Matriarch/Patriarch/Guardian Archive Thread

Originally posted by sirpoopsalot on Oct 16, 2009:

Champion Athena - reviewing Frost Nova in AT runs

Introduction:


Q: "What's the most efficient MF build?"
A: "When it comes to efficient MFing for high-end items in single player, nothing beats a pure-Blizzard sorceress in Ancient Tunnel (AT) runs. And she kicks Meph's butt too, which is the most efficient target for medium-high items."

That's pretty much the stock answer when this question comes up, and with good reason. Blizzsorcs are probably the queen of MFing, especially in AT and Meph runs. But every once in a while it's good to challenge conventional wisdom, so I've set out a few times to see if I could find a way to dethrone the queen. And it would be cool to do it with an unconventional solution too.

My first attempt was a pure-IceBlast sorc that could put out ridiculous damage (like 35000-per-second-ridiculous), but she lacked one thing: area of effect on her attack. After some trial runs, it became apparent that lack was a much bigger problem than I anticipated, and she was retired - unsuccessful in her attempt to usurp the throne. (by the way, I much prefer my Glacial Spike sorceress to the IceBlast one, despite only having ~1/3rd as much damage potential and a pretty small AoE of her own... that's how big having an area of effect attack can be for a sorceress).

Next up was a more conventional pure Frozen Orb sorc. Although perfectly adequate for the task, FO just couldn't keep pace with Blizzard either. I never bothered trying GS, simply because it was obvious the damage and area of effect couldn't match Blizzard. Sidenote: However, I'm 100% certain that GS would be the safest AT runner there is - and if I ever start playing HC seriously, I might build one for that very purpose.

That leaves Frost Nova. It's damage looks pitiful compared to Blizzard's, but it's guaranteed to hit everything that's in range, ~3 times per second, and who knows how many (or how often) Blizzard-shards hit, so it's not easy to make a straight damage comparison between the two. One of the reasons I'm not much of a Blizzard fan is precisely because it hits so inconsistently... if it would hit once per second, or once per ~half second, guaranteed, I'd like Blizzard a lot better.

Since I hadn't seriously run AT before, I didn't want to redo my build 4 different times trying to tweak efficiency because I'd had a silly oversight, and I knew that to beat a blizzsorc my build would have to be "100% right". So I enlisted maareek's advice about general thoughts on running AT and building a good non-blizzard sorc for AT runs. Factoring his advice, opinions, and experience, I came up with a plan, and made the build... but it didn't take me long to loose interest in AT runs, so she quested through to rescue Anya, returned to do a few token runs in AT (enough to learn that I needed a lot of practice), and settled into a long vacation.

Bassano's recent tournament was the perfect excuse to finally finish this experiment. She started out at level 82, did enough warmup runs (16 of 'em) to get to 83, then in the tournament I did enough runs to get to about level 91.2 on /players1. Considering I had a few deaths, I figure it's close(ish) to 1000 runs total, which is enough for me to now have a pretty good idea of how she can perform.

If you want to see the build details, it's all in this spoiler (i.e. it's all like my typical Matriarch writeups):

LCS (her lightning resists are 75+ without the shrine)
FCR: 105
MF: 275
FHR: 60+

Skills:
20 (37) Frost Nova
20 Blizzard
20 Frozen Orb
8 (25) Cold Mastery
20 (31) Fireball
6+ Firebolt
1 prereq's, Fire Mastery, Teleport, Static Field, Warmth

Gear:
Death's Fathom (28/-5 with facet)
Nightwing's Veil (15/-4 with facet)
35 FCR Spirit monarch
Tal's Armour (PTopaz)
Tal's Amulet
Tal's Belt
Trang's Gloves
Aldur's Boots
SoJ
Ring2:
Corruption Grasp
Ring
Required Level: 37
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 97
Fingerprint: 0x144c8cb9
+6 to Life
+82 to Mana
Fire Resist +7%
Lightning Resist +7%
Cold Resist +7%
Poison Resist +21%
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
10% Faster Cast Rate
<--- nice collection of mods, eh? Too bad a few of the rolls weren't a little higher.

Charms:
- 40% Gheeds
- 6x Chilling GCs (12 FHR, 8 life, 5 str, 3x plain)
- 7x Resists SCs, 6 of them have MF
Switch: beta-CtA Caduceus + Spirit Monarch

Merc: Might aura
Insight eth Cryptic Axe
Fortitude Archon Plate
eth Andy's Visage (29 Fire Resist / IAS jewel)


Notes:
1. She could easily make Matriarch if I wanted, but I was only interested in MFing AT with her, so she got far enough to rescue Anya in Act5 and that was it. I may get the Ancients quest at some point to push for one more level, though it seems unlikely and unnecessary.

2. I don't remember what her item/rune finds when questing were. Nothing spectacular, you can be sure.

3. With research into AT monster resists and life, and including a discussion with maareek, it was decided to get my final -enemy cold resistance to -150% (-149% actually). But that still left ~25 skillpoints for a backup attack after I'd pre-planned my cold tree.

I debated between trying to make ES work, or getting something for a backup attack. I wasn't confident in ES working well with all of my other needs (+damage, +skills, FCR, MF, safety, etc.), so ES was eventually ruled out. For a backup attack it was easy to eliminate the Lightning tree... the damage you can get for ~25 points just didn't seem impressive enough, and iirc, the most common cold-immune AT monster (Enbalmed) have higher lightning resists than fire. Firewall (or maybe Meteor) would be more natural choices for damage reasons, but Firewall isn't good for targeting and it has a timer. Meteor's no better in that regard.

Instead I went with a low-powered Fireball. My research into the monster life was that I could get enough FB damage to force hit recovery for AT's three non-fire-immunes. The forced hit-recovery is fantastic for Nova, so I reasoned it could work well enough for Fireball too. And it does work - it allows me to stun-lock the Cold Immunes that spawn so my merc can easily go pure-offense and get the kill very quickly.

IMO, this decision couldn't have worked out better - my ~25 point fireball (and my merc) kicks CI butt.

4. CtA is great for AT runs with Frost Nova, since you will take damage quite regularly, and you definitely won't mind the extra mana either. Fortunately the extra 50-100% life you get with Battle Orders means you can loose 25-50% of your life and still have a full life bulb at the start of the next run. I'd almost say this is an essential item. If I didn't have CtA I'd definitely choose a Prayer + Insight merc to help replenish my life, but that would mean my merc had less power.

5. I wouldn't change anything on this build if I could, with the possible exception of actually spending the bulk of my fire-tree skillpoints into Firebolt - investing first into the synergy can actually add more to Fireball's damage than those points into Fireball itself. :p I didn't know this when I made her.

6. Probably a few other things I'm forgetting. I'll edit them in if I think of them.


So... How'd she do in AT?

I had a few deaths up until about level 88. Much of that was my inexperience in running AT. But after the first ~500 runs or so when I'd learned my maps tendencies and had a better feel for the danger I could (and couldn't :p) survive, I managed to get her speeds between 50 and 75 seconds per run, averaging probably ~6 boss packs per run (my map varies wildly between 2 and 9 boss packs encountered, though 5 or 6 was definitely most common).

That's close, but not quite as fast as the fastest AT runners. But many of them have done hundreds of hours of runs, and I've done about 25 total. That does make a difference, as near the end of the tournament I might've been pushing the occasional ~45 second run of my own (if I'd tracked it better I'd know). Also, it would've helped if I focused more on only fighting bosses, but FN obliterates large packs of normal monsters quite quickly, and there were a couple of areas on my map prone to spawning large clusters of normal monsters, so I hit those patches pretty regularly too.

So I think the overall difference in my efficiency and what other runners experience isn't very big.


But did she beat the Blizzsorc in performance?
Short Answer: No, she didn't "beat" the blizzsorc. She's got a few disadvantages that she couldn't overcome. But she also has a few advantages too - perhaps enough that it makes her a better choice for people looking to avoid making a Blizzsorc for AT runs.

For the long answer I'll attempt to break it down:

Area of Effect
I'd say the radius of both is close enough that there's no serious advantage for either build. The main difference is that the FN sorc's attack will always hit everything that's in range. Always. Blizzard probably hits close to 85% of targets reliably, and has IceBlast/GlacialSpike to quickly finish off the other ~15%. But the Blizz/IB/GS combination doesn't necessarily match the "always hits" nature of Frost Nova.


Power:
Frost Nova simply can't match Blizzard in power. The typical AT running blizzsorc probably has 3-5k Blizzard damage during AT runs. Well-outfitted Frost Nova sorcs are around 1k, which means they need to hit 3-5 times as often just to keep pace. It's this advantage in pure-damage that more than counterbalances most of the FN sorc's advantages, and FN does have one advantage:

FN doesn't 'require' as many skillpoints, so you can get a backup attack. Although backups are unnecessary for AT, I can tell you for certain they're not a bad thing to have. During the MF tournament I had one run where I encountered four Cold Immune bosses in a row (there might've been a fifth somewhere in the run - I wasn't counting closely). I'm certain my piddly, little Fireball would've been appreciated by a few Blizzsorcs that came across such a spawn.

Sidenote: I do wish I had a 30%-base DFathom and 15%-base Nightwings to compare - I think that extra ~10% damage over what I have now would bring my effective damage closer to what a nice blizzsorc has.


Speed:
This is an advantage for the FN sorc. Although Blizzsorcs can push their FCR reasonably high, there's not as much reason to do so because the main attack is on a timer anyways. FN, on the other hand, does well at a rapid speed - it almost requires it. If you teleport 1 frame faster, and teleport 50-75 times per run, that's 2-3 seconds of a head-start right there.


Safety:
The Blizzsorc wins here. She can keep her distance much better, and can also use GS/IB to freeze enemies solid. The FN sorc has to be up close, so she's more likely to get whacked by a bad guy. FN does have advantage here though - she can usually force monsters into hit recovery, 3 times per second (and chilled), it's a stunlock. As long as you're not getting hit by invisible Lightning bolts or tanking a nasty death explosion, it's a perfectly safe tactic to be right in the middle of a large pack of monsters while spamming FN. Occasionally a low roll on FN damage wouldn't be enough to force hit recovery on Assailants though, but that was only a problem if they were manaburn and I was too slow/lazy to drink a potion.


Equipment & MF:
This, to me, is the biggest difference between the two builds. The Blizzsorc has enough power to have a lot more flexibility to pursue good MF in her equipment. The Frost Nova sorc is so stretched that it pretty much requires Tal Rasha's set as a bare minimum, and even that probably wouldn't be very competitive with high-end blizzsorcs. It probably takes Nightwings and DFathom to be competitive to that point, so I think 'the curve' is much, much steeper for the FN sorc. But if you've got the gear to climb the curve, I don't think the overall difference is going to be noticeable.


Fun & Originality:
Originality is no competition - just look at bassano's tournament with it's ~60% population of Blizzsorcs. For fun, part of it is that I like using an original approach more than taking the same approach that everybody else does. So I'm already biased. But aside from that you generally have a faster pace, and you don't have to be annoyed when you cast a Blizzard and it falls around a monster for 5 seconds without hitting, so I think FN stands up fairly well objectively too.


Overall:

If you're looking at anything even remotely resembling a budget, then the Blizzsorc is still the queen. But if you've got the gear...

FN is definitely competitive - if you've got the equipment. If you've got perfect gear (and I mean perfect), I think you might have a chance to come out slightly ahead of even the best blizzsorcs (that's the combo of extra speed and guaranteed-hits).

With a more modest budget (something like Full Tals and ~3-5 skill charms) you can still build an FN sorceress that would be very adequate for AT runs. That FN sorc wouldn't be as efficient as a similarly-equipped blizzsorc, but it can definitely be done.


So if the Blizzsorc remains queen of AT, I think I've at least found the princess. And yes, I'll stop this annoying analogy now. :D



Thanks to:
- maareek for the advice, opinions, and answers
- bassano for the fun tournament, as well as a few AT-helping answers too
- anyone willing to try to unseat a conventional solution with an original idea, even if they don't always succeed
- you, for reading.
 
Originally posted by Sixwonton on Jan 27, 2006:

Matriarch Blea

Here is my first matriarch ever. First character to beat hell in single player ever for that matter. Much thanks goes out to grogs for the advice on beating listy and his wave. Ok here are the stats.


Str 60
Dex 130
Vit 150
Ener 50

Life 679
Mana 594

20 points in Fireball, Meteor, and Frozen Orb
8 points in CM, and 13 in FM though that will eventually be maxed.

Blea used almost full tals set (I am still missing the armor), frostburns, rare boots that had crappy res and some mf, an all res ring with some +life, natures peace, and spirit shard.

I must say it was huge pain finish act 5 hell. For those of you who run hell ball or those of you in the quest for lvl 99, my hat is off to you cause baal is way too hard for me :wink3:
-Six
 
Originally posted by Slartibartfast on Apr 10, 2004:

New matriarch

Just made a matriarch of the orb/fireball sorc i started 4 days ago :D

Both normal and nightmare were easily played on players 8, I started hell on players 5 which went very well untill i hit the chaos sanctuary in act 4.
Seriously, i have never seen the sanctuary being this jammed full of monsters, every few steps i took the entire opposite side of the screen filled with monsters... it was just ridiculous ^^

So i turned to players 1 and orb'ed my way trough with reasonable speed.
Act was completely filled with skeletond for one reason or another which meant no leech for merc = fast dead, it took a while but i managed to get to the summit skipping only a few parts (mostly frozen tundra)
Ancients fell without too much trouble and the keep was filled with easy monsters (thank god no gloams)

I hope she will be able to solo keepruns on players 3 or 4 and i think that as long as i don't encounter gloams it should be doable.

Anyhoo, here's a short description of stats / skills etc.

My-SweetFlame
Sorceres lvl 81
Str 165
Dex 197
Vit 112
Ener 147

Life 716, mana 1070
resists: 13/75/75/10

Orb / mastery : 24 / 14

Fireball / firebolt / meteor / mastery : 28 / 28 / 18 / 9
(By now i'm beginning to doubt wheather i will keep using fireball as my meteor already does more damage then fireball :scratch: )

Equipment:

Tals armor / Amy / Belt
Harlequin Crest
Storm
Oculus
Wartravs
SoJ
rare ring with mana and energy :grrr:
Frostburns

Already had quite a bit of luck with her:
Monarch from a flayer in act 3
War Spike from a gloombat in act 3
http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=8477722 :)
Ogre Axe from big D himself and
Russet armor in worldstone keep

And now just hoping this luck will continue when playing her
 
Originally posted by Smips on Dec 31, 2008:

Matriarch Ellen: The Slightly Twinked Blizzballer

Matriarch Ellen


LCS

Code:
[B]Stats:[/B]
Character name  : Ellen
Character type  : Sorceress
Character level : 84
Character exp   : 1048184537

Strength        : 156
Energy          : 35
Dexterity       : 25
Vitality        : 279
Stat Points Rem : 0
Skill Points Rem: 0

Life            : 817 / 721
Mana            : 638 / 201
Stamina         : 512 / 426

Fire res: 25
Cold res: 40
Lit res: -7
Poison res: -7

Code:
[B]Skills:[/B]
Ice Blast: 20(28)
Blizzard: 20(28)
Cold Mastery: 7(15) - Rest of points go here I suppose
Warmth: 1(9)
Firebolt: 20(29)
Fireball: 20(29)
Fire Mastery: 1(10)

Rich (BB code):
Gear
30: Harlequin Crest
Shako
Defense: 134
Durability: 3 of 12
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 62
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xd0e204fe
+2 to Strength
+2 to Energy
+2 to Dexterity
+2 to Vitality
Damage Reduced by 10%
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+2 to All Skill Levels
+126 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+126 to Mana (Based on Character Level)

31: Angel's Amulet of the Apprentice
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 74
Fingerprint: 0xd15c93c3
+1 to Sorceress Skill Levels
10% Faster Cast Rate

32: Skin of the Vipermagi
Serpentskin Armor
Defense: 279
Durability: 23 of 24
Required Strength: 43
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0xcc640bcd
+120% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 9
All Resistances +28
24% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
30% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to All Skill Levels
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Perfect Topaz
Inserted into a Serpentskin Armor

24% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

33: Dwarf Star
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0xf1bc46c0
+40 to Life
+40 to Maximum Stamina
Heal Stamina Plus 15%
Magic Damage Reduced by 13
100% Extra Gold from Monsters
15% Fire Absorb

34: Death Loop
Ring
Required Level: 15
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x57ad199a
+26 to Mana
+2 to Minimum Damage
Fire Resist +30%
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
10% Faster Cast Rate

35: Goldwrap
Heavy Belt
Defense: 36
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Strength: 45
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0x1cf4b3a4
+60% Enhanced Defense
+25 Defense
64% Extra Gold from Monsters
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+2 to Light Radius
10% Increased Attack Speed

36: Sigon's Sabot
Greaves
Defense: 14
Durability: 23 of 24
Required Strength: 70
Required Level: 6
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0xa5736981
Cold Resist +40%
20% Faster Run/Walk

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
+50 to Attack Rating
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***


37: Magefist
Light Gauntlets
Defense: 24
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Strength: 45
Required Level: 23
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x39a1fae0
+23% Enhanced Defense
Regenerate Mana 25%
+10 Defense
Adds 1-6 fire damage
20% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to Fire Skills

44: Spirit
Crystal Sword
'TalThulOrtAmn'
One-Hand Damage: 5 to 15
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Strength: 43
Required Level: 25
Sword Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xe7d13de5
+22 to Vitality
+110 to Mana
+250 Defense vs. Missile
Adds 1-50 lightning damage
Adds 3-14 cold damage over 3 seconds
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
7% Life stolen per hit
55% Faster Hit Recovery
29% Faster Cast Rate
+2 to All Skill Levels
+6 Magic Absorb
Socketed (4: 4 used)

45: Spirit
Monarch
'TalThulOrtAmn'
Defense: 140
Chance to Block:  42%
Durability: 83 of 86
Required Strength: 156
Required Level: 54
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 84
Fingerprint: 0x50c238f5
+22 to Vitality
+109 to Mana
+250 Defense vs. Missile
Lightning Resist +35%
Cold Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
55% Faster Hit Recovery
29% Faster Cast Rate
+2 to All Skill Levels
+6 Magic Absorb
Socketed (4: 4 used)

Merc - Emilo the Act 2 Defiance Merc

Rich (BB code):
Gear
1: Vampire Gaze
Grim Helm
Defense: 252
Durability: 29 of 40
Required Strength: 58
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x9909fa03
+100% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 10
Damage Reduced by 17%
Adds 6-22 cold damage over 4 seconds
8% Life stolen per hit
8% Mana stolen per hit
15% Slower Stamina Drain

2: Treachery
Kraken Shell
'ShaelThulLem'
Defense: 654
Durability: 25 of 25
Required Strength: 164
Required Level: 61
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x21730899
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
45% Increased Attack Speed
20% Faster Hit Recovery
25% Chance to cast Level 15 Venom on striking
5% Chance to cast Level 15 Fade when struck
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (3: 3 used)

3: Insight
Thresher
'RalTirTalSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 71 to 736
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Dexterity: 108
Required Strength: 142
Required Level: 53
Polearm Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0xf41cdcdc
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
+249% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+5 to Critical Strike
35% Faster Cast Rate
229% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Level 14 Meditation Aura When Equipped
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (4: 4 used)

Hellforge:
NM - Lem
Hell - Ko

Best rune: Mal(Countess runs)
Best drop: Dwarf Star

The Journey:
As with all sorcs, the early levels were pretty rough. She was pretty much untwinked other than a Goreshovel Broad Axe until later in the game, however it served me well early on. I had found a 4os Voluge with my untwinked paladin and used that to make an Insight at level 27. Normal and Nightmare were smooth sailing from there on, though I still ran into some mana problems when mass spamming Fireball or porting. I traded for a Monarch and that Eth Thresher to make Spirit and a new Insight once I reached Hell and got the Harlequinn in a giveaway, which all happened around level 70. I did Countess runs until I hit 83 and came out with decent results. From there on I ported through most of Hell, mainly because of resists(lets face it, -7 lightning resist just isn't going to cut it in Hell =P). Hellforge was a disapointment, as usual. She doesn't have much of a story, but as my first Mat since my restart, I'm pretty proud :).

Opinion of Build:
Overall, I really enjoyed playing this build. While she didn't have the kill power/speed that a pure blizz sorc has, she completely made up for it in versitility. Having Fireball as a backup attack was wonderful. Against non cold or fire immunities, casting Blizzard and then spamming Fireball was pretty devistating.However, if I had to change anything about her, I'd probably pick Glacial Spike as a backup cold spell rather than Ice Blast. So, that's 1/7 for my twinked sept and 0/7 for the untwinked...I better get back to work ;).

Future:
She's going to run Meph in the MFO and then probably retire at Pindle. I'd rather go pure Blizz for area runners and boss runners because the kill speed is so much better. However, we'll see once she gets some respectable gear =P.

Thanks to:
Everyone at the SPF for drawing me back into D2 and a special thanks to everyone who traded/gave me items for the build.
 
Originally posted by steelsixtyIV on Dec 17, 2005:

My first 1.11 Mat

Well I finally did it and finished my first untwinked 1.11 Mat

Frosty lvl 83 Blizzard/Firewall Sorcie

Base stats:

Str 95
Dex base
Vit 300
Nrg 85

Life (with gear) 886
Mana (with gear) 478
Hell Resists 39/32/38/27

Skills:

20 Firewall
20 Ice Bolt
20 Ice Blast
20 Blizzard
5 Cold Mastery

1 Pre reqs. Teleport and Static

Gear:

Angel's Circlet of Luck (75% MF, I used socket quest and added Flawless Topazes)
Gemmed Serpentskin Armor (48% MF, worn since NM Act I)
Fortuitous Ring of Fortune (37% MF, my best magic find ring ever!)
Shimmering Ring of Fortune (4% res all, 20% MF)
Gemmed Kite Shield (57% res all, nothing special here)
Chromatic Amulet (25% res all)
Tal's Eye (1/1/2)
Tals Belt (13%)
War Travs (48%)

Rhyme Bone Shield and Ali Baba (Hel) on switch

and

Spirit Claw
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 54
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0x71af6581
+1 to Dexterity
+11 to Mana
Regenerate Mana 6%
Fire Resist +23%
Lightning Resist +22%
Poison Length Reduced by 25%
+2 to Mana After Each Kill

Merc:

Razan lvl 82 Might Merc
Honor Mancatcher
Blackhorn's Face
Duress Ornate Plate (Eth)

My Helforge drops were UM and GUL. I used the UM to make my merc's Duress.

I tried to play the whole game with as much magic find as possible including the WSK and Ancients. I did a few Ancient Tunnel runs but other than that just played the game through. My best finds were:

Trangs Armor
Dangoon's Teaching
Demon's Arch
Grizwold's Armor
Lycander's Aim
Sandstorm Trek
Spike Thorn
Nord's Tenderizer
Gimmershred (Baal)

Whew! Now I can get back to the TWD III tourney.
 
Originally posted by Steven Q Urkel on Dec 27, 2005:

Say Hello to Matriarch Viperhood

Level 89 Meteorb Sorc

character stats
skill tree

Equipment

P Topaz Harly Crest
Maras Kaleidoscope
Sanctuary Troll Nest
The Occulus w/ 12% all j00l
Frostburns
Arachnid Mesh
The Stone of Jordan
Bul Kathos Wedding Band
War Traveller
P Topaz Tal Rashas Guardianship

Inventory
3x Fire skiller
1x Gheeds
several resistance charms

Hired Gun
Gulzar Act II Holy Freezer
Vampire Gaze
Duriels Shell
The Reapers Toll

Normal and Nightmare were completed at players 8. Players 1 for Hell. Hell went along nicely, until I got to act 5. :( I really struggled there. It seemed like from the Glacial Trail onwards, I hit Gloams or Burning souls in every area. Thats not cool. >_< I took down the Ancients on the first fight, w/o a death, but then was promptly PWNED in the World Stone Keep. I ran into an aura enchanted boss pack, tried to flee, only to run into another aura enchanted boss pack, tried to flee, only to run into yet another aura enchanted boss pack, I think you get the idea. I must have been killed 25 times just trying to go back and get my corpse. :mad: I finally had to just save and exit and give up. Then had to fight the Ancients again, much tougher the second time around, but I beat them eventually. Had some struggles in the Throne Rome, w/ Oblivion Knights and Gloams abound. Very few problems with the 5 waves, which was nice. Baal fell w/o much trouble, although my quest drop was a total slap in the face: Infernal Torch, a rare long war bow, and 13,000 gold. I was not amused.

Notable finds along the way: a Lionbranded Skiller while running Meph, a Gul from Hellforge, several nice runes while running Countess, HoZ, Arachnid Mesh, plus several other nice sets/uniques while running Meph, and one of the highlights of my D2 career, a 'Zurewrath in the World Stone Keep.

I've had some o.k. luck with Viperhood during mf and Countess runs, but I think I might just retire her and build a new sorc. Her Dex is way too low, and my chance to block is less than 30%, IIRC.

Next up I'm going to finally install patch 1.11, and I'll probably start my Full Griz Paladin.
 
Originally posted by Steven Q Urkel on Jun 30, 2007:

Matriarch YuriSEAL_Prime

Level 85
Exp 1,103,836,086 / Next Level 1,145,236,814

LCS

Life 543
Mana 467
Defense 1967 / 75% Chance to Block
90% Cold resist / 75% Fire Lightning Poison resist
Str 130 (138)
Dex 220 (240)
Vit 115 (155)
Enrg 35 (85)

Frozen Orb 466 - 490
Fireball 2392-2649
Meteor 5769 - 6051 Avg Fire Dmg 693 - 736 per second

Skills

Warmth 1 (9)
Fireball 20 (28)
Meteor 20 (28)
Fire Mastery 1 (9)
prereqs 1 (9)

Ice Bolt 20 (25)
Frozen Orb 20 (25)
Cold Mastery 3 (8)
Chilling Armour (7) - from Snowclash
prereqs 1 (various)

Static 1 (6)
Telekenesis 1 (6)
Teleport 1 (6)

Equipment
Code:
Peasant Crown
The Occulus
Smoke Archon Plante
Sanctuary (66%) Hyperion
Snowclash
Silkweaves
Magefist

Great Wyrm's Ring of Regeneration
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x484196ab
+90 to Mana
Replenish Life +3

Stone Eye
Ring
Required Level: 48
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xf543c1ec
+4 to Strength
+79 to Attack Rating
+1 to Maximum Damage
Fire Resist +19%
Lightning Resist +10%
Cold Resist +10%
Poison Resist +10%
10% Faster Cast Rate

Shadow Talisman
Amulet
Required Level: 49
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xf365201d
+16 to Life
+26 to Mana
Regenerate Mana 6%
+1 to Sorceress Skill Levels
10% Faster Cast Rate
5% Chance to cast Level 3 Frost Nova when struck

2x Fire Skillers
Shimmering (+14) GC of Str
2x mfsc
4x resist small charm (various element)
1x fhr sc

Mercenary

Mizan Level 85 Holy Freeze
Vamp Gaze
Duriels Shell
Amn'd Steel Pillar

Normal + Nightmare /players 8. Hell /players 1. Died more than I would have liked, but I say that about all my characters. :rolleyes: This was a tad different than my previous Meteorb, who chose not to synergize Frozen Orb. IMHO this makes for a more balanced attack, and I'm glad I went this route. Despite that fact that I had 75 light resist, Gloam class monsters tore right through me in Hell >_<, and I didn't even attempt the Nihlithak quest. Low life sorc + bugged vipers = x_x.

Hell Forge Ort/Ko/Mal

Best Finds: Sparking of Life, Act IV NM | Preservers of Dex, Act V NM | Occulus, NM Baal run | Mal from Countess to make Sanctuary (138 runs)

I'll swap a couple pieces of her gear, then run Tunnels in the MFO. Cheers.
 
Originally posted by Stryfe on Apr 9, 2009:

Matriarch Stryfe - Cookie cutter meteorb.

After having the game rest since somewhere in 2002-2003 I decided to install it and see if it would be any fun after almost exactly 4 years of WoW. I installed it and was very pleasantly surprised. Sadly I started out on b.net but after a month or so I came to my senses and started playing single play, haven't regretted it a second.

Anyway, after some research I decided on a meteorb as those are largely gear independant.

I matted her at lvl86 after having run NM meph about 50-60 times, Hell meph about 100 times, Pindle about 80 times and Hell LK about 70 times.

Dispite having spent a whole bunch of hours on this game (last time round) I never matted a char before. So this is a first! I'm no longer a virgin!

Str: 156
Dex: 70 (thought I wanted to go max block but quickly decided against it)
Vit: rest (I'm at work and don't have access to the stats sadly)
Ene: 65 (since I was untwinked I put some here in the start)

HP/mana: ~1100/680.

Skills:
Static(1)
Telekinesis(1)
Teleport(1)

Frozen orb(20)
Cold mastery(8)
Prereqs 5

Warmth(1)
Firebolt(1)
Fireball(15)
Meteor(20)
Fire mastery(19)
Prereqs 3.

Gear:
Full tal set.
Magefist gloves.
Silkweave boots.
Spirit shield (35 fcr, 102 mana, 8 absorb) <- Awsome roll that, got it on my second one.
Manald heal ring (need better one)
Crafted caster ring with lots of mana and some resists.

Holy Freeze moron (Act 2 Nightmare):
Reapers Toll/Eth (nonupped) Kelpie
Shaftstop
Vampire Gaze

Hellforges was very underwhelming (Think Hell was a Ko rune).

Normal:
Normal was so-so. I only put one in each pre req and had my merc kill stuff for me until I got to 24 and got Meteor. After that it was a bit easier. Nothing noteworthy here otherwise. I went to NM at lvl28 I think.

Nightmare:
As soon as I got frozen orb it was really easy and I breezed through NM with a quite long stop at Meph for some gear and a few run on Baal for gear and exp. I decided to move on at lvl70.

Hell:
Here it became intresting. My gear started lagging behind but I got to Hell Meph and ran him and Pits til lvl85 when I went on and killed Baal.

I died a bunch of times, much due to inexperience but also due to stupidity (how about forgetting that you had teleport on your switch, being low on life, switching for MF stuff to finish off boss and teleporting up to him and getting insta-smacked in the face to take a close look at the floor for a while?).

The waves on Baal was death for my poor merc aswell and he died about once on each wave (leaving me to finish them off), Lister also seems to have a knack for spawning fire/ice immune for me (8/10 times I've run Baal lister has been fire/ice immune).

Future:
I was planning on making her a lvl99 aswell but I'm not so sure anymore. I've got some ideas about gathering stuff for a light sorc (notably Insight) and make her my lvl99 project. Then again, I found an almost perfect Wolfhowl not that long ago. Decisions, decisions.
 
Originally posted by Swiller on Sep 20, 2007:

Matriarch Tracy, Meteor/Orb Sorc

Kasim had seen it a hundred times, but it never ceased to amaze him. Just moments ago a black, swirling rift had appeared in the ceiling of the Worldstone Chamber, and from this void a meteor had rained down; engulfing Baal's wretched form in fire and ruin. He stared open-mouthed at the spot where the meteor had struck. The only evidence of the phenomenon he witnessed were a few embers, and the smoldering carcass of the great demon himself. He shook his head, trying to make sense of it all.

"I wouldn't expect a Muggle like yourself to understand," said the sorceress, confidently striding past him. This young sorceress was yet another enigma to him. So powerful and deadly, yet so fair and lovely. And those cute little freckles on her cheeks...

But Tracy wasn't paying attention to him. Indeed, she was musing over her attire. Tal Rasha may have been a powerful wizard, but his taste in clothing was appalling. She raised her head. "Hey, Kasim?"

The mercenary's eyed lit up.
This was it! At long last! She's going to profess her love for me, he though excitedly. "Y-Yes, m-my lady?"

"There's a green breast plate over here for you."



STATS

Strength: 145 (186)
Dexterity: 175 (195)
Vitality: 180 (190)
Energy: 40 (50)


SKILLS

Static Field: 1 (7)
Telekinesis: 1 (7)
Teleport: 1 (7)
Lightning Mastery 0 (7)

Frozen Orb: 20 (27)
Cold Mastery: 8 (17)

Warmth: 1 (10)
Fireball: 20 (29)
Meteor: 20 (29)
Fire Mastery: 20 (31)


GEAR

Code:
Tal Rasha's Guardianship - socketed with perfect topaz

Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest - socketed with perfect topaz

Tal Rasha's Adjudication

Tal Rasha's Lidless Eye

Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth

Stormshield - socketed with perfect diamond

War Travelers (45% MF)

Magefist

Nature's Peace 

Entropy Loop
Ring
Required Level: 10
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x55d44e3c
+32 to Attack Rating
Fire Resist +14%
Cold Resist +20%
4% Life stolen per hit
Replenish Life +3
10% Faster Cast Rate

Charms consisted of 2 Fire skillers, 1 Cold skiller, Gheeds, and small charms of vita.


MERCENARY

Kasim - Act II Holy Freeze mercenary, equipped with:

Crown of Thieves
Duriel's Shell - socketed with +4/-3 Fire Die facet (please don't ask me why)
'Insight' Cryptic Axe


ANALYSIS

Once upon a time, I hated sorceresses. I realized this put me at somewhat of a disadvantage regarding magic find, and so I set out to build one. The first two attempts were deleted after just a day or two. I just hated sorceresses. And then I screwed up my nerve, and tried again.

I named her Tracy, after my girlfriend. The theory was that if my character bore the name of my loved one, I would be disinclined to give up on her. And it worked. I really do hate the early levels, however, when your spells are weak and you have to melee. But once she was level 30 or so, it was smooth sailing. And guess what? Now I think that sorceresses are absolutely terrific.

I've heard a lot of people say that Meteor/Orbers are weak. While I have no doubts that perhaps Blizzard is better for certain targets, this girl is tough. Call me crazy, but I don't consider 12K meteor damage to be weak at all. And of course, the full Tal Rasha's set doesn't hurt either. The perfect balance between killing power, survivability, and magic find. It's just amazing.

Oh, and yes...I actually beat Hell difficulty several months ago. I wanted to "complete" the build before doing a write-up.


IMAGES

Character screen

Inventory

My first sorceress succeeds!
 
Originally posted by Taedirk on Jun 23, 2006:

My First Matriarch

Now if you'll turn your attention this way, Matriarch Rasha is modeling the latest fall fashions from the Durance of Hatred. Behold the glowing aura from her very own complete Tal Rasha'a set! And no Sorceress is complete without her Act 2 Freezing Aura Merc at her side! Of course, we can't help but notice her shiny jewelry, Tal Rasha's own amulet and the fabled Stone of Jordan - without which, we would have no 'u geiv soj plzzz' gag to amuse us.

Ahh, my very first Mat/Pat'd character! *Evil laugh* My little Meteorb has been sitting around level 79-80 or so in Act 1 Hell after playing the entire way with /p8 for the first time. I finally got fed up at some point in Act 2 and went back to /p1 and proceeded slammed on the Tele button until I ended up standing over a dead Merc in A5 Hell. It was a good try, and my second Sorc since starting back up a while ago. My first attempt was a BlizzSorc who's steadily holding at 71 and in Nightmare after all the cold immunes in A1 scared her away. Still not sure what I want to do with her now that I have her able to mass murder things for my benefit...

My up and coming characters are a Freezadin, a Fishymancer, my IK Barb still in need of levels and the IK chest armor, and a Tiger Strike / Dtail Assassin who is in dire need of better gear. I've been picking up some interesting stuff with my BlizzSorc MFer parked at Nightmare Mephisto, so hopefully he'll drop some claws for her sooner or later.

So without further adieu, the useless stats (condensed in code blocks for your enjoyment). Carry on over to the New Reply button to snicker at my first Matriarch and give her newfound title purpose.

Assorted Stats
Code:
Character name  : Rasha <- Unoriginal, and amusing when personalizing items
Character type  : Sorceress
Character level : 82
Character exp   : 834453876

Strength        : 85
Energy          : 40
Dexterity       : 150
Vitality        : 225

Life            : 988 / 611
Mana            : 577 / 207
Stamina         : 396 / 370

Hellforge
Normal: Amn Rune
Nightmare: Lum Rune
Hell: Lem Rune

Best Rune: Pul Rune from Hell Countess

Amusing Moment: Hell Ancients.  I managed to get a Fire Immune,
a Cold Immune, and a Fire/Lightning Immune after getting Fire,
Fire/Cold, Cold and having my Merc die almost instantly.  This time,
I took the grand tour of the plateau and kept shooting out Frozen Orbs
until I managed to pick off the two Fire Immunes.  By that time, my
merc was dead, I was down to half a bar of potions and was left with
the Cold Immune leaper.  It wasn't the great story of Sorceress melee
that I read a few days ago, but watching *leap* *teleport* *leap*
*teleport* was pretty bloody funny.

Skills:
20 Freezing Orb
5 Cold Mastery
1 Shiver Armor
6 Prereq's

1 Static Field
1 Telekinesis
1 Teleport

20 Fireball
20 Meteor
12 Fire Mastery
1 Enchant
5 Prereq's

My Shiny Gear
Code:
Rasha's Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 116
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 66
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 71
Fingerprint: 0x6adf2f01
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
+45 Defense
All Resistances +15
10% Life stolen per hit
10% Mana stolen per hit
24% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Tal Rasha's Adjudication
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0x1942c74e
+50 to Life
+42 to Mana
Lightning Resist +33%
Adds 3-32 lightning damage
+2 to Sorceress Skill Levels

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
10% Faster Cast Rate
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***

Tal Rasha's Lidless Eye
Swirling Crystal
One-Hand Damage: 18 to 42
Durability: 50 of 50
(Sorceress Only)
Required Level: 65
Orb Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0xc52eac74
+10 to Energy
+57 to Life
+77 to Mana
20% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to Fire Mastery (Sorceress Only)
+1 to Lightning Mastery (Sorceress Only)
+2 to Cold Mastery (Sorceress Only)

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
+1 to Sorceress Skill Levels
-15% to Enemy Fire Resistance
-15% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+15% to Cold Skill Damage
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***

Tal Rasha's Guardianship
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 844
Durability: 55 of 55
Required Strength: 83
Required Level: 71
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0x95fd0b23
+400 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 15
Fire Resist +40%
Lightning Resist +40%
Cold Resist +40%
112% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -60%

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
10% Faster Cast Rate
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***

Socketed (1: 1 used)

Moser's Blessed Circle
Round Shield
Defense: 173
Chance to Block:  57%
Durability: 64 of 64
Required Strength: 53
Required Level: 31
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 99
Fingerprint: 0x131e1491
+210% Enhanced Defense
+25% Increased Chance of Blocking
All Resistances +63
30% Faster Block Rate
Socketed (2: 2 used)

Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth
Mesh Belt
Defense: 96
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Strength: 46
Required Level: 53
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x6928e4f8
+20 to Dexterity
+30 to Mana
15% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -20%
37% Damage Taken Goes to Mana

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
+60 Defense
10% Faster Cast Rate
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***

Magefist
Light Gauntlets
Defense: 25
Durability: 17 of 18
Required Strength: 45
Required Level: 23
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0x98b62593
+30% Enhanced Defense
Regenerate Mana 25%
+10 Defense
Adds 1-6 fire damage
20% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to Fire Skills

Glyph Blazer
Light Plated Boots
Defense: 11
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x119bed32
+27 to Maximum Stamina
Lightning Resist +12%
Cold Resist +26%
22% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance to cast Level 3 Charged Bolt when struck

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 55
Fingerprint: 0xd9a3d35d
+15 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+191 to Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 cold damage over 4 seconds
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

The Stone of Jordan
Ring
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x6980f7c1
+20 to Mana
Adds 1-12 lightning damage
Increase Maximum Mana 25%
+1 to All Skill Levels

My Lv 82 Holy Freeze Merc's Shiny Gear
Code:
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 125
Durability: 19 of 20
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 66
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x123f966d
+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: 47 to 448
Durability: 41 of 65
Required Dexterity: 118
Required Strength: 152
Required Level: 53
Polearm Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xff118c3
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
+218% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+4 to Critical Strike
35% Faster Cast Rate
221% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Level 16 Meditation Aura When Equipped
Socketed (4: 4 used)

Duriel's Shell
Cuirass
Defense: 666
Durability: 39 of 150
Required Strength: 65
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0xc9ef5775
+15 to Strength
+178% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +20%
Lightning Resist +20%
Cold Resist +50%
Poison Resist +20%
+100 Maximum Durability
Cannot Be Frozen
+102 to Defense (Based on Character Level)
+82 to Life (Based on Character Level)

EDIT: You can't have a ? in a title? ;_;
 
Originally posted by Tanksaabas on Jun 17, 2008:

Matriarch Piff

Yesterday decided to finish matting my blizzwaller Piff . I used her to run AT , Meph and Pindle even when she was parked at the crystalline passage wp.

Stats:

Matriarch Piff lvl 88

exp: 1443801633

Str: 100 (122)
Dex: 25 (67)
Vita: 305 (320)
Enr: 100 (125)

Life: 1138
Mana: 813

Res: 46/53/50/73

Skills:

Blizzard - 20 (28) deals 2821-2983 damage
Ice Blast - 20 (28)
Glacial Spike - 16 (24)
Cold Mastery - 10 (18)

Firewall - 20 (28) deals 4806 - 4860 damage
Fire Mastery - 5 (13)

Prereques and utility at 1 (9)

Gear:
Eth Shako with 5 of 7 durability :whistling:
Skin of the Vipermagi
Eschuta's Temper
Tal Rasha belt and amu
Dwarf Star and Raven Frost
Frostburn gauntlets
The ward gothic shield :/
Treks

Charms give res , life and mf.

Defiance Merc:
Eth Insight CV
Eth Stone Loricated Mail
Stealskull with ptopaz

Though the gear aint much it was still enough to kill anything I came across.
Otherwise I don't remember Hellforge as it was rubbish. Ancients weren't that hard. I rerolled the first one as 2 of them had cold immunity but on the second time only Korlic had it. After Ancients and Baal Drop.

Now some more AT , Meph , Cows and Pindle.
 
Originally posted by Tanksaabas on Dec 2, 2008:

Matriarch Helen - Tal's Meteorber

Finished another character. Main reason was to try frozen orb and meteor. Also found the last piece (the armour randomly with my bowazon from the mausoleum) that urged me to do one.

So here she is:

LCS

Level: 78 (quite low for a mat , partly because I teleported through most of the game)

Stats:

Strength: 155 (167)
Dexterity: 25 (70)
Vitality: 265 (300)
Energy: 35 (45)
HP: 1144
Mana: 522

Resistances: 75/75/75/75

Skills:

Fo - 20 (28)
Cold mastery - 5 (14)

Meteor - 20 (29)
Fire ball - 20 (29)
Fire mastery - 5 (14)
fire bolt - 7 (16)

prereques and utility - 1 ...

Gear: Full tals set with 32 Spirit , Raven frost and a crappy rare ring with 10 fcr and +11 all res. Boots are treks. The charms dont give much , only some fire res and little bit of health.

Merc is a defiance one with Stone Loricated mail , eth insight bill (going to a CV soon , just one more level) and stealskull. He is lvl 78 also.

Gameplay: /p8 the whole act 1 for some fast leveling. After that I teleported through the game , while killing any bosspacks I encountered. Thats it. Managed to die once , right before the end. These guys were responsible. Thats blind teleing for you.

Ancients were done on the second try. Minion waves were rather easy , if a bit slow. Baal went down also quite fast.

Finds: most of Sigons set :p , M'avinas Diadem (urgh , it should have been a gold diadem instead of a green one) , and a lot of low level uniques and sets. Hellforge was Fal.

What now? I want to level up more , so some Eldtrich on /p8. Or even AT. Then shes going on a long Baalrunner career.

Thanks for reading.
 
Originally posted by TedDeeBoy on Feb 21, 2007:

Matriarch Atheltha 1.10

Introducing 1.10 Mat completed earlier in Feb

Character name : Atheltha
Character type : Sorceress
Character level : 86
Character exp : 1242889158

Strength : 78
Energy : 35
Dexterity : 25
Vitality : 191
Stat Points Rem : 191
Skill Points Rem: 0

Life : 821 / 547
Mana : 607 / 205
Stamina : 342 / 340

Gold (Inventory): 0
Gold (Stash) : 376957


Skills :

Cold Tree:
Blizzard 20 / 30
Glacial Spike 20 / 30
Ice Blast 3 / 13 (the rest of the points here)
CM 7 / 17

Fire:

Fireball 20 / 29
Firebolt 20 / 29
Warmth 1 / 10
FM 1 / 10

Static, Teleport and pre 1 / 10

Damage :
Blizzard : 3104 - 3268
Glacial Spike: 567 - 601

Fireball: 2533 - 2797

Res: 75/63/74/16


Gear

Code:
Weapon : Death's Fathom  Cold Skill Damage +26%, LR 39%, FR 27%
Shield: Lidless Wall
Helm : Harlequin Crest w/PTopaz

Amulet :
Corruption Clasp
Amulet
Required Level: 33
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 52
Fingerprint: 0x4e756f0e
+4 to Life
+51 to Mana
Damage Reduced by 4
All Resistances +8
+50 poison damage over 3 seconds
+1 to Sorceress Skill Levels

Armour : Skin of the Vipermagi ResAll 33%, MDR 12

Ring 1 : The Stone of Jordan
Ring 2 : 
Scintillating Ring of Chance
Required Level: 59
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 78
Fingerprint: 0xb2af325
All Resistances +14
15% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Belt : Upped Goldwrap

Boots : (Taken from my Frost Zealot Pat)
Skull Nails
Light Plated Boots
Defense: 15
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0xc81d274d
+32% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +32%
Cold Resist +16%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
20% Faster Run/Walk
10% Faster Hit Recovery

Gloves : Chance Guards

Switch: Gull , Rhyme Heater

Stash : Wisp Projector 20 Sorb, Wand of Life Tap

Charms

Code:
Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 62
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xe6af5c9
101% Extra Gold from Monsters
38% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Reduces All Vendor Prices 12%

Chilling Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0xfdcda5db
+1 to Cold Skills (Sorceress Only)

Sapphire Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x69534c5b
Cold Resist +11%

Shimmering Small Charm of Good Luck
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 33
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 99
Fingerprint: 0xbc8c95eb
All Resistances +3
7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Shimmering Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0x87fa5ebf
All Resistances +14

Ruby Small Charm of Life
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0x4d22c5df
+5 to Life
Fire Resist +10%

Sapphire Small Charm of Strength
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xcae5a68d
+1 to Strength
Cold Resist +10%

Garnet Small Charm of Inertia
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xaccd6887
Fire Resist +9%
3% Faster Run/Walk

Cobalt Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0x1e824ebc
+17 to Life
Cold Resist +9%

Shimmering Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 25
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0xb5a51c08
All Resistances +4

Sapphire Small Charm of Burning
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xca83da08
Cold Resist +11%
Adds 3-8 fire damage

Emerald Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x47e6fefe
+19 to Life
Poison Resist +10%

Small Charm of Balance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 52
Fingerprint: 0xe9f36689
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Small Charm of Balance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 53
Fingerprint: 0x2206eeae
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x385102e
+19 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xf63d7ab4
+19 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0xc8a57d96
+19 to Life

Serpent's Small Charm of Strength
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 40
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 99
Fingerprint: 0xbbd800f6
+2 to Strength
+17 to Mana

Small Charm of Balance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xc4c62feb
5% Faster Hit Recovery

Serpent's Grand Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 69
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0x95497df
+39 to Life
+44 to Mana

Amber Grand Charm of Strength
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 22
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 46
Fingerprint: 0x3091ce56
+6 to Strength
Lightning Resist +29%

Normal Act 2 Defensive (Defiance)
Mercenary Items :

Shaftstop
Vampire Gaze 18% PDR, 7% LL
Upped 169ED Kelpie Snare with Amn

Hell Forge: NM Dol Hell Pul

The Ancients : The Thrower was LE and Extra Fast, the Leaper was Conviction and Extra Fast and the Whirler was Holy Shock but I dont know the other mod. THey died with a minimum of fuss. Only one was cold Immune so Blizzard and Teleport took care of two, the Whirler and Leaper. Thrower died to the merc and fireball as he was LI, CI. I did not use Static field as I dare not get close enough hit by any Charged bolt or HS pulse while under conviction, ouch!. She did not get hit once by a physical attack and I stayed away from the Conviction Leaper, she only received damage from the HS aura

Notable Finds : If only toons could buy lotto tickets. She stumbled across Ber in LK while questing. :rolleyes: She farmed NM Andy for Tals Ammy but stubborn Andy only wanted to drop SoJs instead, 5 of them from her and with an extra from a dead rogue in Andy's Chamber to boot (see Elite Runners and ITF thread), Eth Messrschmidt's Reaver in the CS from a champion Finger Mage. Luck was in for her but she not find what was targeted orginally, DII can be like that.


She a cookie cutter, P3 through Act 4, p1 for Act5 except Baal on /p3. Nice and comfortable.

Originally she was built to use Tal's Set however, the amulet still eludes me and I play only self found currently. She ran NM Andy with a sensational map (10 teleports from the waypoint to Andy's chamber) for a while in attempting to find this without success, these runs were aborted after the operator accidently deleted her map by clicking "Hell" instead of NM when distracted at the start of a run. :banghead:

So after that I took some of the gear I was saving for a pure Blizzard Sorc and put it on her and away she went into Hell. I saved some stats until I figured whether to make her max block or max vita. Also I stacked on as much MF as I can while questing because I like finding stuff as I go, it makes for a nice change from endless runs on a target.

As a side note the Merc used Upped Kelpies through Hell instead of the Reaper's Toll. I much prefer the Reapers for general questing becuase with Decrepify the Merc can take down FI, CIs quicker. Kelpies is good for Boss' although Hell Baal still duped himself while chilled and slowed during the quest fight .. grrr!, then dropped only one lot of garage.

Her future she will spend some time Pindling, Mephing, Andying, Ancient Tunneling. She could do with a ammy upgrade. If I ever the Tal's Ammy I'll give the set a spin. I think she will be a nice MFer, a lot different to the Fishymancer I used previously.

What char next : Complete Baal runs with Fishymancer to get him to 95, just 36 to go and his tedious lvling career is over. A SC strafer or I might try an untwinked HC char, I want to get at least one Guardian before the year is out as it could take me that long (or even longer)
 
Originally posted by theGrimm on Oct 17, 2005:

Matriarch Firestorm

Well, it's not big deal in this forum to see a mat'ted meteorb, but since this is my first mat (and only second char to finish the game), I thought I'd brag a bit. Sorry, I don't have ATMA on this comp, but I'll be as accurate as possible from memory.

1.11: Matriarch Firestorm, Meteorb (lvl 82)

Stats:
Strength: 70
Dex: 170
Vita: Rest (Life 750ish)
Energy:Base (Mana 350ish)


Skills:
Frozen Orb:20/28
CM:9/17
Meteor: 20/33
FM: 20/33
Fireball: 19/32

1 in Teleport and static

+prereq (including points wasted on frozen armour, but not warmth!!!)

Equipment:
HOTO (40% res all, I THINK)
Shako
Vipermagi (38% res all)
Magefist
Wall of the Eyeless
Arachnid Mesh
Rare ammy with +3 fire skills and res all
Bahamuts Ring
23% res lighting, 12%mf ring (never noticed it was low end...didn't even need the LR iirc)
Rare boots with fire and lighting resist and 30%RW.

Charms: Burning GC, Res all charms: 13%GC, 5%SC, 4%SC, a few other single element resists

Merc equipment: Meat Scraper, Tal Rasha's mask, and 900def rare spirit shroud. Nothing wow.

Hell Res
Fire: 75
Cold: 48
Light: 75
Poison: 16

Spell damage (approximates):
FO: 400-600 range
Meteor: 10k impact (don't know burning)
Fireball:

I got extremly lucky, as my early magic find runs with this char and later my blizzy sorc revealed tons of equipment tailor made for caster-type chars. So far, I've found almost nothing valuable to barbs, melee-pallies, zons, assasins or mercs, but some uber sorcie equipment as you can see above. I actually even found TWO shakos, as well as the uber runes required for HOTO. (I should point out that I never found anything above IST in 1.10, and only one of those even).

I focussed in the early game on maxing FO with cold mastery, so levels 1-19 where melee (nasty), and levels 20-24 where done with the aid of a +3firewall leaf staff and glacial spike (amazingly effective once I got hold of sufficient sapphires...base energy was a problem). Once I got blizzard and then FO it was plain sailing, but I never even put a point into meteor until I'd maxed FO (well, maybe one...).

In hell, I varied between glacial spike or FB on left mouse, depending on immunities. GSpike did useless damage, but took some heat off moron.

Challenges:
-Normal Lister until I levelled my orb somewhat
-Early Act II normal, until I found enough sapphires (with my necro).
-Hell ancients, who trashed my merc faster than I could react with Restoration potions. I respawned a few times when merc died and one of the ancients was fire and cold immune. Third time lucky. Merc died ASAP, but tele and orb saved the day.

Only two notable deaths in WSK. Gloam pack instakill as I went around a corner. Despite 75% res and 750 life. Big pack, focussed lighting. Died once more retriving my corpse. Merc was useless. One other NDE due to teleporting into conviction vampire pack. Ha. Escaped with 1HP. Ha.

Well, that's her. I didn't guardian a neckid barb or anything, pure cookie cutter. But hey. She's practically my first. (first was a fishy. Bit challenge...)
 
Originally posted by TonyMontana on Feb 6, 2006:

Matriarch Kahlan

My first Mat/Pat!

Lvl 85 Meteorb

just got rushed past ancients (thanks Pucho et. al!) last night in the MP pit game, then didn't quest kill baal when we were doing the runs, so went back and did it after logging off.

Skills:
20 FB
20 Meteor
FM/Firebolt maybe 15/8

20 FO
8 CM

Teleport, Static, prereqs, etc

Stats:
Str: 170 after stormsheild
Dex: not enough for max block - I have 67% block with stormshield :(
Vit: too much, decided too late in game to go max block route
Energy: sadly I put points here, ~70 points total.

Gear:

Gotta divide this into two sections:

Quest Gear:
Tal's Belt, Tal's Mask, Tal's Orb
Skin of vipermagi (full +35 resist) + Um rune
Stormshield (thanks hell meph) - this was ancients pledge up until almost end of Act 5 when I was doing meph runs
waterwalks
ravenfrost
rare ring with +18 str and some resists
rare ammy with +20 str and BIG resists - this was a meph drop I was VERY happy with as it let me equip stormshield
Magefist

MF Gear:
add Tal's armor socketed w/ Ptopaz,
30% FRW/21% MF rare boots,
and chance guards,
along with blade of ali baba and rhyme on switch,

this is good for something like ~350 MF. I plan on socketing Tal's mask as well, and possibly socketing the blade of ali baba with some MF as well. Also looking for war travelers

Merc: Level 85 holy freeze merc with viperfork, Tal's mask, and some rare armor with like 1200 defense.

This is my first char that has even beaten nightmare, so despite a slight misbuild I plan on using her to MF in a big way to set up all my other chars (she's already found a baranar's star for my level 24 avenger) but maybe I'll make a CL/FO sorc or a blizz sorc one day - I tend to play casters. If I make another meteorb, I'm DEFINTIELY going max block, less into energy, and more firebolt for the synergy with Fireball

anyways, thanks SPF, looking forward to more Pat/Mat chars soon! right now it's a race between avenger and level 48 fishy. I think the avenger will win but the vipermagi looks PIMP on the necro, so maybe I'll want to play him some more.
 
Originally posted by Tracul on Mar 7, 2006:

1st Matriarch-Daffy the Meteorb Sorc

Finally I finished her! Took me bout 2.5 weeks. First sorc I ever played and matted. Hurray!!!
She is a very typical meterorb sorc, taken from the guide by sasja. Motive of developing her is of course to replace my MF skelliemancer, so i can focus on my dream of 99-ing the skelliemancer.

First things first: The Screen

Her Stats: LCS

Her Equipment:
Code:
3: Ocher Small Charm of Sustenance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 17
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 73
Fingerprint: 0x28b887ae
+14 to Life
Lightning Resist +6%

4: Shimmering Small Charm of Life
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 25
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 72
Fingerprint: 0x8ddc7d8c
+5 to Life
All Resistances +5

5: Shimmering Small Charm of Sustenance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 25
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xcc9ff017
+11 to Life
All Resistances +4

6: The Stone of Jordan (thanks to nebux for this awesome ring!)
Ring
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xe1500eb1
+20 to Mana
Adds 1-12 lightning damage
Increase Maximum Mana 25%
+1 to All Skill Levels

7: Frostburn
Gauntlets
Defense: 49
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0xae51b077
+19% Enhanced Defense
+5% Enhanced Damage
+30 Defense
Adds 1-6 cold damage over 2 seconds
Increase Maximum Mana 40%

8: Sapphire Small Charm of Balance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x6969876c
Cold Resist +11%
5% Faster Hit Recovery

9: Amber Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x794b72d5
+18 to Life
Lightning Resist +11%

10: Amber Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x5693e0b6
+17 to Life
Lightning Resist +11%

11: Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x87517757
+20 to Life

12: Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xf73bdd38
+20 to Life

13: Chilling Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x9a7ef647
+1 to Cold Skills (Sorceress Only)

14: Burning Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 76
Fingerprint: 0xf79f69c9
+1 to Fire Skills (Sorceress Only)

15: Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth
Mesh Belt
Defense: 98
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Strength: 46
Required Level: 53
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0xdd70c36c
+20 to Dexterity
+30 to Mana
15% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -20%
37% Damage Taken Goes to Mana

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
+60 Defense
10% Faster Cast Rate
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***


16: Ruby Small Charm of the Glacier
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0xc24ddb23
Fire Resist +11%
Adds 3-5 cold damage over 1 seconds

17: Tal Rasha's Adjudication
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 99
Fingerprint: 0xff32485f
+50 to Life
+42 to Mana
Lightning Resist +33%
Adds 3-32 lightning damage
+2 to Sorceress Skill Levels

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
10% Faster Cast Rate
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***


18: Tal Rasha's Guardianship
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 860
Durability: 55 of 55
Required Strength: 83
Required Level: 71
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xee522434
+400 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 15
Fire Resist +40%
Lightning Resist +40%
Cold Resist +40%
**% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -60%

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
10% Faster Cast Rate
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***


19: Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x7eb422e6
+20 to Life

20: Ruby Small Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x2d8c85ee
Fire Resist +11%

21: Sandstorm Trek
Scarabshell Boots
Defense: 172
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Strength: 91
Required Level: 64
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x56c1b7fd
+14 to Strength
+14 to Vitality
+162% Enhanced Defense
Poison Resist +64%
20% Faster Run/Walk
20% Faster Hit Recovery
50% Slower Stamina Drain
+83 to Maximum Stamina (Based on Character Level)
Repairs 1 durability in 20 seconds

22: Sapphire Small Charm of Life
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0xa4c8beef
+10 to Life
Cold Resist +10%

23: Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x85d715ab
+20 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+215 to Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 cold damage over 4 seconds
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

24: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 126
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 66
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0x9085d5a4
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
+45 Defense
All Resistances +15
10% Life stolen per hit
10% Mana stolen per hit

25: Chilling Grand Charm of Balance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0x421a04e0
12% Faster Hit Recovery
+1 to Cold Skills (Sorceress Only)

26: Burning Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 70
Fingerprint: 0xeb87361
+1 to Fire Skills (Sorceress Only)

27: Wizardspike
Bone Knife
One-Hand Damage: 23 to 49
Required Dexterity: 75
Required Strength: 38
Required Level: 61
Dagger Class - Fast Attack Speed
Indestructible
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0xf99ba85
Regenerate Mana 15%
All Resistances +75
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
50% Faster Cast Rate
Indestructible
+166 to Mana (Based on Character Level)

28: Lidless Wall
Grim Shield
Defense: 292
Chance to Block:  40%
Durability: 70 of 70
Required Strength: 58
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x99278f3
+10 to Energy
+94% Enhanced Defense
Increase Maximum Mana 10%
+1 to Light Radius
20% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to All Skill Levels
+5 to Mana After Each Kill

39: Tal Rasha's Lidless Eye
Swirling Crystal
One-Hand Damage: 18 to 42
Durability: 50 of 50
(Sorceress Only)
Required Level: 65
Orb Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x3b084e20
+10 to Energy
+57 to Life
+77 to Mana
20% Faster Cast Rate
+2 to Fire Mastery (Sorceress Only)
+2 to Lightning Mastery (Sorceress Only)
+1 to Cold Mastery (Sorceress Only)

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
+1 to Sorceress Skill Levels
-15% to Enemy Fire Resistance
-15% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+15% to Cold Skill Damage
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***


40: Whitstan's Guard
Round Shield
Defense: 154
Chance to Block:  87%
Durability: 64 of 64
Required Strength: 53
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xb40ab145
+175% Enhanced Defense
+55% Increased Chance of Blocking
All Resistances +19
+5 to Light Radius
40% Faster Block Rate
Half Freeze Duration
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Perfect Diamond
Inserted into a Round Shield

All Resistances +19

Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion

Basically she uses a full Tal Rasha's Set. Very useful IMO.

Defiance Merc Stats:
Jemali

His Equipment:
Code:
1: Shaftstop
Boneweave
Defense: 1533
Durability: 22 of 45
Required Strength: 158
Required Level: 54
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x38080d66
+60 to Life
+213% Enhanced Defense
+250 Defense vs. Missile
Damage Reduced by 30%
Required Level +7

2: Rockstopper
Sallet
Defense: 180
Durability: 14 of 18
Required Strength: 43
Required Level: 31
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 73
Fingerprint: 0xab9ce1d
+15 to Vitality
+187% Enhanced Defense
Damage Reduced by 10%
Fire Resist +25%
Lightning Resist +28%
Cold Resist +30%
30% Faster Hit Recovery

3: Bonehew
Ogre Axe
'AmnAmn'
Two-Hand Damage: 162 to 839
Durability: 26 of 26
Required Dexterity: 65
Required Strength: 185
Required Level: 64
Polearm Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x5de4b9c0
+287% Enhanced Damage
14% Life stolen per hit
30% Increased Attack Speed
Prevent Monster Heal
50% Chance to cast Level 16 Bone Spear on striking
Level 14 Corpse Explosion (15/30 Charges)
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (2: 2 used)

Skill Placement:
Cold Tree
Fire Tree
Lightning Tree

Best Finds: Nothing much (yet). Only Mal from Hell Hellforge and a poison facet. Boss drops of all acts in NM and Hell was utterly terrible...

Play Style:
She's a max block sorc. FO was the way to go till Hell Act 1 when there has to be a mixture of Fireball and Meteor. Basically its Tele, Tele, See enemy, Analyze immunity, Spam proper spell 😁 Static of course for bosses, tho its kinda hard running even Hell Meph as merc keeps dying. There are quite a few cold/fire uniques around, some which has even stone skin! Now those are really dangerous :shocked:
Almost died a few times, but never did! Thanks to max block that is.

So there she is! Open to comments and criticism 👍
 
Originally posted by Tupsi on Oct 16, 2006:

Ethereal Matriarch

A week or two ago I posted an introduction thread and it was about Ethereal, the fragile one. She killed the Hell Baal a few minutes ago and now it's time for a Mat thread (my first one, I'm not good with these).

Stats:
Name: Ethereal
Class: Sorceress
Level: 79
1.11b, RWM, SC

Strenght: 10 base
Dexterity: 25 base
Vitality: 415 max
Energy: 35 base

Hit Points: 1074
Mana: 337

Resists in Hell: 75/50/29/50

FCR: 45 breaks 10 frames (37 req)
FHR: 88 breaks 7 frames (86 req)
Chance to block: 1%

Skills:
1 Warmth
20 Firebolt
20 Fireball
1 Fire Mastery

1 Static Field
1 Telekinesis
1 Teleport

1 Frozen Armor
1 Icebolt
16 Ice Blast
1 Frost Nova
10 Glacial Spike
15 Blizzard
1 Cold Mastery

Blizzard damage: 1346-1233
Fire Ball damage: 1572-1400

Gear:
Code:
Spirit
Ethereal's Broad Sword (Personalized, near perf stats)
'TalThulOrtAmn'
One-Hand Damage: 10 to 21
Durability: 17 of 17
Required Strength: 38
Required Level: 25
Sword Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0xf0c9f4fc
+22 to Vitality
+106 to Mana
+250 Defense vs. Missile
Adds 1-50 lightning damage
Adds 3-14 cold damage over 3 seconds
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
7% Life stolen per hit
55% Faster Hit Recovery
35% Faster Cast Rate
+2 to All Skill Levels
+8 Magic Absorb
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (4: 4 used)

Gemmed Kite Shield (3 PDia)
Defense: 37
Chance to Block:  28%
Durability: 10 of 16
Required Strength: 37
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 34
Fingerprint: 0xf0987150
All Resistances +57
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (3: 3 used)

Skullder's Ire (-15%req, 30psn res jewel)
Russet Armor
Defense: 951
Durability: 76 of 76
Required Strength: 72
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x6d5e147a
+160% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 10
Poison Resist +30%
+60 Maximum Durability
Requirements -15%
+1 to All Skill Levels
98% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)
Repairs 1 durability in 5 seconds
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (1: 1 used)

Gemmed Bone Helm (2 PAme, ugly!)
Defense: 78
Durability: 17 of 21
Required Strength: 15
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x8cb7f2a9
+20 to Strength
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (2: 2 used)

Loath Hold (Imbued)
Chain Gloves
Defense: 28
Durability: 1 of 9
Required Strength: 15
Required Level: 30
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 77
Fingerprint: 0x4a59ce09
+90% Enhanced Defense
+20 to Attack Rating
Fire Resist +7%
Replenish Life +4
Half Freeze Duration
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired)

Plague Chain (Imbued)
Heavy Belt
Defense: 14
Durability: 10 of 10
Required Strength: 35
Required Level: 19
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0x2e5c5297
+6 to Strength
+24 to Maximum Stamina
+41% Enhanced Defense
Repairs 1 durability in 33 seconds
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired)

Hailstone Shank (Imbued)
Mesh Boots
Defense: 60
Durability: 9 of 9
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 77
Fingerprint: 0x10adf7f8
Heal Stamina Plus 25%
Fire Resist +39%
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Faster Hit Recovery
Repairs 1 durability in 33 seconds
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired)

Chilling Amulet of the Titan
Required Level: 50
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xd2a59d5a
+17 to Strength
+1 to Cold Skills (Sorceress Only)

Scintillating Ring of Might
Required Level: 59
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xc0ccd3f7
+5 to Strength
All Resistances +14

Dragon's Ring of the Apprentice
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x652d7c05
+40 to Mana
10% Faster Cast Rate

Mercenary:
Defiance Merc from normal for the extra strength required to use Colossus Voulge Inisght. Equipped with Guillaumes (7str, 23fire res jewel), Boneflesh (PAme) and the Insight I mentioned (2% off from perf damage, perf slvl aura, perf critical strike, not eth). I'm going to swap him back to Might when I get a few levels myself.

Everything else:
She was kind of fun to play, only the Hell Ancients were pain. Had to buy potions for 50k and drop them to Arreat Summit everytime I tried to beat them. I think I killed them on the 9th shot or something, Madawc got wounded and bled to death. Korlic was spammed to oblivion by Fire Balls. Talic was cheated between column and Blizz'd to death.
A few long drawn sighs came out when I found totally perfect items with 'repairs durability in X seconds' but they weren't ethereal.
Not many drops worth mentioning or remembering... An eth, non socketed Cryptic axe from Throne room and err... Hellforges: Shael from NM, Um from Hell.

A couple more pictures to satisfy your visual needs:
The last meeting with Tyrael
Matriarch Ethereal

From now on? A few Hell Baals to get that Ice Blast and Blizz maxed. Maybe I'll make Smoke 'EthLum' to some decent armor, craft new amulet with skills, imbue more ethereal gloves with other characters. Oh, and I want to make a HotO for her! Got an ethereal flail and the other runes waiting, just need another Gul. I hope my Gimmershred Paladin, Zen, will get one. If not him, then my PSN daggermancer Terror smashes the stone for good (rune). We'll see...

Thanks for reading, cheers ^^
 
Originally posted by Ugla on Jul 2, 2008:

Matriarch Arien (#?)

I was hesitant whether I should make this one another pure-fire sorc, or a meteorber. I eventually opted for the latter, since I've never made one myself and wanted a comparison with my blizzballer.

Playing balanced blizzball build, I have more trouble clearing the Throne at /p1 than killing waves at /p3-5. When it's full of OKs, these often succeed to IM my merc before I can dispatch them. I thought I might try stronger fire provided FO would be enough to kill the FIs (including /p1 Lister's wave).

I started on Monday, MPing with Hrus's new barbarian from Black Marsh until normal Duriel. From that point onward, I went solo - one because Hrus was kinda busy at work these days, and two, these builds don't have much to offer each other, anyway. Most of the NM and the entire Hell was played today. Not in a big hurry, though, since I quite enjoyed killing stuff with an old-school cookie-cutter.

The first death came (surprisingly :whistling:) in NM Maggot's Lair. With all resists in red, you either teleport on top of an FE scarab, or yes.. After two more deaths on Fetish Shamen (double CE blast vs -30%CR is nearly fatal on its own), I played a bit more careful, but still decided to reequip prior to act4. Leveled on NM Baal (got a decent map on the second try) until both FB and Meteor were maxed (clvl77).

I died 2-3 times throughout Hell due to major mistakes, since my resists were basically maxed (Hrus, are you reading this? 😉 ). I considered the vita route for a change, but then sticked with blocking, so that the comparison is more relevant. Got pissed off by the Ancients, when Talic (almost dead) whirled through my poor rogue - the only hope to take down dual-immune Korlic. I was more careful the second time. After beating Baal, I returned to Nihlathak who almost got me. The cows were relatively slow even at /p1. Booo..

Finds: nothing, crap, junk, Arreat's Face, and more junk. The Forges were Dol and Hel to fit in.

As for the usual info:
Arien - lvl82 sorceress

Stats:
Str: 45 (58) ..and this time I mean it! Worried, however - see below
Dext: 125 (152) - 50% block atm
Vita: 275 (292)
Erg: 35 (no points here, maybe I'm getting old or something..) The truth is, I finally put some of my Envy jewels to good use.
unassigned: 30

Life: 947
Mana: 664

Skills:
20 FO, FB, Meteor
10 Firebolt, FM (most likely not optimal atm, but still enough lvls remaining)
1 CM, Static, Teleport, Warmth, and all prerequisites

Impressions:
Just about what I expected. Unfortunately, this holds for FO as well. It's really insufficient for the purpose, unless I make some gear changes. Wait, the gear:

Shako(PTopaz), Mara's, SoJ, rare ring(LR, CR, +mana, +str), Occy('Ist'), 'Rhyme' grim shield, Skin(PTopaz), Magefist, Arach, Cow boots

..and the good old LR-wand with some low-quality Large Shield I accidentally picked up and already sold by now.. (didn't have enough str for heaters in the first place)

1 cold and 1 fire skillers, 14%res GC, +57 mana GC, 4%res SC, +mana, PR, FR/Life, MF SCs

Why mere 1pt in CM? This build will need the gear oriented towards cold damage. With a few facets and (hopefully) more skillers, I should hit the -100% mark without further investment. I always use the LR-wand (-41%) against Lister and Baal.

I'll look into this and try some Baal-running once I'm back from vacation - we're setting off for 2-weeks trip on bikes. See you 👋
 
Originally posted by WhiskeyJack on Jul 14, 2004:

Matriarch Tattersail

hi everyone- made a short hurrah post in yesterday's daily thread, but thought I'd write out a bit more about her. This is my first ever char to beat the game, and I'm pretty excited. I know, I know, a meteorb sorc, but it's the first sorc I've played past lvl 14, and I had no experience with casters, I'm pretty happy! Now if I can just get my fanazeaolt to pat...

anywho, here's the details:
Character name : Tattersail, the meteorb sorc (lvl 84).

Strength : 94
Energy : 53
Dexterity : 131
Vitality : 232
Life : 976 / 627
Mana : 317 / 237
Stamina : 459 / 379

Skills- 20 (27) Meteor+fire mastery, 10(17) fireball, 20 (26) FO, 9 (15) Cold mastery, 1 in all pre-reqs, and 1 (7) pt in each of the cold armors. I used shiver armor extensively. It didn't add a whole lot to def, but the freezing mod gave a good chance to run away from fast packs.

resists: not that great, 60s for cold and poison, maxed at 75 for lightning, but fire was maxed at 85/93 depending on set-up. She ran around with a pack full of charms, mainly resists, life and def. I do mean full.

her gear:
Smoke - Dusk Shroud (NefLum)
Defense: 759
+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)- those charges made a heck of a difference against the ancients. It slowed korlic down enough that I could drop meteors while running and not get smacked, esp. for when he finally died, as he was FE. I just loved this armor, and it's relatively cheap to make.

Blackhorn's Face
Death Mask
Defense: 256
+195% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +15%
Prevent Monster Heal
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 25
+20 Lightning Absorb
Slows Target by 20%

Demon Chain - Vampirefang Belt
+8 to Strength
+18 to Life
+39% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +11%
Lightning Resist +29%
12% Chance to cast Level 4 Charged Bolt when struck

Magefist - Light Gauntlets

Infernostride - Demonhide Boots

jewelry:
Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Nagelring (27%)
The Mahim-Oak Curio

Normal Weapon/Shield:
Hexfire/Lidless Wall (P-diamond)
Oculus/Rhyme - Ancient Shield

For packs that had lots of missles but were CI/CE, I switched out the occy with the hexfire in order to not bounce around with the teleport, or any time it was advantageous to up the fire damage without getting frozen. The normal combo gave the best dmg for FO/Meteor. I had +7 to fire skills, and (I think) +6 cold skills (1 CS skiller, yippee!) using my main weapon/shield combo

Merc- ActII HF
Gear:
Blackhorn's Face - Death Mask
Defense: 384
+196% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +15%
Prevent Monster Heal
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 25
+20 Lightning Absorb
Slows Target by 20%
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired)

Toothrow - Sharktooth Armor
Defense: 787
+18 to Strength
+184% Enhanced Defense
+21% Enhanced Damage
+52 Defense
Fire Resist +15%
+15 Maximum Durability
Attacker Takes Damage of 24
40% Chance of Open Wounds
Socketed (1: 1 used)

the socketed jewel gave +8 str, and 21%edmg.

Amn'd Bonehew- Ogre Axe
Two-Hand Damage: 114 to 591
+308% Enhanced Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
30% Increased Attack Speed
Prevent Monster Heal
50% Chance to cast Level 16 Bone Spear on striking
Level 14 Corpse Explosion (27/30 Charges)
Socketed (2: 1 used)

Still not sure what to use for the second socket. Possibly an eth, or i may wait and see if I get a good jewel of some kind.

Lister, who i was afraid of, as he seems to always kill the merc and then charge you down, surprisingly, was a puuddy cat...i.e., my merc tanked him and his minions and I spammed FO and a few meteors, pumped a potion or two, and that was it. Baal wasn't quite as easy, had to revive the merc once, and take a trip to reload potions once, but no NDE's or anything. the only good thing dropped was the unique bow, Skystrike, which is ok, but not great.

I will likely start outfitting Tattersail for some mf runs, switching out the occy and the belt for tal's, and adding a peasant crown with a p-topaz for my initial mf-ing gear. The blackthorn's mask is going to my pally, as he needs the LR/absorb (the eth mask was originally his).

anywho- yay! Now it's on to other pat's/mat's!

cheers all,
WJ

:buddies:
 
Originally posted by Xdeathfire on Nov 26, 2007:

Yet another Mat thread

So, I'm oficially back to Diablo II now. I abrubtly stopped playing when I just got my new CL/Orb Mat Sorc and while doing LK runs and watching the Simpsons season 17, I accidentally deleted it. In my subsequent fit of rage, I deleted my Pat Barb and my ATMA stash.

After that, I went to Hellgate London, but was horribly dissapointed. It, however, reignited my interst in Diablo II and here we are. Its just a cookie cutter meteorb though with a heavier investment towards fireball than most.

Character name : Xdeathfire
Character level : 82

Strength : 60
Energy : 75
Dexterity : 181
Vitality : 184

Life: 710
Mana: 405

Frozen Orb Damage: 310-326
Fireball Damage: 1771-1998
Meteor Damage: 4k - 4.2k I think

Hell Baal Drop

Skills:

3 Fire Bolt
1 Warmth
1 Inferno
1 Blaze
1 Firewall
20 Fireball
20 Meteor
4 Fire Mastery

1 Static Field
1 Telekinesis
1 Teleport

1 Ice Bolt
1 Ice Blast
1 Frost Nova
1 Glacial Spike
1 Blizzard
1 Frozen Armor
1 Shiver Armor
20 Frozen Orb
10 Cold Mastery

My stuff:

Peasant Crown

Dread Clasp
Amulet
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0xc6e51ffa
+10 to Attack Rating
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Poison Resist +7%
Replenish Life +6
+1 to Sorceress Skill Levels

Haemosu's Adamant

Havoc Grip
Ring
Required Level: 24
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xa9173f36
+49 to Mana
Lightning Resist +20%
Cold Resist +18%
Level 1 Dim Vision (22/22 Charges)

Grim Turn
Ring
Required Level: 6
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 12
Fingerprint: 0x3ba516b7
+3 to Energy
+2 to Dexterity
+56 to Attack Rating
10% Faster Cast Rate

Havoc Lock
Plated Belt
Defense: 13
Durability: 23 of 24
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 54
Fingerprint: 0x423f6dcc
+40 to Life
+5 to Mana
+12% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +29%
41% Extra Gold from Monsters
10% Faster Hit Recovery

Hailstone Slippers
Light Plated Boots
Defense: 20
Durability: 17 of 18
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 26
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 53
Fingerprint: 0x9adaf365
+5 to Dexterity
+74% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +15%
Poison Resist +23%
19% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
10% Faster Run/Walk

Chance Guards
Suicide Branch
Moser's Blessed Circle

Mercenary Items :

Crown of Thieves
Smoke Boneweave
Insight Thresher

I was basically self found except for Peasant's Crown which is from deaddave's giveaway. I had some great drops in Normal with suicide branch from Baal, Mosers somewhere in Act IV, and Chance Guards in Act III I think. After that though, everything went downhill. I was planning to run NM Mephisto until I got an Occy and Skin of Vipermagi, but I literally ran him until I was ready to puke and gotten nothing except for awful normal unique/sets.
Nothing spectacular from Act Boss drops in Hell. Hellforge was okay though with an Um and also a Lum somewhere in NM I believe.

After this, lots of MFing for either another MF character or If I am lucky, a pretty expensive Blade Fury Assasin I'm planning for
 
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