Matriarch/Patriarch/Guardian Archive Thread

Originally posted by @maxicek on August 18, 2006

The Chronicles of Elric of Melnibone, Patriach Meleemancer

The black sword ran red with the blood of the hordes of demons that would besiege Harrogath no more. It quivered in the pale hands as the souls of the slain fed the sword's wielder the life force that he depended on.
'Have you not yet drunk enough Stormbringer?' murmured the Albino.


Elric of Melnibone
[highlight]The Chronicles of Elric of Melnibone, Patriach Meleemancer[/highlight]

"It is the color of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair which flows below his shoulders is milk-white. From the tapering, beautiful head stare two slanting eyes, crimson and moody, and from the loose sleeves of his yellow gown emerge two slender hands, also the color of bone."

Elric is an albino, physically weak. He is a warrior sorceror, who gets his strength from his sentient sword, Stormbringer. The black sword sucks the soul from it's victims and feeds the energy to it's master. He has a symbiotic relationship with the sword, and it is debateable who is the master.

The Build
Originally discussed in this thread Elric is a Melee / Bone Spirit hybrid who wields two handed a sword with big life leech. My original plan was to use poison skills with melee, but seeing as the two synergies for bone armour overlap with two of the three synergies for Bone Spirit, that seemed like a better route to go.

Pictures with sword and with switch weapons

The Skills

Poison & Bone


"But the door resisted as it should not have resisted. `Sealed by sorcery and I've no means of unsealing it,' said the albino." -The Sailor on the Seas of Fate II, 6

Corpse Explosion 7 - more points to go in here
Bone Wall 20
Bone Prison 20
Bone Spirit 20
Bone Armour 1
Prereqs 2

Only 1 point went into Bone armour as every point into the skill gives +10, but 1 point into a synergy is +15. This also means 2 of the 3 synergies for Bone Spirit are maxed.


Curses
1 point in each except for Lower Resist. I didn't bother with lower resist as it doesn't really work with the main attacks.

Summoning

"Slowly, with jerky movements, the creature raised itself stiffly upright and pointed a clawed finger... its glazed eyes staring as if beyond." -Stormbringer I,1

Golem Mastery 3
Summon Resist 1
Clay Golem 3
Revive 2 (4 after +skills with sword)
Prereqs 5


Stats

Character name : Elric
Character type : Necromancer
Character level : 83
Character exp : 885388253

Strength : 163
Energy : 25
Dexterity : 93
Vitality : 224

Life : 832 / 646
Mana : 310 / 189
Stamina : 422 / 370


The Equipment
AR was a big concern. Pre 1.10 it would have been possible to use the Poison Dagger Bug. Basically if you put Poison dagger on left click and equip an non dagger weapon, you would still get the bonus to AR, but with zero mana cost. Second was resists, third was + skills.

Primary Weapon - 2 Handed Sword
Doombringer
Champion Sword
'Amn'
One-Hand Damage: 110 to 281
Two-Hand Damage: 269 to 379
Required Dexterity: 103
Required Strength: 163
Required Level: 69
Sword Class - Fast Attack Speed
Indestructible
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x55a6cd79
+237% Enhanced Damage
+30 to Minimum Damage
+100 to Maximum Damage
14% Life stolen per hit
Increase Maximum Life 20%
40% Bonus to Attack Rating
Indestructible
8% Chance to cast Level 3 Weaken on striking
Socketed (1: 1 used)

If Blizzard wasn't thinking of Elric when they created this sword I am very surprised. Even the name is similar to Elrics sword (Doom/Stormbringer). I got mine in a giveaway after a MFO and socketed it with an Amn for extra leech.
Unfortunately it isn't black, but looks a bit kind of bloodstained. I'll have to overlook the aesthetics as it fits the description nicely from a properties point of view.

Switch
The switch equipment focuses on getting better resists and poison damage. The idea is melee with one weapon setup, switch weaponry to go into Bone Spirit mode and for a resistance boost.

Switch Weapon - White
Polished Wand
'DolIo'
One-Hand Damage: 18 to 33
Durability: 22 of 22
Required Strength: 25
Required Level: 41
Staff Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x76607355
+10 to Vitality
+13 to Mana
Magic Damage Reduced by 4
20% Faster Cast Rate
+3 to Bone Armor (Necromancer Only)
+2 to Bone Prison (Necromancer Only)
+2 to Bone Spear (Necromancer Only)
+3 to Bone Spirit (Necromancer Only)
+4 to Skeleton Mastery (Necromancer Only)
Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25%
150% Damage to Undead
+3 to Poison and Bone Skills (Necromancer Only)
Socketed (2: 2 used)

Switch Shield - Spirit
Monarch
'TalThulOrtAmn'
Defense: 133
Chance to Block: 42%
Durability: 86 of 86
Required Strength: 156
Required Level: 54
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x381ce9f6
+22 to Vitality
+108 to Mana
+250 Defense vs. Missile
Lightning Resist +35%
Cold Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
55% Faster Hit Recovery
34% Faster Cast Rate
+2 to All Skill Levels
+6 Magic Absorb
Socketed (4: 4 used)

Armour

Body Armour - Black Hades
Chaos Armor
'OrtOrtRal'
Defense: 895
Durability: 70 of 70
Required Strength: 140
Required Level: 53
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xfefc71a1
+161% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +30%
Lightning Resist +60%
-2 to Light Radius
Half Freeze Duration
60% Damage to Demons
+241 to Attack Rating against Demons
Socketed (3: 3 used)

Helm - Demon Brow
Tiara
'Ort'
Defense: 45
Durability: 25 of 25
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x66d9406b
+9 to Strength
+5 to Minimum Damage
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Fire Resist +10%
Lightning Resist +40%
Cold Resist +10%
Poison Resist +10%
Adds 1-91 lightning damage
+2 to Necromancer Skill Levels
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Belt - Credendum - Mainly for the +15% Resist all.
Boots - Gore Riders. Say no more.
Gloves - Laying of Hands - for the +350% Damage to Demons and 50% fire resistance.
Jewelery - Angelic Halo x 2 & Angelic Wings for the AR.

Inventory
The build is lacking in + skills, AR and resists. I carried the cube, 4 scrolls of Town Portal in the belt, a stack of Keys and one ID scroll. I had one Hexing grand charms, Cat gave me another. I found a Scintillating GC in the Frigid Highlands. The rest was mainly crammed with resistance charms, most of them not very good. I kept a 2x4 space free.
Code:
Lapis Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 10
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0xd9a2f066
Cold Resist +7%

Hexing Grand Charm of the Icicle
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xa17a64b
Adds 2-4 cold damage over 1 seconds
+1 to Curses (Necromancer Only)

Cobalt Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 20
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0xa5fce5e0
Cold Resist +9%

Garnet Small Charm of Flame
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 20
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x9d7449d1
Fire Resist +9%
Adds 1-2 fire damage

Russet Small Charm of Anthrax
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 36
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xe41b9f49
Fire Resist +7%
+50 poison damage over 6 seconds

Hexing Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x22ca9149
+1 to Curses (Necromancer Only)

Sharp Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 21
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0xa92424b2
+68 to Attack Rating
+8 to Maximum Damage

Coral Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 15
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x58cd095
Lightning Resist +22%

Viridian Small Charm of Incineration
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 37
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x7b10509c
Poison Resist +7%
Adds 5-13 fire damage

Viridian Small Charm of Dexterity
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 10
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0x25695bcc
+1 to Dexterity
Poison Resist +7%

Amber Large Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 51
Fingerprint: 0x23b9b974
Lightning Resist +13%

Viridian Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 10
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 43
Fingerprint: 0xffba7638
Poison Resist +6%

Garnet Large Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xa4ba5ae
Fire Resist +12%

Shimmering Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0x2193b31
All Resistances +14

Viridian Small Charm of Life
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 14
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 72
Fingerprint: 0xa0a41f7c
+7 to Life
Poison Resist +7%

Merc Equipment
Armour - Shaftstop
Helm - Tal Rasha's Horardic Crest

Weapon - Insight
Cryptic Axe
'RalTirTalSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 159 to 693
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Dexterity: 93
Required Strength: 155
Required Level: 59
Polearm Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x827354e
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
+208% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+2 to Critical Strike
35% Faster Cast Rate
221% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Level 13 Meditation Aura When Equipped
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (4: 4 used)

Game Progression

Levels 1-5
Just wacked stuff with whatever I had to hand. Put 1 point into any skills I needed, Amp first.

Level 6-10
Equipped a 2 handed sword (Flawed Skull, Flawed Amethyst, Flawed Amethyst) and a Breastplate (Flawed Skull, Flawed Ruby, Flawed Ruby), so the Elric had the right look.
Put points into Clay Golem and Mastery when it was available.

Level 10-18
Pumped strength until Elric could equip Sigons belt, boots & gloves. Equipped Shadowfang unique sword at lvl 12. Put on 2 Angelic Rings and an Amulet to help with the AR problems. Put points into Bone Wall to strengthen my Bone Armour.
The huge life leech made it very easy to dispatch Andariel.

Level 18-29
Equipped a 4s Gothic Plate (P Skull, Ort, Ort, Ral) and Lore circlet. He had a wand +3 corpse explosion and a +3CE Head on switch. Put 3 skill points into CE. Switched the sword first to a Soulflay and then to a Ripsaw. Equipped the A2 Merc (Defiance) with Sigon's Helm & Armour, and and Insight Ethereal Poleaxe when he could use it.
Put points into curses so that Elric had Decrepify at lvl 24 when heI took on Duriel. He had no problems, Decrep and a Clay slow Duriel down to nothing.

Level 30-56
Carried on pumping strength and dexterity so that Elric could equip a champion sword as soon as he met the lvl requirement. In hindsight, I should have been less eager to equip the sword and put more into vit. Used whatever 2 handed sword Elric met the lvl requirements for, Crainte Vomir for a while until he equipped Todesfalle Flamme. He equipped Gore Riders and Black Hades (Ral Ort Ort) as soon as he could. Was very annoyed that the so-called "Black" Hades isn't. The belt and gloves stayed as Sigons. Put a wand with +2 Poison & Bone and a head with +3 to Bone Spirit on switch.
Points were put into Bone Spirit for a long range attack. This saved him on many occasions when melee wasn't safe. Decrep, Clay Golem, Bone Spirit for the first few corpses, then explode away. As it is also guided, it is very useful for sniping Gloams or other fast moving creatures. Points were also put into Bone Prison as both a synergy for Bone Armour and Bone Spirit.
Elric finished Normal without any trouble, round about level 43. He MPed through most of Nightmare Acts 2 & 3 and entered Act 4 at about level 54.

Level 57-68
Changed weapon to a "Passion" Champion Sword (Dol Ort Eld Lem). This made Melee attacks much more sustainable thanks to the +1 Zeal, but annoying due to the "Hit causes monster to flee". He finally changed the Sigon's Belt and Gloves for Venomgrip Gloves and Nosferau's Coil. The wand was replaced with "White" Runeword and he switched the head for a Spirit Monarch. Unfortunately the repair bills on the sword and the Merc's constant deaths were crippling Elric financially and he played quite a lot of these levels as a Bonemancer. I remembered that the merc was still wearing the Sigons Helm & Armour and solved many of the problems by re-equipping him with Shaftstop, Crown of Thieves and an Insight Partizan.
Continued to put points into Bone Spirit and Bone Prison. When they were both maxed, started putting points into Bone Wall.
I killed NM Diablo solo, mainly using Bone Spirit. The merc died early and Elric had no money to resurrect him, so it was just Elric, the Clay Golem & Decrepify. It was slow, but Diablo went down eventually. Elric MPed through all of Act 5, the first half with Cat and the second half with Aitrus and Thyiad. Thanks for putting up with Elric's regular deaths. At this stage he was very low on Vit and if he got hit by elemental damage or forgot to re-cast Bone Armour, he died. Baal went down at lvl 67.

Level 69-77
Equipped my End Game gear. Swapped gloves for Laying of Hands and belt for Credendum. Equipped Doombringer Champion Sword. It was a bit strange going back to normal attack after the Zeal from Passion, but the damage made up for it. AR was starting to become a big problem so I swapped my Defiance Merc for Blessed Aim.
Maxed Bone Wall and started putting points into the summon tree to get revives for the extra security in hell.
Levelled to 77 with Thyiad, Aitrus and Frostburn in NM Baal runs. Solo'd Baal a few times at lvl 69 to prove to that it was viable outside MP.

Hell
Hell was all played at players 1.

Act 1
Fairly unevenful, save for a death and a lot of trouble recovering a corpse, thanks to a Fanatic, Extra Fast Afflicted boss pack in the Catacombs level 3. I Traded for a 4os Eth Cryptic Axe with AJK, whick of course I made Insight in. This helped my Merc with the killing. Andariel went down fast and left Elric with yet another IK belt.

Act 2
Melee attacks were a bit slow against the hordes of undead and non demonic foes, as the Laying of Hands was unable to help me out. Most of the Act was played as a bonemancer. Decrep, Bone Spirit, Corpse Explode, rinse repeat. Elric finally got a point into Revive to help with the tanking.

Act 3 & 4
Nothing evenful really. The sword came back out and, coupled with the Laying of Hands made a mess of the flayers. The attack speed was a bit slow and there was a tendency to get mobbed, but Corpse explosion cleared some space. Act 4 was better due to the slower speeds and lower number of demons. Bone Spirit was fantastic at sniping Oblivion Knights from afar. I played most of the Chaos Sanctuary without a Merc as his constant deaths were getting a bit expensive. Hellforge dropped a Mal.

Act 5
The Bloody foothills were filled with Burning Dead Archers and Slingers. It was slow going, but again the Bone Spirit and Corpse Explosion shone, with the help of a spamming of Dim Vision. Elric's first death in a few acts happened on the way to rescue Anya, when he popped an Evil Urn full of Gloams on top of himself. Recovering the body caused about five more deaths. Generally though, Gloams weren't too much of a problem. Elric had 75% lightning resist so after the first flash of lightning he would spam Bone Spirit into empty space and let it pick it's targets.

The ancients were tough. Elric died the first time due to my own stupidity, second time he town portalled when the Merc went down too fast. Third time I forgot to take a scroll with me, so had no way to re-roll. The Merc died very early, leaving me and a Clay Golem. Bone Spirit took out the first two Ancients (one was cursed) while the Clay kept him occupied. The third was down to half health when Elric ran out of Mana Potions and Big Purples. Not wanting to die again, he cast Iron Maiden on the last ancient (he was lightning enhanced Whirlwind, so Elric didn't want to go toe to toe) and cast Clay in front of him. Clay died in one whirlwind, but the Ancients life bar moved a fraction. Elric repeated these conjurings until, eventually, the last Ancient died and the Worldstone Keep was opened up.

The WSK was easily cleared. Claw Vipers spawned on level 2 which gave an excellent source of revives. The Throne spawned Black Souls and Vampires, both easy targets for bone spirit. Decrepify and Corpse Explosion made short work of the Minions, as Elric waded in with the sword. Baal himself didn't offer much resistance, slowed to a speed where he rarely attacked by Decreo and the Clay Golem. Elric hacked at him with the sword until eventually he lay dead at his feet.


[highlight]Best Finds[/highlight]
Hellforge - Fal (IIRC) in Nightmare, Mal in Hell.
Probably my best find was the Shimmering Grand Charm (+14 resist) that I found in Act 5 Hell. I'm sure it will be making guest appearances in many of my future character's Pat / Mat threads. I also found an Arreat's Face in the WSK level 3. Not bad for players 1 and 0% MF.


[highlight]Playability[/highlight]
I made a difficult build even more difficult by restricting my equipment choices to fit in with the style of the character. I think this could be a very playable character. These are a few of my suggestions I am sure more experienced players, and players with access to better equipment could come up with more suggestions.
- Going two handed obviously meant no shield. Weapon and shield would probably be a better option - A nice damage axe or mace with Stormshield would help the melee. The shield could have bumped up the resists quite a bit. I think (correct me if I am wrong) that + all skills (but not + necromancer skill levels) would increase the Zeal skill level on the runeword 'Passion.' There is still the hit causes monster to flee drawback with 'Passion' though.
- Demon Limb on switch would probably have eliminated the AR problems, meaning I could use a might merc to boost the damage, at the expense of the +6 skill points to bone spirit that 'White' gave me. Unless you are prepared to keep swapping the Demon Limb to re-enchant when it wore off.
- More + skills could be got from using a decent Necro head on switch.
- Skin of the Vipermagi would probably have been a better armour all round with the resists and the skill point, or 'Treachery' 'Duress' or similar for a more melee focused build.
- Guillaumes Face, Harlequin Crest, Andariels Visage may have all made better helms.
- If I had more resists elsewhere, and particularly if there was no leech on the weapon, I would have gone back to String of Ears for the belt.

What Next?
Overall, quite a fun build, challenging in places, that taught me a lot about Necros and the game in general. Elric will take a rest for a while whilst I concentrate on other, more standard builds. I may try out some other equipment options for him, and, who knows, maybe it will even turn into a build guide.

Other Stuff
Mad Mantis' excellent Meleemancer guide was used as the starting point for this build.
If you are interested in knowing more about Elric, have a look at this website or this one which has some great pictures. Or just read the books.
Aparently a film has been optioned. Remember you saw him here if you are waiting to see the movie in a few years time!

I am John Daker, the victim of the whole world's dreams. I am Erekose, Champion of Humanity, who slew the human race. I am Hawkmoon. I am Corum. I am Illian. I am Aubec. I am Elric. I am Asquiol. I am Ulysses. I am Cornelius. I am many more.
 
Originally posted by @maxicek on September 20, 2010

Matriarch Illian, 2h Sword Titan Bearzon [Sept 7/7]

LCS and Baal defeated. (Decoy out to show how she looks in human form)

Illian is named after yet another incarnation of The Eternal Champion, a source for many of my characters and especially my 2h Sword characters. I had a lot of difficulty deciding on the build for this character. After making eBoTD I had to include it in this sept, but the thought of slogging through Hell using only normal attack at the 12FPA cap again didn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm. It was Nagi who suggested I make a Werebear. And just to spice it up a bit more, I decided to make her a Titan build. That kind of blew any intention of a themed character out of the water, but never mind. She would probably never have been finished otherwise.

Slogging through Normal and Nightmare with an underpowered character is one of the things that put me off starting this character for so long. It is a big grind until you can equip your end game gear at level 77 (Kira's). So I shamelessly abused the 1.13 re-spec system for this girl. I used the 1.09 Ravenclaw until the normal River of Flame waypoint, when I dumped all my points into Charged Strike and Lightning Fury, and levelled through as a Lightning Javazon until I had reached killed Baal enough times to hit my level goal. I managed to find one of my favourite Jewel, Ambergris of Fervour somewhere in A5. Only 21% I think, but nice anyway. NM Hellforge dropped a Hel.

I am sure the game designers didn't really think someone would re-spec a top end skill and then re-spec to dump all their skill points into the passive tree. And then put about 40 points into dexterity to allow me to equip the sword, before pressing the shift key and dumping all their remaining stat points into strength. This is the first time I have made a Titan character and it was a struggle against instincts not to shift click Vitality instead of strength.

There is no point making a Titan build if you equipment leaves no room for Fortitude (assuming you have it). I wanted a high chance to hit too, so that meant Angelics. I was looking at a Metalgrid / Ravenfrost combination at one point but that didn't get the AR where I wanted it. I was a bit worried about how my life bulb would look, so when choosing my gear I tried to get all my resists, AR, FHR etc from my equipment, so I could stuff my inventory with SCs of Vita. The CBF and huge resists on Kira's helped free up slots that would otherwise be used for resists. Shadow Dancers and Bloodfist helped with the FHR, as well as getting me a nice chunk of dext, life and the extra 10IAS I needed to hit 6FPA. I toyed with the idea of using Dracul's instead of Bloodfist and putting 24FHR in the inventory, but in the end I didn't need the lifetap. I decided I didn't want to use Call to Arms either on this character as I can't stand swapping weapons from the cube to pre-buff. For me it ruins the game flow. Cast Valk, change to Werebear, switch to sword, run around with right mouse button held down and whack things. As it turned out, the extra life from CtA really wasn't needed either. 2.1K life in bear form, 1.1K life in human form, over 11K AR and about 5K-10K damage, with 65% skill based Critical Strike added on top. Nice.

Act 1 was a breeze. With all that damage, only Stone Skins took more than two whacks to die at /players3. I levelled to 83 in The Pits at /players5 (/players8 was do-able, but a bit too slow for my liking) before heading into the Catacombs. I was a bit worried about how I would handle PIs. For Uniques I generally killed the minions and left the Merc and Valk to finish then, albeit slowly, whilst I just stood there and tanked. The ghosts in the monastery were just ignored, but I did start thinking about a PI solution for A2. Andariel put up little resistance and after a few paw swipes all that was left was a stream of fire.

I muled on a Passion Thunder Maul and a Lawbringer Phase Blade for A2. Passion would obviously mean I would have to change back to human form, and drop my life down to about 1.1K. Lawbringer would be unlikely to provide enough damage to kill stuff at P3, but the knockback from Sanctuary would make avoiding the ghosts easier. As it was I used neither, not only because I realised I didn't have enough dexterity for the Lawbringer anyway. A2 brought my first death. I was rushing through the tombs trying to complete the act and got sandwiched between a doorway by PIs. I probably should have just S&Ed, but tried to tank it out. I failed on this occasion. Duriel's Holy Freeze didn't slow things down much and soon the bear's feet were squishing slugs as I ran over to Tyrael for a quick chat before boarding the boat to the Jungle.

Now I am never really sure why people hate the Jungle so much. The maze bit only lasts for a few waypoints and is easily teleported over if you are a sorc, or run through for most other characters. I mainly play melee characters, so for me the unleechables and PIs of A2 are much more annoying. Many of the monsters in A3 are demons, so Laying of Hands makes this a breeze. Illian actually does more damage to Undead thanks to the boost from BoTD. The hefty leech makes things fairly easy and I was soon looking for the brain in the Flayer Dungeon. Again I was a bit worried about the PIs. My second death came when I was running away from some Ghosts and ran into a bosspack of dolls. I'm still not sure what happened. I play fairly quickly and don't check boss mods. One minute I had a full life bulb, next it was empty. I was more cautious as I went to collect the heart and this time the dolls posed no problem. The council was wiped out effortlessly, despite the Hydras, and I was soon hunting for Mephisto in the Durance of Hate. Huge amounts of dolls meant one finger was hovering near the potion keys at all times. Level three was easily cleared of council members, partly thanks to a combat shrine near the stairs. Mephisto didn't put up much resistance either.

The Pains of Despair gave me the opportunity to face some Souls. Having built in a big lightning stack, I would have been disappointed if it was Soul-free. Multiple bolts of lightning were easily tanked and I cleared the whole area for the fun of it. Some where around this time I was rewarded for my efforts with a 25% DR, +41 Str Leviathan. A quick stop by the Hellforge gave me a Lem, and then it was time to face the Chaos Sanctuary. The removal of IM may have meant that the CS has lost some of it's bite, but it still has teeth. It seemed that almost every Unique monster in there was PI, and some of them FI too, so my merc was no help. I just ignored those that couldn't be killed and cleared the area. When The Infector of Souls also spawned PI+FI, it was time to go and get the 'Passion' Thunder Maul. I cleared out all his minions first, got the maul from my stash, changed to human form and gave him a few berserks. That sorted him out. Diablo was swiftly put to the sword.

(Where did that Druid come from?)

The Bloody Foothills spawned Burning Dead Archers. I was concerned about getting locked up a rain of fiery arrows with un-leechable enemies, but luckily Enslaved also spawned so I had something to re-charge the life bulb with other than potions. The Crystalline Passage spawned PI Frenzytaurs. Great. But once again I was lucky and didn't run into a boss pack. The merc took a bit of a beating as I passed the lone groups by. The Frozen River had Souls, Witches and snakes. Normally this is one of the combinations I dread, but Illian handled herself fairly well, although she did guzzle a few purples. With Anya saved it was on to the Ancients Way and The Arreat Summit, to face what I expected to be the biggest challenge in the game.

I took a break to mule off and replenish my stock of rejuvs. When Illian returned to The Ancients Way it was full of Frenzytaurs. The boss packs were my biggest challenge to date. After lulled into a false sense of security by being able to take out the first pack, I waded into the second. My life bulb dropped quickly. I guzzled some rejuvs, but couldn't break out of the dodge lock, so to avoid the inevitable death I had to S&E. The monster spawns in the next game were much more tame and I reached the Arreat Summit without incident.

I approached The Altar of the Heavens in human form. I cast a decoy next to one of The Ancients, checked my mercenary and valkyrie were at full health and shifted to bear form. I activated the altar and braced for battle. The battle was swiftly over. I think the merc was a casualty on my side, but Illian didn't even need a potion. The Worldstone Keep was opened and I pushed through to the waypoint.

The WSK gave me fairly easy monster rolls, but I did have burning souls again. The Throne of Destruction level had OKs, but there weren't huge amounts of them so it wasn't a problem. The minion waves were uneventful. I was a bit worried about getting pinballed and dodge locked by Lister and The Minions of Destruction. I was careful not to get surrounded and Lister was defeated fairly easily. Using normal attack meant I didn't need to worry about Baal's annoying mana burn for a change. The fight was a bit slow without crushing blow, but easy. I could have pretty much have name locked him, taped down the mouse button and gone to get a beer to celebrate.

TL;DR Version
Titan Bearzon would eat a Kodiak for breakfast. Unless it was PI.

Skills
16 Critical strike
20 Penetrate
0 Pierce
1 Inner Sight
1 Slow Missiles
14 Dodge
9 Avoid
14 Evade
1 Decoy
20 Valkyrie

No Bow / Javelin skills. With no +skills, that was how it looked in game too.

Equipment
Weapon: 'Breath of the Dying' 1.07 Ethereal Colossus Blade

Switch Weapon: 'Beast' Berserker Axe
Switch Shield: 'Spirit' Monarch

Helm: Kira's Guardian 'Um' (84% resist all)
Armour: 'Fortitude' Archon Plate
Belt: Thundergods Vigor
Boots: Shadow Dancer
Gloves: Bloodfist

Amulet: Angelic Wings
Ring1: Angelic Halo
Ring2: Angelic Halo

Inventory: Both Tomes, a bit of resist, a pinch of FHR and the rest all small charms of Vita. 2x4 Slots free.

Mercenary
Mercenary Type: A1 Fire Arrow
Helm: Tal Rasha's HC
Armour: 'Treachery' Ethereal Archon Plate
Weapon: 'Faith' Ward Bow

Equipment Readouts:
Equipment:
Code:
Breath of the Dying
Colossus Blade
VexHelElEldZodEth
One Hand Damage: 198 - 520
Two Hand Damage: 467 - 923
Durability: 26 of 26
Required Level: 69
Required Strength: 144
Required Dexterity: 80
Fingerprint: 0x3fffe1eb
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion
50% Chance to cast level 20 Poison Nova when you Kill an Enemy
Indestructible
+60% Increased Attack Speed
437% Enhanced Damage
-25% Target Defense
+50 to Attack Rating
+200% Damage to Undead
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
7% Mana stolen per hit
13% Life stolen per hit
Prevent Monster Heal
All Stats +30
+1 to Light Radius
Requirements -20%
Ethereal
6 Sockets (6 used)
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Hel Rune
Socketed: El Rune
Socketed: Eld Rune
Socketed: Zod Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune

Fortitude
Archon Plate
ElSolDolLo
Defense: 1515
Durability: 56 of 60
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 103
Fingerprint: 0xe5dc704a
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
+96 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +25
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

Kira's Guardian
Tiara
Defense: 157
Durability: 23 of 25
Required Level: 77
Fingerprint: 0x3163a11e
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+108 Defense
All Resistances +84
Cannot Be Frozen
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Um Rune

Beast
Berserker Axe
BerTirUmMalLum
One Hand Damage: 85 - 252
Durability: 26 of 26
Required Level: 64
Required Strength: 138
Required Dexterity: 59
Fingerprint: 0x9c1c5872
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 9 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped
+40% Increased Attack Speed
255% Enhanced Damage
20% Chance of Crushing Blow
25% Chance of Open Wounds
Prevent Monster Heal
+3 to Lycanthropy
+3 to Werebear
+37 to Strength
+10 to Energy
+2 to Mana after each Kill
Level 13 Summon Grizzly (5/5 Charges)
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Ber Rune
Socketed: Tir Rune
Socketed: Um Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Lum Rune

Spirit
Monarch
TalThulOrtAmn
Defense: 136
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 86 of 86
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0xc3251766
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+31% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+110 to Mana
Cold Resist +35%
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+6 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Amn Rune

Angelic Wings
Amulet
Required Level: 12
Fingerprint: 0x8df432cb
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+3 to Light Radius
Set (2 items): +75 to Life
Set (3 items): +1 to All Skills

(2 items): +10 to Dexterity
(3 items): +50 to Mana

Angelic Halo
Ring
Required Level: 12
Fingerprint: 0xd1664a77
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Replenish Life +6
Set (2 items): +1032 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)
Set (3 items): 50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

(2 items): +10 to Dexterity
(3 items): +50 to Mana

Angelic Halo
Ring
Required Level: 12
Fingerprint: 0xb9a8883f
Item Level: 38
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Replenish Life +6
Set (2 items): +1032 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)
Set (3 items): 50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

(2 items): +10 to Dexterity
(3 items): +50 to Mana

Thundergod's Vigor
War Belt
Defense: 156
Durability: 23 of 24
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 110
Fingerprint: 0xea3c4b71
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 7 Fist of the Heavens when struck
Adds 1 - 50 Lightning Damage
+3 to Lightning Strike (Amazon Only)
+3 to Lightning Fury (Amazon Only)
+196% Enhanced Defense
+20 to Strength
+20 to Vitality
+10% to Maximum Lightning Resist
+20 Lightning Absorb

Shadow Dancer
Myrmidon Greaves
Defense: 131
Durability: 23 of 24
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 167
Fingerprint: 0x24ab989d
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Shadow Discipline Skills (Assassin Only)
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+83% Enhanced Defense
+21 to Dexterity
Requirements -20%

Bloodfist
Heavy Gloves
Defense: 18
Durability: 13 of 14
Required Level: 9
Fingerprint: 0xaa53a49
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Increased Attack Speed
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+5 to Minimum Damage
+20% Enhanced Defense
+10 Defense
+40 to Life

Charms:
Code:
Shimmering Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x1bfdbf23
Item Level: 63
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+12% Faster Hit Recovery
All Resistances +15

Jade Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xdb544c2
Item Level: 73
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+17 to Life
Poison Resist +9%

Burly Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x1e1400d4
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+16 Defense
+20 to Life

Russet Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x85a115e0
Item Level: 68
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+18 to Life
Fire Resist +7%

Amber Grand Charm of Vita
Grand Charm
Required Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0x18b974f8
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+37 to Life
Lightning Resist +29%

Amber Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xec5c0ad0
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15 to Life
Lightning Resist +10%

Viridian Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xd661d6f3
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Poison Resist +6%

Stout Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x411f3c2
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 Defense
+20 to Life

Snowy Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb415caf8
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 2 - 3 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
+20 to Life

Smoldering Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x8ead2410
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 2 - 10 Fire Damage
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb14fd3e3
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xe49ee6f5
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb80f080c
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xa400e366
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xdd7d01a1
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xebb80c97
Item Level: 69
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Septic Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x65c08dd
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 15 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
+20 to Life

Ocher Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x5c94096d
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Lightning Resist +6%

Crimson Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xbf1558cd
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+18 to Life
Fire Resist +5%

Cobalt Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb76d21e7
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life
Cold Resist +8%

Smoldering Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xba48d975
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 3 - 5 Fire Damage
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x15c96dda
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xc046f95b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

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

Mercenary Equipment:
Code:
Faith
Ward Bow
OhmJahLemEld
Two Hand Damage: 86 - 227
Durability: 47 of 48
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 72
Required Dexterity: 146
Fingerprint: 0x7a73f069
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 14 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped
+2 to All Skills
330% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
300% Bonus to Attack Rating
+75% Damage to Undead
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
Adds 120 - 120 Fire Damage
All Resistances +15
10% Reanimate as: Returned
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ohm Rune
Socketed: Jah Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Eld Rune

Treachery
Archon Plate
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 972
Durability: 31 of 31
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 93
Fingerprint: 0x65fd7372
Item Level: **
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

Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 118
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0xb8b6b502
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
+39 to Attack Rating
10% Mana stolen per hit
10% Life stolen per hit
+45 Defense
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
All Resistances +15
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Tin Jewel of Fervor

Tin Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x3f092fec
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
+39 to Attack Rating

I am John Daker, the victim of the whole world's dreams. I am Erekose, Champion of Humanity, who slew the human race. I am Hawkmoon. I am Corum. I am Illian. I am Aubec. I am Elric. I am Asquiol. I am Ulysses. I am Cornelius. I am many more.
 
Originally posted by @maxicek on July 28, 2009

Matriarch Katajana - Fanatic Zealot [2h Sword Sept 2 - 4/7]

An Fanatic Zealot Assassin ? Hax!

Yes, with a bit of help from 'Passion' and 'Faith' I have a female fanatic zealot. With a two handed sword of course. And she looks damn cool. Maybe I'd even go as far as a stylin' if I was Liquid.

Blood for the Blood God
Army of Returned
Fighting the Ancients
Fighting Baal

Stats
Name: Katajana
Class: Assassin
Experience: 820922822
Level: 82

Naked/Gear
Strength: 165/186
Dexterity: 70/89
Vitality: 245/245
Energy: 25/25
HP: 60/175 <-Silos? Actually about 1K
Mana: 0/40 <-?
Stamina: 0/70 <-?
Defense: 17/1389
AR: About 6.5K with Enchant.

Resists in Hell with Fade:
Fire: 75
Cold: 45
Lightning: 75
Poison: 21

GF: 75
FR/W: 30
FHR: 52
IAS: 65


Skills
Two skill points unspent.

Traps
Fire Blast: 1/4
Shock Web: 1/4
Charged Bolt Sentry: 1/4
Lightning Sentry: 20/23
Death Sentry: 20/23

Shadow Disciplines
Claw Mastery : 1/4
Psychic Hammer : 1/4
Burst of Speed : 1/4
Weapon Block : 1/4
Cloak of Shadows : 1/4
Fade : 20/23
Shadow Warrior : 1/4
Mind Blast : 1/4
Venom : 20/23
Shadow Master : 1/4

Martial Arts
None.

I didn't intend to put any points into Shadow Master, but after building so many PvP assassins I was on auto-pilot and wasted 3 points on Claw Block and shadows. I decided I would'nt go back and re-do her, it wasn't like I really needed the points.

I put points into LS and DS for a useable trap attack. Fade was maxxed for maximum damage reduction - 23% Fade + 13% from the belt = 36%, which isn't too bad. One of my original plans was to pre-buff with 2x Shadow Blade Talons to get to 42%, but in the end I needed Enchant more.

I'm not sure what to do with my remaining points. If I level her a bit more I may get Dragon Flight, just because it is fun.

Equipment
Weapon: 'Passion' Balrog Blade

Switch Weapon: 'Obedience' Cryptic Axe

Helm: Guillaume's Face + Ruby Jewel (38% ED)
Armour: Naj's Light Plate
Belt: String of Ears
Boots: Gore Rider
Gloves: Laying of Hands

Amulet: Highlord's Wrath
Ring1: Ravenfrost
Ring2: Bul Kathos' Wedding Band

Inventory: 6x Steel GCs, Resist SCs, 2x Tomes and the cube.

Assassins are incredibly slow with two handed swords, capping out at a 13FPA normal attack or a 7FPA Zeal. I was struggling for +skills, so decided to stick at a four swing Zeal cycle. Given that this means a 34 frame cycle - about 1.4 seconds - I think not going for five hits was a good idea. It was pretty much a choice between Highlords and 4 hits or Mara's & 5.

You may notice a complete absence of mana leech. I needed to wear BKWB for an extra Zeal hit, and I didn't want to compromise my other gear choices. So enter Naj's Light Plate. +1 Skill, 25 resist all and a whopping 45% damage to mana. You may have been looking at the skill points and thinking "Hmm, you could just sit back, let the merc get the first kill and let DS do all the work." Well, with a small mana pool, I would have needed to chug potions constantly. To replenish the mana I needed to get into combat and get hit. With no shield this wasn't a problem and I had few mana problems.

Equipment Readouts:
Code:
Passion
Balrog Blade
One Hand Damage: 40 - 204
Two Hand Damage: 150 - 322
Durability: 39 of 50
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 185
Required Dexterity: 87
Fingerprint: 0x445ab504
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
173% Enhanced Damage
25% Increased Attack Speed
+1 to Zeal
+1 to Berserk
+10 Hit Blinds Target
56% Bonus to Attack Rating
Level 3 Heart of Wolverine (12/12 Charges)
Hit Causes Monster to Flee
+1 - 50 Lightning Damage
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
75% Damage to Undead
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Dol Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Eld Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune

Obedience
Cryptic Axe
Two Hand Damage: 155 - 705
Durability: 47 of 65
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 132
Required Dexterity: 83
Fingerprint: 0x6f24a121
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
All Resistances +23
370% Enhanced Damage
+207 Defense
40% Faster Hit Recovery
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
30% Chance to cast level 21 Enchant when you Kill an Enemy
-25% to Enemy Fire Resistance
Requirements -20%
+10 to Dexterity
+3 - 14 cold damage with 3 sec Duration
25% Target Defense
+10 to Strength
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Hel Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune
Socketed: Fal Rune

Naj's Light Plate
Hellforge Plate
Defense: 812
Durability: 44 of 60
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 49
Fingerprint: 0x419735f9
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+65 to Life
+300 Defense
+45 Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 to All Skills
All Resistances +25
28% Enhanced Damage
Cold Resist +24%
Requirements -75%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ghoul Gyre

Ghoul Gyre
Jewel
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xa3fc8687
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
28% Enhanced Damage
Cold Resist +24%
Requirements -75%

Guillaume's Face
Winged Helm
Defense: 217
Durability: 35 of 40
Required Level: 58
Required Strength: 115
Fingerprint: 0x536f6beb
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+15 to Strength
120% Enhanced Defense
30% Faster Hit Recovery
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
38% Enhanced Damage
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ruby Jewel

Ruby Jewel
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xd544468a
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
38% Enhanced Damage


Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0x693fb726
Item Level: 99
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: 0x38435008
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+17 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+235 to Attack Rating
+15 - 45 cold damage with 4 sec Duration
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Ring
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xda2ce4a6
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+50 Maximum Stamina
5% Life stolen per hit
+1 to All Skills
41 to Life (Based on Char Lvl)

String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 111
Durability: 19 of 22
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xb316eaa9
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
177% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 11
Damage Reduced by 13%
6% Life stolen per hit
+10 Maximum Durability

Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 147
Durability: 27 of 34
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 94
Fingerprint: 0xa1857dc9
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+20 Maximum Stamina
174% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Laying of Hands
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 80
Durability: 5 of 12
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x4ca36690
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+25 Defense
Fire Resist +50%
20% Increased Attack Speed
350% Damage to Demons
10% Chance to cast level 3 Holy Bolt on striking

Steel Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0xa44a05a3
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+130 to Attack Rating

Steel Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0xdd24d4f4
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+122 to Attack Rating

Steel Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0xe8ff9a25
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+127 to Attack Rating

Steel Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x6828fa06
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+100 to Attack Rating

Steel Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0xc5d487f1
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+6 to Strength
+111 to Attack Rating

Coral Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x28185d24
Item Level: 43
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Lightning Resist +9%

Coral Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0xa2f3c997
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+9 to Life
Lightning Resist +9%

Russet Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x5d066238
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Fire Resist +6%
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Arcing Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0x3aac885b
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+1 - 37 Lightning Damage
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Coral Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x13bc5eac
Item Level: 51
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+2 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +9%

Amber Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x32a1658f
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Lightning Resist +10%

Steel Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0x6a835873
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+111 to Attack Rating
12% Faster Hit Recovery

Mercenary
A1 Fire Rogue:
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Armour: 'Treachery' Ethereal Archon Plate
Weapon: 'Faith' Ward Bow

Finds
Hellforge: Pul NM, something subbish like Hel in Hell. Nothing else memorable to report.

Random Thoughts

I designed her to be as strong as possible, and she wasn't bad. 2.5K damage with the sword and 4K or so with Obedience is pretty good I think for a character using a non-native skill. I played through at /P1. Game play was pretty standard - cast CoS, Zeal away. I tried to limit my use of DS, but sometimes dropping a couple was very useful when I found myself getting overwhelmed.

Like the some of the other characters in the sept, not having a merc that tanks and you can hide behind makes things more difficult. Reaper's and Holy Freeze is a great defense for low power melee builds. Being the tank makes things much more difficult. Fortunately the Assassin has Cloak of Shadows though.

Thanks for reading.
 
Originally posted by @maxicek on October 7, 2008

Patriarch Urlik_Skarsol - 2h Sword PDR Berserker

I am John Daker, the victim of the whole world's dreams. I am Erekose, Champion of Humanity, who slew the human race. I am Hawkmoon. I am Corum. I am Illian. I am Aubec. I am Elric. I am Asquiol. I am Cornelius. I am many more.

I am Urlik Skarsol! Count of the White Wastes! Lord of the Frozen Keep! Prince of the Southern Ice! Master of the Cold Sword! I come in furs and metal, my chariot drawn by bears, my black beard bristling, to claim my blade, to aid my folk!


Urlik_Skarsol
The name is fairly well known around the SPF, mainly for the excellent runefinder's guide, but he wasn't intended as a tribute build. Urlik is a themed build based on the character from the book Phoenix in Obsidian by Michael Moorcock. Urlik is yet another incarnation of The Eternal Champion, an inspiration for several of my Patriarchs to date. The Eternal Champion is a mortal soldier who is doomed to fight to maintain the balance between Law and Chaos, and so never knows peace. He exists in different incarnations, in all times and universes. He rarely has knowledge of previous incarnations, but memories come to him as nightmares. There are common themes between the characters, such as a powerful sword and a doomed love, but they often inhabit very different universes.

Stats
Name: Urlik_Skarsol
Class: Barbarian
Experience: 975621862
Level: 84

Naked/Gear
Strength: 118/138
Dexterity: 141/161
Vitality: 246/246
Energy: 10/10
HP: 1165/1246 (2.5K with BO)
Mana: 93/151
Stamina: 396/426
Defense: 35/1179
AR: 690/690

Resists after Hell Anya
With Shield / Without
Fire: 104 / 76
Cold: 74 / 46
Lightning: 114 / 86
Poison: 104 / 76

Block: 68%
FR/W: 30%
FHR: 30%
IAS: 35%

Damage / Attack Rating:
Berserk, Sword, 2h: 4679-10K / 8397 AR at 13FPA
Berserk, Sword, 1h: 1997-6502 / 8397 AR
Berserk, Axe: 2639-4682 / 7260 AR

Concentration, Sword, 2h: 2302-5143 / 3791 AR
Concentration, Sword, 1h: 983-3002 / 3791 AR

Damage / AR with Fanaticism:
Berserk, Sword, 2h: 5223-12K / 9798 AR at 11FPA
Berserk, Sword, 1h: 2330-6750 / 9798 AR at 10FPA
Berserk, Axe: 2956-5245 / 8609 AR

Concentration, Sword, 2h: 2846-6347 / 5193 AR
Concentration, Sword, 1h: 1215-3700 / 5193 AR

Pictures:
Urlik fighting Baal
Urlik against The Ancients

Skills
Bash: 1/5
Leap: 1/5
Stun: 1/5
Leap Attack: 1/5
Concentrate: 1/5
Whirlwind: 1/5
Berserk: 20/24

Sword Mastery : 1/3
Increased Stamina : 1/3
Iron Skin : 1/3
Increased Speed : 1/3
Natural Resistance : 3/5

Howl : 20/22
Shout : 19/21
Battle Orders : 20/22
Battle Command : 1/3

Equipment
Urlik wields The Black Sword, a sentient sword of immense power that freezes it's victims and sucks out their souls. This fits the theme nicely:

Death
Colossus Sword
One Hand Damage: 192 - 517
Two Hand Damage: 448 - 892
Durability: 26 of 26
Required Level: 60
Required Strength: 137
Required Dexterity: 68
Fingerprint: 0x5c3ff463
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion
Properties:
393% Enhanced Damage
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)
4% Deadly Strike
Ethereal
Requirements -20%
+1 to Light Radius
+50 to Attack Rating
7% Mana stolen per hit
+1 - 50 Lightning Damage
20% Bonus to Attack Rating
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Hel Rune
Socketed: El Rune
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Gul Rune

Switch Weapon: 'Oath' 1.07 Small Crescent
Switch Shield: Gerke's Sanctuary 'Sol' (21 PDR)

Helm: Arreat's Face socketed with an Aureolic Jewel of Fervour
Armour: 1.07 Ancient Armour of Amicae with 4x Sol runes (42 PDR)
Belt: Trang Oul's Girth
Boots: Silkweave
Gloves: Laying of Hands

Amulet: Chromatic Amulet of Life Everlasting (22RA / 20PDR)
Ring1: Nature's Peace (11PDR)
Ring2: Nature's Peace (11PDR)

Inventory: Steel charms, Amber Charms & Sapphire Charms, both Tomes & the Cube

I have a total of 84 PDR with the sword in two hands, 105 PDR with the shield. Most of the time I used the sword two handed, sometimes I used the switch combination. For the ancients and the WSK I used the sword with the shield. This gives me an extra frame attack speed and more protection, at the expense of quite a bit of damage.

The belt, boots & gloves slots gave me a few problems deciding on the best combination. Originally I was going to use three IK pieces for a nice AR boost, with a Prayer / Insight merc to solve my life & mana problems. But when Neksja gave me the Faith bow, I wanted to use it to get a faster attack. Nightsmoke was my next choice, but I was unsure if I would receive enough damage to get the benefit of the damage to mana (It turns out that I probably do). Anyway I decided that +mana after each kill was the way to go. With the insane damage of 'Death' I can kill things in only a few hits. Berserk cost 4 mana per swing. Silkweave gets me +5 and the Jewel in the Helm gives me +3 to mana after each kill. So if on average I kill things in two swings, I have no net loss of mana.

The decision not to use Nightsmoke belt gave me the option to get my Cannot be Frozen mod (and a nice mana and life boost) from Trang's Girth. This meant I could use another Nature's Peace ring instead of the usually obligatory Ravenfrost.

I chose The Laying of Hands as gloves first for the IAS and second for nice chunk of fire resist. The Damage to Demons mod is always nice, even with the huge damage bonus from Berserk.

Equipment Readouts:
Code:
Oath
Small Crescent
One Hand Damage: 264 - 417
Durability: 13 of 13
Required Level: 49
Required Strength: 105
Required Dexterity: 73
Fingerprint: 0x315db2
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion
Properties:
364% Enhanced Damage
50% Increased Attack Speed
+15 Magic Absorb
Indestructible
30% Chance to cast level 20 Bone Spirit on striking
Level 17 Iron Golem (14/14 Charges)
Level 16 Heart of Wolverine (20/20 Charges)
Ethereal
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
75% Damage to Demons
Prevent Monster Heal
+10 to Energy
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Pul Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Lum Rune

Gerke's Sanctuary
Pavise
Defense: 267
Chance to Block: 54
Durability: 172 of 172
Required Level: 44
Required Strength: 133
Fingerprint: 0x31626c90
Item Level: 60
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
239% Enhanced Defense
30% Increased Chance of Blocking
Magic Damage Reduced by 16
+100 Maximum Durability
Replenish Life 15
All Resistances +28
Damage Reduced by 21
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Sol Rune

Arreat's Face
Slayer Guard
Defense: 306
Durability: 55 of 55
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 118
Fingerprint: 0x83208132
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+20 to Strength
+20 to Dexterity
153% Enhanced Defense
5% Life stolen per hit
+2 to Barbarian Skill Levels
30% Faster Hit Recovery
20% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)
All Resistances +30
15% Increased Attack Speed
+3 to Mana after each Kill
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Aureolic Jewel of Fervor

Aureolic Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0xc4b790a6
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
15% Increased Attack Speed
+3 to Mana after each Kill


Chromatic Amulet of Life Everlasting
Amulet
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0x3802fc21
Item Level: 93
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Damage Reduced by 20
Fire Resist +22%
Lightning Resist +22%
Cold Resist +22%
Poison Resist +22%

Ancient Armor of Amicae
Ancient Armor
Defense: 227
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Level: 43
Required Strength: 100
Fingerprint: 0x517a8f73
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion
Properties:
Damage Reduced by 42
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune

Nature's Peace
Ring
Required Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0x91796898
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Damage Reduced by 11
Poison Resist +25%
Slain Monsters Rest in Peace
Prevent Monster Heal
Level 5 Oak Sage (27/27 Charges)

Nature's Peace
Ring
Required Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0xd693fc23
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Damage Reduced by 11
Poison Resist +25%
Slain Monsters Rest in Peace
Prevent Monster Heal
Level 5 Oak Sage (27/27 Charges)

Trang-Oul's Girth
Troll Belt
Defense: 142
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 90
Fingerprint: 0x8c72209
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+66 to Life
+45 to Mana
+30 Maximum Stamina
+78 Defense
Replenish Life 5
Requirements -40%
Cannot Be Frozen
Set (3 items):
Cold Resist +40%

Silkweave
Mesh Boots
Defense: 114
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 36
Required Strength: 65
Fingerprint: 0x694f08c1
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
155% Enhanced Defense
+200 Defense vs. Missile
10% Increase Maximum Mana
30% Faster Run/Walk
+5 to Mana after each Kill

Laying of Hands
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 83
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x38d61308
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+25 Defense
Fire Resist +50%
20% Increased Attack Speed
350% Damage to Demons
10% Chance to cast level 3 Holy Bolt on striking

Amber Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 22
Fingerprint: 0x4151d693
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+15 to Life
Lightning Resist +30%

Steel Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0xfffa8769
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+98 to Attack Rating

Steel Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0xd5dc8a7c
Item Level: 65
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+65 to Attack Rating

Steel Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0xccd9cc33
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+72 to Attack Rating

Amber Large Charm of Greed
Large Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x4fc41409
Item Level: 46
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Lightning Resist +15%
8% Extra Gold from Monsters

Sapphire Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xbbe1be9b
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Cold Resist +10%

Sapphire Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xf88d14b
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Cold Resist +10%

Steel Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0xeec9912f
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+65 to Attack Rating

Steel Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0xabd6a1a9
Item Level: 57
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+63 to Attack Rating

Steel Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0x7990b4b7
Item Level: 57
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+132 to Attack Rating

Amber Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x69422070
Item Level: 71
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Lightning Resist +15%

Mercenary
Mahala - A1 Cold Arrow merc:
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Armour: Duriel's Shell
Weapon:

Faith
Ward Bow
Two Hand Damage: 86 - 227
Durability: 47 of 48
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 72
Required Dexterity: 146
Fingerprint: 0x7a73f069
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
All Resistances +15
330% Enhanced Damage
+120 - 120 Fire Damage
300% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to All Skills
Level 14 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped
1% Reanimate as:
Ignore Target's Defense
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
75% Damage to Undead
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ohm Rune
Socketed: Jah Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Eld Rune

The first outing for 'Faith' on a mercenary. I'm sure that a Prayer + Insight merc would have made the character much more durable, but the Fanaticism makes about a 2FPA improvement in my attack speed, which is quite significant in terms of damage per second. The boost in damage and AR is nice too, but was really secondary to the attack speed on this build. With almost all the holes in my equipment stuffed with Sols, I needed as much external help as possible with the IAS.

If I played steadily, she rarely died. The few times when she died (and I didn't) were when I ran too far into a mob of monsters and let myself get outflanked. As long as she had space she could run into safely, she survived very well.

Finds
Hellforge: Lum NM, Pul Hel.
Plague Bearer and Bartuc's Cut Throat in the Lut Gohlein Sewers. Some nice Greater Talons from Duriel, which will be useful for my WW/Trap assassin:

Raven Song
Greater Talons
One Hand Damage: 25 - 75
Durability: 65 of 69
Required Level: 37
Required Strength: 79
Required Dexterity: 79
Fingerprint: 0x1542f2ab
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+4 to Minimum Damage
Knockback
30% Increased Attack Speed
+2 to Lightning Sentry (Assassin Only)
+1 to Blades of Ice (Assassin Only)
+1 to Dragon Flight (Assassin Only)
+1 to Mana after each Kill
37 to Maximum Damage (Based on Char Lvl)
309 to Attack Rating (Based on Char Lvl)

Random Thoughts
This was the first time I have ever played a PDR character, so I didn't really know what to expect. He was very durable, especially with the shield, but wasn't completely invulnerable. As so many of the monsters in Hell also do elemental damage, the life bulb always went down slowly. With all gear slots dedicated to PDR, getting enough resists / absorb is difficult.

I had a few deaths, mainly when I got impatient to finish an area and waded into the fray too far and got surrounded. Lord de Seis got me in NM, I'm not sure how. I died in Hell Tal Rasha's Tomb to a very large mob of Unravellers and skeletons, when I was trying to get to Duriel in a hurry. Once to souls in the Plains of Despair and a couple in A5.

Every single undead unique that I seemed to come across in A2 seemed to be mana burn, which is a major pain for a berserker. Claw Vipers were annoying because their knockback stopped me getting my relatively slow attack off, but they went down quickly when I connected. Magic immune Mummies were not so bad as I still had a respectable 5K concentration attack and they couldn't resurrect their skeletons thanks to Nature's Peace.

The 100% magic damage from Berserk at first seems a great solution for PI Ghosts, but in reality it was rubbish. The trouble is that when you swing at the ghost, your defense goes to zero. So they hit you straight away and suck you mana dry. So now you have no attack. I just chugged a blue potion and swung away until the mana got sucked again, usually 2-3 swings. I dealt with them by using howl to stop them stacking and make them run away, then hit them when they run.

Howl was very useful generally, but there are some times when you definitely shouldn't use it. The Plains of Despair when souls are about is a good example. One howl sends a soul pack scattering. So far, so good. The trouble is, particularly in open areas, that they run miles across the map. This wakes up all their Burning Soul buddies, and they all come back to find you. I knew I should have packed that T-Gods.

Gerke’s has a slow block rate and sometimes I could get stuck in the middle of a pack blocking and not attacking. Howl was great in these situations for breaking the pack. You can then kill the unique and get rid of any nasty auras, and then hack down the stragglers as they flee. Truly barbaric.

All in all, one of my favourite characters so far. Nice style and fun to play. He is my ninth character to complete the game with a single two handed sword and my 30th Mat / Pat to date.

Thanks
Neksja for the Faith bow of course.
Sequana for trading me the jewel for my helm.
Darkooo for trading the 1.07 Small Crescent and the Ancient Armour.
Jae for trading the 1.07 Colossus Sword.
Maxgerin for trading the Vex rune to go into the sword.
Asmo and Nightfish for the berserker guides - I didn’t really follow either of them, but the info in both was very useful when planning the builds.

What Next?
Too many build ideas, too little time. Next character to Mat will probably be a PvP Kicksin, who is currently in A1 Hell. My next character with a Faith merc will be another Eternal Champion themed melee / revivomancer (Corum from the list at the top), probably without Corpse Explosion. I really ought to complete my LF Amazon too. Then more assassins and playing a Barb has given me the urge to use one of those IK sets I have in the stash too.
 
Originally posted by @maxicek on May 1, 2009

Patriarch Beowulf - 2h Sword Kodiak [Sept 3/7]

A Druid with a two handed sword?

Yep. Despite one two handed sword sept already completed and a lot of hours in therapy I still have an addiction. Heroes use swords. Big swords. Heroes don't hide behind shields. Axes and Hammers are for side-kicks (Gimli in The Lord of The Rings?).

But what's with this questions format of Pat thread
Well it's a Druid, so this pat thread is brought to you with added essence of Liquid_Evil.

Beowulf? Like the Film?
Kind of, but I haven't seen it. Beowulf is an ancient English myth. Actually it is the oldest surviving writing in the English language.

So this is a themed chracter?
No, not really. I liked the name and was reading about the character. One of the suggested entymologies of Beowulf is Bee-Wolf, or bear. So I used that idea. At no point in the story does Beowulf actually change into a bear, but I think he is described as fighting with the spirit of a bear. So tenuously themed at best.

Skills

Summoning Skills

Raven: 1
Oak Sage: 1
Summon Spirit Wolf: 1
Summon Dire Wolf: 20 (Cast at 22)
Summon Grizzly: 1

I used Dire Wolves pretty much exclusively. The bear came out a few times (Ancients for example) but the Wolves were fairly good with Fanaticism, even though I was only casting them at level 22.

Shapeshifting Skills
Werewolf : 1
Lycanthropy : 12 (Cast at 14)
Werebear : 10 (Cast at 12)
Feral Rage : 1
Maul : 20
Fire Claws : 1
Hunger : 10
Shock Wave : 15

Stats
Name: Beowulf
Class: Druid
Experience: 883922182
Level: 83

Naked/Gear
Strength: 167/189
Dexterity: 92/110
Vitality: 226/226
Energy: 20/20
HP: 640/666 (1.5K in bear form)
Mana: 184/224
Stamina: 367/387
Defense: 23/2181
AR: 430/430

Resists in Hell (After Anya)
Fire: 25
Cold: 45
Lightning: 85
Poison: 15

FR/W: 35
FHR: 87
IAS: 120

Damage
Hunger Damage at 4FPA: 290-1438 / 7206 AR
Maul Damage at 5FPA: 716-2129 / 8102 AR

Equipment
Weapon: Colossus Blade 'ShaelShaelShaelShaelShaelShael'
That gives me a 5FPA Maul and 4FPA Hunger with Fataticism from Faith. (6/5 without. For the Stats heads, 35 off weapon IAS would also give 5/4)

Switch Weapon: Demon Limb
Switch Shield: Spirit
I much prefer using the ctc Enchant on Obedience to Demon Limb. With very little free space in my stash, picking up items to sell was annoying and those charges don't come cheap. But the attack speed with obedience was unfeasibly slow, so I went to Demon Limb.

Helm: Guillaume's Face + Ambergris Jewel of Lightning
Armour: Duress Great Hauberk
Belt: Crafted Blood Belt
Boots: Gore Rider
Gloves: Crafted Blood Gloves

Amulet: Metalgrid
Ring1: Ravenfrost
Ring2: Rare with resists and AR

Inventory: Loads of elemental damage charms, a few resist charms, both tomes and the cube. 4 slots empty.

Equipment Readouts:
Code:
Guillaume's Face
Winged Helm
Defense: 217
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Level: 34
Required Strength: 115
Fingerprint: 0x165bb3fa
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+15 to Strength
120% Enhanced Defense
30% Faster Hit Recovery
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
Lightning Resist +30%
+1 - 51 Lightning Damage
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ambergris Jewel of Lightning

Metalgrid
Amulet
Required Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0x1b20b3f8
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+414 to Attack Rating
+328 Defense
Fire Resist +32%
Lightning Resist +32%
Cold Resist +32%
Poison Resist +32%
Level 12 Iron Maiden (20/20 Charges)
Level 22 Iron Golem (11/11 Charges)

Duress
Great Hauberk
Defense: 1319
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 56
Required Strength: 118
Fingerprint: 0xff7d9328
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
165% Enhanced Defense
11% Enhanced Damage
+37 - 133 cold damage with 2 sec Duration
40% Faster Hit Recovery
33% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
-20% Slower Stamina Drain
All Resistances +15
Cold Resist +30%
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Um Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x3924a31e
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+18 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+237 to Attack Rating
+15 - 45 cold damage with 4 sec Duration
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Raven Finger
Ring
Required Level: 51
Fingerprint: 0xb52af63a
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+109 to Attack Rating
+7 to Minimum Damage
Fire Resist +18%
Half Freeze Duration
All Resistances +7

Gale Clasp
Mithril Coil
Defense: 77
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 78
Required Strength: 106
Fingerprint: 0x2d8cfcc7
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+12 to Life
17% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +27%
Cold Resist +18%
1% Life stolen per hit
17% Faster Hit Recovery
9% Chance of Open Wounds

Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 148
Durability: 34 of 34
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 94
Fingerprint: 0xbd835e53
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+20 Maximum Stamina
175% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Bitter Hand
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 65
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 69
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x2c64f596
Item Level: 93
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+14 to Life
Lightning Resist +27%
Poison Resist +7%
1% Life stolen per hit
Half Freeze Duration
9% Chance of Crushing Blow
12% Chance to cast level 4 Charged Bolt when struck

Gemmed Colossus Blade
Colossus Blade
One Hand Damage: 25 - 65
Two Hand Damage: 58 - 115
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 189
Required Dexterity: 110
Fingerprint: 0xa901faca
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
120% Increased Attack Speed
6 Sockets (6 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Shael Rune

Demon Limb
Tyrant Club
One Hand Damage: 102 - 185
Durability: 65 of 65
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 133
Fingerprint: 0xd5a9e092
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
219% Enhanced Damage
Fire Resist +20%
+222 - 333 Fire Damage
11% Life stolen per hit
123% Damage to Demons
Level 23 Enchant (20/20 Charges)
Repairs 1 Durability in 20 Seconds
150% Damage to Undead

Spirit
Monarch
Defense: 148
Chance to Block: 22
Durability: 86 of 86
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0xa45ae10b
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+22 to Vitality
+96 to Mana
+250 Defense vs. Missile
55% Faster Hit Recovery
32% Faster Cast Rate
+2 to All Skills
+8 Magic Absorb
Poison Resist +35%
Cold Resist +35%
Lightning Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Amn Rune

Charm Readouts:
Code:
Shimmering Grand Charm of Incineration
Grand Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x5b2a9fc3
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Fire Resist +13%
Lightning Resist +13%
Cold Resist +13%
Poison Resist +13%
+6 - 8 Fire Damage

Jade Large Charm of Incineration
Large Charm
Required Level: 26
Fingerprint: 0xac8b838
Item Level: 45
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Poison Resist +11%
+6 - 17 Fire Damage

Flaming Large Charm of Storms
Large Charm
Required Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x73f3255
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+10 - 43 Fire Damage
+1 - 37 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm of Strength
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xd45051d5
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+5 to Strength
+1 - 75 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm of Frost
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xe860cd79
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+1 - 85 Lightning Damage
+1 - 3 cold damage with 1 sec Duration

Shocking Large Charm of Burning
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xeafb2b23
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+3 - 11 Fire Damage
+1 - 71 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xb74b74e
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+1 - 90 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x532d7925
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+1 - 87 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm of Inertia
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x50adfb18
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+1 - 77 Lightning Damage
5% Faster Run/Walk

Shocking Large Charm of Strength
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x6aaaf8f9
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+2 to Strength
+1 - 89 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm of Winter
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x47731879
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+1 - 76 Lightning Damage
+4 - 9 cold damage with 1 sec Duration

Shocking Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x52bc2509
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+1 - 89 Lightning Damage

Tangerine Small Charm of Storms
Small Charm
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xc756882
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Lightning Resist +4%
+1 - 25 Lightning Damage

Ruby Small Charm of Thunder
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xe3d96d5d
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Fire Resist +10%
+1 - 15 Lightning Damage

Mercenary Equipment
Visala, Fire Arrow merc:
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest + Tin Jewel of Fervour
Armour: Treachery
Weapon: 'Faith' Ward Bow
Originally I was going to go with a Reapers + Blessed Aim merc and an extra 35IAS off weapon. But using a Faith merc looked like a better option as it allowed me to cram in 10% more crushing blow and give up less stash space for resists instead of elemental damage small charms. She was very durable and has the maximum 8FPA attack speed. I may try to tweak her gear to get knockback in (Giants Skull), but I think the durability will go down.

Code:
Treachery
Archon Plate
Defense: 972
Durability: 31 of 31
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 93
Fingerprint: 0x65fd7372
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
45% Increased Attack Speed
25% Chance to cast level 15 Venom on striking
5% Chance to cast level 15 Fade when struck
Ethereal
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

Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 118
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0xb8b6b502
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
+45 Defense
10% Life stolen per hit
10% Mana stolen per hit
All Resistances +15
+39 to Attack Rating
15% Increased Attack Speed
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Tin Jewel of Fervor

Faith
Ward Bow
Two Hand Damage: 86 - 227
Durability: 47 of 48
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 72
Required Dexterity: 146
Fingerprint: 0x7a73f069
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
All Resistances +15
330% Enhanced Damage
+120 - 120 Fire Damage
300% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to All Skills
Level 14 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped
1% Reanimate as:
Ignore Target's Defense
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
75% Damage to Undead
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ohm Rune
Socketed: Jah Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Eld Rune

Did you find anything decent?
Hellforge: Um NM, Hel Hell.
A few other minor uniques whilst levelling in the Cold Plains Cave to get to 81 & equip Metalgrid, but nothing that is memorable.

So how did he play?
I can't link directly to the build guide as it is at a competing site. Let's just say the name is a bit of a pun involving the name of a female character class and the drainage area of the largest river on the planet.

Well, from a speed point of view maybe. But it's a bit like slapping someone around the face really quickly with a damp rubber glove compared to a few less whacks with a house brick. I have built all off the above builds (well I used double swing for mana burns on my Frenzy Barb). I have built Zealots and Fury Wolves as 2-handers. And they are all considerably more powerful than a Kodiak.

The leech from hunger is in no way comparable to life tap. With life tap one hit will re-fill the life bulb. This isn't the case with Hunger, the base damage is too low. To be honest the leech from Hunger isn't even comparable to using a decent weapon and having about 10% life leech in your gear. In the words of Liquid himself, 100% of nothing is still nothing. The mana leech isn't bad though, Mana burners were little problem.

Well that first major chunk goes down very quickly, that's true. But the last 20% takes considerably longer. I'll take a kicker any day. I think Grief Smiters may have something to say about taking down bosses quickly. You still have to hit the boss, and AR can be tricky to come by when all you inventory is stuffed full of elemental charms.

My life pool wasn't bad by any means, but wasn't great either. I had very little +life from items as most of them were dedicated to cramming in as much elemental damage as possible. I haven't played a Bearsin, so I can't compare to that, but I have played several kickers:
- It is easier to get the Crushing Blow at speed on a kicker. Burst of Speed gives you many more weapon choices.
- You have a decent physical damage with Myrmidon Greaves
- You have Venom to add a second source of damage
- Cloak of Shadows gives better crowd control than Shockwave and needs far fewer points to be effective.
I had the biggest problem with ranged attackers, particulary when trying to rescue Anya. Gloams, Vipers and Witches throwing red balls of pain at me are not great for this build. The low range of shockwave was the biggest issue here. Once I could get in close enough I could stun the mobs and take them down easily, but getting close was the problem.

So did you die much?
Does a Werebear defecate in The Dark Wood?

After playing the build through, at several times I felt myself questioning if SSoG had actually played the build, or just made it up on paper. I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is underpowered, at least on /players1. But overpowered is just plain wrong. For me this statement is the one that miss sells the build more than any other in the guide. Average powered maybe with ideal equipment, do-able with a 6 Shael 2h weapon, but overpowered? All the people who ever played a Grief + Fortitude Zealot are laughing at this point, or crying if they have made a Kodiak and even imagined it would be remotely comparable.

I cannot imagine any Werebear gear setup that would not be better using Maul, Fireclaws or a combination of the two as a primary attack. Generally, for a given weapon, Hunger is a frame quicker than Maul or Fireclaws. Use a Ribcracker and the same equipment and you will do more much more raw damage, if slightly less crushing blows per second. Up the players setting and your Kodiak starts to look more like a Koala.

I considered using Armageddon after my re-start, but decided against it. The biggest trouble about this statement is the "in the thick of things" bit. With a Stormshield on, thigs may have been a bit different. But I found this bear quite fragile. Shockwave is a great skill and can shut down many packs quite quickly. But I found it very important to keep everything stunned if I wasn't to be swiftly overwhelmed.

But how was 70% Crushing Blow at 4FPA?
Crushing Blow is the most overrated melee modifier in the game.

Ouch. Contraversial.
OK, I'm being deliberately contraversial here to make a point.

But at low player settings, except Lister, the Ancients and the Act Bosses it isn't really needed. A hefty whack with a decent weapon, particularly if you are packing Fortitude, Laying of Hands or decent skill ED will reduce life just as swiftly. In the absence of any base damage, those Fallen take just as long to kill as an Ancient. Trouble is there are many more Fallen than there are Ancients. If you prioritise damage you will one hit kill those Fallen anyway and won't need the crushing blow.

Sure, if you are boss running at lower player settings, crushing blow is great. But why would you do that? If you are melee Baal running you won't be at low player settings. If you are killing Meph for items a sorc will be better. If you are generally questing PvM speeding up the handful of bosses that you will fight at the expense of having to hit every monster in the game at least five times just doesn't make sense.

If you have the CB anyway, great. Just don't prioritise CB over raw damage. Fortunately many of the items that have CB also have deadly strike too. If you really need CB for the ancients, keep some gear in your stash or on your weapon switch.

Crushing Blow is nerfed at higher player settings?
I can't remember where I got the formula, probably from RTB somewhere:

CB damage = HP*1/(4*B*R*(N+1)/2)

which can be simplified to

HP/(2*B*R*(N+1))

HP = remaining hit points
B = 1 when monster is not a boss and B = 2 when monster is a boss
R = 1 when attack is melee and R = 2 when attack is ranged
N = number of players*

Or as a table:
Code:
               Melee            Ranged    
Players    Norm     Boss     Norm     Boss
1         25.0%    12.5%    12.5%     6.3%
2         16.7%     8.3%     8.3%     4.2%
3         12.5%     6.3%     6.3%     3.1%
4         10.0%     5.0%     5.0%     2.5%
5          8.3%     4.2%     4.2%     2.1%
6          7.1%     3.6%     3.6%     1.8%
7          6.3%     3.1%     3.1%     1.6%
8          5.6%     2.8%     2.8%     1.4%

Those are nice percentages, but how many hits is what matters. Note that this table is only the actual number of effective crushing blows delivered. If not every hit is a crushing blow, it will take even longer.

Code:
      Number of crushing blows to reduce Boss to:        
            75% Life  50% Life  25% Life
/players1      2         5        10
/players2      3         8        16
/players3      5        11        21
/players4      6        14        27
/players5      7        16        32
/players6      8        19        38
/players7      9        22        44
/players8     10        24        49

OK, you've put me off Kodiaks
I wouldn't go so far as to say I hated the build, in fact I quite enjoyed it. My biggest problem is that the guide over-sells it hugely. If you want a challenge though, give it a try. The best thing is the room for customisation. As SSoG says in the guide, you only need about 12 points, so that gives you a huge range of possibilities to play with.

So what's next?
Well this is part of another Sept, so eventually I will be working on that (see next post). But before then I have some PvP characters to level and do some runs for nice items.

Thanks
- Anyone who has managed to wade through this enormous tread to actually get as far as reading this bit.
- Anyone I traded with for the charms, Asmo for trading the Jewel in the helm.
- Neksja for the 'Faith' of course.
- RibGriller for the gloves, ring and some of the charms.
- SSoG for an interesting build guide.

...

A feeble attempt, your Pat thread isn't as good as one of Liquids.
I know, but I'm English and therefore have a much drier sense of humour.
 
Originally posted by @maxicek on December 30, 2008

Patriarch Corum - 2h Sword Melee / Revive Necromancer

Corum stripped the gauntlet from his six fingered hand. He was shivering with the tension. Then he pushed the eye patch up to his forehead.
He began to see the darker planes. Again he saw the landscape on which a black sun shone. Again he saw the four cowled figure.
And this time he stared into their faces.
He screamed.
But he could not name the reason for his terror.
He looked again.
The Hand of Kwll stretched out towards the figures. Their heads moved as they saw the hand. Their terrible eyes seemed to draw the heat from his body, all the vitality from his soul. But he continued to look at them.
The Hand beckoned.
The dark figues moved towards Corum.
...
Hollow voices issued from the strangely distorted mouths: "Master. We will do your will. We will do the will of Kwll." - The Knight of the Swords.


Patriarch Corum - Melee / Revive Necromancer


Corum is another incarnation of the eternal champion, who I explained a bit about here. His is not human, in many respects his race is similar to elves. Not the tree hugging elves of Tolkein, but of a similar type but more focused on art and science than nature. The world of the Vadhagh is invaded by the new race of humans, or Mabden. Corum gets captured by them and tortured. His eye is removed and his hand cut off before he escapes.
Eventually he meets a sorceror who gives him the magical eye of Rhynn and Hand of Kwll as replacements. These are used to look into a netherworld from where Corum can summon aid in the form of the enemies he has previously slain.

In the books he fights and kills three Chaos Lords - A story that has many parallels with the D2 plot. Wikipedia Entry with plot synopsis.

I had been thinking adout making a themed build based on Corum for a while. Revives are obviously ideal for the summoned creatures, but how would the rest of the build work out? I didn't want the build to be a wholly a revivomancer. Eternity on a Paladin would have fitted the build nicely, but I have no Ber to spend on it and, if I did, I would need to make it in a repairable weapon. Plus charges are a major pain.

Then one day Neksja decided to part with his Faith bow. This is the glue that holds the whole build together and allowed me to make the character as a meleemancer with revives. A Faith merc gets over most of the major issues with meleemancers - AR, IAS and damage - not to mention the boost it would give to the revives.

Pictures
I had more pictures, but managed to delete a load by accident when batch processing :(
Fighting the NM Ancients
NM Baal

Image of Corum from a comic cover
Image from a book cover (this is the one I have)

Stats
Name: Corum
Class: Necromancer
Experience: 761648072
Level: 81

Naked/Gear
Strength: 146/163
Dexterity: **/111
Vitality: 236/251
Energy: 25/25
HP: 878
Mana: 236
Stamina: 043
Defense: 651
AR: about 4.5K all in. A bit low, but not too bad for a meleemancer.

Fire: 141/101/41
Cold: 147/107/47
Lightning: 185/145/85
Poison: 160/120/60

MF: 0 Block: 0
GF: 75
FR/W: 20
FHR: 57
IAS: 45
FCR: 0

Skills
Amplify Damage: 1/4
Dim Vision: 1/4
Weaken: 1/4
Iron Maiden: 1/4
Terror: 1/4
Life Tap: 1/4
Decrepify: 5/8

Teeth : 1/4
Bone Armor : 1/4
Corpse Explosion : 1/4
Bone Wall : 20/23
Bone Spear : 1/4
Bone Prison : 20/23

Skeleton Mastery : 20/25
Raise Skeleton : 1/6
Clay Golem : 1/6
Golem Mastery : 1/6
Raise Skeletal Mage : 1/6
Blood Golem : 1/6
Summon Resist : 1/6
Iron Golem : 1/6
Revive : 10/15

10 points in revive were more than enough. It was rare that I actually had all 15 revives alive at any one time.
Although I had a single point in CE, I only used it once in NM. I managed to explode a doll underneath myself in the flayer dungeon and kill myself.

Equipment
Prince Corum wore a conical silver helm which had his full name carved above the short peak - Corum Jhaelen Irsei - which meant Corum, the Prince in the Scarlet Robe. It was the custom of the Vadhagh to choose a robe of distinctive colour and identify themselves by it. Beneath the coat was a double bynie made up of a million tiny links. The upper layer of the byrnie was silver and the lower layer was of brass.

For weapons other than a bow or lance, Corum bore a long hafted Vadhagh war axe of delicate and intricate workmanship, a long, strong sword of a nameless metal manufactured on a different plane of the Earth, with a pommel and guard worked in silver and both red and black onyx. - The Knight of the Swords.


Weapon: 'Passion' Champion Sword
Switch Weapon: 'Obedience' Cryptic Axe
Yes, another 2h sword. Probably a cryptic sword would fit the theme best, but I couldn't stand the thought of the incredibly low damage. Obedience was used for the ctc enchant, and in many battles where I needed the resists.

Helm: Sazabi's Mental Sheath with Rare Jewel 30% Lightning Resist.
Doesn't look as conical or silver as I would have liked, but it was the best I could think of.

Armour: Artisan's Light Plate of the Whale
No robes in D2, so I decided to go with a red armour instead. The fact it had a huge life bonus and 3 sockets I stuffed with jewels helped.

Belt: String of Ears
Boots: Sandstorm Trek
Gloves: Laying of Hands

Amulet: Seraph's Hymn
Ring1: Ravenfrost
Ring2: Rare with mana leech

Inventory: 2x Graverobbers GCs, 2xSteel GCs, various resist & balance charms.

Equipment Readouts:
Code:
Passion
Champion Sword
One Hand Damage: 65 - 147
Two Hand Damage: 194 - 227
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 163
Required Dexterity: 103
Fingerprint: 0xc0e096e4
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
174% Enhanced Damage
25% Increased Attack Speed
+1 to Zeal
+1 to Berserk
+10 Hit Blinds Target
61% Bonus to Attack Rating
Level 3 Heart of Wolverine (12/12 Charges)
Hit Causes Monster to Flee
+1 - 50 Lightning Damage
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
75% Damage to Undead
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Dol Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Eld Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune

Obedience
Cryptic Axe
Two Hand Damage: 155 - 705
Durability: 65 of 65
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 132
Required Dexterity: 82
Fingerprint: 0x2a793e28
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
All Resistances +27
370% Enhanced Damage
+221 Defense
40% Faster Hit Recovery
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
30% Chance to cast level 21 Enchant when you Kill an Enemy
-25% to Enemy Fire Resistance
Requirements -20%
+10 to Dexterity
+3 - 14 cold damage with 3 sec Duration
25% Target Defense
+10 to Strength
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Hel Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune
Socketed: Fal Rune

Sazabi's Mental Sheath
Basinet
Defense: 180
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 43
Required Strength: 82
Fingerprint: 0xcf3ae95c
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+100 Defense
Fire Resist +20%
Lightning Resist +20%
+1 to All Skills
+8 to Minimum Damage
+6 to Maximum Damage
Cold Resist +30%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Bone Gyre

Artisan's Light Plate of the Whale
Light Plate
Defense: 98
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Level: 37
Required Strength: 41
Fingerprint: 0xfbd4b2e7
Item Level: 98
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+99 to Life
+4 to Minimum Damage
Lightning Resist +89%
+5 to Strength
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Ambergris Jewel of Joyfulness
Socketed: Ambergris Jewel
Socketed: Ambergris Jewel of Virility

Seraph's Hymn
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0x2c68ebb5
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+2 to Light Radius
36% Damage to Demons
36% Damage to Undead
+178 to Attack Rating against Demons
+174 to Attack Rating against Undead
+2 to All Skills
+1 to Defensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x9a9bb61b
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+15 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+224 to Attack Rating
+15 - 45 cold damage with 4 sec Duration
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Bone Finger
Ring
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xe74ead8d
Item Level: 60
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+4 to Dexterity
+67 to Attack Rating
Lightning Resist +5%
5% Mana stolen per hit
Level 1 Attract (22/22 Charges)
All Resistances +11

String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 104
Durability: 22 of 22
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0x39c85bc6
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
155% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 12
Damage Reduced by 15%
6% Life stolen per hit
+10 Maximum Durability

Sandstorm Trek
Scarabshell Boots
Defense: 163
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 64
Required Strength: 91
Fingerprint: 0x82c99542
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+12 to Strength
+15 to Vitality
148% Enhanced Defense
Poison Resist +70%
20% Faster Run/Walk
20% Faster Hit Recovery
50% Slower Stamina Drain
81 Maximum Stamina (Based on Char Lvl)
Repairs 1 Durability in 20 Seconds

Laying of Hands
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 79
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0xacefe333
Item Level: 73
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+25 Defense
Fire Resist +50%
20% Increased Attack Speed
350% Damage to Demons
10% Chance to cast level 3 Holy Bolt on striking

Sapphire Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x776e3634
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Cold Resist +10%

Shimmering Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x32e88031
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Fire Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +15%
Cold Resist +15%
Poison Resist +15%

Shimmering Grand Charm of Maiming
Grand Charm
Required Level: 63
Fingerprint: 0x1bd2f068
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+3 to Maximum Damage
Fire Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +15%
Cold Resist +15%
Poison Resist +15%

Sapphire Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x7afe1cf5
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+2 to Dexterity
Cold Resist +11%

Sapphire Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x41ddd59a
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+2 to Dexterity
Cold Resist +10%

Sapphire Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x3e5c3837
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+13 to Life
Cold Resist +10%

Graverobber's Grand Charm of Sustenance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 53
Fingerprint: 0x366afc13
Item Level: 72
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+31 to Life
+1 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)

Graverobber's Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x27d3f9e6
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+1 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)

Steel Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0x2705f770
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+122 to Attack Rating
12% Faster Hit Recovery

Emerald Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xff31bee8
Item Level: 56
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Poison Resist +11%
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Steel Grand Charm of Vita
Grand Charm
Required Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0x73a9deb1
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+38 to Life
+122 to Attack Rating

Iron Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x1e60d9b1
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+19 to Attack Rating
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Azure Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x1ebb7fbb
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Cold Resist +5%
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Snake's Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x8725a973
Item Level: 77
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+11 to Mana
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Jade Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x7213224d
Item Level: 72
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Poison Resist +8%
5% Faster Hit Recovery

]Mercenary Equipment

Floria, A1 Fire Arrow
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Armour: Duriel's Shell
Weapon: Faith Ward Bow

Finds
Hellforge: Dol NM, Fal Hell. My poor hellforge run continues. No other finds of significance that I can remember.

Random Thoughts
I played NM at players 8. I died alot. Hell was much better, but the the trouble with wading into combat with a meleemancer is that once the bone armour has gone, that life bulb goes down quickly. Most combat sequences were cast bone armour, cast decrepify, wade in with sword or Cryptic Axe and hope that the monsters were dead before the bone armour was depleted. Survivability depended alot on my revives, so...

Five Best Revives
1. Venom Lords - They don't pack as much of a punch as frenzytaurs, but for me they are better because they are more common and easier to kill in the first place. Particularly where you need them, like the Chaos Sanctuary.
2. Frenzytaurs - No surprise here. Fast, big damage. The only thing that lets them down is they down spawn when you want them to.
3. Witches - I managed to get gloams, witches and Vipers at the Frozen River in Hell. Reviving the witches took care of them without problem.
4. Ghosts - In the Arcane sancturary all other revives get stuck. These fly all over the place and stack nicely on the enemies.
5. Rogues - Plentiful in Act 1 and have one of the best qualities a good revive needs - speed.

Five Worst Revives
1. Urdar - Often recommended by the guides, I can't stand them. Sure, they pack a punch, but they are far too slow. Without teleport, by the time you have got them from one battle to the next, the timer has run out.
2. Thrashers - Same as Urdars.
3. Crushers - Yawn. Still too slow.
4. Gloams - Big Lightning damage, firing against Lightning Immunes. Worthless.
5. Fallen Shamen - Just a waste of mana. Fallen themselves almost made my to 5 best though.

He was great fun to play, but very fragile. Getting caught without a pack of revives could bring a swift death though.

Thanks
Thanks once more to Neksja for the 'Faith'. Next up is a Druid, without Faith, but after that the Faith builds continue.

I am John Daker, the victim of the whole world's dreams. I am Erekose, Champion of Humanity, who slew the human race. I am Hawkmoon. I am Corum. I am Illian. I am Aubec. I am Elric. I am Asquiol. I am Ulysses. I am Cornelius. I am many more.
 
Originally posted by @maxicek on November 27, 2009

Patriarch Asquiol - Frost Zealot [2h Sword Sept 2 - 5/7]

When I made my first 2-handed sword sept, my mercenary of choice for the weaker builds was a Holy Freeze Act II mec with a Reaper's Toll. Staying close to him meant safety thanks to the huge slow provided. Wander too far off and death was often waiting for me.

This character was designed to turn that relationship around - the merc provides the Fanaticism, so I tried to make a very safe character by providing the Holy Freeze and Decrepify myself. Did it work? Well, read on...

Pretty pictures of Asquiol fighting NM Diablo and NM Baal

Stats
Name: Asquiol
Class: Paladin
Experience: 929800270
Level: 83

Naked/Gear
Strength: 175/185
Dexterity: 69/113
Vitality: 251/251
Energy: 15/23
HP: 957/1014
Mana: 138/178
Stamina: 397/397
Defense: 17/874

LCS / Damage / AR
Lawbinger & Holy Freeze 3477-4123 Damage / 6133 AR
BKSC & Concentration 1868-3475 Damage / 6114 AR
BKSC & Holy Freeze 3997-5241 Damage / 6114AR

Resists without fade / with fade:
Fire: -2 / 58
Cold: -9 / 51
Lightning: 29 / 89
Poison: -4 / 56

MF: 23
GF: 148
FR/W: 20
FHR: 30
IAS: 45

Skills
Sacrifice: 10/12
Zeal: 15/17

Might: 1/11
Holy Fire: 1/11
Blessed Aim: 1/11
Concentration: 1/11
Holy Freeze: 20/30

Prayer: 1/3
Defiance: 1/3
Resist Cold: 20/22
Cleansing: 1/3
Vigor: 1/3
Redemption: 1/3
Salvation: 20/22

Equipment
Weapon: 'Lawbringer' Balrog Blade
Switch Weapon: 'Voice of Reason' Balrog Blade / Bul Kathos' Sacred Charge
Helm: Nightwing's Veil / Guillaume's Face
Armour: Treachery
Belt: Hsarus' Iron Stay
Boots: Hsarus' Iron Heel
Gloves: Crafted Bolld Gloves - Glyph Claw

Amulet: +2 Offensive Auras Rare - Bitter Scarab
Ring1: Ravenfrost
Ring2: Carrion Wind

Inventory: 6x Captain's GCs, 3x Ruby SCs, 1x Amber SC, 2x SCs of Balance, both tomes and the cube. 2x4 slots empty.

Equipment Readouts:
Code:
Lawbringer
Balrog Blade
AmnLemKo
One Hand Damage: 15 - 75
Two Hand Damage: 55 - 118
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 185
Required Dexterity: 87
Fingerprint: 0xabf1d2ce
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
20% Chance to cast level 15 Decrepify on striking
Level 16 Sanctuary Aura When Equipped
-50% Target Defense
Adds 150 - 210 Fire Damage
Adds 130 - 180 Cold Damage Over 6 Secs (139 Frames)
7% Life stolen per hit
Slain Monsters Rest in Peace
+233 Defense vs. Missile
+10 to Dexterity
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune

Bul-Kathos' Sacred Charge
Colossus Blade
One Hand Damage: 79 - 206
Two Hand Damage: 184 - 365
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 161
Required Dexterity: 94
Fingerprint: 0x5b788c12
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Increased Attack Speed
218% Enhanced Damage
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
Knockback
+9 to Dexterity
All Resistances +20
Requirements -15%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Havoc Whorl

Voice of Reason
Balrog Blade
LemKoElEld
One Hand Damage: 15 - 75
Two Hand Damage: 55 - 118
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 185
Required Dexterity: 87
Fingerprint: 0x9a76855b
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
18% Chance to cast level 20 Ice Blast on striking
15% Chance to cast level 13 Frozen Orb on striking
+50 to Attack Rating
+347% Damage to Demons
+361% Damage to Undead
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
Adds 100 - 220 Cold Damage Over 5 Secs (131 Frames)
-24% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+10 to Dexterity
Cannot Be Frozen
75% Extra Gold from Monsters
+1 to Light Radius
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Lem Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: El Rune
Socketed: Eld Rune

Nightwing's Veil
Spired Helm
Defense: 331
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Level: 67
Required Strength: 96
Fingerprint: 0xa039a9f1
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
12% Enhanced Damage
+7 to Maximum Damage
+10% to Cold Skill Damage
+107% Enhanced Defense
+16 to Dexterity
+8 to Energy
Lightning Resist +25%
+9 Cold Absorb
Half Freeze Duration
Requirements -50%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Raven Gyre

Guillaume's Face
Winged Helm
Defense: 217
Durability: 33 of 40
Required Level: 34
Required Strength: 115
Fingerprint: 0x1e027260
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
12% Enhanced Damage
+8 to Maximum Damage
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
+120% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Strength
+7 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +25%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Doom Whorl

Bitter Scarab
Amulet
Required Level: 66
Fingerprint: 0x7fc4d516
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Offensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)
Adds 1 - 2 Fire Damage
7% Mana stolen per hit
All Resistances +11
Lightning Resist +34%

Treachery
Sharktooth Armor
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 245
Durability: 48 of 48
Required Level: 43
Required Strength: 103
Fingerprint: 0xc6077c62
Item Level: 80
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

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xcfe0c61b
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+234 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+18 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen

Carrion Wind
Ring
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x4ffe1799
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Chance to cast level 10 Poison Nova when struck
8% Chance to cast level 13 Twister on striking
9% Life stolen per hit
+141 Defense vs. Missile
Poison Resist +55%
10% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Level 21 Poison Creeper (15/15 Charges)

Hsarus' Iron Stay
Belt
Defense: 212
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0x3a7d1d52
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Cold Resist +20%
Set (2 items): +207 Defense (Based on Character Level)

(2 items): Attacker Takes Damage of 5

Hsarus' Iron Heel
Chain Boots
Defense: 8
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 30
Fingerprint: 0xd80214f7
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Faster Run/Walk
Fire Resist +25%
Set (2 items): +830 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)

(2 items): Attacker Takes Damage of 5

Glyph Claw
Sharkskin Gloves
Defense: 50
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 48
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xdf5b1c5d
Item Level: 92
Version: Expansion 1.10+
6% Life stolen per hit
10% Chance of Crushing Blow
+25% Enhanced Defense
+12 to Life
Lightning Resist +18%
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Captain's Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x373e7eb7
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Offensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)
+20 to Life

Captain's Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xe02c7014
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Offensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)
+5 to Life

Captain's Grand Charm of Greed
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x898d173e
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Offensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)
23% Extra Gold from Monsters

Captain's Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xc71f9209
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Offensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)
+6 to Strength

Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0xdee40421
Item Level: 65
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery

Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0xb9b35fe1
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery

Ruby Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x919ac33d
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +11%

Ruby Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x40c38fab
Item Level: 71
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +10%

Ruby Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x7ecc62d
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +11%

Amber Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x2ccd6f4c
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Lightning Resist +11%

Captain's Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xe8160e2b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Offensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)
+4 to Strength

Captain's Grand Charm of Thunder
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x202d6c92
Item Level: 50
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Offensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)
Adds 1 - 19 Lightning Damage

Mercenary
Mercenary Type: A1 Fire Arrow
Helm: Tal Rasha's HC
Armour: Treachery
Weapon: Faith Ward Bow

Finds
Hellforge: Io? NM,Gul Hell.
Nothing else interesting to report.

Random Thoughts
OK, I've skimmed through all that, did you die?

Yes, lots.

Noob. What was the problem?
Treachery. Specifically the fade not going off. When you start playing, or after fade wears off, my resistance were a bit sucktacular to say the least (see above). The problem was (I'm not sure of the exact mechanics) is that ctc seems to need a physical hit to go off. Because of the slowing effect of HF and Decrep, I rarely got hit by physical attackers. So Fade frequently ran out, leaving me vulnerable to ranged elemental attackers - Scarabs lightning bolts, Vampires etc. Undead monsters were less of an issue thanks to the Sanctuary from Lawbringer.

Couldn't you use Salvation until Fade triggered?
Yes, and I did. It wasn't without it's own problems though. Using Salvation made me more vulnerable to Physical attacks due to the lack of HF. Also it doesn't cover poison resists.

How would you have improved it?
Treachery is a great armour, but maybe this wasn't the best use for it. I could have got the 45IAS I needed by other means and upped my resistances without resorting to fade - Smoke, Veil of Steel, Kira's etc. But once I was equipped, I decided to stick with it. I could have also dropped out a couple of Captain's GCs for Shimmering GCs. This would have made the character playable with base resist, and just used Fade to top up the resists so I got 75% to everything. I have done this before with Treachery and I think it works better than relying on a ctc to get your important resists (like lightning) to 75%.

What did you do about CIs?
One of the many advantages of the Faith Merc is the bonus she provides to physical damage. With a 2h sword, even without the ED bonus on Lawbringer, this contributed nicely to my damage. If I switched to BKSC, I was doing even better physical damage. Normally I just waited for decrep to cast with Lawbringer and switched to BKSC to finish the job. I did put one point in concentration to further boost my physical damage, but rarely used it. It was normally better to take slightly longer killing them with the added safety of HF.

You have two switch swords?
Yes. I started with Voice of Reason, but there were few occasions to use it where Lawbringer wasn't a better choice. I kept BKSC and Guillaumes in the stash for boss fights and the Ancients. In the end, I found the extra resists and damage on BKSC was more useful, so mainly used that in the second half of Hell.

So did you hate it?
I'm finding playing Zeal based Paladins a bit too one dimensional. Turn on aura, run up to monsters, Zeal, rinse & repeat. I find the variation with crowd control skills (Shockwave, CoS) that I get from Assassins, Druids and other build more fun. Zeal paladins seen a bit more wack & run. I wouldn't say I hated it, in fact I think this could be a very powerful build. Death & Fortitude for good physical damage, Draculs and all the usual gear. I could have gone this route, but all out power has never really been what these 2h swords are about. It's more about using accessible equipment in a slightly different way to get a viable end build.

Sept Status
Code:
Name           Class        Build              Level  Title      Weapon
----           -----        -----              -----  -----      ------
Urlik_Skarsol  Barbarian    PDR Berserker        84   Patriach   'Death' Eth Colossus Sword
Corum          Necromancer  Revive/Meleemancer   81   Patriach   'Passion' Champion Sword
Beowulf        Druid        Kodiak               82   Patriach   6 Shael Colossus Blade
Katajana       Assassin     Zealot               82   Matriarch  'Passion' Balrog Blade
Asquiol        Paladin      Frost Zealot         83   Patriarch  Lawbringer/VoR/BKSC
Sharadim       Sorceress    ES Enchantless        0   -          Not sure yet
Ilian          Amazon       Not Sure yet          0   -          Not sure yet

Next up is the sorceress. I'm probably going to do an ES Enchantless Vengeance Sorc, but I don't think I'll start her until the new year.. Expect something fairly similar to Nagi's recent Mat. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with the Amazon. Maybe 1.13 will bring some inspiration, but I won't hold my breath. I'm thinking about another Zerkazon, but with better gear and maybe Frozen Arrow for crowd control.

I am John Daker, the victim of the whole world's dreams. I am Erekose, Champion of Humanity, who slew the human race. I am Hawkmoon. I am Corum. I am Illian. I am Aubec. I am Elric. I am Asquiol. I am Ulysses. I am Cornelius. I am many more.
 
Originally posted by @maxicek on January 25, 2010

Matriarch Sharadim, 2h Sword ES Vengeance Sorc [Sept 6/7]

Matriarch Sharadim, Enchantless ES Fanatic Vengance Sorceress

Alternate Title: ES Justicar?

Regular readers of my 2h Sword projects will probably know by now that many of them have been based on characters from the Eternal Champion novels by Michael Moorcock. Sharadim also appears in this series, but as an adversary of the champion. She is a human princess who leagues with the powers of Chaos to attempt to win power for her own ends. She doesn't swing a two handed sword in the book, but the look of the sorceress in a mask and Balrog Skin with a red sword certainly look suitably demonic.

Stats

Name: Sharadim
Class: Sorceress
Experience: 1103434201
Level: 85

Sharadim LCS

Naked/Gear
Strength: 155/195
Dexterity: 63/87
Vitality: 49/91
Energy: 248/248
HP: 262/640
Mana: 629/1331
Stamina: 197/418
Defense: 15/2104

Vengeance Damage: 4668-11K
Vengeance AR: 7557 AR
Thats pretty nice damage and AR by any build's standards. If only it wasn't at 12FPA...

Resists
Fire: -72
Cold: -47
Lightning: -41
Poison: 58

Yes, those resists are correct. The beauty of Energy Shield.

GF: 162
FR/W: 30
FHR: 30
IAS: 65
FCR: 0

FCR on a sorc? Nah. Actually I could have done with a bit of FCR for spamming of static, but there was no room in my gear.

Skills

Fire:
Warmth: 20/26
Fire Mastery: 20/26

Lightning:
Charged Bolt: 1/7
Static Field: 1/7
Telekinesis: 20/26
Lightning: 1/7
Chain Lightning: 1/7
Teleport: 1/7
Energy Shield: 20/26
Lightning Mastery: 10/16

Cold:
Cold Mastery: 1/7

Equipment
Weapon: 'Kingslayer' Balrog Blade

Switch Weapon: Memory Gnarled Staff / Demon Limb / CtA
I kept them in the cube and swapped them around to pre-buff.

Helm: Andariel's Visage
Armour: Arkaine's Valour
Belt: Hsarus' Iron Stay
Boots: Hsarus' Iron Heel
Gloves: Frostburn

Amulet: 'Dread Noose' rare amulet with +2 sorc skills, mana leech & 75%PLR. Thanks again to Thyiad for trading this to me.
Ring1: Ravenfrost
Ring2: Dwarf Star 15MDR

Inventory: Poison Resist Charms, Shocking Large Charms, both tomes and the cube. Memory and Demon Limb were kept in the cube.

Equipment Readouts:
Code:
Kingslayer
Balrog Blade
MalUmGulFal
One Hand Damage: 51 - 255
Two Hand Damage: 187 - 401
Durability: 20 of 50
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 185
Required Dexterity: 87
Fingerprint: 0x22e8ac
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Increased Attack Speed
240% Enhanced Damage
-25% Target Defense
20% Bonus to Attack Rating
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
50% Chance of Open Wounds
Prevent Monster Heal
+1 to Vengeance
+10 to Strength
40% Extra Gold from Monsters
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Um Rune
Socketed: Gul Rune
Socketed: Fal Rune

Andariel's Visage
Demonhead
Defense: 376
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 83
Required Strength: 102
Fingerprint: 0x87cefa13
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
15% Chance to cast level 15 Poison Nova when struck
+2 to All Skills
+35% Increased Attack Speed
9% Life stolen per hit
+143% Enhanced Defense
+30 to Strength
+10% to Maximum Poison Resist
Fire Resist -30%
Poison Resist +91%
Level 3 Venom (20/20 Charges)
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Jade Jewel of Fervor

Jade Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0xe2138a60
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
Poison Resist +21%

Arkaine's Valor
Balrog Skin
Defense: 1434
Durability: 20 of 30
Required Level: 85
Required Strength: 165
Fingerprint: 0x429ee967
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+177% Enhanced Defense
+42 to Vitality (Based on Character Level)
Damage Reduced by 22
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Sol Rune

Hsarus' Iron Stay
Belt
Defense: 217
Durability: 14 of 16
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0xc3df9c96
Item Level: 30
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Cold Resist +20%
Set (2 items): +212 Defense (Based on Character Level)

(2 items): Attacker Takes Damage of 5

Hsarus' Iron Heel
Chain Boots
Defense: 8
Durability: 14 of 16
Required Level: 3
Required Strength: 30
Fingerprint: 0xd80214f7
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Faster Run/Walk
Fire Resist +25%
Set (2 items): +850 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)

(2 items): Attacker Takes Damage of 5

Frostburn
Gauntlets
Defense: 48
Durability: 22 of 24
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 60
Fingerprint: 0xe0caf6f5
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Enhanced Damage
Adds 1 - 6 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)
+14% Enhanced Defense
+30 Defense
Increase Maximum Mana 40%

Dread Noose
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x3bab4e4b
Item Level: 94
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Sorceress Skill Levels
5% Mana stolen per hit
All Resistances +3
Lightning Resist +26%
Magic Damage Reduced by 3
Poison Length Reduced by 75%

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xb7fb93fe
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+242 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+17 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen

Dwarf Star
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x93d69ebc
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+40 to Life
+40 Maximum Stamina
Heal Stamina Plus 15%
Fire Absorb 15%
Magic Damage Reduced by 15
100% Extra Gold from Monsters

Call to Arms
Crystal Sword
AmnRalMalIstOhm
One Hand Damage: 18 - 56
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 43
Fingerprint: 0x3416b4a1
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
279% Enhanced Damage
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Prevent Monster Heal
+2 to Battle Cry
+3 to Battle Orders
+2 to Battle Command
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune

Memory
Gnarled Staff
LumIoSolEth
Two Hand Damage: 13 - 14
Durability: 35 of 35
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0x39c2a6eb
Item Level: 50
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Sorceress Skill Levels
+33% Faster Cast Rate
+9 to Minimum Damage
-25% Target Defense
+3 to Energy Shield (Sorceress Only)
+2 to Static Field (Sorceress Only)
+3 to Energy Shield (Sorceress Only)
+50% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Vitality
+10 to Energy
Increase Maximum Mana 20%
Magic Damage Reduced by 7
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Lum Rune
Socketed: Io Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune

Demon Limb
Tyrant Club
One Hand Damage: 104 - 189
Durability: 65 of 65
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 133
Fingerprint: 0xd74adc58
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
227% Enhanced Damage
+123% Damage to Demons
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 222 - 333 Fire Damage
8% Life stolen per hit
Fire Resist +17%
Repairs 1 Durability in 20 Seconds
Level 23 Enchant (7/20 Charges)

Shocking Large Charm of Anthrax
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x3e497083
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - ** Lightning Damage
Adds 50 Poison Damage Over 6 Secs (150 Frames)

Shocking Large Charm of Incineration
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x976cf988
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 9 - 16 Fire Damage
Adds 1 - 66 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm of Dexterity
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xf3c485e3
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 71 Lightning Damage
+4 to Dexterity

Shocking Large Charm of Inertia
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x654c8c2b
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Run/Walk
Adds 1 - 84 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm of Vita
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x15faa8c5
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 72 Lightning Damage
+28 to Life

Shocking Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x5fb98810
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 84 Lightning Damage

Shocking Large Charm of Greed
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xaedbbe5
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 85 Lightning Damage
22% Extra Gold from Monsters

Shocking Large Charm of Dexterity
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x75ec47e5
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 89 Lightning Damage
+3 to Dexterity

Shocking Large Charm of Inertia
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x5ddd6549
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Run/Walk
Adds 1 - 73 Lightning Damage

Emerald Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x4b21eb8e
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Poison Resist +10%

Emerald Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x26951ae5
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Poison Resist +10%

Emerald Large Charm of Storms
Large Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0xcb812817
Item Level: 77
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 29 Lightning Damage
Poison Resist +14%

Shocking Large Charm
Large Charm
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x93ec9be5
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 86 Lightning Damage

Mercenary
Liene, A1 Fire Arrow
Helm: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest socketed with Tin Jewel of Fervor
Armour: Treachery Ethereal Archon Plate
Weapon: Faith Ward Bow

Finds
Hellforge: ? NM,Hel Hell.
I had a few better than average charms, a 24% Saracen's Chance which I will never use, a few other odds & ends that will gather virtual dust in a stash, but nothing outstanding.

Random Thoughts
In my first 2h Sword sept, I didn't really enjoy my Enchantress, Cymoril. She was too fragile in melee and had too much reliance on her backup attack and mercenary. As I was going with a Faith Rogue, that meant I had to do the tanking myself, so that meant energy shield. A full ES doesn't leave enough skill points left for a fully synergised Enchant. So I decided to use synergise Demon Limb charges instead. That left me 10 points to put into lightning mastery. So If I have Lightning Mastery and Fire Mastery, I tought those would make a nice synergy for Vengeance. Gul+Mal is a high price to pay for a niche build, but I was rewarded with 4.5 to 11K damage, albeit at a slow attack speed.

I had always wanted to use Andariel's Visage and Arkaine's on a character, but was always one problem - the level requirement. Lvl 83 is normally about when I finish the game, not equip my end game gear. So I found an orb with +2 Sorc skills and +3 Meteor in my stash and ran the Mausoleum as a Meteor sorc until I was 85. No real finds or problems, but she did have a tendency to hiding inside walls.

When I got to equip my end game gear, things started to go along quite nicely. The damage was impressive, most things going down in one or two hits at /Players1. I tried upping the players settings, but stronger monsters meant that I got surrounded more, took more hits in a short space of time and this takes the ES down quickly. For a sorceress she could tank pretty well, but she is still reasonably fragile. Mana burns were a big problem as I did not have enough life to tank more than a single hit if the ES went down. The seriously negative resists didn't help either. This meant I had to check the mods on alost every boss pack, a lesson I learnt quickly. It's also surprising quite how many mana burns there are when you are worried about them. I came across something I have never seen before near the monastery. It was the subject of one of the tasks in the 12 Days of Christmas Tourney in 2008, and nobody managed to find it.

Act bosses were fairly easy, even without the usual boss crippling skills like Decrepify of slow from Kelpie Snare. Static down to half life and then wack away. I usually had to chug a few potions, but nothing too major. Diablo was very easy after the pain of the Chaos Sanctuary (FIs and mana burns), Baal was a bit more problematic due to his anoying knockback mana burn attacks. Ancients went down at the first try too, despite one being mana burn.

I enjoyed playing her, which is more than I can say for my previous enchantress. She was much more durable and had decent damage, so all in all a fairly successful build.

Sept Status

Code:
Name           Class        Build              Level  Title      Weapon
----           -----        -----              -----  -----      ------
[URL="http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698122"]Urlik_Skarsol Barbarian    PDR Berserker        84   Patriach   'Death' Eth Colossus Sword[/URL]
[URL="http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=709198"]Corum         Necromancer  Revive/Meleemancer   81   Patriach   'Passion' Champion Sword[/URL]
[URL="http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=725065"]Beowulf       Druid        Kodiak               82   Patriach   6 Shael Colossus Blade[/URL]
[URL="http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=734291"]Katajana      Assassin     Zealot               82   Matriarch  'Passion' Balrog Blade[/URL]
[URL="http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=749697"]Asquiol       Paladin      Frost Zealot         83   Patriarch   Lawbringer/VoR/BKSC[/URL]
[URL="http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=754869"]Sharadim      Sorceress    ES Enchantless       85   Matriarch  'Kingslayer' Balrog Blade[/URL]
Ilian          Amazon       Not Sure yet          1   -          Not sure yet

And then there was one. I'm still undecided what to do with the last one, I may wait until later in the year to complete this sept. I thought I would be done with 2h swords after this sept, but the return of a certain rune has made me think about more 2h sword characters. Certainly a Barbarian and a Necromancer, but definately not a full sept. I also have some PvP characters to level, and some PvM Assassins to fit in.
 
Originally posted by DX-Crawler on Mar 6, 2004:

Say hello to Guardian Blessed_Ploppy

So my first Guardian in 1.10 is now a reality. My Hammerdin Blessed_Ploppy killed Baal at the lvl of 86.
After the Ancients there wasn't any real trouble despite some Gloams which were not very nice to my merc.

So here are the stats (with equip):

Str 122
Dex 122
Vit 332
Ene 17
Damage per hammer 6218-6296
Defense with Holy Shield 4631 73% CTB
Life 1384
Mana 485
75 % to resist all

My End Equipment are:
Wizardspike
PT Harlequin Crest
+3 to combat skills ammy
Wealth Great Hauberk
Um'd Herald of Zakarum
36 % Chance Guard
2 Nagels 30%, 28%
Goldwrap
War Traveler 48%

Some Charms: 37% Gheed's Fortune and some life charms

My merc Equip are:
Tal Rashas Horadric Crest
Upgr Hone Sundan with 3 amns
Shaftstop.

Baal dropped me a Uni Tresher so my merc will probably use that one instead of the Hone Sundan.

This Character will probably do Baalrunb until he dies or something
So now I only have 6 classes left to make guardian I estimate that to be done at the end of 2050 around christmas. So check this site at that date and you will se my post. :D

DX
 
Originally posted by @Grisu on Jul 21, 2007:

Guardian #3 - Lightning_Monk, the obsessed Hammerdin

Finally meet Guardian Lightning_Monk, the Hammerdin I started during the Obsession tournament according to these rules.

For those who don't want to go through pages of rules:
  • I was only allowed to use these 3 skills: Blessed Hammer, Vigor, Concentration. Synergies were allowed to be pumped, but not to be used.
  • only 1 point per level in either DEX, STR or ENE. The others had either to be spent on Vitality or saved for after the tournament.
  • Items: only those that mention either "Lightning", "Vitality", "All Resistances", "All Attributes", "Blessed Hammer", "Vigor" or "Concentration" may be used.
  • Items: in Nightmare only Excetional/Elite items or all Uniques/Set (in addition to the restrictions above), in Hell only Elite items or all Exceptional/Elite S/U (in addition to the restrictions above)
  • HC
  • single pass
  • untwinked
Ok, so let's have a closer look at him:

Stats:

Level: 84

STR: 91
DEX: 92
VIT: 293
ENE: 35
remaining: 76

Life: 1098
Mana: 263
Block: 33%
Damage: 4167-4241 (Blessed Hammer), 50% FCR

Resistances:
Fire: 59%
Cold: 75%
Lightning: 75%
Poison: 55%

Skills:
Blessed Hammer 20 (22)
Concentration 20 (22)
Vigor 20 (22)
Blessed Aim 20 (22)
prereqs: each 1
remaining: 10

Equipment:

Lore Shako
Smoke Dusk Shroud
Upped PDiamond Steelclash / Langer Briser (MF switch :)
Upped Hel'd Spectral Shard
Crafted Blood Vampire Bone Gloves
Crafted Caster Wyrmhide Boots
Crafted Safety Spiderweb Sash

Rich (BB code):
Lore
Shako
'OrtSol'
Defense: 101
Durability: 11 of 12
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 43
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 64
Fingerprint: 0x61330d4f
+10 to Energy
Damage Reduced by 7
Lightning Resist +30%
+2 to Light Radius
+1 to All Skill Levels
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Socketed (2: 2 used)

Smoke
Lightning_Monk's Dusk Shroud
'NefLum'
Defense: 801
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Strength: 77
Required Level: 49
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xef700b11
+10 to Energy
+75% Enhanced Defense
+280 Defense vs. Missile
All Resistances +50
-1 to Light Radius
20% Faster Hit Recovery
Level 6 Weaken (18/18 Charges)
Socketed (2: 2 used)

Spectral Shard
Stiletto
'Hel'
One-Hand Damage: 19 to 36
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Dexterity: 78
Required Strength: 38
Required Level: 30
Dagger Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xf2f0aecf
+50 to Mana
+55 to Attack Rating
All Resistances +10
Requirements -20%
Required Level +5
50% Faster Cast Rate
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Steelclash
Dragon Shield
Defense: 136
Chance to Block:  73%
Smite Damage: 15 to 24
Durability: 94 of 94
Required Strength: 91
Required Level: 30
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0x3fab5b9f
+97% Enhanced Defense
+25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+20 Defense
Damage Reduced by 3
All Resistances +34
+18 Maximum Durability
+1 to Paladin Skill Levels
+3 to Light Radius
Required Level +5
20% Faster Block Rate
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Corpse Hand
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 118
Durability: 12 of 14
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 47
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0xde2d35d0
+14 to Life
+79% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +21%
Poison Resist +5%
2% Life stolen per hit
55% Extra Gold from Monsters
5% Chance of Crushing Blow

Glyph Brogues
Wyrmhide Boots
Defense: 76
Durability: 11 of 12
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 74
Fingerprint: 0x211e2a03
+20 to Mana
+8 to Maximum Stamina
+22% Enhanced Defense
Regenerate Mana 5%
Lightning Resist +24%
Increase Maximum Mana 2%
24% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Pain Harness
Spiderweb Sash
Defense: 101
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 46
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 76
Fingerprint: 0xcdc24e54
+59% Enhanced Defense
Damage Reduced by 4
Magic Damage Reduced by 1
Lightning Resist +16%
Cold Resist +25%
Poison Resist +10%
78% Extra Gold from Monsters

Dread Collar
Amulet
Required Level: 35
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 61
Fingerprint: 0x70bb167c
+15 to Strength
+14 to Dexterity
Fire Resist +18%
Lightning Resist +4%
Cold Resist +4%
Poison Resist +4%

Ocher Ring of Perfection
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0xc76d914e
+16 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +15%

Order Whorl
Ring
Required Level: 13
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x3385a039
+2 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +14%
Cold Resist +30%
Poison Resist +12%

Weapon switch:
Langer Briser
Arbalest
Two-Hand Damage: 39 to 100
Required Dexterity: 61
Required Strength: 52
Required Level: 32
Crossbow Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x56a4a92a
+30 to Life
+182% Enhanced Damage
+24 to Maximum Damage
Adds 1-212 lightning damage
38% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Knockback
33% Chance of Open Wounds

Mercenary:
Act II Might mercenary with Tal's Mask, Insight Thresher, Upped Goldskin
Rich (BB code):
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 101
Durability: 11 of 20
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 66
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 61
Fingerprint: 0xff0532f7
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
+45 Defense
All Resistances +15
10% Life stolen per hit
10% Mana stolen per hit

Insight
Thresher
'RalTirTalSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 50 to 489
Durability: 57 of 65
Required Dexterity: 118
Required Strength: 152
Required Level: 53
Polearm Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 76
Fingerprint: 0xd677a0f3
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
+247% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+3 to Critical Strike
35% Faster Cast Rate
216% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Level 16 Meditation Aura When Equipped
Socketed (4: 4 used)

Goldskin
Chaos Armor
Defense: 767
Durability: 61 of 70
Required Strength: 140
Required Level: 33
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 63
Fingerprint: 0x357375ea
+142% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +35
Attacker Takes Damage of 10
100% Extra Gold from Monsters
+2 to Light Radius
Required Level +5

For Bosses:
Bec-de-Corbin
Two-Hand Damage: 18 to 119
Durability: 38 of 55
Required Dexterity: 91
Required Strength: 133
Required Level: 33
Polearm Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x9883cdb4
+40% Enhanced Damage
-3 to Light Radius
Required Level +5
Hit Blinds Target +3
Prevent Monster Heal
-50 to Monster Defense Per Hit
Freezes Target +1
50% Chance of Open Wounds
Slows Target by 50%

Mentionable finds:
Hell Hellforge😁
Vampire Gaze
Buriza
Tal's Mask and belt
Perfect Witchwild String
Perfect Snowclash

I almost never struggled, since I was very lucky with my (rune) finds: Lum and a Duskshroud with 2 sockets, a 4 os Thresher for Insight (cheap), a 2 os Shako for Lore etc...once I entered Hell I had to unequip almost my whole equipment (see rules above), so I started a crafting session with what I had...in 5 or 6 tries I got the 3 items you can see above.
Only problem was the weapon: So I upped my Spectral Shard, but in order to equip it, I had to socket it (thanks, Larzuk!) and put a Hel in it. The Steelclash dropped in Act IV, I decided to up it to be able to use it and put another PDiamond in it after completing the first quest in Act V.


Act V... well, that was a pain in the *** ... all those nasty little teleportig shooters and Blood maidens and so on...I think I had to revive my mercenery about 15 times in the Icy Cellar, because there were only gloams and succubi...
The Ancients on the other hand were quite easy: I had to feed my mercenary a few potions, but thanks to the upped Husaldo Evo (slow mod) they were quite doable.
The WSK was a breeze (well, except for that soul pack with conviction aura :rolleyes: ) and here I am - Guardian and all 😁

So, now I can finally twink him and put on that Harlekin Crest and that HoZ...hehe :)

Anyways, thanks for reading and better be careful in the next MFO...competition is coming along with Lightning_Monk:wink2:
 
Originally posted by HP_Sauce on Oct 11, 2009:

Guardian #9: Sherman (Hammers anyone?)

Sherman is named after the main character in the comic strip 'Sherman's Lagoon'. Why? I don't know. Sherman is old, I believe I created him back when I first started playing SP because I had never built a hammeradin before, so I figured I'd try (this was 4 or 5 years ago).

I ran him to late NM/Early Hell long ago. He took too much damage constantly, he sucked. I stopped playing him.

Recently my friends computer crashed, so we were not able to play Guild Wars together as we had planned that weekend. While chatting about how Guild Wars didn't have one character build that really stood ahead of the pack, he mentioned the word hammeradin. Upon hearing this, I remembered that I had a hammeradin, but I had never finished him. I decided that I would Guardian him, or die trying, since we could not play Guild Wars.

When I picked him up he was in Act 1 Hell, and he still sucked. Since I had created him long ago, when I first started playing SP (I was poor), his gear was crap. He constantly took damage... I was constantly drinking potions.

I am now a bit more wealthy, so I re-geared him... He was tolerable to play.

Let me get a few things out of the way:
1) Most of my characters generally have a positive return on Full Rejuv potions. I pick up Rejuv's, cube them into Full Rejuv's... Some I drink, the rest I mule away (I have over 1800 stashed in ATMA). Sherman did not. He drank Full Rejuv's like I drink beer... It's 11am and I'm already on my 4th beer, you do the math. There were times when I had to mule Full Rejuv's onto him.

2) Most of my characters generally have a positive gold return. I pickup shiny things, I sell them, and I mule away the gold when the character is full (I have 93.6 million gold stashed in the Bank of ATMA). Sherman spent money like it was going out of style. I could not even keep track of how many times I had to re-hire his merc. I never had to actually mule money onto him, but there were times when it was close.

3) I hate Sherman. There were times when it was fun to watch entire armies drop dead thanks to his hammer fields. But the rest of the time I was busy swearing at him, because his hammers missed, or his merc was dead, or he was out of mana, or his merc was dead, or he was frozen and couldn't maneuver to fire hammers. I'm not even sure if I can put into words the frustration that I felt. Having to run away from the enemy, so that you can attack them, because your attack is missing them... only to find that the enemy returned to the same 'safe' place.

Level: 80
Life: 1283
Mana: 382

Strength: 164
Dexterity: 106
Vitality: 334
Energy: 20

He has way too much strength. But he was created when I was poor, so after re-gearing, that is to be expected.

Gear:
Weapon: Spirit (32% FCR)
Shield: Spirit (30% FCR)
Armour: Vipermagi
Helm: Rare Circlet (+1 Pally skills, 20% FCR, +19 STR, other junk)
Gloves: Magefists
Belt: Tgods
Boots: Rare junk (some resists)
Amulet: Mara's (+22 resist all)
Ring: 10% FCR with some resists
Ring: 10% FCR with some resists

Merc: Holy Freeze
Helm: Tal's Mask
Armour: Was rare junk until Act 5 hell. Now 'Treachery'.
Weapon: Hone Sundan (Shael, Shael, Amn)

I can't get over how much damage this guy took, it was constant. During a normal battle I could use Redemption afterwords to fill him back up, but if it was a difficult battle, there was always potions involved.

Mana Burn was like castration. I have Sorc's who can limp through a mana burn, but not Sherman... He was completely helpless.

I multiplayed with myself (using a sorc) to get through the Mag. Hole in act 2. I played a bit of Act 3 Hell at first, but ultimately I MP'd through that as well. I gave him all the WP's in Act 5 as well, because I couldn't bring myself to walk through all that outdoor crap... In fact, I used a sorc to teleport closer to Anya, because I didn't want to walk that... I hated playing Sherman.

The Ancients were tough. I had a sorc sitting in game, so they were technically done on /p2. I think I re-rolled them about 10 times. I kept getting delightful things like Amp+Fanat, or conviction. I thought they would be easy actually, because you have all the time in the world to lay down a hammer field before opening them, but I was wrong. Finally I finished up resorting to my old tactics of running around and splitting them up. The Merc died of course. I thought hammeradins were supposed to be awesome?

After the Ancients, I decided I would walk the WSK (even though I had a sorc ingame to teleport). In the WSK level 1 I ran into some fanatic Snakes, and my computer decided it was going to install a patch or something at the same time. My merc died and my computer chugged and chugged, I tried to flee, but apparently I was lagging with myself... So I ran and was then teleported back. I tried running again and teleported forwards (away from the Snakes)... but a Snake had charged and hit me, so I was stunned and thrown backwards (towards the Snakes). You read that right. I was teleported away from the Snakes, attacked by an invisible Snake, and moon walked/slid backwards all the way across the ****ing screen, back into the Snakes. Have I mentioned that I hated playing this character?

When I reached the WSK level 2 I promptly encountered a pack of fanatic Frenzytaurs. I don't think they actually killed my merc because he seemed to die from a heart attack before they even reached him. I was spamming hammers at max FCR, but the Frenzytaurs didn't care... I fled back to WSK level 1, fluxed, and used my sorc to teleport though the WSK level 2 and 3 next game.

In the Throne of Destruction, my merc actually managed to die against the first wave. What... The... ****..?!?

Being pushed away from Baal by his ice cone was a delight. And when clicking to try and run back towards him, I love the feature where you click on him by mistake, and your character starts firing off hammers in place (on the other side of the room)... you know, instead of running towards him.

Have I mentioned that I hate this character?

-hps

P.S. Baal's quest drop.
P.P.S. If you are observant, you will notice that my mercenary is once again dead, in that picture.
 
Originally posted by @Kitteh on Jan 1, 2020:

Guardian #24 -Divinity - A Hairless, Born-Again Christian Version of Thor


It's been a while since I had a new guardian, but here he is, Guardian Divinity. I haven't played a hammerdin since Fordyl hit level 99, so I wasn't sure how this would feel but oh boy was it a fun play through at P8/P8/P5, and a bit of a blast. I'm struggling again just now and I'm finding that I need Diablo for the stability. Divinity had a decent bit of drop luck, but some bad RNG on runeword rolling. A couple of NDEs too, both easily avoidable. No future plans for him and he will most likely gather dust as I've probably had my fill of hammerdins :p

Name: Divinity
Class: Paladin
Experience: 1038887011
Level: 84

Naked/Gear
Strength: 106/113
Dexterity: 118/150
Vitality: 276/305
Energy: 15/22
HP: 1034/1762
Mana: 139/392
Stamina: 423/503
Defense: 29/1520
AR: 575/787

Fire: 182/142/82
Cold: 176/136/76
Lightning: 211/171/111
Poison: 201/161/101

MF: 86 Block: 48
GF: 201
FR/W: 20
FHR: 90
IAS: 10
FCR: 133

Sacrifice: 0/0
Smite: 1/12
Holy Bolt: 1/12
Zeal: 0/0
Charge: 1/12
Vengeance: 0/0
Blessed Hammer: 20/31
Conversion: 0/0
Holy Shield: 7/18
Fist of the Heavens: 0/0

Might: 1/12
Holy Fire: 0/0
Thorns: 0/0
Blessed Aim: 20/31
Concentration: 20/31
Holy Freeze: 0/0
Holy Shock: 0/0
Sanctuary: 0/0
Fanaticism: 0/0
Conviction: 0/0

Prayer: 1/12
Resist Fire: 0/0
Defiance: 1/12
Resist Cold: 0/0
Cleansing: 1/12
Resist Lightning: 0/0
Vigor: 20/31
Meditation: 0/0
Redemption: 1/12
Salvation: 0/0

Waterwalk
Sharkskin Boots
Defense: 124
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 32
Required Strength: 47
Fingerprint: 0x6a4a8d14
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Faster Run/Walk
+210% Enhanced Defense
+100 Defense vs. Missile
+15 to Dexterity
+64 to Life
+40 Maximum Stamina
Heal Stamina Plus 50%
+5% to Maximum Fire Resist

Dwarf Star
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xb7159455
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+40 to Life
+40 Maximum Stamina
Heal Stamina Plus 15%
Fire Absorb 15%
Magic Damage Reduced by 13
100% Extra Gold from Monsters

Ruby Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x6c224e91
Item Level: 58
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+14 to Life
Fire Resist +10%

Amber Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x9bb77838
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life
Lightning Resist +11%

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x2bb2e141
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xd312c4bf
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life

Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Required Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0xc55eb4e0
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
101% Extra Gold from Monsters
Reduces all Vendor Prices 12%
36% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Snake's Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x317cb9c4
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+18 to Life
+10 to Mana

Emerald Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xba599f43
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life
Poison Resist +11%

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x53c1bb40
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+17 to Life

Amber Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x8a732532
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10 to Life
Lightning Resist +10%

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xe793b1b8
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xcba94da
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x1b36b3e6
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x73274693
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life

Harlequin Crest
Shako
Defense: 104
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 62
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x66ae94b8
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
All Stats +2
+126 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+126 to Mana (Based on Character Level)
All Resistances +15
Damage Reduced by 10%
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Um Rune

Um Rune
Required Level: 47
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 25% Chance of Open Wounds
Armor: Cold Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +15%
Fire Resist +15%
Poison Resist +15%
Shields: Cold Resist +22%
Lightning Resist +22%
Fire Resist +22%
Poison Resist +22%

Doom Loop
Ring
Required Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0xd514e6f
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+52 to Attack Rating
+39 to Life
Lightning Resist +14%
Fire Resist +7%
Level 2 Confuse (25/25 Charges)

Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x451987a4
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
All Stats +5
All Resistances +24

Russet Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 17
Fingerprint: 0x14abcfe6
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+14 to Life
Fire Resist +7%

Shivering Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x77edeff0
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 3 - 8 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
+17 to Life

Viridian Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xcd3bfd59
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life
Poison Resist +6%

Garnet Large Charm of Vita
Large Charm
Required Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0x850a3db8
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+28 to Life
Fire Resist +12%

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xaf2b009e
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Crimson Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x5abbecd8
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
Fire Resist +5%

Snake's Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xe1e8d6f2
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
+11 to Mana

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x86caba37
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+16 to Life

Jade Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb5647501
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life
Poison Resist +8%

Septic Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xbaf1ed8b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 15 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
+16 to Life

Arachnid Mesh
Spiderweb Sash
Defense: 137
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 80
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x9559881c
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
Slows Target by 10%
+118% Enhanced Defense
Increase Maximum Mana 5%
Level 3 Venom (11/11 Charges)

Horadric Cube
Fingerprint: 0xa65c0721
Item Level: 13
Version: Expansion 1.10+

Bloodfist
Heavy Gloves
Defense: 18
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 9
Fingerprint: 0x2ab35ece
Item Level: 26
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Increased Attack Speed
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+5 to Minimum Damage
+16% Enhanced Defense
+10 Defense
+40 to Life

Skin of the Vipermagi
Wyrmhide
Defense: 941
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 84
Fingerprint: 0xea2c74c2
Item Level: 40
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+30% Faster Cast Rate
+120% Enhanced Defense
+38 to Life
All Resistances +29
Magic Damage Reduced by 10
Required Level +7
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Ruby

Perfect Ruby
Required Level: 18
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 15 - 20 Fire Damage
Armor: +38 to Life
Shields: Fire Resist +40%

Call to Arms
Double Axe
AmnRalMalIstOhm
One Hand Damage: 27 - 74
Durability: 12 of 13
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 33
Fingerprint: 0x66fa77b9
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
290% Enhanced Damage
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Prevent Monster Heal
+6 to Battle Command
+5 to Battle Orders
+4 to Battle Cry
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Ethereal
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune

Amn Rune
Required Level: 25
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 7% Life stolen per hit
Armor: Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Shields: Attacker Takes Damage of 14

Ral Rune
Required Level: 19
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Armor: Fire Resist +30%
Shields: Fire Resist +35%

Mal Rune
Required Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Prevent Monster Heal
Armor: Magic Damage Reduced by 7
Shields: Magic Damage Reduced by 7

Ist Rune
Required Level: 51
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Armor: 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Shields: 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

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

Spirit
Heraldic Shield
TalThulOrtAmn
Defense: 19
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Level: 25
Required Strength: 40
Fingerprint: 0x4c021500
Item Level: 58
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+31% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+92 to Mana
Cold Resist +35%
All Resistances +7
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+5 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Amn Rune

Tal Rune
Required Level: 17
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
Armor: Poison Resist +30%
Shields: Poison Resist +35%

Thul Rune
Required Level: 23
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Armor: Cold Resist +30%
Shields: Cold Resist +35%

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

Amn Rune
Required Level: 25
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 7% Life stolen per hit
Armor: Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Shields: Attacker Takes Damage of 14

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: 0x1a72379a
Item Level: 61
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 4 Oak Sage (25/25 Charges)
Level 14 Raven (60/60 Charges)
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Pul Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune

Ko Rune
Required Level: 39
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +10 to Dexterity
Armor: +10 to Dexterity
Shields: +10 to Dexterity

Vex Rune
Required Level: 55
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 7% Mana stolen per hit
Armor: +5% to Maximum Fire Resist
Shields: +5% to Maximum Fire Resist

Pul Rune
Required Level: 45
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +75% Damage to Demons
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
Armor: +30% Enhanced Defense
Shields: +30% Enhanced Defense

Thul Rune
Required Level: 23
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Armor: Cold Resist +30%
Shields: Cold Resist +35%

Spirit
Sacred Targe
TalThulOrtAmn
Defense: 140
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 45 of 45
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 86
Fingerprint: 0xc917d040
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+33% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+106 to Mana
Cold Resist +35%
All Resistances +26
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+3 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Amn Rune

Tal Rune
Required Level: 17
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
Armor: Poison Resist +30%
Shields: Poison Resist +35%

Thul Rune
Required Level: 23
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Armor: Cold Resist +30%
Shields: Cold Resist +35%

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

Amn Rune
Required Level: 25
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 7% Life stolen per hit
Armor: Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Shields: Attacker Takes Damage of 14

Mercenary:

Name: Durga
Race: Desert Mercenary
Type: Def-Nightmare
Experience: 71973586
Level: 84
Dead?: false

Naked/Gear
Strength: 184/204
Dexterity: 148/178
HP: 1727/1937
Defense: 1274/2234
AR: 1898/444132

Fire: 201/161/101
Cold: 198/158/98
Lightning: 168/128/68
Poison: 168/128/68

Duriel's Shell
Cuirass
Defense: 661
Durability: 146 of 150
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 65
Fingerprint: 0xc4bee529
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+174% Enhanced Defense
+105 Defense (Based on Character Level)
+15 to Strength
+38 to Life
+84 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Cold Resist +30%
All Resistances +20
Cannot Be Frozen
+100 Maximum Durability
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Ruby

Perfect Ruby
Required Level: 18
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 15 - 20 Fire Damage
Armor: +38 to Life
Shields: Fire Resist +40%


Crown of Thieves
Grand Crown
Defense: 299
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 49
Required Strength: 103
Fingerprint: 0xde77d38c
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
12% Life stolen per hit
+163% Enhanced Defense
+25 to Dexterity
+** to Life
+35 to Mana
Fire Resist +33%
84% Extra Gold from Monsters
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Ruby

Perfect Ruby
Required Level: 18
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 15 - 20 Fire Damage
Armor: +38 to Life
Shields: Fire Resist +40%


Insight
Great Poleaxe
RalTirTalSol
Two Hand Damage: 162 - 424
Durability: 34 of 55
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 179
Required Dexterity: 99
Fingerprint: 0xb062d246
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 14 Meditation Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Cast Rate
234% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
233% Bonus to Attack Rating
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
+1 to Critical Strike
All Stats +5
+2 to Mana after each Kill
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Tir Rune
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune

Ral Rune
Required Level: 19
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Armor: Fire Resist +30%
Shields: Fire Resist +35%

Tir Rune
Required Level: 13
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Armor: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Shields: +2 to Mana after each Kill

Tal Rune
Required Level: 17
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
Armor: Poison Resist +30%
Shields: Poison Resist +35%

Sol Rune
Required Level: 27
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +9 to Minimum Damage
Armor: Damage Reduced by 7
Shields: Damage Reduced by 7
 
Originally posted by Milb on Oct 1, 2006:

Guardian No. 5 - Arthas - Hammerdin

Not a massive fan of Paladins so I thought I would make a fast killing one to contribute towards my Sept. This is the 4th class i have taken to Guardian now, so only Necro, Druid and Assassin to go.

Well, I thought instead of trying to make a regular Hammerdin I would try and do it with zero points spent in strength, which isn't too easy without an Enigma, but it worked quite well. Also, if I ever find a Jah I will have a Hammerdin built around an Enigma ready to go 😃

Stats:

Lvl 81
Str Base / 120
Dex 105 / 150
Vit 355 / 435
Eng Base / 45

1759 life and 430 Mana
Resists are 80/75/85/75

Damage: 5.8k-5.9k

Gear:
Wizardspike
Peasant Crown - (still no bloody Shako yet!)
Seraph's Hymn
Lionheart Dusk Shroud
HoZ
Ravenfrost 15 Dex
Waterwalks 208ed / 65 life
Magefists
Thundergods Vigor
and:
Corruption Hold
Ring
Required Level: 66
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x4f137633
+20 to Strength
+19 to Mana
+79 to Attack Rating
Lightning Resist +30%
10% Faster Cast Rate
10% Chance to cast Level 3 Nova when struck
+a few charms with life and strength

Skills: Hammerdin with 1 point in Fanatacism and Redemption, 2 left over.

He has great stacked resistance so Conviction wasn't too scary for a change, and Gloams couldn't actually hurt him from the moment I put a Tgods on. My only problem with him is he is a caster which has to get into melee range which can be quite dangerous sometimes.

Had a couple of NDEs - First was the NM Council - FE Boss was in range of me and almost killed me, same happened at NM Ancients - but apart from that I didn't really have any problems.

I think Forges were Fal and Um, and I can't rememeber any nice items, I think the fact i was playing with 0 mf had something to contribute there :laugh:

I think I will carry on mfing now with my sorc and amazon and see what happens to drop before I pick another character to try for Guardian - I'm tempted by a Bone Necro but we shall see.

Thanks for reading!
Milb
 
Originally posted by scrcrw on Feb 27, 2010:

Guardian Botlike - Never say never again

Well, everyone who has visited the realms over the past few years can probably guess what build I've chosen this time by the character's name. For the solution I refer you to this pretty picture (also to set the mood).

To explain the rest of the title: I have publicly stated before that I would never make a Hammerdin again, that I would not go back to playing twinked and that I would not do boss runs again...
At least it's HC. In SC I wouldn't have bothered to make this character with this gear - killing Hell Baal would just have been a question of time and not skill (not that I claim to have any).

So, a twinked Hammerdin it is. I'm vaguely ashamed. Part of the blame goes to RobbyD ;) He asked in my Fishyzon Guardian thread how I would gear her for mf'ing. This got me thinking about mf (and shiny loot) and I ended up doing a couple of Mephisto runs with my also recently guardian'ed Light sorc. With a bit of regearing I managed decent times and after a while this dropped.
First one of these I've seen in SP - that called for a Pally. I hadn't planned on ever touching Hammers again after pat'ing an untwinked one. However I figured a decent tank (see below) might make this more bearable (or even fun). Also max res in Hell with only 3 items seemed kind of cool.

Enough with the excuses and on to the hard facts:
LCS 75% block with HS, 2k hammer damage w/o conc
Stats (naked): 65/95/345/15
Skills: 20 BH/BA/Vigor/Conc (*gasp*), 1 HS, 1 Redemption, 1 Prayer, 6 unspent with +8 combat/+6 off/def
Gear:
Weapon: Wizardspike
Body: Skin of the Vipermagi (32/10) (Ort)
Shield: HoZ (-15% req/3 str/lr rare jewel)
Head: Peasant Crown (Ort)
Amu: Crafted 1 Pally/9 fcr/9 str/x mana
Gloves: Bloodfist
Rings: SoJ+Dwarfstar
Belt: Tal's
Boots: Waterwalk (56 life)

Charms for a total of 233 life, 2 strength (and some useless resists) in 17 spaces
Nothing much to explain here - Wizzy/Skin/HoZ take care of resists and fcr, lots of life (1,5k before charms). For Souls Botlike had a special weapon: an eth Thundergod's (+Ravenfrost to replace the dex from the Tal belt). Why the ridiculously overstacked Light res (280 in total)? Vipermagi and Peasant Crown are loaners from my other chars and I'm not swimming in Hel runes.

In case you're wondering "Why no 'nigma + HotO to be truly botlike?": My highest rune is still an HF Mal and as long as there is no 1.13 final that is unlikely to change ;)
(to be precise: 1.12 HC RRM/RWM following SPF rules, no trading, no timetraveling)

Merc: Holy Freeze with Reaper's Toll/Shaftstop/Vamp Gaze - Mephisto was very kind to me. Resists were a bit low, but in "Ultra'sorbmode" (Tgods, Raven Frost, Dwarfstar) Botlike was pretty much immune to elemental damage anyway.

Gameplay: Pretty fast and easy. 6k spammable damage without immunes is definitely nice to have. Max Res + ~20 mdr, Max Block, 1,7k life and a sturdy merc are also useful. Normal and NM on p7, Hell A1-3 on p5, 4 on p3 and most of 5 on p1.
I maxed the synergies before concentration and ran Redemption for most of Normal and NM. Not many pots were used :)
Worst nde was at the NM Council. An FE boss exploded next to Botlike while cursed - instant empty bulb.
Some problems in Hell A5 to strong ranged boss packs (gotta love Extra Strong/Cursed/Might enchanted). High level vigor can be surprisingly useful.
For the ancients fight look at the picture below (took maybe 30secs). WSK had easy monster rolls (not that I was afraid of hard ones).

Finds: Goreriders, Titan's, IK gloves. HF: ?/Sol/Pul

Conclusion: I'm still not entirely convinced by this build. Hammers just feel clumsy. With an Enigma the constant repositioning might be more fun. Otherwise: 6k magic damage, max block, max res, 1,7k life = gg.

Mephisto dropped lots more shinies, hopefully some will make an appearance on future Guardians.

Some more pictures: Starting out in Sigon's, overstacked light res early on, Immunes? Panic!!! (or not), hammering Meph, hammering Diablo (for about 10 seconds), fun with the Hell ancients, something, 4/7? Maybe.
 
Originally posted by Shagsbeard on Jan 17, 2006:

Guardian #4

So... glass of wine in hand, I stumble forth from WSK#2 in search of the stairs down. I find them... really really far away.

Glass of wine #2... and feeling it... I stagger through WSK#3 and find the stairs to the throne room.

Glass of wine #3... and I'm really wondering why I'm doing this... I confront the throne room and have to use the tried and true technique of "RUN AWAY!"... a few times before I confront Baal's minions.

Baal himself was pie.

Introducing: Guardian Thumper. Your typical lvl 87 hammerdin. #4 on my way to seven. Following a Fishymancer, a Hydra sorc, and a fully summoning druid (who still lives)... a cheezy hammerdin.

He's got:
Ptopazed Harly/+3combatskills amy/wiz spike/Guardian Angel (Ptopaz)/HoZ (Pdiamond)/chancies/upped Goldwrap/37% wartravs/ravens/dwarfstar/2xcombatskillers/some +resist charms.

Skills: maxxed hammer, blessed aim, concentration (a poor job at that!), vigor, with 10 in lightning resist for the 95% lightning resist.

Goals: dunno. I'll probably run Baal a bit on a much better map. I need to get the level up a bit before it's comfortable, but that comes with work. He's probably going to retire and I'll start in on a trapper... I have four HC trap skillers saved up. I pretty much can't do anything but a trapper. Classes left are Barb, Assassin, and Amazon.
 
Originally posted by skunkbelly on May 21, 2005:

Guardian Hammerskunk

Five down, two to go... :jig: Hammerskunk, my not-so-cleverly named Hammerdin, beat Baal and became a Guardian this afternoon.

I know now why they're called cheesadins... even without fancy gear (see below), this character was able to beat hell with no real set-backs. Most of hell (up until acts 4-5) was done on players 3 or higher. Most of act 5 was done on p1.

Now I just need to get a barbarian and druid guardian. I have a singing barb in act 1 hell, but I think he's going to hit the wall very soon. We'll see how my two druids manage... they're still in NM.

Character name : Hammerskunk
Character type : Hardcore Paladin
Character level : 83
Character exp : 895334656

Strength : 65
Energy : 15
Dexterity : 103
Vitality : 322

Life : 1285 / 1170
Mana : 603 / 138
Stamina : 508 / 468

GC's with life, mana, fire resist.

GEAR: Spectral Shard, upgraded Nightsmoke, Frostburns, Raven Frost, Waterwalks, 30% Vipermagi, a few mana/life charms, and the following rares:

Rose Branded Amulet of the Apprentice
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 90
Fingerprint: 0x2009851
10% Faster Cast Rate
+3 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only)

Doom Grasp
Ring
Required Level: 23
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x9db3dbf5
+13 to Energy
+10 to Mana
+100 to Attack Rating
+1 to Maximum Damage
Lightning Resist +29%
10% Faster Cast Rate

Wraith Hood
Circlet
Defense: 28
Durability: 105 of 105
Required Level: 50
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0x2a838434
+17 to Strength
Fire Resist +20%
Lightning Resist +20%
Cold Resist +60%
Poison Resist +20%
+1 to Paladin Skill Levels
Repairs 1 durability in 33 seconds

Hammerskunk's Glyph Emblem
Aerin Shield
Defense: 43
Chance to Block: 72%
Smite Damage: 4 to 10
Durability: 50 of 50
(Paladin Only)
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 30
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x111ab7e9
+18% Enhanced Defense
+20% Increased Chance of Blocking
Magic Damage Reduced by 1
Fire Resist +60%
Lightning Resist +47%
Cold Resist +47%
Poison Resist +47%
30% Faster Block Rate
+2 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only)
5% Chance to cast Level 3 Frost Nova when struck
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Mercenary Items: Vampire Gaze, Shaftstop, Kelpie Snare.
 
Originally posted by @b1ur on Feb 24, 2015:

Relinquished, Multi-target Hammerdin; Guardian Thread

Guardian Relinquished

izMT5kd.jpg

Guardian status was achieved at 75 in a MP game with... Who's singer was JeanValjean?! :D

Aaanyway, here's the long overdue thread, since it's one of my most played characters.

Stats
LCS with BO
Code:
Name:       Relinquished
Class:      Paladin
Experience: 2417211552
Level:      94

            Naked/Gear
Strength:   25/97
Dexterity:  142/169
Vitality:   383/407
Energy:     15/17
HP:         1375/2066
Mana:       154/418
Stamina:    540/630
Defense:    35/1594
AR:         695/830

Fire:       258/218/158
Cold:       203/163/103
Lightning:  173/133/73
Poison:     173/133/73

MF:         184       Block:      49
GF:         194
FR/W:       65
FHR:        55
IAS:        0
FCR:        125
Skills
Code:
Smite: 1/13
Holy Bolt: 1/13
Charge: 1/13
Blessed Hammer: 20/32
Holy Shield: 18/30

Might: 1/13
Blessed Aim: 20/32
Concentration: 20/32

Prayer: 1/13
Defiance: 1/13
Cleansing: 1/13
Vigor: 20/32
Cookie cutter, No Redemption.

Equipment
Weapon:
'HotO' Flail (@40)
Shield: 'Spirit' ST (@45, 35fcr, 104mana) - thanks to frozzzen for the base
Switch: 'CtA' Crystal Sword (6BO) + 'Spirit' Protector Shield
Helm: Harlequin Crest 'Ral' - I should really find a nice jewel
Armor: 'Enigma' Light Plate
Gloves: Trang-Oul's Claws
Belt: Arachnid Mesh
Boots: Waterwalk (65life)
Amulet: Rare +1Pala, 20life, @16, 27%Fire, 60ExtraGold
Ring: Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Ring: Rare 10FCR, @7, 9%Fire

Inventory: 40MF Gheeds, some resist SC's, loads 'of Vita' SC's, Tome of Identify and the Cube

GoMule dump
Code:
Doom Beads
Amulet
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x1052e519
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Paladin Skill Levels
+20 to Life
All Resistances +16
Fire Resist +27%
60% Extra Gold from Monsters

Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Required Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x65f31d15
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
119% Extra Gold from Monsters
Reduces all Vendor Prices 13%
40% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Harlequin Crest
Shako
Defense: 115
Durability: 10 of 12
Required Level: 62
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x6dc82fce
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
All Stats +2
+141 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+141 to Mana (Based on Character Level)
Fire Resist +30%
Damage Reduced by 10%
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ral Rune

Ral Rune
Required Level: 19
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Armor: Fire Resist +30%
Shields: Fire Resist +35%

Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Ring
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xcb7713b3
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
4% Life stolen per hit
+47 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+50 Maximum Stamina

Enigma
Superior Light Plate
JahIthBer
Defense: 866
Durability: 66 of 66
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 41
Fingerprint: 0x67f612a2
Item Level: 78
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+45% Faster Run/Walk
+1 to Teleport
+761 Defense
+70 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
94% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)
Increase Maximum Durability 10%
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Jah Rune
Socketed: Ith Rune
Socketed: Ber Rune

Jah Rune
Required Level: 65
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Ignore Target's Defense
Armor: Increase Maximum Life 5%
Shields: +50 to Life

Ith Rune
Required Level: 15
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +9 to Maximum Damage
Armor: 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Shields: 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana

Ber Rune
Required Level: 63
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 20% Chance of Crushing Blow
Armor: Damage Reduced by 8%
Shields: Damage Reduced by 8%

Garnet Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x8f1bc6dd
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +9%

Garnet Small Charm of Pestilence
Small Charm
Required Level: 24
Fingerprint: 0xed420e98
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 25 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
Fire Resist +9%

Garnet Small Charm of Greed
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x7cb5027c
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +9%
6% Extra Gold from Monsters

Shimmering Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0xceabf20c
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +5

Ruby Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xff270368
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +10%

Garnet Small Charm of Greed
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x64367e37
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +8%
9% Extra Gold from Monsters

Large Charm of Vita
Large Charm
Required Level: 66
Fingerprint: 0x48d4857d
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+35 to Life

Waterwalk
Sharkskin Boots
Defense: 118
Durability: 11 of 14
Required Level: 32
Required Strength: 47
Fingerprint: 0x1ba81dbc
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20% Faster Run/Walk
+196% Enhanced Defense
+100 Defense vs. Missile
+15 to Dexterity
+65 to Life
+40 Maximum Stamina
Heal Stamina Plus 50%
+5% to Maximum Fire Resist

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xa127f9d1
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+18 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb7ec79bc
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life

Fiery Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xba64d8c9
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 2 Fire Damage
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x1ce47d3d
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x58105a54
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xa2a504d2
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Glowing Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xd985ade8
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 22 Lightning Damage
+16 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xec6c345f
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x66a32024
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Snake's Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 24
Fingerprint: 0x15fabbc9
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15 to Life
+10 to Mana

Stout Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xa0b8522d
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 Defense
+18 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x2c53c2a0
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x94cf4540
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x5bb37248
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x5a220b72
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Foul Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x56853b10
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 50 Poison Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x56fc8019
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+18 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xbdfc3b8e
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x3375e0c9
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life

Arachnid Mesh
Spiderweb Sash
Defense: 132
Durability: 11 of 12
Required Level: 80
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0xcfcb0895
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
Slows Target by 10%
+111% Enhanced Defense
Increase Maximum Mana 5%
Level 3 Venom (11/11 Charges)

Garnet Small Charm of Anthrax
Small Charm
Required Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0xc53f7d2d
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 50 Poison Damage Over 6 Secs (150 Frames)
Fire Resist +9%

Shimmering Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0x5b471651
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +5

Snowy Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x1c7ddb63
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 2 - 3 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
+20 to Life

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Trang-Oul's Claws
Heavy Bracers
Defense: 74
Durability: 15 of 16
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 58
Fingerprint: 0x5785aef7
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Curses (Necromancer only)
+20% Faster Cast Rate
+25% to Poison Skill Damage
+30 Defense
Cold Resist +30%


Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Horadric Cube
Fingerprint: 0x15eefd84
Item Level: 13
Version: Expansion 1.10+

Raven Knot
Ring
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xefd51a8a
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
12% Chance to cast level 4 Charged Bolt when struck
+10% Faster Cast Rate
5% Life stolen per hit
+9 to Mana
All Resistances +7
Fire Resist +9%

Scroll of Town Portal
Version: Expansion 1.10+

Scroll of Town Portal
Version: Expansion 1.10+

Scroll of Town Portal
Version: Expansion 1.10+

Scroll of Town Portal
Version: Expansion 1.10+

Key
Fingerprint: 0xe7276816
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%

Tome of Identify
Fingerprint: 0x6117c80f
Item Level: 6
Version: Expansion 1.10+

Spirit
Protector Shield
TalThulOrtAmn
Defense: 136
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Level: 34
Required Strength: 69
Fingerprint: 0x4f8ca4dc
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+30% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+90 to Mana
Cold Resist +35%
All Resistances +35
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+6 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Amn Rune

Tal Rune
Required Level: 17
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
Armor: Poison Resist +30%
Shields: Poison Resist +35%

Thul Rune
Required Level: 23
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Armor: Cold Resist +30%
Shields: Cold Resist +35%

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

Amn Rune
Required Level: 25
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 7% Life stolen per hit
Armor: Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Shields: Attacker Takes Damage of 14

Call to Arms
Crystal Sword
AmnRalMalIstOhm
One Hand Damage: 18 - 56
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 43
Fingerprint: 0x91cccd55
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
275% Enhanced Damage
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Prevent Monster Heal
+5 to Battle Command
+6 to Battle Orders
+1 to Battle Cry
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune

Amn Rune
Required Level: 25
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 7% Life stolen per hit
Armor: Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Shields: Attacker Takes Damage of 14

Ral Rune
Required Level: 19
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Armor: Fire Resist +30%
Shields: Fire Resist +35%

Mal Rune
Required Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Prevent Monster Heal
Armor: Magic Damage Reduced by 7
Shields: Magic Damage Reduced by 7

Ist Rune
Required Level: 51
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Armor: 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Shields: 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

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

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: 0xbf67f864
Item Level: 88
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 +40
Level 4 Oak Sage (25/25 Charges)
Level 14 Raven (60/60 Charges)
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Pul Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune

Ko Rune
Required Level: 39
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +10 to Dexterity
Armor: +10 to Dexterity
Shields: +10 to Dexterity

Vex Rune
Required Level: 55
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 7% Mana stolen per hit
Armor: +5% to Maximum Fire Resist
Shields: +5% to Maximum Fire Resist

Pul Rune
Required Level: 45
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +75% Damage to Demons
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
Armor: +30% Enhanced Defense
Shields: +30% Enhanced Defense

Thul Rune
Required Level: 23
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Armor: Cold Resist +30%
Shields: Cold Resist +35%

Spirit
Superior Sacred Targe
TalThulOrtAmn
Defense: 111
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 20 of 22
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 86
Fingerprint: 0x1bafcbb5
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion
+2 to All Skills
+35% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+6% Enhanced Defense
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+104 to Mana
Cold Resist +35%
All Resistances +45
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+4 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Increase Maximum Durability 10%
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Amn Rune

Tal Rune
Required Level: 17
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
Armor: Poison Resist +30%
Shields: Poison Resist +35%

Thul Rune
Required Level: 23
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Armor: Cold Resist +30%
Shields: Cold Resist +35%

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

Amn Rune
Required Level: 25
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 7% Life stolen per hit
Armor: Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Shields: Attacker Takes Damage of 14

Mercenary:

Name:       Vikhyat
Race:       Desert Mercenary
Type:       Comb-Normal
Experience: 92360760
Level:      94
Dead?:      false

            Naked/Gear
Strength:   206/211
Dexterity:  167/172
HP:         2190/2307
Defense:    1600/5098
AR:         2081/480711

Fire:       188/148/88
Cold:       188/148/88
Lightning:  188/148/88
Poison:    188/148/88

Vampire Gaze
Grim Helm
Defense: 252
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 58
Fingerprint: 0xed7f50a3
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 6 - 22 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
7% Mana stolen per hit
7% Life stolen per hit
+100% Enhanced Defense
15% Slower Stamina Drain
Damage Reduced by 20%
Magic Damage Reduced by 10
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Jewel of Fervor

Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x79fbf121
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed


Fortitude
Archon Plate
ElSolDolLo
Defense: 3246
Durability: 31 of 31
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 93
Fingerprint: 0xea2755de
Item Level: 85
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
+117 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +27
Damage Reduced by 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 to Light Radius
Ethereal
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: El Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Dol Rune
Socketed: Lo Rune

El Rune
Required Level: 11
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +50 to Attack Rating
+1 to Light Radius
Armor: +15 Defense
+1 to Light Radius
Shields: +15 Defense
+1 to Light Radius

Sol Rune
Required Level: 27
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +9 to Minimum Damage
Armor: Damage Reduced by 7
Shields: Damage Reduced by 7

Dol Rune
Required Level: 31
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25%
Armor: Replenish Life +7
Shields: Replenish Life +7

Lo Rune
Required Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: 20% Deadly Strike
Armor: +5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
Shields: +5% to Maximum Lightning Resist


Insight
Thresher
RalTirTalSol
Two Hand Damage: 82 - 865
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 142
Required Dexterity: 108
Fingerprint: 0x3b80086b
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion
Level 12 Meditation Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Cast Rate
310% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
230% 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

Ral Rune
Required Level: 19
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Armor: Fire Resist +30%
Shields: Fire Resist +35%

Tir Rune
Required Level: 13
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Armor: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Shields: +2 to Mana after each Kill

Tal Rune
Required Level: 17
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
Armor: Poison Resist +30%
Shields: Poison Resist +35%

Sol Rune
Required Level: 27
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +9 to Minimum Damage
Armor: Damage Reduced by 7
Shields: Damage Reduced by 7

Mercenary
Weapons:
'Insight' eth Thresher (1.07 I think)
Armor: 'Fortitude' Archon Plate
Helm: Vampire Gaze (+IAS jewel)

Running targets and maps
Always at /p7
- Lower Kurast
qsoDL8n.jpg

Red - Superchests
Gray - Running Path

It could be slightly better, but combined with the others, you can't ask for much more than that.
- Travincal
a5CQvWu.jpg

All of the members spawn left from the Durance entrance, in the big room, nice for hammering. I skip Fanaticism because I'm a bit rusty.
- Eldrich + Superchest
QPnhfvX.jpg

Red - Eldrich, Superchest, Waypoint
Gray - Running path

Highest rune I've got screenshoted is an Ist, can't remember if anything higher dropped yet. Phar was the one who got me hooked on running it.
- CS + Diablo
1G2DwW8.jpg

Red - Boss Packs (not all of them are as frequent, but they're almost always in the middle and in Grand Vizier's wing).

I like this layout the best. De Seis is always taken with extreme care - pop hammers, tp back to save merc, pop hammers, if he's away from his pack - telebomb, if not kill the pack first (it's not as lengthy as it sounds). Infector is not a problem unless I tp right in the middle of his pack and has super nasty mods.

I used to do full clears (mostly for Rune and base finding purposes) but now I just do Boss packs + Seal Bosses + occasional big crowd of monsters + Big D.

Green - frequent shrine.

Running path is generally clockwise - Vizier, De Seis, Infector.

Also forgot to post my precious dropped from an Infector minion <3
Code:
Death's Fathom
Dimensional Shard
One Hand Damage: 30 - 53
Durability: 28 of 50
Required Level: 73
Fingerprint: 0x7556ae79
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Unidentified
+3 to Sorceress Skill Levels
+20% Faster Cast Rate
+29% to Cold Skill Damage
Lightning Resist +28%
Fire Resist +37%
I still haven't found a use of it, tho. Too scared of loosing it :/


Thanks for reading!
 
Originally posted by Arkardo on Feb 13, 2012:

Guardian #11: AwesomeSauce, Fanatic Zealot

Hey folks,

Just when you think you're finished with D2, you decide to come back, make a new character and finish that Enigma you almost had. Then you decide to make another character. This Guardian is named AwesomeSauce and happens to be a fanatic zealot!

Basic info
Name: AwesomeSauce
Class: Paladin
Experience: 637429705
Level: 79

Stats & Skills
Naked/Gear
Strength: 47/141
Dexterity: 90/118
Vitality: 338/358
Energy: 15/34
HP: 1345 (damn GoMule, why can't you get these right?)
Mana: 205
Stamina: 480/500 (<-- probably incorrect, but can't be bothered to check)
Defense: 22/2173 (11241 with Holy Shield)
AR: 435/18501 (lolwut? 4889 with Fanatism)

Fire: 216/176/116
Cold: 167/127/67
Lightning: 200/160/100
Poison: 162/122/62

MF: 123 Block: 53 (+37% from Holy Shield)
GF: 136
FR/W: 75
FHR: 30
IAS: 90
FCR: 0

Sacrifice: 17/24
Zeal: 20/27
Holy Shield: 20/27
Fanaticism: 20/25
Vigor: 1/6
Redemption: 1/6
Salvation: 1/6

Gear
  • Oath (eth Cryptic Sword, 266% ED)
  • Herald of Zakarum [pdiamond]
  • Enigma (Light Plate, +756 def)
  • Vampire Gaze (15% DR, 10 MDR, 6% ll, 8% ml) [Shael]
  • Credendum (+150 defense from the set bonus! :scratchchin:)
  • Laying of Hands
  • Gore Rider
  • Highlord's Wrath
  • Raven Frost (239 AR, 18 dex)
  • Storm Spiral

Switch: Gimmershred/Tiamat's Rebuke (anti PI)

Charms
  • Gheed's Fortune (136/40/10)
  • 2x FHR small charms to hit the 6 frame hit recovery brake point
  • all resist, AR and max damage/AR charms

Mercenary
Mizan, Might Desert Mercenary
Level: 78

  • The Reaper's Toll [Shael]
  • eth Duriel's Shell
  • Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest [15% IAS jewel]

Analysis
Well, this character was a cookie-cutter build and was twinked pretty well, so this was another rather easy Guardian. Enigma made questing in Hell so much faster! Rivers, lava, walls, no problem to this guy. PI's blocking his path? No problem. Enigma is also a great (though, IMO, not quite the best) armor for regular fights. The only thing it really lacks is resists, and therefore this character's fire and lightning resists weren't stacked as high as I'd be comfortable with. One Cold Enchanted lightning scarab sporting a Conviction aura brought my health down to around 100.
PI's, as I said before, weren't really a problem if you have Teleport to GTFO. I still did have a Gimmershred and Tiamat's on switch, which I found to be acceptable for dealing with them.
It's a shame I don't have a String of Ears anymore, but Credendum did just fine and helped a little with resists anyway. Though, with an SoE and a nice dual leech ring, I could have replaced Vampire Gaze with Guillame's, which would add considerable damage and FHR. Instead, I ended up having to socket and Shael my (rather crappy) Vampire Gaze and add 10% FHR from charms to go from 0% to 30% (9 frame to 6 frame) FHR. This really helped dealing with those pesky snakes, who were giving me a hard time with their charging attack, which forces you in hit recovery.
Other than that, dolls were, again, major threats. I also met up with a Convicting Gloam pack, from which I simply had to run away from. The Ancients were very difficult the first time around, but the second roll proved much easier. And oh yeah, there was also Baal, who was laughably easy.

Notable finds
  • Hellforge: crap/crap/crap
  • Saracen's Chance
  • Sazabi's Cobalt Redeemer, thanks to Liquid_Evil for pointing out this glaring omission!
  • That's... pretty much it, I think? Not much to show for this one...

Q&A time!
Q: What's with the lame cookie-cutters lately? First a whirler and now a fanatic zealot?
A: I'm just taking it easy trying to get back in the game. I have a slightly less ordinary (though not by much) character in mind for my next one. :)

Q: What's with the name?
A: That's from the random name generator... in my head.

Q: Why do you only have two questions in your Q&A?
A: There's three, actually. :)

Conclusion
Well, that's all folks! Thanks again for reading! 👋
 
Originally posted by crawlingdeadman on Apr 21, 2013:

Guardian LongSky - Two Handed Polearm/Spear zealot

Hello again, everyone, I have a fine character to post up this time. He is named after a character in the movie Hero. I wanted to make him sorta themed as a character that only uses spears, but I found out that spears are really short changed in D2 especially for a pally so, I decided a pole arm was close enough. There's tons of love for pole arms in D2 so it was easy finding weapons. I played him solo up to around normal act 2 or 3 iirc. There were a couple play groups I played with, but in the end most of NM and Hell was Pyro and I using two, two-handed polearm pallies. It was great fun and the duo was very strong; covering each others downfalls. With only a little further ado:

LongSky

Stats/Skills:
Name: LongSky
Class: Paladin
Experience: 1185369081
Level: 86

Naked/Gear
Strength: 124/155
Dexterity: 62/90
Vitality: 324/324
Energy: 15/15
HP: 1182/1532
Mana: 142/192
Stamina: 473/473
Defense: 15/1566
AR: 295/1185

Fire: 198/158/98
Cold: 148/108/48
Lightning: 196/156/96
Poison: 165/125/65

MF: 25 Block: 13
GF: 0
FR/W: 40
FHR: 56
IAS: 40
FCR: 0

Sacrifice: 20/23
Smite: 1/4
Holy Bolt: 0/0
Zeal: 20/23
Charge: 0/0
Vengeance: 7/10
Blessed Hammer: 0/0
Conversion: 20/23
Holy Shield: 0/0
Fist of the Heavens: 0/0

Might: 1/4
Holy Fire: 0/0
Thorns: 0/0
Blessed Aim: 1/4
Concentration: 1/4
Holy Freeze: 0/0
Holy Shock: 0/0
Sanctuary: 0/0
Fanaticism: 20/23
Conviction: 0/0

Prayer: 1/4
Resist Fire: 0/0
Defiance: 1/4
Resist Cold: 0/0
Cleansing: 1/4
Resist Lightning: 0/0
Vigor: 1/4
Meditation: 0/0
Redemption: 1/4
Salvation: 1/4

Gear:
Obedience
Great Poleaxe
HelKoThulEthFal
Two Hand Damage: 216 - 596
Durability: 51 of 55
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 144
Required Dexterity: 80
Fingerprint: 0x57a167b0
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
30% Chance to cast level 21 Enchant when you Kill an Enemy
+40% Faster Hit Recovery
370% Enhanced Damage
-25% Target Defense
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
-25% to Enemy Fire Resistance
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
+201 Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
All Resistances +22
Requirements -20%
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Hel Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune
Socketed: Fal Rune

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xbbc10a65
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+198 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+18 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen

Ghoul Hold
Ring
Required Level: 48
Fingerprint: 0x68f96d60
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Minimum Damage
+119 to Attack Rating
All Resistances +9
Poison Resist +17%
Damage Reduced by 2
Magic Damage Reduced by 1

String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 108
Durability: 22 of 22
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0x3ede7b81
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
8% Life stolen per hit
+166% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Damage Reduced by 15%
Magic Damage Reduced by 13
+10 Maximum Durability

Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0x1f03a0d7
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 1 - 30 Lightning Damage
32% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Lightning Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 15

Vampire Gaze
Grim Helm
Defense: 252
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 58
Fingerprint: 0xaade51ab
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 6 - 22 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
7% Mana stolen per hit
7% Life stolen per hit
+100% Enhanced Defense
15% Slower Stamina Drain
All Resistances +15
Damage Reduced by 18%
Magic Damage Reduced by 11
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Um Rune

Laying of Hands
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 79
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0xc97873d4
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%

Chains of Honor
Archon Plate
DolUmBerIst
Defense: 875
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 103
Fingerprint: 0x54bd95d3
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+200% Damage to Demons
+100% Damage to Undead
8% Life stolen per hit
+70% Enhanced Defense
+20 to Strength
Replenish Life +7
All Resistances +65
Damage Reduced by 8%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
4 Sockets (4 used)

Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 157
Durability: 34 of 34
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 94
Fingerprint: 0x4918f307
Item Level: 85
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
Requirements -25%
+10 Maximum Durability


Switch:
Call to Arms
Crystal Sword
AmnRalMalIstOhm
One Hand Damage: 18 - 54
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 43
Fingerprint: 0x24c44908
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
261% Enhanced Damage
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Prevent Monster Heal
+4 to Battle Command
+2 to Battle Orders
+3 to Battle Cry
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune

Spirit
Sacred Targe
TalThulOrtAmn
Defense: 111
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 86
Fingerprint: 0xff8fac41
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+34% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+110 to Mana
Cold Resist +35%
All Resistances +45
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+3 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Ort Rune
Socketed: Amn Rune

Merc:
Name: Zanarhi
Race: Desert Mercenary
Type: Off-Nightmare
Experience: 77240796
Level: 86
Dead?: false

Naked/Gear
Strength: 188/188
Dexterity: 151/151
HP: 1807/1867
Defense: 1330/1714
AR: 1922/1922

Fire: 173/133/73
Cold: 203/163/103
Lightning: 173/133/73
Poison: 173/133/73

Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 126
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x51fbe6
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Minimum Damage
10% Mana stolen per hit
10% Life stolen per hit
+45 Defense
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
All Resistances +23
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Shimmering Jewel of Joyfulness

Shimmering Jewel of Joyfulness
Jewel
Required Level: 12
Fingerprint: 0xe5fbe5d7
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Minimum Damage
Cold Resist +8%
Lightning Resist +8%
Fire Resist +8%
Poison Resist +8%

Treachery
Mage Plate
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 258
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Level: 43
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x45ccced9
Item Level: 69
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

The Reaper's Toll
Thresher
Two Hand Damage: 35 - 415
Durability: 65 of 65
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 114
Required Dexterity: 89
Fingerprint: 0x22ce2045
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
33% Chance to cast level 1 Decrepify on striking
195% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
Adds 4 - 44 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
14% Life stolen per hit
33% Deadly Strike
Requirements -25%

End of game LCS with might
End of game LCS w/o might

According to my screenshot folder, I started this guy way back in 2010.... guess I got distracted or something. I liked him immediately and spent a lot of time putting weapons on him, seeing how they'd work, then swapping around. The overwhelming power of the Paladin character shows through on LongSky since I could put whatever crap I wanted on him and he'd still soar right along. Here are some weapons I used along the way. This Insight blew pretty much everything out of the water until I could equip this Obedience. After obedience, that was pretty much it. I tried a few other things like using Reaper's on myself and these upped rares, but in the end this obedience won out easily. My main weapon switch for a long time was this Crescent Moon, it was great for vs bosses, but since it lowered my resists, I didn't use it much in the field. After gaining guardian I had one more Beatstick to try, Tomb Reaver. However, it just didn't match up. Obedience won mostly because its big drawback of having no ias didn't mean squat to me using fanat. I finally did make another obedience so that I could use Loh/gores over 2x IK pieces that I needed for the extra 25% ias.

Game play was pretty easy once Pyro and I hooked up. He was running a two handed Avenger using Obedience we complimented each other well. Conviction let me worry less about AR and fanat let him worry about something other than IAS. When we split up, these drawbacks were apparent. I was hitting less and he was super slow. Great when together, though. I maxed Conversion because I wanted to try it out as crowd control and it worked great, but once pyro put delerium on his merc, I barely used it. I put the rest of my points into vengence for some PI killing, but my merc's reaper's took care of most of that. If I were to respec my guy again, I'd probably max BA for its hidden bonus and split the points between vengence and Conversion. I really liked the fact that I could put spare points wherever I wanted with no real drawbacks. I got all the utility defensive auras and only didnt use salvation. Cleanse, Redemption, Vigor, I liked having them on hand and hotkeyed most of them.

Future plans include getting one more level so I can have charge again (forgot it on my last respec and I'm not going to respec again for one measly point). After that, I'll play him some more in MP games, then off to retirement.

Noteable drops:
Hellforge
Pyro's Gul
ias/22% ed jewel

Action shot vs baal
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by crazy_bear on Oct 27, 2006:

Two Guardian Day

After having failed to produce a second guardian in several attempts since my first over a year ago (1.10 bowazon) I'm super happy to report the successful completion of two in one day today!

These chars are the survivors of Skunkbelly's 'Pass it on' tournament which produced some odd builds and some bombs of chars as they got passed around. However these two have been with me since the completion of Act I hell. Special rules in this tourney included a shared stash that allowed for limited storage of equipment. (essentially 2 of each equipment type, meaning one for you and one for your merc on each pass). The characters had to alternate using the same equipment, and completing quests.

Anyway, here they are, in the order they were played:

Pastyface, lvl 85 necromancer
Stats: (Naked)
Str 95, Dex 97, Vit 263, En 60
Life 727, mana 263

Skills:
Curses: Amp 2, all others 1 except confuse and attract
Summoning: RS 20, SM 20, CG 3, SMage 3, GM 3, SR 2, IG 1, BG 1, FG 1, Rev. 1
P&B: Teeth 4, CE 15, BS 12, BA 1


Trueheart, lvl 82 Paladin
Stats: (Naked)
Str 110, Dex 147, Vit 233, En 15
Life 901, mana 136

Skills:
Combat Skills: Zeal 13, Charge 2, conversion 1, Holy shield 6, prereqs 1 each
Off. Auras: Holy Fire 20, Holy Shock 20, Fanat 5, prereqs 1
Def. Auras: Resist Fire 15, Res. Lit 2

Equipment (Shared)
Code:
Merc Items: 
Tal's Mask, Kelpie Snare, 
Treachery Hellforge plate (socketed ethereal, 1143 def)

Character gear:
Sigon's Boots, Gloves, Shield (p. diamond)
Thundergod's Vigor Belt
Headstriker Battle Sword
Marshal's Amulet (+3 pally off auras)
Demon Machine

Geisha's Peasant Crown
War Hat
Defense: 108
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 28
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0xab11a5a
+20 to Energy
+20 to Vitality
+100% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +11
Replenish Life +12
15% Faster Run/Walk
+1 to All Skill Levels
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Smoke
Trueheart's Archon Plate
'NefLum'
Defense: 890
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Strength: 103
Required Level: 63
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xed0216a3
+10 to Energy
+75% Enhanced Defense
+280 Defense vs. Missile
All Resistances +50
-1 to Light Radius
20% Faster Hit Recovery
Level 6 Weaken (18/18 Charges)
Socketed (2: 2 used)

Eagle Finger
Ring
Required Level: 60
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x590c7c96
+29 to Attack Rating
Magic Damage Reduced by 1
Fire Resist +29%
34% Extra Gold from Monsters
9% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Level 1 Attract (22/22 Charges)

Viper Touch
Ring
Required Level: 37
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 78
Fingerprint: 0xac5fc29b
+4 to Dexterity
+32 to Attack Rating
Fire Resist +4%
Lightning Resist +22%
Cold Resist +4%
Poison Resist +4%
3% Life stolen per hit
8% Chance to cast Level 5 Chain Lightning on attack

Ancients' Pledge
Sacred Targe
'RalOrtTal'
Defense: 201
Chance to Block:  60%
Smite Damage: 22 to 70
Durability: 44 of 45
(Paladin Only)
Required Strength: 86
Required Level: 47
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xa2bd8bcc
+50% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +13%
Fire Resist +60%
Lightning Resist +60%
Lightning Resist +13%
Cold Resist +43%
Cold Resist +25%
Poison Resist +13%
Poison Resist +60%
10% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
Socketed (3: 3 used)

Raven Talisman
Amulet
Required Level: 31
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0x17de6dd
+3 to Strength
Fire Resist +18%
Lightning Resist +57%
Cold Resist +18%
Poison Resist +18%
8% Chance to cast Level 3 Chain Lightning on attack

In addition to the restricted gear they had a backpack full of charms giving resists and life. (+94 life) They also found a Gheeds, and rolled a skiller with p-gems for each (summoning necro charm, off. aura pally charm) Finally, Trueheart was packing lightning charms that totalled 8-235 additional damage.

Pastyface is a testament to the toughness of the Fishymancer, and shows how many extra points you can wasted with that build and still have a hell worthy char. Because he couldn't save a weapon with the stash rules he had to shop a new wand each time he was played. He encountered no really tough spots in the game, though the usual spots (maggot lair, arcane sanctuary) were slow. The Ancients were easy and baal was slow with no CB on the merc, but once in place he never moved.

Trueheart was an edge of the seat ride for me. Most of the time he was pretty good because he had good options. Nilhitak scared the crap out of me but with hit and run tactics trueheart survived despite taking a couple of CEs. On the first attempt at the ancients all three spawned stone skin.... I tried it, but after doing so little damage he had to open a town portal. Going back again he got cursed/CE Kalic, CE/Might Madwac and Extra fast/Spectral Hit Korlic. With the slow effect of the Kelpie snare they were split up and dispatched without too much difficulty on this attempt. The throne room had OK's in it, so they had to be separated and killed with the demon machine. The second wave was the hardest with no corpse control, but he got through. Lister also was a pain, stoneskin and lightning enchanted made him FI/PI and resistant to lightning. If it weren't for the PMH on the headstriker he never would have gone down. Again with the Kelpie snare Baal went down easily. The cows almost got Trueheart in the end. It was hard to get enough space to split the packs well. However, he did eventually manage it, and despite a NDE to an cursed/fanaticism cow he even searched out and killed the cow king.

So that's it! Special thanks to Skunkbelly and the other Pass it on competitors!

CB
 
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