonders: BoS (1/9), CoS, Fade, MB

Andy's Visage s/ Ghoul Heart jewel (or Guillaume's s/ Ivory jewel of fervor)
'Crescent Moon' cryptic axe (swap: CtA/'spirit')
'Chains of Honor' wire fleece
IK Detail
Gore Rider
Highlord's Wrath
Ravenfrost
Viper Eye rare ring (7 LL, 6 ML, 29 LR, 96 AR)
Havoc Finger rare gloves (2 MA skills, 20 IAS, 14 LR) (or LoH)

Code:
Viper Eye
Ring
Required Level: 74
Fingerprint: 0xa210fc4c
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+96 to Attack Rating
+4 to Maximum Damage
Lightning Resist +29%
7% Life stolen per hit
6% Mana stolen per hit

Havoc Finger
Crusader Gauntlets
Defense: 63
Durability: 14 of 18
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 151
Fingerprint: 0x8ba45ba
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+15 to Attack Rating
Lightning Resist +14%
+1 to Light Radius
20% Increased Attack Speed
+2 to Martial Art Skills

Zappa's Crescent Moon
Cryptic Axe
Two Hand Damage: 101 - 460
Durability: 49 of 65
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 165
Required Dexterity: 103
Fingerprint: 0x8c4eb2ec
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
207% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
+10 Magic Absorb
7% Chance to cast level 13 Static Field on striking
10% Chance to cast level 17 Chain Lightning on striking
Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30/30 Charges)
-35% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
20% Increased Attack Speed
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+2 to Mana after each Kill
3 Sockets (3 used)

Andariel's Visage
Demonhead
Defense: 331
Durability: 18 of 20
Required Level: 83
Required Strength: 102
Fingerprint: 0x1cee5fed
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+26 to Strength
114% Enhanced Defense
Poison Resist +70%
10% to Maximum Poison Resist
9% Life stolen per hit
20% Increased Attack Speed
+2 to All Skills
15% Chance to cast level 15 Poison Nova when struck
Level 3 Venom (20/20 Charges)
+10 to Mana
+47 to Attack Rating
+5 to Maximum Damage
Fire Resist -9%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ghoul Heart

Ghoul Heart
Jewel
Required Level: 18
Fingerprint: 0x558b5b96
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+10 to Mana
+47 to Attack Rating
+5 to Maximum Damage
+21% to Fire Resist


Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0x8775db42
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Lightning Resist +35%
+1 - 30 Lightning Damage
20% Increased Attack Speed
+1 to All Skills
+15 Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of
3% Deadly Strike

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x2ed6d816
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+20 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+224 to Attack Rating
+15 - 45 cold damage with 4 sec Duration
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Immortal King's Detail
War Belt
Defense: 89
Durability: 23 of 24
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 110
Fingerprint: 0xc4df321d
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+25 to Strength
+36 Defense
Fire Resist +28%
Lightning Resist +31%

Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 158
Durability: 32 of 34
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 94
Fingerprint: 0x105801c7
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+20 Maximum Stamina
193% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Charms: 3x MA skiller; +21 res all; LR, AR, FHR, max damage

Azrael the Might Moron
eth 'Obedience' CA
Vamp gaze
'Treachery'

I started this character several months ago, but stopped halfway through NM when I decided that CoH would be the perfect armor for her. Then I went rune hunting (mostly LK, some cows) until I found two sur runes to cube up. (thank you, 1.13 drop rates!)

Her trip through Hell: (Did 100% of it on /p3)
A1: Even starting at level 70, she more or less jogged through it, killing everything easily. Andy was dispatched quickly on /p3. Of course, 550% damage to demons helps (CoH + LoH). lol. Sometimes the buffing got to be a bit much though (BO, BC, BoS, demon limb).

A2: Slower than A1 due to all the undead and those LI beetles. I decided to clear the false tombs, which was interesting. Ran into a triple boss pack of gorebellies, two of which were cursed, that were pretty nasty. Oh and fanaticism aura. The moron got chewed up a couple times before I realized I would have to be careful and separate them. lol. The fight against Duriel was quite easy, as I only had to feed the merc one rejuv before the bug went down. I checked my CtH against him and it was 57% for normal attack. Not bad. This guy turned out to be much tougher to kill. (Yeah, those are flames from accidental use of charge 1 of PS..)

A3: was pretty easy. The flayers, being demons with low life, died quickly, and if there were a lot a couple DS would turn them into hamburger pretty quickly--not to mention the moron running around popping the little bastards like bubble wrap. The prevalence of lightning immunes didn't slow things down.

A4: The inevitable ritual wherein assassins do without CoS. Luckily, MB is enough to stay alive. Usually. In this case, I managed to die a couple times to still more fanaticism/cursed boss packs. Diablo wasn't too bad, but his elemental attacks are still painful, even with CtA. Mostly pretty smooth.

A5: The above ground parts were the same as ever, careful around the archers and then charge past all the annoying little fire/teleporting demons with nary a sidelong glance. Below ground, things weren't too horrible, some PI frenzytaurs were controlled by the judicious use of MB. The frozen river was hectic but ultimately pretty simple (DS FTW). The ancients were really easy on /p3. For some reason, they didn't do any damage...? I was confused, but TS and CB took them out quickly regardless. WSK was no problem. Only difficulty was PI Lister, who attacked as fast as Zap did, making charging up difficult. Finally he decided to target the shadow, and succumbed. Baal was annoying, and left a bunch of crap behind.

In all, she was very fluid, I think due to the fast running speed (due to BoS) and having a little more life from CtA, which makes a big difference for a no-block meleer, since it means less time in hit recovery. The flayers, with their little spitballs, were basically harmless. (Thanks to 1.13 rune drops, everyone can have one!) And of course the sweet moods on 'CM' (ITD and -eLR) made the build more than viable.

The so-called chain lightning of PS isn't really a chain, it's more of a lazy swirl. Trying to get the second charge made for some difficulties, of course, especially when her CtH was low or the area was very cramped and I couldn't see the charge balls (A2 tombs). In those situations TS/DS was used. The only other important consideration was another of tactics: basically, it's a bad idea to run into the middle of a pack of monsters. The extra range of the cryptic axe was helpful, as long as I was careful. lol. I'm still learning this part of the game...

random SS:
Andy's isn't that ugly!
Ohhh, swirly

Finds: pul, um and gul runes, entrapping grand charm of life (my first trap skiller ever!), 39% Gheed's

On one trip through the pit, she found white or gray caduceus, hydra bow, scissors suwayyah, dimensional shard. All would-be grailers.

HF: ist

Special Thanks to NagisaFurukawa for supplying the Highlord's in a giveaway

Thank you for reading (well, glancing briefly:crazyeyes:)
 
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Originally posted by Kefir-Tribe on Nov 27, 2005:

Two new Pats and an untwinked Mat.

After a week of quite intensive d2 playing I've managed to finish two new patriarchs and on the top of that finish an old untwinked character that had got stuck. Let me present them:


Patriarch Equilib

Skills
Heart of Wolverine: 20.
Dire Wolf: 20.
Raven, Oak Sage, Spirit Wolf Grizzly: 1.
Lycanthropy: 20.
Werewolf: 6.
Fury: 20.
Feral Rage, Rabies: 1.

Stats(according to LCS)
Strength: 142 (57).
Dexterity: 108 (70).
Vitality: 388 (348).
Energy 50 (20).
Life: 2869.
Damage: 966 - 11k.
AR: 9328.
Resistance: 75/75/84/74.

Equipment
Jalal's Mane (Um).
Highlord's Wrath.
Bone Barb -- Thresher(Sheal).
Lionheart -- Archon Plate.
Laying of Hands.
Entropy Hold (20str, 5%ml, 13%lres, 15%fres).
Thundergod's Vigor.
Raven Frost.
Gore Rider.
5 x Spiritual GCs, resist and damage SCs and LCs.

Act2 might merc (Eth Reaper's Toll, Vampire Gaze, Duriel's Shell).

This character is built for baalrunning and works quite well though I still have a hard time with Listers knock back attacks. There's room for improving this character (he's only low 80is), for example I'll put Azurewrath and Black Oak Shield on switch, to counter Willowisps and Oblivion Knights, when(if) he reach level 85. He's pretty much like an other werewolf I've built but with HoW instead of OS for damage. With the Lionheart armor I managed to save a lot of stat points for vitality and will end up with more then 400 of it, which is pretty cool.

Not surprisingly perhaps, it was easy to beat the game with him. Suffered two deaths (both from IM in CS hell). No exciting items found.


Patriarch Sweeper

Skills
Holy Shock: 20.
Holy Freeze: 10.
Might: 1.
Resist Lightning: 20.
Salvation: 20.
Prayer, Defiance, Cleansing, Vigor, Redemption: 1.
Zeal: 5.
Sacrifice, Holy Bolt, Smite, Charge, Blessed Hammer, Holy Shield: 1.
5 points remaining.

Stats(according to LCS)
Strength: 130 (71).
Dexterity: 114 (85).
Vitality: 359 (334).
Energy: 20 (15).
Life: 2275.
Damage: 45 - 11k.
AR: 2334.
Defense: 4840.
Resistance: 77/77/93/82.

Equipment
Guillaume's Face (Lightning Facet).
Mara's Kaleidoscope.
Crescent Moon -- Long Sword.
Guardian Angel (Um).
Herald of Zakarum (perfect diamond)
Crafted Blood gloves (20%ias, 10%cb...)
Raven Frost.
Nosferatu's Coil.
Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Soul Greaves (30%frw, 6dex, dual resist...)
9 x Captain's GCs, some resist and steel SCs.
On switch: Clicky! and Lidless Wall.

Act2 Holy Freeze merc (eth Reaper's Toll, Kira's Guardian and upgraded Shaftstop).

An other character built for baalrunning. The name is inspired by a really cool character in Terry Pratchetts wonderful discworld novels. The tactic behind this character is a little bit different from most of my close combat fellows. I've chosen a weapon with tiny physical damage to counter IM and abandoned the "leech-to-live" idea, trusting Holy Freeze, Decrepify and Slows Target to handle monsters. Works terrific. Long Sword, Guardian Angel and HoZ looks nice together too. And I'm really proud of the CtA. Every rune above Um I've found through years of playing, save for one Mal and the runes I once wasted on a Kingslayer Balrog Blade, is put into this weapon.

It was easy to beat the game with this character too. He suffered two deaths one from dolls and one from our old friend FE that apparently hides out in NM these days. Best find was a javaskiller.


Matriarch Naywia

Skills
Death Sentry: 20.
Fire Blast, Shock Webb, Charged Bolt Sentry, Lightning Sentry, Wake of Fire, Blade Sentinel, Blade Fury: 1.
Venom: 20.
Mind Blast: 20.
Shadow Master: 2.
1 point in the rest of the shadow disciplines.
Dragon Talon: 20.

Stats(according to LCS)
Strength: 157.
Dexterity: 182.
Vitality: 231.
Energy: 25.
Life: 1091.
Damage (DT): 464 - 678 + Venom
AR: 7627.
Resistance: 75/75/61/48.

Equipment
Guillaume's Face.
Chromatic Amulet of Accuracy.
Strength -- Twin Axe.
RalOrtTalThul -- Scarab Husk.
Rhyme - Hyperion.
Trang-Oul's Claws.
Blood Gyre (103%AR, 12str, 30life, 11%lres...)
Dire Buckle -- Plated Belt (57life, 12%cres, 22%pres...)
Manald Heal.
Bitter Track -- Wyrmhide Boots (22%MF, 24%fres...)
On switch: Blade of Alibaba and Lidless Wall.
Various resist, stats, AR, life etc. charms.

Act2 Holy Freeze Merc (Viperfork. Shaftstop and Tal-Rasha's Horadric Crest)

This character is my try to make an efficient untwinked baalrunner which I in some moment of madness had plans to take to level 99. It was not easy to get her through the game and The Ancient Ones were a real challenge in hell. I suppose a more trap oriented build would have been easier to play untwinked. Anyway I'm happy to have made it through the game untwinked once more and I know this build would kick butt with some item changes.
 
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Originally posted by lone_wolf on Jun 4, 2009:

Matriarch Dusk

The fallen charged at the lonesome female human ready to tear her limb from limb. Suddenly an arch of lightning struck the ones that had come closest to the female dead. The fallen shaman was just about to revive the fallen that had died when they exploded killing even more fallen that had come to close to the dead bodies.
Just as the fallen shaman yet again was ready to use its demonic magic to resurrect its dead followers.
It was interrupted and killed by a kick from the female human that had suddenly seemed to disappear and reappear right in front of the fallen shaman. A nearby Zombie tried to take a swing at the female but it was meet with a flurry of kicks to fast to follow and as its body tore apart from the crushing force of the kicks. Mizan the female's follower could just shake his head and yet again curse his luck for agreeing to follow this strange woman and aid here on her quest to end the demon menace.

This is the Matriarch thread for my Kicker/Trap Hybrid Dusk

She is a very fun char to play and one of the few chars I have that really fit to use the gear that she uses.

But first things first here are her stats:

Base/Weapon1/weapon2
Strenght: 90/189/199
Dexterity: 173/193/203
Vitality: 232/252/262
Energy: 25/25/35

Damage weapon1: 720-1164x6= 4320-6984 with 83% CB 61% Deadly strike 35% open wounds 10% Static 20% level 18 Tornado
Damage weapon2: 757-1223x6= 4542-7338 with 50% CB 61% Deadly strike 35% open wounds

With Might from the Merc damage looks like this:

Damage1: 886-1462x6= 5316-8772 with 83% CB 61% Deadly strike 35% open wounds 10% Static 20% level 18 Tornado
Damage2: 923-1521x6= 5538-9126 with 50% CB 61% Deadly strike 35% open wounds

Life: 1046 and 1076

Attack Rating: 9785/10509

All Res except Lightning 75, Lightning res is 85%. Lightning absorb is between 20 to 27 depending on weapon used.

Her gear is this:

Helm: Guillaume's Face socketed with Um
Amulet: Highlords
Armor: Chains of Honor Archon Plate
Weapon1: Stormlash socketed with Eth
Shield1: Stormshield socketed with Pdiamond
Weapon2: Azurewrath
Shield2: Stormshield socketed with Pdiamond
Belt: T-gods
Gloves: Dracul's Grasp
Ring1: Raven Frost
Ring2:

Code:
Beast Grip
  Ring
  Required Level: 37
  Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
  Item Level: 44
  Fingerprint: 0x5b872cd9
  +1 to Strength
  +19 to Life
  3% Life stolen per hit
  3% Mana stolen per hit
  Poison Length Reduced by 25%
Boots: Upgraded Gore Rider

Inventory is filled with All Res Sc and Lc as well as 7 Shogukusha's Grand Charms

Might merc Mizan uses Gaze Shaftstop and The reapers toll.

Lets move forward to Skills:

Martial arts:

30/31 Dragon talon for 6 kicks
11/12 Dragon claw
11/12 Dragon tail
11/12 Dragon flight useful for attacking monsters that resurrect or just make sure the merc goes where you go.

Shadow Disciplines:

Everything except Shadowmaster and venom 4/5
Shadowmaster 17/18
Venom 0

Traps:

Lightning Sentry 23/24 1-1441 lightning damage X10 for an average damage output of 7210 if all traps hit the same monster.
Death Sentry 23/24 for 10.6 radius
Rest of the traps 4/5 except Blade Shield at 0

5 skill points saved will probably invest them in Charged bolt Sentry for the synergy. Dunno if I will place 1 point in Blade shield it has lost a lot of potentional now when it does not apply CB.
 
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Originally posted by @maxicek on Feb 26, 2007:

Matriach Myshella, DT/BF/DS Assassin

Character name : Myshella
Character type : Assassin
Character level : 83
Character exp : 899393231

Strength : 144
Energy : 25
Dexterity : 115
Vitality : 226
Stat Points Rem : 0
Skill Points Rem: 0

Life : 1052 / 892
Mana : 222 / 148
Stamina : 475 / 455

Skills
1 Blade Fury
15 Death Sentry
20 Dragon Talon
20 Venom
15 Shadow Master
5 Fade
1 in all Shadow Disciplines
5 Wasted Points: Tiger Strike, Cobra Strike, Dragon Flight & pre reqs.

I used Dragon Flight a few times, mainly in the Arcane Sanctuary, but in the end it wasn't needed. I could have maxed Death Sentry with those points, which would have been much more useful.

Equipment
Originally I was going to go with a Ribcracker here, but discovery of the 3/8 damage penalty for 2h weapons and by terrible resistances changed that plan. I traded a Fleshripper with Dark Matter, socketed a Tiamat's with a PD and everything became much more playable.

Weapon: Fleshripper
Shield: Tiamat's Rebuke + Perfect Diamond

Switch: Shadow Blade Talons of Restoration (+3 Shadow Disciplines)
Switch: Witch-hunter's Scissors Katar (+2 Assassin Skills)

Helm: Guillaume's Face + Ort
Armour: 'Duress' Great Hauberk
Belt: String of Ears
Gloves: Dracul's Grasp
Boots: Gore Rider upped to Myrmidon Greaves
Like most women, she likes a nice pair of shoes.

Amulet: Viper Mark
Ring 1: Blood Spiral
Ring 2: Raven Frost

Readouts for interesting items:
Code:
Gore Rider
Myrmidon Greaves
Defense: 183
Durability: 33 of 34
Kick Damage: 83 to 149
Required Strength: 156
Required Level: 72
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x54710009
+20 to Maximum Stamina
+166% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
Required Level +7
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Duress
Great Hauberk
'ShaelUmThul'
Defense: 1319
Durability: 48 of 50
Required Strength: 118
Required Level: 56
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xff7d9328
+165% Enhanced Defense
+11% Enhanced Damage
Fire Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +15%
Cold Resist +45%
Poison Resist +15%
Adds 37-133 cold damage over 2 seconds
40% Faster Hit Recovery
33% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
-20% Slower Stamina Drain
Socketed (3: 3 used)

Viper Mark
Amulet
Required Level: 30
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xfd0e5cd8
Fire Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +45%
Cold Resist +15%
Poison Resist +15%
Poison Length Reduced by 25%
+2 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)
10% Chance to cast Level 3 Charged Bolt when struck

Blood Spiral
Ring
Required Level: 74
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 94
Fingerprint: 0x2576b52c
+110 to Attack Rating
Fire Resist +17%
Lightning Resist +10%
6% Mana stolen per hit
38% Extra Gold from Monsters

Inventory
Code:
Crimson Small Charm of Dexterity
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 5
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0x7cf2389d
+1 to Dexterity
Fire Resist +5%

Viridian Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 10
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 56
Fingerprint: 0x2fc3811a
Poison Resist +6%

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x6fa9342f
+17 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0x90e19f52
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xcf60a9d
+19 to Life

Snake's Grand Charm of Dexterity
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 23
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0xbacf0eba
+6 to Dexterity
+34 to Mana

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x383f960f
+19 to Life

Tangerine Large Charm of Life
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 9
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 19
Fingerprint: 0xa4c92548
+12 to Life
Lightning Resist +7%

Russet Large Charm of Life
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 12
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xcc1e3f52
+15 to Life
Fire Resist +9%

Garnet Large Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 66
Fingerprint: 0xa72a1eae
Fire Resist +12%

Grand Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 69
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0x16f66eb5
+40 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 84
Fingerprint: 0x9f2ef36f
+18 to Life

Iron Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 31
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x7b0378ac
+21 to Attack Rating

Mercenary
Act 2 Might Merc.
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Armour: Duriel's Shell
Weapon: The Reaper's Toll

Finds
Were particularly poor on this character. Nothing of note was found questing.
Hellforge: NM Lum I think. Hell Io.

Comments
This character is basically a B-Net uber hunter build from this guide. If you read it, try to ignore the first few weapon suggestions.

She is my first assassin, and I really enjoyed playing her. I had some trouble with crowd control during P8 NM Baal runs, but once she had be re-equipped she coped well. Hell was played at P3 A1, P1 the rest. Deathe Sentry was invaluable here. The only monsters that I really had problems with were the cursing witches in the WSK, who kept killing my Merc and Shadow too quickly. Gloams and their kin were a walk in the park. Shadow, Merc and Blade Fury got the first corpse, DS did the rest.

Blade fury was my main skill, even with just one point. Style of play went lay 2-3 Death Sentries, BF from a distance, get a few corpses, lay more DS. Splat, everything is dead. Dragon Talon was used for bosses and SUs. The trick here was to isolate them. If I accidently kicked them back into the middle of the pack, it could be all over very quickly.

Overall a great character to play, lots of fun.

Next Up
Well that is the last of the character I have parked in Hell, my highest of my other characters in in NM A3. I'm going to level up a few different builds, some cookie cutters (Trang's Poisonmancer, WF Strafer, Fanatic Zealot, Fury Wolf) and work on my Seven Swords sept.
 
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Originally posted by @maxicek on Jun 30, 2010:

Matriarch ORen_Ishii - Aggressin

ORen_Ishii: You didn't think it was gonna be that easy, did you?
Baal: You know, for a second there, yeah, I kinda did.
ORen_Ishii: Silly rabbit.



ORen_Ishii - Aggressin
Well finally I have got around to finishing my Aggressin, based on my draft guide. The guide was written on a theoretical basis, so here is the practical.

Stats
Name: ORen_Ishii
Class: Assassin
Experience: 901836303
Level: 83

ORen_Ishii LCS
Naked/Gear
Strength: 115/150
Dexterity: 96/115
Vitality: 274/274
Energy: 25/25
HP: 1036/1190
Mana: 148/196
Stamina: 515/535
Defense: 24/1968

Dragon Claw Damage: 2007-3266 / 1997-3244
Dragon Claw AR: 8864 / 8864

Resists in Hell:
Fire: 70
Cold: 35
Lightning: 94
Poison: 20

MF: 0
GF: 0
FR/W: 30
FHR: 30
IAS: 75
FCR: 25


Skills
Fire Blast: 3/4
Shock Web: 1/2
Charged Bolt Sentry: 1/2
Lightning Sentry: 1/7
Death Sentry: 20/21

Claw Mastery: 20/23
Psychic Hammer: 1/4
Burst of Speed: 1/4
Cloak of Shadows: 1/4
Fade: 1/4
Mind Blast: 1/7
Venom: 20/23

Dragon Talon: 1/2
Dragon Claw: 20/21
Dragon Tail: 1/2
Dragon Flight: 1/5


Equipment
Weapon1: 'Chaos' Runic Talons
Weapon2: 'Chaos' Runic Talons

Switch Weapon1: +3 Shadow Claw
Switch Weapon2: +3 Shadow Claw

Helm: Guillaume's Face 'Um'
Armour: 'Fortitude' Dusk Shroud
Belt: String of Ears
Boots: Gore Riders
Gloves: Laying of Hands / Dracul's Grasp

Amulet: Highlord's Wrath
Ring1: Ravenfrost
Ring2: Rare dual leech

Inventory: Lots of resist charms, two Mentalist Skillers, one Steel GC, both tomes and the cube.

Equipment Readouts:
Code:
Chaos
Runic Talons
FalOhmUm
One Hand Damage: 101 - 186
Durability: 16 of 30
Required Level: 60
Required Strength: 115
Required Dexterity: 115
Fingerprint: 0x24853fa3
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion
11% Chance to cast level 9 Charged Bolt on striking
9% Chance to cast level 11 Frozen Orb on striking
+35% Increased Attack Speed
323% Enhanced Damage
Adds 216 - 471 Magic Damage
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+2 to Lightning Sentry (Assassin Only)
+3 to Mind Blast (Assassin Only)
+3 to Dragon Flight (Assassin Only)
+1 to Whirlwind
+10 to Strength
+15 Life after each Demon Kill
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Fal Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune
Socketed: Um Rune

Chaos
Runic Talons
FalOhmUm
One Hand Damage: 100 - 184
Durability: 60 of 69
Required Level: 60
Required Strength: 115
Required Dexterity: 115
Fingerprint: 0xe6df7db8
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
11% Chance to cast level 9 Charged Bolt on striking
9% Chance to cast level 11 Frozen Orb on striking
+35% Increased Attack Speed
319% Enhanced Damage
Adds 216 - 471 Magic Damage
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+3 to Lightning Sentry (Assassin Only)
+1 to Whirlwind
+10 to Strength
+15 Life after each Demon Kill
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Fal Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune
Socketed: Um Rune

Fortitude
Dusk Shroud
ElSolDolLo
Defense: 1377
Durability: 17 of 20
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 77
Fingerprint: 0x7f9f9547
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 15 Chilling Armor when struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
300% Enhanced Damage
+200% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+83 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +26
Damage Reduced by 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 to Light Radius
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: El Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Dol Rune
Socketed: Lo Rune

Guillaume's Face
Winged Helm
Defense: 217
Durability: 39 of 40
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 115
Fingerprint: 0xd642686b
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
+120% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Strength
All Resistances +15
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Um Rune

Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0x53af04
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 1 - 30 Lightning Damage
31% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Lightning Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 15

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x3e6da2d7
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+226 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+19 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen

Corruption Spiral
Ring
Required Level: 46
Fingerprint: 0x6a2870a
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+87 to Attack Rating
Adds 1 - 12 Lightning Damage
4% Mana stolen per hit
5% Life stolen per hit
+8 to Mana
Cold Resist +15%

String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 102
Durability: 21 of 22
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xa25f3a2b
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
7% Life stolen per hit
+151% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Damage Reduced by 14%
Magic Damage Reduced by 14
+10 Maximum Durability

Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 157
Durability: 33 of 34
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 94
Fingerprint: 0x37a05ef0
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
10% Chance of Open Wounds
+192% Enhanced Defense
+20 Maximum Stamina
Requirements -25%
+10 Maximum Durability

Laying of Hands
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 87
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x4be15c8a
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Chance to cast level 3 Holy Bolt on striking
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+350% Damage to Demons
+25 Defense
Fire Resist +50%

Dracul's Grasp
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 129
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x8bbe2a4a
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 10 Life Tap on striking
9% Life stolen per hit
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+96% Enhanced Defense
+11 to Strength
+8 Life after each Kill

Shadow Blade Talons
Blade Talons
One Hand Damage: 10 - 14
Durability: 69 of 69
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 50
Required Dexterity: 50
Fingerprint: 0xb289705c
Item Level: 97
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)

Shadow Blade Talons
Blade Talons
One Hand Damage: 10 - 14
Durability: 69 of 69
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 50
Required Dexterity: 50
Fingerprint: 0x1d68426d
Item Level: 98
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)


Shimmering Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0xf1c9af5a
Item Level: 43
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +15

Shimmering Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x91911793
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +14

Mentalist's Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x3c3f19c4
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)
+16 to Life

Mentalist's Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xdc199775
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)
+15 to Life

Shimmering Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0x716676a8
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +4

Shimmering Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0xf1467e9c
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +4

Shimmering Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0x968ce85e
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +4

Shimmering Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0xfacf7691
Item Level: 69
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +4

Amber Grand Charm of Sustenance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 23
Fingerprint: 0x2d3c46d4
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+24 to Life
Lightning Resist +29%

Amber Small Charm of the Glacier
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x1bb1c53b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 3 - 6 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
Lightning Resist +10%

Shimmering Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0xcb2dec68
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +4

Steel Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0x465235af
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+128 to Attack Rating
+16 to Life

Mercenary Equipment
Mercenary Type: A2 NM Offensive (Might)
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Armour: 'Treachery' Ethereal bugged Ornate Plate.
Weapon: The Reaper's Toll


Finds
Hellforge: As usual I can't remember NM, but I got an Um in Hell.
I was very happy to find a 14% Shimmering GC of Life in the Jungle. 15% of Vita would be better, but it is a significant improvement over a plain one. I also found a Harlequin Crest in the Jungle. It must be ingrained in me but I am still happy to see these and pick them up, even though I have loads in my stashes now. Probably because it is one of those "must have" items when you start out.


Random Thoughts

So how did she play?

Well pretty much according to the guide. Dragon Claw got a bit of a damage boost in 1.13 so that was good, but even with Fortitude the damage isn't spectacular. This definately isn't a /players8 build, although I did play through pretty much all of Hell at /players3, except for The Ancients and WSK. I probably could have done the WSK at /P3 too, but I was wanting to finish her by then. Death Sentry and Cloak of Shadows sort out most problems, but she wasn't without Deaths. Burst of Speed means for very quick gameplay (race Anya), making Dragon Flight necessary to pull your Merc back to you.

What difference are there in practice from the guide?
I think Stephan already covered the two main difference in his Mat thread.
The main one is that Weapon Block does not work well with this build. The 10 frame cycle for the two Dragon Claw hits is easily interrupted, leading to block lock. After dying to a pack of Rat Men in the A1 Nightmare Catacombs, I used my NM re-spec to get rid of weapon block, as was very happy I did. The fact that Shadow Master went to wasn't a big loss. (Why is it Shadow Master anyway? Shouldn't it be Shadow Mistress?)
The second is the insane AR boost of Dragon Claw and Claw Mastery means that you need very little base AR. The 115 Dexterity I needed for Runic Talons, one Steel GC and a Ravenfrost gave me 8.8K AR. This allows you to focus you equipment slots on things other than resists, and use the inventory to cram full of resist charms to make up for it.
Expect a guide update in the next week or so.

The CTC on the Chaos must have made for some nice effects?
Yes, not bad, although the Frozen Orb is more for the chilling effect than the damage. I chose to use Chaos because they are the highest physical damage claws I have, and the magic damage and open wounds makes them better than any other choice. It was nice to actually proc the ctc effects though as you obviously never see then when using Whirlwind. Taking a decent screen shot was tricky, this one with Shenk is about the best I got.

Any future plans for her?
I will give a few alternative gear setups a try for my guide, then retirement. I'm not planning on levelling her further. I used pretty much the best gear I could for her, so want to see how some lower budget options work.

What next?
Clearing up a few projects at the moment. I'm doing lots of levelling of PvP characters at the moment, mainly in Baal runs. I will probably start paying Travincal a few visits again soon. I have a lvl 82 light sorc to finish - a bit more levelling then The Ancients and Baal.
I'm also playing the last of my Faith 2h sword sept through at the moment, Illian the Amazon. She is Ravenclaw equipped and in A2 normal. I'm still not 100% decided on what build she will be though.



Thanks for reading. I suppose there is a cookie in it for the first person to post where her name comes from, but only a small one. It is pretty easy...
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by @maxicek on Jul 1, 2011:

Matriarch Blaze - Firedancer

Blaze
I shopped a +5 Wake of Fire claw whilst looking for LS claws a while ago. When I imbued a second +5 WoF claw, some kind of fire traper was clearly on the table. As WoF only requires 60 points to be fully synergised, there is plenty of room for customisation.

Blaze's name is derived from the 1960s British comic strip character Modesty Blaise. Modesty is the kind of no nonsense, leather clad, high kicking character that fits well with a kicker. Add fire traps and Blaise became Blaze.


Stats
Name: Blaze
Class: Assassin
Experience: 1056177997
Level: 85

Naked/Gear
Strength: 110/236
Dexterity: 130/159
Vitality: 255/260
Energy: 25/30
HP: 983/1006
Mana: 151/257
Stamina: 493/513
Defense: 32/1870
AR: 100000614/100001055

Fire: 95/55/-5
Cold: 158/118/58
Lightning: 154/114/54
Poison: 69/29/-31
(+47 to all these from level 7 Fade)

MF: 88 Block: 60
GF: 0
FR/W: 105
FHR: 24
IAS: 65
FCR: 30


Skills
Fire Blast: 20/33
Wake of Fire: 20/33 (43 on claw switch)
Wake of Inferno: 20/33

That gave WoF damage on claw switch of 1050-1184 per shot, 672-764 on kicking switch.

Claw Mastery: 1/7
Psychic Hammer: 1/7
Burst of Speed: 1/7
Weapon Block: 1/7
Cloak of Shadows: 1/7
Fade: 1/7
Shadow Warrior: 1/7
Mind Blast: 1/7
Venom: 16/22
Shadow Master: 1/7

Dragon Talon: 8/14
Dragon Claw: 1/7
Dragon Tail: 1/7
Dragon Flight: 1/7


Equipment
Weapon: Stormlash 'Shael'
Shield: Stormshield

Switch Weapon: Cunning Greater Talons with +2 WoF
Switch Shield: Eagle Barb Rare Runic Talons - +2 Traps, +3 WoF

Helm: Rare - Doom Cowl - +2 Assassin, 20FCR, 30FRW
Armour: Enigma
Belt: Crafted 24FHR, 10%OW and resists
Boots: Gore Rider Myrmidon Greaves
Gloves: Dracul's Grasp

Amulet: 25% Mara's
Ring1: Ravenfrost
Ring2: Dread Knot - 10FCR, Mana Leech, AR, Resists

Inventory: 7x Trap Skillers, SCs with resists and mana, both tomes.

Equipment Readouts:
Code:
Cunning Greater Talons of the Wraith
Greater Talons
One Hand Damage: 21 - 35
Durability: 68 of 69
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 79
Required Dexterity: 79
Fingerprint: 0x6f09366f
Item Level: 98
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+40% Increased Attack Speed
6% Mana stolen per hit
+2 to Wake of Fire (Assassin Only)
+2 to Wake of Inferno (Assassin Only)
+1 to Mind Blast (Assassin Only)
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Shael Rune

Eagle Barb
Runic Talons
One Hand Damage: 27 - 70
Durability: 69 of 69
Required Level: 60
Required Strength: 115
Required Dexterity: 115
Fingerprint: 0x966300da
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
15% Enhanced Damage
+20 to Maximum Damage
+22% Damage to Demons
+29 to Attack Rating against Demons
Adds 7 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
6% Life stolen per hit
+3 to Wake of Fire (Assassin Only)
+3 to Blade Fury (Assassin Only)
+3 to Dragon Flight (Assassin Only)
All Resistances +12
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Scintillating Jewel

Stormlash
Scourge
One Hand Damage: 10 - 273
Durability: 63 of 65
Required Level: 82
Required Strength: 125
Required Dexterity: 77
Fingerprint: 0x200ecae1
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
15% Chance to cast level 10 Static Field on striking
20% Chance to cast level 18 Tornado on striking
+50% Increased Attack Speed
242% Enhanced Damage
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 1 - 473 Lightning Damage
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
+5 Lightning Absorb
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 30
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune

Stormshield
Monarch
Defense: 464
Chance to Block: 47
Durability: 84 of 86
Required Level: 73
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0x7cfc419f
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Indestructible
+35% Faster Block Rate
25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+318 Defense (Based on Character Level)
+30 to Strength
Cold Resist +60%
Lightning Resist +25%
Fire Resist +40%
Damage Reduced by 35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Ruby

Doom Cowl
Diadem
Defense: 89
Durability: 15 of 20
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x862052d0
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+15% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Cast Rate
+46% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +19%
Lightning Resist +26%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Sapphire Jewel of Fervor

Enigma
Breast Plate
JahIthBer
Defense: 825
Durability: 37 of 50
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 30
Fingerprint: 0x1d34cc49
Item Level: 20
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+45% Faster Run/Walk
+1 to Teleport
+757 Defense
+63 to Strength (Based on Character Level)
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Damage Reduced by 8%
+14 Life after each Kill
15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
85% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Jah Rune
Socketed: Ith Rune
Socketed: Ber Rune

Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x6c66bea
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
All Stats +5
All Resistances +25

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x38d2ac84
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+177 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+19 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen

Dread Knot
Ring
Required Level: 46
Fingerprint: 0x2d35cbc8
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+119 to Attack Rating
4% Mana stolen per hit
Cold Resist +24%
Poison Resist +6%
Damage Reduced by 2

Storm Chain
Mithril Coil
Defense: 108
Durability: 10 of 16
Required Level: 78
Required Strength: 106
Fingerprint: 0x95d4d7c0
Item Level: 90
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+24% Faster Hit Recovery
2% Life stolen per hit
10% Chance of Open Wounds
+65% Enhanced Defense
+11 to Life
Lightning Resist +16%
Poison Resist +8%

Gore Rider
Myrmidon Greaves
Defense: 207
Durability: 30 of 34
Required Level: 72
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0xf2ff2d5a
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
10% Chance of Open Wounds
+197% Enhanced Defense
+20 Maximum Stamina
Required Level +7
Requirements -25%
+10 Maximum Durability

Dracul's Grasp
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 138
Durability: 7 of 14
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x471bf8f1
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 10 Life Tap on striking
10% Life stolen per hit
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+110% Enhanced Defense
+13 to Strength
+10 Life after each Kill

Entrapping Grand Charm of Quality
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x886b2bac
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+2 to Maximum Damage

Entrapping Grand Charm of Dexterity
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xd0c15a1
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+3 to Dexterity

Entrapping Grand Charm of Incineration
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xc370b1b8
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
Adds 6 - 14 Fire Damage

Entrapping Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x600cb458
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)

Serpent's Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0xcf010699
Item Level: 73
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Strength
+16 to Mana

Serpent's Small Charm of Fortune
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0xaf07071e
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+16 to Mana
3% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Entrapping Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x94bc5452
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+12 to Life

Entrapping Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x8c5a6df9
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+6 to Strength

Entrapping Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xcdc88479
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+5 to Strength

Amber Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xb1c3d3e1
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +11%

Serpent's Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0x9f36f038
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+17 to Mana

Serpent's Small Charm of Flame
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0x3b14b5cc
Item Level: 70
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 2 Fire Damage
+17 to Mana

Amber Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xf0d700ab
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Strength
Lightning Resist +10%

Amber Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x72218a50
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Lightning Resist +11%

Mercenary Equipment
Mercenary Type: A2 NM Defensive
Helm: Tal Rasha's HC
Armour: Treachery
Weapon: Infinity
Code:
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 131
Durability: 10 of 20
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x7686e4d8
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Mana stolen per hit
10% Life stolen per hit
+45 Defense
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
All Resistances +15

Treachery
Ornate Plate
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 1009
Durability: 31 of 31
Required Level: 43
Required Strength: 160
Fingerprint: 0xc591f1b3
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 15 Fade when struck
25% Chance to cast level 15 Venom on striking
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
Ethereal
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune

Infinity
Thresher
BerMalBerIst
Two Hand Damage: 71 - 833
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 142
Required Dexterity: 108
Fingerprint: 0x2c532938
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
50% Chance to cast level 20 Chain Lightning when you Kill an Enemy
Level 12 Conviction Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Run/Walk
295% Enhanced Damage
-53% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
Prevent Monster Heal
+42 to Vitality (Based on Character Level)
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Level 21 Cyclone Armor (30/30 Charges)
Ethereal
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ber Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ber Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune


Finds
Hellforge: Lum NM, Lum Hell. It seems to be raining Lums for me at the moment.
Atma's Scarab from one of the Council Members in Durance 3, that's about all that stands out.


Thoughts
I finished Blaze back in the spring, but it has taken me a bit of time to get around to doing the write up. She is my 15th Assassin Matriarch to date, I have at least 3 more Assassin builds I want to try before D3.

Wake of fire is a bit different in the way it plays compared to Lightning Sentry. It only has five shots for a start, which means you spend a lot more time laying traps. It can however cover a huge area, which makes from some very pretty effects. It was extremely powerful, even without Infiinity, from late normal to mid NM. Clearing tombs with it in Act 2 (which, as I normally play melee characters, I particularly hate - too many un-leechables) was very slick. All those packs of Unravellers and Skeletons were swiftly flamed. It worked well with Infinity too, but I don't think WoF is powerful enough as a stand alone skill in Hell without Infinity.

I don't really like switching weapons when I play, I prefer to keep the right mouse button held down and toggle skills with hot keys. So in reality I didn't use those claws as much as I could have. Stormlash is awesome as a kicker weapon. The conviction and static, combined with even the lower damage traps from casting on the kicking switch, was pretty devastating. Add in the 48% total crushing blow and lifetap for boss killing, and it all fits together pretty nicely. Andariel was obviously a fairly easy kill with the traps but The Ancients definately required the 'lash.

This character was planned as a possible PvP Fire Trap / Kicker (aka Firedancer) following this build outline, hence the reason some of the stat and skill allocations may be a bit odd. I did actually mess up the stat points a bit, but that is what 1.13 re-specs are for. For a pure PvM build, I would probably have put enough points in DT to get to at least four kicks, and then pumped venom last. I was planning to level her up to about 92 without re-specs, but I don't relish doing this with her, especially at /players8. I could probably run the Mausoleum with her, but I find the distribution of boss packs there too thin. So, if I decide to use her for PvP, I will probably end up re-speccing her to a Lightning Trapper, running Baal and re-speccing her back.

Enigma wasn't really necessary, I was mainly as I was considering her for PvP, I didn't teleport that much PvM. The skills, strength boost and FRW are always nice though. Chains of Honour or Treachery would have worked equally well.

If you want to see some more, you will have to join PvP Week 7 :)


What Next?
I'm currently levelling up my trapper ready for PvP Week. I'm also running the council with a WW barb, until he gets to about level 92. Then I think it is time to start a final sept.
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by NagisaFurukawa on Nov 9, 2008:

Matriarch Vita, TS/DS/CS/PS (Nanoha 2/12)

Nanoha Trivia

Answering a question from the previous thread, this project is based upon a very popular series of anime and manga known as Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha [A's/Strikers]. As the title suggests, the story revolves around a magical girl named Nanoha, and each series focuses in on a different "incident" in the history of time and space.

Introduction
Introducing Matriarch Vita. Vita is a temperamental young girl with a complex for anything that has to do with her superior and "master" (two different people). Formerly a dimensional criminal, Vita is currently repaying her debts to society as a member of Riot Force 6, an upstart subunit of the TSA (Time-Space Administration).

Name: Vita
Origin: Uminari City, Non-Administrated Planet #97
TSA: Second Lieutenant, Special Investigation Agent Assistant, 1321st Air Squadron
Riot 6: Vice-Captain, Stars 2, Front Attacker
Device: Graf Eisen (Armed Device)
Magic Style: Ancient Belka, Air Combat AAA+ Rank

Vita is the Vice-Captain of Riot 6's Stars Squad, and she acts as Section 6's secondary combat instructor. Graf Eisen, her weapon, is a hammer... where by hammer, I mean maul... and where by maul, I mean breaking the darn laws of physics. A big nasty maul that grows on you (Steeldriver), coupled with three different levels of pain inflicting ability (Tiger Strike). Yum. Anyway, Vita's role in combat is essentially to wreak havoc within enemy territory in order to set up, if necessary, more powerful ranged attacks (Death Sentry). Defending and sustaining (Cobra Strike) are two of her biggest priorities. With a little help from her hammer, Vita is also capable of ranged attacks. She launches red magically enhanced physical iron orbs at her enemies. These attacks are not homing, and thus are easily avoided by all but the silliest and/or most preoccupied of enemies (Phoenix Strike: Meteor).

Vitals
LCS

Tiger Strike: 2286-12504 Physical
Cobra Strike: 260% Dual Leech
Phoenix Strike: 1248-1428 Meteor, 1117-1169 Residual Fire
Death Sentry: 1-73 Lightning, 4 Yard Radius

Tiger Strike: 20 (22)
Cobra Strike: 17 (19)
Phoenix Strike: 20 (22)
Burst of Speed: 5 (7)
Death Sentry: 1 (3)

Fists of Fire 20 (20)
Prerequisites: 1 (3)

Equipment
Weapon 1: Vita's Steeldriver (Thunder Maul)
Weapon 2: Demon Limb
Shield 2: The Ward
Helm: Vita's Storm Horn (Tiara)
Armor: 'Ort' Duriel's Shell
Gloves: Magnus' Skin
Belt: Ghoul Harness (Mesh Belt)
Boots: Ghoul Stalker (Heavy Boots)
Amulet: Angelic Wings
Ring 1: Angelic Halo
Ring 2: Angelic Halo

Charms/Notables:
Code:
2: Fine Small Charm of Strength
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 21
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xa80a4710
+1 to Strength
+17 to Attack Rating
+2 to Maximum Damage

3: Fine Small Charm of the Icicle
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 21
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 61
Fingerprint: 0xf05c1dae
+16 to Attack Rating
+3 to Maximum Damage
Adds 2-4 cold damage over 1 seconds

4: Emerald Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 77
Fingerprint: 0xcc36fa61
Poison Resist +11%

5: Small Charm of Balance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0x7d3e42cc
5% Faster Hit Recovery

6: Shimmering Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 61
Fingerprint: 0x1c55ab55
All Resistances +13

8: Sharp Grand Charm of Life
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 21
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 55
Fingerprint: 0x32c1ed3e
+6 to Life
+58 to Attack Rating
+10 to Maximum Damage

10: Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 62
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x8e20d907
155% Extra Gold from Monsters
38% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Reduces All Vendor Prices 11%

15: Vita's Storm Horn
Tiara
Defense: 47
Durability: 24 of 25
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x767db75
+1 to Strength
+31 to Life
+118 to Attack Rating
Damage Reduced by 6
Fire Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +37%
Cold Resist +15%
Poison Resist +15%
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
Level 4 Frost Nova (30/30 Charges)
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Ambergris Jewel of Virility
Required Level: 14
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x23d53288
+1 to Strength
Lightning Resist +22%

20: Ghoul Harness
Mesh Belt
Defense: 37
Durability: 15 of 16
Required Strength: 58
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0x91183c6f
+19 to Life
Lightning Resist +28%
Cold Resist +13%
2% Life stolen per hit
24% Faster Hit Recovery
7% Chance of Open Wounds

21: Ghoul Stalker
Heavy Boots
Defense: 10
Durability: 14 of 14
Kick Damage: 4 to 10
Required Strength: 18
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x7477011
+17 to Mana
+46% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +40%
30% Faster Run/Walk
Poison Length Reduced by 25%

26: Shimmering Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 47
Fingerprint: 0x57d768bc
All Resistances +13

47: Vita's Steeldriver
Thunder Maul
Two-Hand Damage: 127 to 694
Durability: 58 of 60
Required Strength: 127
Required Level: 77
Mace Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xb6cb83d7
+286% Enhanced Damage
Heal Stamina Plus 25%
Requirements -50%
Required Level +12
40% Increased Attack Speed
150% Damage to Undead
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Ruby Jewel
Required Level: 58
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0xf6c47b5e
+37% Enhanced Damage

Mercenary
Level: 79
Class: Desert Mercenary, Blessed Aim

Weapon: The Reaper's Toll
Helm: Crown of Thieves
Armor: Duriel's Shell

Comments/Thoughts
1) TS/DS/CS/PS. A joy to play, but a pain to say. I left Death Sentry at only 1 point to prevent it from being too overly powerful. Pretty successful, as it wasn't always particularly useful.

2) Not having CoS and/or MB occasionally made things a little dicey. Decrepify from the mercenary definitely helped, but Cobra Strike was really her saving grace. Coupled with Tiger Strike, a full bulb was only a few seconds away. The Frost Nova charges from Vita's helm shouldn't be overlooked either. They provided decent crowd control, and actually cost very little to repair.

3) About a 50/50 split between the usage of TS and PS. TS shined smaller packs of fatter enemies, while PS did well against larger packs of smaller foes. Problem monsters? Lots. This character began to feel underwhelming in Act 4 Hell, and the trip through the Chaos Sanctuary was mindblowingly annoying. As far as immunes go, FIs weren't too bad. PIs sometimes got the mercenary in trouble, but were relatively easy to kill. Ghosts and Locusts both love to clump. You know what likes clumps? Big rocks from the sky.

4) Speaking of clumps, Phoenix Strike's Meteor's stacking residual fire damage was amazing. It obviously helped against bosses, but it was also useful against extremely hard hitting bosspacks. A healthy mix of hitting and running in circles, while creating a carpet of fire, was both fun and effective. Also, whenever there happened to be a doorway or staircase, Vita could easily create a large carpet of fire, while being attacked by only a single target. Enemies would literally walk to their graves.

5) Plenty of NDEs, as Cobra Strike made for some epic races against time. Vita managed to die a few times to Iron Maiden. Go figure. In Normal and NM, she was able to get away with using her fists to PS things to death. In Hell, however, things hit a little too hard. Another one of her deaths came during a /players 8 solo NM Baal run, in which she managed to get surrounded by an Extra Fast pack of Lister's minions. Yeah. Let's not talk about that one.

The Future
1) Retirement!

2) 2 down, 10 to go. Not sure what's next.

Special Thanks
1) Cygnus for the Steeldriver/Ruby Jewel.
2) BobTheWarrior for the Storm Horn Tiara.
3) bassen for The Reaper's Toll.
4) Readers, as always.
 
Originally posted by NagisaFurukawa on Apr 30, 2009:

Matriarch Rena, Fishysin

Introduction

At first glance, Ryuugu Rena would appear to be your average primary school student. A seemingly dopey girl who quite literally takes things home should she find them "cute", Rena is little more than your typical bloodthirsty, delusional, ticking time bomb of a highly perceptive, axe-swinging Hinamizawan villager. [Higurashi no Naku Koro ni].

While you give that another read or two, I'd like to take the time to thank RibGriller and maxicek for their generous donation of Rena's weapon of choice, an ethereal 'Death' Champion Axe. Hopefully this character is to your liking, despite it being pretty simple. :).

Rena is the typical Fishysin, in the sense that she used Tiger Strike and Death Sentry to dispose of her enemies. I'm not much for posting about cookie cutters, but I was forced to do it! *hides* To help a little, she went for a high level Blade Shield and Mind Blast instead of synergized traps. :p.

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

Stats and Skills
LCS

Big numbers.

Strength: 90 (130)
Dexterity: 20 (48)
Vitality: 365 (385)
Energy: 25 (35)

FHR: 30%
FCR: 0%
FBR: Block?

Tiger Strike: 20
Death Sentry: 20
Blade Shield: 20
Mind Blast: 13
Burst of Speed: 5
Dragon Flight: 1

Prerequisites: 1

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

Equipment
Weapon: What else?
Switch: Demon Limb / The Ward
Helm: Guillaume's Face (Jewel of Fervor)
Armor: 'Lionheart' Mage Plate
Gloves: Death's Hand
Belt: Death's Guard
Boots: Gore Rider
Amulet: Angelic Halo
Ring: Angelic Wing
Ring: Angelic Wing

Charms: 112 Resist All

Death
RibGriller's Champion Axe
'HelElVexOrtGul'
Two-Hand Damage: 406 to 651
Required Dexterity: 37
Required Strength: 124
Required Level: 61
Axe Class - Fast Attack Speed
Indestructible
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xce9534fc
+362% Enhanced Damage
+50 to Attack Rating
Adds 1-50 lightning damage
7% Mana stolen per hit
+1 to Light Radius
Requirements -20%
20% Bonus to Attack Rating
50% Chance of Crushing Blow
Indestructible
25% Chance to cast Level 18 Glacial Spike on attack
100% Chance to cast Level 44 Chain Lightning When You Die
Level 22 Blood Golem (15/15 Charges)
40% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (5: 5 used)


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

Mercenary
Weapon: The Reaper's Toll (ethereal)
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest (Tal)
Armor: Guardian Angel (Ral)

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

Comments
Rena's strategy, for the most part, was to Dragon Flight into packs of enemies and hope for the best. While not the safest of tactics, it was certainly quite interesting. As far as her defenses go, she had Mind Blast, Blade Shield proc'ing Glacial Spike, and her mercenary casting Decrepify. Perfect? No, but enough for her purposes. For the nastier packs, she opened with Cloak of Shadows instead of Dragon Flight. Lastly, for huge groups which included Oblivion Knights, she occasionally resorted to using Blade Fury.

Acts 1-3: Upon entering Hell at a young level of 71, Rena proved to be a reasonably effective killer, even on /players 8. While her Death Sentry's CE took a bit of a hit on higher settings, she was more than capable of dealing enough damage with her Tiger Strike alone. To avoid any degree of tedium, however, she settled for /players 3. Between Mind Blast and the occasional Cloak of Shadows, nothing was really a problem. The only mildly annoying monsters were Skeleton Archers, given that certain packs were capable of quickly killing her mercenary.

Act 4: MP.

Act 5: By the time she reached Eldritch, she permanently settled on /players 1. It may have been the spawn of Quill Rats and Skeleton Archers, but she was beginning to want her revenge. Once the settings were dropped, she was met with virtually zero resistance.

Tiger Strike/Death Sentry: A proven winner. With her 100% CB and 70% DS, Rena could dispose of virtually any non-immune enemy, including /players 1 Hell Ancients, in no more than two complete Tiger Strike cycles. It was almost unfair. Once a single corpse was dropped, the rest would eventually follow suit, courtesy of Death Sentry.

Blade Shield: Great skill which hits everything within a small radius every second or so, dealing a decent chunk of damage, and proc'ing Chance to Cast on Attack. The resulting Glacial Spikes were a little unreliable, and their freeze was short lived, but they were still quite nice to have, and they went off enough to keep Rena out of trouble. Did I mention that Blade Shield looks awesome? The only real problem was that the freeze would more often than not cause corpses to shatter.

Dragon Flight: With no FCR, the cast was quite slow. On the other hand, it was nice to have a half second or so warning period before getting thrown into who knows what. :D. The damage was not stellar, due to a minimal investment and exceptional boots, but the provided mobility was most definitely nice, though probably saved her as much as it killed her due to personal failure at targetting.

This is my third or fourth Fishysin, and my impression of the build has not really changed. A customizable 40 point build capable of dealing extreme amounts of damage on lower players settings. The one using synergized traps was noticeably faster, possibly because she was essentially a trapper with one fewer synergy. ;).

NDEs/Deaths: Quite a few NDEs courtesy of her style of play / my laziness. Not too much in terms of deaths, though she was force fed a couple just to keep up her theme. *hides*

Finds: A few exceptional and elite uniques, but essentially all useless, except for a Demon Limb. A Ko and Lem dropped in Nightmare, and a Pul was taken from the NM hellforge. Another Io from Hell, however, making it four out of the last five. *shrug* Her best find, quite possibly, was an Enchantress's ear (or four). :p.

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

Looking Forward
Rena will be parked, possibly eventually remade in some way or another. Next character could be just about anything. Kodiak, Enchantress, Lord of Mages, ordinary Strafer, boring Hammerdin, Nova sorceress, something else? *shrug*

My list of 'Death' based builds begins and ends with this one, but I'm still trying to think of another character who can make use of this weapon in some unorthodox manner other than synergizing Glacial Spike. Must do it justice!

Special Thanks
RibGriller and maxicek, again, for the 'Death' Champion Axe.
Various people for trading me those resistance charms.
Aconite for the gloves which allegedly would only be used to twink. *whistle*
 
Originally posted by Oakbrain on Apr 14, 2019:

Matriarch Kseniya - untwinked Kicker/Trapper Assassin

Greetings all, I assasinated Hell Baal last night with this Kicker/Trapper and I thought I'd post the build. Some would call her a hybrid Assassin, some a Kicker/Trapper, some a Kicksin/Trapsin, and some might call her a Lightdancer. I use RWM and this was SC untwinked single-pass /p1 all the way through because that's just how I like to play, so do bear that in mind when you look at my gear and skill choices.

Stats:
Level 83 Assassin

Strength : 135 (94)
Energy : 50 (25)
Dexterity : 196
Vitality : 225 (195)
Life : 987
Mana : 191
Stamina : 453

Fire Res : 75
Cold Res : 75
Lightning Res : 85
Poison Res : 75


Skills:
Dragon Talon 20
Death Sentry 20
Lightning Sentry 20 (never used, only maxed for synergy)
Cloak of Shadows 1 (used all the time, a one point wonder)
Burst of Speed 6
Shadow Master 20


Gear:
Weapon 1 : 'Strength' Scimitar
Weapon 2 : Blade of Life Tap (82 charges)
Shield : Rare Tower Shield with 20% extra block, 13% res all, 30 Cold Res
Armour : 'Smoke' Diamond Mail
Helm : Undead Crown
Gloves : Rare Light Gauntlets with 20% IAS, MF and resists
Boots : Rare Boneweave Boots with 30% speed and resists
Belt : Thundergod's Vigor
Rings 1&2 : Assorted resists and Mana/Life steal
Amulet : Chromatic Amulet of the Wraith (24% resist all, 6% Mana steal)

I had an inventory full of resistance charms and a couple of +Life charms, nothing special though. I also kept a Greater Claws of Amplify Damage in my Cube to swap in when I ran into PI+LI unique monsters. My overall Life/Mana leech was 16% and 10% respectively.

Merc:
Might Desert Mercenary

Weapon : Hone Sundan (socketed with 2x Amn and a lightning facet)
Helm : Coral Crown (+26 Lres)
Armour : Rare Scarab Husk with resists and Frost Nova

In retrospect I socketed the Hone Sundan poorly since I used Life Tap so often. I never found a Hel rune to remedy this but it wasn't a big deal.


GAMEPLAY
My standard tactics were to scout ahead and then drop Cloak of Shadows on any large groups. I'd lay five DS traps and then kick a monster to death, starting a cascade of exploding corpses, monsters dying from explosions and kicks, more exploding corpses, and so on and so on. I'd drop CoS again whenever things were still dicey. I had Life Tap charges on weapon swap for emergencies, I used it pretty often in Hell since it kept the merc alive and was cheaper than reviving him. Between CoS, life leech, two tanks and 75% block this Assassin was pretty survivable and I only died a handful of times, always through stupidity.

Progression through all difficulties was pretty smooth. In the early game I used Blood Crescent (dropped in Normal Act II) which gave me lots of Open Wounds procs with DT. I swapped it for the Strength Scimitar in the middle of Nightmare. I had a pretty comfortable time from then on for a while, but Hell Act IV was rough until I gambled some rare rings for maxed res. The hardest parts overall were probably the Hell Icy Cellar full of Gloams, the Halls of Vaught full of Tomb Vipers, and the hordes of Mage knights througout Act IV. The Hell Ancients were actually extremely easy for once, I was able to split them up, Life Tap 'em and then just grind them down. In general I didn't run into any truly nasty monster combinations in Hell Act V, even the Gloams were only supported by Specters and Succubi and I barely found any Frenzytaurs in the entire Act.

I actually respecced this character in Act I Hell. Before then I'd been using maxed Venom with a weaker DS and SM, but Venom didn't seem all that effective with DT. I rebuilt with maxed Death Sentry and Shadow Master. Speaking of Shadow Master, I gather it's not a popular skill with many but I found an extra tank very useful. I could deal with the sometimes annoying Mind Blast conversions, and because I didn't have any +skill gear my traps weren't all that powerful anyway so having them replaced by her weaker traps wasn't a big deal for me.

On untwinked: this is a character that minimizes many of the weakness of untwinked play IMHO. DS traps do set damage and only the radius changes with higher skill levels so I could get by without any +skill items. Kicking with DT mainly relies on the boots you wear, and you're bound to find or shop some useable Elite boots somewhere (my final pair were a Charsi Imbue from some regular white Boneweave Boots I found on the floor). The only other thing you'd want for sure is Crushing Blow and you can get that with a cheap runeword like I did. CoS splits up monster packs nicely for safe play. Overall it seems to me that for untwinked melee (or melee hybrids) you'll do fine if you have CB, some way to stun or distract packs, at least two damage types and enough resists in Hell that you don't get one-shotted. If you fancy an untwinked character then I recommend this one, I did fine with it and I'm a bonehead with garbage gear.

Notable finds: I found both Bartuc's Cut Throat and the Jade Talon, both really nice claws that are useless to this kicksin. :p Hell Hellforge spat out an Ist.

Finally, I literally just two hours ago found my first Zod EVER in Hell Cows! :D I think my "Holy %*$£!" woke my neighbours up.
 
Originally posted by RevenantsKnight on Jul 5, 2007:

Introducing Matriarch Mirenne: Grab-Bag Assassin

Just managed to beat Baal on Hell difficulty with my first character since coming back, an Assassin of my own design (which means spectacularly inefficiently built. 😁) She did all sorts of weird stuff: went claw and shield, ran up Phoenix Strike, had no intention of using Treachery, had no CB until some time in Hell, and, well, yeah... After looking it over, I'm a little surprised that she made it all the way, but hey, she did.

And so, I give you...

Matriarch Mirenne

Level 82

Strength : 150/161
Dexterity : 180/205
Vitality : 150/150
Energy : 25/35

Life : 853
Mana : 211

Damage (no charges): 1005-1387 with Venom running
Phoenix Strike AR: 5846

Resistances in Hell, minus Anya quests:
Fire: 50 (plus 15 absorb)
Cold: 75 (total 103)
Lightning: 75 (total 199)
Poison: 75 (on the money!)

Skills:

20 Claw Mastery
20 Shadow Master
17 Phoenix Strike
11 Venom
5 Burst of Speed
5 Death Sentry
1 Cloak of Shadows
1 Mind Blast
(plus prerequisites)

Equipment:

Weapon: Rare Suwayyah with 297% ED and extra damage/AR vs. demons
Shield: Rhyme in a Grim Shield
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest, socketed with a Perfect Topaz
Armor: Smoke in a Mage Plate
Gloves: Blood gloves with 10% CB and 20% IAS
Belt: Credendum
Boots: Rare Greaves with 62% total resistances over cold and poison, plus 25% MF
Amulet: Rare amulet with resist all, life and minimum damage
Left Ring: Rare ring with life leech, +dexterity, high AR, cold resistance
Right Ring: Dwarf Star
And a whole mess of resistance and damage/AR charms
(can provide ATMA readouts if anyone really cares)

On Paige, my Rogue follower:

Helm: Blackhorn's Face
Armor: Ethereal Crow Caw
Bow: Cruel Ward Bow of Ease, 266% ED

Combat tactics were pretty straightforward: buff up with Burst of Speed and Venom, run in and charge up Phoenix Strike to freeze everything, and keep doing that until everything died. Cold Immunes and bosses usually got Meteored instead. I'd usually move around a little to let the Shadow Master tank, and Paige just hung behind sniping stuff. I tacked on Death Sentry and Mind Blast later for crowd control, and Cloak of Shadows was a lifesaver in Hell. Between the high resists and the shield, though, she never got hit so hard that she couldn't back up, down a potion, and run back in on the side of the pack or something. (In fact, the only thing that ever got her was a well-timed Iron Maiden or FE blast, so her survivability was pretty good.)

Normal and Nightmare were quite easy, even with much weaker claws than what she ended with. Mirenne got a lot of mileage out of NM Mephisto runs in particular. So, after sacking NM Baal around level 71, I figured Hell couldn't be that bad...

Well, it was. After taking about 10 minutes to knock down Blood Raven (though without dying,) I went back to Nightmare, loaded up on a few more levels, and started claw-shopping. Eventually, I managed to get some better weapons, and then work up slowly through Hell. I wasn't sure if I was going to try and run her all the way or just stop her at Lower Kurast and call that good, but after one long haul through the Durance of Hate and bagging Mephisto, I figured the least I could do was go for the forge...

Well, both Izual and Hephasto dropped pretty easily (that is, they took time but never really threatened a death,) and after scooping up the Mal from the forge, I thought, well, since I'm here...

The Chaos Sanctuary's Oblivion Knights, as it turned out, were much worse than Diablo. After grinding through all those morons, beating down the Lord of Terror was kind of easy. I let that sit for a while, then later went and bagged Shenk for the socket quest. After that, it sort of kept rolling slowly along, first with the barbarians in the Frigid Highlands, then Anya, decided to give the Ancients a try (who, incidentally, also didn't get Mirenne)...

And the rest, as they say, is history. 😃 Thanks for reading!
 
Originally posted by RobbyD on Dec 19, 2010:

Matriarch Osterizer - Phoenix Strike/Blender Assassin in 1.09

I would like to present Matriarch Osterizer, my first Assassin Matriarch and seventh completed character. Osterizer represents the completion of my 1.09 Septumvariate. Osterizer was build to be a Phoenix Strike / Blender (Hit Freezes Target and Crushing Blow delivered via Blade Shield) Assassin, but the Blender side of that identity turned out not to be incredibly useful for Hell character development - the character must have a level advantage for a Blender to shine.

The selection of a Phoenix Strike Assassin was in line with the majority of builds I dug up researching this character, as it appears that the vast majority of 1.09 Assassins were PS Sins with investment in Burst of Speed and Claw Mastery. The selection of a Blender was in light of how awesome I heard the Blade Shield skill was with HFT and CB, especially from Eric Xanthu.

So, with out further ado, I present Osterizer's Stats, Skills, and gear:

LCS - Matriarch Osterizer - Assassin
Level 83
Stats:
Strength: 105/206
Dexterity: 169/213
Vitality: 211/231
Energy: 25/25
Resists: 75/75/80/75

Skills

Martial Arts:
Tiger Strike: 4/11
Claws of Thunder: 8/15 (latest skill being pumped)
Phoenix Strike: 20/27

Shadow Disciplines:
Claw Mastery: 20/29
Cloak of Shadows, Burst of Speed, Fade: 1/10
Shadow Master: 9/18/(22 with full casting switch)

Traps:
Blade Shield: 20/6

Final Gear:

Helm: Guillaume's Face (Shimmering +14 Jewel)
Ammy: Rare "Order Torc": +2 Shadow Skills, 46/19/19/19, 6% Mana leech, +10 Str, +9 Min Dmg
Armor: Naj's Light Plate (replaced Iceblink somtime in Hell Act III)
Belt: Thundergod’s Vigor (standard equipement for 1.09 melee characters)
Rings: Ravenfrost/Rare "Skull Grasp": 18/0/29/7, 4% life leech
Gloves: Rare "Death Hand": 20% IAS, +2 MA Skills, 0/0/0/13, +4 Str, etc.
Boots: Goblin Toe
Weapon/Shield 1: Bartuc's Cut-Throat/Stormshield (pDiamond)
Weapon/Weapon 2: 2x Bartuc's

Charms: 4x Mentalist's GC, 2x Entrapping GC, 1x Shogukusha's GC (the last replaced a Shimmering GC after the Anya reward), 2x Pestilent Large Charms, various resist/inertia charms.

Merc End-Game gear:
Act 2 Holy Freeze Merc "Gulzar"
Helm: Blackhorn's Face
Armor: “Smoke” eth Dusk Shroud (taken from ClimateChange's Merc after he put on his Gladiator's Bane)
Weapon: Hone Sundan (AmnAmnShael) – standard issue for all my A2 mercs

Progression/General Play:
Kicks have no boot base damage, and I didn't go dual claws for questing, so a normal attack was the chosen method to release charges.

Normal and NM were done on P8.

Because I had read about the Chance to Hit bug alonge with the Claw Mastery bug with 1.09 Assassins, I decided to go pure claws from the get go. That of course meant no uniques until level 42, but I did have a real nice rare that she used for a while:

Code:
Soul Fist
Blade Talons
One-Hand Damage: 30 to 44
Durability: 59 of 69
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 50
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 22
Claw Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: Expansion
Item Level: 77
Fingerprint: 0xef392481
+122% Enhanced Damage
+70 to Attack Rating
+6 to Minimum Damage
+11 to Maximum Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
+1 to Assassin Skill Levels

Because I was focusing on a Blender Build, and I really wanted to use claws, 'Strength' claws were used for the vast majority of the game (all of NM and most of Hell was done with a 'Strength' claw as the major questing weapon, with dual Bartuc's on switch for SM and BS casting.

I noticed that, unlike most exceptional items, exceptional claws aren't all set at level 25 as a requirement - the level requirement scales with each claw. So, I ended up making 'Strength' in the following bases:

Wrist Spike
Greater Talons
Runic Talons
Scissors Suwayyah (this was mostly done for style, but it turned out to be nice to have a spare claw in the cube as the durability got low)

All of the claws are plain, no staffmod claws, and that turned out be a blessing since claws wear out SO FAST with a MA/Blender Sin. I mean, these claws have durabilities in the high 60s, and she had to switch them out after 10 minutes of questing. Apparently, the BS impacts weapon durability.

With the stacked 85% CB, she could wear down any non-PI boss pretty quick. However, I was surprised how weak the elemental charges of PS were (I was used to the Sorc Meteor and Orb), so I dropped the player setting to P3 in Hell Act 1 (around the Jails, I think) to keep her going.

In mid Hell Act 5 (Crystalline Passage), she got mauled by an Evil Urn Frenzytaur pack, so I finally gave in and retired the 'Strength' claws and equipped her with a proper Bartuc's. That did the trick, and with the Shog skiller that replaced the shimmering GC after the Anya reward, PS was doing decidedly better damage (and learning to release the chain lightning charge helped a lot too).

She was a pretty fragile character, but the Shadow Master helped a lot. I consider the SM the best summon by far in 1.09. The crowd control skills along with the tanking ability really helped out. I just wish the PS bug where your character tries to attack the merc and SM if you have it on RMB didn't exist, but that's part of playing a 1.09 Sin.

The Blender side of the build was very nice so long as I was able to keep her overleveled, but that's just not doable in Hell, so she ended up not really relying on that, though I did keep the stacked CB.

Deaths: One in Normal when she got overwhelmed by the Council in Travincal (I had pumped str over vit for her gear, which left her extra fragile), and a couple in Hell (1 against Lord de Seis, 1 against a Frenzytaur pack).

I found that even with claws, she appeared to miss a lot more than she should have (especially in Hell). Her AR was higher than any other character, but she really had trouble connecting sometimes, especially with the normal attack to release the charges.

She did take out Hell Ancients first try (took a couple fat purples), and Baal's minions get frozen by the PS 3rd Charge, so that leg of the journey was not too bad. All Act bosses go down to the stacked CB really fast (and CB scales with player settings in 1.09).

I did try her with Hell cows on P3, and she managed to clear them out, but that required a few merc revives and MS recasts. Normal and NM cows were cake with the working Blender level advantage.

She did take out NM Nilly, but I didn't try Hell Nilly.

Plans:

She's effective enough to do some questing, but she doesn't have any MF in her gear, so I doubt I do any MFing with her. She might run Countess for Vex since she has a good map.

Finds:

Not a whole lot, and certainly no grailers.

My Plans:

My 1.09 septumvariate is done. I think I'll work getting my Barb to level 99 and run some Countess for a while (gieb Vex, Countess!). I haven't decided whether to do any more characters in 1.09 or to go ahead and trasition to 1.10a/s for runewords. I don't want to take my Sorc out of 1.09 until I make a decision.
 
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Originally posted by shleefin on Jan 20, 2006:

Matriarch Sung Lee - martial arts assassin

this was a very fun character to play and since she's a not often played class/build, i thought she deserved a thread :)

LCS:
screenshot1632bx.jpg


the LCS is misleading as it doesnt include venom, which adds quite a bit of damage.

not sure where i want the extra stat points. at one point i was debating using steelrends, but now im not sure.

her gear:
full nats set (claw socketed with shael, helm with 15 ias jewel)
bartuc's (is it worth upgrading?)
string of ears (8/15)
highlords
ravenfrost
laying of hands

Death Gyre
Ring
Required Level: 65
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 93
Fingerprint: 0x5ba4475
+14 to Energy
+62 to Attack Rating
+5 to Minimum Damage
Lightning Resist +14%
Cold Resist +12%
8% Life stolen per hit

build:

20 dragon claw
20 claw mastery
20 venom
rest in BoS and shadow master

merc gear:
shaft
reapers
guillames

her main attack was DC, no chargeups were used. with lvl 15 BoS it takes 105 ias to reach the last breakpoint according to a guide on the assassin forums. she had 115. this build actually works great, although its not high damaging. she had very few problems. mind blast is just an awesome crowd control skill and she attacks so quickly with 39% leech that she's very durable. IM was a rare problem because mind blast was so effective against OKs. ancients were no trouble at all, didnt even have to reroll. lister was annoying. i would get a minion down to 25% life but then i was knocked back and a new one would take his place. they couldn't kill me either though so the battle ended up being long and frustrating. did i mention he was stoneskin? baal killed my merc in one hit :shocked: but, as usual, wasnt difficult.

NM hellforge was crap
hell dropped a lem

her only notable drop was another 8/15 string of ears...my 3rd :)

one final thought: MA assassins are waay underrated. my zealot has a harder time in WSK than this char..
 
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Originally posted by sirpoopsalot on Feb 28, 2006:

Matriarch WhoopsieDaisy - CoT/PS 'sin

6/7 classes complete, time to bring Goober the 1.07 Overlord out of retirement!


(all stats with gear)

Matriarch WhoopsieDaisy
lvl82, 1344 life, 195 mana,
75 all resists (85 in lightning for Gloams)
Str=157, Dex=182, Vit=316, Ene=30

AR: 8300+ AR (when ITD on Nat's Mark wasn't in affect)
CoT dmg: 5-12636 (or more if more than one charged bolt hit)
500 avg. cold damage (PS)
2800 avg. Meteor damage (PS, another 2600 explosion)
650-1200/880-1200 Physical/poison damage from claws/charms

Gear: Full Nat's Set, Bartuc's, Mara's, Ravenfrost, BK ring, Verdungo's (Gloams=TGod's), +2MA, 20 IAS rare gloves. Switch was a wand with Life Tap charges/Moser's

Skills: FoF=33, CoT=33, PS=33, CM=20, SM=19,
DC, MB, Fade, prereq's = 1 (then add +13 skills for MA tree from gear/charms, +10 Shadow Disciplines)


- BoS was my primary "aura"
- Noteable finds: a Demon Limb in WSK, Ko/Hel from HF :sad2:, diddley-squat otherwise.
- I used CoT exclusively until Hell, then it was probably 50/50 with PS based on whatever immunities were around at any given time.
- CoS pwns, but it got a little dicey without it at times.
- Don't try to figure out 10 new/different keybindings when you're drunk. 👍
- If you're patient you can survive almost anything, just keep CoS active, hit 3-5 Mind Blasts, spawn and release one round of PS or CoT charges, repeat.
- Ancient's were brutal though, definitely the hardest char I've faced them with so far.

Two points:
1) I went with an A3 cold merc (eth Culwen's Point, eth Lidless Wall, Vipermagi, 20%FCR Circlet) until I killed Hell Meph, but I got tired of resurrecting him all the time. He killed non-CI's ok (on /p1), but as soon as there were more than 2 of them around him, he dropped like a turd. So in Act4 I switched to a A2 Defiance merc (I still play 1.10, so I had to pick him up in Hell since I didn't feel like leveling a merc for 25+ levels - otherwise I'd have gone with a holy freezer). He was wearing a Reaper's (Shael), Guardian Angel (IAS), Kira's (IAS) - which is awesome survival gear, IMO better than my usual Shaftstop/Tal's mask setup.

2) One handy trick that I did pick up is that Baal's festering appendages have almost no defence, so I used them often to ensure that I only had one charge for dropping a PS meteor on Baal.


Final Comments:
It sure seemed to me that this character was a lot like Canada's mens olympic hockey team this year - looks great on paper, but lacks that extra 'something' :wink2:. The ancient's were a great example of that - they only spawned FE/nasty-aura twice (i.e. immediate respawn in 1.10), but it still took me 7-8 tries to take them down. Despite CoS and my high AR, she had difficulty hitting at times too.

Because of this "sub-par" performance I never really got into her very much. I'll still definitely try a trapper someday, and I suspect I'll try a DF kicker someday too, since that looks like a fun skill.
 
Originally posted by Skinnyy on Mar 4, 2008:

Matriarch RabbitKick - Dtalon/DS/Venom/Fury Assassin

After I made the all dex frenzy barb Maxicek suggested making a blade fury / dragon talon assassin with my fleshripper, so that coupled with my want to try blade fury and a kicker for the first time inspired this build. It is quite a bit different than his in skill use/selection and especially gear selection. I also consulted the Fishysin guide and Ritslev's FurySin guide.

Character Name: RabbitKick
Character Class: Assassin
Character Level: 78

Stats:

base / with gear and charms
Strength: 136 / 186
Dexterity: 162 / 178 (max block)
Vitality: 172 / 172
Energy: 25 / 25

Life: 923 / 1404 with BO
Mana: 180 / 292 with BO

Resists (Hell):
Fire: 46
Cold: 75 (also 20% absorb from Ravenfrost)
Lit: 80
Pos: 75

Defense: 2398 / 5155 with chilling armor

DTalon Damage (from LCS):
965-1607

Dtalon AR (LCS):
10,288

Blade Fury Damage (from LCS):
737 - 1582


Skills:
Hard / Gear

20 / 30 Dragon Talon
20 / 25 Venom
20 / 22 Death Sentry
1 / 3 Blade Fury (1 pt wonder, more points add very little damage)
14 / 19 Fade (was shooting for lvl 15, forgot would be casting with CTA+spirit, so 4 wasted points)
1 / 3 Cloak of Shadows
3 / 5 Fire blast (3 pts gets an extra shot for death sentry, max next ?)
0 / 10 Battle Orders

1 burst of speed, claw mastery, psychic hammer, blade sentinel, wake of fire, shock web, charged bolt sentry, lightning sentry.

0 shadow master, shadow warrior, mind blast. I have pretty much given up on summonables that are not 1 pt wonders. A good merc and a little skill can easily replace them, and saves skill points. When you have CoS, who needs mindblast?

2 unspent

Gear:

Fleshripper (shael)
Guillames Face (jewel of fervor)
Stormshield (jewel of fervor)
Fortitude Dusk Shroud
Upped Gore Riders
Atmas Scarab
Nosferatu's Coil
Raven Frost
BK wedding band
Rare gloves: 2 martial arts/20%IAS/3%ML

on swap:
CtA crystal sword
spirit shield

Gear was chosen to maximize crushing blow (i ended up with 75%), reach 50%DR, and reach the fastest kicking speed (7 frame initial kick, with 3 frame follow up kicks). With charms I ended up with a level 30 Dragon Talon (6 kicks).

Charms:
7 Martial Arts skillers (no I am not overly rich, I just find a lot of these)
SCs with lit and fire resists.

Merc:
None, I breifly used a holy freeze one while doing nightmare Baal runs for experience to help with listers pack, but once he died upon entering hell I left him dead and never looked back. Who needs a merc when you have CoS? If I were going to run Hell Baal I would probably resurrect him, otherwise I guess a might one would add some damage.

Gear readouts:
Code:
Atma's Scarab
Amulet
Required Level: 60
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 91
Fingerprint: 0x9a7a59c1
Poison Resist +75%
+39 poison damage over 4 seconds
Attacker Takes Damage of 5
+3 to Light Radius
20% Bonus to Attack Rating
5% Chance to cast Level 2 Amplify Damage on striking

Beast Finger
Heavy Bracers
Defense: 56
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Strength: 58
Required Level: 35
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0x3f8de06b
+25% Enhanced Defense
3% Mana stolen per hit
20% Increased Attack Speed
Poison Length Reduced by 25%
+2 to Martial Art Skills (Assassin Only)

Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Ring
Required Level: 58
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xacb88fb9
+50 to Maximum Stamina
5% Life stolen per hit
+1 to All Skill Levels
+0 to Life (Based on Character Level)

Fleshripper
Fanged Knife
'Shael'
One-Hand Damage: 56 to 215
Durability: 36 of 36
Required Dexterity: 86
Required Strength: 42
Required Level: 68
Dagger Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xae14936f
+278% Enhanced Damage
20% Increased Attack Speed
-50% Target Defense
Prevent Monster Heal
50% Chance of Open Wounds
25% Chance of Crushing Blow
33% Deadly Strike
Slows Target by 20%
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Fortitude
Dusk Shroud
'ElSolDolLo'
Defense: 1401
Durability: 18 of 20
Required Strength: 77
Required Level: 59
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x25230fbe
+200% Enhanced Defense
+300% Enhanced Damage
+15 Defense
Damage Reduced by 7
Fire Resist +26%
Lightning Resist +26%
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
Cold Resist +26%
Poison Resist +26%
Replenish Life +7
+1 to Light Radius
25% Faster Cast Rate
12% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
20% Chance to cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when struck
+1 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Socketed (4: 4 used)

Gore Rider
Myrmidon Greaves
Defense: 186
Durability: 34 of 34
Kick Damage: 83 to 149
Required Strength: 156
Required Level: 72
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x1000cda4
+20 to Maximum Stamina
+178% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
Required Level +7
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Guillaume's Face
Winged Helm
Defense: 217
Durability: 39 of 40
Required Strength: 115
Required Level: 34
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xa4f40778
+15 to Strength
+120% Enhanced Defense
+45 to Attack Rating
15% Increased Attack Speed
30% Faster Hit Recovery
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Nosferatu's Coil
Vampirefang Belt
Defense: 58
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 51
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x8c87154c
+15 to Strength
7% Life stolen per hit
-3 to Light Radius
10% Increased Attack Speed
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Slows Target by 10%

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0xad450058
+16 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+241 to Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 cold damage over 4 seconds
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Stormshield
Monarch
Defense: 144
Chance to Block:  67%
Smite Damage: 12 to 34
Required Strength: 156
Required Level: 73
Indestructible
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xd1d744ee
+30 to Strength
+25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+7 Defense
Damage Reduced by 35%
Lightning Resist +25%
Cold Resist +60%
15% Increased Attack Speed
35% Faster Block Rate
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10
Indestructible
+3 to Defense (Based on Character Level)
Socketed (1: 1 used)

By no means is fortitude neccessary for this build, Duress might have actually been better, but I used fort anyway. The more I use fort the more I appreciate the chilling armor on it. It really does a decent job in reducing the damage from ranged attackers. Too bad chilling armor is a sorc skill, cuz it would be far better on a melee character (not to say that sorcs cant be melee). CtA and spirit aren't necessary either, this is a rather safe build.

Gameplay:
The goal was to get a body to the ground as quick as possible and then use death sentry (pretty much like the FishySin, but probably faster). I found that dragon talon was better than blade fury at accomplishing that goal by always hitting the one monster you target as well as not suffering the CB ranged penalty. However, dtalon is not as safe as blade fury because you have to get right in the face of the monsters. And that is where the stormshield, level 15 fade, and max block come in. The combination makes it possible to jump into the middle of almost any pack and very quickly get a monster down (I usually tried to take out the highest hitpoint monster as death sentry's damage is depent on the corpses former life). And with CoS I ended up not using a merc or shadow.

However, I didn't even use CoS very often. The problem with CoS is that it stops the monsters where they are, which isn't always the best for getting the maximum efficiency out of death sentry. By not using CoS I could let all the monsters get piled up on me and the bodies I was creating, which combined with death sentry was devastating, to say the least 👅.

Combined with the amp damage from atmas scarab (which proced a lot thanks to the speed of hits from dtalon or bladefury) the killing speed was sick. CoS also overrides ampdamage, which is another reason I used CoS infrequently. Using atmas scarab for the ctc amp damage was nice because it allowed me to use my weapon swap for CtA and spirit rather than something else or relying on the weak lightning damage from death sentry to kill the PIs. The fishysin guide recommends maxing lightning sentry next for that reason, however it isn't needed for this build. Which frees up more skill points that I would recommend go to fireblast for more shots from death sentry.

Hell Izual went down in two series of kicks. Madawc went down in 5. Most regular monsters went down in one to two series of kicks.

In the end I only used Blade Fury for taking out OKs or the exploding dolls, even though I really liked the skill.

Deaths: A bunch during nightmare Baal runs thanks to low life/resists (I pumped strength and dex too early and needed to run BoS to get a fast attack). Just 1 in hell to a might enchanted pack of frenzytaurs that I thought I could tank until I realized they were extra fast and I was dead.

Hellforges: NM Dol, Hell Io

Finds: Ravenlore from a single pass through the pits. From a normal monster:laugh:.

Overall, this build was sickly overpowered at players1 (as all builds with corpse explosion are). It plays awesome though, a devastating single monster/boss killing skill combined with an AoE spell that deals two types of damage and an uber crowd control skill when things get real bad. And in case all that isn't enough you have a pretty good ranged backup skill.
 
Originally posted by SnickerSnack on Sep 26, 2009:

Matriarch LaviniaMannon - dtalon/dsentry/venom assassin

I've never written a mat/pat thread so let's first give a list of the characters/builds that I've finished the game with but never wrote threads for:

Matriarch Marinae - Meteorb Sorc
Matriarch Tanith - fishyzon zon
Patriarch Lebesgue - fishymancer necro.

I just wanted to mention them. They were each great fun to play and the three have been my main mfers. The meteorb has done most of that, obviously. The she's done probably 500+ meph runs and ~100 baal runs. I've also run LK ~200 times between the sorc and zon, and the RoF chests ~100 times with the sorc. I didn't really keep track of the run counts, those are just very rough estimates. And now,

Matriarch LaviniaMannon - dtalon/dsentry/venom assassin.

I have several well geared champions who could defeat Baal, but I've only actually killed Baal with those with which I wanted to run Baal for levels or mfing. I never intended to run Baal with my kicker, but after killing him once (/p3 for WSK/Throne/Baal), I see that she does it pretty quickly, without mf gear, though.

I started my kicker by reading a guide in the sin forum, but I lost track of it halfway through (edit: meaning that I couldn't find the guide for some reason), and had to improvise at that point. I knew from jrichard's kicking guide what level of dtalon I wanted and which mods to look for on items, but I had a lot of gear choices and I wasn't sure what the focus would be. I tried different combinations of +skills and +CB gear trying to strike a balance between elemental damage and physical damage.

I actually shelved the character for a while after getting her part way thorough nightmare, but after making a Heart of the Oak, I regeared her and really appreciated the +skills, res, and MANA LEECH. Mana leech on the weapon helped a lot.

Here are two basic setups that I tried:

hoto, shako, vipermagi, mara's, spirit, arach's: lots of +skills for mindblast and traps. Possible to get level 30 dtalon with one martial skiller. fcr for MB.

hoto, guillame's, lionheart, mara's, storm shield, string of ears: CB, enough +skills for level 24 dtalon. 50% damage reduction. life leech.

The first setup had two problems, (1) only 15% CB from boots, (2) no life leech, so it has to be on the gloves, which puts out Trang's Claws. The second setup also could use more life leech, but having a bit more poison is nice too. Plus some fcr for mindblast. 50% CB is nice.

I tried using Treachery briefly since the mods are pretty tasty. It worked well, too, but, iirc, the venom proc will overwrite her higher level venom skill.

She had very few deaths, and when she did die, recovery was easy due to mindblast and cloak of shadows. I don't think she ever S&E to get her body.

I played her over a long period, so I don't remember much of the early game or the drops. I don't remember what the NM hellforge was (or if I even collected it, have to check on that), and I haven't collected the Hell forge. I'll edit those in later.

So, here's the stats:

Code:
Name:       LaviniaMannon
Class:      Assassin
Experience: 904915538
Level:      83

            Naked/Gear
Strength:   141/216
Dexterity:  139/188
Vitality:   190/215
Energy:     25/40
HP:         784/872
Mana:       148/190
Stamina:    410/430
Defense:    34/1472
AR:         100000659/100001129

Fire:       143/103/43
Cold:       233/193/133
Lightning:  179/139/79
Poison:     143/103/43

MF:         11       Block:      75
GF:         26
FR/W:       30
FHR:        30
IAS:        0
FCR:        60

Skills (naked/melee/buff):

Code:
Fire Blast: 3/8
Charged Bolt Sentry: 1/6
Lightning Sentry: 12/17 <--- future points
Death Sentry: 20/25

Burst of Speed: 1/8/11
Cloak of Shadows: 1/8/11
Fade: 1/8/11
Mind Blast: 1/8/11
Venom: 20/27/30
Shadow Master: 8/15/20

Dragon Talon: 18/24
Dragon Flight: 1/7

Here's the gear she was wearing when Baal went down:

Code:
HotO (37%)
Guillame's
Lionheart Wirefleece
Stormy
String of Ears
Trang's Gloves
Upgraded Gore Rider
Wisp Projector
Raven Frost

Switch: +3 shadow claw, +3 shadow +2 shadow master claw

Charms: +2 shadow skills, +1 martial skills, +38 life, +11 light res,
 some cold damage, goldfind.

The inventory was less than half full, so I could have gotten more life or fire res, but I don't bother with it.

Might Merc:

Code:
Reaper's
Vamp Gaze
eth Duress

He uses Andariel's Visage now.

Finds: Umm, I could search through old Item Find Threads, but I don't care that much. Baal dropped her a Dark Adherent. So, I'm guessing that she didn't find much over all. As I said, I'll edit in the hell forge later. Edit: hell forge was lum. :bored:

Comments on the build: it was a lot of fun. One of the best characters I've played. I like being able to jump into melee and then jump out to lay death sentries and spam mindblast. If I start taking damage and need to jump out and let a health pot do it's magic, I'm not standing there useless while my minions do all the work. Nothing is totally immune = very nice.

One point in Dragon Flight was very useful. For one, it allowed me to escape being surrounded pretty well, and combined with mindblast, it was just great for shutting down ranged attackers.

I think I may remake a similar sin and find a way to incorporate Treachery. A lot of skills points could be saved from venom, but then it would just be a kick/trapper.

Future plans for her: I might try out my new eth 1.07 Death Colossus Blade. 100% CB with a glacial spike proc might be quite effective; and it has mana leech on it! I might run the pits or Baal with her. I'll have to see how well she runs with mf gear.

Actually, I paused writing this to put the sword on her and I am sold. My next character will be a dragon talon / blade fury sin hefting a big green eth 2-handed sword. It looks awesome, and every kick round sent out a GS. And 100% CB is just sweet.

Thanks to:

you for reading
jrichard for his kicking guide
silent shaddow for his guide (I think that's the one I started with)
onderduiker for his updated poison damage guide
Lebesgue (my necro) for the gul rune which completed the HotO
 
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Originally posted by SnickerSnack on Jan 16, 2010:

Matriarch Amalie

Long read looming...

Intro:

wikipedia said:
Amalie Emmy Noether, German pronunciation: [nø:tɐ], (23 March 1882 – 14 April 1935) was a German-born mathematician known for her groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics. Described by David Hilbert, Albert Einstein and others as the most important woman in the history of mathematics,[1][2] she revolutionized the theories of rings, fields, and algebras. In physics, Noether's theorem explains the fundamental connection between symmetry and conservation laws.[3]

She was born to a Jewish family in the Bavarian town of Erlangen; her father was the mathematician Max Noether. Emmy originally planned to teach French and English after passing the required examinations, but instead studied mathematics at the University of Erlangen where her father lectured. After completing her dissertation in 1907 under the supervision of Paul Gordan she worked at the Mathematical Institute of Erlangen without pay for seven years. In 1915 she was invited by David Hilbert and Felix Klein to join the mathematics department at the University of Göttingen, a world-renowned center of mathematical research. The philosophical faculty objected, however, and she spent four years lecturing under Hilbert's name. Her habilitation was approved in 1919, allowing her to obtain the rank of privatdozent.

The build:

Kick/Trapper a la Silent Shadow's guide.

Edit: Actually, ilkori's guide is the one I read first. This is the one that I started with, but then lost track of back when I made my pure kicker. Also, it's not linked to in the assassin forum build guide thread.

skills: base/kick/trap

Fire Blast: 3/10/15
Shock Web: 3/10/15
Charged Bolt Sentry: 19/26/31
Lightning Sentry: 20/27/32
Death Sentry: 20/27/32

Claw Mastery: 1/6/11
Psychic Hammer: 1/6/11
Burst of Speed: 1/6/11
Cloak of Shadows: 1/6/11
Fade: 1/6/11
Mind Blast: 1/6/11

Dragon Talon: 19/24/29
Dragon Claw: 1/6/11
Dragon Tail: 1/6/11
Dragon Flight: 1/6/11

Skills not listed have no points. That's right, no shadow and no points in venom.

The next point gained will go into CBS, and after that, I'm not sure.

Stats:

LCS (kick switch)

Name: Amalie
Class: Assassin
Experience: 838367482
Level: 82

Naked/Kick/Trap
Strength: 126/190/160
Dexterity: 143/180/190
Vitality: 196/201/223
Energy: 25/30

saved: 15

HP: 800/924/990
Mana: 153/206/351
Defense: 35/1623/1333
AR: ?/8597/-

ctk (chance to kick ;)) hell baal: 67%

LCS resists (kick switch):
Fire: 116/76/16
Cold: 176/136/76
Lightning: 157/117/57
Poison: 86/46/-14

The trap switch has much higher resists, and castable level 11 fade with procing level 15 fade takes care of resists for the kick side. With fade on, the kick switch resists were about: 75/75/75/46. They over stacked, and I could maybe optimize charms a bit, meh.

naked/kick/trap
MF: 0
Block: -/72/50
GF: -/50/
FR/W: -/35/35
FHR: -/50/105
IAS: -/80/60
FCR: -/30/105

Gear:

Kick switch: Crescent Moon PB, Stormshield (pdiamond)
Trap Switch: HotO Flail (37), Spirit Monarch (35%)
Armor: Treachery Scarab Husk
Helm: Guillame's Face (Carmine Jewel of Fervor)
Belt: Arachnid Mesh
Gloves: Dracul's Grasp
Boots: Gore Rider Myrmidon Greaves
Rings: Raven Frost, rare res/dex/fcr
Ammy: Mara's Kaleidescope

Crescent Moon
Phase Blade
ShaelUmTir
One Hand Damage: 91 - 102
Indestructible
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 136
Fingerprint: 0xc513402
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
7% Chance to cast level 13 Static Field on striking
10% Chance to cast level 17 Chain Lightning on striking
+20% Increased Attack Speed
194% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
-35% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+11 Magic Absorb
+2 to Mana after each Kill
Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30/30 Charges)
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Um Rune
Socketed: Tir Rune

Stormshield
Monarch
Defense: 440
Chance to Block: 47
Durability: 69 of 86
Required Level: 73
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0x72b621b5
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Indestructible
+35% Faster Block Rate
25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+307 Defense (Based on Character Level)
+30 to Strength
Cold Resist +60%
All Resistances +19
Lightning Resist +25%
Damage Reduced by 35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Diamond

Heart of the Oak
Flail
KoVexPulThul
One Hand Damage: 1 - 24
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 55
Required Strength: 41
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0xa79e2cb9
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to All Skills
+40% Faster Cast Rate
+75% Damage to Demons
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
7% Mana stolen per hit
+10 to Dexterity
Replenish Life +20
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
All Resistances +37
Level 14 Raven (60/60 Charges)
Level 4 Oak Sage (25/25 Charges)
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Pul Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune

Spirit
Superior Monarch
TalThulOrtAmn
Defense: 148
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 97 of 97
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0x1eedf4be
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+35% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+97 to Mana
Cold Resist +35%
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+4 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Increase Maximum Durability 13%
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Amn Rune

Treachery
Scarab Husk
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 472
Durability: 28 of 28
Required Level: 51
Required Strength: 95
Fingerprint: 0xd041d53f
Item Level: 1
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 15 Fade when struck
25% Chance to cast level 15 Venom on striking
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune

Guillaume's Face
Winged Helm
Defense: 217
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Level: 34
Required Strength: 115
Fingerprint: 0x63dc1718
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+8 to Maximum Damage
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
+120% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Strength
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Carmine Jewel of Fervor

Carmine Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x91ba51ec
Item Level: 66
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
+8 to Maximum Damage

Arachnid Mesh
Spiderweb Sash
Defense: 136
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 80
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x404a5bcb
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
Slows Target by 10%
+116% Enhanced Defense
Increase Maximum Mana 5%
Level 3 Venom (11/11 Charges)

Dracul's Grasp
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 130
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x73515864
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 10 Life Tap on striking
7% Life stolen per hit
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+98% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Strength
+5 Life after each Kill


Gore Rider
Myrmidon Greaves
Defense: 183
Durability: 34 of 34
Required Level: 72
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0xd8a6ee1e
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
10% Chance of Open Wounds
+191% Enhanced Defense
+20 Maximum Stamina
Required Level +7
Requirements -25%
+10 Maximum Durability

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x7f9e3b30
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+225 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+19 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen

Shadow Turn
Ring
Required Level: 48
Fingerprint: 0x6db1124d
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+13 to Dexterity
All Resistances +10
Lightning Resist +15%
Fire Resist +11%

Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0xcb1578c0
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
All Stats +5
All Resistances +27

Pretty standard kick/trap gear. :p I might try variations on the sockets in the helm and shield. I also have a pair with Sol runes on my other assassin (she went for iDR). I'm also considering an Elded shield to save on dex. I'll probably make a CtA soon, so more points in vita might be a good idea.

Charms:

Shocking Large Charm of Inertia
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xaa36a03b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Run/Walk
Adds 1 - 88 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm of Strength
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x415c160e
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 83 Lightning Damage
+4 to Strength

Coral Small Charm of Storms
Small Charm
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xa092dd78
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 28 Lightning Damage
Lightning Resist +9%

Amber Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb3fd9b88
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Lightning Resist +11%

Amber Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xc8586a3b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+18 to Life
Lightning Resist +11%

Ruby Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x2de5fa46
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +11%

Steel Large Charm of Sustenance
Large Charm
Required Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0x933c1c4b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+72 to Attack Rating
+22 to Life

Steel Large Charm of Vita
Large Charm
Required Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0xdc9a3cdc
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+60 to Attack Rating
+29 to Life

Lizard's Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xd411f3aa
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
+2 to Mana

Garnet Small Charm of Storms
Small Charm
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xd16fa473
Item Level: 60
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 26 Lightning Damage
Fire Resist +8%

Entrapping Grand Charm of Pestilence
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xeccdf22f
Item Level: 90
Version: Expansion
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
Adds 25 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)

Entrapping Grand Charm of Anthrax
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xd6011b83
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
Adds 50 Poison Damage Over 6 Secs (150 Frames)

Most of my best charms are there. If I had more trap skillers, I might have tried to squeeze one or two more in. The light damage charms may not seem like much, but considering that she kicks 5 times in a second, 4-225 turns into 20-1125 *where the distribution is no longer uniform :) --> fairly regular* damage hovering around (1125+20)/2=~572 per round of kicks. Not a lot, but it adds up, and then consider the -35% enemy light res on the CM PB....~722 damage to those with no light res.

Stash:

Lawbringer PB
Lightsabre
crafted blood gloves

Lightsabre
Phase Blade
One Hand Damage: 93 - 123
Indestructible
Required Level: 58
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 136
Fingerprint: 0x7c5ef328
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 20 Chain Lightning on attack
+20% Increased Attack Speed
168% Enhanced Damage
Adds 10 - 30 Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
Adds 60 - 120 Magic Damage
Adds 1 - 200 Lightning Damage
6% Mana stolen per hit
Lightning Absorb 25%
+7 to Light Radius

Lawbringer
Phase Blade
AmnLemKo
One Hand Damage: 31 - 35
Indestructible
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 136
Fingerprint: 0x25f1a1e3
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 15 Decrepify on striking
Level 18 Sanctuary Aura When Equipped
-50% Target Defense
Adds 150 - 210 Fire Damage
Adds 130 - 180 Cold Damage Over 6 Secs (158 Frames)
7% Life stolen per hit
Slain Monsters Rest in Peace
+245 Defense vs. Missile
+10 to Dexterity
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune

Gale Clutches
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 87
Durability: 12 of 14
Required Level: 73
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0xa7cdad05
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+11 to Attack Rating
3% Life stolen per hit
7% Chance of Crushing Blow
+32% Enhanced Defense
+13 to Strength
+18 to Life

I tried out all three different weapons, but settled on the CM PB as the best in general. The -elr doesn't help trap damage, but the ctc Static is very nice, and it gives me a reason to use my light damage charms. I went for PBs to make it easy to get a fast kick speed. PB+20% ias (on wep) + 45% ias (treachery) + 15% ias (jewel in Guillame's) gets a good break point. I don't recall which one, but it's easy enough for anyone to calculate it themselves.

Lawbringer was nice because of the elemental damage and Decrepify. I kept some blood gloves in the stash to use with LB so that Decrep wouldn't compete with Life Tap. I had planned on using LB for Hell Baal to keep him slowed, but it turns out that LT is at least as nice. He teleported some, but I can Dflight....

One of the main reasons I choose to use the CM PB was for the ctc Static. I want to try to run areas on highish players setting (maybe /p5 or even /p7), and CB (1) only hits one enemy, (2) doesn't scale with higher players counts.

Merc:

act 2 might merc
eth Insight Thresher
Aconite's Fortitude
Vampire Gaze

Name: Razan
Race: Desert Mercenary
Type: Off-Nightmare
Experience: 67045090
Level: 82
Dead?: false

Naked/Gear
Strength: 181/186
Dexterity: 145/150
HP: 1647/1759
Defense: 1217/3050
AR: 1874/462878

Fire: 175/135/75
Cold: 175/135/75
Lightning: 175/135/75
Poison: 175/135/75

Vampire Gaze
Grim Helm
Defense: 252
Durability: 36 of 40
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 58
Fingerprint: 0xfd43284
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 6 - 22 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
7% Mana stolen per hit
6% Life stolen per hit
+100% Enhanced Defense
15% Slower Stamina Drain
Damage Reduced by 19%
Magic Damage Reduced by 14
1 Sockets (0 used)

Aconite's Fortitude
Archon Plate
ElSolDolLo
Defense: 1581
Durability: 58 of 60
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 103
Fingerprint: 0xaab9dee7
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 15 Chilling Armor when struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
300% Enhanced Damage
+200% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+112 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +29
Damage Reduced by 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 to Light Radius
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: El Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Dol Rune
Socketed: Lo Rune

Insight
Thresher
RalTirTalSol
Two Hand Damage: 66 - 675
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 142
Required Dexterity: 108
Fingerprint: 0x60633ef7
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 15 Meditation Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Cast Rate
220% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
246% Bonus to Attack Rating
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
+6 to Critical Strike
All Stats +5
+2 to Mana after each Kill
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Ethereal
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Tir Rune
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune

Leveling:

I don't really remember; it was fast though. Highly twinked and enchanted up until about level 30. Then she played as a pure trapper until the early 40s. I kept a log, which I now present (unedited :whistling:) for your reading pleasure:

Code:
Amalie

at level 85

Gear: treachery (+2), mara's (+2), arach's (+1)
kick switch: cm pb (+0), ss (+0), total: +5
trap switch: hoto (+3), spirit (+2), total: +10

skills: naked (with +skills)

dtalon 13 (18)
dtail 1 (6)
dflight 1 (6)

claw mast 1
psy hammer 1 (11)
BoS 1 (11)
wep block 1
CoS 1 (11)
fade 1 (11)
sh war 1 (11) hinge on sh mast
m blast 1 (11)
sh mast 8 (18) last, maybe not at all

f blast 3 (13)
sh web 3 (13)
cb sentry 18 (28)
l sentry 20 (30)
d sentry 20 (30)

Trap switch has
fire: 37
Light: 72
COld: 72
Poison: 72

kick switch has:


Normal Chaos:

4 l sentry, 1 d sentry, spam mindblast, dtalon a bit.  Killed half the OKs with kicks.  No deaths.  Merc IMed once, no death.  Spirit, Peasant Crown, Rhyme, Twitchthroe, +2 trap ammy, mana/fcr/res rings, frosties, nat's soul, rare fhr/life/mana/res belt. insight poleaxe on merc

D: merc died fast.  hit him a few times with CB gear, then danced around laying traps.  Then decided to go mano  a mano. He went down like a chump with no CB gear.  Just level 6 kicks, mesh boots, and elemental damage from Spirit LCS sez 116-210.  and some CB sentries too.  leveled to 32 on kill.

finds: unique kris (D), set tower shield (CS)

WSK: cake, recently switched to IK gloves/belt/boots and Tiamat's with Eth Ginther's (style) [this is where I  started trying to get used to having two active switches: spirit/rhyme for traps, ginther/tiamat for kicks].  4 small charm of storms, 2 with fire/light res.  2 amber sc of vita.  maybe upgrade merc gear after baal.

Baal: fairly quick.  cb and kicks, No retreat, merc survived.  set full helm + junk.  level 43.

Muled on Orphan's Call.

Some stat planning:

kick switch: cm pb (136 dex), ss (156 str, +30 str)
trap switch: hoto (41 str, 35 dex, +10 dex), spirit (156 str), total: +10
guillame's (115 str, +15 str)
treachery (95 str)
mara's (+5 str, +5 dex)
arach's (50 str)
drac's? (50 str, +10 str)
ravenfrost (+19 dex)
gores (156 str)

need 156 str at all times.
Helm(115)/ammy(0)/gloves(50) give +30 str
So, it seems that 126 str is enough.

Need 136 dex on kick switch, 36 on traps (enough with just raven)
raven(19)/mara's(5) give +24
So, 112 is enough, but I'll probably get more for max block anyway.  maybe I'll eld a SS.

LavMan had 141/159, so I'll save a few str points for vit.  The other ring will have to be mana leech unless I go for an insight merc.

NM andy was pretty easy.  Used L sentry and d sentry on first area until I realized that I should save corpses for Andy.  Started saving corpses.  She wasn't hard.  50% CB, level 6 dtalon (2 kicks), and a dozen or so fallen and light spitters for CE.  andy slivered my XP bar.  nearly 51.

Started act 2 and got level 51 right away, so I S&E to mule on Treachery.  too easy now, by the time I set my traps and switch to kicks, everything is dead.

Used this until I could equip CM:

Fiend Nails
Pilum
Throw Damage: 7 - 27
One Hand Damage: 4 - 16
Quantity: 50
Required Level: 51
Required Dexterity: 45
Fingerprint: 0x7581f6cf
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+7 to Maximum Damage
Adds 113 - 161 Fire Damage
Adds 1 - 179 Lightning Damage
8% Mana stolen per hit

Pretty well suited to the build.

Finished NM, then did hell 1-4 MP with oscuro, omgwtfbbqpwned, hairless,....started hell at /p8 and oscuro and I had some trouble...../p3 for a while, then /p5 somewhere in early act 4.

oscuro - fishymancer
omg - whirler
bobthewarrior - avenger
hairless - bowzon

hell D dropped tancred ammy and jade talon

NM forge: sol.
Hell forge: fal.

Starting Act 5 next.

--------------------------- big break, a few weeks.

somewhere before now{
started wearing arach's at lvl 80
wearing rare res/dex/fcr ring.  105% fcr
}

changed hotkeys:
switch: capslock ----> ~
belt view: ~ ----> F1

This'll be better for mping.

Put Aconite's Fortitude on the merc.  Eth thresher insight + fort + gaze.

Lots of light immunes in act 5.  The Frozen River had burning souls and light immune lancers/rogues.  Kind of a pain, but I just spammed MB on the melee enemies to get them to wear down the souls until there were a few corpses, then DS.  Merc got a lot of kills here.  ancients' way was fun.  Lots of light immune spitters, and some LI frenzytaurs, but some frenzytaurs were only FI.  MB played a big role here too.

Polished off lvl 81 in the frigid highlands before moving on the ancients.  rerolled ancients once.  One had HF and they killed the merc early.  Cursed too.  maybe cursed second roll was easier.  half the battle was without healthPots/juvs.

WSK 1: lots of LIs.
WSK 2: souls.

took a break, then rerolled WSK once to get one without souls.  No OKs the whole time.

cth baal: 67%

Deaths:

In April 1935 doctors discovered a tumor in Noether's pelvis. Worried about complications from surgery, they ordered two days of bed rest first. During the operation they discovered an ovarian cyst "the size of a large cantaloupe".[55] Two smaller tumors in her uterus appeared to be benign and were not removed, to avoid prolonging surgery. For three days she appeared to convalesce normally, and recovered quickly from a circulatory collapse on the fourth. On 14 April, she fell unconscious, her temperature soared to 109 °F (42.8 °C), and she died. "t is not easy to say what had occurred in Dr. Noether", one of the physicians wrote. "It is possible that there was some form of unusual and virulent infection, which struck the base of the brain where the heat centers are supposed to be located."[55]

A few days after Noether's death her friends and associates at Bryn Mawr held a small memorial service at President Park's house. Hermann Weyl and Richard Brauer traveled from Princeton and spoke with Wheeler and Taussky about their departed colleague. In the months which followed, written tributes began to appear around the globe: Albert Einstein joined van der Waerden, Weyl, and Pavel Alexandrov in paying their respects. Her body was cremated and the ashes interred under the walkway around the cloisters of the M. Carey Thomas Library at Bryn Mawr.

Actually, I don't think there were any deaths. None logged at least.

There were several NDEs in act 5, which was done mostly at /p3. I don't remember how the first part was done, but it could have been anywhere between /p1 and /p5.

Finds:

Charged Bolt Ormus from Pindle (only one run)

Non useful, but maybe a bit interesting: An eth low roll string of ears and an eth rare Highland Blade somewhere in the WSK. Unfortunately, I don't think that rerolling with skulls preserves the etherealness.

There may have been something earlier, but I don't want to dig through the IFT.

NM forge was Sol, and Hell forge was Fal.

Edit: this was found on her first /p5 Pit run. The run was incredibly easy. There was a pack of cursed fanat archers on the second level, but they were a pushover with max block, 50% DR, and MB spammage. Steps: cast Cloak of Shadows, lay down some LS/DS, MB the whole group a few times, switch to kicking wep/shield, dflight to the unique, a couple rounds of Dtalon --> all dead. That battle took about 10-15 seconds and the life bulb never dropped enough to catch my attention.

Some Screenshots:

If you've read the whole thing so far, I'm sure you're ready for something a bit less boring:

Tanking Lister (/p3)

Achmel's Death Knell

First set of Ancients

Second Set of Ancients

Her minions at work.

There. Now back to the monotony that is reading. :)

Comments:

This is sort of a rebuild of my first SP assassin. LavinniaManon was a bit more versatile since she also some decent poison damage, and she was a bit safer since she has (in her current gear) 39 iDR. But, her trap damage was pretty low.

Amalie can function as a pure trapper against non-LIs; mostly synergized level 32 Lightning Sentry packs a wallop. The only problem with that was the fact that about half the enemies in the WSK/Throne were LI.

Code:
Amalie LS damage: 1-4481
Lavinia LS damage: 1-880

Amalie DS range: 13.6
Lavinia DS range: 11.3

Amalie also functions as a kicker nearly as well as LaviniaMannon does. Their gear is nearly the same so they have the same amount of CB, and they have the same level of D Talon (after +skills). Some of the main differences being:

Code:
Amalie: dracs, treachery, arachnid mesh
Lavinia: trang's, gladiator (previously lionheart), string of ears.

Amalie has level 15 venom from Treachery which gives an average of 315 poison damage over 10 frames, whereas Lavinia has level 30 venom from her prebuff which gave an average of 745 poison damage over the same period.

All in all, Amalie is just about as good at kicking as Lavinia, which is something I was aiming for.

Another big difference is that Amalie does not use a shadow. The Shadow Master was not missed too much, though it is nice to have a castable tank. I knew that I needed to have the weapon switches divided as kick/trap as opposed to Lavinia's combat/prebuff. Lavinia used two claws totaling +8 to SM, so it was easy to get a strong shadow, but I decided that I wanted to synergize LS more and had to go without the shadow. Overall, a good choice for a build that's tight on skill points.

I think the only drawback for this character is that I'm pretty much locked into using Treachery. Treachery is a very nice armor (and ideal for this build), but it would be nice to toy around with some others, but I just can't bring myself to do it. How can anything top Treachery for this build?

One last thing: hotkeys. So I had been using capslock to switch weapons since she swaps about once every 10 seconds during combat. This proved annoying for MPing since I was shouting at my team half the time, though maybe it kept them on their toes? SO, I changed the hot keys to use ~` for swapping weapons, and moved the 'belt view' button to F1. This worked fairly well, as I was still able to keep fingers on switch/LS/MB/Dflight/Dtalon at all times.

Switch: ~
MB: W
LS: X
Dflight: Q
Dtalon: Z
cloak: A

Future for this character:

MPing.:wink2: Maybe some area runs. She can pretty much go anywhere.

Thanks:

- you for reading this far... (I know you just skipped ahead!)
- jrichard for his kicking guide
- silent shaddow for his kick/trap guide
- ilkori for his kick/trap guide
- Eleyb for trading me the mara's
- bassano for trading me the Drac's and Gores (I forgot about him in the last mat thread that used them)
- antemma for auctioning his Amber Small Charm of Vita, it wasn't cheap, but it sure is nice to not have to choose between more res and more life. 👍

And especially Aconite for the Fortitude. Many Thanks.

But most of all, Amalie Emmy Noether. My work would be a bit harder without hers. ;)

Future Projects:

Mat my enchantress.

I want to try a fishysin. Tiger Strike + Death 1.07 eth Colossus Blade + Fortitude = silly damage. Heh, she'll have 100% CB and DS too (or at least nearly).

Maybe a zealsin.

I'd also like to try making a kick/trapper that uses fire traps. Can you tell that I like assassins?

Fortitude really opens up a lot of options. And if I make CtA soon, like I plan to, I can try even odder builds. The next few will be interesting I think.[/i]
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by stephan on Apr 21, 2010:

For Maxicek: Matriarch Maxime the Aggressin

Matriarch Maxime, Level 80 Aggressin


Maxime was inspired by Maxicek's Aggressin guide .

Character info

Stats


Strength: 95 (149)
Dexterity: 71 (109)
Vitality: 304 (304)
Energy: 25 (35)

Life: 1120
Mana: 201

Resistances in Hell

75 Fire
35 Cold
74 Lightning
75 Poison

Skills

MA tree:
20 (27) Dragon Claw
1 (8) Dragon Flight
2 prereqs

Shadow tree:
20 (26) Claw Mastery
20 (26) Venom
1 (7) Burst of Speed
1 (7) Cloak of Shadows
1 (7) Weapon Block
1 (7) Mind Blast
2 prereqs

Trap tree:
3 Fire Blast
7 (11) Death Sentry
6 (10) Blade Shield
6 prereqs

Gear

Bartucs's Cut-Throat 'Shael'
Jade Talon (2/2/48)
Guillaume's Face
'Smoke' Light Plate
Laying of Hands
String of Ears (7/15)
Gore Rider
Raven Frost (200/16)

and these two rares:
Code:
Bitter Loop 
Ring 
Required Level: 34 
Fingerprint: 0x1b5bad08 
Item Level: 60 
Version: Expansion 1.10+ 
+3 to Maximum Damage 
+90 to Attack Rating 
Lightning Resist +23% 
Poison Resist +18% 
Magic Damage Reduced by 1 
+3 to Light Radius

Plague Collar 
Amulet 
Required Level: 67 
Fingerprint: 0xf421fb77 
Item Level: 91 
Version: Expansion 1.10+ 
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels 
+8 to Minimum Damage 
+19 to Strength 
Fire Resist +18% 
Poison Resist +22% 
Damage Reduced by 2

Charms were some random damage/AR and res suppliers.

Mercenary

Act 2 NM Offensive (Might) with:
Eth Reaper's
Rockstopper
Shaftstop

The journey

Until Hell she was very easy to play, everything went fine at /p8. In Hell I did Act 1 at /p3 and the rest at /p1. Physical Immunes often caused a slow down, especially since Physical/Poison immune is a regular combination. The combination of Reaper's + Venom and eventually Death Sentry worked though. Some PIs I parked though, most notably the PI Frenzytaurs, because they too often caused merc deaths.

I liked the playstyle of the build. It is actually very aggressive and certainly more involved than just holding right-click DC all the time. She is not overly strong though.

Some notes on skills

Weapon Block


Weapon block is one of those ideas that seemed like a good idea at the time... just like jumping from the hotel room balcony on the third floor into the 3 ft deep swimming pool seemed like a good idea at the time. I absolutely despise Weapon Block right now and I think it's probably better to go without it. There is no point in blocking 50% of incoming attacks if it interrupts 95% of outgoing attacks. For those who do want to use I advise to get some FCR (Fortitude, or else Skin of the Vipermagi) because a few archers can make it difficult to get even one CoS or MB off. Doing the Travincal with all those Hydras was absolutely horrible.

Dragon Flight

Very important. This solves the typical Frenzy barb's problem of losing your merc all the time, but it is also a very quick way to get around the battlefield. A third benefit is that it allows you to take out primary targets like revivers very quickly. Interruption is a problem, but I blame Weapon Block for most of that.

Blade Shield

This was more for the looks. I don't think it actually helped.

----

That was it for this one I guess. Thank you for reading and special thanks to Maxicek for the guide.
 
Originally posted by Swamigoon on Oct 13, 2011:

Matriarch Quor, Hybrid Trapper

Write-up has been reposted by original author here.
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by Tanksaabas on Jan 19, 2009:

Matriarch Vari - DTalon/Venom/DS Assassin

Hi everybody and meet my 6th character overall to finish the game. The assassin named Vari (vari means shadow in Estonian :/ ) This also my 2nd melee pat/mat. She was very fun and has invoked in me greater interest in the assassin class. Previously I had done a trapper build and it was quite fun , but I must say I liked meleeing with the 'sin more.

What can I say , probably the fastest legs I have seen! And also the deadliest :D

LCS

Assassin lvl 81

Strength: 90 (172)
Dexterity: 50 (110)
Vitality: 335 (360)
Energy: 25 (40)

Life: 1463
Mana: 211

Resistances: 75/53/75/62

Skills:

All prereques at 1.

Dragon Talon: 20 (28) Why 20 points? Because I can , I like the extra ar and ed. I can go 30 with two skillers but I dont want to. 5 kicks is enough.
Dragon Flight: 1 (6)

Venom: 20 (30) with +3 shadow claws on switch
Shadow Master: 5 (15)
Mind Blast: 1 (11)

Death Sentry: 20 (25)
Lightning Sentry: 11 (16) rest of the points go here.

Gear:
Guillaumes helm
"Lionheart" Great Hauberk
1.07 Mavina's belt
upped Gore Riders
Dracul's
Raven Frost
BKWB
Mara's
Bartuc's & Jade Talon socketed with a rare jewel that gives 9% ed , 2 min dmg and 10% all res
2 x +3 Shadow claws on switch

Demon Limb in stash for Enchant

Charms give 82 life , 226 AR , 57% lit res , 57% fire res , 22% poison and 13% cold res , +6 to str and some small elemental damage.

Readouts:
Code:
Guillaume's Face
Winged Helm
Defense: 217
Durability: 38 of 40
Required Strength: 115
Required Level: 34
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x419b777c
+15 to Strength
+120% Enhanced Defense
30% Faster Hit Recovery
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
Socketed (1: 0 used)

Lionheart
Great Hauberk
'HelLumFal'
Defense: 440
Durability: 47 of 50
Required Strength: 100
Required Level: 56
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0x97ac681b
+25 to Strength
+10 to Energy
+15 to Dexterity
+20 to Vitality
+50 to Life
+20% Enhanced Damage
All Resistances +30
Requirements -15%
Socketed (3: 3 used)

M'avina's Tenet
Sharkskin Belt
Defense: 82
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 45
Item Version: Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x2c6fff30
+50 Defense
11% Mana stolen per hit
+5 to Light Radius
40% Faster Run/Walk

Vari's Gore Rider
Myrmidon Greaves
Defense: 166
Durability: 30 of 34
Kick Damage: 83 to 149
Required Strength: 156
Required Level: 72
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x166a8401
+20 to Maximum Stamina
+168% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
Required Level +7
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Dracul's Grasp
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 129
Durability: 13 of 14
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 76
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x4ff01170
+11 to Strength
+96% Enhanced Defense
8% Life stolen per hit
+7 Life after each Kill
25% Chance of Open Wounds
5% Chance to cast Level 10 Life Tap on striking

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 84
Fingerprint: 0xf52e092b
+20 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+246 to Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 cold damage over 4 seconds
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Ring
Required Level: 58
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xc04a6f53
+50 to Maximum Stamina
3% Life stolen per hit
+1 to All Skill Levels
+40 to Life (Based on Character Level)

Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x70a11b69
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
All Resistances +21
+2 to All Skill Levels

Bartuc's Cut-Throat
Greater Talons
One-Hand Damage: 86 to 152
Durability: 69 of 69
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 79
Required Strength: 79
Required Level: 42
Claw Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xa347e4fe
+20 to Strength
+20 to Dexterity
+192% Enhanced Damage
+25 to Minimum Damage
+50 to Maximum Damage
9% Life stolen per hit
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
30% Faster Hit Recovery
20% Bonus to Attack Rating
+1 to Martial Art Skills (Assassin Only)

Jade Talon
Wrist Sword
One-Hand Damage: 106 to 138
Durability: 56 of 56
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 105
Required Strength: 105
Required Level: 66
Claw Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xe3f4df43
+207% Enhanced Damage
+2 to Minimum Damage
All Resistances +59
11% Mana stolen per hit
30% Faster Hit Recovery
+2 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)
+2 to Martial Art Skills (Assassin Only)
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Shadow Blade Talons
One-Hand Damage: 10 to 14
Durability: 69 of 69
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 50
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 45
Claw Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x35b6c80e
+3 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)

Shadow Scissors Katar of Shock
One-Hand Damage: 9 to 17
Durability: 68 of 68
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 55
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 45
Claw Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 74
Fingerprint: 0x645d9ed2
Adds 1-8 lightning damage
+3 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)

Merc was a holy freeze one with Bonehew , "Treachery" Dusk Shroud and Vamp's Gaze.

Gameplay: /p8 normal and nightmare as usual. Used 1.09 Raven Claw for the first time. It's an awsome twinking weapon. After Raven Claw I used Ginther's Rift and Tiamat's shield before I could equip Bartuc's and JT. The elemental damage on those items really helps the kicks. I didn't actually use DS at all in normal and NM , partly because of the "corpse explosion not scaling up with /p8" , but also because I didn't need it :p But I used CE alot in Hell. The boots are also important , but I always had a better pair to equip when I could.

This was also the first time I really used CoS alot , and by alot I mean in every engagement. This is probably the best crowd control and safety skill. The regular monsters just sit there waiting for their time to get kicked in the nuts. And it was also useful on the bosses with it's -% enemy defence. My lvl 11 CoS had -39% defence. So with 10k AR it was enough to hit everybody 99% of the time. When I started to use Dracul's I noticed that the life tap overwrites the CoS. But it wasn't a big problem.

Also messed up a bit with the gear setup. Originally planned to rely on the JT for the mana leech. But it doesen't work with DTalon , but thankfully I got a nice 11% ml belt from Fabian. Big thanks there.

Main "aura" was BoS instead of fade. With the 40% FRW on the belt and 30% on the boots I was running pretty fast! With fast run speed , CoS and DFlight I blinked through the most annoying parts. Like this. DFlight was also nice for fast moving around the various canals in act 3 , arcane sancturay and the fortifications in act 5. It was also used to get to the horadrim/healer/support mosters behind their lesser meatshield minions.

There weren't many NDE's. And the ones that I had were under control. Had one death though :( really mad at myself. The first roll on the hell Ancients. Managed to get 1on1 (+merc also) on Madawc. He was extra strong and fast. But I cornered him and kept pummeling on him for like 5 minutes while his life slowly dropped. Every now and then I used a life potion. The life tap also helped. When he was at 5% health he managed to kill me right before I hit a full rejuv potion when i had about 20% health left. As we fought my health was still going slowly down despite the leech and health potions so I decided to use a full rejuv to get back to 100% and finish him of. I noticed that he didn't make big dents in my health pool so when i had 20% life left I guessed he won't be able to kill me then with 1 hit. So I waited a bit too much until I would have use my rejuv. Never take any chances. The next roll was also rerolled , but on the third I got 2xteleport and magic resistant with talic being cursed and also magic resistant :D Piece of cake.

Finds department: Hellforge gave me a FAL :( and this was my only elite unique found with this char. Baal drop was still a Baal drop.

Otherwise this was a gg character. Most fun I have had. I like the constant semi-micro with the different skills. She also looks cool and acts cool 👍

Now for some baal games for some more levels. Trying to get my lit sentry to 20.

Thanks for reading!

edit: /p8 baals aren't her thing :p He can semi-tank listers pack , thanks to LT , but miss one kick and you are a grease spot.

Also , when I did the normal ancients I had to unsummon the shadow cause the game kept crahsing. It also happend with the NM ancients. Hell ancients were taken out without the shadow. Strange , because my other 'sin also used a shadow and nothing like this happend , maybe a conflict between ancients , the shadow and me casting CoS?
 
Originally posted by barren on Aug 24, 2006:

Mat Sneaky-Barren

Howdy ho, I know I haven't posted anything in awhile, but that doesn't mean I haven been secretly lurking in the shadows T.T I've hinted at this character and have recieved lots of PM's about more info. Well I'm happy to announce I'm laying it all out in the open now that she's finally complete!

I've been meaning to make a mat/pat post since I first started playing single player, but I promised myself that I wouldn't until my first 1.10 single player character was finished, complete with gear. It's taken several years, dozens of pats/mats along the way and an almost complete self found grail (including a tyrael's might), but I've done it.

So without further ado, I present to the spf community my crowning achievement; Sneaky-Barren.

Class: Assassin
Level: 93
(base values)
Str: 145
Dex: 135
Vit: 255
Ene: 25

When I set out to make my favorite character I wanted a class that was most importantly fun to play, non-cookie cutter, and just as deadly PvE as she is PvP. So I made a kicker/WW assassin hybrid.

Talents:
Traps:
1 Blade Shield
1 wake of Fire
I invested lightly in the trap tree for some extra pvp utility. Since I'm melee, Blade Shield gives me a little more bite and Blade Fury gives me a good ranged attack. Mindblast stuns + wake of fire is just too awesome to pass up.

Martial Arts:
20 Dragon Talon
1 Dragon Flight
I'm a kicker, dragon flight lets me play like a sorceress and teleport from pack to pack, dragon talon is unbelievably fun to use.

Shadow Disciplines:
20 Claw Mastery
7 Fade
20 Venom
4 Weapon Block
20 Shadow Master
1 Mind Blast
The majority of my points are in Shadow Discipline to augment my melee and pvp capabilities. 4 weapon block isn't much, but with + skiller charms and gear it comes up to %56 block, not too shabby for a 4 point investment. Mind Blast is used for pvp with wake of fire. I rarely if ever use Mind Blast when I mf because my Shadow Master ends up using it almost every fight, she's all the crowd control I need with cloak of shadows. Venom is great and it works perfectly with my main attacks.

Gear:
You don't need insane gear to mat a kicker, in fact mat'ing a pure kicker untwinked isn't that dificult with a bit of practice. Just don't try one for HC untwinked if it's your first experience with one. One misclick and it's usual curtains for you. You're a melee character that's incredibly frail, but assassins have a bunch of fun tricks up their sleeves.

What delayed my character's completion for several years was obtaining the Ohm for the Chaos WW claw. While I've found almost all the uniques in the game, including a Tyrael's Might that was subsequently donated as a prize to a spf pvp tournament, I've never had much luck with runes. Not including the 1.10 beta Jah I found (I don't use any of my 1.10 beta items) the highest rune I've ever found until the recent vex for the final cube to Ohm was a Gul. I've tried everything to farm runes for Chaos, including power leveling characters to hell forge, travincal chest runs and countess runs. Don't rush the search for runes, it won't happen. They'll drop when they drop when you least expect. They only come with time, hundreds and hundreds of hours worth of play time, so I don't expect to see many WW assassins cropping up in the spf.

I'm still finalizing my pvp gear, but this is my dungeon raiding stuff:

Guillaum's Face (with Ith)
Lionheart
Perfect Raven Frost
Dracul's Grasp
Thundergod's Vigor
Gore Rider (upped)

Weapon switch 1:
Jade Talon or Bartucs (depending on the situation) with Chaos in Scissors Suwayyah
Weapon swtich 2:
Stormlash / Stormshield

Crafted Jewelery:
Doom Gorget
Amulet
Required Level: 89
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 90
Fingerprint: 0xb3a58753
+29 to Strength
+19 to Life
All Resistances +12
9% Life stolen per hit
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
6% Faster Run/Walk

Wraith Knot
Ring
Required Level: 68
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 92
Fingerprint: 0xf2d83053
+1 to Strength
+28 to Life
+26 to Mana
7% Life stolen per hit
5% Mana stolen per hit

There isn't much room for mf, because this isn't an mf character. Nonetheless this character is perfectly capable of clearing every part of the game
with both grace and relative ease. Relative being the key word here, hehe. In the hands of a novice you won't get past the den of evil in hell, but I can tear apart baal with lister and co on players 8.

Playstyle:
I mat'ed this character without WW, you can do it as a pure kicker. WW is more like icing on the cake with very situational use. Your main attack is dragon talon, it's incredibly fast and triggers gear effects. Crushing blow, deadly strike, and open wounds along with poison will do most of your damage. On striking effects like lifetap from dracul's gloves and static field from stormlash really push this character into the uber league, but they're entirely gear dependant and aren't necessary.

Play with fade up at all times, it works with venom. Each point in fade is %1 physical damage reduction. With the resistance bonus and the ability to wipe off nasty curses (IM and LR, mortal enemies of all melee characters) there is no reason not to have it up all the time. Despite fade and weapon block or shield block depending on your weapon switch you're still incredibly fragile. Start combat with cloak of shadows at all times. It makes ranged attackers useless (good bye gloams and skelly archers!) and dragon flight into everything. This serves a dual use:
1) your shadow master lands with you, a nice meat shield.
2) you're not running, and therefore get full block and defense bonuses.
When things get hairy dragon flight out and retreat, then try again. If your shadow master and cloak of shadows isn't enough against really tough melee critters (think the frenzy minotaurs in act 5) you can always fall back to Mindblast to buy you some extra meat shields.

If you're packing the uber gear; chaos, stormlash, dracul's and charm skillers the game become a great deal easier. Dragon flight in with your shield/stormlash up and dragon talon until lifetap procs then switch to dual claw and start to WW it up. As long as lifetap is on, you can't die. You can tank lister and his friends on players 8 off of a single lifetap. Your base WW damage isn't much (I do under 1k with my main claw and 1.5 top end damage with chaos) but all of your damage is from deadly strikes, poison, open wounds and crushing blow. Even the beefiest enemies die quickly to the sheer number of hits from dual wielding incredibly fast claws. Add in a freezing effect to have the satisfying popping sound of dead enemies 😁

When it comes to taking down single target bosses with enormous amounts of hit points it's better to do it with dragon talon at first with the static field procs then switching to tight WW's.

For IM, don't sweat it. When you see oblivion knights, just don't ww. Use dragon flight and dragon talon to take them down. If you get off a lifetap proc IM can't kill you with dragon talon, you do too little actual physical damage. If you don't have dracul's you always have blade furry. Play carefully, split up the knights and get a clear shot at the cursers with cloak of shadows.

Manaburn is the next big killer. You have virtually no defense, you'll get hit a lot and WW requires a ton of mana. Dragon talon doesn't require much mana, but you're still screwed against manaburn without an ith rune socket in your armor somewhere (%15 damage converted to mana).

I think that about covers it. Now I'm putting together pvp gear, I have a nice 1 socket (boo!!!) crown of ages along with poison jewels for natalya's shadow armor and a nice UM'd azurewrath instead of stormlash. I'll need a replacement for dracul's gloves to make my assassin compatible with the spf dueling rules :( Any recommendations?

Hope to see you guys soon in a pvp game, just as soon as I figure out this Hamachi stuff!

EDIT: added an intro
 
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